Hui took a deep breath. Another piece of me, gone. There isn’t much left. Already, I can sense myself growing thin.

Still, I refuse to leave without Gui Delun. If I’m going to hell, I’m taking him with me!

Drawing his sword, Gui Delun charged at Hui.

Hui surged his qi and slapped a talisman upward.

A bolt of lightning leaped from the talisman and forced Gui Delun's arm back, shivering up his arm. He fell back, gripping his arm. Startled, he looked at Hui.

“Haa, Senior, don’t ask. You wouldn’t believe if I told you,” Hui said, shaking his head. I know Gui Delun wants to ask me how I got this strong, but would he believe that I was a half-dozen or so fifth-realm clones who recombined, sending their qi into the single Hui who remained and giving him the sheer qi necessary to charge directly to seventh realm, if only temporarily? I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t the one who just did it!

High overhead, the sky split open. A man sat on a throne. Slowly, regally, the man stood and strode forward, coming to the edge of the portal. “At last, you dared use your full power again. I knew it was merely a matter of time. Now, I’ve come to kill…”

Mid-sentence, Han Qin’s clone halted. He peered down at Hui.

Hui circulated his qi, surging it up to seventh realm. He waved pleasantly at Han Qin. “Good afternoon, Senior!”

Han Qin refused to show it on his face, but internally, his mind reeled. How? I lost track of him for a year, maybe two, and he’s already seventh stage? What madness… Is he truly the chosen child of the Heavens?

“Reinforcements? Hmph.” Gui Delun threw his arm out. His sword flew from his palm and rocketed at Han Qin’s clone, zooming toward his heart at top speed.

Han Qin waved his hand. The back of his hand struck the flat of the blade and knocked it aside. Blowing past, it impaled itself in the throne behind him with a thud, quivering in place.

Turning slowly, Han Qin looked at the sword. His hands clenched. “You dare attack my throne?”

“Run, now, run like this coward,” Gui Delun laughed, flicking his fingers to call his sword back to him.

It whizzed past Han Qin’s face for a second time. This time, he reached out and caught the blade between two fingers.

Gui Delun stared, startled. He gestured again, calling the blade harder. The blade trembled, but Han Qin held it too tightly.

“As retribution for my throne…” Han Qin squeezed his fingers shut. The blade snapped. Shards of metal rained on the ground below.

Gui Delun jolted. Thrown into disarray, his blood and qi ran backward for a moment. He staggered back a step and spat a mouthful of blood. With some effort, he managed to prevent a qi deviation, but his dantian still shuddered painfully.

Ah, that’s right. Gui Delun cultivates the sword, or did at some point. For a sword cultivator to lose their sword is similar to a body cultivator getting crippled, or a talisman cultivator running out of talismans. Not only is it dangerous, it can also be injurious to their cultivation! Well, maybe not for the talisman cultivator, but that’s beside the point. Though he clearly isn’t a pure sword cultivator like Li Xiang, he’s clearly put enough into that sword that it injures him for it to be broken!

Hui gave Han Qin a thumbs-up. “Good job, my close bosom buddy! Thanks for the assist!”

“You dare—” Han Qin snarled.

“Colluding with this worm? As expected, all the bugs are coming out of the woodwork now. It’s time for me to squish a few bugs,” Gui Delun stated, looking down his nose at Han Qin.

Han Qin’s eyes flashed. Flames burned over his shoulders and danced in his long hair. “You dare accuse me of colluding with that filth?”

“Is it not what’s happening? Don’t be disingenuous. Plainly admit it,” Gui Delun stated, shaking his head.

Steam rose from Han Qin’s nostrils. He leaped from the portal and charged at Gui Delun. “I’ll show you what’s happening!”

“Yes, yes! Hit him where it hurts!” Hui shouted, looking earnestly hopeful for Han Qin’s victory. Han Qin’s clones are only sixth stage. I can handle them right now! He can become more of a threat, due to his true near-Immortal existence, but at his base level, I can defeat him! I’d rather face Han Qin in my current state than Gui Delun, a true seventh-stage cultivator!

The two clashed. In the space of a breath, a thousand moves were exchanged. Gui Delun and Han Qin both parted, breathing heavily. A single scratch marred Han Qin’s cheek, while Gui Delun sported a shallow gash on his arm.

Huh. I guess a sixth-stage who’s the clone of a near-Immortal, or maybe just an Immortal, is evenly matched with Gui Delun, seventh-stage cultivator. It makes sense, I suppose. He’d have more knowledge and experience, and having his own dao solidified would give him an upper hand, even against higher-realm cultivators.

Han Qin pointed a finger at Hui. “You’re next, once I pinch this bug to death.”

Hui turned and looked behind him. “Ah! You’re determined to fight Chao Changguang, too? Gui Delun, how embarrassing. You’re such a small insect that Senior is already focused on his next fight!”

“Your pitiful attempts to taunt me are meaningless. Let’s let battle speak for us,” Gui Delun returned, charging at Han Qin again.

Han Qin held up his hand. “Wait.”

No, no, don’t wait. Let’s charge at one another! Fight, fight! Hui cheered silently. Behind his back, his hands worked double-speed, inscribing talismans onto whatever bits of paper or cloth he could pull from his storage ring. They’ll never see through my clever ruse, but just in case…

Gui Delun stopped. The two of them shared a look.

Han Qin spoke first. “My true enemy is that man over there. And you?”

“You aren’t reinforcements?” Gui Delun asked suspiciously.

Hui winked. At a stage whisper, he said, “Yes, yes, that’s right! You aren’t reinforcements, right!”

Gui Delun narrowed his eyes at Hui, still giving Han Qin an uncertain look.

“Do you not know of this man’s slippery tongue?” Han Qin started.

Before he could continue, Hui coughed. “Er, could we not talk about my tongue and who knows it?”

Han Qin’s face burned red with rage. “This fool is a liar and a deceitful bug, no more than a faithless, useless, utter waste! He’s trying to turn us against one another so he doesn’t have to fight both of us. That’s all this is! His own stupid ploy.”

Hui gasped. “Senior, how rude! If you and Gui Delun both fell for my stupid ploy, doesn’t that make you stupid? You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that.”

Grinding his teeth, Han Qin drew his sword and tossed it to Gui Delun. “Snap it if you wish, but I’m going to kill that man.”

Gui Delun looked at Han Qin’s sword, then threw it back. He drew a fresh sword from his storage ring. “Keep your sword. Let’s kill this man as quickly as possible, before he can do anything else annoying.”

“Agreed.” Han Qin caught his own sword.

Both Gui Delun and Han Qin turned toward Hui.

Hands behind him, Hui continued to work rapidly, half-distracted. After a moment, he felt their gazes on him and looked up. he let out a light laugh. “Are you really going to believe him?”

They continued advancing, ignoring him.

“You are? Well, that’s problematic…” Hui sighed and looked up at Zhubi. A moment later, he grinned. It wasn’t a complete and perfect victory, but it’s progress! Han Qin and Gui Delun should be somewhat tired now, and not only that, but Gui Delun’s bonded sword is shattered and his qi flow is somewhat uneven. I’ve evened the odds, even in these few moments!

That, and… in that time I stalled, I wasn’t doing nothing.

Zhubi nodded, hissing slightly.

Acting fearful, Hui turned toward Han Qin and Gui Delun again. He drew a random sword from his storage space. “I suppose I have no choice but to fight…!”

Gui Delun harrumphed.

Han Qin laughed back at him. “I suppose you don’t.”

“But Seniors… you know, a talisman cultivator… what they need the most of is time,” Hui said, tipping his head sideways.

“Huh?” Han Qin asked.

Hui flashed his palm at them. Gui Delun and Han Qin both flinched, but nothing flew at them.

Gui Delun straightened. “Enough stalling.”

“I agree. It was enough.” Hui smiled.

A hundred and eight talismans with the paper’s edge pointed at Han Qin and Gui Delun spun around, revealing their formulae. The talismans formed a ring the two of them. The talismans came alight. Red light burned from the paper as the spells burst to life.

Gui Delun spat a curse. He rushed at the edge of the circle, but the barrier bounced him back. It shattered in the next moment, and one of the talismans faded. The remaining hundred and seven burned brighter, and the barrier replaced itself.

Excellent! My technique ‘hundred and eight layers’, worked! If they aren’t shattered, the barriers work in concert, creating a barrier that’s a hundred and eight times as strong as the base barrier. If the barrier is shattered, it only sacrifices one of the talismans, then regenerates with a hundred-and-seven-times strength, and so on and so forth.

I can only cast it because I’m at seventh realm, however momentarily. The technique is too complicated for a lower-level cultivator to keep in their mind at once! Compared to my previous layering technique of simply layering weak barriers, it’s much, much more complicated, but luckily I have the brainpower to comprehend the technique now. If I could have, I would have done this the whole time! It’s the ideal.

Han Qin quietly drew his sword back, charging up an attack.

Hui quickly continued to write barriers, acting nervous. “Senior, there’s no need to rush. Take your time, rest, rest. You’ve got a moment of relaxation in the middle of battle! Accept it.”

Han Qin ignored him and continued to charge.

Ha! Fool. The barrier will break, but it’ll instantly re-form!

Probably. I’m not really sure what will happen if it’s hit by too powerful of an attack all at once. It shouldn’t matter how powerful the blow is, but it isn’t good for this small cultivator to be too careful! So… before I launch my attack, let’s wrap them in a second hundred-and-eight-fold barrier!

Used to writing barriers, Hui quickly finished the second hundred and eight set. He hesitated a moment, considering, then added a third. Just to be sure, he added a fourth, then stepped back. One part of him wanted to create a fifth set of barriers, but he shook his head. No. I’ll do my attack first, then focus on the next set of barriers.

Besides, by the time they break through five sets of barriers… they’ll probably have figured out how to shatter the entire set of barriers efficiently. I can’t rely on this trick lasting forever. Five is enough. Any more, and I’m wasting my time versus sitting down and figuring out exactly how I’m going to do this attack. I have an idea, but I’m not fully certain how to execute it. Since I have them bound, I ought to spend a bit of time figuring that out, then attempt the attack!

Hui closed his eyes, sitting down to meditate. Zhubi circled around him protectively, looping thick coils around his body.

“Do you think we’re trapped? We’ll be out in the time it takes an incense stick to burn,” Gui Delun scoffed.

Hui ignored him. Of course I don’t think you’re trapped forever. I’m not Fen Long.

Although… perhaps I should put my small-realm-breaking skills to use and see if I can create small realms…? Liu Guang created that golden stasis world at sixth stage… It should be possible for me soon, if not already.

No, no. Focus. In the time I’ve bought, I need to finish comprehending this technique I’ve just developed. The technique to induce negative cell states in cultivators by cycling life and death qi! I don’t have a sure-kill technique, but if that technique works, it should weaken them to the level that Zhubi and I can fight them at an advantage.

After all, who needs even footing? I’d rather have the upper hand!