The defensive barrier of the Indeterminate Ring shattered. Xu Yang reacted at once, rapidly circulating the Indestructible Golden Body Art. His blue-black Iron Body was immediately pushed to its limit, and the Iron Wall divine ability appeared before him.
First came a clang of metal striking metal, followed by a wet thud. The Flying Sword pierced Xu Yang's chest, hurling him backward. At the same time, Xu Yang raised his left hand and flung a purple Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearl toward Xue Meng, whose guard had momentarily dropped.
Seeing the Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearl flying toward him, Xue Meng's expression changed dramatically, and he immediately retreated. But it was too late. The pearl flashed with purple light and exploded, turning everything within five meters into a sea of lightning that trapped Xue Meng inside.
Within five meters, bolts of divine lightning danced in every direction. In just a moment, seven or eight bolts struck Xue Meng. His face darkening, he immediately summoned a blood-red spiritual pearl, and a blood-colored barrier enveloped him.
Bolt after bolt of divine lightning struck the blood-colored barrier, making it ripple violently. Xue Meng seized the chance to escape the sea of lightning, but the lightning erupted again, striking him so hard that he was rooted to the spot, unable to move.
With no other choice, Xue Meng poured all the demonic power in his body into the Blood Spirit Pearl to withstand the lightning. Ten minutes later, he let out an unwilling scream as the divine lightning shattered his defenses and struck his body. His entire body charred black, he fell to the ground, lifeless.
Both Xu Yang and his opponent lay severely wounded. The scene soon fell quiet, with only a few remnants of lightning flickering nearby. After a short while, Xu Yang's fingers twitched where he lay, and at last he struggled to his feet.
Xu Yang looked around in bewilderment. When he saw what had happened, his expression changed, and he turned his gaze toward Xue Meng. Seeing him lying on the ground, his body charred black, Xu Yang let out a long breath and relaxed slightly.
Then Xu Yang looked down at the black-and-red Flying Sword stuck in his chest, his heart still pounding. Thankfully, he had reacted quickly and used his Iron Wall divine ability in time; otherwise, the Flying Sword would have pierced right through him.
At the thought, Xu Yang stirred his divine sense and immediately controlled the Sky-Severing Sword lying beside him to slash at Xue Meng. With a thud, Xue Meng's head was cut off, ending his life for good.
Seeing Xue Meng dead, Xu Yang finally relaxed completely. He sat down, raised his left hand, and pulled the Flying Sword from his chest. Blood spurted out at once, and Xu Yang swiftly pressed several major acupoints near the wound with his right hand to stop the bleeding.
After tending to his wound, Xu Yang recalled his Dharma Artifacts into his Qiankun Bag and immediately walked over to Xue Meng. He took out Xue Meng's Qiankun Bag and tucked it away, then, gritting his teeth against his injuries, mounted his sword and quickly left.
Not long after Xu Yang had departed, a black-and-red streak of sword light came speeding over. After landing, the newcomer quickly surveyed the scene. The instant he saw Xue Meng's corpse, his expression changed dramatically. He hurried forward and examined it closely, then, his face grim, put Xue Meng's body away and left on his sword.
Along the way, he ran into the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining disciple. The man, his face pale, said to him, "Junior Brother Liu, something terrible has happened. Senior Brother Xue Meng was killed by a Bailian Pavilion disciple."
"What? That's impossible! Senior Brother Xue Meng was a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator. The Bailian Pavilion disciple he was chasing was only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. Senior Brother Zhang, don't make things up," Junior Brother Liu said, unable to believe it.
"It's true. Senior Brother Xue Meng's body is in my Qiankun Bag. What are we supposed to do? How can we explain this to Elder Xue Wuya? Senior Brother Xue Meng was his son!" Senior Brother Zhang replied in despair.
Hearing Senior Brother Zhang's words, Junior Brother Liu's face turned as white as paper. Terrified, he said, "There's no undoing this. The two of us can only go to Elder Xue and confess. We'll explain exactly what happened and hope he'll spare us!"
Senior Brother Zhang replied bitterly, "I can only hope Elder Xue will let us go." With that, the two sped up and returned to the Blood Refining Sect.
Meanwhile, Xu Yang had no idea he had caused a catastrophe. He flew cautiously on his sword the whole way, and only when he reached the vicinity of a great mountain did he land. Then he darted into the dense forest.
Finding a secluded spot in the forest, Xu Yang sat cross-legged and began circulating his cultivation art to heal his injuries. Fortunately, his internal injuries weren't too serious. The Iron Wall had blocked most of the force behind Xue Meng's Flying Sword; what remained had merely pierced his chest.
After just three days of treatment, Xu Yang had fully recovered. Once his injuries had healed, he settled down and reviewed the gains and losses of the battle. The fight had cost him dearly: both his mid-grade Dharma Artifacts, the Breeze Sword and the Indeterminate Ring, had been destroyed.
Xu Yang had also lost a Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearl. Even so, he had won the battle by the narrowest stroke of luck. Fortunately, he had obtained Xue Meng's Qiankun Bag. There ought to be some good things inside!
At the thought, Xu Yang reached into his robes and took out Xue Meng's Qiankun Bag. After removing the remnant of Xue Meng's divine sense, Xu Yang immediately sent his own divine sense inside. He saw quite a few items stored within.
Xu Yang took them out one by one and examined them carefully. There were two bottles of top-grade Zengyuan Pills, one bottle of Spirit Sprout Pills, a top-grade black-and-red Flying Sword, a high-grade golden Flying Sword, a red bracelet, a Blood Spirit Pearl covered in cracks, a blood-colored Talisman, and over a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.
Looking at these treasures, Xu Yang was thrilled. The Spirit Stones and pills needed no explanation, so he casually put them into his Qiankun Bag. The Spirit Sprout Pills were medicinal pills that Foundation Establishment cultivators used to improve their cultivation. With Xu Yang's Qi Refining Realm cultivation, he couldn't withstand their medicinal power; he would burst apart and die.
The black-and-red Flying Sword was a top-grade Dharma Artifact called the Blood-Flying Sword. It was incredibly sharp and powerful, and Xu Yang liked it very much. Unfortunately, it was blood-attribute and wholly unsuited to him, so he had no choice but to give up using it.
The golden high-grade Flying Sword, however, was easy for Xu Yang to control. Although the Golden Wing Sword was metal-attribute and didn't suit him either, he could still wield it and bring out most of its power, just as he could with the Golden Ray Blade.
The red bracelet was called the Blood-Transforming Bracelet. Like the Blood-Flying Sword, it was a blood-attribute treasure, so Xu Yang naturally couldn't use it. He could only put it together with the Blood-Flying Sword.
The Blood Spirit Pearl, covered in cracks, was a top-grade defensive Dharma Artifact. Unfortunately, it had been damaged by the Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearl and could no longer be used. And even if it had been intact, Xu Yang still couldn't have used it, since this top-grade Dharma Artifact was also blood-attribute.
Xu Yang put the Blood Spirit Pearl aside with a disgruntled look and picked up the last item, the blood-colored Talisman, to examine it closely. This Talisman was called a Blood-Burning Talisman. It could burn the cultivator's blood essence to boost their strength for a short time. Once the effect wore off, they would be greatly weakened and unable to fight again for a while. It was purely a last-ditch measure.
Seeing what the Talisman could do, Xu Yang solemnly put it into his Qiankun Bag. Its side effects were severe, but in a moment of crisis, it could save his life.
After tallying his spoils, Xu Yang put everything away in his Qiankun Bag, feeling thoroughly dejected. He hadn't expected that he couldn't use several of the top-grade Dharma Artifacts. It greatly dampened his excitement.
Once he had packed everything away, Xu Yang stood up, flew above the forest on his sword, and looked down. He needed to figure out where he was so he could find the right direction back to his sect.
After looking around, Xu Yang understood: he had already reached the lands of Wu Mountain. In his panicked flight, he had somehow ended up in Fengcheng Prefecture. Now he wasn't in such a hurry to leave.
As Xu Yang knew, there was a market in the lands of Wu Mountain. He could go there to see the sights and get rid of the things he couldn't use.
A market was a place for trade. It contained all sorts of shops selling Dharma Artifacts, pills, cultivation manuals, Jade Slips, spiritual herbs and materials, and more. It was a veritable treasure trove of everything one could imagine.
Even the major powers of Yue Province, such as Bailian Pavilion, had shops in the market. They sold treasures from their sects while earning Spirit Stones and acquiring other treasures their sects needed.
Fighting was forbidden in the market. Anyone who broke this rule would become an enemy of the entire cultivation world, hunted down by everyone. As a result, the market was bustling, with large numbers of Rogue Cultivators gathering there to trade resources with one another or sell them to the shops.
Since entering the cultivation world, Xu Yang had never visited a market. Now that he had arrived in the lands of Wu Mountain, there was one nearby, and he naturally wanted to see it for himself. Once he had made up his mind, Xu Yang turned his Flying Sword and headed toward the market.
A short while later, Xu Yang arrived in a secluded mountain valley. He landed and walked straight into the valley without stopping. The air rippled like water, and Xu Yang felt himself pass through a thin barrier.
He paid it no mind, knowing that this was the Illusion Array set up by the market to keep ordinary people from accidentally wandering in. The Illusion Array wasn't very powerful; anyone with the cultivation of the first layer of Qi Refining could pass through it.
After passing through the Illusion Array, Xu Yang's eyes lit up. Just ahead stood rows of shops, with people coming and going in a lively, prosperous scene. Xu Yang watched for a while, then stepped into the market.
Once inside, Xu Yang discovered that the market was divided into three sections, neatly laid out from left to right. On the left was an expanse of simple stalls. There were so many that any cultivator could use one freely after paying a single Spirit Stone. Most of those buying and selling here were Rogue Cultivators without sects.
In the middle stood a luxurious five-story building. Above its entrance hung a signboard bearing the words "Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
On the right were all kinds of shops. The major powers of Yue Province had opened their shops there, along with shops run by other cultivation Lineages and Rogue Cultivators. The cultivators walking around there were a much more diverse crowd; all sorts of people could be found.
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