Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 2194 - 2196: The Clash of Commanders
Feng Jun and others were very close to the battlefield, but he was in the Nascent Soul Defense Formation of the Jinwu Sect, so he was not too affected.
Unlike others, he was not very interested in watching the battle. Instead, he was incessantly simulating the battle with his mobile phone—he also wanted to calmly watch and gain some insights, but his priority now was to ensure Yi Jue’s safety.
The people around him were quite curious about his simulations. Some even wanted to peek at his insights, but watching him swipe back and forth on his mobile phone, initially seemed interesting; after a while, it became quite boring.
Yi Jue and Elder Tiegu were engaged in a duel, with endless clever moves and dazzling displays of strategy. The command and coordination with Lingmu were breathtaking, akin to whimsical offense and defense, captivating eyes and leaving spectators in awe.
The Jinwu Sect had two True Immortals who were addicted to simulations. Initially, they were focused on pondering Feng Jun’s simulations but were eventually drawn back to the battle itself.
This battle lasted three full days and nights, still without a clear winner—it seemed it could continue for another three months. The two elders maintained their long breaths and energy without much change, with Yi Jue having a slight upper hand.
However, the two Spirit Plants were starting to struggle.
Though both were Nascent Soul High Stage, and theoretically could last a year or so, the battles between Lingmu often ended quickly, even more cruel than battles among Human Cultivators, especially when fought between natural enemies.
Longlin Wood aimed to drain the opponent; coincidentally, the Jade Spore Skyworm had the same intention, and unfortunately, both believed they could withstand the exhaustion, thus fiercely calling upon the adversary with powerful moves.
Three days later, the spores that Jade Spore Skyworm could spray were significantly reduced, and Dragon Scale Tree’s leaves and roots had also diminished substantially. Both sides started to slow down and adopt a cautious approach.
Yet, even though the pace of battle slowed down, anyone could feel that both sides were cooking up a fatal strike.
Feng Jun was still busy with simulations; by now, he had gone through ten mobile phones and five power banks.
Actually, he felt that spectating this way was quite beneficial, as he could tangibly feel the unpredictability of the future—especially because the two Nascent Soul cultivators were so powerful, a mere thought from them could transform the battlefield drastically.
Throughout these three days, Feng Jun’s simulation results kept evolving, leaving him quite taken aback.
On the fourth day at noon, as the two Spirit Plants were cautiously probing each other, Elder Tiegu suddenly flashed his body, disregarding Yi Jue’s attacks, forming a hand gesture and directly casting a spell towards the Jade Spore Skyworm, "Earth Bind!"
At the same time, a few thick roots of the Dragon Scale Tree suddenly shot up, tearing through many of the Skyworm’s threads. It was willing to sacrifice more roots, just to cooperate with Elder Tiegu to see if it could bind the opponent.
This is the synchronised collaboration between a Dao Cultivator of Lingmu and Lingmu itself, displaying a deep connection and seamless harmony.
When Elder Tiegu initiated the attack, he realized that defeating Yi Jue by himself would be quite difficult, so he aimed to first eliminate the Jade Spore Skyworm and then combine forces against Yi Jue.
Yi Jue’s choice was quite similar, but her approach was completely different. From the start, she never intended to deal with the Dragon Scale Tree harshly; borrowing the Jade Spore Skyworm was merely to entangle the Lingmu that might join battle against her.
The Jade Spore Skyworm was a natural threat to Lingmu, but its main ability lay in targeted destruction rather than sheer combat strength.
In other words, it wasn’t skilled at direct confrontation, even at Nascent Soul Peak; it might not outperform Dragon Scale Tree in a head-on clash. If the Dragon Scale Tree went for a forceful breakout, the Jade Spore Skyworm might not be able to stop it, though the Dragon Scale Tree would surely pay a heavy price.
Its expertise was in harassment, entanglement, encirclement, and consumption... Simply put, it wasn’t extremely powerful, but unquestionably an excellent hunter—a nightmare-level hunter.
Yi Jue cared little for whether the Jade Spore Skyworm would be harmed; firstly, because this was a clone, its death wasn’t too concerning, the real body could simply spend some time cultivating again.
Although the Skyworm was already Nascent Soul Peak, Lingmu sect leaders were reluctant to have it ascend to Out of Aperture—under Nascent Soul conditions, Lingmu sect could still control it, but once it transcended, controlling it would be limited to less than three people!
The Lingmu sect would not strive to empower such a dangerous entity if it couldn’t be well controlled.
Another reason was that while the Jade Spore Skyworm was weak in attack, its defense and evasion were highly strong, adept at guerrilla tactics. It had, even when tiny, managed to bring down much mightier Lingmu.
Upon seeing Elder Tiegu distracted dealing with it, Yi Jue was unexpectedly delighted rather than anxious, extending her pristine left hand, "Paralyze for me!"
It’s not a Paralysis Technique, but a very powerful spell called "Calming Storm".
Calming Storm is a technique that leans more towards spatial properties, primarily used for protecting spirit plants — during cultivation, if Fierce Winds, lava, or external enemies attack, it becomes necessary to safeguard the space and temporarily protect the spirit plants.
Therefore, the spell’s casting range is quite large, and the effect is astounding, subtly touching upon spatial rules. For a Nascent Soul Stage spell to touch upon spatial rules is already amazing — unless compared to some overpowered individual.
The intriguing part is that Tiegu uses a binding technique on the Sky Worm while True Immortal Yi Jue casts Calming Storm on him, bearing striking similarities.
Calming Storm can only stall Tiegu for just a brief moment. With Elder Tiegu’s strong defense, Yi Jue couldn’t possibly cause him any substantial harm in such a short time, and given his strength, breaking free wouldn’t be difficult either.
However, Yi Jue’s strategy was not limited to this. Striving for just that instant, she released a green glow from her right hand, instantly enveloping Elder Tiegu.
"Taixu’s Binding Fierce Wind Technique?" someone asked in confusion, "How could it be green?"
Yet, the Moon Vine Elder of the Lingmu Sect brightened with excitement, "The Qingmu Entangle Technique... has she really deduced it?"
The relationship between Moon Vine Elder and Yi Jue wasn’t bad, but in the Lingmu Sect, they rarely interacted. Yi Jue’s cultivation breakthrough shook the entire Tianqin Plane, bringing joy but also a tinge of jealousy to older elders like Moon Vine.
So they belong to the kind that just doesn’t have chemistry; there’s no conflict, but they can’t get too close either. They can help each other out with minor tasks, but for significant matters in the Lingmu Sect, Elder Kumu would have to invite her out.
Nevertheless, Moon Vine harbors no prejudice against her — anyone with even a bit of distaste wouldn’t be present at this kind of assistance gathering. Yi Jue doesn’t seek Moon Vine out simply because she feels she’s too young, lacking the stature to move people.
Moon Vine understands that after Yi Jue deduced "Gan Lin", she’s been pondering other spells — yet, the emergence of Gan Lin as a pseudo-divine skill brought her significant attention, causing confusion, so she wouldn’t easily disclose deduced spells.
Speaking of Qingmu Entangle, it indeed melds techniques from both Taixu and Lingmu sects, creating a new spell, originally inspired by Taixu’s Binding Fierce Wind Technique combined with thoughts of the "Vine Entangle" technique.
Vine Entangle is a practical spell among wood-type cultivators. In their eyes, vines are mightier than bigger trees. No matter how towering a tree is, once entangled by vines, its fate is almost certainly sealed.
At the roots, vines compete with trees for nutrients. Though they cannot outcompete the treetop for sunlight, generally speaking, the strangling capability of vines is incredibly terrifying. There are only instances of trees being strangled by vines, none where vines give way to trees.
Earth Realm is no different. In many forests, one can see towering trees decaying, but numerous vines remain in a web-like strangling state, reaching towards the sky, while the trees trapped within the net have turned to dirt, forming a web-like empty barrel.
Have you seen vines strangled together, climbing without attaching to any large tree? That’s how it’s formed!
When Yi Jue first arrived in the Lingmu Sect, she felt this technique was powerful but had a downside of being slow when executed in combat.
The speed difference seems negligible in battles below the Golden Core level, but in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms, moments determine life and death, severely limiting the technique’s range of use.
Thus, Yi Jue began pondering if she could use Taixu’s Binding Fierce Wind Technique at the initial activation to improve Vine Entangle, forming a new spell.
She knew that the Taixu Sect maintained a cautiously open attitude towards this, supporting improvements of spells that combine techniques from two sects and willing to negotiate diffusion issues — offering multiple solutions.
However, she wasn’t clear about Lingmu Sect’s attitude, so she specially consulted with Elder Moon Vine, not long after creating "Gan Lin", making her arguments more compelling. Moon Vine was respectful and even discussed her ideas in detail.
Ultimately, Elder Moon Vine expressed willingness to share the deduced spell with Taixu Sect but advised against using it lightly before perfecting it, to prevent affecting others’ mindsets — since Gan Lin influenced many fellow sect members.
Yi Jue temporarily named this technique "Qingmu Entangle", aspiring greatly — even the divine Qingmu couldn’t escape its entangle.
Seeing this, Elder Tiegu snorted coldly, suddenly releasing a brown glow covering his entire body, "Really think I, Tiegu, am just for show? Let’s see what you can do to me."
His title "Tiegu" isn’t a name but a Dao title he took upon reaching Golden Core, and those who dare take such a title know their defense won’t be weak. Immediately, a hint of cold laughter appeared at the corner of his mouth, "So it’s a binding technique. To play this game with me... where do you get your confidence?"
Yet immediately, his expression changed, "This isn’t Vine Entangle?"