As Shui Lingling's words fell, a sparkling, translucent treasure pearl slowly floated out from her sleeve.
It radiated pure and vast energy, causing even Hongmao's pupils to contract slightly.
'So this is the treasure vessel nourished by the Pure Origin Pearl?'
Before coming to Phoenix Island, he hadn't been completely unprepared.
The Santai Pavilion recruited disciples once every ten years. Each time, the selected top disciple became a legendary hero, recorded in history books.
A hundred years ago, someone from the Phoenix Martial Arts School had earned this honor, obtaining the Pure Origin Pearl and suppressing Phoenix Island's fortune for a century.
Now, even though the Pure Origin Pearl itself had long been completely consumed, the jade pearl nourished by its aura had been imbued with a trace of pure spiritual energy and gained sentience.
"Excellent. I want this pearl."
A sinister curve lifted the corner of Hongmao's mouth as he murmured softly.
"That depends on whether you have the ability! Thousand-Mile Ice Seal, go!!!"
Shui Lingling shouted, forming hand seals with both hands.
The vast energy within the Pure Origin Pearl was slowly drawn out by the Phoenix Martial Arts School's secret supreme technique, the 'Dragon-Guiding Art'.
Whoosh…
Extremely cold ice-attribute spiritual energy slowly condensed in the air, forming sharp ice spikes that spread across the entire Phoenix Martial Arts School grounds.
Hongmao's eyes flickered. He held the Demonic Rainbow Sword, cleaving through the ice spikes slanting towards him.
'So this is the so-called 'Thousand-Mile Ice Seal'?'
Hongmao sneered coldly, his eyes full of disdain.
Around the Phoenix Martial Arts School, the area within a radius of several dozen meters was completely covered in extreme ice. Even the air became bitterly cold, transforming into a battlefield most suitable for Shui Lingling to fight on.
From Hongmao's perspective, this move was certainly impressive.
But to call itself 'Thousand-Mile Ice Seal' seemed somewhat overconfident.
From this, it could be seen that the trump card move called 'Thousand-Handed Guanyin' probably wasn't much stronger either!
"Demonic Rainbow Devours the Sun, Heaven-Devouring Demonic Dragon, destroy her."
Hongmao raised his sword and struck.
A Heaven-Devouring Demonic Dragon, several times larger than before, dozens of meters long, its body rolling with demonic energy that even made the air congeal, materialized!
If this move landed, regardless of her 'Thousand-Mile Ice Seal' or 'Ten-Thousand-Mile Snowfall', the Phoenix Martial Arts School would surely be reduced to ruins!
However, at this moment, Shui Lingling on the other side, facing the oncoming Heaven-Devouring Demonic Dragon, she showed no fear.
Her heart was as still as water, silently reciting the final heart mantra of the Dragon-Guiding Art.
The Thousand-Handed Guanyin was the Phoenix Martial Arts School's secret strongest ultimate move.
A hundred years ago, the Phoenix School Master used this ultimate technique to flatten one of the perilous peaks of the Santai Mountains.
This shocked the Santai Pavilion's elders, who immediately accepted the Phoenix School Master as their head disciple, leaving behind a legend.
Now, although Shui Lingling hadn't comprehended the ultimate profound mystery of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin, she could still execute it.
Rumble…
As the hand seals she formed multiplied and the energy gathered around her grew increasingly immense…
Mountain rocks shifted, plants and trees trembled chaotically.
Even the raindrops falling from the air were pulled by an invisible force, coalescing into shimmering spheres of water.
Hongmao's previously scornful and flippant expression grew slightly more solemn.
"A charging-type ultimate move? Hah, how could I let you complete it?"
He flicked his right hand holding the Demonic Rainbow Sword, sending another sword ray flying.
If this were a battle between righteous paths, he would have waited for Shui Lingling to finish charging before using his own strongest move to clash head-on with hers.
Thinking about it now, that was utterly stupid.
Agility and nimbleness were integral parts of martial arts.
Abandoning one's own mobility to forcefully clash with an opponent's long-prepared ultimate move was not only pedantic but also somewhat mentally deficient.
On the other side, Shui Lingling, watching the oncoming sword ray, remained motionless. A slight curve lifted the corner of her mouth.
"Useless."
"Guanyin has an invincible golden body. Guanyin has peerless golden light. Guanyin sees through all under heaven. A thousand faces, a thousand hands. Any sneak attack is ineffective against her."
"The Thousand-Handed Guanyin... is already complete."
Clatter, clatter.
The moment Shui Lingling's words fell,
A Thousand-Handed Guanyin statue, shimmering with golden light, sparkling and translucent,
Formed from pure wind, water, and ice attribute internal energy, slowly emerged from the ground.
The moment it appeared, it struck out with a thousand palm prints, meeting the sharp sword ray of the Demonic Rainbow Sword.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dozens of explosive sounds rang out consecutively in the air. Even with the Thousand-Handed Guanyin's strength, it took dozens of palm strikes to completely shatter this single sword ray.
However, compared to the previous completely one-sided crushing, the scales of victory seemed to tilt slightly towards Shui Lingling's side.
'The Thousand-Handed Guanyin my wife summoned can last at most thirty seconds. If we can't resolve Hongmao within that time, we have no chance of winning.' Gui Jiujiu watched the massive spectacle in the sky, clenched his fist, and thought to himself.
At this point, they could only go all out.
"Wife, use this! This is a strange secret poison I accidentally concocted when I studied medicine years ago. Under heaven, besides me, absolutely no one can cure it! Use this against Hongmao!"
Disregarding the dignity of the Phoenix School's Master, Gui Jiujiu gritted his teeth and threw a bottle of poison to Shui Lingling.
Even though he cherished his reputation and integrity his whole life, was upright and unyielding, now, for his wife, for his daughter, he had to use this move.
"Husband, you..." A flash of astonishment passed through Shui Lingling's eyes.
Then, an expression of immense humiliation appeared as she painfully turned her head back.
'Disgraceful.'
'Our Phoenix Martial Arts School's lifelong reputation...'
'In the end, we had to rely on such underhanded methods to deal with the enemy.'
"But... this is for Shui Dingdang. Demon, prepare to die!" Shui Lingling clenched her fist and shouted through gritted teeth.
That cry of 'demon' was for Hongmao to hear, but even more so for herself to hear.
As if pinning the blame on the 'demon' could lessen the guilt of using despicable means slightly.
She commanded the Thousand-Handed Guanyin behind her to launch a fierce attack towards Hongmao's right leg.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground trembled. Every time the Thousand-Handed Guanyin's palm landed, it left a deep, shocking crater.
Hongmao dodged while scornfully mocking,
"Coercion and bribery, honeyed words with a dagger behind the smile, hiding poison in the palm... Hahaha, what a righteous martial arts school! What a Phoenix Heroine!"
He had already seen through the true faces of these people.
The so-called righteous path was nothing more than ordinary people wearing an extra mask, standing on the moral high ground, compared to the likes of Hei Xiaohu.
When you couldn't fulfill their wishes, couldn't give them benefits, they would tear off their masks, becoming even more vicious and cruel than the Demonic Sect.
This... is the martial world.
"It's over. Initially, I only intended to kill Little Black and the girl in blue."
"But now, your repeated provocations have made me change my mind."
Hongmao dodged another palm strike from the Thousand-Handed Guanyin, a bloodthirsty curve lifting his lips.
"You two... you also deserve to die!"