Dharma power surged into the Soul Banner.
The banner cloth instantly stretched out, and Tu Shan Jun wrapped the grievously injured Li Qingfeng onto his back.
His legs bent.
Then he exploded forward, vaulting over the gate in an instant.
The turtle-armored Attendant violently swallowed a pill and charged up again to block him.
"Those who block me die!"
Tu Shan Jun roared.
Ghostly qi surged from his body as both fists erupted.
Bang.
Bang, bang, bang.
One punch was not enough to shatter it.
Then ten punches.
If ten punches were not enough, then a hundred.
Swift ghostly hands clenched into fists, hammering again and again against the sturdy Attendant's turtle-shell artifact.
In only a few breaths, cracks had already appeared across that turtle-shell artifact.
The stout cultivator's expression changed in horror.
"How is this possible?!"
His dharma-power shield was actually about to break.
He hurriedly looked toward Wen Lichun and shouted, "Save me!"
"Break!"
Tu Shan Jun bellowed.
Today.
He would take Li Qingfeng away.
No one could stop him!
Boom.
The turtle shell on the stout Attendant's body shattered with a bang. He spat out three mouthfuls of blood, and his ruddy face instantly turned deathly pale.
"Why haven't you made your move?"
Jingle, jingle, jingle.
The bell infused with dharma power rang out, its invisible ripples resembling a great net that bound Tu Shan Jun.
"Swift."
The ebony sword flew over once more.
Sword light whirled through the air, skimming past Tu Shan Jun.
Invisible sword qi sliced Tu Shan Jun's body open, tearing skin and flesh apart as blood streamed down.
Before Tu Shan Jun could rush out, the three formed a triangular formation and surrounded him.
Tu Shan Jun's fists trembled faintly.
Shattering the artifact had also left his fists showing signs of collapse.
His scarlet ghost eyes watched every Qi Refiner warily.
Living cultivators truly were difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, among the three, there was still a soft persimmon to squeeze.
Wounding ten fingers was better than severing one.
As long as there were casualties, there would be a way to break the deadlock.
The young immortal master's expression was grave.
He had only managed to strike this evil ghost by seizing the right moment. Now that the stout Attendant was injured, killing the evil ghost would become troublesome.
At first, he had thought Li Qingfeng was the threat.
Who would have thought the threat was not Li Qingfeng, but the Soul Banner artifact in his hand, along with the vicious ghost within it.
This ghost possessed remarkable martial skill. Its close-quarters combat was tyrannical beyond measure, and its fist techniques were utterly unfathomable.
Not to mention its intelligence, which was not the slightest bit inferior to an ordinary person's.
It was even more cunning and sinister.
It was nothing like those muddleheaded ghosts born naturally.
"Cough."
The instant the stout cultivator coughed blood, Tu Shan Jun moved.
He closed in within two or three steps.
Seeing the ghost close in, its overpowering aura crashing into him head-on, the stout cultivator was so frightened that his breathing fell into disarray.
And once it faltered, there was an opening.
In battle, once one's breathing technique broke, dharma power became difficult to sustain, and the qi throughout the body grew sluggish. At such a time, a cultivator was at his weakest.
That was precisely the moment Tu Shan Jun seized—finding order amid chaos and chestnuts from the fire.
He had seized the instant the stout cultivator coughed blood.
His ghostly hand was like a hammer, smashing directly through the stout cultivator's head.
Crack.
Like a shattered jar.
Red and white slurry splattered across the ground.
Tu Shan Jun yanked out his Living Soul and threw it into the Soul Banner.
The cultivation of the Qi Refining Third Layer greatly increased Tu Shan Jun's strength.
He was now only one step away from the strength of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
If that defensive turtle-shell artifact had not protected the stout cultivator all along, he should have died beneath Tu Shan Jun's fists long ago.
There would have been no need to scheme so painstakingly and forcibly snatch an opportunity.
The soul banner devoured the Qi Refiner's Living Soul.
The wounds on Tu Shan Jun's fists healed, and the places on his body cut open by sword qi also closed up.
Even the puncture wounds had already stopped bleeding.
Whether Wen Lichun had been too late to save the stout cultivator or had simply never intended to save him was unknown.
Even as his colleague's blood splashed across the scene, Wen Lichun's expression did not change. Instead, his gaze upon Tu Shan Jun grew ever more burning.
Too powerful.
A Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator could not withstand even a single blow.
A low-grade artifact had been smashed to pieces by bare fists.
And this had merely been done by an evil ghost from within the Soul Banner.
Such an artifact was absolutely a treasure.
"Could it be a supreme-grade artifact?" Wen Lichun suppressed the excitement in his heart and gripped his dharma sword tightly.
While Wen Lichun was thinking, the garrison immortal master had already made his move.
The Ebony Dharma Sword flew into his hand. He swallowed a fiery-red pill and clutched several long, neatly cut stone blocks in his hand.
"Kill!"
His voice was crisp and resolute.
The garrison immortal master charged straight at Tu Shan Jun.
To avoid harming Li Qingfeng on his back, Tu Shan Jun could only meet him head-on.
In an instant, the two became locked in battle.
Wen Lichun did not remain idle either and joined the fight.
The central hall of the entire yamen became a complete mess.
Half of it had already been reduced to ruins.
Now only the great roof remained, precariously supported by several pillars.
Tu Shan Jun's fists struck flesh with every blow.
However, golden light protected the garrison immortal master's body. Though it could not compare to the turtle-shell artifact, it still blocked much of the damage.
Meanwhile, more wounds were added to Tu Shan Jun's body.
If this dragged on until Li Qingfeng's dharma power could no longer hold out, they would become lambs awaiting slaughter.
He had to find a way to break the deadlock.
Moreover, that Attendant from Liangdu kept using his bell artifact to interfere with Tu Shan Jun.
The battle, already at a disadvantage, tipped further against him.
"I must find a chance to kill one of them. As long as I break through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, it will be enough."
Tu Shan Jun searched for an opportunity.
Yet he saw Wen Lichun attacking his back with every move, looking as though he intended to put Li Qingfeng to death.
To protect Li Qingfeng, Tu Shan Jun could only yield ground again and face the two head-on.
As he wheeled and shifted, the wounds on his body increased once more.
The garrison immortal master frowned. He felt this was far too despicable, but it was not his place to rebuke Wen Lichun.
On the battlefield, any move that worked was a good move. Even if it was despicable and sinister, there was no time to care about such things.
The urgent priority was still to kill the ghost and destroy the Soul Banner.
Wen Lichun began calculating his own little scheme.
Why not use the ghost to eliminate this gifted disciple of the Five Spirit Sect?
In any case, no one else knew what had truly happened. There would even be one fewer person to divide the spoils with.
Although the belongings of the Five Spirit Sect's Qi Refiner would be reclaimed by his sect, that fat man's things were still packed inside his Storage Talisman.
Wen Lichun immediately decided to pretend that his dharma power was running low, and the bell's interference lessened accordingly.
That way, the Five Spirit Sect disciple serving as the main force would certainly bear the greatest pressure.
Perhaps if he withdrew his hand just a little, the entire situation would turn upside down at once.
The garrison immortal master's expression grew solemn. That Rogue Cultivator's dharma power seemed to be running out.
He was now bearing seventy percent of the pressure, and the situation was becoming unfavorable.
Sensing an opportunity, Tu Shan Jun suppressed the joy in his heart. He fought as he retreated, slowly drawing closer to Wen Lichun.
Since someone whose dharma power could no longer keep up had appeared, he was the perfect breakthrough point.
"Die."
Tu Shan Jun, likewise pretending to be weakened, struck first.
Wen Lichun's eyes widened, and he hurriedly fumbled to circulate his dharma power.
He was about to ring his bell artifact.
He had never imagined that this ghost had also been putting on an act.
Why did it not attack the garrison immortal master, who was bearing seventy percent of the pressure, and attack him instead?
He had forgotten that in battle, one had to pick the soft persimmon to squeeze.
The bell was instantly slapped away.
At the same time, the freed ghost claw smashed Wen Lichun's head apart with one blow.
He seized the Qi Refining Fourth Layer Living Soul and threw it into the Soul Banner.
Tu Shan Jun's strength suddenly broke through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
"Roar!"
A piercing ghost howl rippled outward.
"This is bad!"
The garrison immortal master was instantly horrified, his face ashen.
After killing the Qi Refiner, this ghost had actually broken through in the midst of battle and become even more powerful.
Bang.
Tu Shan Jun struck the garrison immortal master's chest with one palm.
The protective golden light immediately went out.
The garrison immortal master flew backward, smashing straight through a central-hall pillar and causing the great roof overhead to collapse.
With a thunderous crash.
Broken timbers and shattered stones scattered everywhere.
Dust sprayed outward, and smoke billowed in all directions.
Tu Shan Jun braced his body and shielded Li Qingfeng beneath his ribs.
He bore all the weight alone.
Until the collapse finally stopped.
But at that moment, Tu Shan Jun felt the dharma power supporting him fading away.
He reached out to check the breathing of the person beneath his ribs.
His body trembled faintly.
Li Qingfeng's face was peaceful, but he no longer had any breath of life.
The only remaining Spirit Stone in his hand had turned to powder, yet he still clenched it tightly.
Even in death, he had not forgotten to supply dharma power to the Soul Banner.
Li Qingfeng was dead!
Tu Shan Jun could see his own body growing dim.
He was about to return to the Soul Banner.
"Ah!"
Ghostly howls thundered.
Yin energy coiled and lingered, refusing to disperse.
Tu Shan Jun clenched his fists tight.
Then smashed them viciously into the ground.
He...
Had broken his promise.
He had said he would lead Li Qingfeng out and kill their way through.
He had said so.
"Drip."
A crystalline tear fell to the ground.
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