Liao Haoxuan looked down from above at Li Chengjie, whose movements had slowed within the array. His gaze swept over the Azure Edge Sword beneath Li Chengjie's feet, its spiritual glow rather plain, and the corner of his mouth curled into an undisguised sneer. "Tsk, tsk, how laughable! A dignified late Qi Refining stage cultivator, and even a Mid-grade Alchemist, still using such a piece of trash?"
"A mid-grade first-tier Azure Edge Sword?"
"Hahaha!"
"Alchemist Li, you're living far too shabbily!"
"Could it be that all the Spirit Stones you painstakingly earned from refining pills have gone somewhere else? Or are you nothing but an empty shell—strong on the outside, weak within?"
Liao Haoxuan laughed to his heart's content, trying to strike Li Chengjie down psychologically. He relished the thrill of playing with his prey in the palm of his hand. "Just look at yourself. Trapped in my Three Heavens Thunder Prison Array like a lamb awaiting slaughter, unable to produce even a decent artifact. How pitiful, how lamentable! Killing you would only dirty my Golden Scale Sword!"
As he spoke, a magnificent Flying Sword, its entire body flowing with golden light and its blade faintly patterned with scales, floated before him. Its tip pointed straight into the array, radiating an incomparably sharp aura. It was clearly a high-grade first-tier artifact!
Within the thunder prison, electric serpents slithered around Li Chengjie's body. Waves of numbness kept washing over him, while the array interfered with his spiritual energy circulation, leaving him in considerable discomfort.
Yet Li Chengjie's will was resolute. How could Liao Haoxuan's words possibly sway him? As he desperately circulated the Mysterious Flame Art, crimson spiritual power surged through his meridians to resist the force of lightning. At the same time, he replied coldly, "Artifacts are merely external things.