Meanwhile, nearly seven or eight fireballs were already hurtling down viciously towards the purple-black demon vines below.
Hidden underground, Hua Zhi's hands flickered with a green light, swiftly transmitting it outward.
The many purple-black demon vines, wrapped in a yellow light screen, suddenly split down the middle, sliding rapidly to the sides, revealing the yellow light screen and Elder Yu of Changchun Temple, just in time to face the descending fireballs.
Elder Yu, taken aback, hurriedly manipulated the hand signs to change the direction of the falling fireballs, but it was too late. Four or five of them struck the yellow light screen solidly, while the rest landed on the purple-black vines.
Amidst the deafening explosions, Elder Yu was engulfed in a blaze that soared to the heavens.
Yuan Ming, who had just endured a similar barrage, watched as Elder Yu withstood an almost identical onslaught. The yellow light screen trembled violently, but unlike the Eight Trigrams Mirror, it did not shatter.
Inside the light screen, Elder Yu's complexion grew even paler.
Although the purple-black demon vines were only hit by a few fireballs, they too were severely damaged. Nearly half of the vines were destroyed, and the rest were all injured.
Hua Zhi's face showed a pained expression as she spat out a stream of green light, which quickly fused the damaged vines. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into two giant purple-black hands, each about ten meters in size, and slapped down fiercely on the yellow light screen.
Yuan Ming did not cease his assault, continuing to control the Cold Star Sword and other magical instruments to shoot towards the fiery clouds in the sky, while his palm struck his Corpse Raising Bag, merging a Soul Crow into the head of the Flood Monkey.
The Flood Monkey's eyes snapped open, leaping out from the Corpse Raising Bag.
Yuan Ming pulled out the Corpse Sealing Nail, and a powerful aura surged from the Flood Monkey. It stomped the ground fiercely and dashed towards Elder Yu as a white blur.
At this moment, under the watchful eyes of all, the Flood Monkey displayed the full extent of its power at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
"First, the demon vines sprouted from the ground, and now a late-stage Foundation Establishment Flood Monkey has appeared. It seems this Yuan Ming is no simple character and must have premeditated today's events," the Luo River Fairy remarked leisurely from the high platform.
"I thought this young man was overreaching, but who would have guessed that at such a young age, he's so cunning and calculating? It seems Elder Yu is in a bit of trouble! He's been enjoying the good life at the Great Jin court for so many years, it's been a long time since he's had to lift a finger," the old crone with a cane chuckled.
The old emperor said nothing, a faint smile spreading across his face.
The onlookers' gazes towards Yuan Ming now carried a hint of awe, devoid of their initial contempt.
Elder Yu, facing Yuan Ming's relentless attacks, broke out in a sweat, summoning fireballs to continue entangling with the two purple-black vine hands and the Cold Star Sword, while slapping his Storage Bag at his waist.
A white light shot out, transforming into a tall, cyan puppet that resembled the mechanical puppet of the Fire Refining Master. Its eyes flickered with strands of cyan light, and it charged straight at the Flood Monkey upon landing.
The cyan puppet wielded a silver-white greatsword, blocking the Flood Monkey's path with a sweeping slash.
The Flood Monkey punched out, its fist emanating a thick golden light that collided with the silver greatsword.
With a "clang" of metal striking metal, the Flood Monkey was forced back two steps, while the cyan puppet staggered back five or six steps.
At that moment, a slender black shadow appeared from behind the puppet, no longer concealing its presence. Three runes were fully activated, the needle emitting a foot-long black sharp light, moving even faster to create afterimages, and in a flash, it stabbed into the back of the cyan puppet's head.
With a loud "clang," sparks flew from the back of the cyan puppet's head, the black needle penetrating halfway in, causing a dent in the nearby skull.
But the cyan puppet, as if nothing had happened, continued to fight fiercely with the Flood Monkey, blocking its path.
Yuan Ming furrowed his brow, executed the Shadowless Step, and with a fierce push, activated the divine power of his White Jade Belt. His figure vanished from the spot, reappearing behind the puppet like a ghost, hand raised for a strike.
A silver light aimed at the cyan puppet was the silver token he had obtained from the vortex beast's stomach.
His left hand followed with a slap, sending a yellow talisman flying towards the cyan puppet.
The silver token struck the cyan puppet first, emitting a "clang" without causing any damage.
The Flood Monkey, entangled with the cyan puppet, suddenly retreated, creating some distance.
As the cyan puppet was about to give chase, the yellow talisman arrived, striking its chest.
Bright yellow light burst forth, forming a cage-like yellow light screen that enveloped the cyan puppet.
This talisman, known as the "Earth Prison Talisman," was a mid-grade talisman with considerable restraining power, but it could only restrain Qi refining cultivators and first-level fierce beasts.
Elder Yu scoffed disdainfully, about to command the cyan puppet to break through the Earth Prison Talisman with his sword, when a surge of silver light suddenly emerged, rapidly spreading across the ground and the light wall of the Earth Prison Talisman, engulfing everything in an instant to form a sealed silver space.
The cyan light in the puppet's eyes dimmed instantly, standing motionless within the Earth Prison Talisman's light shield.
Elder Yu was shocked and furious to discover that the silver light within the Earth Prison Talisman seemed to have the effect of isolating spiritual consciousness, severing the link between his spiritual consciousness and the cyan puppet in an instant.
He was about to break the Earth Prison Talisman with a fiery cloud secret technique when the Flood Monkey had already swooped in, within ten meters of him.
Elder Yu could no longer concern himself with the cyan puppet and pointed at the fiery clouds in the sky.
The dozen or so fireballs, originally aimed at the purple-black demon hands and the Cold Star Sword, changed direction, all whistling towards the Flood Monkey.
Not only that, Elder Yu's right hand flashed red, producing a palm-sized red talisman covered in dense runes, emitting intense fire elemental spiritual power fluctuations, clearly a high-grade talisman.
He spat out a mouthful of essence blood into the red talisman and crushed it violently.
A several meters long crimson fire dragon appeared, emitting terrifying heat, and lunged towards the Flood Monkey with bared fangs and claws.
Elder Yu's eyes were venomous. Among Yuan Ming's many tactics, only the Flood Monkey gave him a sense of threat, as if sitting on pins and needles. Only by eliminating this creature could he settle down and slowly deal with Yuan Ming.
At that moment, Elder Yu's vision blurred as Yuan Ming's figure appeared like a specter, his eyes flashing white with the newly learned illusion technique.
Caught off guard, Elder Yu's expression became dazed for a moment, and the multitude of fireballs struck an empty space.
The fire dragon also changed direction, hitting another empty spot on the ground.
The Flood Monkey suddenly accelerated, appearing in front of Elder Yu in an instant, punching out.
The punch tore through the air, emitting a piercing screech.
Hua Zhi, sensing this scene, became inexplicably enraged. A thick green light surged from her body, rapidly transferring to the two purple-black demon hands on the ground.
The fingers of the two purple demon hands suddenly spread apart, transforming into ten vine swords with an exceptionally sharp aura, stabbing fiercely at the yellow light screen.
However, the Flood Monkey's punch was lightning-fast, striking the yellow light screen first.
Yuan Ming exerted all his control over the Soul Crow within the Flood Monkey, maximizing its power in that instant. An overwhelming force erupted, pouring into the yellow light screen.
The yellow light screen shattered on cue, breaking into countless yellow lights, and the yellow umbrella suspended above Elder Yu's head "crackled" and split into seven or eight pieces, losing all its spirituality.
The two purple-black demon hands clawed down fiercely, their fingers piercing Elder Yu's body, creating seven or eight gaping holes.
Elder Yu suddenly awoke, feeling his lifeblood rapidly draining and his body numbing, unable to even scream.
A shadow flashed, and Yuan Ming swept by from the side, holding a treasured sword in his hand, slashing down.
A streak of sword light flashed by.
Elder Yu's body remained still, his head flying off to land three meters away on the ground.
A fountain of blood spurted out, reaching a foot in height, and the thick scent of blood spread.
***
The crowd outside was dumbfounded, deathly silent.
As the vine swords withdrew from Elder Yu's body, and his corpse fell to the ground, the crowd finally let out a collective gasp.
Then, all was quiet.
The young emperor stared blankly at Yuan Ming for a moment, then at Elder Yu's headless corpse, still somewhat in shock.
General Yuan raised his fist to the sky, took a long breath, and then loudly proclaimed, "My son is mighty!"
Yuan Ming called back all his magical instruments, leaving no fragments on the ground.
Hua Zhi burrowed deeper underground and vanished from sight.
Yuan Ming appeared near the Flood Monkey, silently inserting the Corpse Sealing Nail and storing it in the Corpse Raising Bag. His expression relaxed, and the faint bloodlust in his eyes was quickly suppressed.
He then approached the light shield, casting a spell to dissolve the Earth Prison Talisman's yellow light screen, and the silver light inside it also dissipated.
Yuan Ming's palm emitted a suction force, drawing the silver token into his hand and storing it away.
A figure flashed, appearing out of thin air beside Elder Yu's corpse. It was Liu Tianming's grandfather, the old emperor. Now looking at Yuan Ming, he remained silent for a long time before saying, "A fine young man from the Yuan family, it's a pity that Changchun Temple cannot keep you."
"You flatter me, senior. I was presumptuous, and I apologize for any offense to Changchun Temple," Yuan Ming said apologetically.
The old emperor did not respond. "This duel is over, the victor is Yuan Ming!" After a while, the old emperor suddenly spoke up, announcing the result.
A murmur of amazement and cheers erupted from the nearby crowd, this duel far more entertaining than the dull celebration.
The old emperor gestured, and a disciple of Changchun Temple came forward to collect Elder Yu's corpse and the nearby cyan puppet.
"Do not let down Tianming, and take care of yourself from now on," the old emperor advised in a low voice before turning and leaving.
Watching the old emperor depart, Yuan Ming took a deep breath, looked up at the sky with clear eyes, and felt a weight lift from his heart.
***
In a side hall of the imperial palace, Yuan Ming and the young emperor sat opposite each other.
"Ming brother, you've been too secretive, not even telling me about your advancement to the Foundation Establishment stage. Tell me, how should I punish you?" The young emperor sipped his tea and said with a smile.
"I accept my punishment. This technique is a secret art I obtained in the Southern Border, likely unique to a certain family. I will pass it on to you now, but don't use it lightly to avoid attracting their attention."
After speaking, Yuan Ming explained the "Hidden Yuan Art" to the young emperor.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan