Blood Sacrifice Secret Method!

The four exchanged grave looks, knowing their whereabouts had been exposed.

Xiao Yan was the first to step out of the shadows, with Liu Ruyan, Li Chengjie, and Li Sihai close behind.

The miners in the cave shrank back in terror, crowding against the rock walls, their eyes filled with fear.

The overseers swiftly gathered and surrounded the four in a fan-shaped formation.

The old man on the raised platform slowly rose, his eagle-sharp gaze sweeping over the four of them.

When he saw Liu Ruyan, a cold smile curled across his lips. "So it's the Liu Family's eldest miss. What, you weren't content to stay safely in Ningde City, so you came all the way into these barren mountains to throw your life away?"

Liu Ruyan's face was frosted with coldness. "Elder Chen, your Chen Family betrayed its word and pledged yourselves to the Blood Fiend Cult. Now you've gone so far as to imprison fellow cultivators and force them to mine. Aren't you afraid of heavenly retribution?"

Elder Chen burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the cave. "Heavenly retribution? In this Qingshi Market, my Chen Family is heaven!"

His gaze suddenly fixed on Li Chengjie. His pupils contracted sharply, and his voice abruptly turned harsh. "Li Chengjie! You little bastard, you still dare show your face before me!"

Li Chengjie's expression did not change as he calmly met Elder Chen's gaze brimming with Killing Intent.

"I still haven't settled the score for my nephew Chen Xuan's death!" Elder Chen's beard and hair flared as he unleashed the pressure of Qi Refining Level 8 without restraint. "Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep today, don't even think of leaving alive!"

Xiao Yan stepped forward, shielding Li Chengjie. "Elder Chen, your nephew brought his fate upon himself. Had he not tried to kill Alchemist Li first, he would not have met such an end."

"Bullshit!" Elder Chen roared. "A Rogue Cultivator at Qi Refining Level 5 thinks he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as a direct descendant of my Chen Family? Killing him would be no different from crushing an ant!"

Liu Ruyan said coldly, "Elder Chen, it seems your Chen Family is determined to be the Blood Fiend Cult's lapdog."

"Lapdog?"

Elder Chen gave a savage grin. "Miss Liu, you are far too naïve. In this world, strength is the only hard truth. The Flowing Cloud Sect is already like the setting sun, and those who understand the times should know to choose the right tree to roost in."

He swept his gaze around, pride lacing his voice. "Look at these miners. They were all cultivators who once thought themselves lofty and pure. But now? Aren't they obediently mining for my Chen Family?"

Li Sihai could not help cursing, "You old bastard, aren't you afraid this will get out and stir the public's wrath?"

"Get out?" Elder Chen looked as though he had heard a joke. "Do you think any of you will leave this place alive today?"

With a sweep of his hand, he ordered the overseers around them, "Take them down! Dead or alive!"

More than twenty overseers attacked at once, spells of every color flaring as they rushed toward the four.

Xiao Yan shouted, and Crimson Sun True Fire condensed before him into a wall of flame. Flame Sun Burning Heaven!

Liu Ruyan's figure flickered as she unleashed Splitting Light, Transforming Shadow once more. Three figures darted among the overseers like phantoms, and every sweep of her twin blades sent blood spraying.

Li Sihai's twelve round wheels shot forth with a howl, forming a great killing formation in midair and trapping several overseers inside.

Li Chengjie did not rush to attack. Instead, he swiftly erected a Defense Barrier around the miners while closely watching the shifts in battle.

Elder Chen stood upon the raised platform, coldly watching the melee below without any intention of making a move.

He seemed to be waiting for something.

"Li Chengjie!" Elder Chen suddenly shouted. "Do you know that Chen Xuan was my most beloved nephew?"

While maintaining the barrier, Li Chengjie answered calmly, "He wanted to kill me. Naturally, I had to fight back."

Before his words had faded, two figures suddenly appeared behind Elder Chen, both bearing the unmistakable aura of Qi Refining Level 7.

The man on the left was tall and lean, with a sinister complexion and a slender sword hanging at his waist;

the man on the right was powerfully built, with a pair of iron claws gleaming coldly on his hands.

"Chen Ying, Chen Gang, seize Li Chengjie!" Elder Chen ordered sharply. "I will personally avenge Xuan'er!"

The tall, lean cultivator Chen Ying smiled coldly. "Rest assured, Elder. This brat won't get away." His body flickered, and he vanished from where he stood like a ghost.

The burly cultivator Chen Gang gave a wild laugh, crossing his claws. "Brat, die!" His iron claws tore through the air with fierce force, striking straight at Li Chengjie's face.

"Don't even think about it!" Xiao Yan shouted as Crimson Sun True Fire surged. "Your opponent is me!" The wall of flame instantly transformed into several fire serpents, winding separately toward Chen Ying and Chen Gang.

Liu Ruyan's twin blades whirled, forcing back two overseers at Qi Refining Level 6. She flashed to Li Chengjie's side. "Alchemist Li, be careful of Chen Ying. He excels in speed and strikes when least expected."

Li Sihai controlled his twelve round wheels, barely holding off the combined assault of three other cultivators at Qi Refining Level 6. Gritting his teeth, he said, "These bastards work seamlessly together. They won't be easy to handle!"

Elder Chen stood atop the raised platform, coldly observing the battle. At some point, a black Formation Flag had appeared in his hand. "Since you're all here, then all of you can stay! Black Water Dragon Trapping Array, rise!"

The Formation Flag swept through the air, and black water suddenly surged from all around the cave, forming an enormous watery curtain barrier that enveloped the entire battlefield.

Dragon roars rang out from within the watery curtain, shaking the mind and spirit.

"This is bad—it's the Chen Family's Black Water Dragon Trapping Array!" Liu Ruyan's face changed. "This formation can weaken a cultivator's spiritual energy and amplify the power of water-attributed spells!"

Sure enough, Li Chengjie felt his Internal Spiritual Energy circulate far more sluggishly, while Chen Ying and Chen Gang's attacks grew even fiercer.

Chen Ying's figure flickered in and out of sight within the watery curtain, his slender sword striking like a venomous snake from every tricky angle toward Li Chengjie's vital points.

Chen Gang, meanwhile, attacked with broad, sweeping strikes, each swing of his iron claws accompanied by a piercing shriek through the air.

"Alchemist Li, I'll help you!" Liu Ruyan cried, her twin blades turning into two streams of light as they entangled Chen Gang. "Deal with Chen Ying first!"

Li Chengjie nodded, focusing entirely on defending against Chen Ying's assassination attempts.

Under the suppression of the Black Water Dragon Trapping Array, he felt his Spiritual Energy Circulation was more than thirty percent more sluggish than usual, each step like wading through a mire.

Chen Ying's figure darted left and right within the watery curtain, his slender sword like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, every thrust aimed at a vital point.

Li Chengjie did not dare meet him head-on. His feet moved in a profound footwork, his body drifting like willow fluff in the wind as he narrowly evaded one lethal sword flash after another.

"Kid, your movement technique isn't bad." Chen Ying's cold voice came from all directions. "But how long can you keep dodging inside the Black Water Array?"

The slender sword suddenly accelerated, splitting into dozens of sword shadows that sealed off every route of retreat for Li Chengjie.

The strike came with incredible speed. Before the sword even arrived, its fierce Sword Qi was already stabbing his skin with pain.

At the critical moment, Li Chengjie advanced instead of retreating. Forming a hand seal with his left hand, he summoned an earthen wall from the ground in an instant. "Rock Wall Technique!"

The sword shadows struck the earthen wall, sending shattered stones flying. Yet Chen Ying's slender sword was incredibly sharp, piercing straight through the wall and thrusting at Li Chengjie's heart.

At that hair's-breadth moment, Li Chengjie's right hand had somehow already grasped the Azure Edge Sword. With a flick of his wrist, the blade traced a mysterious arc.

The two swords collided with a crisp ring.

Li Chengjie borrowed the force to retreat, his wrist going slightly numb.

Qi Refining Level 7 Spiritual Energy was indeed formidable. If he had not broken through recently, he likely would not have been able to receive that strike.

Chen Ying revealed himself, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes. "You actually took my full-powered strike?"

Li Chengjie did not answer. His Spiritual Sense spread out with all his strength, catching every minute movement Chen Ying made.

Within the Black Water Array, vision could be disrupted, but Spiritual Sense Perception would not be affected.

On the other side, the battle between Liu Ruyan and Chen Gang was even fiercer.

Chen Gang's iron claws were powerful and heavy, every blow carrying the might to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Liu Ruyan did not dare meet them head-on. Her twin blades fluttered like butterflies among blossoms, targeting only his joints and vital points.

"Little girl, do you only know how to dodge?" Chen Gang roared. His two claws crossed, unleashing a cross-shaped astral gale with a howl.

Liu Ruyan's figure swayed, and three afterimages appeared at once, cleverly evading the main force of the gale.

"Shadow Blade, Thousand Feathers!" The three afterimages attacked simultaneously, countless blade lights drifting toward Chen Gang like feathers.

Chen Gang neither dodged nor evaded. His iron claws drew a circle before him. "Iron Wall Ring!" The blade lights crashed against the iron ring, producing a rapid series of bright clangs.

Xiao Yan's situation was the most perilous.

"Flame Dragon Dance!" Xiao Yan formed seals with both hands, and two fire dragons came roaring forth, lunging at Chen Ying and Chen Gang respectively to buy Li Chengjie and Liu Ruyan a chance to catch their breath.

Li Sihai was already in dire straits under the combined assault of three Qi Refining Level 6 cultivators.

The light of his twelve circular wheels had dimmed, and they could only barely protect the vital areas around his body.

"Brother Sihai, hold on!" Li Chengjie transmitted, while swiftly calculating a way to break the formation.

He noticed that whenever Elder Chen waved the Formation Flag, the water curtain would produce faint ripples. Those ripples seemed chaotic, but in truth, they secretly followed a certain pattern.

"Senior Brother Xiao, Miss Liu, follow my command!" Li Chengjie suddenly transmitted. "When the formation fluctuates next, attack the Xun position with all your strength!"

Though Xiao Yan and Liu Ruyan did not understand why, out of trust, both secretly gathered their Spiritual Energy.

Elder Chen seemed to sense something and waved the Formation Flag again. "Black Water Transforms into Flood Dragons!"

Three black water flood dragons condensed within the water curtain, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws as they pounced toward the three. The instant the water flood dragons took shape, Li Chengjie shouted, "Now!"

Xiao Yan's Crimson Sun True Fire, Liu Ruyan's Shadow Blade, and Li Chengjie's Azure Edge Sword attacked the water curtain's Xun position at the same time.

The three attacks struck the same point with perfect precision, and the water curtain began to shake violently.

"What?" Elder Chen's expression changed drastically. How did he know where the Formation Eye was?

It turned out that through observation, Li Chengjie had discovered that whenever the formation operated, the Xun position was always the first to produce Spiritual Power Fluctuation.

He had made this discovery thanks to his understanding of formations after copying Han Li's experience.

Cracks appeared in the water curtain, and the Black Water Dragon Trapping Array's power greatly diminished.

Li Chengjie felt the circulation of Internal Spiritual Energy become smooth once more.

"A good chance!" A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as the Azure Edge Sword suddenly accelerated, stabbing straight at Chen Ying's throat.

The strike was swift as lightning, completely unlike one affected by the formation. Caught off guard, Chen Ying could only raise his sword to block.

The two swords collided again, but this time, scorching flames suddenly erupted from Li Chengjie's blade.

"Mysterious Flame Burst!"

The flames spread along the slender sword. Chen Ying cried out miserably and hurriedly withdrew his sword as he retreated.

Yet Li Chengjie followed like a shadow, his sword moves flowing forth without end.

"Mysterious Flame Sword Art!"

This was a sword art Li Chengjie had comprehended and created for himself by combining the experiences of Old Man Li and Han Li. Its sword momentum flowed like drifting clouds and running water, slipping through every opening.

After the Black Water Array was broken, Chen Ying's strength had greatly declined. For a time, he was forced into a frantic scramble.

On the other side, Liu Ruyan also seized the opportunity.

"Shadow Escape, Instant Kill!" Her figure suddenly vanished. In the next moment, she appeared behind Chen Gang, her twin blades crossing as they slashed down.

Chen Gang reacted swiftly, drawing back his iron claws to defend, but he was still a moment too slow.

A wound deep enough to expose bone was cut into his left shoulder, fresh blood pouring freely.

"Damn it!" Chen Gang roared, his iron claws dancing wildly, yet he could no longer so much as touch the corner of Liu Ruyan's robes.

Seeing the two of them gain the upper hand, Xiao Yan could finally focus on dealing with Elder Chen.

Flame Sun True Fire, Burn Heaven Boil Sea! He drove his cultivation method with all his strength, and the temperature throughout the cavern surged as the black water began to evaporate.

Elder Chen's face darkened. He had never expected the Black Water Dragon Trapping Array to be broken so quickly.

What alarmed him even more was that Li Chengjie's combat experience far exceeded his estimates.

"Kid, I admit I underestimated you." Elder Chen slowly took out a Jade Bottle. "But the game ends here!"

The Jade Bottle opened, and a foul, bloody stench spread through the air. Inside was—astonishingly—thick Fresh Blood!

"Blood Sacrifice Secret Method!" Liu Ruyan cried out. "He wants to use a blood sacrifice to raise his Cultivation level!"