Dao Lord Taichu had sensed it in advance. He flashed aside to evade the blow, then struck the mysterious man's chest with a backhanded palm.
The mysterious man was sent flying by the palm strike and crashed into a mountain rock in the distance, shattering it. Yet he quickly rose to his feet again.
His gaze turned even sharper. His treasured sword left its sheath once more with a piercing hum.
Dao Lord Taichu refused to be outdone. He swung the scepter in his hand, sending a bolt of golden lightning crashing toward the mysterious man.
The mysterious man's figure flickered with a ghostly blue glow as he nimbly evaded the golden lightning, then launched another attack.
This time, he was faster, and his swordsmanship fiercer, like a ghostly blue whirlwind.
Dao Lord Taichu felt the pressure multiply, but he did not retreat. Instead, he intensified his counterattack.
Their battle grew incomparably fierce, sword light, lightning, and energy ripples twisting together between them.
The trees and rocks in the mountains were swept into the vortex of battle and reduced to fragments.
The mysterious man's treasured sword stabbed toward Dao Lord Taichu's chest. Dao Lord Taichu swiftly swung his scepter, raising a curtain of golden light before him that knocked the sword aside.
He gave a cold snort as a vast surge of golden energy erupted, forcing the mysterious man back.
"What other tricks do you have?" Dao Lord Taichu asked coldly. He had gradually adapted to the mysterious man's speed and phantom techniques.
The mysterious man did not answer. Instead, he abruptly halted his attack, and his gaze became profound.
Dao Lord Taichu watched him warily, unsure what he was plotting.
Suddenly, a powerful aura radiated from the mysterious man's body. His treasured sword also began to change, gradually transforming