Two flying swords arrived in the blink of an eye. Before Lin Fan could react, they were already attacking him from both sides.
Fast—too fast!
Lin Fan's hair stood on end. He rolled across the ground, dodging the sword edges while drawing the Azure Gavel Sword with his backhand and sweeping it horizontally.
Clang!
The palm gripping his sword went numb from the impact. The two flying swords skimmed past Lin Fan's scalp, shearing off a lock of jet-black hair.
The two Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples exchanged a glance, realizing that Lin Fan was indeed no simple opponent.
They immediately formed sword seals. The two flying swords spun through the air before suddenly shooting toward him again.
Sword Qi rippled outward, scattering the snow that filled the sky.
Lin Fan's expression darkened. Did they really think he was some soft persimmon they could squeeze at will?
His Internal Breath erupted in an instant. Sword Qi surged across the surface of the Azure Gavel Sword, forming an indestructible defense that collided with the two incoming flying swords.
At the same time, Lin Fan unleashed his full combat strength. He stepped forward, shaking the ground, and lunged at the two Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples like a ferocious beast.
"Heh..."
The man in white let out a cold laugh, as though mocking Lin Fan for throwing himself into a dead end.
A chill came from behind Lin Fan. The flying sword controlled by the man followed him like a shadow, stabbing straight toward his back.
Another sword shadow appeared to Lin Fan's left. The woman's flying sword attacked from an even more treacherous angle.
Under normal circumstances, how could a cultivator's speed possibly match that of a flying sword?
Yet the corner of Lin Fan's lips suddenly curled upward. The Azure Gavel Sword abruptly left his hand, transforming into a streak of light that shot straight toward the man in white.
"What..."
The man in white was dumbfounded and could only raise his hand to block on instinct.
Squelch!
The next second, he let out a shrill scream. Half his body was sliced apart by the Azure Gavel Sword, sending flesh and organs spraying everywhere.
With the man in white no longer controlling it, his flying sword quickly fell to the ground and lost its killing power.
"Senior Brother..."
The woman paled in shock, but quickly reacted. She controlled her flying sword and sent it hurtling toward Lin Fan's head at an even greater speed.
At that critical moment, a talisman drifted out and suddenly transformed into a Snow Demon Wolf, colliding head-on with the incoming flying sword.
Boom!
The Snow Demon Wolf shattered, and the flying sword was knocked off its original trajectory. It sliced past Lin Fan's shoulder.
"It's a Blood Demon Talisman..."
The woman was both shocked and furious. She still tried to control her flying sword and continue attacking Lin Fan.
But at that moment, her delicate body suddenly stiffened. The Azure Gavel Sword descended from the sky and plunged straight into the depths of her head.
Sword Qi erupted, blasting her head apart. White and red splattered across the ground.
Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried forward and searched the two of them, but found nothing. He immediately grabbed both flying swords and rushed toward the Hidden Scripture Pavilion at an even greater speed.
After rushing several hundred zhang, he suddenly changed direction and swept toward the Demon Vein Desolate Land at the bottom of the cliff.
With the Blood Gathering Art concealing his aura, combined with the protection of the Blood Mist at the bottom of the cliff, no one should be able to discover him!
Whoosh!
Not long after Lin Fan killed the two Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples, a figure descended from the sky atop a golden flying sword.
He was tall and slender, with sharp brows and bright eyes, radiating an extremely powerful aura.
"Junior Brother Sun, Junior Sister Lü..."
Upon seeing the two corpses in the snow, he was shocked and enraged.
The golden flying sword shot into the air with a swish, releasing terrifying Sword Qi.
The entire mountain peak trembled violently under the influence of that Sword Qi.
Sensing the fluctuations of Sword Qi coming from behind, Lin Fan ran even faster. He urged his Internal Breath without regard for the cost, bursting forth with speed beyond anything he had displayed before.
Whoosh, whoosh whoosh...
The wind and snow filling the sky were bitingly cold, but Lin Fan could not feel the chill at all. As he urged his Internal Breath, his blood boiled throughout his body.
The unease and excitement of having narrowly escaped death moments ago made him run as if oil had been smeared beneath his feet.
Only after a quarter of an hour, when Lin Fan could no longer sense the fluctuations of Sword Qi behind him, did he slowly stop.
By then, the Blood Mist had already covered him. Fortunately, he had pushed the Blood Gathering Art to its limit, merging his entire body into the surrounding environment. Thus, the Bloodthirsty Demonic Worms wandering through the Blood Mist failed to notice him.
Lin Fan looked up. The bottom of the cliff was vast, and countless bones were faintly piled across the ground.
The stench of decay was extremely pungent.
"I'll hide here. I can't go any deeper."
Lin Fan stopped.
He noticed a rock nearby and immediately moved over, pressing his entire body against it.
His heart beat rapidly. It was only after half an hour that it returned to normal.
The snow filling the sky quickly covered him and the rock, making them one.
Lin Fan took a deep breath, then closed his eyes. Even his breathing slowed, making him look like a lifeless statue.
Even if a keenly perceptive demonic beast were nearby, it would have great difficulty noticing him without brushing aside the snow.
Time passed bit by bit. Lin Fan remained motionless, taking a Grain Abstinence Pill whenever he grew hungry.
He had plenty of Grain Abstinence Pills. As long as he was willing, he could lie low here for as long as he wished.
The sounds of energy collisions in the distance not only failed to cease with the passage of time, but instead grew increasingly fierce.
Clearly, the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect had made thorough preparations before launching this assault on the Blood Demon Sect.
Moreover, judging from the scale of the invasion, this was definitely no small skirmish.
If the Blood Demon Sect could withstand it, that would be fine. But if it could not, Lin Fan feared he would become a wandering disciple of the Demon Sect from then on.
He cultivated demonic techniques and could no longer wash away the mark of the Blood Demon Sect. If he wandered outside, it would be far more dangerous than staying within the sect.
Lin Fan's thoughts rose and fell as he constantly imagined the various possible outcomes.
Ultimately, he was still too weak. Otherwise, he would not have been forced to hide at the bottom of the cliff.
He felt somewhat regretful. If he had revealed earlier that he had become a Blood Talisman Master, would he have avoided having to protect himself alone like this and instead received the sect's utmost protection?
Lin Fan shook his head. It was too late to say anything now.
He could only pray that the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's people would withdraw quickly, and that the Demon Cultivators at the bottom of the cliff would not discover him.
Time became unbearably long.
A night passed, yet the explosions in the distance still showed no sign of stopping.
"When will this ever end?"
Lin Fan sighed inwardly.
Just then, movement suddenly came from the distance, making his entire body tense.
The Blood Mist began to churn violently, as though something terrifying were surging out of the Demon Vein Desolate Land.
"Could it be a Demon Cultivator?"
Lin Fan held his breath and tensed every muscle, terrified that he might make even the slightest sound.
Suddenly, the Blood Mist slowly settled, and figures appeared not far away.
"That is..."
Lin Fan froze, unsure whether they were Demon Cultivators or cultivators from the Blood Demon Sect.
While he was still uncertain, a familiar voice came from nearby.
"Senior Brother Shi, where are you taking us?"
It was Yun Peng's voice.
"Naturally, somewhere safe."
Another cold voice rang out. Lin Fan recognized it as the voice of Shi Tao, an inner sect senior brother from Blackwood Cliff.
"This is the bottom of Blackwood Cliff. If we go any farther, we'll enter the dangerous Demon Vein Desolate Land."
"What exactly do you mean?"
Yun Peng sounded frightened and uneasy.
"The Demon Vein Desolate Land is very safe. If you obediently follow me inside, I guarantee that you'll remain unharmed."
"But if anyone dares resist, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Shi Tao's voice was grim.
"You're not Shi Tao. You must be a Demon Cultivator."
"You must have falsely passed on the Peak Master's orders, tricking us out of the secret chamber and bringing us here."
Another voice rang out. Lin Fan listened carefully and found them all somewhat familiar. They should be the Blood Talisman Masters who had been aboard the flying vessel that day.
"Your guess is quite good."
"This is our Demon Cultivators' territory. If you don't want to die, obey quietly. Otherwise, heh heh..."
Shi Tao's tone was overbearing.
After his words fell, the other voices fell completely silent.
Lin Fan remained motionless and soon pieced together the whole situation.
Blood Talisman Masters were a "technical profession" under special protection. When the battle had just begun, the Blood Soul Peak Master had taken them into a secret chamber to protect them.
However, Shi Tao, the Peak Master's personal disciple, had deceived the group of Blood Talisman Masters and brought them here.
At this thought, Lin Fan's heart suddenly tightened.
Shi Tao's body had been seized by a Demon Cultivator. Had the sect truly failed to notice for so long? Or was there an even more terrifying Demon Cultivator behind Shi Tao, helping him conceal his identity?
The more Lin Fan thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
"A Demon Cultivator more terrifying than Shi Tao, who can even help him conceal his identity... Could it be... the Blood Soul Peak Master?"
Lin Fan's eyes widened. If that were true, it would explain why Shi Tao had been able to bring the Blood Talisman Masters here so easily.
It would also explain how Shi Tao had previously been able to arrange for him to participate in the Blood Talisman Gathering at Roaming Cloud Valley.
Lin Fan's scalp prickled. The Blood Demon Sect's circumstances were already dire enough, and now there was also a Demon Cultivator watching them like a tiger eyeing its prey. How were they supposed to survive?
As if to confirm Lin Fan's guess, an astonished cry suddenly came from nearby.
"Peak Master!"
"Why are you here as well?"
A Blood Talisman Master stared at the withered figure before him in disbelief.
Yun Peng's face turned deathly pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably from panic.
The figure standing ahead was none other than the Blood Soul Peak Master, Yuan Tu!
"Shi Tao is a Demon Cultivator. As his master, I naturally am one as well."
"Everyone, since you've come, make yourselves at home. Follow me into the Demon Vein Desolate Land."
The Peak Master's voice was hoarse and low, and terrifying cold light flickered in her eyes.
Demon Cultivators had an innate weakness: they could not create talismans. But with this group of Blood Talisman Masters, things would be different.
Talisman inscriptions were extremely important to them, capable of making up for the natural flaw of Demon Cultivators.
Lin Fan felt cold all over and was immensely relieved.
"Fortunately, I didn't reveal that I was a Blood Talisman Master ahead of time. Otherwise, I'd probably have been targeted by the Demon Cultivators and brought here as well, right?"
Lin Fan thought, feeling as if he had survived a disaster.
"What about Master Ruan and Wang Zhaofeng?"
Yuan Tu asked.
"When the battle began, Master Ruan went to the front lines. As for Wang Zhaofeng, he was protected by his elders, so I had no chance to make a move."
Shi Tao answered respectfully.
"Forget it. Master Ruan's end is approaching, and perhaps he wants to leave behind a good reputation. What a pity that his Blood Qi has withered. Otherwise, we could have transformed him into one of us Demon Cultivators."
She shook her head, then waved her hand and said, "Follow me."
Yun Peng and the other talisman masters were like lambs awaiting slaughter. They could only obediently follow Yuan Tu and Shi Tao into the Demon Vein Desolate Land.
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