Chapter 132: Grasping the Five Elements in the Palm

Qing Yuan turned his head and looked at Sun Yu.

Having just clashed with Gan Huan and countered a Green Dragon Transformation Technique—only to send it back at him—Qing Yuan’s own true energy was now less than thirty percent. Facing Sun Yu, who had already stepped into the realm of a True Person, the situation was looking quite dire.

Yet, he remained unafraid.

Qing Yuan revealed a faint smile and said, "The Green Dragon Transformation Technique? I wouldn't say I know it... but I almost had it."

Moments ago, when the horned green dragon was absorbed by the ancient mirror, had he been elsewhere, Qing Yuan might have spent the time and energy to analyze it. Once parsed through the mirror, he would have been able to cast the technique with ease thereafter. However, the Green Dragon Transformation Technique was of a high grade, and since it had been cast by Sun Yu, it exceeded Qing Yuan’s own level of cultivation. Analyzing it required too much time, and in the heat of battle, he could not afford the luxury of delay. He had no choice but to expend his true energy to eject the horned green dragon back out.

To his own surprise, the Green Dragon Transformation Technique reflected by the ancient mirror was even more refined and significantly more powerful than the one Sun Yu had cast.

"You have yet to shatter that final barrier," Sun Yu remarked, staring at him. "You have not yet entered the Middle Three Heavens."

With Sun Yu’s cultivation, which far surpassed Qing Yuan’s, he could naturally discern the truth through his qi-gazing technique. Despite Qing Yuan’s extraordinary combat prowess, the aura of his cultivation level could not be fully masked.

Qing Yuan did not deny it, nodding in acknowledgment. "That is true."

"Without entering the Middle Three Heavens, your true energy has yet to transform into magical power," Sun Yu said slowly. "After battling Gan Huan, blocking my Green Dragon Transformation Technique, and then unleashing a version of that same technique with even greater mastery than mine—that is simply not a level of attainment a practitioner of the Third Heaven should reach. This being so... no matter how extraordinary you are, even if you practice some celestial technique from the heavens, your true energy must be exhausted, right?"

Qing Yuan replied calmly, "Less than thirty percent remains."

Sun Yu looked surprised. "I thought you were just bluffing."

"Thirty percent is enough," Qing Yuan said. "Why bother to bluff?"

Hearing this, a fierce, murderous glint flashed in Sun Yu’s eyes, though it vanished in an instant. He remained silent for a moment before saying, "You have ruined the Sun family’s grand plan. Either you die by my hand, or you escape only to die by the hands of our family’s ancestor. Now, you have only one path to survival..."

Deep within Qing Yuan, the Yellow Court Immortal Technique circulated continuously, slowly replenishing his true energy. He lifted his chin slightly. "Please, enlighten me."

Sun Yu, sensing the movement of his recovering energy, did not strike immediately. Instead, he said, "You can likely guess that my Sun family has a great design here in the Liyue Valley. Now that you have ruined it, the ancestor will surely kill you. If you wish to live, you can explore this place with me, help me obtain the opportunity, and offer it to the ancestor. Not only will you be forgiven, but the rare treasures originally intended for Gan Huan, Han Yu, and the old Daoist He can all be given to you."

The Sun family knew there was a great opportunity here, but they did not know it was an Innate Supreme Treasure. Now that divine lightning had descended, the Sun family ancestor could not enter the Fu Chong Mountain and feared that others—especially the Shou Zheng Daoist Sect—would discover the location. That was why they had offered such heavy rewards to entice several True Persons to explore it together. Having explored this far, Sun Yu realized that the traps here were beyond his ability to navigate alone. Thus, his thoughts shifted toward leveraging Qing Yuan’s capabilities.

Qing Yuan laughed and shook his head. "I truly cannot trust you, Senior Sun."

Sun Yu frowned. "We can swear an oath."

Qing Yuan did not answer immediately. He looked at the corpse of Han Yu nearby, then pulled his gaze back to Sun Yu with a touch of mockery. "Did you not swear oaths before?"

Sun Yu glanced at Han Yu, snorted, and said in a low voice, "That scoundrel Han Yu was too calculating and full of schemes. He hid many tricks, even colluding with Gan Huan to try and resist my Sun family, not knowing that Gan Huan’s mother is a member of our own clan. Furthermore, Han Yu possessed a secret technique to drain the life essence of others to replenish his own. He intended to use Gan Huan and me as medicine to restore his vitality. He deserved to die."

"Gan Huan was also a member of the Sun family," Qing Yuan sighed. "Whether it was the Seven Spirits Sect or Han Yu, they were all kept in the dark. It is less that Han Yu was calculating, and more that your Sun family had its own agenda... If I hadn't interfered halfway, neither Daoist He nor Han Yu would have walked away with anything, would they?"

At this, Qing Yuan looked up at Sun Yu and smiled. "I cannot trust you."

"In that case..." Sun Yu sighed. "So be it."

As the words fell, he suddenly lowered his head. A long spear erupted from behind him. It was a stone spear, as thick as a water vat and ten zhang long. It pierced through the air with a might that surpassed the horned green dragon by a significant margin. It struck with the speed of lightning, too fast to sense, too fast for the naked eye to track.

Qing Yuan’s expression changed sharply. His left hand flipped, and an object appeared—an ancient mirror, mottled and worn.

The spear slammed into the mirror. The mirror did not shatter, but the tremendous force was transferred to Qing Yuan. The spear pushed him backward as he crashed into the distance.

...

From the beginning, although Sun Yu had genuinely wanted to persuade Qing Yuan to help, he knew the chances were slim. Thus, he had been building momentum, prepared to turn hostile at any moment. This stone spear, fueled by all his built-up power, was enough to make one tremble in fear. Within the Sun family’s traditions, the Green Dragon Transformation Technique was the most famous, but Sun Yu himself focused on the Earth element of the Five Elements; for him, this stone spear was his true trump card.

"Then go to your death..." Sun Yu’s voice was filled with hatred, malice, and murderous intent.

...

Qing Yuan’s true energy was being drained rapidly. Under normal circumstances, he would have been unable to withstand a Daoist technique unleashed with all of Sun Yu’s might. Yet, with the ancient mirror, he had a shield. But wielding the mirror was also immensely taxing. By now, the small amount of true energy he had recovered during their conversation was exhausted; he had less than twenty percent of his peak strength remaining.

Still, the stone spear had finally been neutralized. He simply no longer had the strength to reflect it back.

"Not dead yet..."

Qing Yuan’s left hand was nearly numb as he slowly retracted the ancient mirror. Sun Yu did not know that the mirror was actually the very object he had come seeking; he only felt that it was extraordinary, even more troublesome than the strange, evil carriage from before. He, too, was heavily drained and had little magical power remaining, but after a quick calculation, he realized the young man was even more depleted. A savage grin appeared on his face.

"Your true energy... it’s all gone, isn't it?"

Sun Yu let out a cruel laugh and lunged forward. "You’re finished!"

Qing Yuan had only a fraction of his true energy left, and he was facing a Fourth Heaven True Person. Although this True Person was also severely wounded and exhausted, the situation remained a battle between a Middle Three Heavens expert and a Lower Three Heavens practitioner. By all logic, the outcome should have been beyond doubt.

But Qing Yuan, who came from the Zixiao Palace and possessed the opportunity of the Guangyuan Ancient Industry Heavenly Venerable, could not be judged by common sense.

"Come..."

A cold light flashed in Qing Yuan’s eyes, his blood surging. As his hand flipped, five-colored light erupted from the tips of his fingers, each representing one of the Five Elements.

The Five Elements Daoist technique was condensed into a single palm.

Sun Yu’s pupils contracted, and he was struck by absolute terror. "How is this possible?"

A collision followed. The massive shockwave caused the mountain path to collapse. Within the Liyue Valley, everything was near destruction.

"Sun Yu..."

Amidst the roaring chaos, Qing Yuan thrust out a palm, pressing it firmly onto Sun Yu’s head.

Five-colored light swirled.

Sun Yu, dead!