After leaving, he joined the group and made his way to the foot of Zhui Feng Mountain. He saw smoke and dust rolling in the air above the peak, with mist everywhere, and a wave of evil Qi hitting his face. He sneered inwardly, "Others fear your golden wind and fierce fire, but I do not. Zhang Yan, you think you can use the terrain to defeat me this time, but you’ve got it wrong."
He turned around, cupped his hands, and said, "Fellow brothers, please wait here. It will be no more than a day, or as little as an hour, before I return to drink with you all."
Everyone returned the gesture, all looking relaxed, except for Feng Yao, who shook her head gently.
"Second Sister, do you not think well of Wang Pan?" Noticing Feng Yao’s expression, Feng Zhen asked quietly.
Feng Yao’s jade lips parted slightly, "Elder Brother, I see Wang Pan as someone whose ambition outstrips his wisdom, narrow-minded and petty. Though he seems like a talented man, he’s actually a villain. Even if he wins against Zhang Yan today, he won’t go far in the future."
Surprised by his sister’s harsh assessment of Wang Pan, Feng Zhen didn’t agree with her, but they had been apart too long, and their relationship had grown distant. So he could only shake his head with a wry smile.
Zhang Yan stood atop a treetop, looking down at Wang Pan who seemed as small as an ant, calm and carefree, without a hint of tension before the impending battle.
He dared to fight the opponent for two reasons: firstly, he had three Supreme Treasures in hand, and even just the Ruyi Divine Shuttle, given to him for defense against Luo Xiao by Ning Chongxuan, had shown its power in a battle with Du Bo. If it could kill a Xuan Guang Realm cultivator, what fear would he have of a mere Ming Qi cultivator?
Secondly, he wanted to test the mysterious methods recorded in the "Lan Yun Secret Volume," and Wang Pan was perfect for practice.
Recently leafing through the book, he found a Dharma technique that could engulf hundreds of yards in dense fog, perfect for concealing oneself. Though ordinary cultivators could see through dense mist, this fog was not ordinary—it was formed from Clear Qi, so it couldn’t be easily dispelled by conventional means.
Seeing Wang Pan at the mountain’s foot begin to ascend, Zhang Yan pinched a spell, and in just a moment, the thick fog spread out, shrouding the surroundings.
Zhang Yan nodded, thinking that this was only formed by Lan Yun Clear Qi; if it were transformed by Qian Spirit Clear Qi, it would surely be even more extraordinary!
Due to differences in cultivation techniques and refinement methods, Qian Spirit Clear Qi is far purer than ordinary Clear Qi, but requires more time for cultivation compared to ordinary cultivators.
For Wang Pan, he needed just thirty-six breaths of Clear Qi to achieve the first realm of "Qi Sea Initial Transformation," then another thirty-six breaths of turbid Qi to reach the second realm "Summon Clouds," and finally, to merge the two Qi. Now, he only lacked the last breath for the third realm "Heavenly Rain Descending."
Whereas Zhang Yan, if he were to merge the Clear and Dull Qi in the future, would need eighty-one breaths each of Qian Spirit Clear Qi and Kun Spirit Dull Qi.
Wang Pan climbed up the mountain, and soon reached a flat spot in the mountainside, seeing nothing but white mist and no sign of Zhang Yan; he called out loud, "Zhang Yan, I’ve arrived, come and meet me."
"Wang Pan, I have long awaited you here," Zhang Yan’s voice came from within the thick fog.
Confident in his profound cultivation, Wang Pan strode into the mist without fear, but after a dozen steps, he found himself unable to see his own hand. He laughed heartily, saying, "Zhang Yan, such petty tricks to try and defeat me? Dispel!"
He blew a breath of turbid Qi, and suddenly a whirlwind stirred up the debris, sounding like a torrential downpour, yet it was all bluster and no bite. After the wind settled, the fog only thinned slightly before quickly thickening again, making Wang Pan pause in surprise.
Zhang Yan laughed to himself, knowing the Lan Yun Secret Volume, though lacking in Qi Refining techniques, excelled in Qi Mechanism Operations. A mere breath of turbid Qi couldn’t disperse it. Moreover, with the Qian Spirit Clear Qi in him, he was light as a feather, able to ascend through the mist at any time, already ensuring his invincibility. Wang Pan would lose today!
He was surprised to find that Wang Pan’s breath of turbid Qi contained Golden Fire Qi, though not as potent as Earth Fire Evil Qi, it was purer and more refined, indicating Wang Pan’s Meridian was either metal or fire in nature. He thought, "No wonder this person dared to come to the island to fight, he has resources of his own."
Wang Pan blew several more breaths, yet the fog dispersed and gathered again as he did, becoming quite troublesome. Thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized, "This must be Zhang Yan using delay tactics, waiting for the daily golden wind and fierce fire to harm my Spiritual Energy. Humph, he must have learned a Dharma technique from Senior Brother Ning, to be unafraid of the evil Qi, but he doesn’t know I have a middle to high grade fire vein, also not afraid of such fiery Qi."
However, he lacked the patience to engage in a stalemate with Zhang Yan. His eyes shifted, and he shouted, "Zhang Yan, if you’re sensible, surrender and concede the position of true disciple. The agreements we swapped remain unchanged, so there is no risk to your life, what do you say?"
A moment later, Zhang Yan’s voice came from the fog, "Since we are here, it’s a fight to the death, words are useless."
"I’ve found you!" Wang Pan narrowed his eyes, commanded, "Go!" His Sound Escape Flying Sword gleamed red, swiftly flew from his hand towards the location of Zhang Yan’s voice.
Within the fog, Zhang Yan saw everything clearly and smiled inwardly, "This is exactly what I wanted!" His wrist flicked, and a Cloud Pattern Red Pen slipped from his sleeve, thrown into the air.
The fiercely approaching flying sword aimed at Zhang Yan’s face, but the vermillion pen met it steadily, its tip barely touching the sword’s body, dispersing the red glow and Spiritual Energy. The pen then swirled around, wiping off a drop of essence blood, and the sword dimmed, falling from the air.
Zhang Yan reached out with one hand, catching both the Proclamation Pen and the flying sword, smiling, "Senior Brother Wang, pardon my discourtesy."