The exposed Fish-Dragon took to the skies, fleeing at a speed that neared the Vacuum Walking Standard, making it nearly impossible for anyone in the Sword Garden to catch up. Yu Ci chose a direction opposite to that of the Heavy Weapon Sect group and set off at a brisk pace. Instead of using the Godspeed Talisman, he employed the method in the "Light Extinguishing Escape Method".
This escape method is the foundational method of the Heaven Escape Sect, a major faction in the Cultivation World. It is an arrangement of nine basic stances derived from the Five Elements Escape Technique and the art of vertical movement and body transformation. While not necessarily profound, it excels in concealing one's aura and accumulating overlapped energy.
During his months of cultivation in the Sect, Yu Ci had practiced sword techniques with Li You, Zhang Yan, and others, naturally employing this method. Coincidentally, Zhang Yan had once fought against assassins from the Heaven Escape Sect and had witnessed the authentic Heaven Escape Killing Sword. This experience facilitated their exchange, deepening Yu Ci's understanding of the method.
The nine basic stances of the Light Extinguishing Escape Method are derived from the various actions of a cultivator, whether walking, sitting, fighting, hiding, or even fleeing. The purpose of creating this method was not for battlefield engagement, but to enable cultivators to always maintain these basic stances, integrating them into daily life, so as to constantly conceal their aura and maintain a state of latent power, ready to strike like thunder. In this state, they naturally hold an advantage against enemies.
Yu Ci had been cultivating for a short time, and to maintain this state in all his actions was somewhat challenging. However, when he focused intently, his internal Primordial Qi surged back and forth, creating a circulating inward force. His pores naturally sealed, and his vital essence became dense and leak-proof. Although the internal pressure was increasing, his speed also increased. Finally, after verifying that his aura was completely concealed, his Xi Guang Sword vibrated silently and suddenly transformed into fog.
In this state, using the Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent, Yu Ci instantly blended into the pervasive grey mist of the Sword Garden, his traces concealed.
A moment later, thunder rumbled in the sky as two Golden Elixir cultivators rode lightning across the sky. Midway, they split up, with the male cultivator veering towards the direction Yu Ci had come from, while the female cultivator went straight to where Yu Ci had just killed the Thief. Her slender, athletic body hovered in the air, looking down. Her bronze, ugly beak partially hidden in shadow, exuded an aura of ruthless coldness.
Her cold gaze swept over the corpses, then the female cultivator slightly turned her head, staring in the direction Yu Ci had departed. Her delicate body suddenly lit up with electricity, and after a few flashes, she was gone. This was the starting point where Yu Ci had completely concealed his aura with the Light Extinguishing Escape Method and escaped using the Foggy Sword Divine.
In the next moment, a thunderous "crack" echoed in the air, akin to a strong bowstring vibrating. An invisible ripple swept across the void within a radius of a mile, the gray fog undulated, but there was no obvious reaction. As the sound lingered, a second crash resounded, the two shockwaves pushing against each other, reaching a distance of three miles, yet there was no echo.
The female cultivator stood silent for a while, her figure landing on the ground, her sturdy boots making contact with the earth. A faint blue electrical fire jumped twice on the ground before being absorbed by the earth. At the same time, a howl came from a companion in the distance, signaling a discovery.
After a brief hesitation, the female cultivator took off, lightning streaking across the sky, flying towards the source of the howl. However, just as she was about to disappear into the clouds, she abruptly raised her hand, a spear-like dark light, carrying a howl, swiftly shot downwards, embedding itself two feet deep into the ground where she had stood.
A visible dark halo spread rapidly from the point of insertion, wherever it passed, grass withered, rocks shattered, the horrifying power of corrosion instantly sweeping across the ground within a radius of three miles. A large portion of the land instantly transformed into a highly toxic swamp, even bubbling ominously.
After waiting for a moment and seeing no one appear on the ground, the female cultivator in mid-air beckoned again, the terrifying spear transformed into light and flew back. Without looking back, the female cultivator disappeared in a flash of lightning.
About a quarter of an hour later, two Golden Elixir cultivators returned together, following the original path to catch up with the large team of the Heavy Weapon Sect. On this path, Pang Ji's corpse still lay, but no one gave it a second glance, including the thirty-six-layer refined Curse Sword Conch Shell, which was still left on the ground, unclaimed.
After a little while, when the two Golden Elixir cultivators had truly left, not far from the corpse of Pang Ji, there was a muffled sound, and the ground cracked open. Yu Ci, a male, crawled out from inside, not getting up, just lying on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Phew, that ruthless woman!"
The female cultivator wearing the Thunder God Mask was very cunning, her search methods were all spot-on, and her final move of turning a three-mile radius into a toxic swamp was far beyond his imagination, not at all like the methods of a Golden Elixir cultivator!
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However, Yu Ci could be proud of his ability to deceive and escape. From the start, he had made up his mind to exploit the blind spots in her thinking. After hiding his aura, he didn't flee far, but instead used Earth Escape to return underground along the path he had come, passing right by the female cultivator.
The aura he had failed to completely hide was the perfect cover. The female cultivator only noticed the residual aura extending a mile away, but overlooked the faint fluctuations of earth energy when Yu Ci was traveling underground. Of course, she later suspected that Yu Ci had hidden underground, so she used that terrifying move, the poison seeping nearly thirty feet into the ground, almost dragging Yu Ci in, but she still didn't realize he had taken a detour. Yu Ci, on the other hand, decided to go all out and hide under the corpse of Pang Ji, waiting until the two cultivators had left.
Everything was done well, yet it was not perfect.
By his side, the corpse of Pang Ji emitted waves of bloody stench, too gruesome to bear witness. However, the current condition of Yu Ci was not much better. Tiny lacerations marred his face, and the rest of his body bore even more severe injuries. After a long struggle to catch his breath, Yu Ci finally managed to recover slightly, beginning to treat his wounds with the spiritual medicine bestowed by Sect's Mountain Gate. Ironically, most of these injuries were self-inflicted.
After pouring a bottle of Flesh Regeneration Elixir over his head, Yu Ci was still shaken, "They were right indeed. Using the Five Elements Escape Technique in the Sword Garden requires one to be prepared for the risk of being strangled to death..."
Due to the combined effects of the two Sword Immortals and the sword aura and resentment of hundreds of Sword cultivators before their death, the space within the Sword Garden was distorted. The Qi of Yin Yang and Five Elements differed significantly from the outside world, especially since most Sword cultivators refined their Innate Geng Metal Qi. Upon death, this Qi dispersed into the void, making the Sword Garden particularly rich in the Qi of the Metal element.
The Five Elements Escape Technique was incapable of controlling this type of Geng Metal Qi because it was refined by Sword cultivators and almost possessed a form of spirituality. Whether Yu Ci transformed into a fog when riding his sword or used the Earth Escape to dive underground, these Geng Metal Qi would create intense interference and even inflict damage. The deeper underground he went, the more intense this became.
Having used Earth Escape to travel more than ten miles and then burying himself underground for a quarter of an hour was equivalent to withstanding the onslaught of a powerful Sword cultivator's Sword Energy. After the two Golden Elixir cultivators left, he barely had the strength to crawl back to the surface.
This was the Sword Garden, fraught with danger at every step, where one's life could be staked at any moment.
Chuckling to himself, Yu Ci exhausted the Flesh Regeneration Elixir and casually discarded the empty bottle, then looked towards the distant sky. The arrival of the Heavy Weapon Sect at the Sword Garden clearly had a significant purpose; otherwise, why would the two Golden Elixir cultivators let go so easily?
In the past, Yu Ci would have sent Fish-Dragon to investigate, but the leader was truly formidable... Come to think of it, that guy was the first to sense the connection between Fish-Dragon and him!
Well, never mind. Although he was curious, he had no intention of risking his life.
On the other hand, there were also gains to be made in the Sword Garden. Not more than seven or eight feet away, the Curse Sword Conch Shell lay quietly on the ground, within easy reach. A Magical Instrument refined through thirty-six layers, Yu Ci would only need ten days or half a month to familiarize himself with it and then he could control it freely. The power of the invisible curse sword was not to be underestimated.
As he got up to retrieve it, a sudden thought flashed through his mind. Hmm, this position... Before he could make sense of it, his heart suddenly trembled. Without a second thought, he swiftly retreated, leaving the Curse Sword Conch Shell behind. Just a moment too late, a sizzling sound filled the air. A nearly perfect ring was embedded around the Curse Sword Conch Shell, hugging the edge of the conch, perfectly enclosing it.
"Who is this thief, murdering and plundering? Do they not know that justice and righteousness still exist in this world?"
The sound of laughter echoed across the vast wilderness, and then Yu Ci saw, two miles away, a figure hovering in mid-air, slowly flying toward him.
Yu Ci looked down at the surrounding area with a solemn expression: two miles away, Sword Energy formed a ring, embedding a Dharma conch that was only a few feet in diameter. This level of Manipulation of Divine Consciousness and the method of controlling Sword Energy was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
At the Sect's Mountain Gate, he had heard others talk about the standard range of a Golden Elixir cultivator's Manipulation of Divine Consciousness. Generally speaking, an Initial Stage of Golden Elixir, or "Mechanism of the Cauldron" Cultivator, could perceive the environment within a one-mile radius in a relatively fine manner; a middle-level, or "Jade Liquid Golden Elixir" Cultivator, could extend the range to about two miles; and a high-level "Golden Liquid Golden Elixir" represented the great achievement of Physical and Spiritual Cultivation, so the range of Manipulation of Divine Consciousness varied from three to five miles depending on the quality of the elixir.
Of course, this referred to the most natural and normal state of a Cultivator. If one exerted full strength to manipulate their Divine Consciousness, releasing Soul Sensing, the range would be even greater. Conversely, a chaotic and complex environment would affect the perception, reducing the range.
Yu Ci estimated that the person approaching him must be at least a middle-level Golden Elixir Cultivator. Therefore, he made the most rational choice in an instant, gave the newcomer a cold glance, and retreated.
The newcomer was flying in the air, seemingly slow but actually fast. Yu Ci had only retreated half a mile when the man had already reached the place where Pang Ji's body lay. From a distance, the man had thick eyebrows, a straight nose, and square mouth, a handsome figure. However, a strange Rune Pattern was imprinted on his forehead, blood-red, like the eyes of a ghost about to open. With this Rune Pattern, his Heavenly Court seemed extremely narrow and gloomy, chilling to the beholder.
However, at this moment, he was righteously waving his sleeve, drawing the Curse Sword Conch Shell into his hand.
"Such a Magical Instrument should naturally return to its original owner. Hmm, if the original owner is dead, I will keep it temporarily... Ah!"
In the sudden outcry, a blue electric light flashed wildly!
...