Upon hearing Fang Wang's words, Zhou Xue immediately said to Zhou Xingshi, "Carry him on your back. I'll protect you. Let's go!"
"But..."
Zhou Xingshi hesitated. His goal was to protect Fang Wang; he did not care about Fang Hanyu.
"Don't worry. He's very strong. Hurry up, don't hold him back!" Zhou Xue said in a deep voice, sounding somewhat impatient.
Pressed by her, Zhou Xingshi had no choice but to hoist Fang Hanyu onto his back. The two rushed into the woods and quickly vanished from sight.
The middle-aged man standing beside the red sedan immediately waved his hand. At once, more than a dozen Green Cicada Valley disciples chased after Zhou Xue and the other two.
Fang Wang raised his left hand before him, holding his index and middle fingers together. In an instant, three sword forms condensed around him and shot toward those Green Cicada Valley disciples.
Sword Qi tore through the air with terrifying speed!
The Green Cicada Valley disciples' expressions changed drastically. Those above the seventh layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm hurriedly dodged, while those below the seventh layer had their throats pierced directly by the Sword Qi. Blood scattered across the sky. The remaining disciples tried to evade, but their speed was no match for the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art.
In less than three breaths, the dozen or so Green Cicada Valley disciples of the Qi Nurturing Realm all died violent deaths, their corpses falling from the air.
Fang Wang's gaze remained fixed on the red sedan atop the Gu worm. He sneered inwardly. The Demonic Path is truly the Demonic Path. Watching fellow disciples die without lifting a finger, yet he remains seated as steady as a mountain.
The middle-aged man stared at Fang Wang, furious beyond measure. The Green Cicada Valley disciples behind him spread out and surrounded Fang Wang from every side, each taking out their own magical artifact or Gu worm.
Surrounded by several hundred Green Cicada Valley disciples, Fang Wang remained utterly calm. His task was to hold the enemy back for as long as possible.
The curtain of the red sedan finally lifted. A sinister-looking man dressed in black brocade stepped out. He was strikingly handsome, but his lips were dark purple, as were the bags beneath his eyes. A faint poisonous aura lingered between his brows. His long hair was coiled beneath a crown made from the shell of a venomous scorpion, an extremely horrifying sight.
Li Hongshuang, Green Cicada Valley's foremost genius. He had already made a name for himself before entering the valley, and his bearing was utterly different from that of the other Green Cicada Valley disciples.
At first sight, Fang Wang had thought he was looking at one of Green Cicada Valley's elders.
Li Hongshuang looked down imperiously at Fang Wang. Watching the three sword forms return to hover behind Fang Wang, he asked, "The Startling Swan Divine Sword Art. What is your relationship with Yang Yuanzi?"
Fang Wang wore a bamboo hat. When he raised his eyes, the shadow cast by its brim made his face appear ice-cold. Fang Hanyu's miserable state had caused the killing intent in his heart to surge without end.
"Is Yang Yuanzi the only person in the world who knows the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art?" Fang Wang retorted.
If he had not needed to buy time for Zhou Xue and the others, he would already have attacked.
Li Hongshuang raised his right hand. A massive blood-red banner flew out from above his head, rapidly enlarging before falling into his grasp. It stood even taller than he did.
An image of a vicious ghost was imprinted upon the blood-colored banner, hideous and terrifying, as though alive. As the banner swayed, it bared its fangs and brandished its claws.
Life-Bound Treasure Spirit!
"Since you refuse to speak, I'll force you to!"
Li Hongshuang said coldly. As he spoke, he kicked the middle-aged man beside him away. Without needing an order, the Gu worm beneath his feet immediately lunged at Fang Wang.
As he launched his surprise attack, Li Hongshuang rapidly waved the blood-colored banner. Billowing blood mist spilled forth, becoming dragon after dragon that charged at Fang Wang.
Fang Wang's gaze sharpened. Spiritual energy erupted from him, condensing sword forms all around his body.
Startling Swan Divine Sword Art, Twelve Swords!
He leaped into the air and rode his Flying Sword toward the Gu worm. The twelve sword forms shot out even faster, tracing different paths through the air as they smashed head-on through the blood-mist dragons.
Li Hongshuang's lips curved upward. He leaped into the air as well, raised his left hand high, and slammed it down in fury. Spiritual energy condensed into a gigantic black palm that pressed downward.
Fang Wang fiercely hurled the Qing Jun Sword in his hand. The Qing Jun Sword became a streak of green light and shot forth like lightning, shattering the black palm. Li Hongshuang instinctively twisted aside and dodged the Qing Jun Sword, but a lock of black hair by his temple was severed.
"A high-grade magical artifact!"
A fierce glint flashed through Li Hongshuang's eyes. Rather than being intimidated, he continued charging at Fang Wang.
In the blink of an eye, the two collided head-on. Fang Wang used his fingers as a sword, controlling the twelve sword forms in a frenzied assault against Li Hongshuang. Li Hongshuang swiftly wielded the blood-colored banner, blocking the twelve sword forms while still launching attacks of his own.
What vicious poison!
Fang Wang noticed that after his twelve sword forms were tainted by the poisonous mist, they were shrinking. This poison could corrode spiritual energy!
Li Hongshuang's attacks were sharp and ruthless. In terms of physical skill and speed alone, he was absolutely the strongest opponent Fang Wang had ever encountered.
The blood-colored banner swept past, and Li Hongshuang's left palm struck out from beneath it, slamming toward Fang Wang's chest.
Li Hongshuang was knocked back, and so was Fang Wang. Judging by the distance they had retreated, neither gained the upper hand.
"What cultivation technique is this?"
Li Hongshuang frowned. His left hand trembled slightly, and he immediately clenched it into a fist, forcibly suppressing the tremor.
Following his gaze, a visible layer of astral energy surrounded Fang Wang, causing even the space around him to shudder.
"What domineering spiritual energy!"
Fang Wang was secretly startled, but even more excited. As expected of Green Cicada Valley's future valley master.
After exchanging blows, he had gained a rough understanding of Li Hongshuang's strength. The killing intent he had been holding back could no longer be restrained, bursting from his eyes.
Fang Wang raised the two fingers of his right hand, and the sword forms behind him began to multiply.
Sixteen Swords!
Eighteen Swords!
Twenty-two Swords!
Li Hongshuang was moved. Stormy waves surged through his heart. He knew something of the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art; even when Yang Yuanzi had been in the Spirit Sculpting Realm, he had never surpassed fifteen swords.
He did not panic. With a sweep of his sleeve, countless poisonous insects flew out, densely packed and blotting out the sky. Above the forest, they formed a heavy, oppressive dark cloud.
Fang Wang condensed twenty-seven swords in one breath. The twenty-seven sword forms circled his body, making his robes billow violently as though they might tear apart at any moment.
The more sword forms the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art produced, the greater not only their number but the might of each individual sword. The moment twenty-seven swords emerged, Fang Wang's sword momentum reached a level that made hearts pound with fear. Even the observing Green Cicada Valley disciples were uneasy, and some were already backing away.
Fang Wang stared at Li Hongshuang and said coldly, "If this is all you amount to, then you will have no future."
Li Hongshuang flew into a towering rage upon hearing that. He immediately raised the blood-colored banner high. Blood-red lightning suddenly flashed within the dark cloud formed by the countless poisonous insects, bolt after bolt, its thunderous might vast and mighty.
An array formation!
Within the forest, Zhou Xue and Zhou Xingshi raced through the trees. Along the way, they saw the corpses of demon beasts and cultivators, a sight too ghastly to behold.
Hearing deafening thunder rumble behind them, Zhou Xingshi could not help asking worriedly, "Can he really escape?"
That was Li Hongshuang!
Even if Fang Wang possessed a Heaven Origin Treasure Spirit, Li Hongshuang was still an Earth Origin Treasure Spirit, and the gap between their cultivation levels was enormous.
A third-layer Spirit Sculpting Realm cultivator fighting a ninth-layer Spirit Sculpting Realm cultivator—no matter how one looked at it, victory seemed impossible, especially when his opponent was the foremost genius of a Demonic Path sect!
Zhou Xue kept her eyes fixed ahead and replied without turning back, "Don't underestimate him. That brat always keeps a trump card hidden away. Are you sure you know the full extent of his strength? Even if he cannot defeat Li Hongshuang, escaping alive will be no difficult matter for him."
Hearing this, Zhou Xingshi felt somewhat reassured.
That was right.
He did not know just how strong Fang Wang truly was.
Fang Hanyu, lying on Zhou Xingshi's back, had not said a word, but he too was sweating bullets for Fang Wang.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Bolts of lightning descended in soaring arcs, ravaging the forest. Green Cicada Valley disciples screamed as they were struck black all over. Of the original three to four hundred disciples, only one-third remained. All of them hid in the distance, staring at the battlefield in terror. Li Hongshuang's enormous Gu worm crushed a swath of forest beneath it, smoke rising from its body. Threads of blood mist permeated the area, adding an oppressive air to the battlefield.
This lightning did not come from Li Hongshuang's array formation!
With his hair crown fallen away and his hair hanging loose, Li Hongshuang gritted his teeth as he stared at Fang Wang. He said coldly, "The Great Heaven Lightning Summoning Technique. Who exactly are you? Could you be Lu Yuanjun?"
Fang Wang held the Qing Jun Sword high, its tip pointed toward the center of the thunderclouds above. Twenty-seven sword forms revolved around him. At this moment, his momentum had reached its peak, and he looked down upon all beneath heaven.
Fang Wang snorted. "What does Lu Yuanjun amount to?"
He suddenly withdrew his sword and transformed into a white rainbow, hurtling toward Li Hongshuang.
The White Rainbow Escape Technique was not necessarily only for running away!
Li Hongshuang was enraged. He held the blood-colored banner in his left hand and gripped a long sword in his right as he charged forward to meet Fang Wang.
Before the eyes of the crowd, he would not allow himself to fail!
The two swords clashed, spraying sparks. Their eyes met, both filled with sharp killing intent. Almost instantly, they struck at the same time, the magical artifacts in their hands moving so fast that afterimages appeared.
The twenty-seven swords of the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art moved with Fang Wang, attacking Li Hongshuang from every direction. Li Hongshuang fought with broad, sweeping movements, his blood-colored banner dancing as it blocked the twenty-seven swords, while the long sword in his hand displayed a fierce sword technique against Fang Wang one-handed.
Billowing blood mist continued to spread as their figures interwove without pause. They fought from the sky to the ground, their feet skidding across the earth and sending sand and stones flying.
The sight made the surviving Green Cicada Valley disciples shudder with fear.
"How is this possible? Senior Brother Li still can't take him down!"
"Who in the world is he?"
"He must be from Taiyuan Sect! Why else would he save that Taiyuan Sect disciple? I never expected Taiyuan Sect to have such a formidable figure."
"Did you hear what Senior Brother Li said earlier? The Great Heaven Lightning Summoning Technique and the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art—both are Taiyuan Sect's supreme arts! Master either one and cultivate it to great success, and you can roam Great Qi without rival. Who would have thought a disciple had mastered two supreme arts!"
"Could this man be the Taiyuan Sect's sole-line chief disciple?"
Fang Wang and Li Hongshuang no longer had the attention to spare for the disciples' discussion. Only one thought remained in each of their minds: kill the other.
Fang Wang sought revenge for Fang Hanyu, while Li Hongshuang fought for his own pride!
Li Hongshuang suddenly swung his sword. Sword Qi like a violent storm, laced with deadly poison, swept toward Fang Wang. Fang Wang used Shadowless Steps to evade at high speed. His eyes narrowed, and sword forms condensed behind him once more.
Five swords appeared at once!
Thirty-two Swords!
Li Hongshuang's pupils contracted, and shock appeared on his face. Before he could speak, the thirty-two sword forms around Fang Wang abruptly accelerated, their might becoming even more overwhelming.
The thirty-two swords assailed Li Hongshuang madly. Wielding two magical artifacts, Li Hongshuang barely managed to hold them off, but in less than three breaths, he was wounded and became increasingly passive.
Fang Wang suddenly threw the Qing Jun Sword, which tore through the billowing dust and shot straight at Li Hongshuang.
Even though the thirty-two swords had caught him off guard, Li Hongshuang still reacted with incredible speed. He leaned his body backward to evade the Qing Jun Sword. Just as he straightened again, all thirty-two swords attacked from every direction.
Clang!
The sword in Li Hongshuang's hand suddenly fell to the ground. Thirty-two sword forms were embedded in his body, blood spraying everywhere. Great quantities of poisoned blood poured from his mouth as well, impossible to stop.
He stared fixedly at Fang Wang, his eyes full of bloodshot veins. His lips trembled as he said, "Startling... Thirty-two Swords... Who exactly are you...?"
Splat!
The Qing Jun Sword suddenly struck from behind and severed his head. His head fell to the ground and rolled several times before being stopped beneath Fang Wang's right foot, its eyes still wide open in fury.
Before you continue