Chapter 392 'Old Friend'
Ji An said softly:
"The situation is hard to discern at night, and besides, we don't know exactly what happened, so it's best not to get involved."
When you're out and about, you can't be too sympathetic, because it's impossible to distinguish right from wrong.
The night was too dark, and his field of vision was only a few miles away, making it impossible for him to discern who the two sides engaged in the battle were.
Not long after he finished speaking, another scream rang out, urgent and panicked, filled with the trembling of someone on the verge of despair.
"Woo," Big Yellow growled from not far away. It felt a chill and ran uneasily toward its owner.
Not only it, but also the golden retriever, blue eagle, and golden eagle all gravitated towards Ji'an.
Han Yan felt the sound of waves in the wind, and her skin tightened in response. She transmitted her voice:
"Junior brother, I have a bad feeling."
Ji An sensed a very faint smell of blood spreading over him, a smell that felt familiar.
He knew in his heart that he had encountered an old rival, the demonic cultivator who had fought him before and then fled!
If a demonic cultivator has sufficient flesh, blood, and soul, their strength can grow rapidly. He wasn't sure how far that demonic cultivator had grown.
Judging from the aura emanating from afar, the enemy must not have reached the level of a Golden Core cultivator.
Compared to before, his strength has not stagnated; his magical power is more abundant, and his spiritual artifacts have been refined over a longer period of time.
More importantly, with the blessing of the superior Geng Metal Dao Seed, the attack power of the Metal-type spells has been increased by a level.
With the numerous talismans and magical treasures on his body, he wasn't worried at all that this enemy could turn the tide.
However, it depends on how much he is willing to pay; he is definitely reluctant to use the Binghuo Divine Thunder Talisman.
"Senior sister, stay here and don't move. I'll go scout ahead."
Ji An said that the situation is now clear, and he is determined to kill these locusts of the cultivation world, such as demonic cultivators.
However, this enemy was incredibly fast at escaping, and he wasn't sure if he could keep him there forever if another battle broke out.
"Junior brother, I'll go with you. I also have a top-grade attack spirit weapon."
Han Yan retorted, not to be outdone, that this was her first time traveling outside the sect and she felt an urge to try it out.
Without experiencing battles within the sect, sparring with fellow disciples cannot truly test one's combat abilities.
"Senior sister, I can now confirm the enemy's identity. He is a demonic cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage who has fought me before and possesses a very strong soul attack ability."
If it weren't for my naturally strong spirit, I would have been severely injured in the last battle.
Upon hearing that he was a demonic cultivator, Han Yan's fighting spirit quickly waned.
Demonic cultivators employ mysterious and cruel methods, often resorting to brutal tactics of exchanging lives for lives.
For demonic cultivators, injuries are commonplace, and they have plenty of ways to make up for them. Even if they lose half of their body, they can grow it back.
For Taoist cultivators, losing half of their body would certainly mean death and the annihilation of their cultivation.
Han Yan's hesitation was quickly dispelled, and she said:
"Since the enemy is a demonic cultivator, then we can't let our junior brother fight alone."
If two people travel together but cannot advance or retreat together when they encounter an enemy, what is the point of traveling together?
Ji An raised an eyebrow slightly and transmitted his voice:
"Since Senior Sister has the will to destroy demons, let's fight side by side."
He put away several of the tamed beasts, keeping only two puppets. These tamed beasts could only be used as blood bags for the enemy in battles against demonic cultivators.
He quickly explained the enemy's methods, stating:
"Senior sister only needs to unleash her attack to burn the Blood River."
Before going out, the two had discussed their plans and had a basic understanding of each other's magical artifacts and general abilities. Of course, they would check each other's equipment before forming a team!
The opponent possesses a top-grade spiritual artifact, a Sun-Devouring Pearl, which contains the spirit of a firebird that can spew forth flames that fill the sky. It can also assist in alchemy, making it extremely useful.
The two rode on auspicious fiery clouds, side by side, flying towards the direction where the sound disappeared.
This was done intentionally. If they had slowly sneaked in, even if they hadn't succeeded in their ambush, the enemy would probably have already disappeared.
The river of blood churned, and the flesh and blood of the cultivators being devoured rapidly dissolved, their souls also becoming part of the river of blood.
A face appeared in the river of blood; Yun Nianrong's face was revealed under the moonlight.
She hasn't had a good life these past few years, and she can only plunder the flesh and soul of cultivators in secret.
They never dared to stay in one place for more than half a year, yet even so, the cultivators of Falling Maple Valley noticed them.
In terms of control over their territory, Fallen Maple Valley is the strongest among the three sects.
Maple Valley has been operating in the Western Continent for over five thousand years, two thousand years longer than the other two sects.
Within its territory, most families are vassals, serving as plantations for supplying low-grade elixirs.
Under the Fallen Maple Valley model, it is difficult for other factions to achieve significant growth.
Even if these families grow stronger, they will only become a slightly more advanced medicinal herb plantation, and in essence, they will still be under the control of Fallen Maple Valley.
It took Yun Nianrong two years to recover from her injuries, and she only recently improved her cultivation level.
She was leaving tonight, so she launched a surprise attack on a large clan, devouring eight Foundation Establishment cultivators and nearly a thousand Qi Refining disciples, replenishing her strength considerably.
Now, her cultivation level is not far from breaking through to the Blood Essence stage.
She had a premonition that if she had a similar harvest again, she would very likely reach the Blood Essence stage.
Unlike orthodox Taoist cultivators, demonic cultivators do not need so much enlightenment. As long as they can plunder and accumulate enough flesh and blood or soul resources, they can quickly break through to the Blood Essence stage.
Breaking through the Blood Infant stage requires a sufficient understanding of demonic arts, which is too early for her.
Yun Nianrong withdrew the blood river, transforming it into a blood cloud several feet in diameter, and flew away. Suddenly, she sensed a firelight in the distance.
Soon, I felt two abundant and pure energies rapidly approaching.
After inheriting the Blood Demon's legacy, she became extremely sensitive to the power of blood and qi. As long as there was no magic array to obstruct her, she could sense the fragrance of the blood inside her prey from several miles away. That was the power of blood and qi that only cultivators at the Chaoyuan stage could possess.
"Is today my lucky day? Hehe!"
Yun Nianrong trembled with excitement. If she could just absorb the blood and energy that had been delivered to her door, she might be able to complete the accumulation required to break through to the Blood Origin stage!
Those two idiots must have been drawn here by the screams they just heard. They're just meddling in other people's business, barely at the Chaoyuan stage. They'll just become my stepping stones!
The blood cloud shifted direction and drifted silently toward the direction from which the fire cloud was coming.
As they drew closer, Ji An could see the dark cloud in the moonlight.
"Don't hold back!"
After saying that, he immediately summoned two magical artifacts.
The apricot-yellow banner sprouted ten thousand golden lotuses, illuminating the night sky and protecting him and Han Yan beside him.
The fiery banner, rising from the ground, transformed into a cloud of fire, its crimson radiance shimmering with golden light, even more dazzling than the auspicious fire clouds.
At the same time, he cast the Hunjin Xuanjia Curse on the two of them in turn.
In battle, no one knows what unexpected situations might arise, so putting on armor first is the safest option.
Never underestimate any enemy, even if they are a defeated opponent.
Han Yan saw a soft golden light appear on her body, and mysterious patterns appeared and then quickly disappeared.
She recognized it as a metal-element defensive spell at the Chaoyuan stage, and was amazed at the comprehensiveness of her junior brother's spells.
Although she had never experienced a battle with demonic cultivators, she still possessed basic combat skills.
A pale golden sun-swallowing pearl flew out, rapidly growing to the size of a millstone, poised to unleash its power.
"It's you!"
Yun Nianrong, amidst the blood-red clouds, also saw the figure that haunted her dreams. She had originally thought that she would have to endure countless years of torment to seek revenge, but unexpectedly, fate had brought them together again.
"I'm not the same person I used to be!"
Yun Nianrong activated the Blood River Demon Art, transforming herself into a blood river that unleashed towering waves.
During the last battle, her demonic arts had not yet reached the pinnacle of Blood Essence, and the demonic souls she nurtured were not as powerful as they are now, both in terms of quantity and quality.
The Bone Demon in the Blood River is also even more powerful.
The cultivation path of sect cultivators is straightforward and follows a set procedure, but it requires a long period of accumulation.
This time, she didn't probe any further; she went straight for the full force of her attack.
In her view, although there were two people on the other side, they were just a small boat being battered by huge waves in a river, destined to capsize.
The blood waves surged, and countless blood crows flew out from them, obscuring the bright moon in the sky. The heads of the two white bone demons emitted a ghostly green light before sinking into the blood river and hiding behind the blood waves.
The blood beast was also poised to strike, having suffered heavy damage in the last battle, which left it with a grudge.
Yun Nianrong let out a fierce howl, and the sky full of blood crows began to open their mouths, filling the air with demonic sounds, like ghosts wailing in the wind.
This is a soul attack, centered on her and with numerous demonic souls as nodes, capable of significantly weakening a cultivator's combat power.
Although it is much less effective than mental roar, it has the advantage of a wide range of influence, and it can take effect without having to get closer.
The enemy's attack was too sharp, and her body was too close to be safe.
Even Yun Nianrong herself didn't realize that the sharp attack of the Gengjin Spirit-Slaying Sword had left a shadow in her heart.
Black mist drifted out from the blood river, and the earth seemed to have turned into a ghostly realm.
The demonic sound filled her ears, and Han Yan felt as if ghostly figures were looming before her. The world darkened, and the moonlight was blocked behind the blood river, unable to bring any light.
Ji An only felt a little irritated, but did not feel any other discomfort.
'Nothing new or interesting!'
His left hand gripped the Xuanhuang Pagoda talisman, which could protect his body in case of any sudden situation.
The fiery banner unfurled against the wind, stirring up clouds of fire in the sky, and then fell like a crimson river, the fiery curtain blocking the blood wave.
The sky was divided into two colors: on one side, black mist filled the air and blood waves rolled, while on the other side, flames soared into the sky.
Then, he manipulated the Gengjin Spirit-Slaying Sword, and countless small silver swords emerged, emitting spiritual light and poised to strike, like twinkling stars in the sky.
Han Yan snapped out of her daze and felt ashamed. She hadn't expected to be distracted by the demonic sound so soon after the battle began, causing her to lose focus for a moment.
If it weren't for her fellow disciples by her side, and she had encountered this demonic cultivator alone, she would probably have been caught up in the enemy's fighting rhythm.
This is extremely terrifying for cultivators; without powerful means to defeat them, they are likely to perish.
Suppressing her shock, she immediately activated the Sun-Swallowing Pearl.
The golden light shone brightly, as if a golden sun had risen, and its boundless light and heat illuminated the earth.
The Blood River rapidly evaporated under the combined attack of the Flaming Banner and the Sun-Swallowing Pearl, and the billowing black mist was quickly dissipated by the scorching light.
The blood crows in the sky suddenly burst into flames, no longer maintaining their demonic cries, and swooped into the blood river with shrieks.
Some of the blood crows were slower, turning into burning fireballs, their demonic souls ignited, emitting agonizing howls.
Ji An smiled. His senior sister's magical artifact could work perfectly with him. If he were to deal with it alone, he would already need the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner to set up a defense.
The two men's attacks were simple and brutal, instantly neutralizing the first wave of attacks.
Yun Nianrong was completely stunned. How could this be? She was much stronger than before!
What she didn't understand was that Ji An's spiritual artifact, refined by a primordial fire far more vigorous than that of a normal cultivator, was nurtured with enough of the five elements' essence every day, making its power far exceed that of a few years ago.
The more powerful the magical artifact becomes, the more directly its effects will manifest.
In addition, Han Yan also possesses a top-grade spiritual artifact. Although the demonic cultivator is powerful, choosing to confront him head-on is arrogance.
At this moment, Yun Nianrong had no time to think. The White Bone Demon rushed out of the blood river and attacked the enemy from both sides. She once again stirred up a blood wave and crashed down.
Instead of attacking with the blood wave, she moved to the rear of the blood river.
A blue light flashed in the sky; it was the roar of the storm, a sound that had been dormant for a long time, waiting for this moment.
Ji An activated the Gengjin Spirit-Slaying Sword, and about one-third of the silver flying swords hurtled towards a white bone demon.
Silver lines appeared in the void, and the next moment, the White Bone Demon was pierced by ten thousand swords. At this moment, the sharp and annihilating power of the magic was revealed, and it quickly decayed its body.
The eerie light in the White Bone Demon's eye sockets dimmed rapidly because the demonic soul within its body was annihilated by magic.
It fell silently, its white bone powder scattering.
The howling wind accurately struck another moving skeleton demon, shattering several of its ribs.
However, such injuries were meaningless to the Bone Demon. Its two arms suddenly broke off and transformed into two giant hands that attacked.
Ji An abandoned control of the puppet and instead manipulated two magical artifacts simultaneously.
The Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, imbued with the power of earth, transformed into a sea of quicksand, hindering the Bone Hand's attack. The Flame Light Banner, rising from the ground, condensed into a crimson fire phoenix.
As the phoenix's cry rang out, the world was filled with a scorching heat, and then the fire phoenix swooped down, sacrificing itself.
Ji An changed his magic technique, and the suspended silver flying sword exploded, like silver water droplets, which gathered into a silver river.
The demonic cultivator's true form was hidden within the Blood River, and since he couldn't find it, he simply used the Metal element's power of withering away to extinguish the Blood River's vitality.
At the same time, by using the Flaming Banner that flies off the ground to burn rivers and boil seas, the demonic cultivators are weakened from the root.
Seeing his actions, Han Yan activated the Sun-Swallowing Pearl again, and ten thousand golden flames composed of Bing Fire power descended from the sky.
As the silver light surged in, Yun Nianrong was horrified to feel the Blood River rapidly losing its vitality and quickly severing its connection with her demonic thoughts.
The raging flames were scorching the river of blood again, and she had completely forgotten about revenge.
She endured her deep-seated hatred, severed her tail to survive, and burned her life essence to activate the Blood Escape Technique to escape into the distance.
(End of this chapter)
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