The mantis stalks the cicada
After noticing this peculiar consciousness, Ruan Qingyu quickly looked over.
Jin Chengcheng and Yang Ming were forced to retreat by the overwhelming sword energy, and the final blow sent her whip flying.
"My whip!" Jin Chengcheng exclaimed in surprise. Her magical weapon was her best battle companion. Now that she had lost her whip, her eyes lit up and she immediately went to find it.
Yu Xiuxiu chuckled softly, her eyes sparkling as she whispered in Liu Shixiong's ear, "Senior Brother Liu, it seems this junior sister doesn't want to fight anymore without her weapon. Why don't we send her away?"
Senior Brother Liu nodded, his gaze sharpening as he looked in Jin Chengcheng's direction. A surge of spiritual energy, like ocean waves, rippled around the two of them once more, accompanied by the sharpness of sword energy.
Jin Chengcheng was attacked from behind, her hair standing on end. Yet, at this moment, she couldn't move at all, as if she were locked onto by some kind of aura.
Yang Ming, watching from a distance, immediately narrowed his eyes. He lunged at Jin Chengcheng, only to be struck by three swords in the back.
With excruciating pain, Yangming rolled over three times while holding Jin Chengcheng. Only then did he have a moment to look at his back; the wounds were deep in his bones.
Seeing that both of them were seriously injured, Ruan Qingyu flashed over and with a wave of her hand, a wall of fire surrounded them.
He shook his head at Liu Feng, who looked somewhat anxious not far away, his eyes full of warning. Seeing this, Liu Feng stopped looking in their direction and focused on fighting his opponent.
“The two must be using a combined attack technique.” Wutong’s voice rang out at the right time, instantly diverting Ruan Qingyu’s attention.
"Can you fight?" That was all Ruan Qingyu cared about.
Suddenly, Wutong's voice carried a hint of amusement: "This move looks scary, but it's actually just because the technique is of a higher level. If your divine fire were to burn it, it would only be a matter of time before it's too late."
Having received a clear answer, Ruan Qingyu acted decisively, stepping forward to block the two of them. Her eyes were sharp as knives as she looked at Yu Xiuxiu and the other girl.
Jin Chengcheng came to her senses, blood still stained at the corner of her mouth: "It was this Jade Sect that tricked me out of the Ganoderma lucidum and the points jade slip."
Upon hearing Jin Chengcheng's accusation, Yu Xiuxiu immediately laughed, quite pleased with herself: "This isn't a lie, this is a competition, only winning proves true skill."
As she spoke, Yu Xiuxiu glanced at her senior brother Liu behind her. Having been fellow disciples for many years, the two naturally understood Yu Xiuxiu's thoughts immediately.
"Yin Yang Transformation into Water Sword!" As the two spoke at the same time, a surge of powerful water spiritual energy rose around them once again, and within this water spiritual energy was the sharpness of a golden spear.
Gradually, it transformed into a land-based waterspout. It rushed straight towards Ruan Qingyu and the others, with flying sand and stones turning the azure water into an earthy color.
Moisture filled the entire river area, and Ruan Qingyu felt her spiritual energy draining away even faster. She couldn't help but squint slightly, and slowly spread her hands in front of her chest.
Centered on Ruan Qingyu, golden-red flames suddenly began to rise, slowly enveloping her.
At the heart of the flames, which resembled a silkworm cocoon, scorching heat continuously spread outwards.
Gradually, the golden-red fire elemental energy intertwined and resisted the muddy water, faintly dividing this area into two sections along the river.
Seeing that Ruan Qingyu alone could withstand the combined attack of her and Senior Brother Liu, Yu Xiuxiu gritted her teeth and glared angrily, her anger rising.
She immediately bit her tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood. It landed right on the spirit sword in her hand, and the originally silver-white blade quickly glowed red after being stained with blood.
A fierce aura suddenly appeared, and the already powerful water swords doubled in power. They launched an attack on all the cultivators on the opposite bank, and some disciples who had been watching from behind Ruan Qingyu's group retreated hastily.
Having only a few points on him, there was really no need to risk getting himself involved just to join the fun. In no time, everyone around him, except for Liu Feng, Jin Chengcheng, and the others who were still fighting, had left.
On the other side, Yu Xiuxiu smiled smugly: "Whether you go out seriously injured or stay here at best, this sister from the Xuantian Sect should know which is more important."
The address of "elder sister of the Xuantian Sect" caused Jin Chengcheng, who was still recuperating cross-legged not far away, to widen her eyes in anger. This woman had spoken to her in the same way when she stole the Lingzhi mushroom, causing Jin Chengcheng to be surrounded by the Gold-Eating Rats.
Yangming reached out and pressed Jin Chengcheng down. Even though she was injured, she was still so easily agitated.
Ruan Qingyu sneered, not even glancing at Yu Xiuxiu. Her aura grew even stronger, and even the ends of her hair seemed to be tinged with a golden-red.
In the distance, Liu Feng forced a man back from the opposite bank and kicked him into the river. Turning around, he saw a firebird appear behind Ruan Qingyu, its form both real and unreal. Rubbing his eyes, he felt the phantom resembled the legendary phoenix.
Her indifferent attitude and disregard for Xiuxiu's words made Xiuxiu so angry that her nose twitched violently.
"Hmph!" Yu Xiuxiu sneered, seemingly already envisioning Ruan Qingyu becoming her defeated opponent.
"Yin and Yang transform into water, and water becomes the sword's edge!" Yu Xiuxiu shouted, and the combined sword, stained with blood, hurtled towards Ruan Qingyu's face with layers of afterimages.
Liu Feng, who was rushing up from a distance, had no choice but to avoid the attack and retreat to the side. However, he was still a step too slow, and several bloody marks appeared on his face.
Seeing this, Yangming shouted, "Come here!" Instantly, he pulled Jin Chengcheng and Liu Feng closer to him, and several earthen walls surrounded the three of them.
"Let's hide for a while. Senior Sister Ruan should be able to handle it." Yang Ming hesitated for a moment, but his intuition told him that the three of them were injured and could not confront Yu Xiuxiu head-on.
Immediately, Liu Feng frowned in displeasure, stuffed a handful of healing pills into his mouth, and was about to leave through the earthen wall. He was immediately stopped by Jin Chengcheng, who said, "What are you thinking? Qingyu must have her own methods to be able to go outside. If you go out in this state and get seriously injured, our team will lose!"
Just then, Ruan Qingyu's voice came: "You three should hide." Their situation was not good, so it was better to hide to prevent the Phoenix Divine Fire from getting out of control and injuring them.
As she spoke, the phoenix phantom behind Ruan Qingyu, after consuming about 70% of her spiritual power, vaguely materialized and headed towards the menacing Yin-Yang twin swords.
In the blink of an eye, the muddy water could be seen momentarily eroding the flames, extinguishing much of them. But soon, the chirping of birds rang out.
With each bird's cry, the flames grew an inch larger; as the birdsong continued, the flames surged fiercely. They then dried the mud and water, causing the cracked mud and water to instantly crumble into sand.
The three fought each other, evenly matched. On the other side, Yangming was so exhausted that his veins were bulging as he barely managed to protect the two others from the residual force of their attacks.
The smile on Yu Xiuxiu's lips gradually faded, replaced by disbelief in her eyes. Her Jade Stone Sect's combined attack technique, once unleashed, could repel enemies with power exceeding that of an entire realm.
However, in the current situation, Ruan Qingyu's expression remained unchanged, clearly indicating that she was handling the situation with ease and had no problem dealing with the two of them.
Her breathing gradually became heavier, and Yu Xiuxiu turned her head to Senior Brother Liu and said, "Senior Brother, I want to use that move."
Before she could finish speaking, Senior Brother Liu shook his head violently: "Junior Sister Yu, no, this move is too risky. If we can't win after using it, it will result in mutual destruction."
Hearing this, Yu Xiuxiu gritted her teeth in resentment. Things had come to this point, and there was nothing she could do alone. A fierce glint appeared in her eyes as she looked at Ruan Qingyu; if only she could add a little more power.
It's really unfair that I have to beg my senior brother to take action, while this person can get such a high-level technique just because he joined a top sect.
Driven by insatiable desire, Yu Xiuxiu bit her tongue again, causing even more blood to spurt out. Instantly, sword energy surged forth, forcing even Chen Yang, who had been following behind, to retreat three feet.
Ruan Qingyu slightly withdrew one hand, about to exert force again, when she suddenly felt her spiritual energy flow much more smoothly. She immediately understood, and said in her mind, "Wutong, were you helping me?"
"Don't worry, Miss Ruan. With me here, those unorthodox methods on the other side will never be able to defeat you." Wutong's voice was still gentle, yet full of strength.
Using this force, Ruan Qingyu took another step forward, stretching out her hands. A powerful force, carrying the Phoenix Divine Fire, quickly spread to Yu Xiuxiu and the other person.
Yu Xiuxiu and Senior Brother Liu groaned, black blood spilling from the corners of their mouths.
Senior Brother Liu glanced helplessly at Yu Xiuxiu and said in a low voice, "Junior Sister, our team already has enough points, there's really no need to continue."
Yu Xiuxiu wouldn't listen to this. Just as she was about to retort, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and slowly turned her head. She saw Chen Yang's familiar face, but the face that had looked so friendly half an hour ago now resembled a demon from hell.
In her hazy state, Yu Xiuxiu heard Chen Yang speak slowly and deliberately: "Junior Sister Yu, your Jade Stone Sect isn't a big power to begin with, so there's no point in fighting for these points."
"You! Despicable!" Yu Xiuxiu looked up, her eyes filled with hatred as she looked at Chen Yang.
Chen Yang's expression was sinister, his eyes filled with malice. His hands moved swiftly, drawing his longsword, the blade cutting through his skin.
Because of the combined attack technique, the longsword that stabbed from behind pierced through both of them. Senior Brother Liu, who was the most seriously injured, immediately collapsed after the sword was withdrawn.
Yu Xiuxiu was shocked and rushed over, trembling: "Senior brother!" In the blink of an eye, the two of them, due to their serious injuries, were taken away by the Boundless Tower.
Chen Yang accepted the two people's points jade slips with satisfaction. The light screen changed instantly, and Chen Yang's name quickly rose to tenth place.
With no opponent, the Phoenix Divine Fire instantly transformed into a vortex in the air. It would occasionally disperse like clouds, only to coalesce back into the vortex.
After glancing at the strange flame, Chen Yang smiled at Ruan Qingyu, his face completely devoid of the hateful expression he had shown when facing Yu Xiuxiu.
“Fellow Daoist of Xuantian Sect, my original intention was to enter the top ten. Now that this annoying woman is gone, why don’t we each take a step back?”
As Chen Yang spoke, he looked directly at Ruan Qingyu, his demeanor very gentle. His tone, though seemingly conciliatory, carried a hint of ingratiation.
However, if someone observes closely, they will notice that Chen Yang's gentleness does not reach his eyes, and a few dark glints flash when he occasionally looks at Ruan Qingyu's side.
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