Looking at the falling talisman, Ge Yongshou felt even more shocked and puzzled than Zhangsun Zhize. This was the most basic talismanic technique that he had used countless times throughout his life; even when he first began, he had never lost composure like he had just now. Yet today, facing a junior, the source energy he gathered and infused into the talisman inexplicably dissipated, causing the talisman to fall.

At this point, explaining further was unnecessary. After a brief moment of blankness, Ge Yongshou regained his composure, summoning the source energy to activate the fallen talisman. Success! With a steady infusion of source energy, the talisman rose again, suspended mid-air. This time, Ge Yongshou dared not be negligent, focusing all his attention on the talisman. However, just as the talisman was about to be filled with source energy, Ge Yongshou suddenly felt the surrounding source energy become chaotic and uncontrollable. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately adjusted the source energy, but it was too late. The surrounding source energy vanished as if drawn out by someone, causing the talisman to gently fall to the ground once more.

Twice! Ge Yongshou, who was once an elder of the Clear Wind Talisman Transformation Sect before entering the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion, had failed to control a talisman twice consecutively! Not only was he terrified, but even Zhangsun Zhize beside him noticed something amiss. He stared at the two talismans on the ground for a long time, then suddenly turned his head to look at "Wang Wenze" standing in the center of the field.

"Is this your doing?" Zhangsun Zhize asked, frowning and glaring at "Wang Wenze".

"What did I do? I didn’t even move," Pei Yan replied nonchalantly, picking his nose. "Hey, are you guys going to start or not? Or are you dragging this out to tire me to death? Let me tell you, if that’s the case, I won’t accept it!"

Pei Yan’s words pierced Ge Yongshou’s heart like a knife. Both he and Zhangsun Zhize understood that their failure was due to interference by someone. Yet they couldn’t be sure if it was the arrogant young man in front of them. Aside from not sensing any unusual source energy fluctuations from him, the whole situation was too incredible to believe that such a young man could achieve this!

Scanning the crowd in the hall, trying to find the person capable of pulling such a trick, but unable to determine who it was, Ge Yongshou’s confidence faltered. He felt ashamed and lacked the confidence to activate the three scattered talismans once more. Instead, he directly formed hand seals, mobilizing the source energy within him to cast a spell.

Can you control the surrounding source energy to affect my talisman control? Fine, I’ll directly use my internal source energy to attack. Let’s see how you counter this!

Inhale! Exhale! Inhale! Exhale!

In a rhythmic breath control, Ge Yongshou chanted under his breath. His hands moved swiftly, forming seals continuously as the source energy within him circulated without pause. The robe he wore rose and fell with the billowing source energy.

"Uh...pfft!"

The previously smooth and well-executed spell casting suddenly stopped with Ge Yongshou’s expression of frustration. Before Zhangsun Zhize could react to what had happened, blood appeared at the corner of Ge Yongshou’s mouth as he stumbled backward.

"Junior Brother Ge, what’s happening to you?" Zhangsun Zhize hurriedly supported Ge Yongshou, preventing him from falling and making a fool of himself. He questioned, puzzled, looking at his pale-faced junior brother with blood at the corners of his mouth.

"Breathing!" Ge Yongshou, with eyes filled with resentment, weakly glared at "Wang Wenze" inside the venue.

"Breathing?"

"At the crucial moment when I was mobilizing source energy to cast a spell, he altered the nature of the source energy I inhaled through my breath, causing energy from other realms to enter my body. This resulted in a clash between the source energies within me, forcibly halting my spellcasting and causing backlash. He, he...!" At this point, Ge Yongshou pointed at "Wang Wenze" with his finger and declared, "He is the Child of Origin. Only the Child of Origin can manipulate source energy across multiple realms!"

Zhangsun Zhize followed his gaze to Pei Yan, feeling a chill in his heart. According to this explanation, it wasn’t something that could be done solely by being a Child of Origin. Although the process sounded simple, the execution was far from easy. Having multiverse energy was just the basics. More importantly, he managed, unconsciously and from such a distance, to instantly convert the source energy around Ge Yongshou from the Daoist Realm. And the timing was impeccable — too early and Ge Yongshou would have noticed and guarded against it, resulting in less damage; too late, and the spell would have successfully been cast. Yet, right at the spell’s critical moment, he manipulated the breathing in and out to have an effect. Could such precise control really be achieved by the young man before him?

Watching the two in a daze, looking at him with anxiety and unease in their eyes, Pei Yan, although maintaining an air of indifference outwardly, felt a bit pleased and delighted inside. Previously, Pei Yan was more accustomed to outright overpowering opponents with sheer strength. But in terms of manipulation in elemental supernatural power, he hadn’t been capable of such intricate operations. All this was thanks to the abilities granted by Yue Yong and that book. After combining them perfectly, only then did it open a whole new door for him.

Whether it was the flow and direction of source energy around Ge Yongshou while casting the talisman or the frequency of source energy movement during breathing while spellcasting, Pei Yan could feel it all with complete clarity, allowing him to precisely grasp the timing of attacks, thus manipulating the opponent easily.

"Junior Brother Ge! What are you planning? Calm down! We need to think this through thoroughly!" As Zhangsun Zhize stayed fixated on Pei Yan, contemplating the true origin of this person and considering his next move, Ge Yongshou, whom he was supporting, suddenly pushed him aside, shuffling his slightly recovered body towards Pei Yan. Seeing this, Zhangsun Zhize hurriedly shouted to stop him.

"Elder Brother!" Ge Yongshou shouted, stopping Zhangsun Zhize from holding him back and said angrily, "Today, I have been mocked by this young one thrice. If this grudge goes unavenged, my mind won’t be at peace! Think things over? The longer we delay here, the more our Heavenly Guardian Pavilion’s honor is tarnished!"

With that, Ge Yongshou turned towards Pei Yan, taking a deep breath to calm his somewhat agitated mood, then sneered coldly, "I didn’t expect that after years of hunting, I’d be pecked by the goose today. Young man! Well done!"

With that, Ge Yongshou gave Pei Yan a thumbs-up, admiringly saying, "I admire how well you’ve hidden your skills, deceiving us all. Up until now, I still don’t know who you really are or how you did those things earlier. I admit I was blind, but no matter! You might have disrupted talismans and spellcasting, but let’s see how you block the most basic source-energy attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ge Yongshou held his breath, raised both arms, and aimed at Pei Yan in the field.