Chapter 57

The two wooden pieces were abnormally smooth, with some black spiritual patterns engraved on them. At the edges, however, there were densely packed thin ropes tightly binding them to the sullen youth's body.

Where the two wind blades had struck, only two inch-deep marks were left on the front wooden piece, and they were far from being able to cut it in half.

Seeing this, Liu Ming was naturally taken aback, clearly not expecting his previous attack to fail.

Jin Yu placed one palm on the wooden piece in front of his chest.

With a "bang,"

The seemingly ordinary wooden pieces suddenly deformed and extended, transforming in the blink of an eye into a simple wooden armor that covered the vital areas of his upper body.

"This is still not the mechanical battle armor you bestowed upon us!" Zhu Chi exclaimed angrily at the sight.

"This thing is truly not a gift from us; we can swear to it. Moreover, even after the mechanical guard mirror transforms, it remains very crude, far from being a mechanical battle armor. Tsk tsk, Yu has already been able to refine such a complex mechanical spiritual tool," the white-haired elder hastily explained, his face full of satisfaction.

Dasha, standing beside him, also wore an expression of pleasant surprise.

It seemed that Jin Yu's performance far exceeded their expectations.

Hearing them even swear to it, Zhu Chi, after a moment of shock, could not say anything more.

At this moment, Jin Yu, whose upper body was covered by the wooden armor, tapped his forehead with one hand, while the other hand, after a flip, produced a short stick as thick as a thumb. Without a word, he pointed it at Liu Ming a couple of times.

With a "pu" "pu" sound,

Two beams of green light shot out from one end of the stick, flashing a few times before reaching Liu Ming.

They were clearly two inch-long bamboo nails, their surfaces glowing green, looking very strange.

At the same time, the green light mantis puppet, after a flutter of its wings, let out a series of eerie whistles as it charged at Liu Ming.

With a "bang" "bang" sound, Liu Ming almost instinctively raised the light shield on his wrist, blocking the two bamboo nails, which then instantly exploded.

A jet of white liquid shot up in the explosion, coalescing into a white, web-like net that fell down.

"Spider Web Spell!"

Liu Ming's heart sank. He quickly recited a spell and, with a wave of his hand, a crimson fireball shot out, striking the white net and causing a burst of flames.

But to his surprise,

The net, which he thought would be instantly reduced to ashes, remained unscathed in the flames. It swayed slightly, extinguishing the flames, and then fell down again.

Liu Ming's face changed. He suddenly changed the spell in his hand, and a wave of gray mist appeared above his head, forming a cloud about ten feet wide.

It was the spirit cloud summoned by the levitation spell, which all spirit apprentices could perform.

The white net, as it fell, was held up by the gray cloud and could not land.

This scene not only made Jin Yu pause, but also made Zhu Chi, Dazhi, and the others in the circle exchange glances.

Using the levitation spell as a defensive measure was something they had never seen before.

However, after Liu Ming fumbled for a while, the mantis puppet, after a few flashes, rushed to his side. Its two blade-like front limbs moved, transforming into a dozen cold beams that slashed down.

With a "pu" sound,

Liu Ming, with his arm wearing the copper ring, shook it at the mantis puppet. The light shield instantly disappeared, replaced by a yellow tiger head that opened its mouth and spewed a white, misty sound wave.

With a "gulun" sound,

The puppet mantis's front limbs, though extremely sharp, were unable to withstand the sound wave, an almost intangible attack. It was struck and forced back several steps.

But in the next moment, the puppet beast rushed forward again.

Liu Ming's face darkened. He urged his magic power, and another sound wave spewed from the tiger's mouth, once again forcing the mantis beast back.

Unfortunately, although the sound wave attack was quite mysterious, its power greatly diminished with distance. Even though it hit the target twice, the mantis puppet showed no signs of damage and continued to charge at Liu Ming under the sullen youth's control.

Clearly, Jin Yu knew that although the tiger bite ring's attack was extremely fast, it consumed a lot of true essence, and even a mid-stage spirit apprentice could not sustain such an attack for long.

Liu Ming naturally knew this as well. After once again repelling the green light mantis puppet, he suddenly let out a low shout, his legs thickening and then stomping the ground hard. His body shot toward Jin Yu like an arrow.

With Liu Ming's second-layer Nether Bone Technique and the use of the tiger bite ring to perform the light body spell, as well as the secret technique to stimulate potential, his speed, though not as fast as the green light mantis puppet, was not much slower.

Thus, when the mantis puppet hesitated, it was already too late to catch up.

But Jin Yu snorted, standing still without dodging. He simply flicked his wrist, and the front end of the short stick flashed green, shooting out two green bamboo nails at Liu Ming.

With a "swoosh" "swoosh" sound,

Liu Ming raised his hands, and two white lines shot out, flashing and deflecting the two green bamboo nails.

Under the influence of a gentle force, the bamboo nails did not explode.

The two white lines were clearly water arrows.

At this moment, after two leaps, Liu Ming was only three or four yards away from the sullen youth. He formed a seal with one hand, recited a spell, and a wind blade instantly formed in his hand.

Seeing this, Jin Yu still stood still, but he threw the short stick and quickly grabbed a metal cylinder from his waist, pointing its black mouth at Liu Ming.

Although Liu Ming did not know what was inside the cylinder, his experience from multiple life-and-death situations made him instantly feel an extreme sense of danger.

Without hesitation, he slapped his chest, and three black lights flashed, forming a black, misty light shield around his body.

Almost simultaneously, several crimson runes on the cylinder's surface flashed, and a burst of crimson flames shot out, instantly engulfing Liu Ming.

At the same time, a black sphere rolled out of Jin Yu's hand. He tapped his forehead, and it transformed into a giant turtle puppet about half a person's height.

The giant turtle stood up and shielded the youth like a black, massive shield.

The sullen youth quickly slapped the giant turtle's back.

With a "crack" sound,

Dozens of small holes appeared on the turtle's thick shell, and a barrage of half-steel arrows shot out, covering the area in front of him.

Seeing this, Dazhi and Dasha, watching from outside the circle, were overjoyed, while Zhu Chi and the Daoist nun Zhong's hearts sank.

With a "swoosh" sound,

A figure flashed in the flames, shooting to one side and instantly dodging the steel arrows. Then, under the influence of an invisible force, it changed direction and shot toward Jin Yu's side at an incredible speed.

This unexpected move startled the sullen youth. He quickly turned around, trying to defend himself, but it was too late.

As he turned halfway, a gust of wind blew past his ears, and his shoulders felt heavy. Two green-glowing palms landed on them, and a calm voice said,

"Don't move. One more move, and I'll cut off your head."

Between the two palms, two faint wind blades were clearly visible.

Jin Yu's face turned ashen.

Even with the mechanical battle armor, his neck was completely unprotected. At such close range, a wind blade strike would definitely be fatal, no matter how great his abilities.

However, he still slowly turned his head, his eyes flashing with a fierce light as he looked at his opponent.

At this moment, Liu Ming, in his light green clothes, was covered in soot and had a smoky smell. His exposed neck and wrists were covered in red blisters, clearly showing signs of severe burns, but he still smiled at him.

When the sullen youth's gaze swept downward, he suddenly understood.

He saw that Liu Ming's calf was wrapped in a long black rope, the other end of which was deeply embedded in the ground.

It was clearly the black rope that had allowed him to increase his speed and change direction, allowing him to suddenly appear at his side.

But he had not noticed when his opponent had set up the rope at such close range!

"Good strategy! But in a one-on-one fight, you are no match for me," Jin Yu glared at Liu Ming, saying each word clearly.

"Face-to-face fight? If I had as many mechanical items and a couple of puppet helpers, I might consider it," Liu Ming smiled slightly.

"Haha, Congtian, you did well. You have not disappointed us. Dazhi and Dasha, what do you say about this round?" Zhu Chi, seeing this, could no longer contain his excitement and laughed.

The Daoist nun Zhong, standing beside him, also wore a smile.

"Hmph, if we lost, we lost. Do you think we would go back on our word, Brother Zhu? Yu, come back. Your disciple is quite cunning, you've found a good seed," Dazhi snorted, his face somewhat sour.

Jin Yu's loss in this competition was truly unexpected.

"What about the bet?" Zhu Chi asked without hesitation.

"All the spirit fruits are yours, and we will send the white iron essence to you later through our disciples," Dazhi said almost through gritted teeth, while Dasha remained silent, his face dark.

"Thank you, fellow Daoists," Zhu Chi said, overjoyed.

"However, shouldn't you tell us why you value these Heavenly Jade Fruits so much?" the Daoist nun Zhong asked, her eyes flashing.