Confrontation

Azure Nether light flickered and illuminated the surroundings, turning the area a bluish hue. Yue Qianchou wielded his broadsword with both hands like a windmill, while Chu Dingfang struggled to move forward.

Those who had been shouting in the palace felt a chill run down their spines and were filled with trepidation in the face of the sweltering heat. Fortunately, they hadn't acted rashly. Judging by their appearance, even if Yue Qianchou, yet they still dared to provoke him. Thinking back, Ding Wei died such an unjust death. He went to fight an opponent he couldn't possibly defeat, only to be reduced to ashes.

Upon witnessing the dazzling blue flames, Wen Rui transmitted his voice to Nong Zhu and asked, "Sir, I've heard that Yue Qianchou has a famous Method Formula in the Huaxia Cultivation World called 'Star Flame Fire Art.' Is this the Method Formula you're referring to?"

Nong Zhu chuckled and replied telepathically, "I guess, probably, possibly." Furong Wen Bai, standing to the side, stared intently.

The surrounding crowd remained silent. Among them, two elderly men, dressed in black and purple respectively, exchanged a glance, their brows furrowed. The black-robed elder then transmitted his voice, "Brother Yu, have you noticed? Chu Dingfang seems a bit off."

"Something's not right. He seems a bit dazed," the purple-robed elder nodded in response. "He seems to be bewitched by something."

"Let me try." The old man in black robes gathered his energy and shouted into Chu Dingfang's telepathic stick, "Brother Chu, wake up!"

As Chu Dingfang's dodging speed sluggished, his eardrums buzzed, his whole body jolted, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. With a "whoosh," he vanished from between the blades.

Nong Zhu was watching the battle, narrowed his eyes and quickly glanced at the crowd. He could tell from Chu Dingfang's change in demeanor that someone was secretly helping him. Wen Rui also frowned and looked around. In the Cultivation World, duels have rules. As long as someone hasn't admitted defeat or left the arena, no one else can interfere.

Such behavior is utterly despicable. Once rules are broken, they need to be upheld. This applies to everything; without rules, nothing can be accomplished.

Yue Qianchou naturally sensed something was wrong and paused slightly. Hundreds of flying swords surged from behind him to cover his retreat. He quickly leaped onto one of the swords and plunged back into the sea of fire. A furious curse echoed from within the azure flames, "Damn it! Which bastard is secretly interfering? Show yourself if you dare!"

He was about to succeed when someone secretly interfered and ruined his plans. No wonder he was furious.

The purple-robed elder in the crowd frowned and transmitted his voice, "Brother Guan, what you're doing breaks the rules; you've gone a bit too far!"

The old man in black robes replied calmly, "Rules depend on who you're dealing with. This kid is from the Huaxia Cultivation World, he's our enemy. Why bother with rules with him? Everyone should kill him, that's the only right thing to do."

Those watching from the surrounding area noticed something amiss, and with Yue Qianchou's shout from the middle of the battle, everyone immediately understood that someone was indeed interfering in secret.

Everyone was shaking their heads, searching. At least one thing was certain: someone capable of transmitting sound must possess a cultivation level of at least the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Therefore, everyone's gaze fell upon the faces of those at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. However, sound transmission is elusive and difficult to verify without the person involved. If the person denies it, even if outsiders guess who it is, they can't do anything about it, since there's no concrete evidence.

Nong Zhu Wen Rui glanced around, exchanged a look, and shook their heads helplessly. Suddenly, they both looked up at the sky.

The two's preemptive reaction drew everyone's attention. They saw Chu Dingfang suspended in mid-air, motionless, clearly adjusting his posture, presumably due to some earlier disturbance. After a long while, he slowly descended, a cold glint flashing from his Storage Bag, swirling around him a few times before landing in his hand—a weapon resembling both a sword and a knife. It seemed a major conflict was about to erupt...

The unusual atmosphere prompted Yue Qianchou from the sea of fire and look around. Upon seeing Chu Dingfang above him, he was about to retreat back into the fire when his gaze fell on the other's weapon and paused slightly. It was a Japanese sword.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Chu Dingfang narrowed his eyes and immediately spotted him. He swiftly charged forward, his blade flashing, instantly conjuring a gigantic shadow dozens of meters long. Just before reaching him, the massive blade shadow raised and slashed fiercely down at the sea of fire below.

"Damn! "Yue Qianchou slightly startled and quickly sank into the sea of fire to avoid it. The blade energy that slashed down from the sky stirred up a strong wind and rushed over with a loud "boom"... The blue flame sea covering hundreds of square meters was completely divided into two piles of fire by a single slash, with earth and rocks flying everywhere. The fire was pushed to the sides by the strong wind.

Why is the sky clear? Yue Qianchou, who had been hiding in the sea of fire, suddenly revealed his true form. He was now standing on the flying sword, dumbfounded, holding a large knife, looking like a naked and wronged young wife who had been stripped naked.

A long, unforgettable trench ran across the ground...

The blade's aura vanished, Yue Qianchou regained his senses. He abruptly looked up, pointed his blade, and roared, "Kill!"

The two piles of azure flames instantly transformed into two azure fire dragons, which snaked and soared into the air, hurtling towards Chu Dingfang with unparalleled brilliance.

Chu Dingfang sneered, quickly leaping a hundred meters into the air. With a flick of his wrist, a massive shadow of energy reappeared, and he began to stir it rapidly. Instantly, a violent gale arose, and the two attacking fire dragons immediately lost their momentum, spinning rapidly with the gale, and in the blink of an eye, they merged into a pillar of fire.

Yue Qianchou immediately sensed that the Azure Flame could no longer be controlled by his mental will, so he simply gave up resisting the strong wind. His cultivation level was no match for the opponent's, and forcibly resisting would only injure him.

"Watch how I extinguish this pile of demonic fire!" Chu Dingfang sneered in the air. Then, his figure flew straight into the sky, the huge blade energy in his hand stirring incessantly, forming a huge suction force that pulled the pillar of fire upwards.

Judging from his actions, it seemed he wanted to lead the Azure Flame to the sky and then disperse it into the high sky, so that Yue Qianchou would not have another chance to gather it back.

"A toad yawning, what a boastful tone!" Yue Qianchou spat. Although he couldn't directly compete with his opponent in terms of cultivation, the opponent's cultivation wasn't strong enough to seal everything off, and his ability to summon fire elements was no joke either.

Even if I can't control it, I can still take it back. He swung his broadsword diagonally, steadied himself on the flying sword, raised his palm to meet the air, and shouted, "Come back!"

A line of fire flowed from beneath the rising fire dragon, its end connecting to Yue Qianchou's palm. The azure flames receded even faster upon touching his hand. Meanwhile, Chu Dingfang was still flying upwards, leaving a trail of azure fire in the sky. Fortunately, it wasn't nighttime, otherwise even the people of Dayang City would have seen it.

Chu Dingfang found something strange. It was impossible for him, with his late Tribulation Transcendence stage Transcending cultivation, to be unable to defeat a Nascent Soul Realm. The enormous blade energy swirled into a phantom, even affecting those hundreds of meters below. The hems of their clothes billowed up, and their hair was sucked up as well. It took everyone channeling their energy to suppress it.

However, this place was originally formed by Yin Baikang's recent destruction of the mountain peaks. The surface layer of new soil was soft, and immediately a cloud of yellow dust flew up, swirling into the air along with the withered grass and rotten branches from the surrounding mountains. The area instantly became a yellowish haze, so thick that nothing could be seen under the sun.

Although the commotion was considerable, it couldn't stop the azure flames from flowing away from the eye of the wind, pouring out like sand from an inverted hourglass. Yue Qianchou extinguished the last wisp of azure flame, unable to see where the person above was. With a flick of his sleeve, a continuous stream of azure light flashed, and thousands of flying swords danced in the air. With a flick of his finger, the thousand flying swords exploded, shooting high into the sky. He himself dodged to the side on his sword, disappearing into the gray mist and rising into the air...

Chu Dingfang had made a final effort, but his words had still turned out to be a joke, leaving him somewhat embarrassed and angry. He sheathed his sword and looked down, only to find everything shrouded in a yellowish haze; those in the air couldn't see below, and those below probably couldn't see above either.

Just as he was about to rush down, he heard a sharp whistling sound. Blue light flashed everywhere in the yellow mist, and a group of flying swords shot towards him haphazardly, without any discernible target. The shadow of his Japanese sword rose again, and with a few casual moves, he deflected dozens of flying swords that were aimed at him.

However, the commotion from that very collision immediately startled the other flying swords. A thousand swords, as if driven mad, veered off course and hurtled towards him. Chu Dingfang snorted coldly, unconcerned; his target was Yue Qianchou. He vanished in an instant.

When it reappeared, it was already on the ground. Looking around, it couldn't find Yue Qianchou. Seeing many people looking up at the sky, it immediately realized that the guy had gone up into the sky. With a "whoosh," it sprang into the air again.

Once airborne, I realized I'd gotten myself into a real mess. The thick yellow fog made it hard to see anything, and I also had to be wary of that kid's sneak attacks.

"Huh!" Chu Dingfang suddenly noticed something was wrong. The earthy smell was fading, and the yellow mist was turning whiter and seemed to be getting thicker. The scene of the eleven people fighting earlier flashed through his mind, and he was startled, realizing something was wrong.

His Divine Sense swept across the area, searching for Yue Qianchou's location. Suddenly, he spotted a Great Black Saber floating in the mist, seemingly the very blade Yue Qianchou used.

Chu Dingfang's heart pounded uncontrollably. The power of this knife was too formidable; it broke through his protective Gang Qi like a paper cutter, with absolutely no effort. And this was in that kid's hands. If it were in his own, with his cultivation level, he feared that among all cultivators in the late Tribulation Transcendence stage Realm, none would be his match.

Although I knew it might be a trap, I couldn't help but send my Divine Sense over to investigate. The key was that the temptation of the knife was too great.

Thinking to himself, "What can he do to me if he just goes there?" He touched the blade with his Divine Sense, and even before penetrating deeply, he sensed a strange yet powerful aura within, a mysterious and unknown force hidden within. Just the touch of his Divine Sense alone was enough to send a chill down his spine...

P. S.: Sigh! I missed an update, and there's no need for further explanation. In short... I'll make up for it tomorrow!

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