Mo Yixuan had to give pause. Even his poor social skills could tell that the stranger disliked him from his tone alone. Well, stranger to him at least. Who knew what the original Mo Yixuan had done.

"You," he began, but didn't get further than that before the man broke out into a harsh bark of laughter.

"It gets better and better, doesn't it?" he mocked. "From 'senior brother' to 'Peak Lord Jun,' and now down to simple pronouns? Aren't you so clever with your tongue, Mo Yixuan."

...I only said one word, Mo Yixuan privately protested. He decided to forget it and simply move on, but the man raised an arm to block him. Mo Yixuan raised his eyebrows, but the man just laughed again.

"We're not done yet, junior brother. Humor me and stay a while."

Mo Yixuan only looked at him in exasperation. "You've called me three different things in the last five minutes."

"What of it?" Peak Lord Jun said defiantly.

"So shouldn't I be praising your 'clever tongue' too?" Mo Yixuan deadpanned.

"You—!"

In the middle of the man's protest, Mo Yixuan seized the chance to slip away. The figure in the wheelchair didn't stop him, but something else did—an invisible wall that Mo Yixuan flew into headfirst a few feet away.

THUD!

Mo Yixuan was knocked backwards; fortunately, his instincts reacted in time to send him floating gently to the ground. He frowned, then took a few steps forward to feel with his fingers. Whatever made up the wall was almost intangible, firm with a hint of softness—the closest material Mo Yixuan could think of was memory foam, but that was ridiculous in this kind of setting.

"To think you'd run straight into my barrier!" Peak Lord Jun crowed as he turned to face his victim. "Have the last fifty years turned you senile? Mo Yixuan, you—" he cut off abruptly when he saw the other diligently poking at the air. "Pay attention when I'm talking!"

Mo Yixuan didn't bother turning around. "What's this?"

The barrier wall he was touching had pliability and strength. He suddenly recalled the folktale he heard once about a man who asked to build a house on the clouds. The man had been laughed at by everyone, but using this invisible thing as construction material could make that request a reality...and that was where his thoughts stopped as he realized they were wandering.

Peak Lord Jun seethed. "Don't disparage the abilities of my Heavenly Sealing Pagoda!" His robes shook as he spoke, shedding light on a tiny object in his palm. Mo Yixuan cast a glance on it and saw that it was, indeed, a tiny golden pagoda. It was also resting on the back of a golden turtle to match.

Who do you think you are, the pagoda-bearing god Li Jing?

The legend of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li was a well-known character of Chinese mythology, but he never expected to see someone copying his skills here. To curb his son Nezha, Li Jing was given a golden pagoda with the power to capture any spirit, demon, or god within its walls. As Mo Yixuan was trapped but still partly human, he guessed that Peak Lord Jun's version had different properties.

"So we're in your pagoda right now," he remarked, looking up for any hints of tiled roofs or other architectural details. Unfortunately, he only saw the sky.

"You should know that this treasure is on par with the likes of your trio," Peak Lord Jun said unhappily. "At least it did far more stopping our enemies in battles than your fighting ever did!"

"Well," Mo Yixuan nodded absently. "It's cute, I guess." Like one of those collectible toys.

"Enough!" the other man snapped, his face turning red. "We're settling our debt today!"

What did I even do? Mo Yixuan sighed internally as Peak Lord Jun actually pulled out a sword. Then his brain caught up with him.

Wait...

A martial brother with a grudge against me...the five original disciples of Star Pavilion Sect's founder...

Ouyang Che's warning about his third senior brother whom the original Mo Yixuan ruined was called—

"Jun Zhen?" Mo Yixuan blurted out.

Peak Lord Jun Zhen (君貞) looked at him like he was an idiot, cementing his guess.

Mo Yixuan's eyebrows creased as his eyes shifted downwards. Then, his legs...

He didn't get to stare long before a slash came hurtling towards him. Mo Yixuan instinctively dodged, but ran into a dead end when the invisible wall impeded his movements. The sharp sword qi left a tear in the fabric of his sleeves. He glanced at the cut, but only for a second—Jun Zhen's next strikes were hot on his heels, forcing him to spin out of the way as a flurry of stabs pierced the wall behind him.

Thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk!

The last stab sliced off a few strands of his hair, forcing Mo Yixuan to take to the air. He saw Jun Zhen alone on his wheelchair while the youth in white who pushed him here was nowhere to be found. The next second, Peak Lord Jun's eyes narrowed as he barked out a command.

"Compress!"

The pagoda in his hand shone as a heavy weight slammed into Mo Yixuan's nape and shoulders, sending him hurtling down to earth. The "ceiling" of the pagoda had been lowered with one order! Mo Yixuan extended an arm and aimed a strike towards the ground to counterattack, but Jun Zhen easily wheeled out of range. When Mo Yixuan landed, he tried to chase after the man but ran into another invisible wall.

A few feet away, he saw Jun Zhen sneering at him, the youth in white standing quietly nearby. It was obvious that the confines of the pagoda had no effect on either figure. Mo Yixuan's brows creased even as Jun Zhen snapped out the same command again.

"Compress!"

The little pagoda flashed once more, leaving Jun Zhen looking rather strained. Instantly, the invisible walls closed in on Mo Yixuan, making him unable to budge an inch. His arms tensed as he pushed against them, but the barrier held firm.

"Compress! Compress! Compress!"

With each successive shout, the walls around him squeezed in. Finally, Mo Yixuan was forced to his knees as the unseen ceiling pressed mercilessly down against his back.

What the hell.

Veins bulged in Mo Yixuan's forehead as he resisted the weight of the pagoda out of sheer will. He couldn't even lift his head when he saw the wheels of Jun Zhen's chair roll back into view.

"Is this it?" a faint voice muttered above him.

Mo Yixuan didn't react. Instead, he rested the edges of his fingers ever so imperceptibly on the ground, their tips touching the formless wall.

"I expected more from you, junior brother."

Divine artifacts like the Heavenly Sealing Pagoda came in two categories. One was self-sustaining and possessed wills of their own—like rare treasure swords and other sentient weapons. Others were dependent on the owner to awaken and activate their abilities, acting like a channeling tool. Judging from Jun Zhen's commands and tired expression, his pagoda belonged to the latter.

"If I had the skills, I'd cut off your arms and legs right here," Jun Zhen went on bitterly. "But I lack the strength to injure your True Body. Still...crushing you now isn't beyond my capabilities."

The walls around Mo Yixuan began to pulse. He could sense Jun Zhen's qi signature flowing through the structure as fine tendrils, guiding the pagoda and shaping its form. Quietly, he released a tiny thread of his own qi to mix with the lot.

"I don't believe you have the power to resist a Divine Artifact yet. If I pulverize a few limbs to bits, it won't end your life. They've done worse to junior disciples at the inter-faction competitions. Eldest senior brother—our sect leader—won't fault me for this. He can't punish me for it when he's never punished you!"

The tendrils of Jun Zhen's qi began to thrash wildly in the walls in response to his emotions. Mo Yixuan quickly took advantage of his state to channel in more qi of his own.

"I'll break you apart with my own hands!" Jun Zhen screamed, even as Mo Yixuan's power raced to overtake him. "Compress!"