A razor-sharp surge of energy cleaved through the air, severing the galloping Step Cloud Beasts into halves. Their boiling blood sprayed into the air like mist, the pungent smell of gore permeating the surroundings. Amid the chaos, a voice, icy as pearls, rolled through the scene, sounding more like the clanging of a blood-stained blade.
"You despicable runaway, today I shall enforce the family law on you!"
Upon hearing the voice, Yu Ci, a man, sprung into mid-air, drawing his Pure Yang Talisman Sword and retreating swiftly. The Fish-Dragon was even quicker in response, disappearing without a trace.
As his body slid through the void, his gaze met a pair of cold phoenix eyes. Without a doubt, they belonged to Red Yin, a woman.
Standing about two zhang high in the void, Red Yin was largely shrouded in a pitch-black cloak, her jade-like face and raven-black hair reflecting the moonlight, shimmering brilliantly. The night sky spread out like black silk, a half-moon embedded within, its light as delicate as gauze. The distant mountains appeared like ink-dyed patterns. Her murderous intent was palpable, intertwining with the lingering blood mist, imbuing the moonlight with a touch of crimson, as if setting it aflame.
This proud woman, unable to swallow such humiliation, had come for revenge.
"Well done!"
Yu Ci had just landed when he heard Red Yin's praise. At the same time, he felt a slight warmth underfoot. A ring of green fire spread out from where he stood, forming a ghastly green circle around him. The green fire didn't attack him directly but emitted a powerful curse power that lingered in the surroundings.
"In my entire life, no one has ever managed to block my path for half a month, making it difficult for me to move even an inch! Yet, you managed to do so. Even if it was just a case of a dog relying on its master, it is still quite impressive. Therefore, I present to you this Ghost Fire Hell!"
Amid the whooshing sound of burning flames, several points of fire lit up on the ground a few feet away from Yu Ci, this time in a purplish-red hue. The lava-like fire spread across the ground, leaving deep, seared marks.
Yu Ci's gaze swept over these distorted fire marks. The surrounding curse power dispersed and flowed along these marks. The gap in cultivation between him and Red Yin was too large. Even though he knew that there were ruthless techniques involved, he couldn't stop them. Soon, the inner ring of the ghastly green fire surged, rising more than a person's height, forming a wall of fire that blocked his view. However, the female cultivator's deep and magnetic voice still echoed in his ears:
"I will use the Ghost Fire Hell to lock your Divine Soul, then spend three days slowly burning your flesh and bones. Of course, you will feel every bit of it. Then, we can have a nice chat, about your experiences over the past decade after you left the sect; and also, how you managed to trigger the strange power of the Divine Bronze Mirror and establish a connection with it."
Amid Red Yin's icy, bone-chilling words, Yu Ci took a slow breath, squinting his eyes. His view was blocked by the ghastly green fire, but he no longer needed to rely on his eyes to see. The Divine Bronze Mirror was on Red Yin, only about ten zhang away from him. The Aura connection had long been re-established, and the Divine consciousness starlight generated from the mirror was bounced off by Red Yin's Golden Elixir cultivator's aura, infiltrating the Brain Palace of surrounding creatures, tinting their colors. Thus, the scenery within several li was as clear as if it was right before his eyes.
After five days apart, the experience felt no less familiar. On the barren land at the cusp of winter and spring, life was abundant. By changing his perspective, he could clearly see the skirt of Red Yin's cloak fluttering in the wind and her red lips slightly parting to reveal her murderous intent. He could also see the carriage driver who had fallen off his carriage in fright, now running wildly back the way they came. He even noticed the subtle changes in the surrounding landscape. As the fire spread, a layer of frost had covered the grassland that had just sprouted new greenery.
Frost?
Red Yin's voice suddenly stopped. The female cultivator was indeed an extraordinary figure. She detected something unusual from Yu Ci's breathing and aura.
"You seem quite daring. Aren't you surprised to meet in such a desolate place?"
Yu Ci momentarily put aside his doubts, shifted his thoughts, and also began to laugh: "Of course I'm surprised. I'm surprised that you keep that mirror so close to you. Doesn't it burn you?"
Before the laughter had subsided, the Universe Sword sang.
Red Yin's reaction was swift and sharp. The moment Yu Ci suddenly shifted the conversation to the mirror, she sensed something was wrong and prepared to unleash "Ghost Fire Hell" to control this escaped slave. However, at that moment, a chilling sword aura pierced down from above, instantly locking onto her.
On the other hand, the moment Red Yin initiated her curse technique, Yu Ci had already spurred his Vaporized Sword Qi, rushing outward. He stared at the fire wall emitting curse power, but also noticed the rapidly spreading frost on the periphery. At this moment, a fragment of his soul sensing and the situation he was witnessing converged, a fleeting image flashed, its location right beneath his feet.
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Yu Ci felt his scalp tingle. In an instant, all the random thoughts in his mind were cleared, leaving only the purest instinct to drive him. His sword energy was like mist, and his body blended into it, as if being dispersed by the wilderness wind.
"Boom!"
Amidst the flying dirt and rocks, the ground exploded. A grey-white shadow burst from the ground, reaching out its claw in Yu Ci's direction.
Yu Ci's hair stood on end. This creature that had burst from the ground had truly terrifying cultivation. Because of his soul sensing, his aura was slightly ahead, and he was flying away with all his might. But under the creature's grasp, the air within half a mile froze in an instant. Even with the sharpness of Half Mountain Mirage, he found it hard to move!
Red Yin felt a chill all over her body. The timing of the chilling sword aura was just right, precisely when her curse technique was about to be unleashed. The change in her aura when she activated her curse technique became the trigger for the explosion of sword energy. Above the sky, the surging sword energy cascaded down like a waterfall, tearing through a thousand feet of void, intending to cut her in two!
In the heavens and earth, two masters of exceptional cultivation were equally startled. The one in the sky was shocked to find that there was a formidable adversary lurking underground, posing a threat far greater than Red Yin; the one beneath the ground was taken aback by the unexpected presence of a protector in the clouds, regretting that his timing had been rather poor!
At this moment, the complex situation had momentarily disoriented the four individuals from three parties. However, they quickly reacted.
The tide of swords that flowed at a thousand feet in the sky suddenly surged at its peak momentum, forming a wave of Sword Energy that cut obliquely between the grey shadow and Yu Ci. It vibrated with a humming energy, effectively blocking the opponent behind the Sword Energy. It merely obstructed the figure, but ultimately failed to stop the opponent's swift and lethal attack. With a series of clanging sounds, several sharp and pointed ice knives materialized out of thin air beside Yu Ci's neck, thrusting directly towards him from four directions.
Facing a deadly crisis, Yu Ci exerted his Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent with all his might. Simultaneously, a ray of light shot out from his collar, seemingly magnetic, causing the four ice knives to deviate slightly from their original positions, adding an unnecessary movement. Yu Ci seized this opportunity, breaking through the air as solid as ice, and escaped in a misty form. A moment later, the ice knives converged and clanged in the air, slicing only through empty space.
Failing to land a hit, the grey shadow retreated underground, disappearing without a trace.
"Dodge!"
In the midst of a deep shout, the figure in the sky plummeted with his sword, transforming into a rainbow light that pierced the frosty ground. The earth within several miles suddenly vibrated and surged. As soon as Yu Ci landed, he felt as if the earth beneath his feet had turned into a thin soup, unable to support his weight. An overwhelming force was colliding beneath the surface.
With this, the ground truly became like thin soup, boiling like in a pot, dust and soil splattering everywhere, only to be swept up into the sky by the explosive wind.
Yu Ci had just narrowly escaped death. Drenched in cold sweat, he pulled a thin silver chain from his collar. An iron talisman hung from the chain, simple in design and originally silver in color but now covered in a layer of rust.
This was a protective talisman named "Evil-warding Primordial Magnet" that Xie Yan had given him when he left Cliff City, just in case. It could release the stored power of the Evil-warding Primordial Magnet in an instant, deflecting many attacks, including Curse techniques. His ability to withstand Red Yin's Curse technique was partly due to this talisman. Ironically, it had come in handy.
However, he couldn't understand what the grey shadow was, or why it had suddenly attacked him.
The battle beneath the ground was still raging. Struck by the residual force, Yu Ci retreated further, still puzzled and feeling a tightness in his chest.
While the two powerful figures clashed, Red Yin was momentarily forgotten. However, the female cultivator did not forget her target. She watched the churning ground and glanced at Yu Ci who was now a mile away. Her lips tightened, her black cloak fluttered in the fierce wind, and her figure became transparent and was about to disappear into the night. At this moment, her body stiffened.
"Rakshasa Illusion Technique, unrivaled in the world, we are well aware of this. There's no need for the Red Yin Master to demonstrate it any further."
The voice was as old and hoarse as if it would dissipate with the wind. The Sword Energy that came with the words was as fine as dust, yet within this seemingly chaotic Sword Energy, there was a heart-palpitating murderous intent. She knew someone was behind her, but she had no clue how this lethal intent had slipped past her spiritual sense and aimed at her heart.
Listening to this person talk about the unrivaled Rakshasa Illusion Technique, but this fellow's refined and subtle Sword aura was probably the true unparalleled one!
In her mind, more than a dozen escape methods flashed by, but no matter what method, under the cunning Sword aura of the person behind her, the chance of success would not exceed twenty percent.
So, was she captured?
Red Yin trembled slightly, not out of fear, but from the shame that filled her body. She clenched her teeth, trying her best to maintain a calm tone, "Are you the observer? I'm just dealing with a runaway slave, why has your Lichen Sect made such a big deal out of it?"
The person behind her smiled, "I don't see any runaway slaves, only my Lichen Sect disciples, eh?"
Both Golden Elixir cultivators felt a major shift in the turbulent flow of the ground, followed by a loud explosion. The ground burst into dust dozens of feet high, and the gray shadow broke through the dust and soared straight up. Xie Yan chased after it with his rainbow light.
Despite the darkness of the night, everyone present could see clearly: under the moonlight, the gray shadow was nine feet tall, its smooth and strangely shaped body emitted a cold light identical to the moonlight, shining brightly in the night sky.
"Moon Demon!"
Both Red Yin and the person behind her exclaimed at the same time.
At this moment, Red Yin clearly saw that the originally clear sky was suddenly covered by dark clouds, as if the entire sky had sunk a thousand feet, with clouds as thick as a city.
Suddenly, a lightning bolt like a sword tore through the sky, and in an instant, lightning erupted in all directions. The flying Moon Demon didn't even have time to react before it was swallowed by the lightning.
The shriek exploded, sharp and piercing, not like a human voice, even the thunderous roar behind it couldn't suppress it for a moment!
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