"Ha-ha..."
Yue Heng walked out of the house that was about to be swallowed by the raging flames, laughing heartily.
He secretly congratulated himself. If he hadn't decisively activated the Upper Li Profound Water Shield, he really would have fallen into this kid's hands today.
This kid was vicious. More than a dozen High-grade Talismans had all been thrown out at once.
Who played like that? That was over two hundred spirit stones!
Without the Second-tier Jade Talisman, the Upper Li Profound Water Shield, he would have died several times over.
Su Fan looked at the blue light shield surrounding his opponent and nearly burst into tears.
That was a second-tier Jade Talisman.
Forget a dozen first-tier talismans—even if he threw out a thousand, it would be like scratching an itch.
He had smashed so many spirit stones into it without even hearing a proper sound, and his heart was bleeding.
Not only that, the disturbance caused by their fight had already alarmed the people from the Qiankun Society.
Su Fan knew that this time, he was completely screwed.
Right, where was Old Ye...
Damn it, he tricked me into coming here and then just stopped caring.
Did he want to watch me die?!
Yue Heng walked over, looked coldly at Su Fan, and gave a sinister chuckle.
"Kid, if you surrender peacefully, I'll leave your corpse intact. Otherwise, I'll make you wish you were dead..."
A burst of hurried footsteps came from the distance. The people from the Qiankun Society were rushing over.
Su Fan was furious. Old Ye had played him for a fool.
At a time like this, complaining was utterly useless.
If he wanted to stay alive, he could only rely on himself.
Su Fan gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. The Lightning Dao Seed within his body exploded with a boom.
Countless scorching currents roared out of the Dao Seed and surged straight toward his eyes.
It felt as though countless steel needles were stirring inside his eyes, making him twitch from the pain.
Yue Heng, facing him, was stunned.
What trick is this kid trying to pull? Does he want to close his eyes and wait for death? Fine, I'll grant him his wish.
He let out a cold laugh.
He formed a hand seal. With a sharp whoosh, the Shadowless Flying Needle shot out of the house.
Its speed was as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the pitch-black curtain of rain and flew straight toward Su Fan.
At that moment, Su Fan suddenly opened his eyes. A dazzling bolt of lightning flashed within them.
With a BOOM.
Yue Heng's vision suddenly went black. It felt as if his head had been struck violently, and he instantly lost consciousness.
Although he had severely wounded his opponent, the Shadowless Flying Needle had already raced over.
Fortunately, the Immaculate Treasure Robe, Su Fan's final line of defense, flared with golden light.
Although the Shadowless Flying Needle pierced through the "Golden Light Body Protection," it also lost control.
With a slap, it fell to the ground.
The ancient divine ability Lightning Dharma Eye could not only see through all falsehoods, but also attack an opponent's Spiritual Sense.
However, the prerequisite for attacking was that one's own Spiritual Sense had to be stronger than the opponent's. Otherwise, one would suffer backlash and lose the ability to fight for a short time.
To be honest, even Su Fan himself didn't believe that his Spiritual Sense could be stronger than that of a Seventh Layer of Qi Refining cultivator.
But now that things had reached this point, he could only take the gamble.
He was going to die either way, so he had to give it a try.
Unexpectedly, he had actually won the bet.
The ancient divine ability Lightning Dharma Eye was indeed extraordinary.
With one strike, it had severely wounded Yue Heng's Spiritual Sense and stirred his mind into a complete mess.
In any case, Yue Heng definitely wouldn't be able to recover anytime soon.
Su Fan let out a long breath. Of course, he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.
After several consecutive instant movements, he appeared beside Yue Heng and swung down viciously.
Whirlwind Slash...
The greatsword made a full circle. It was as if a whirlwind had erupted in the courtyard, and even the torrential rain pouring from the sky spun violently along with it.
This sword strike actually carried a trace of the momentum of wind.
BANG!!!
The magic sword slammed into Yue Heng. The blue light shield suddenly brightened, sending out wave after wave of spiritual-energy ripples.
The greatsword in Su Fan's hands was sent flying by the tremendous recoil, almost slipping from his grasp.
But that enormous force also sent Yue Heng flying.
With a BOOM, he crashed into the courtyard wall.
Yue Heng was jolted awake. His mind was hazy and utterly confused, and he had forgotten where he was.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?
Before he could regain his senses, Su Fan had already leaped into the air.
He raised the magic sword high with both hands and slashed down viciously.
Ruthless Slash...
The greatsword carried an unyielding resolve as the mighty Sword Momentum came crashing down. It seemed as if the entire space had been split in two.
BANG!!!
The strike landed on Yue Heng again. The blue light shield brightened once more, sending waves of spiritual-energy ripples outward.
Headwind Slash...
Sacrificial Slash...
Limitless Slash...
Tidal Slash...
Ghost Wheel Slash...
Rage Slash...
Void Slash...
Su Fan unleashed more than ten sword strikes in one breath.
Yue Heng was like a ball, flying back and forth across the courtyard and crashing into everything.
The blue light shield around him grew dimmer and dimmer.
"I refuse to believe I can't smash your tortoise shell..."
Su Fan had just been about to charge forward when he heard a dense chorus of footsteps outside the courtyard.
His figure blurred, and he had already floated onto the courtyard wall.
A group of people from the Qiankun Society had arrived. There were at least twenty or thirty of them, packed tightly in front of the courtyard gate.
When they saw Su Fan on the wall, they shouted and pulled out talismans and magic artifacts.
Before they could launch their attack, Su Fan had already taken out two Ice Needle Arrow Rain Talismans and hurled them toward the dense crowd.
The temperature around them rapidly dropped to freezing point.
The raindrops pouring from the sky froze into chunks of ice and clattered to the ground.
Immediately afterward, countless ice needles came crashing down like a torrential rainstorm.
"Ah... ah..."
As wave after wave of screams rang out, more than a dozen people from the Qiankun Society were pierced until they were riddled with holes.
Those who were lucky enough to survive fled in all directions, their faces filled with terror.
Su Fan patted the Corpse Raising Coffin at his waist, and two Bronze Armored Zombies appeared in the small courtyard.
With a BOOM, the two Bronze Armored Zombies smashed through the courtyard gate. Several people who failed to escape in time were torn into pieces.
Su Fan left the two zombies outside the courtyard gate to guard it.
His figure swayed through the air, and he floated back into the small courtyard.
By this point, Yue Heng had already crawled up from the ground.
His Spiritual Sense had been severely wounded. Whenever he tried to focus even slightly, his mind throbbed with pain as if it were being stabbed by needles.
He turned and staggered toward the outside, just as Su Fan returned to the courtyard.
BANG!!
Yue Heng was sent flying by another slash and crashed heavily into the courtyard.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Su Fan swung the greatsword and unleashed another furious barrage. He had even forgotten how many times he had struck.
With a BOOM.
At last, the Upper Li Profound Water Shield around Yue Heng exploded.
PUFF!!
Su Fan swept his sword diagonally, cutting Yue Heng's body in half. With a slap, the two halves fell into the courtyard.
Huff... huff...
His body swayed. He leaned on his sword and panted heavily.
I finally smashed it apart. I'm dead tired.
Old Ye, damn your ancestors.
At that moment, Ye Tianhe was floating in the air, watching the battle in the courtyard the entire time.
He hadn't intervened earlier—not because he hadn't wanted to save Su Fan, but because he felt that Su Fan hadn't yet been pushed to his limit.
This is nothing.
Back when his master had first thrown him into the mountains, he had only been at the Qi Refining Second Layer.
Just as he was preparing to act, he hadn't expected the final outcome to take such a turn.
Su Fan had actually killed his opponent in a counterattack.
Where did this kid get so many trump cards?
Su Fan's counterattack just now had clearly been a secret technique that attacked the Spiritual Sense.
But that wasn't what shocked him most.
What shocked Ye Tianhe the most was that a minor cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer actually possessed stronger Spiritual Sense than someone in the Late Qi Refining stage.
How was anyone supposed to reason with that?
Ye Tianhe felt terrible all over.
Right, this kid was even raising two zombies—and they were Bronze Armored Zombies at that.
Why is everything he does crooked and unorthodox? Why not just practice swordsmanship properly?
Those few sword strikes from the kid just now had already carried a trace of Sword Momentum.
Before long, their power would undergo a world-shaking transformation.
Suddenly, Ye Tianhe turned around.
Several disciples from the Qingxuan Sect had braved the torrential rain and arrived there.
They were all members of the Law Enforcement Team of the Qingxuan Sect. They had received word that someone was slaughtering the Qiankun Society.
The leading disciple, who was in the Late Qi Refining stage, saw Ye Tianhe and immediately looked bewildered.
Why has this killing god come here? Could he be the one slaughtering the Qiankun Society?
The disciples of the Qingxuan Sect had all witnessed how formidable this killing god was. During the war between immortals and demons in the Qin State, Ye Tianhe had forged a fearsome reputation.
Under his flying sword, no one knew how many Spirits of the Dead belonging to demonic cultivators had been left behind.
In Shaoyang Market Town, forget them—even Uncle-Master Qiu Guan, who was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, had to give him three parts respect upon seeing him.
The several Qingxuan Sect disciples hurriedly cupped their fists toward Ye Tianhe in greeting.
"Senior Brother Tianhe, you are..."
Ye Tianhe didn't even bother answering them. He merely nodded.
"I've got this place. Go back."
The several Qingxuan Sect disciples didn't even dare ask further. They turned and left one after another.
Actually, all the things he had said to Su Fan before coming here had been a trick to fool him.
How could the Qingxuan Sect possibly offend an elite disciple of a Sword Sect for the sake of a Rogue Cultivator?
What was the Qiankun Society worth? So what if they were all killed?
When had sword cultivators ever cared about such things?
Ye Tianhe was merely rather curious about Su Fan and had always wanted to find an opportunity to test his limits.
Put bluntly, he had too much free time.
The rain continued falling, showing no sign of stopping.
The howling wind rolled the dark clouds along. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, while raindrops the size of beans poured down like water from a toppled basin.
Su Fan put away his magic sword and walked over to Yue Heng, removing the Storage Bag from his waist.
He also found several magic artifacts scattered across the courtyard.
Even the two arrays of talismans Yue Heng had set up in the courtyard were collected into the Storage Bag.
After checking again and finding nothing left behind, he finally left the courtyard.
Once outside, he put the two Bronze Armored Zombies back into the Corpse Raising Coffin, then began cleaning up the battlefield.
Although most of the Qiankun Society people were dirt-poor, there were simply too many of them.
He had picked up seven or eight Storage Bags alone.
"Not bad gains..."
After hearing that, Su Fan turned around and glanced at Ye Tianhe, who was standing on the courtyard wall.
Pointing at him, he shouted angrily, "Big Brother, are you trying to get me killed...?"
Ye Tianhe jumped down from the courtyard wall and chuckled. "But you're not dead yet, are you?"
Su Fan didn't want to argue with him. He didn't want to see this man anymore, either, so he turned and headed home.
"The Qingxuan Sect's Law Enforcement Team came by just now. I sent them away for you."
Even if Ye Tianhe managed to turn those words into flowers, Su Fan no longer wanted to pay him any attention.
Ye Tianhe didn't care in the slightest about Su Fan's attitude and continued talking to himself.
"I didn't expect your Spiritual Sense to be this strong. Did you have some kind of fortuitous encounter?"
At this point, he nodded as if he had suddenly realized something.
"I know now. You took the path of lightning body refinement. No wonder your Spiritual Sense is so strong."
Su Fan still didn't respond and continued walking forward on his own.
"Your sword technique is about to break through. It already has a hint of Sword Momentum. Without today's battle, it probably would have taken another two or three years..."
After hearing Ye Tianhe's words, Su Fan paused, then continued walking forward.
He opened the Game Panel and discovered that Nine Extremes Consecutive Slashes was indeed close to breaking through.
Nine Extremes Consecutive Slashes (Subtle): 758/800
"Tonight, you should know where your weakness lies, right? You rely too much on external objects. Though you have quite a few methods, not one of them is truly impressive. If you encounter another powerful enemy like today's, I refuse to believe your luck will always be this good."
Besides, Old Ye really hadn't stood by and watched him die. He simply held himself to the standards of a sword cultivator.
Who the hell could stand that?
Su Fan wasn't angry anymore. After all, what the man had said made sense.
Even for a Rogue Cultivator, reaching Late Qi Refining was no simple feat.
That man had quite a few more trump cards than he did.
If the other side's Spiritual Sense was stronger than his, he would be completely at their mercy.
Seeing that Su Fan still ignored him, Ye Tianhe chuckled.
"Right, I forgot to tell you. After successfully wiping out that demonic sect stronghold last time, I reported the matter you tipped me off about. The Qingxuan Sect should at least pay something for it."
Su Fan hurriedly turned around and stared fixedly at Ye Tianhe.
"You told the Qingxuan Sect my identity...?"
Ye Tianhe gave him a disdainful look and waved his hand.
"I promised you I wouldn't. How could I go back on my word?"
Only then did Su Fan let out a long breath, then chuckled.
"Um... Well... The Qingxuan Sect should at least have some kind of reward, right?"
Ye Tianhe rolled his eyes. "Probably. I asked you about it last time, but you didn't seem to care, so I didn't ask further."
"How was I supposed to know there was a reward? Go ask them today..."
"Fine. When I get around to it..."
Su Fan was furious. You're free every single day. What the hell are you busy with?
"Old Ye, you're going too far..."
Ye Tianhe burst out laughing, took a Jade Slip from his Storage Bag, and tossed it to Su Fan.
"We'll talk about the reward later. Look at this first..."
Su Fan caught the Jade Slip excitedly and asked with a broad grin, "What's this?"
"I found this cultivation technique in a female cultivator from a demonic sect's Storage Bag. I think it suits you quite well."
Su Fan excitedly pressed the Jade Slip against his forehead. Then his expression changed, and he threw it back.
It was a dual-cultivation technique from the demonic sect's Joyful Union Path, called the "Joyful Ecstasy Phoenix Dance Technique."
Ye Tianhe had actually given him this thing. It had clearly come from some Female Bodhisattva in the Misty Rain Pavilion who cultivated the Joyful Union Path. What did he take Su Fan for?
"Old Ye, you should keep such a wonderful technique for yourself."
Ye Tianhe's face was solemn as he shook his head. "I have to nurture my Sword Heart. How could I cultivate such an unorthodox thing?"
Su Fan's face turned pale. He pointed at Ye Tianhe, too angry to speak.
"You know it's an unorthodox thing, so why did you give it to me...?"
Ye Tianhe burst out laughing and put the Jade Slip away.
"You really don't want it? Aren't you the one who likes studying these crooked, unorthodox paths?"
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