Good Partner

Indeed, experience is gained through sword fighting. After all, Li Fan had faced so many tribulations, fought so many monsters, and killed so many people, so he had gained some insights and experience.

For example, when the natives of this world fight, it seems there are roughly three modes: physical attacks using martial arts and supernatural powers, magical attacks using supernatural abilities and spells, and mental attacks that affect mood, such as attacks targeting the primordial spirit.

Information on the Yuan Shen system's spells is still scarce. It seems to be some kind of faction-specific skill from the Divine Cult's Heavenly Book, capable of directly damaging one's mood. It's probably similar in nature to the 'Non-Thing' spells like Tai Su. However, since it can only damage Li Fan slightly, we won't discuss it here.

The main issue lies in the mutual restraint between martial arts and magic during sword duels.

Martial arts are the simplest of arts; they are all about diligent practice and strengthening one's body. In a normal world, the limits of ordinary people are basically limited by the laws of physics. No matter how skilled a martial arts master is, he is still no match for bows and crossbows, spears and halberds, and cannot cut through chains or iron leaves.

But if one can truly break through human limits, the way of fighting will be completely different.

For example, this world is full of supernatural combat techniques based on talismans, magic arrays, illusions, and escape methods. They are truly unpredictable and impossible to defend against. If you encounter an unfamiliar move, you may easily be caught off guard and suffer an instant defeat.

Fortunately, supernatural powers and spells usually have extremely high barriers to entry. Just the basic cultivation of immortality requires a high level of cultivation and magical power, which eliminates countless people. Moreover, the truly powerful ones are all taught through orthodox methods passed down by the Xuanmen sect, which have extremely strict requirements for aptitude, comprehension, and innate talent. Therefore, it is indeed rare to find a magician who is particularly powerful at the Golden Core Stage.

Based on Li Fan's actual experience, even with all his cheat-like abilities, his Golden Core Stage primordial spirit and magical power still felt insufficient. Whether it was the Qiongqi transformation or the sword control technique, he basically had no spare power to use these truly powerful spells simultaneously. No matter how many he learned, being able to use two or three of them consecutively in a battle was already quite remarkable.

Moreover, even if you go through great lengths to learn a spell, it doesn't mean you can immediately unleash its power.

Zhang Jiugao knew countless spells, but when it came to a real battle, he would just keep using the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword technique, relying on that one trick to win every battle.

Li Fan himself used to struggle to even defeat a monkey with the same move, but after receiving the power transfer, he could instantly kill people anywhere. This shows that even if you master the same spell with great difficulty, you still need to constantly study, refine, and deeply cultivate it in order to unleash its power.

Taking Li Fan's own example, he could recite the talismans and spells taught by the Lou Guan by heart, but when it came to using the knowledge from the book to fight against others, he still had to carefully consider the terrain, cast a hexagram, and think it over. He couldn't simply calculate with his fingers, wave his hand to form an array, or scatter beans to create soldiers with ease.

Although he had mastered the Motian Huasheng Dafa, that was all he knew. Right now, he could only grow ordinary flesh and blood. The extra arms were not a Dao body and had no meridians. They were only used to cover his mouth and nose and scare people. In reality, the hands and feet he grew only had the strength of an ordinary person and could not be used as a proper Dao body to fight people.

Magical arts and supernatural powers have so many prerequisites and thresholds, while the most basic martial arts, if you have a solid foundation and combine them with one or two auxiliary spells in battle, can actually achieve extraordinary feats.

For example, the battle formations of the celestial soldiers of the Immortal Palace, the Body Domination Technique of the Divine Sect, and the various copper-headed, iron-boned, three-headed, six-armed, and heaven-and-earth-manifesting spells of the Xuanmen, combined with these, basic martial arts can play an unparalleled role in close combat.

At least when a mage is being chased at point-blank range, they're definitely not in the mood to calmly cast spells and perform incantations. After all, reality isn't an online game that requires class balance. If a melee opponent throws a punch at your chest, every punch is literally an 'interrupt'.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the battles between cultivators in this world are probably still based on the basic model of melee shield walls absorbing damage in the front line, while mages maintain a certain distance to cast spells and deal damage. In fact, it is a similar mindset to the cold weapon battle formations of the classical era.

Of course, once various magical weapons and flying swords become widespread, it might evolve into a system similar to lining up for executions, where everyone lines up to throw flying swords at each other for beheading.

After all, whether it's a flying sword or a firearm, they are all tools developed by humans based on different environments, different rules, and different civilization systems, all with the same mission: to kill. Perhaps they also have something in common.

Ahem, I've digressed again. Anyway, Li Fan's tactics are quite simple now. He's surrounded and out of ammo, so there's no point in playing games; he'll just go for a bayonet charge!

"Prepare to die!"

Li Fan charged forward with his sword, thinking that he could easily kill these rogue cultivators and gain a lot of experience points by relying on the exquisite Profound Heaven Sword Method and the power of his sword. However, he unexpectedly found himself in a bitter battle!

The three who had been chasing him didn't flee; instead, they charged straight at Li Fan and engaged him in battle.

They were all melee attackers who had practiced some kind of martial art and enhanced their spells with special Daoist bodies. One used a ring-bladed sword, one used a fire-tipped spear, and one used a black iron rod, and they ganged up on Li Fan.

Fortunately, these three were clearly not from the same line of cultivation, and they didn't coordinate well with each other. When they gathered together, they couldn't effectively use their skills. So they simply watched for opportunities to fight from the sidelines. It was basically a war of attrition, where one person would come up and fight for a while, and if they couldn't win, someone else would take over.

Although he was now fighting three opponents, the pressure was far less than that brought to Li Fan by the combined sword formation of the puppet assassins earlier. Moreover, the magical treasures they possessed were not of high quality. Although each of them knew some martial arts, they were no match for Li Fan, a genius in comprehension and memorization, in a one-on-one fight.

So after fighting for only a short while, Li Fan, relying on his photographic memory, forcibly memorized the moves and routines of the three of them, and was able to spot the flaws in their tactics, chasing after them and striking back to kill them.

Only the one wielding the gun was slightly more skilled. His marksmanship was probably honed on the battlefield; it was powerful and heavy, with many variations. He was also quite shrewd, feinting after a couple of exchanges before jumping behind his opponent to switch targets. If things went wrong, he would sneakily thrust his spear from the side, forcing Li Fan to retreat. That's why the three of them were able to fight Li Fan for ten or so rounds without a clear winner.

The other two were more straightforward. Their ring-bladed swords and staffs didn't employ any sophisticated techniques; they weren't practicing proper Body Domination Technique, but rather just routines for generating power, combined with breathing exercises to unleash the maximum power of their Golden Core Stage bodies. With their skill level, they could be entertaining enough to split mountains and cleave rocks, or even perform as street musicians. Unfortunately, their direct approach meant that Li Fan figured out their moves after just three moves, and after another three to five moves, they were being chased and hacked down.

So the wheel hadn't even turned two revolutions before the three of them were covered in blood, their faces bruised, their hands weak, and their hearts filled with fear. They could only parry, not retaliate. They could only rely on their Golden Core level bodies, which far surpassed those of ordinary mortals, to barely keep up with Li Fan's pace, dodging fatal sword wounds and losing a couple of pieces of flesh. At least they wouldn't be killed instantly by a single sword strike. In reality, they were in grave danger, too afraid to even try to escape.

Taking down the three of them wasn't difficult at all. Li Fan was just not used to wielding a sword while flying in the air at first, so he missed a lot of good opportunities. But as he gradually got the hang of it and was about to kill them, the annoying thing was that there were five more people behind him who were casting spells and started attacking to support him!

It turned out that the three melee fighters had already personally experienced the power of Li Fan's swordsmanship, so there was no need to elaborate. On the other side, the five cultivators watching from the sidelines were also gradually becoming alarmed.

At first, they were somewhat like snipe and clam fighting, wanting to wait on the sidelines until they were both exhausted before vying for the top spot. They were quite wary of each other, only casually casting small spells to help each other.

But after watching for a while, I realized that it wouldn't work. This purple-faced guy from Ink Bamboo Mountain was formidable. His swordsmanship was superb, and his sword was incredibly sharp. He could cut through spears and iron rods inch by inch, and his ring-pommel sword turned into a serrated blade after just a couple of scrapes!

Moreover, he wasn't even out of breath fighting three people at once, and he even chased after the three of them, attacking them relentlessly. The difference in strength was simply too great! If this continued, all three meat shields would fall!

Immediately, the five dared not slack off any longer. Some summoned wind, some released thunder, some conjured fireballs, and some threw magic weapons. The most annoying one was like a fly, buzzing around while chanting incantations. The more he chanted, the heavier the Fagui Sword became. If Li Fan hadn't relied on his Dao Body to possess the strange and powerful strength of the Qiongqi, his arm strength would have been extraordinary. Suddenly, he almost couldn't hold onto such a heavy sword and it would have slipped from his grasp!

So being swarmed by these five flies disrupted Li Fan's rhythm of cleaning up the trash.

They were about to cut off the arm holding the knife when suddenly a fireball was thrown at his head.

As he tried to dissect the wielder's lungs, a gust of black wind swept over and squinted his eyes.

They shredded the red tassel on the spear, turning the Sword Light back to decapitate the target.

They also conjured up lightning and lightning nets, along with a fierce Crimson Fiend wind, forcing him to free his hands to dodge.

Annoyed, he wanted to turn around and kill these clowns, but the five flies immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

The three weaklings in front, having been beaten more than a dozen times, knew that they would be in danger if they didn't join forces. So they chased after him together, wielding spears and sticks, hacking and slashing with broadswords, forcing Li Fan to stop again and surrounding him to entangle him.

Surrounded and beaten by this group of trash who could easily be killed one-on-one, Li Fan felt an indescribable sense of frustration, entanglement, and irritability. He was beginning to understand the humiliating feeling of a tiger fallen into the plains, being ganged up on by a pack of dogs.

This can't go on! We need to break this deadlock!

Li Fan's eyes darted around, and he immediately shouted, "Senior brother, help me!"

He then feinted, taking advantage of the opening created by the spearman's dodge, and charged out of the encirclement of the three on his sword, flying straight towards the street below.

The eight people behind him paused for a moment, then quickly realized with their Divine Sense that there was no "senior brother" at all! How could they let him get away! Instantly, they were united in their hatred and gave chase!

"Are you all idiots! Killing me only gets you the reward for one person! Why bother doing all the work for someone else!" Li Fan cursed as he flew away.

It's no use. He originally planned to feign an escape to create a gap in skill and then turn the tables in a one-on-one situation. But he failed right from the start.

Because the demon-slaying was flying so slowly, whether it was under a curse or exhausted from fighting, it was more than half as slow as before! If this continued, it wouldn't be able to create any distance, and it would be surrounded again in an instant!

"Don't listen to his nonsense! He's just trying to sow discord among us!"

"That's right! The eight of us couldn't take him down. Letting him go will only bring endless trouble!"

"That's exactly right! I won't take his head anymore! I'll just take his sword!"

The three cultivators wielding weapons shouted again.

So the five sorcerers behind them didn't waste any words, they kept chanting incantations and occasionally unleashing wind, fire, thunder and lightning to strike people.

Li Fan dodged left and right with his hand gestures, but after avoiding the wind, fire, thunder and lightning, he suddenly felt a jolt on his shoulder, as if he had been hit by a brick.

Li Fan, with his Void Refined Skin and Unfettered Bones, and still wearing the Immovable Taishan Daoist Robe, was completely unaffected. However, this was an opportunity, so he immediately let out a particularly miserable howl, covered his head, and rolled into the alley between the two walls.

"Don't fall for it!"

"Beware of thieves trying to trick you!"

"Everyone, bombard him with all your might! Flatten the neighborhood! Don't give the thief a chance to launch a sneak attack!"

Holy crap, are you some kind of coward?! There are people living on both sides of this street, what would happen if these scumbags blew it all up!

Li Fan had no choice but to grit his teeth and fly up again, roaring angrily, "You want magic treasures, right! My treasures are all here! Go and take them yourselves!"

He then grabbed the jade pendant in his pocket, flung it out, and threw out a handful of Divine Astral Coin, talismans, paper, brocade, minerals, and jade. Of course, the heaviest items were a hammer, a whip, and two magical treasures of various colors!

This was something the eight people couldn't ignore, especially since that whip was a genuine Nascent Soul Stage level treasure!

"Hmph! You think you can fool us with such petty tricks!"

"Don't panic, everyone! Kill him and we'll split the spoils!"

"The villains have run out of tricks! Let's all live and die together!"

The three cunning leaders saw through Li Fan's little scheme at a glance. Seeing victory within their grasp, they shouted and encouraged each other like half-brothers, saying things like, "You are my solid support, I am your warm embrace," and charged forward together.

Then the gunman who had been chasing the hardest and shouting the loudest turned around and abandoned Li Fan, rushing over to snatch the treasure...

This guy performed a Cobra maneuver, forcefully breaking away from the pursuit formation, turning around to grab the treasure first, leaving the single-sword and iron-stick-wielding men next to him completely bewildered.

What are you doing?!

"What happened to our promise to live and die together?!"

However, this change was entirely within Li Fan's calculations.

It went chasing the disc, and the dog frisbee got thrown out into a pile of trash.

"Slay the Demon--!" Li Fan roared, grabbing the Fagui Sword and turning to attack!

He gripped the sword hilt with his tiger's mouth, spun around, and unleashed a swift, flying strike! Aiming straight for the head of the ring-pommel sword!

"Ah!"

"Not good!"

"Hurry! As the law commands!"

The two men, Wu Tiegun and Huan Shou Dao, were terrified and quickly raised their weapons to defend themselves. The sorcerer behind them was also prepared. With a chant, he commanded the Fagui Sword to be cursed and it fell straight to the ground. Li Fan was hit in the face by a brick from the other four men and fell to the ground. He was then struck by lightning and thunder.

"Good, that was close... Damn it! You actually abandoned us to go and steal the treasure at a time like this! Are you fucking crazy?!" The swordsman, who had almost been killed by Li Fan's counterattack, broke out in a cold sweat and cursed at the bewildered gunslinger who was touching a plate.

Five mages caught up as well, staring at the man wielding the spear with hostile expressions, wary that he might grab the magical treasures scattered on the ground and run away.

The gunslinger had only picked up a plate, which was completely inexplicable. "No, I, I didn't mean to... Watch out! He's not dead yet!"

Li Fan was indeed not dead. That brick was indeed a magical weapon; it smashed into his brow bone, leaving a bloody gash. At this moment, half of his face was stained with blood. He was drawing two wooden swords and charging towards the eight people in front of him, roaring.

"Heh, you've run out of tricks! Put down what you stole! Kill him first, then divide the spoils! Hurry! So be it!"

So the cultivators joined forces again. One chanted a spell to freeze Li Fan as he charged forward, while the other six unleashed a barrage of fireballs, lightning bolts, gusts of wind, iron bars, saw blades, and spears upon him. They shattered Li Fan's hands and blasted his Daoist robes, leaving them stained with blood...

Huh? One's missing.

The one chanting the incantation subconsciously turned his head and saw the person who had thrown the brick earlier lying on the ground, picking up the plate that the gunman had casually tossed aside... Ugh... Are you guys fucking crazy...? "Ah--!"

At the same time as this scream...

Taking advantage of the cultivator's momentary lapse in concentration, the fallen demon sword, now lying on the ground, swung its blade backward, splitting the man in two from the groin. Following the momentum of the full moon, it reversed direction and cleaved downward, along with the Golden Brick protecting its master, cutting the cultivator who had picked up the dog plate into four pieces and severing most of his head.

Li Fan, who had lost both arms, took advantage of the moment he was freed from immobilization and immediately extended six hands from under his Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword Mist.

In just a moment, he smeared the faces of the two men wielding knives and sticks with lime, then swept his sword and smashed them into pieces.

But the spearman was a step too slow, and instead of retreating amidst the sword wind, he advanced! With a roar, he unleashed a spear flourish, directly deflecting Li Fan's twin swords guarding his center. Unfortunately, these hands were merely illusions, lacking sufficient strength, and were directly shattered by the spear, which then thrust into Li Fan's abdomen!

Having been struck head-on, Li Fan immediately knew that his three sets of Daoist robes were exhausted, and the spear that pierced his Inner Landscape had also broken his Qi Sea, causing his Qi circulation to become sluggish, and the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword was also stopped!

But instead of retreating, he advanced! Charging forward with his spear, he shoved the hands that were gripping the lime into the gunman's eye sockets!

The gunman screamed in agony as he kicked Li Fan's right leg, breaking it.

Li Fan held onto the gunman's face tightly, refusing to let go. With his remaining Dao power, he stretched out a bunch of hands, like a centipede, clinging to the gunman's body to prevent him from breaking free. At the same time, he used his strongest hands to grab the gunman's neck!

Having likely had his eardrums ruptured by Fare, Li Fan was experiencing a piercing ringing in both ears and couldn't hear anything. His half-closed face was also covered in blood, and he could only barely see with one eye the gunman's face, which was rapidly contorting and deforming under his clenched hands.

He could simultaneously feel the raging winds and flames swirling around him, as if the other cultivators had decided to set them both ablaze. Burned by the Dao fire, Li Fan could only lament that his newly grown skin was about to be gone again.

Fortunately, the Dao fire, Dao wind, and Dao thunder all went out after a short while.

After all, no matter how slow a sword is, it's not something a person can run across on two legs. Moreover, even if someone escapes using a teleportation technique, they will still involuntarily come back to retrieve the plate.

So, before Li Fan was roasted, the demon slayer killed everyone.

So Li Fan removed the gunman's head, pulled out the spear stuck in his abdomen, used it as a cane, stood up, and looked around.

Li Fan's mood improved by 1 point.

'Li Fan won the battle, increasing his morale cap by 100 points.'

'Current mood limit: 2600'

Are they all dead?

He grabbed a handful of wound medicine and some ink thread, stuffed them into the hole in his abdomen to plug it up, walked over the Li Fan, picked up the dog frisbee on the ground, pulled out the Black Sword stuck in the ground, and wiped the blood that had seeped into the spine of the sword with his sleeve.

"You're the only one I can rely on, my good buddy."