Chapter 493 - 431: Water Mirror Technique

Chapter 493: Chapter 431: Water Mirror Technique

Matsuo’s Divine Sense was powerful, and he had sensed Zhao Lin’s attack long before it was launched. Facing the descending Moon-Cutting Saber, a white light shot from his palm as he let out a low shout, "Water Mirror!"

As his voice fell, water-element Spiritual Qi rapidly converged, gathering into a mirror over half a man’s height tall.

The Water Mirror’s surface was exceptionally smooth, so reflective one could see their own image, and it emanated a blue-green halo.

The Moon-Cutting Saber flew down to strike, and the Water Mirror reflected an image of the very same saber.

With a muffled THUD, as if a clay ox were sinking into the sea, the force behind the Moon-Cutting Saber was completely neutralized.

Then, an incredible scene unfolded: an ice blade shot out from the Water Mirror, tracing the Moon-Cutting Saber’s path back towards Zhao Lin in a flash.

Zhao Lin was momentarily stunned. A strange feeling welled up inside him as he slapped his chest, activating the Wood Talisman Armor and releasing a green shield of light.

The ice blade struck the green light shield and shattered with a CRACK, turning into countless tiny ice shards that melted into the seawater in the blink of an eye.

"Wood Talisman Armor!"

Matsuo’s mouth twitched. He knew Sen Cheng must have met a terrible fate—killed by Zhao Lin for his treasure.

He immediately stopped attacking the others and turned his wild saber, slashing with extreme ferocity straight at Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin dared not be careless and commanded his Moon-Cutting Saber to meet the attack.

Worried his opponent’s blade was too fast for the Moon-Cutting Saber to intercept, he also cast the Rock Armor Skill, forming a wall of rock around his body.

His fears proved to be well-founded. The wild saber suddenly shot upward mid-flight, leaping over the Moon-Cutting Saber’s interception before abruptly turning and plummeting down, striking the Rock Armor from above.

A cloud of yellow dust instantly burst forth, and the rock wall trembled.

Zhao Lin frowned inwardly. ’This is the first time I’ve met such a difficult opponent. His speed controlling the water is faster than mine, and his blade techniques are superior. He’s incredibly hard to deal with.’

’A character like this would be a top expert even among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even though his realm has been suppressed, his power can still crush any Qi Refining Realm cultivator.’

With Matsuo’s wild saber now turned on Zhao Lin, the other cultivators all felt a wave of relief.

Seeing that Matsuo was focused on his fight with Zhao Lin and seemingly not paying attention to his side, Chang Jianqiu decided to lend a hand. He formed a hand seal and cast the Golden Hook Skill.

With a flick of his hand, he released a hook shaped like a scorpion’s tail, formed from condensed metal-element Spiritual Qi. It shot toward Matsuo like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Without even turning his head, Matsuo waved his hand behind him, once again summoning a Water Mirror.

The scorpion-tail hook struck the Water Mirror, only to be deflected back, streaking through the water as a golden light aimed precisely at Chang Jianqiu.

Chang Jianqiu hastily blocked it with his own magical treasure, shocked.

’Metal-element Magic is relatively rare among the five elements, and the Golden Hook Skill is an even rarer technique. How does Matsuo know it too?’

While fighting Matsuo, Zhao Lin noticed what had just happened and felt that something was off.

’Golden Hook Skill, Ice Blade Skill, Water Moon Slash... These are all Magic for controlling magical treasures. A cultivator usually only studies one. How does Matsuo know all of them?’

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he understood.

’The Water Mirror is a reflection spell!’

’It can reflect Magic back at the caster. If a magical treasure attacks it, it reflects the Magic used to control that treasure!’

Just as he was about to shout a warning, he saw Du Zhen, Chao Duan, and the others follow Chang Jianqiu’s lead, launching their own magical attacks at Matsuo. Someone even threw their magical treasure directly.

"Stop attacking! The Water Mirror reflects Magic!"

Zhao Lin shouted to stop them.

Hearing this, everyone hurriedly tried to recall their Magic and treasures. But three of them were too slow; two spells and one magical treasure struck the Water Mirror.

Just as Zhao Lin expected, the Water Mirror reflected three attacks in succession, each one shooting toward one of the three cultivators.

The group had just stopped casting, and now they were thrown into a frantic scramble.

Matsuo sneered, his figure flashing as he charged into the Chenghua Sect’s formation.

Then, with a point of his finger, the wild saber spun through the air, slashing forward to exploit every opening.

’This is bad,’ Zhao Lin thought. If that wild saber got into the crowd, there would be more deaths and injuries. But Matsuo had already made his move; it was too late to stop him.

Thinking fast, he slammed his palm onto the seabed and roared, "Collapse the Mountains, Crack the Earth!"

With a RUMBLE, the seawater instantly began to roar and the sand and rock to churn. The ground shook violently, as if a dozen great dragons were tunneling beneath the seabed.

The Water Mirror could reflect Magic, but no spell in the world was omnipotent. Zhao Lin didn’t believe it could reflect an area-of-effect attack of this magnitude.

Matsuo was startled and quickly dodged to the side, but the surging water slowed his movements considerably.

In that brief delay, the cultivators came to their senses, re-summoned their magical treasures, and organized a defense.

Zhao Lin took the opportunity to ride the current and regroup with the others.

Seeing the opportunity was lost, Matsuo sighed inwardly. Just as he was considering whether to continue the fight, he suddenly saw a streak of light flash in the distance.

He focused his gaze and saw a light blue talisman speeding toward him through the water.

"A Water Returning Talisman!"

Matsuo was slightly taken aback. ’Who sent this?’

He controlled the water to move toward it and reached out to grab the talisman.

When he read the Divine Sense imprint within, his expression changed drastically. He whipped his head around to look at Zhao Lin, his eyes practically shooting fire, and snarled, "You... you dare launch a sneak attack!"

Zhao Lin smiled faintly and cupped his hands. "My apologies. I learned it from you."

He had deliberately used a respectful tone. Hearing this, Matsuo’s face cycled through shades of green and white. He took a few deep breaths and said in a grave voice, "How many did you kill?"

"One, two, three..."

Zhao Lin held up his hand and began counting on his fingers, then suddenly chuckled. "Look at my memory, I’ve forgotten. Why don’t you go back and see for yourself, sir?"

Because the Earth Dark Sect cultivators were completely unprepared, Zhao Lin had managed to kill six of them before he was discovered.

The remaining five cultivators had gathered together, and Zhao Lin couldn’t find a good way to deal with them. Worried about the safety of Chao Duan and the others, he had rushed back just in time to see Matsuo break the Small Tai Chi Array.

"Good. Very good. Excellent!"

Matsuo gritted his teeth and said the word "good" three times in a row. He stomped his foot hard, then vaulted into the water and sped away.

"That monster is finally gone."

After Matsuo left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure from a realm-suppressed cultivator was simply too immense.

Sun Jue walked over, handed the Array Plate back to Zhao Lin, and said with a smile, "This Small Tai Chi Array lives up to its reputation. It really bought us a lot of time."

Zhao Lin took back the four array flags and glanced at the group. Seeing that there were still twelve cultivators, the same number as when he left, he felt a sense of relief.

"By the way, Fellow Cultivator Zhao, where did you go just now?"

Chao Duan, having gleaned some clues from the exchange between Zhao Lin and Matsuo, cleared his throat and asked.

"I paid a visit to Qingyang Beach."

Zhao Lin replied with a smile, "The Earth Dark Sect cultivators were all hiding at Qingyang Beach. I reckon Matsuo planned to wait until he’d picked off most of us before launching an all-out assault."

Chao Duan pressed on, "From what I heard you say, Fellow Cultivator Zhao, it sounds like you killed several Earth Dark Sect cultivators?"

Zhao Lin nodded. "That’s right, I killed six of them. If he’s allowed to draw first blood, I’m allowed to retaliate."