Chapter 26

Untitled Sages Are All Weirdos [散仙都是奇葩 Sàn Xiān Dōu Shì Qí Pā] is the twenty-sixth chapter of Tong Yao's Guardians of Night.

Summary
Ye Yan questions why Huang Xiaoyan kicked him and accuses her of protecting a fellow Untitled Sage. Huang Xiaoyan responds that she must clean house for the Untitled Sages, and that outsiders shall not interfere. She then performs a hand sign, causing the spell tags carried by Gu Xiaohua to explode. Falling onto the ground, Gu Xiaohua wonders how her spell tags detonated before noticing Huang Xiaoyan and the Gourd Child on her head. Realizing she is an Untitled Sage, Gu Xiaohua tries to guilt trip Huang Xiaoyan for bullying her along with a Nightwatcher, with Huang responding that they are enforcing justice against her heinous crimes of zombifying and killing people. Gu Xiaohua then promises she will stop her crimes if Huang Xiaoyan lets her go, with the latter interrupting her and shouting at her to shut up. Huang Xiaoyan then denounces side branch Untitled Sages for causing the waning state of the main branch Sage Sanctums due to their shameless crimes before challenging Gu to a Sage Duel.

Gu Xiaohua does not back down from the challenge, and the two create a barrier while preparing for their duel. Ye Yan asks Wuren about the rules regarding a Sage Duel, who explains that in a Sage Duel, two Untitled Sages are trapped within a barrier to prevent either side from escaping and must then battle with their personal magical weapons until a winner can be decided. The loser must unconditionally obey any orders from the victor. As Huang Xiaoyan and Gu Xiaohua summon their respective gourds, Ye Yan recalls that Gu's gourd is made of iron and would have a major advantage, and tries to warn Huang. However, Huang Xiaoyan effortlessly defeats Gu Xiaohua within seconds and is seen hitting her head with the Universal Miracle Gourd while scolding her. Wuren then praises Huang for her unparalleled prowess in hand-to-hand combat, with Ye Yan expressing confusion as to why Untitled Sages duel with their fists and weapons instead of magic spells.

With Huang Xiaoyan being the victor, she orders Gu Xiaohua to severe her meridians and destroy her cultivation base if she wishes to live. A sobbing Gu Xiaohua gathers energy around her left hand and places it on her right wrist, seemingly preparing to cripple her powers. However, she suddenly moves her hand to her Gourd Child and attacks Huang Xiaoyan with her Star Shattering Iron Gourd at point-blank range. Ye Yan exclaims at her for playing dirty as he notes that being hit by the gourd from that range would kill Huang Xiaoyan.

Chapter Notes

 * Huang Xiaoyan challenges Gu Xiahoua to a Sage Duel and wins.
 * The rules of a Sage Duel are revealed.
 * Gu Xiaohua attacks Huang Xiaoyan at close range after pretending to accept defeat.