Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 689 - 673: Deception!

Outside the Holy Land of the [Celestial Phoenix Race], a battle at the Nascent Soul level finally erupted.

Zhouyang, upon making a move, immediately employed the [Purple Gold Qiankun Ruler], a Tier Six High-Grade Spiritual Artifact, without holding back the slightest bit, despite the opponent being Jiang Fengxian's grandfather.

In fact, he dared not hold back, as Jiang Fengxian's grandfather's cultivation was nearly comparable to that of a Sixth-Layer Nascent Soul Cultivator. Zhouyang found it difficult to overcome his opponent without using the [Vermilion Bird Fan], so he couldn't afford to show any mercy.

Most barbaric alien races are not skilled in artifact refining; their strength lies in various powerful magical techniques.

Although Jiang Fengxian's grandfather used a strange feather-shaped weapon to ambush Zhouyang previously, his strength still relied on the various magical techniques cultivated through the Phoenix bloodline.

He had cultivated some unknown divine technique, as when Zhouyang summoned the [Purple Gold Qiankun Ruler], he could actually anticipate the trajectory of the attack, allowing him to dodge Zhouyang's first strike.

Then, with a flap of the seven-colored phoenix wings on his back, a green gale swept the sky, and a massive wind column connecting heaven and earth swiftly formed with Zhouyang at its center.

Surrounded at the center of the wind column, Zhouyang instantly felt as if he was stuck in a quagmire, almost losing control of his body to be swept away by the column.

"Suppress it for me!"

His face changed, and with a low shout, a seven-layer treasure tower rose instantly above his head, releasing ten thousand beams of golden light to protect him, dispersing the wind column's power from himself.

In reality, this wind column was merely a stalling tactic used by the white-haired elder, and while Zhouyang was summoning his Lifebound Spiritual Artifact to suppress the wind column, he had already completed the second magic spell's charging process.

Suddenly, a clear phoenix cry resounded in the sky, and a flame phoenix with a wingspan of several tens of meters, upon the completion of the white-haired elder's spell, soared with a high-pitched wail straight toward Zhouyang within the wind column.

The Fire Phoenix charged into the wind column, immediately enhancing the fire with the wind, transforming the originally green wind column into a wind and fire column reaching the heavens.

Under the pressure of this powerful wind and fire force, much of the golden light descending from the [Qianyang Golden Tower] was instantly extinguished, and the scorching fire waves made Zhouyang feel the heat even through the protective shield.

Yet these were not enough to make him change color; what truly made his face turn pale was that after the white-haired elder unleashed this move, he began chanting and formed seals to engage the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to prepare an even more powerful spell.

He naturally couldn't allow the opponent to continue like this.

"Break!"

With a single thought, Zhouyang sent a massive, mountain-sized, earth-yellow Great Seal soaring forward, crushing everything in its path, including the wind and fire forces.

Zhouyang, following the movement of the seal, burst out from the wind and fire column.

As soon as he emerged, he flicked his sleeve, throwing three crimson-gold Fire Thunder toward the white-haired elder.

Upon seeing this, the white-haired elder immediately flapped the seven-colored phoenix wings on his back, and an all-too-familiar seven-colored spiritual light swept through the air, detonating the three [Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearls] mid-flight.

At that moment, the white-haired elder had completed his meticulously prepared spell.

With a cold smile, he waved a hand toward Zhouyang, and a large amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered by his spell rapidly transformed into a massive, multicolored pillar of light, shooting swiftly toward Zhouyang.

This is bad!

The powerful spiritual force fluctuations emitted by the multicolored pillar caused Zhouyang's complexion to change drastically.

He hurriedly formed seals to summon the "Demon-Suppressing Golden Light," channeling all of his strength into the [Exorcism Treasure Robe], causing it to detach from his body and form into a sphere of light composed of countless golden runes, enveloping him within it.

Boom!

After a loud explosion, the rune light sphere formed by the [Exorcism Treasure Robe] shattered with the sound, reverting to a dimly glowing magical robe draped over Zhouyang's body.

Apparently, although Zhouyang had used this robe to block the pillar comparable to a blow from a Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator, the robe's spiritual power significantly decreased, temporarily losing its defensive capabilities.

Even so, the white-haired elder's face clearly showed an expression of shock, seeing Zhouyang block his charge attack with such ease.

"What a strong defensive spiritual artifact!"

"However, this artifact of yours has already been damaged by this old man. Let's see what you will use to withstand my attack next."

He spoke coldly, rubbing his hands together, causing several thick silver arcs to appear and shoot directly toward Zhouyang.

Meanwhile, he himself flapped the pair of wings on his back and suddenly transformed into a gust of fresh wind, appearing miles away.

And at his departure point, a purple-gold ruler broke through the air, making an attempt in vain.

"To see through spatial fluctuations, is this a bloodline talent or a divine technique effect?"

A flash of golden firelight on Zhouyang's body activated the [Qianyang Celestial Fire Shield], blocking the silver arcs, while he gazed at the white-haired elder with surprise, murmuring out his doubt.

Since refining this [Purple Gold Qiankun Ruler], this was the first time he had failed twice against the same person.

A single failure might be regarded as the white-haired elder's luck, but consecutive failures clearly could not be explained with the word "luck."

"Hmph, it's no harm to tell you, this old man has mastered the [Celestial Phoenix Divine Eye], how can your little tricks escape the sight of these divine eyes!"

The white-haired elder, with a proud look on his face, snorted coldly, raising his eyes to meet Zhouyang's gaze. His eyes sparkled with a colorful light, clearly a kind of pupil technique divine technique.

However, his satisfaction was premature. Taking advantage of the moment when their eyes met, a flash of gold and red light appeared in Zhouyang's eyes, instantly shooting into the white-haired elder's body.

"Ah!"

The long-unused [Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light] technique made another great contribution.

Seizing the moment when the white-haired elder's divine soul was wounded, Zhouyang, with a flick of his seals, summoned a crimson-gold Divine Thunder to strike toward the white-haired elder.

He didn't expect this [Nine Heavens Qianyang Demon-Annihilating Divine Thunder], which hadn't even reached the Minor Achievement realm, to inflict much damage on the white-haired elder, only using this attack to disrupt the opponent's magical power and prevent another escape with the Wind Escape Technique.

As the Divine Thunder descended, his Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, the [Qianyang Golden Tower], hovered to suppress the white-haired elder.

Simultaneously, with a low growl from his mouth, Zhouyang transformed into a half-dragon, half-human form. Then, with a wave of both fists, an azure-gold dragon roared angrily, pouncing toward the white-haired elder.

"Audacious kid!"

The white-haired elder, face twisted in anger, roared in fury, enduring the pain in his divine soul. He waved both hands to take out red, yellow, and green long feathers, sending them toward the Golden Tower and the dragon.

These feathers, in the hands of the [Celestial Phoenix Race] members, functioned similarly to the Spirit Talismans used by human cultivators, with a powerful Tier Six spell sealed inside.

As soon as those three feathers exploded in the air, they immediately formed a crimson fire phoenix, an earthy yellow mountain peak, and a green wind blade.

The Fire Phoenix soared into the sky, directly engaging in a battle with the azure-gold dragon.

The earth-yellow mountain clashed mid-air with the golden treasure tower, presenting a stalemate situation.

The azure wind blade, over ten feet long, directly slashed toward Zhouyang himself, carrying an overwhelming force that seemed to aim to sever him in two.

Although Zhouyang was extremely confident in his physical defense at this moment, he did not intend to withstand the azure wind blade's attack. He immediately summoned the [Thick Earth Heaven-Sealing Seal] to block in front of him, dispersing it outside his body.

Then he opened his mouth, directly summoning the [Qianyang Treasure Pearl], transforming it into a large golden fireball the size of a human head, and hurled it towards the white-haired elder.

The white-haired elder, having used three feathers sealed with magic, was chanting and preparing a new spell. Seeing the golden fireball coming, he had no choice but to halt his spellcasting temporarily. With a flap of his wings, he emitted his innate talent divine technique, the seven-colored spiritual light, towards the golden fireball.

However, this time, his versatile seven-colored spiritual light failed to restrain the golden fireball, which broke through the confinement and continued to dive towards him.

Witnessing this scene, panic surged across his face. In a hurry, he began to form a spell to employ the Wind Escape Technique to evade the fireball.

Yet, as he just started to form the spell, a tiny golden flame inexplicably appeared on him, rapidly transforming into a golden flame that engulfed him.

This frightened him nearly to death, having no idea how he was caught. He urgently interrupted his spellcasting, desperately gathering all his magical power to extinguish the golden flames on his body.

Fortunately, although these golden flames were of high quality, they couldn't draw magical power from Zhouyang, so they were quickly extinguished by his strong magical power.

But by this time, the golden fireball, without any hindrance, had already appeared above his head.

At this moment, it was too late for him to perform any spells. He could only channel all his magical power into the pair of seven-colored phoenix wings on his back, releasing a dense seven-colored spiritual light to form a protective seven-colored shield around himself.

BOOM!

After a staggering explosion, the white-haired elder spewed fresh blood and was sent flying hundreds of meters away.

Zhouyang, however, wasn't ready to let him off. Ignoring the fact that the white-haired elder was already injured, he moved quickly to appear beside the fallen elder, delivering a heavy punch to his chest, breaking all the ribs at the front, causing the entire chest to cave in, forming a fist imprint.

"Stop!"

"Spare my father!"

Angry shouts rang out continuously from the battlefield's edge, as Grand Elder Qing Lan and Clan Leader Xuan Yu of the [Celestial Phoenix Race], who were observing from afar, instantly appeared in the battlefield, locking onto Zhouyang with their auras, ready to take action at any moment.

"Rest assured, although his injuries are severe, they are not life-threatening. As long as he undergoes [Nirvana] once, he will recover!"

Zhouyang glanced at the two of them, then moved away from the white-haired elder.

"Youngster, how ruthless you are!"

The old woman looked at Zhouyang with a sullen face, her voice icy and sinister, clearly truly angry.

Facing the anger of someone comparable to a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, Zhouyang immediately felt the pressure.

His throat rolled slightly as he swallowed, ultimately clasping his hands toward her, saying, "In a life-and-death struggle, I truly dared not hold back. I have offended you in many ways, and hope the elder can understand."

"Heh, what an 'understanding'!"

The old woman let out a cold laugh, growing even more furious at Zhouyang's response.

They beat a person severely in front of her and still wanted her understanding. Did they really think she had no temper?

However, as she hesitated whether to personally teach Zhouyang a lesson, Jiang Fengxian suddenly approached him, taking over the conversation between the two sides.

"Grand Elder Qing Lan, this magical combat was personally permitted by you, and now that the outcome is decided, shouldn't you make a judgment?"

Looking at the serious-faced Jiang Fengxian, the old woman's mood was utterly terrible.

A shadow flashed in her eyes. Without answering Jiang Fengxian, she coldly said, "I will firstly heal the Second Elder, and after the Second Elder is well, I will deal with you again."

Saying so, she disregarded whether Jiang Fengxian agreed, and directly instructed the Fourth Elder, Feng Xuan, "Fourth Elder, these people are now handed over to you. Don't let them wander freely in the Holy Land!"

Then she proceeded to leave with the white-haired elder and Jiang Fengxian's father, Xuan Yu.

Following the Grand Elder's orders, Feng Xuan coldly gestured at Zhouyang and the others, motioning with a "please" gesture and stating indifferently, "You've heard the Grand Elder's words. Don't make it difficult for me!"

Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian exchanged glances but didn't say a word, following Feng Xuan back into the Holy Land and settling into a treehouse atop a Tier Five Spirit Wood.

Entering the treehouse, Zhouyang casually set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping, then looked seriously at Jiang Fengxian, asking, "Fengxian, what is your true intention in all this? You've seen the attitude of Grand Elder Qing Lan; there's no way she would let you take your father away!"

However, Jiang Fengxian resolutely answered, "She will agree!"

"Why so? What is the reason?"

Zhouyang gazed deeply at the beauty in front of him, his face full of confusion, utterly unable to understand where Jiang Fengxian's confidence came from.

Jiang Fengxian, on the other hand, refused to reveal the reason, simply looking deeply into his eyes and saying, "Zhou Lang, I now fully understand your feelings and goodwill. From now on, let me handle matters myself. You should return to accompany Xiao Ying, my younger sister!"

Immediately, Zhouyang's face changed drastically, his expression filled with displeased anger as he shouted, "What are you talking about? You think I can just leave you here alone? Since we came here together, it stands to reason that we stick together. I can't possibly allow you to stay here on your own. We came together, so we should leave together, naturally!"

His raging emotion was so evident that it showed how furious he really was.

Seeing his reaction broke Jiang Fengxian's heart deeply. Avoiding looking at him straight, she whispered, "Zhoulang, I've planned this for your sake! It's all for your good!"

"Are you certain of everything you've said? How do I know where your certainty comes from, if you're so confident about letting Feng'Er stay?"