Chapter 773: Those Who Walk the Path of Human-Spirit Protection Are All Big Shots

Guan Lijuan paused, her expression turning frigid. “So, you’re telling me you’re dead set on getting entangled with me?”

Zhang Deming nodded nonchalantly. “And what if I am? What are you going to do about it?”

The five people listening to the exchange between Zhang Deming and Guan Lijuan were both surprised and bewildered. They exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.

“Such arrogant words, fellow Daoist. Don’t think for a second that just because your Cultivation is a fraction higher than mine, you’re invincible and have me cornered!”

“Cultivation isn’t everything in Magical Combat. You’d best be careful!” Guan Lijuan said coldly.

Zhang Deming nodded. “Are you referring to the vines currently slithering through the mud beneath my feet? Well, thank you for the warning. I noticed.”

Upon hearing this, Guan Lijuan’s expression froze. At that moment of stiffness, several torrents of water materialized around her as if from thin air, converging to ensnare her.

The Technique was incredibly sudden and exceptionally fast. By the time she reacted, the water was already upon her. Her expression shifted, and her figure wavered.

The water streams coiled around Guan Lijuan, but the moment they made contact, her entire body dissolved into a puddle of sludge, melting away into the Flower Swamp below.

A short distance away, the mud and flora surged, and Guan Lijuan’s figure re-formed.

Without another word, she sent several vines of flowers and grass, mixed with tendrils of dripping ooze, twisting toward Zhang Deming. The Combat had begun, just like that.

· · ·

‘A Clay Flower Vine Dao that mixes the Paths of Water, Earth, and Wood? Hmm, no, that’s not right. It’s only the Flower Wood Dao. There’s something off about this Water and Earth Dao!’

Watching the approaching vines, Zhang Deming was slightly taken aback. ‘A fellow cultivator who uses vines!’

In a flash of thought, Zhang Deming’s figure vanished. He reappeared on a distant tree.

“Wood Escape?” Guan Lijuan exclaimed, equally surprised.

Zhang Deming didn’t answer her either. With a smile, he met Guan Lijuan’s gaze, and the two of them fell into a brief silence.

“Senior, my master and martial uncle are on their way. You just need to hold her off for about an hour!” During their standoff, Ji Ming’s Spiritual Power message echoed in Zhang Deming’s ears, causing him to pause for a moment.

Nearby, Guan Lijuan immediately sensed the unusual Spiritual Power fluctuation. Her face darkened as she glared at Ji Ming and the others. “You’re courting death!”

As she spoke, several vines once again shot toward Ji Ming and the four others.

Almost simultaneously, a Jade Vine shot out and whipped the sphere of light containing the five people, sending it flying into the distance.

Guan Lijuan froze, her gaze shifting back to Zhang Deming. With a grim expression, her hands began to dance rapidly. As her Spiritual Power spread, the Flower Swamp on the ground expanded at a Rapid Speed, covering a radius of several kilometers in the blink of an eye.

The trees she had previously left untouched were now deliberately targeted because Zhang Deming had used Wood Escape. The swamp consumed them directly, and the entire area, spanning several kilometers, became a Flower Swamp shrouded by a dome of light.

Expanding the existing Flower Swamp to cover several kilometers was accomplished in the blink of an eye. After all, a Three Talents Great Cultivator possessed the power to annihilate a city!

As the swamp spread, countless vines bloomed with beautiful flowers, and a faint mist began to rise, shrouding the entire area in a hazy veil.

Zhang Deming watched the sudden transformation, his brow furrowing slightly. ‘Is this some kind of area-of-effect Skill?’

‘To spend so much Spiritual Power changing the environment before the fight even starts… either she’s an idiot, or her Daoist Skill is unique and requires these conditions.’

As Zhang Deming’s thoughts raced and he stood on high alert, the hazy mist around him abruptly transformed. It became a city of towering skyscrapers, each building achingly familiar.

A strange power began to corrode Zhang Deming’s mind, trying to turn him back into the programmer who tapped out code day after day, to return him to the daily nine-to-five grind.

However, the architectural style was vastly different from his past life; these buildings were in the style of the Celestial Universe Federation. This stark discrepancy weakened the Technique’s effect, preventing Zhang Deming from sinking into the illusion.

Because of this, Zhang Deming only faltered for a moment before snapping back to his senses from the massive psychic assault. A Shield shimmering with dreamlike light materialized around his body, warding off the invasive influence.

‘A Heart Spirit Illusion Charm?’

Sensing the skyscrapers around him, Zhang Deming’s face darkened. In all his years of cultivation, this was the first person who dared to strike at the deepest secret of his heart.

Although his opponent didn’t know what secret he was hiding, her Skill had been guided by his Heart Spirit to instinctively conjure these skyscrapers, which made Zhang Deming feel as if his very mind had been violated.

With a grim expression, Zhang Deming focused his Heart Spirit. A Jade Long Sword appeared in his hand. He raised the Sword over his head and brought it down in a powerful slash.

As the Long Sword descended, it grew rapidly in size. Halfway down, the Space rippled, and a giant mechanical man reached out, catching Zhang Deming’s descending Long Sword between its fingers.

Staring at the mechanical ‘man’, Zhang Deming was momentarily stunned.

‘What is this?’

‘A Transformer? Or King Kong?’

Before him stood a robot that looked remarkably like Optimus Prime in style, but its head wasn’t robotic. Instead, it was the head of a monkey, one that bore a striking resemblance to King Kong from Skull Island.

Zhang Deming’s face twitched as he looked at the ridiculous monstrosity.

Clearly, his opponent’s Illusion Skill hadn’t fully taken hold. The resulting creation was so distorted that instead of deepening his immersion, it completely broke him out of the illusory Space.