Killing intent and spiritual energy intertwined to form a sea of light.
"Hmph, how dare this brat spout such nonsense! I'll have a go at you!" From the Xuan Tian Sect fleet, an elder in the early stage of the Integration Realm stepped forward.
It was Elder Xuantong, who had accompanied Zhao Xuan on his expedition. He held a bronze whisk in his hand, the whisk's filaments wreathed with faint spiritual energy. It appeared ordinary, yet it concealed a sharp edge capable of tearing through space.
"Perfect, I'll use you to test my newly mastered sword technique." Jiang Li's eyes sharpened, the rusty iron sword glowed red, and she moved like lightning, launching the first attack!
"The Emperor's Sword Scripture - Breaking Illusion!"
The crimson sword light streaked across the sky like a meteor, carrying the unique pressure of the Empress's divine soul, aiming straight for Xuan Tong's heart. Before the sword even arrived, the sharp sword intent already forced Xuan Tong's robes to flutter, and he hurriedly blocked it with his whisk.
"clang!"
As the sword clashed with the whisk, Xuan Tong felt an immense force surge through him, his arm went slightly numb, and several strands of the whisk were broken! He was shocked—this girl's strength was several times greater than it appeared!
"Is this all the skill an old man at the Integration Realm has?" Jiang Li pressed her advantage, her swordplay becoming increasingly fierce. The crimson sword light and shadows surged like an endless tide, each strike aimed directly at Xuan Tong's weaknesses. Although Xuan Tong was experienced, he was suppressed by the imperial might emanating from the sword and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position, only able to barely parry, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"You're courting death!" Xuan Tong, forced to the edge of the fleet, was utterly enraged. He slammed his storage bag down and pulled out a jet-black bead—this was the "Exploding Spirit Bead," which he had obtained after narrowly escaping death in the "Myriad Corpse Secret Realm" years ago. It contained the power of self-destruction and was originally his trump card for survival, but now he was going to use it against a female cultivator at the Void Refinement stage!
"Kid, try this!" Xuan Tong threw the Exploding Spirit Pearl at Jiang Li, infusing it with spiritual power. The pearl instantly expanded, radiating a destructive aura!
Jiang Li's eyes narrowed, and instead of retreating, she advanced, her rusty iron sword drawing an arc, red light condensing into a shield: "Emperor's Sword Scripture - Guard!"
"boom!"
The Exploding Spirit Orb exploded in front of the sword and shield, and a terrifying shockwave swept across the entire area. Several auxiliary ships of the Xuan Tian Sect were shaken violently, and Xuan Tong was thrown away by the shockwave, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he stared intently at the center of the explosion—his heartache was not for his injuries, but for the Exploding Spirit Orb that he had obtained with countless efforts! This was a treasure that could save his life even when surrounded by Nascent Soul cultivators, and it was gone just like that!
As the smoke and dust cleared, Jiang Li remained upright, her red robes stained with dust, but her eyes shone even brighter, and the red light on her sword had not diminished: "That's it?"
Xuan Tong felt a sharp pang in his heart when he saw that she was completely unharmed—a Nascent Soul cultivator being suppressed by a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator and even losing his natal magic treasure. If word got out, he wouldn't be able to live anymore!
On the open ground in front of the mountain gate, more and more cultivators from the Southern Region gathered, watching the battle unfold and discussing among themselves.
"That female cultivator in red is too fierce! Even the Nascent Soul elder was completely overwhelmed by her!"
"And that cultivator in the blue robe, isn't that Xiao Chen? He's alright too!"
"Which faction do these two belong to? Qingyun Sect? Never heard of it, how come they've raised so many prodigies?"
"Judging from this situation, the Xuantian Sect is probably not going to come out on top!"
The morale of the cultivators from the Southern Region rose higher and higher, their eyes filled with awe—the foundation of the Qingyun Sect, capable of producing such disciples, was probably far beyond their imagination.
On the other side, Xiao Chen, holding a rusty iron spear, locked his gaze on Zhao Feng, his spear intent sharp: "Zhao Feng, you've caused me trouble time and time again. Today it's time to settle things!"
"Who's afraid of who!" Zhao Feng shouted, his voice trembling with fear. Although he was only at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm (achieved through the use of pills), he was inexplicably intimidated by Xiao Chen. However, as the young master of the Xuan Tian Sect, he could not back down! He summoned a jade ruyi, infused it with spiritual power, and the jade ruyi transformed into a beam of white light, attacking Xiao Chen's face.
"clang!"
Xiao Chen flicked his spear tip, knocking away the jade ruyi, and closed in, unleashing a barrage of spear attacks like a storm. Although Zhao Feng's cultivation level was high, his foundation was weak, and he could only barely defend himself by relying on the spiritual power generated by the pills. He was quickly overwhelmed and had to rely on his agility to dodge in a sorry state.
"Something's not right..." Xiao Chen suddenly felt a sense of unease amidst the fierce battle. He caught a glimpse of Zhao Feng's eerie smile out of the corner of his eye, and his heart skipped a beat—something was amiss!
Sure enough, three dark figures emerged from the void like ghosts, their short blades gleaming with an eerie light, aiming straight for Xiao Chen's back! They were assassins from the Shadow Pavilion!
A hint of smugness flashed in Zhao Feng's eyes—this was something he had planned long ago. Even if he couldn't kill Xiao Chen, he would make him suffer a great loss!
But the next second, the three black figures were grabbed by an invisible hand, frozen in place, and then disappeared without a trace, leaving not even a trace of their presence!
"Wh...what's going on?" Zhao Feng's smug expression froze instantly, and he was dumbfounded—where was the assassin?
In the courtyard of the Qingyun Sect, Lin Zhou was playing with a leaf when three figures in black suddenly appeared before him—the three Shadow Pavilion assassins. They were bound by an invisible force, unable to move, their eyes filled with terror.
The fighting around them continued fiercely, and no one noticed the commotion here.
"Shadow Pavilion?" Lin Zhou glanced at the leading assassin, wanting to ask about the forces behind them, but then thought it was too much trouble, so he simply reached out his hand, his five fingers forming a claw.
"ah--!"
The shrill screams were sealed in the courtyard by an invisible force. Suddenly, a gray light shone from the top of the assassin's head, and Lin Zhou forcibly pulled out strands of twisted souls, which trembled in the air.
Lin Zhou's fingertips brushed across his soul, instantly accessing his memories.
"Shadow Pavilion, an underground force..." Lin Zhou released his grip, his soul instantly dissipating. "Since I had nothing else to do, I might as well go and take a look."
He vanished from the courtyard in a flash, as if he had never been there.
The battle continues.
Jiang Li had completely overwhelmed Xuan Tong. Her rusty iron sword pierced his defenses three times. If Xuan Tong hadn't relied on his years of combat experience to barely dodge, he would have been pierced through the heart long ago. Looking at the approaching sword shadow, Xuan Tong had only one thought in his mind—run!
Xiao Chen pressed closer to Zhao Feng, the tip of his spear grazing his neck several times. Although Zhao Feng was barely holding on thanks to a bunch of life-saving magic treasures (heart-protecting mirror, teleportation talisman, substitute puppet), he was already at his limit. The pill bottles in his storage bag were shattered on the ground, and his spiritual energy was almost depleted.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Zhao Feng saw his elders being overwhelmed and that he was no match for Xiao Chen. If they continued to fight, they would be wiped out. Finally, he could no longer care about saving face and shouted the order.
Xuan Tong felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He used his last bit of spiritual power to force Jiang Li back and then turned to fly towards the fleet. Seeing this, the cultivators of Xuan Tian Sect also retreated hastily, boarding their flying boats in a disheveled state.
Zhao Feng glanced at Xiao Chen and Jiang Li one last time, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness, but he dared not linger and turned to rush onto the main ship.
The Xuantian Sect's fleet, like stray dogs, fled in panic towards the Northern Region amidst the jeers of the Southern Region cultivators.
Xiao Chen leaned on his gun, while Jiang Li sheathed her sword and stood there. They looked at each other and saw weariness in each other's eyes, but also a hint of relief.
The cultivators of the Southern Region erupted in thunderous cheers, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at the two.
Unbeknownst to anyone, unseen by them, a figure had already embarked on a journey to avenge his disciple, with his target being the Shadow Pavilion.
This turmoil is far from over.
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