Chapter 513 - 291: Domain of Cold, Grand Array of Kuai Lei

"That’s enough."

Tao Xinglie spoke calmly, as a cluster of red and blue intertwined flames gathered in his palm, pouring into the Gale Saber, making it blaze brilliantly.

"Roar!"

A massive fiery beast, larger than the two Ice Sparrows on the field, roared skyward. It was a bizarre Demon Beast with a deer’s head and a bull’s body. As Tao Xinglie activated the Dharma Artifact shadow, a rolling wave of heat surged across the field, melting away the cold in waves.

Whizz!

A crimson beam streaked across the sky, shattering the frost like dried leaves before the deer-headed bull-bodied shadow.

"Gu Xue’Er is about to lose."

"What a pity. Gu Xue’Er only just broke through to Fifth Grade not long ago, and her Realm is probably not yet stable. The power gap between the two is still too great."

Feeling the shocked gazes from the audience below, Tao Xinglie’s lips curled slightly upward.

"Gu Xue’Er still has the power to fight... She’s preparing something."

Su Mu’s eyes flickered, whispering softly. While others might not notice anything, Su Mu’s keen eyes discerned that the cold defeated by Tao Xinglie hadn’t entirely dissipated, with a considerable portion lingering on the arena.

As the two continued to duel, with Gu Xue’Er steadily losing, the cold on the arena began to accumulate.

At this moment, the cold seemed to form a ’domain’.

All that’s left is for Gu Xue’Er to detonate it...

Upon hearing Su Mu’s murmur, Li Changshan was initially incredulous, seeing Gu Xue’Er as being completely suppressed by Tao Xinglie. If Tao Xinglie hadn’t held back, Gu Xue’Er would have lost long ago.

Now, Tao Xinglie was finally serious, pushing Gu Xue’Er to the brink.

Li Changshan couldn’t see the slightest chance for Gu Xue’Er to continue fighting.

However.

In the next instant, Li Changshan’s pupils constricted.

Gu Xue’Er, bleeding from the lips, had eyes not filled with despair but with anticipation and excitement. She slowly parted her lips, and her eyes gleamed with even more brilliant silver light.

"It’s almost there, just a bit more..."

Gu Xue’Er, exhausted on the field, casually unleashed several talismans.

"These won’t stop me."

As several talismans activated, Spiritual Qi surged, forming several ice crystal walls. Unfortunately, they didn’t buy Gu Xue’Er much time before the deer-headed bull-bodied shadow crashed through and shattered them instantly.

"Enough..."

Gu Xue’Er ignored everything, quickly forming hand seals at a speed that left afterimages, then suddenly raised her eyes, abandoning defense for offense, and her remaining ice Spiritual Qi surged wildly.

Instead of attacking the opponent, she infused it into the arena beneath her.

In that instant, the arena trembled violently, and the foreshadowing Gu Xue’Er had laid out erupted, causing the cold on the field to burst forth.

Cold swiftly etched array patterns across the arena, centered around Gu Xue’Er, where terrifying cold erupted in an instant, rapidly condensing and protruding ice crystals in irregular shapes from the ground.

The moment the ice crystals appeared, a heavy oppressive aura swept across, instantly creating ground prison, enclosing both Tao Xinglie and the bizarre deer-headed bull-bodied creature within the array.

Inside the array, the temperature dropped sharply, with cold flying around that obscured the audience’s vision, barely glimpsing the flames appearing to extinguish inch by inch.

The audience’s view below was obscured, sparking a wave of discussions, while several guests on stage wore complex expressions.

"Amazing, the rank of this Grand Array must be high. I detect some hints of the ’Stronghold Grand Array’ in it."

Donglai’s Governor Song Yuanshan exclaimed in awe.

Once his words fell, the expressions of several people on stage varied. Patriarch Tao, Tao Yang’s face wasn’t very pleasant, while the rest showed expressions of surprise.

The Stronghold Grand Array is one of the five ancient wonder arrays that existed for thousands of years, lost for a millennia.

Approximately a hundred years ago, an Upper Three Grades of Great Demon wreaked havoc in the northwest, and a young sword-wielding Daoist at Fourth Grade Realm laid down a Stronghold Grand Array attempting to counterattack the Great Demon.

The battle shocked the world, as the Daoist eventually slew the Upper Three Grades of Great Demon in the northwest.

That Daoist is now the State Preceptor of the Great Yan Kingdom.

"Compared to her Alchemy Dao talent, Xue’Er’s talent in Array Dao is even more outstanding, but her Cultivation Realm is insufficient to maximize the array’s power. This competition is just to temper her."

The elder from the Pill Cauldron Pavilion stroked his beard and smiled, his words modest but unmistakably proud.

Amid discussions among the guests, Tao Xinglie, trapped in the Grand Array, dramatically changed his expression, displaying a rare panic.

The first time was facing Su Mu, the second time being now.

He could feel the Grand Array’s fearsome power, rapidly depleting his internal strength, not from consumption but from being stripped away, akin to his Cultivation Realm gradually declining.

In merely a few breaths, Tao Xinglie sensed his cultivation plummet from the late Fifth Grade to mid Fifth Grade.

Tao Xinglie shivered, no longer daring to be presumptuous, pushing the Third Turn Profound Lie Gong to its extremes, simultaneously manifesting two Spiritual Lights before him. A petite red seal and a jade talisman treasure appeared in an instant.

The red seal activated, forming a fiery barrier that enveloped Tao Xinglie, releasing scorching heat, while he frantically infused Spiritual Qi into the talisman treasure.

In an instant, a giant sword more than ten feet long condensed, fiercely slashing toward the peculiar ice crystals.

When the first strike failed, more panic crossed Tao Xinglie’s eyes, culminating in several giant swords, but before the swords could slash...

The ice mist cleared, and Gu Xue’Er voluntarily lifted the array. At this moment her complexion was pale, but her eyes bright.

Currently, her Spiritual Qi was almost depleted.

"I lost."

As the ice mist fully dissipated, the audience finally witnessed the scene: Gu Xue’Er, pale-faced, conceded, while Tao Xinglie looked visibly panicked, surrounded by three powerful Dharma Artifacts, with three shadows stepping on the ground.

This scene left the watching crowd momentarily dumbfounded.

"Hiss, three Fifth-Grade Dharma Artifacts, all activated with shadows... Gu Xue’Er, having just advanced to Fifth Grade, actually cornered Tao Xinglie into a critical situation!"

"Indeed, facing such a dire threat can’t be a pretense. If Gu Xue’Er’s Realm were equivalent, who knows who would win!"

The crowd below regained their composure and began discussions, with many entertaining one thought.

This battle may have ended with Gu Xue’Er’s loss, but it’s an honorable defeat.

"This array bears some resemblance to the Grand Array of Vajra Temple..."

"Kid, you have quite the eye. The array originates from the Stronghold Grand Array. If encountered in the future, if you can’t break it, flee immediately..."

The Sun Family Ancestor awakened for a brief moment, leaving swiftly before Su Mu could speak, showing a hint of anger.

Uncertain if it was a mere illusion, Su Mu faintly sensed a moment of anger.

The Stronghold Grand Array.

If you can’t break it, flee immediately?

Su Mu faintly etched it in his heart, feeling a chill, knowing the array must be extraordinary if it elicits warnings from the Sun Family Ancestor.

"Gu Xue’Er has depleted her Spiritual Qi... Otherwise, she could have actually won against Tao Xinglie!"

"Wang Chan, how did you see it?"

The thought was quickly interrupted, as Li Changshan’s voice, filled with shock and confusion, broke through.

==================

Uncertain if it was a mere illusion, Su Mu faintly sensed a moment of anger.

The Stronghold Grand Array.

If you can’t break it, flee immediately?

Su Mu faintly etched it in his heart, feeling a chill, knowing the array must be extraordinary if it elicits warnings from the Sun Family Ancestor.

"Gu Xue’Er has depleted her Spiritual Qi... Otherwise, she could have actually won against Tao Xinglie!"

"Wang Chan, how did you see it?"

The thought was quickly interrupted, as Li Changshan’s voice, filled with shock and confusion, broke through.

The array must be extraordinary.

"Gu Xue’Er has depleted her Spiritual Qi... Otherwise, she could have actually won against Tao Xinglie!"

"Wang Chan, how did you see it?"

The thought was quickly interrupted, as Li Changshan’s voice, filled with shock and confusion, broke through.

The array must be extraordinary.

"Gu Xue’Er has depleted her Spiritual Qi... Otherwise, she could have actually won against Tao Xinglie!"

"Wang Chan, how did you see it?"

The thought was quickly interrupted, as Li Changshan’s voice, filled with shock and confusion, broke through.