Daily life of a cultivation judge
Chapter 1232 - 1232: Surprising find (3)

The attacks weren't just illusion-based. Since this was a creature that excelled in both illusory attacks and other soul-based techniques that weren't illusionary, it mixed the two for maximum damage.

The best illusions weren't just those that fooled all of someone's senses to the point they felt real in every way. The truly terrifying ones were those that could even fool the principles of the world itself, transforming the intangible into something tangible. And that cicada had slowly begun to touch upon that level of power. Its illusions carried a real, tangible lethality, which, when coupled with its very real soul attacks, made it a thorny, insidious opponent.

For example, it produced a flood dragon that unleashed a dragon breath laced with hidden needle-shaped soul attacks. These needles were coated with a venom that could incapacitate the mind and injure both soul and body. The true attack struck the soul, while the illusion, made partially tangible, could now harm the body as well.

Had it been a regular quasi-palace stage cultivator facing this, they'd be incapacitated within seconds and dead within minutes, without ever realizing how.

But unfortunately for the cicada, its opponent was Yang Qing.

With one hand behind his back, Yang Qing casually waved his free hand and blasted the flood dragon and its attack into a puff of smoke, which immediately reformed into a young swordswoman in white robes, rapidly swinging her sword and unleashing a thousand strikes, each one imbued with piercing sword intent.

Yang Qing's brow raised slightly. "Not bad," he said in praise, casually continuing his stride.

That attack just now was strong enough to threaten the life of a freshly broken-through palace realm expert, which came as both surprising and not surprising to Yang Qing. He was surprised that, despite the cicada only being at the quasi-palace stage, it actually had the ability to harm a palace realm expert. At the same time, it wasn't too surprising, given it was a creature skilled in formations.

A blue grade formation master who hadn't yet stepped into the palace realm could still hold their own against a palace realm expert with their formations. Formations borrowed their strength from their surroundings, and that was exactly what the cicada had done. It made up for what it lacked by drawing from its environment.

Even so, Yang Qing remained unperturbed. After all, he wasn't some freshly broken-through palace realm expert.

He brought his palm forward.

Yin Yang Genesis Art: Lark Serenity Aria.

Dancing lights swirled around his palm and fused to form an egg filled with esoteric runes. The egg hatched the moment it formed, revealing a pale blue lark shaped from aqua frost. Its entire body shimmered with golden-blue glyphs that radiated a delicate, regal majesty.

It unfurled its wings with grace and soared toward the thousands of sword lights, each brimming with sword intent and sharp enough to tear through anything in their path.

It charged in gracefully, opening its beak as if about to swallow that mountain-sized bombardment of sword streaks. However, things didn't play out that way.

As it opened its beak, heavenly light poured from its mouth, followed by a melody that stirred peace, rest, gladness, and awe in all who heard it.

The raging sword streaks that had threatened to tear through anything they touched quieted and lost their edge. They paused mid-flight, their sword intent washed away by the melody. Moments later, the streaks dissolved into radiant blue-gold light.

The cone the cicada had been hiding in was washed away too, revealing a gold-white cicada with glass-like wings etched in runes. It was no bigger than a mango seed.

Its dumbfounded eyes were fixed on the lark gliding gracefully above it, exuding an esoteric charm as it radiated a serene blend of gold and blue light, bathing the entire area in warmth and peace.

Yang Qing, meanwhile, had something pressed between his hands. It was a streak of grey-white light, with a fading trace of sword intent lingering within it.

"So here you are..." he said, bringing the streak closer to his moon-shaped pupils, the light flickering across his eyes as he studied it.

"Nebulous yin qi. What a pleasant find," he murmured, as his gaze slowly shifted from the streak to the cicada.

"A pleasant find indeed," he repeated, eyes fixed on the creature that looked too entranced by the lark above to notice Yang Qing approaching.

It only realized Yang Qing was already next to it when it felt a sudden shift in its body, along with a warm, comforting surface cloaking its body that managed to pull it out of its trance. When it finally took hold of its surroundings, it realized it was in the palms of the terrifying ghost human.

He wasn't grinning anymore with slit eyes, or licking his lips, but his smile and his eyes that gently radiated with unfathomable power, unsettled the cicada, even more so than when it saw him effortlessly neutralize all its attacks.

"We have a lot to discuss, little one," Yang Qing softly said to the cicada as he brought it closer to his eyes.

"Huh.. did it just faint?"

Yang Qing prodded the cicada's body with his index finger a few times to confirm its state.

"It's really fainted.." he said in disbelief. "I didn't even do anything," he added, finding the whole turn of events baffling.

Yang Qing looked upwards at the flying lark, debating whether to dispel the spell or not, given how eye-catching it was. He shifted his gaze back and forth between the lark and the cicada a few times before finally arriving at a decision.

I can't have it fainting on me again, he thought, then gently poured a bit of spiritual essence into the cicada to awaken it.

Given how easily it got startled, rather than jolt it awake, Yang Qing chose a gentler approach that would leave the cicada feeling like it was waking up from a very restful sleep.

After a few seconds of channeling his essence, the cicada began to wake. Its wings twitched slightly, accompanied by faint movements from its limbs and antennae. It wasn't long before it was fully awake once more.

Its movements were groggy at first, but as a spirit beast with a powerful soul, it quickly regained its senses. And once it did...

Let's just say Yang Qing was glad he'd left the Yin Yang Genesis Art: Lark Serenity Aria spell active.

The Ninefold Natural Yin Array Cicada, which had looked moments away from passing out, was suddenly engulfed in a gentle golden-blue starlight that instantly washed away the fear and panic that had surged within it at the sight of Yang Qing's face.

The golden-blue light evoked a sense of peace and calm in the cicada, which helped suppress its fears, though it didn't eliminate it entirely.

"Can we talk?" Yang Qing asked gently, taking great care to measure his tone so as not to startle it further. He even imbued his voice with a calming mantra, just in case.

While his efforts seemed to have some effect, they didn't work completely. The cicada still eyed him with deep suspicion and unease, but at least its fear had eased somewhat.

"Can we talk?" Yang Qing repeated softly.

This time, the Ninefold Natural Yin Array Cicada gave a stiff nod.

"This qi..." Yang Qing began, bringing the palm holding the cicada close to his other hand, which held the dissipating sword streak.

"Where did you get it?" he continued, pressing the white streak between his fingers. It disintegrated on contact, leaving behind a dark grey fog that hovered gently over his white jade palm.

The temperature instantly dropped as frost marks appeared on the ground and on the trees within a one-meter radius of Yang Qing. Just as it looked like the frost was about to spread further, a translucent water bubble inscribed with white runes suddenly formed around the dark grey fog, sealing it and halting its effects on the surroundings.

A burning look of intense desire flashed in the cicada's eyes as it stared at the bubble and the fog within. It looked as though it wanted nothing more than to devour both on the spot. However, the memory of recent terrifying events—specifically involving a certain ghost soul reaper, whose palms it now rested in—reminded it not to act recklessly.

So, whatever urges it had, however overwhelming, were not enough to overcome its cowardly heart.

Fearing that Yang Qing might punish it for its covetous gaze, it forcefully tore its attention away from the bubble and fog and redirected it to him.

"Esteemed one," it transmitted through spiritual sense, gesturing with one limb toward the bubble, "forgive this lowly one's ignorance, but I don't understand the question. Where did I get that?"

Its voice, amplified by its potent soul, carried a magnetic, almost hypnotic quality, which was something Yang Qing had anticipated, given the quality of its soul. But the mature, sage-like undertone beneath it? That definitely caught him off guard.

The Ninefold Natural Yin Array Cicada had the voice of a mature woman, like that of a grand matriarch from a clan that had weathered the passage of thousands of years. It carried grace, wisdom, and a regal, elegant charm that could only come from having experienced the many seasons of life.

Given how easily she fainted, the stability and maturity of her tone came as a surprise. Yang Qing had expected something shaky, maybe even juvenile—something more in line with her flustered state.

Is she posturing? he wondered, before quickly brushing the thought aside.

"Yes. Where did you get this nebulous yin qi?" he asked, confirming his earlier question.

Even though her features were nothing close to human, Yang Qing could tell she was genuinely baffled—and her response only confirmed it.

"I don't know either. This is my first time seeing it," said the cicada.

Yang Qing raised an eyebrow at that. "Your first time seeing it?"

"Yes…" she replied, which only deepened his frown. He could tell she was being sincere.

"You claim you've never seen it before, yet this nebulous yin qi was part of your attack. Explain how that's possible."

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