"But killing you just like that would be far too boring. I'll give you a chance," the Yin Yang Immortal said, suddenly withdrawing his oppressive aura and smiling broadly.
"What do you want?" Chu Feng asked.
"A contest of barrier arts. If you win, I'll let you go. If you lose, you'll submit to my will. How about it?" the Yin Yang Immortal said.
"How do we compete?" Chu Feng asked.
"Simple." As the Yin Yang Immortal spoke, his large sleeve swept through the air, and from within it, an object drifted out and settled onto his palm.
It was roughly the size of a palm, shaped like a lotus, yet entirely transparent. If you weren't looking carefully, you wouldn't even be able to see it. Even upon close inspection, it merely resembled some ordinary exotic flower or grass.
But the moment Chu Feng laid eyes on it, his gaze sharpened with surprise — because this lotus was not only alive, it possessed spiritual intelligence. Upon the lotus, Chu Feng could see a pair of eyes. Those eyes were scanning their surroundings, and ultimately they settled on Chu Feng, sizing him up.
"A Barrier Breach Blossom," Chu Feng said.
It was indeed a Barrier Breach Blossom — Chu Feng had learned of it from within the Nine Spirits Divine Chart.
The Barrier Breach Blossom could be considered a special type of life form, crafted from unique flora combined with barrier arts. In other words, it was a distinct living creature created by a Spirit World Master.
It possessed a special function: it could assist a Spirit World Master in finding flaws and vulnerabilities within barrier formations. Naturally, the number of flaws it could identify was related to the grade of the Barrier Breach Blossom.
For example, if a formation had been laid by a Robe-level Spirit World Master and the Barrier Breach Blossom had been crafted by a King-level Spirit World Master, then that blossom would certainly be unable to discern the flaws in the Robe-level master's formation — the gap in grade was simply too great.
As for Spirit World Masters of the same King level, one would need to compare the strength of their barrier arts to determine who was superior.
Chu Feng was uncertain just how powerful the Yin Yang Immortal's barrier arts were, and so he couldn't yet determine what grade this Barrier Breach Blossom had reached.
But he was already astonished — astonished that the Yin Yang Immortal had actually been able to refine a Barrier Breach Blossom.
Because Chu Feng knew full well that the Barrier Breach Blossom was an exceedingly difficult thing to refine. Even the current Chu Feng had no absolute certainty that he could produce one himself.
"Not bad — quite knowledgeable, to recognize the Barrier Breach Blossom at a glance." Seeing the surprise on Chu Feng's face, the Yin Yang Immortal's eyes grew even more smug.
"Chu Feng, since you recognize the Barrier Breach Blossom, you must know its purpose."
"But what you surely don't know is that the Barrier Breach Blossom can actually emit different qualities of light depending on the strength of the barrier arts in question. That means it can distinguish between a strong barrier formation and a weak one."
"We each lay a formation. One hour to complete. Then the Barrier Breach Blossom will judge which of us has the superior barrier arts. Whoever's is higher in quality wins. How about it?" the Yin Yang Immortal asked.
"I have no objections," Chu Feng said.
"Quick and decisive — then let's begin." The Yin Yang Immortal flashed a confident smile, then swept his sleeves, afterimages blooming in his wake as he began laying his formation.
Upon seeing this, Chu Feng promptly sat cross-legged and released his barrier energy, focusing intently on constructing his own barrier formation.
His opponent was the Yin Yang Immortal — not some Money-Loving Immortal or White-Browed Immortal. Chu Feng had to take this seriously, and might even need to give it everything he had.
Both of them executed their formation-laying techniques with great fluency, their skill nothing short of exquisite. However, the formations they each created were quite different.
The formation the Yin Yang Immortal laid was neither a defensive barrier nor an offensive one — it was a formation built purely in pursuit of quality.