The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 329 - 328: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Chapter 329: Chapter 328: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

At this moment, Lin Ba held another heavy sword in his hand.

It was exactly the same as the one that had broken earlier.

It was clear that the sword that broke earlier was not his Exclusive Sword.

Clad in battle armor, Lin Ba’s aura climbed higher and higher, advancing from the late Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage, then from the early phase of the Nascent Soul stage to the Nascent Soul Peak, and finally settling back slightly to the late Nascent Soul stage.

"How can this fight be won?"

Beneath the stage, some disciples watched with trepidation, worrying for Xie Jiuniang.

Xuanyuan You was even more furious, "This is cheating!"

"Exactly, shameless! How can we fight if he’s borrowing a Semi-Immortal Artifact?" A disciple joined in the commotion.

"Cheating! The Sect must intervene!"

"Little Profiteer has hit a snag this time!"

"Quick, notify the Sect Master to come and save Little Profiteer..."

No matter how these people made a fuss, the Sect would do whatever it had to do.

This was a life-and-death arena, not child’s play.

Those familiar with the situation wiped cold sweat on behalf of Xie Jiuniang, especially upon learning that Lin Ba’s battle armor was a Semi-Immortal Artifact; in their eyes, Xie Jiuniang’s chances of winning became slim, and what likely awaited her was a crushing defeat.

However, the Child of Destiny defied logic!

The more others thought something would happen, the less likely it was to happen.

On the stage, Xie Jiuniang’s eyes narrowed slightly, "The heavy sword that broke just now, that wasn’t his Exclusive Sword?"

Jian Lingyan replied, "That one was a Spiritual Artifact; this sword doesn’t have a spirit nurtured in it."

He often carried a heavy sword, pretending to be something he was not.

This man’s problem was not insignificant.

Thinking about it, Lin Ba didn’t seem like someone whose Exclusive Magic Treasure had been destroyed.

Just as Lin Ba was about to proceed with his next plan, Xie Jiuniang’s figure suddenly vanished from the stage; despite searching multiple times with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t find her anywhere, and the array barrier on the stage hadn’t been opened.

Xie Jiuniang herself should have been on the stage, but where exactly, Lin Ba did not know.

"Yuanxi, what is the meaning of your invisibility? Do you not wish to have an open and fair fight with me?" Lin Ba stood on the stage with his sword, calling out loudly.

However, no one responded to him.

It was clear that Xie Jiuniang had no intention of facing him directly.

Suddenly, Lin Ba felt as if something had grabbed his feet. Looking down, he was astonished to find a pair of hands?

Upon closer inspection!

These were not the hands of a real person but those of a strange puppet.

Just as Lin Ba lifted his foot to kick the puppet away, he realized he couldn’t lift his foot; the puppet had a strong grip on his ankle, pinning him to the spot, making it impossible for him to break free.

The puppet seemed to appear out of nowhere, as though it had been waiting for him all along.

Lin Ba raised his sword to strike at the puppet.

The next moment, another mechanical iron arm extended from somewhere and seized his sword-wielding right hand.

His left hand, without thinking, concentrated Spiritual Power in the palm, and like a blade, his left hand viciously chopped towards the mechanical iron arm.

But the palm-blade had yet to strike.

Another mechanical iron arm captured his left hand.

Such a sudden turn of events on the stage left the audience below dumbstruck.

Lin Ba’s limbs were controlled.

No matter how Lin Ba struggled, he couldn’t break free. The battle armor on his body couldn’t exert its true function, leaving the onlookers confused and clueless.

The discussions below the stage erupted.

Anyone interested enough to eavesdrop could hear what everyone was saying.

"Puppetry Technique?"

"Doesn’t quite look like it, more like Mechanical Techniques?"

"What is that thing on the stage? It’s hard to make out."

"Didn’t they say that battle armor was very powerful? Is that all there is to it?"

"Oh, is that all?"

The audience emitted a wave of boos, feeling that this later stage of Golden Core was barely significant.

Many couldn’t see the intricacies, but the mighty ones saw through it very clearly.

A Divinity Transformation expert exclaimed in surprise, "Who would have thought that the weak point of the battle armor was so well-understood by your sect’s disciples."

"This Lord thinks it’s a coincidence," another Divinity Transformation expert said with a laugh.

Guangcheng and the others remained silent.

Someone laughed, "We should really have Chaoyan come take a look."

"I heard he went into retreat the second day he came back, inspired by a sudden insight. Whether the Divinity Transformation ceremony can be held as scheduled is still an unknown," a Divinity Transformation expert teased.

Then, everyone looked toward Chaoruo.

Chaoruo said with a smile, "My fellow Lords, do not worry, the Divinity Transformation ceremony will be held as planned."

"Haha, then it’s just a minor retreat."

"Don’t change the subject. Weren’t we just discussing the puppetry technique on the stage? This Lord thinks it bears a striking resemblance to the mechanical techniques of the Song Family, as if they share the same lineage," said Lord Xiaoyuan.

A Divinity Transformation expert was reminded, "It really does look like it."

In the midst of the conversation, the mechanical puppet on the stage continued to transform and expand, like a cage that imprisoned Lin Ba entirely, first controlling his limbs.

Then a chain emerged, deftly locking Lin Ba down.

Battle armor is primarily for protection, similar to a protective jade token, in that it generally isn’t activated unless the master faces a threat to their life. The resemblance lies in the battle armor’s higher sensitivity.

It would be triggered by any spiritual power attack.

Xie Jiuniang’s puppetry technique relied solely on mechanical advantage, without a trace of spiritual power--purely the puppet’s innate strength, akin to physical force.

A restraint not caused by spiritual power.

Thereby, it could not trigger the power of Lin Ba’s battle armor.

This thwarted the intentions of the person behind the scenes, who wanted to kill Xie Jiuniang, ending their plan before it had even begun, leaving them livid with rage.

In a deep valley behind the mountains of the Tianxu Sect.

There lay hidden a formation, within which were three Divinity Transformation experts.

It was two from the Su Family and one from the Nangong Family.

Naturally, the three weren’t there with nothing better to do. As Xie Jiuniang had suspected, a Semi-Immortal Artifact wouldn’t just be handed over to a mere Golden Core, especially since it belonged to the Nangong Family.

The true master of the battle armor was a Divinity Transformation expert of the Nangong Family.

Su Buhui’s expression flickered as he monitored the face of the Nangong Divinity Transformation expert, who was currently controlling the battle at Tianxu Sect’s Battle Peak from a distance.

"Big brother, the complexion of this Nangong doesn’t look good. Things may not go smoothly," Su Buhui’s heart pounded with concern.

The Divinity Transformation expert whom Su Buhui called big brother was also from the Su Family, named Su Buchen.

This plan involved two Divinity Transformation experts from the Su Family.

They were Su Buhui and Su Buchen.

Hoping for an attack on the Lin Family that never came, they decided to take the initiative and employ a direct strategy to deal with the adversary. The plan should have been foolproof, but the situation seemed to have changed unexpectedly.

Su Buhui’s eyes revealed a desire to retreat, "Is the Child of Destiny truly untouchable?"

"They are untouchable, but do we have a choice?"

They understood better than anyone in the Family that the Child of Destiny was incredibly hard to kill and could even lead to sacrificing their own lives, but knowing that, what else could they do?

This lethal trial must be faced.

Only with the death of the Child of Destiny could they see a glimmer of hope for survival.

They had to seize the time and kill the Child of Destiny before she could fully develop her powers.

Otherwise, by the time she grew up, it would be their time to die.

The Su brothers were communicating in secret.

In a place unknown to others, nine people quietly approached the hiding spot of the three, forming an encirclement.

The nine were clad in cloaks that rendered them invisible, successfully concealing their traces.

Without taking immediate action, they waited for the right moment.

As the Su brothers chatted, they were completely unaware that they were about to become the prey...