As Ly Dương made his move, Tịch Nguyệt, Mặc Phỉ, and the others immediately realized his spiritual force had recovered to ninety percent of its peak state. They also surmised that Ly Diễm had interfered earlier when helping him refine the elixir, and they incessantly mocked such despicable actions. Lăng Thiên let out a cold chuckle. He did not expose this point to Cùng Dực and his group, believing Thận Đồ could defeat Ly Dương.

On the arena stage, after his initial attack yielded no results, Ly Dương realized what kind of opponent he was facing. With a thought, he unleashed the Spirit Eyes unique to his Innate Spirit Body, intending to see through these illusions. However, he was quickly disappointed; he couldn't find Thận Đồ's true form.

"Heh, Daoist Thận Đồ's shadow is created through light refraction; eyes simply cannot distinguish truth from illusion," Tử Lĩnh chuckled oddly, seeing Ly Dương employ his Spirit Body's illusory form. "As for trying to probe with spiritual force, attempting to release spiritual force within that mist is simply courting death." The mist possessed a potent bewildering effect; sending spiritual force into it was undoubtedly an act of self-destruction.

Though arrogant, Ly Dương was not foolish. He quickly realized the effect of the surrounding mist and no longer dared to carelessly release his spiritual force. With a thought, raging flames erupted within a radius of several dozen zhang around him, centering on his position. He activated his Anomaly Domain, intending to use the scorching heat to evaporate the mist.

Under the scorching heat, some of the surrounding mist dissipated. However, it did not vanish into thin air as Ly Dương had imagined; the mist seemed not to be made of water and was fundamentally unafraid of fire. Although a portion was dispelled by the flames, the surrounding mist grew denser and denser. Beyond a few zhang, no figures could be seen, and the sun in the sky was slowly obscured.

And that was not all. Droplets of water flew towards Ly Dương, bursting with a "phoc" sound upon encountering the flames. Under the strange fluctuations, the flames wavered and even showed signs of dissipating. Though a single droplet had little effect, countless droplets bursting across the sky had a profound impact. The flames on the periphery extinguished, and Ly Dương's Anomaly Domain rapidly contracted.

"What kind of devilry is this?!" Seeing that his fire-attribute Anomaly Domain couldn't evaporate the mist, Ly Dương couldn't help but grow anxious and irritable. Feeling his immortal essence power rapidly depleting, he tried to absorb the power of the sun, only to find he couldn't sense the sunlight at all. With an enraged roar, Ly Dương once again unleashed the secret art of the Primordial Yang Fire Spirit Body. Several illusory Golden Crows scattered, their cries echoing, accompanied by potent soul fluctuations spreading out with the sound waves. He intended to use large-scale soul attacks to force Thận Đồ out.

"Heh heh, that brat Ly Dương is getting impatient. He actually launched a soul attack against Brother Thận." Old Man Lăng chuckled oddly, his voice filled with disdain. "Doesn't he know that the ancient divine beast Thận is fundamentally unafraid of soul attacks? Moreover, he'll face an extremely severe backlash."

As they spoke, Thận Đồ had already launched his attack. Countless droplets merged, and soon, several water spheres, each several zhang in size, formed and flew towards the illusory Golden Crows. A crisp "Pop!" sound was heard, and a powerful soul fluctuation spread out. The illusory Golden Crow choked, and the soul aura contained within the illusion vanished without a trace. Without its soul aura, the illusory Golden Crow was merely a ball of fire, which was quickly extinguished and rendered invisible by the mist. As for the other illusory Golden Crows, they naturally had no effect and soon followed the path of the first.

The illusory Golden Crows were ineffective, and his Anomaly Domain was useless. Ly Dương was beyond frustrated; he cursed silently, wondering what strange and bizarre opponents he was facing in this battle. Comparatively, he would rather clash head-on with Hình Chiến than suffer such indignation. Under his anxiety and irritation, Ly Dương was further affected by the mist. Fortunately, he didn't completely collapse, strenuously mobilizing his domain power to resist. However, without the sun's energy for replenishment, his immortal essence power was rapidly consumed, and his spiritual force was also greatly depleted.

Realizing Thận Đồ was extraordinary and Ly Dương was bound to lose, Ly Diễm, however, could no longer openly interfere in their battle. For a moment, his face turned livid.

Hàn Lâm's face was equally dark. He glanced at Lăng Thiên and said in a deep voice, "Who exactly are these people from Lingxiao Pavilion? How can they possess such strange and wondrous innate abilities? If we lose this match too, then we..." "Heh heh, I didn't expect the disciples of Lingxiao Pavilion to be quite interesting, not bad at all." U Minh chuckled strangely, though those familiar with him knew his mood was utterly foul at this moment.

"Sigh, if we lose, we lose. It's just a few cultivation techniques and secret manuals, nothing major." The Heavenly Lord of the Northwest U Thiên was a woman; her face was obscured by black gauze, but her tone revealed her deep unwillingness at this moment.

"Why don't we add another match?" Lệ Mang suddenly spoke, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "You should all understand the importance of the 'Arrow Embryo'. It's imperative that we obtain it. If Lăng Thiên and his group are so eager to collect cultivation techniques and secret manuals, why don't we..." "Precisely, one more match. We must obtain those archery techniques." Another Heavenly Lord-level existence said, pondering for a moment. "This time, we'll send out our most favored disciples. Moreover, instead of one-on-one, we'll compare in team battles. After all, future conflicts rely on teamwork. We'll use the pretext of testing Lingxiao Pavilion's team combat capabilities, and then..." "Heh heh, that's also a good excuse." U Minh chuckled strangely, looking towards the arena. "We are well aware of the abilities of those Lingxiao Pavilion disciples. Knowing ourselves and our enemy, defeating them won't be too difficult. How about it, do you agree?"

After a moment of contemplation, everyone nodded in unison. Ly Diễm said fiercely, "It's not just for the cultivation techniques and secret manuals; we must also regain our dignity! Otherwise, in the future, we will remain a laughing stock of the Immortal Realm!" Ly Dương's successive defeats had undoubtedly become the greatest joke in the Immortal Realm. And as the Southern Heavenly Lord, he would inevitably be ridiculed. To regain face, he absolutely had to agree to another competition.

On the arena stage, Ly Dương was already mostly depleted. He knew his victory was hopeless and finally had no choice but to concede. Watching Thận Đồ calmly walk off the stage, his eyes gleamed with undeniable malice. "Tsk tsk, Brother Thận's blow to Ly Dương this time was even greater. He's probably on the verge of collapsing." Tử Lĩnh said, his spirits soaring. "Now, anyone who goes on stage could probably defeat him. Our wager is as good as won." "What, Brother Tử Lĩnh, do you wish to go on stage?" Old Man Lăng was slightly startled, then shook his head. "Ly Dương is already in such a state, I really have no interest. If Brother Tử Lĩnh, you..." "I also have no desire to bully someone completely devoid of fighting spirit." Tử Lĩnh interrupted Old Man Lăng, looking towards Thương Khung, a gleam flashing in his eyes. "Instead, I'm interested in the next battle. I hope, as Old Master Mặc surmised, they will add another match." Hearing this, Old Man Lăng and the others' eyes lit up, all eager to try their hand.

On the arena stage, Ly Dương consumed an elixir, and his immortal essence power rapidly recovered. What was even more astonishing was that he did not collapse as everyone had expected. His expression was calm, and the aura around him grew increasingly profound. The flames around him became denser, even faintly showing a tendency to turn black. "Ah, that brat Ly Dương actually had a breakthrough at this moment?" Mặc Phỉ let out a soft exclamation. He looked at Lăng Thiên and the others, letting out a bitter laugh. "Heh heh, it seems the blow you dealt him today was too great. Under the turmoil of his mind, he suddenly achieved enlightenment. This is quite interesting." "Indeed, that brat Ly Dương truly has some potential." Không Uyên nodded, his eyes gleaming as he watched the increasingly scorching flames on Ly Dương. "Ah, black flames... this, isn't this the Golden Crow..." "Precisely. The level of his immortal essence power has increased, and his flames are even more scorching. Although his cultivation base hasn't changed, his strength has improved considerably." Tịch Nguyệt nodded, a reminiscent look flashing in her eyes. "Legend says the Golden Crow's flames can incinerate all, even burning through empty space. Now, he can probably effortlessly burn away the mist."

On the other side, Hàn Lâm and the others, who had originally been seething with anger at Ly Dương's latest defeat, were now overjoyed upon seeing his transformation. Especially Ly Diễm, whose eyes flickered with light, utterly thrilled: "Yang'er's bloodline has further evolved, his flame power has transformed, and his strength has once again increased. This is excellent!" "Heh heh, Brother Ly, congratulations, congratulations! Your esteemed son is truly a peerless genius, shining ever brighter with courage." Those who had previously disregarded Ly Dương immediately changed their attitude, utterly excited. "With this breakthrough, his physical constitution and strength have become formidable, and his mental state has also fully recovered. The next battles are sure to be victorious!" "Indeed! Those who went on stage earlier were undoubtedly Lingxiao Pavilion's strongest. Those who come after are nothing to fear!" Lệ Mang pondered, greatly excited. "After his breakthrough, his physique can contend with even Vấn Kiếm and Hình Chiến from before without issue, let alone those weaker ones who follow. Perhaps we won't even need another match to win the wager."

Seeing how quickly everyone changed their attitude, Ly Diễm smirked inwardly. However, Ly Dương's breakthrough filled him with such joy that he had no interest in arguing with these people. He now eagerly hoped Ly Dương would defeat the others.

"Hmph, it seems Ly Dương's breakthrough has stirred up some people's intentions again." Mặc Phỉ scoffed, looking at Lăng Thiên. "Thiên'er, prepare for the next battle. You still have six matches. Even if Ly Dương broke through, there's nothing to fear. After all, he just broke through, and his realm isn't entirely stable. Your chances of winning are still very high..." "Old Master Mặc, we don't need six more matches; one is enough." Old Man Lăng said, then looked towards the arena, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, filled with shocking killing intent. "He's broken through, so I'm actually interested in fighting him. His spiritual force and immortal essence power have recovered, so I won't be taking advantage of someone in distress." "Old Lăng, you..." Lăng Thiên's face was filled with worry, but whatever he was about to say was cut short by Old Man Lăng. "What? Do you not trust my strength, boy?" Old Man Lăng retorted, seeing Lăng Thiên's troubled expression, then changed his tone. "Thiên'er, half of your techniques were taught by me. You should know my capabilities. It's just a Ly Dương, nothing to it. Watch me capture him!" Since Old Man Lăng had spoken thus, Lăng Thiên found it hard to dissuade him further. He nodded and said in a deep voice, "Then I wish Old Lăng a triumphant victory!"

This tale, faithfully rendered for your enjoyment, can be found exclusively on truyen.free.