The two women watched the purple-robed male Immortal Practitioner who had suddenly appeared in midair with caution. Yunxi knew he had come for her, so she said to Di Fei:
"Protect the Immortal Practitioners below. Leave this man to me. Be careful—the Evil Immortal may have other tricks up his sleeve."
The instant her words fell, she vanished from where she stood. She could not even be bothered with pointless talk. The moment she saw those deep-blue eyes, she knew who he was. This time, she had decided to strike first.
Her opponent had not expected Yunxi to attack without a word. Without hesitation, he summoned five flying daggers of the five elements, forming a dagger formation that blocked Yunxi's first staff strike.
The shockwave from the collision between the long staff and the flying daggers rapidly spread through the skies. The Ghost Immortals below, who had only just stabilized their soul bodies, began howling again. Di Fei casually tossed out a barrier of light to shield the Immortal Practitioners in the city below, then fixed her gaze unblinkingly on the two combatants.
After watching for a while, Di Fei discerned some clues. Yunxi and the suddenly appearing purple-robed male Immortal Practitioner were evenly matched. They were truly fighting to kill each other, but precisely because their strengths were equal, neither could gain the upper hand for the moment.
However, after a quarter of an hour, the battle began to shift. Yunxi's bonded long staff steadily suppressed her opponent, but the male Immortal Practitioner was no weaker. Exploiting the five flying daggers' nimble mobility, he launched attacks from every tricky and unexpected angle, forcing Yunxi to guard against sneak attacks even as she assaulted him.
Di Fei swallowed the Grade 8 Soul-Moistening Pill she had been holding in her mouth