Chapter 856

The two ghost fires drift unpredictably. Feng Jin Huang nears her limit trying to watch them while refining. One fire lump explodes, its Gu worm lost three steps from completion: the duel’s first mistake, since dividing her attention proved too forceful. Qin Juan says that in Feng Jin Huang’s place she would dispel a killer move, since so large a lead would pressure the opponent instead, though dispelling risks its own weakness. ^{ch. 856}

On stage, Feng Jin Huang has the same thought. She decides instead to save her third attack chance for a sonic wave that could destroy both fires at once. Fang Yuan’s mocking look convinces her of a trap: he means to strike the moment she commits, when her mind is taxed to its limit. ^{ch. 856}

While she is still deciding, a second fire lump explodes, more severely. She scrambles to stabilize the rest, suffering an injury. Qin Juan calls it good news: two lost fire lumps free part of her mind to cope. ^{ch. 856}

Fang Yuan laughs again, producing a third ghost fire Gu as before. Three fires now circle Feng Jin Huang. Qin Juan says the pressure has sharply increased, and Feng Jin Huang will likely need all her remaining attention for defense. ^{ch. 856}

Feng Jin Huang is now ahead in the duel yet forced onto the defensive, unable to counterattack. Reason tells her she need not risk removing them, since her lead remains large. Victory is hers as long as she maintains it. ^{ch. 856}

When she begins refining four orifices fire tower Gu, Fang Yuan begins it too only a short while later, having closed the gap through technique alone, unnoticed. Spectators are shocked. Those favoring Fang Yuan say his technique surpasses hers, while Sun Yao, certain he cheated, demands the hosting elder investigate. ^{ch. 856}

Qin Juan explains that technique can overcome killer moves here because the outcome rests on the two Gu Masters themselves. Fang Yuan’s mind stays fresh while Feng Jin Huang, straining since the start, was struck by his threat exactly when she might have rested. This, she says, was all his plan. ^{ch. 856}

When Feng Jin Huang proposed the task, he agreed but supplied the recipe and materials himself. He fell behind early to save energy, then attacked at the middle stage to seize the initiative. Confident in her lead, she chose not to risk the fires and kept delaying. Now, exhausted, her speed slows as he draws level and passes her. ^{ch. 856}

Qin Juan tells a distraught Sun Yao that Feng Jin Huang still has a chance: three attack chances remain, rank three, four and five, each stronger than the last. Sun Yao’s shout draws a cheer Feng Jin Huang senses without hearing it. ^{ch. 856}

Resolved not to lose, Feng Jin Huang activates her trump card, the killer move Ink Transformation, launching all three remaining attacks at once. Fang Yuan calls it a paltry trick, blocks them, and sends his three ghost fires to interfere. The interference achieves little, and she destroys all three, her killer move nearing completion. ^{ch. 856}

Fang Yuan releases a rank four revealing light Gu behind a rank five attack that arrives first; she blocks the attack, but the revealing light Gu self-detonates near her, its explosion weak yet radiance extremely dazzling, interrupting Ink Transformation. The failed activation’s severe backlash damages her organs and sends blood from her body. ^{ch. 856}

Feng Jin Huang can no longer control her fire lumps, and the refinement fails as enormous backlash assaults her. She spits blood, falls, and loses consciousness. Chaos erupts as Spirit Affinity House’s disciples try to rush the stage but are blocked by the Gu formation. The hosting elder warns violators will be punished, then turns to Fang Yuan. ^{ch. 856}

Feng Jin Huang is already unconscious. Even if she woke, her materials would fall far short. Fang Yuan cannot lose now: he need only finish refining five orifices fire pagoda Gu to win. But just as he is about to succeed, the incomplete Gu worm in his hand suddenly detonates, startling him. ^{ch. 856}