The short-haired, black-robed man's heart was already burning with a nameless fire. He had attacked four times, and only on the first strike had he killed two fourth-rank Wind Beasts. After that, he had been blocked by these juniors time and again.
"Only a sword cultivator can stop a sword cultivator!"
This was the perception of the vast majority of people in the cultivation world. A sword cultivator's attack was sharp and unparalleled, looking down on the world. Their greatest strength was, of course, not defense, but offense against offense, one sword to break a myriad of techniques.
But today, Xue Longzi, despite taking the initiative to attack several times, had achieved very little. What angered him the most was that this was just a group of Nascent Soul cultivators. How could he let them jump around in front of him?
Of course, this was the thought of most people. The strongest spear and the strongest shield were always a topic of debate.
If a Spirit Transformation cultivator who specialized in the earth element were to fight the short-haired, black-robed man, as long as they could withstand his first few rounds of attacks, then the sword cultivator's greatest weakness—insufficient magical power—would be exposed...
Li Yan, like a ghost, appeared twenty zhang away from the short-haired, black-robed man.
The short-haired, black-robed man was currently turned sideways to Li Yan. His shoulder just moved imperceptibly, and two more flying swords, one above and one below, shot towards Li Yan like lightning.
Coupled with the flying sword that was following him like a shadow from behind, Li Yan was instantly surrounded by three swords. Besides paying the most attention to Hong Yin, the short-haired, black-robed man was most focused on Li Yan.
'He is familiar with poison and soul-type secret arts, but soul-type secret arts are also prone to backlash. His appearance earlier indeed showed that he had suffered a backlash. This kind of secret art generally cannot be used many times, but I just don't know how many times he can use it in one day...'
He also quickly filtered through Li Yan's attacks in his mind. He could not let this person get close to him again.
But in the next moment, what made the short-haired, black-robed man's heart pound was that just as the three swords surrounded Li Yan and were about to seal off a patch of the world, Li Yan's rapidly flying figure suddenly disappeared from the Divine Sense of others.
He could actually speed up again. Even in the short-haired, black-robed man's Divine Sense at this moment, he only saw a phantom like a fallen leaf in an autumn wind. Amidst a gust of wind, it suddenly turned into a clump of willow catkins.
From the line where the two swords, one above and one below, were about to close their lockdown of the world, with a strange twist, it "slid" out like a snake, and then was at his side, one zhang away.
"This... this... he... how did he do that!"
The short-haired, black-robed man's consciousness was momentarily stunned. That Li Yan could appear within twenty zhang of him was already an extreme speed, far beyond his expectations.
But how could he, in the face of an impending collision with a flying sword, still make such an impossible small-angle turn?
In that situation, shouldn't he only be able to dodge to the side, or take it head-on? Even for him, there were only these two ways to break it.
The short-haired, black-robed man felt that he himself couldn't make such a rapid turn at such a small angle at that speed. How much impact force would Li Yan's body have to bear at that time?
Even the physical body of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, in that situation, would be twisted into a bizarre pretzel on the spot, and their internal organs would be squeezed out from all their orifices in an instant!
In this hasty turn of events, Li Yan was already in front of the short-haired, black-robed man. And it was only at this time that Yan San in the distance let out a miserable cry.
The changes were so dazzling that even the elders below felt dizzy. Once a Late-stage Great Cultivator started attacking, it was simply impossible for their Divine Sense to keep up.
Therefore, they could not interfere in this battle. If there was one person below who could still see some of the attacks clearly, it was only Gong Shanhe.
The short-haired, black-robed man's heart was alarmed, but his reaction was also lightning fast. A great white light flared on his body, and at the same time, with his fingers together like a sword, he pointed towards Li Yan's brow like lightning.
At this time, Li Yan's hands were already covered in two clouds of red and green mist, ready to attack with his fists.
But his movement skill was fast, yet he still appeared in the other party's Divine Sense. A Spirit Transformation cultivator's counter-attack was even swifter. A sword qi shot out from his finger towards him.
Li Yan did not dare to take it head-on. With great speed, his body twisted strangely again and was in front of the short-haired, black-robed man.
This time, as he twisted, he had already attacked without any hesitation. His hands suddenly became like chaotic leaves in the wind. When he raised them above his head, his ten fingers changed and quickly drew a line.
The sword qi that the short-haired, black-robed man had struck almost grazed Li Yan's clothes. The other party's bending at the waist, twisting, sliding, disappearing, and reappearing still gave him a feeling of misdirection, a frustrating feeling of having no leverage.
But before he could continue his attack, he was horrified to find that the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, as well as the power controlling the nine flying swords, had suddenly become unstable.
'This is not poison!'
This was the first thought that came to the short-haired, black-robed man's mind. And in the next moment, something that shocked him even more happened.
A moment ago, he had only felt that his control was unstable, but in the next instant, the connection between the nine flying swords and his mind and magical power had become intermittent.
'This... this is an art that disrupts the rules of heaven and earth!'
The short-haired, black-robed man was once again shocked. He had never expected that in this Tianli Clan, although there was no Spirit Transformation cultivator like the Great Sacrificial Priest, the two Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who had suddenly appeared could both master the rules of heaven and earth to such a degree. When had Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators become so powerful?
Li Yan had originally wanted to use his Fragmented Poison Body at close range to catch the other party off guard. Even corroding the opponent's protective light shield would have some effect.
But it was obvious that the other party, after the incident with Wan Qingshe, was extremely wary of him.
Just by looking at how he had used several swords to try and kill him just now, not allowing him to get close, one could see some clues. Even if Li Yan's speed was faster, the other party would instantly thicken his protective light shield and use sword qi to create distance first.
If Li Yan charged forward, he would either have to clash with the opponent's sword qi head-on or dodge.
Li Yan was experienced in combat. How could he clash head-on with the sword qi of a Spirit Transformation sword cultivator? He immediately switched to the Late-stage Nascent Soul secret art of the Gui Water Immortal Sect—the "Five Elements Disarray Mantle."
This art could disrupt the Five Elements rules in a region of the world, making it impossible for those enveloped within to borrow the nearby Spiritual Energy and the Rules of Heaven and Earth for a short time.
But because it damaged the Five Elements forces within the rules, each use would cause a backlash of varying intensity.
And Li Yan was currently using it above his rank, so at this moment, he was already experiencing a splitting headache. He just kept his lips tightly shut and made no sound.
They had to let the other party know that even without a Great Sacrificial Priest, the Tianli Clan was not fish on the chopping block, to be slaughtered at will.
Through these years of hard cultivation, Li Yan had finally achieved initial mastery of this terrifying art, but he was still a considerable distance from minor completion.
But even so, just at the initial mastery stage, this art had already unleashed a power that even a Spirit Transformation cultivator could not resist.
The moment Li Yan used the "Five Elements Disarray Mantle," affecting a hundred-zhang radius around the short-haired, black-robed man, a red light like a swimming dragon amidst the golden light in front of Hong Yin quickly moved and had already tapped on one of the flying swords in the sky full of golden light.
In that instant, that flying sword erupted with streams of icy sword qi, but under the high temperature of the crimson spearhead and the surrounding golden light, a large cloud of white mist rose.
Hong Yin's full chest heaved violently, and magical power rolled out from her body.
And just then, she suddenly felt the crimson glow longspear under her control lurch forward. She almost couldn't control her strength.
The flying sword that was resisting the crimson glow longspear, which had originally had the force of a mountain in its slash, had its strength suddenly reduced by more than half in an instant, becoming erratic.
"Ding!"
That flying sword, under another strike from the crimson glow longspear, actually showed cracks, and the spiritual energy on its body was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Hong Yin was also stunned. It was only then that she saw Li Yan appear at the side of the short-haired, black-robed man, possibly having used some kind of art or divine ability. The spiritual energy in that area was extremely turbulent, but Li Yan's feet were already continuously retreating.
Her combat experience was so rich; she knew that the current situation was an opportunity created by Li Yan, but Li Yan definitely couldn't support it for more than a few breaths, and the other party would soon counter-attack.
Red light also flashed in Hong Yin's eyes, and her attack speed suddenly increased. Holding the spear with one hand, she transformed into a phantom and continuously tapped down.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!"
A series of crisp sounds were heard. The remaining three flying swords were instantly struck by the crimson glow longspear, and cracks appeared on all of them. A large amount of spiritual energy continuously dissipated from their bodies. It was clear that these four flying swords were no longer usable.
Although the short-haired, black-robed man was a Spirit Transformation cultivator, he needed to refine too many flying swords, so not every flying sword could reach a level that he was completely satisfied with.
In his Niwan Palace, there were only three flying swords as his natal magical treasures, and their rank was very high.
But the crimson glow longspear was a sect-guarding treasure of the "Red Whisk Temple" back then, used to slay demons and monsters, and it had been individually nurtured and refined by a Spirit Transformation cultivator.
It was only to pass it on to a disciple as a temple-protecting divine artifact that the original Spirit Transformation divine sense on it had been erased.
Its crimson spearhead was an even rarer treasure in the world, refined with extremely precious materials from the "Red Whisk Temple." It was also a magical treasure that only a Spirit Transformation cultivator could use.
Under the intense, short collision between the two sides, although the short-haired, black-robed man's four flying swords were sharp, they were not his natal magical treasures.
When they collided with a magical treasure longspear of the same rank, they appeared weak and were instantly damaged...
The Great Elder's sinking body suddenly felt light. The flying sword that was still inside the thousand-legged centipede's body, piercing through it bit by bit, seemed to have suddenly lost its subsequent power.
Under the upward pressure of the powerful magical power infused into his two arms, it shot up from the thousand-legged centipede's body like a flying arrow, bringing with it a jet of green blood. The Great Elder's figure also shot up into the sky again at the same time.
The thousand-legged centipede above had already disappeared, and his hand once again held a staff, but it was no longer glossy black, but had turned a grayish-black, its luster much dimmer.
At the same time, in the middle part of the staff, there was a deep hole that almost penetrated it.
Yan San, who was flying around trying to dodge, was swallowing medicinal pills on one hand and desperately dodging the flying sword that was chasing him on the other. If it weren't for the "Wind Goose Clan's" swift movement skill, he might have been caught up and cut down by the flying sword in this short time.
But even so, he felt his speed starting to slow down. After losing a small part of his body, many of his internal organs, in his rapid flight, did not have time to heal and were still constantly falling off.
It wasn't until he swallowed the medicinal pill and a large amount of spiritual power was generated in his body again that he was able to divert a portion of his magical power to protect the wound, but he had already lost a lot of blood.
That flying sword was like a ferocious beast that had smelled blood, clinging to him relentlessly.
As Yan San made several rapid turns in the air to dodge, the tearing pain from his body, coupled with the massive consumption of magical power, caused his movements to slow down slightly. The flying sword immediately appeared at his side.
It stabbed fiercely towards his waist and abdomen from an angle. Yan San was greatly alarmed, and it was already too late to dodge.
A fierce glint also flashed in his eyes. The purple orb with a crack on it suddenly appeared again and actually smashed directly towards the flying sword.
His heart was bleeding. With the sharpness of that flying sword and it being controlled by a Spirit Transformation cultivator, his magical treasure would probably not even last a single breath before being completely destroyed.
But at this point, he could only choose to sacrifice the treasure to save himself.
"Ding!"
An expected crisp sound was heard. Yan San took the opportunity to quickly descend, but then he was stunned, because the purple orb connected to his mind still existed.
He hastily swept his Divine Sense over and saw that the flying sword that had been chasing him relentlessly like the god of death had actually, under the smash of the purple orb, not been able to cut through the purple light outside the orb, but had been sent flying backward.
In an instant, the purple orb and the flying sword flew off in two different directions for more than a thousand zhang, showing the great force of the collision.
"Hmm?"
The moment Yan San was stunned, his Divine Sense couldn't help but sweep towards the short-haired, black-robed man. He didn't know why the other party had suddenly held back, but then he saw a shocking scene.
There, near the short-haired, black-robed man, was Li Yan, who was rapidly retreating. His feet slid out in a streak of light, but he firmly planted himself in the air, not letting himself fall. At the same time, his hands seemed to be continuously forming some kind of hand seal.
Although he was constantly retreating, the short-haired, black-robed man's body was also constantly swaying, as if he were drunk.
And the moment Yan San's Divine Sense approached that area, it was shattered by an incomparably chaotic force.
'What kind of art is that? It makes a patch of space so turbulent!'
Yan San was surprised and quickly scanned the surroundings, but did not find any spatial cracks. This meant that it was an art used by Li Yan, not tearing the void, but driving a terrifying force to disrupt that area.
The short-haired, black-robed man was already in a state of extreme rage. That a Spirit Transformation cultivator could not even control the stability of the space around him... this Li Yan was simply unbelievably powerful.
The short-haired, black-robed man was of course furious. Just when the surrounding spatial laws suddenly became distorted and were no longer under his control, waves of pain came from his mind.
It was the backlash from the destruction of the flying sword magical treasures he had been nurturing.
Although this pain couldn't compare to the excruciating pain of having his natal magical treasure destroyed, and it wouldn't injure him too severely, it had indeed injured him.
The short-haired, black-robed man's entire body's magical power immediately surged, and a terrifying force spread out. The surrounding rules of power seemed to be slowly smoothed out, and he began to control the power of this area again.
And the short-haired, black-robed man was also terrified in his heart. In order to stabilize the surrounding rules of power, he had already used even stronger power.
So, he immediately sensed whether there was a repulsive force in this world. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful and unleashed the power of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, he wouldn't know where he would end up.
Therefore, the strongest power he could use was somewhere between Spirit Transformation and the peak of Late-stage Nascent Soul. He had to rely more on his mastery of the rules of power to crush the Nascent Soul cultivators.
But the rules of power around him had been thrown into chaos, leaving him with no leverage, which made him lose his advantage in an instant.
Just as Li Yan was pushed back by him and the surrounding space had just calmed down a bit, the short-haired, black-robed man's expression suddenly changed again.
'What kind of strange power is this again?'
A thought rose in his mind again.
Because, at his side, a strong suction force had suddenly appeared.
And what made his expression change dramatically for the first time was that at the location where the suction force appeared, he seemed to sense the existence of a void, which was trying to forcibly pull him in.
This force was extremely strong, and his body was instantly dragged in by a small half. At this bizarre scene, the short-haired, black-robed man's heart was already filled with terror.
And at this moment, somewhere on Li Yan's wrist, under the cover of black spiritual power, a speck of yellow light was flashing. It flashed so fast that only Li Yan could feel it, as if a tiny vortex had already appeared.
And on his palm, the Fragmented Poison Body of three or four colors appeared again.