"Magical artifact!"
The young woman in the green dress and the Blood Dwarf both paled in shock.
Only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could refine magical artifacts. Although she was already in the late stage of Qi Refining and was only one minor level away from the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, that single gap was like a heavenly chasm, blocking the vast majority of Qi Refining cultivators on the far side.
No matter how powerful a Qi Refining cultivator was, they could never be a match for a Foundation Establishment cultivator—not even when facing merely a flying-sword artifact refined by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The black sword erupted with speed even greater than the Blood Dwarf's twin wheels. It swayed left and right, knocking aside the wheels, which were several times its size. A fleeting afterimage flashed through the air.
"Shan, save me!" the Blood Dwarf cried in panic before turning to flee. He did not even have time to care about the twin wheels. After being struck twice by the black sword, they had already suffered considerable damage. Their spiritual energy had drained away, leaving them with little use.
Pfft---
The black sword pierced straight through his chest. The Blood Dwarf jolted as though struck by lightning, his body abruptly freezing. Looking down, he saw a bloody hole as wide as a bowl in his chest, blood gushing wildly from it. "Ugh..." The light faded from his eyes, and his corpse collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"Stop! We'll each take one of the remaining Purple Luo Ginsengs. Don't force me to use a fourth-rank spirit talisman." Seeing the Blood Dwarf dead, the young woman in green showed not the slightest trace of grief. It was not that she had been unwilling to save him; everything had happened in the blink of an eye. From the black sword artifact appearing to the Blood Dwarf's death, it had all fallen within the old man in black robes' calculations.
At that moment, she was also surrounded by a massive swarm of small green ants—at least two or three hundred of them.
When she saw the great mass of small green ants flying toward her with a buzzing roar, the young woman in green's face filled with wariness. At the same time, she beckoned with her left hand, summoning a spirit talisman three inches long and one and a half inches wide, covered in mysterious patterns.
The old man in black robes stared uncertainly at the talisman, whose spiritual pressure was so imposing that it was no weaker than his flying-sword artifact. He had never imagined that the young woman in green would have such a trump card hidden away.
Still, the old man in black robes did not hesitate for long. He was determined to obtain both Purple Luo Ginsengs, and news of them absolutely could not leak out. Otherwise, it would bring calamity upon him, leaving him dead and his cultivation destroyed.
Besides, refining a Foundation Establishment Pill from a single Purple Luo Ginseng truly carried considerable risk. If the refinement failed, would that not be like drawing water with a bamboo basket—effort wasted for nothing?
With that thought, the old man in black robes clenched his teeth and directed the Shadow Ants to continue attacking the young woman in green. Even if he had to pay a price to eliminate her, it would be entirely worth it.
"In that case, don't blame me for fighting you to the bitter end!"
The young woman in green shrieked. She had never expected the old man in black robes to disregard the consequences so completely. With a flying-sword artifact in his possession and this swarm of Shadow Ants at his command, if she relied on ordinary methods, she would probably be killed here by him in moments. Thus, she abruptly poured her magic power into the talisman and threw it out in a desperate gamble.
Blazing firelight flickered across the talisman, and a whirlwind suddenly rose from nowhere. The talisman ignited on its own, transforming into a colossal fireball.
Boom! The fireball exploded, transforming into dozens or even hundreds of fiery arrows.
"A fourth-rank Fire Arrow Talisman!" The old man in black robes' expression changed. Although it was only a fourth-rank low-grade talisman, its power was no weaker than that of an ordinary magical artifact. Its sole drawback was that it was a one-use item, unlike his artifact, which could be used repeatedly so long as it was not completely damaged. Even so, he did not dare underestimate its destructive power.
"Die!" the young woman in green shouted sharply. With the Fire Arrow Talisman unleashed, she had no more cards to play, and there was no room left for either side to retreat.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Hundreds of fiery arrows tore through the air toward the old man in black robes. The small green ants blocking the way were burned to death one after another, falling in heaps to the ground and filling the air with the stench of singed flesh.
The old man in black robes slapped out four or five first-rank Earth Shield Talismans in rapid succession. Layer upon layer of earth shields appeared before him.
Boom, boom! The fiery arrows struck the earth shields one after another. Among the five-element spells, earth-element defenses were the strongest. The low-grade Earth Shield Technique was known among spells of the same rank as an ironclad turtle shell. But the gap between the grades of the two talismans was simply too great. In the blink of an eye, the four or five layers of earth shields were shattered into countless clods after being struck by the arrows.
The old man in black robes' expression turned ugly. He had not expected the Fire Arrow Talisman to be so powerful. He hurriedly took a small blue umbrella from his storage pouch and opened it just in time. A deep-blue curtain of light suddenly descended, enveloping the area within fifteen feet around him.
Sizzle, sizzle.
The fiery arrows struck the blue curtain of light as though they had entered mud, their speed dropping sharply. Although their front halves pierced through the barrier, their rear halves remained stuck outside it. The arrows were then eroded by the flowing blue light, sending up clouds of white, vaporous mist.
However, as the arrows behind them arrived in an unbroken stream, the blue curtain of light visibly grew thinner.
With a deafening explosion, several holes burst open in the small blue umbrella.
The remaining twenty or thirty arrows shot toward the old man in black robes without pause.
A look of anguish crossed the old man in black robes' face. This spirit umbrella was a high-grade spiritual artifact that had accompanied him for many years. Defensive spiritual artifacts like it were exceedingly rare, but in the end, it still could not withstand a fourth-rank spirit talisman equivalent to a strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. After holding out for only a few breaths, it was utterly destroyed.
Yet the fourth-rank spirit talisman was also at the end of its strength. The old man in black robes gritted his teeth and controlled the black sword artifact to hack the incoming arrows away.
The black sword artifact struck the incoming arrows one after another, scattering countless sparks across the air. But no matter how fast the old man in black robes moved, the black sword artifact could not cover everything. After shattering the vast majority of the arrows, it still missed two that shot straight at him. A sharp pain tore through his abdomen and thigh. His expression filled with terror, and he hurriedly mobilized the vital energy within his body to envelop the two arrows.
Bang, bang! It was too late. The old man in black robes let out a shriek as his left leg was blown clean off, filling the air with the stench of charred flesh. The arrow in his abdomen was restrained by the vital energy within his body, but it still blasted a bowl-sized bloody hole through him.
Seeing that even the fourth-rank spirit talisman had failed to kill the old man in black robes, the young woman in green looked horrified and turned to flee.
The old man in black robes' expression was as vicious as a demon's. He clenched his teeth and spat out a single word: "Die."
The black sword artifact transformed into a streak of black light and pursued the young woman in green.
She had not gone far when she sensed a chilling killing intent rushing at her from behind. In a panic, she swept both sleeves, sending a purple ribbon flying out to entangle the black sword artifact. The black sword artifact twisted through the air, slicing the purple ribbon into several pieces. Under the young woman in green's disbelieving gaze, it slashed diagonally down from her left shoulder. Her body was split in two.
The old man in black robes recalled the flying sword and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Enduring the agony, he staunched the bleeding, but the injuries on his body had already exceeded his expectations. As for the Shadow Ants that had scattered, he only had time to hurriedly call back two or three dozen of them. After laboriously harvesting the Purple Luo Ginsengs, he saw that most of the mist in the canyon had dispersed. Even if some extraordinary treasure remained, after such a brutal battle, he was in no condition to claim it. It would be better to return to his cave abode and recuperate properly for a while before deciding what to do next.