On the other side of Ling Feng, Daoist Tian Yun's eyes twitched uncontrollably. Although the terrifying pressure Ling Feng exerted earlier wasn't directed at him, seeing Cao Tailai instantly subdued indicated that his willpower had been utterly crushed.
"It seems I'll have to use my strongest trump card."
Daoist Tian Yun formed a hand seal and flicked a golden cauldron out of his sleeve.
The golden cauldron slowly rose into the air, expanding with the wind until it transformed into a nine-chi-tall three-legged cauldron, radiating golden light and forming a powerful sealing array.
This was somewhat similar to the Heaven-Suppressing Array used by Long Xiao, the leader of the Black-Armored Cavalry, which Ling Feng had encountered when facing the Earth-Fire Flame Demon. However, in terms of power, Daoist Tian Yun's golden cauldron paled in comparison.
"Soon, you'll regret your arrogance!"
Daoist Tian Yun snorted. Once someone was trapped within his Golden Light Soul Locking Array, any martial artist's true qi would gradually be refined away and rendered powerless in no time.
"Sect Leader Cao, retreat!"
Daoist Tian Yun shouted, forming another hand seal to control the golden cauldron as it descended toward Ling Feng.
Cao Tailai's eyes twitched, and he quickly retreated. Although he had never seen Daoist Tian Yun use this cauldron before, the aura it emitted gave him a sense of danger.
The golden cauldron spun in mid-air and descended over Ling Feng. Daoist Tian Yun let out a clear shout, and a golden curtain of light fell, enveloping Ling Feng completely.
Yet, Ling Feng neither dodged nor moved. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back, allowing Daoist Tian Yun to set up the array.
In an instant, a hexagram array appeared under Ling Feng's feet, with six inscriptions flashing in sync with the golden cauldron above.
"Haha, Sect Leader Ling, you are doomed!"
A trace of pride flashed in Daoist Tian Yun's eyes. "No matter how monstrous you are, once you’re trapped within my Golden Light Soul Locking Array, you are destined to lose!"
"Golden Light Soul Locking Array!?"
Elder Yao's eyes twitched, and he exclaimed in alarm, "This is bad! This array can refine true qi. Sect Leader Ling is only at the Pulse Formation Realm. This..."
"Huh?" Su Hongxiu also became anxious. "Sect Leader is being too careless. How could he stand still and let himself be trapped in the array?"
For a moment, the elders and disciples of the Wenxian Sect began to worry about Ling Feng.
Although Ling Feng was incredibly strong, he was still only at the Pulse Formation Realm. No matter how powerful he was, there had to be a limit, right?
Could he break free from the Golden Light Soul Locking Array?
Only Lin Xian'er remained calm, with a slight smile on her lips.
As a student of Tianwei Academy, the study of arrays was part of the curriculum. Moreover, with Ling Feng's strength, he could certainly break the array with force.
"Haha, that guy is finished! How dare he provoke two sect leaders at once? Let's see if he dares to be so arrogant in the future!"
"Hmph, standing still and waiting for the sect leader's golden cauldron to trap him... What an idiot!"
"Hahaha, this is what you call seeking your own death!"
In contrast, the people of the other two sects were filled with mockery and ridicule, seeing Ling Feng as an overconfident fool.
"Hmph!" Cao Tailai flicked his sleeve. Although he felt somewhat dissatisfied, he had to admit that the Golden Light Soul Locking Array was formidable. When fighting Daoist Tian Yun later, he would need to be wary of the golden cauldron, lest he end up like Ling Feng.
In his eyes, Ling Feng was already a fish in a barrel with no chance of escape.
"Sect Leader Tian Yun, is this the trump card you mentioned?" Ling Feng asked calmly while showing no sign of panic.
"Indeed, Sect Leader Ling. You have been too overconfident. This time, I won without honor."
Daoist Tian Yun replied, stroking his long beard with a hint of joy on his face. Winning the sect leader battle meant that despite Lin Xian'er's impressive performance for the Wenxian Sect, the ultimate victor of this triennial martial arts competition would still be the Qiankun Sect.
"Won without honor?" Ling Feng chuckled. "Daoist Tian Yun, do you really think you've won?"
"The truth is clear. Sect Leader Ling, try circulating your true qi. In no more than a few moments—"
Daoist Tian Yun suddenly stopped speaking, his expression freezing.
Beside him, Cao Tailai couldn't help but shudder, his face turning as dark as the night.
The disciples and elders of the three sects were all dumbfounded, nearly dropping their eyeballs.
Ling Feng, standing within the Golden Light Soul Locking Array, had merely opened the first Primordial Lock.
A powerful burst of true qi erupted as a three-zhang wall of qi expanded and shattered the golden curtain to pieces. The golden cauldron above also seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer. Its golden light dissipated as it fell to the ground with a clang and broke into seventy or eighty fragments.
All of this happened with just a slight release of Ling Feng's aura!
"H-H-How is this possible?"
Daoist Tian Yun stammered as his hands trembled uncontrollably. He looked at the fragments on the ground, both heartbroken and shocked.
"Sorry, I didn't know your treasure was so fragile." Ling Feng shrugged, and then turned his gaze to Cao Tailai. "Sect Leader Cao, do you have any artifacts to show?"
"Brat, don't be so arrogant!"
Cao Tailai gripped his long sword tightly while hesitating for a long time. Despite his harsh words, his body continued to edge closer to the ring's boundary.
Ling Feng's brief explosion of power had almost scared the life out of Cao Tailai.
The Golden Light Soul Locking Array had been shattered by a mere burst of aura. How monstrous can he be?
"Seems like there's nothing left." Ling Feng sighed, losing interest. These two sect leaders were even weaker than he had imagined.
Ling Feng's eyes flashed with brilliance. His figure split into two, darting left and right, as he gently pressed his hands on the chests of the two sect leaders.
Cao Tailai and Daoist Tian Yun were then lightly pushed off the ring by Ling Feng without even having time to react.
The two figures then merged back into one in an instant. To onlookers, it seemed as though Ling Feng had never moved from his spot.
This technique was derived from Yan Jinghong's movement art, Shadow Clone. The first time he saw it, even with his Heavenly Dao Eye, he couldn't see through its mystery. However, after observing it a second time, he grasped a bit of its essence.
Combining it with the movement art, Shadow's Face, that he acquired at the Sword Tower of Wind and Thunder, he successfully created a secret art that allowed him to split off a shadow clone for a short period of time.