"Fellow Daoist Huang, what is the meaning of this? Your disciple actually ambushed my subordinate. You owe me an explanation. Otherwise, don't blame me for breaking our agreement." Qin Shuang had witnessed what happened in the air above the cliff. Furious and shocked, he turned to Huang Ting and demanded an explanation, his face full of anger as he remained on guard.
Huang Ting quickly retreated until he was ten meters from Qin Shuang, then laughed. "Fellow Daoist Qin, stop pretending you don't understand. I don't believe for a moment that you'd split the treasures in the abode with me. This is a legacy left behind by a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator—no one would share it with anyone else. I only humored you earlier because I was afraid you'd escape."
Qin Shuang's expression darkened. "You think you can keep me here with your Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation? You're overestimating yourself. I'll show you the strength of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."
Huang Ting sneered. "You think the strength of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage can suppress me? You're too naive. I'll open your eyes, so you can die knowing exactly why."
As he spoke, Huang Ting slapped the Qiankun Bag at his waist. Two Talisman Treasures immediately flew out and hovered before him, then transformed into a three-tiered pagoda and three Flying Swords. Looking at the pagoda and swords, Huang Ting laughed and said to Qin Shuang, "With the Huangji Tower and Three Yang One Qi Sword, how can you fight me? Die!"
Before his words had even faded, the three Flying Swords shot toward Qin Shuang at incredible speed. At the same time, the Huangji Tower flew above Huang Ting's head and cast down a yellow curtain of light to shield him. Clearly, these two magical treasures complemented each other perfectly in offense and defense.
Seeing Huang Ting's actions, Qin Shuang's expression darkened further. He sneered. "Don't think you're the only one with Talisman Treasures. They may be rare, but I have two as well. Even if I have to use up all their power today, I'll kill you here."
As Qin Shuang spoke, he slapped his Qiankun Bag. Two Talisman Treasures flew out, transforming into an ice armor and a blue pearl. The ice armor swiftly covered Qin Shuang and radiated a blue light that enveloped him, while the pearl shot forward to meet the Three Yang One Qi Sword.
Huang Ting's expression immediately turned grim. He said viciously, "I didn't expect you to have two Talisman Treasures as well. But how can one pearl stop my three Flying Swords? Let's see how I break your ice armor. Die!"
The two of them immediately clashed. The pearl and the Three Yang One Qi Sword collided again and again, ringing out with sharp cracks. Suddenly, Huang Ting raised a hand and rapidly formed a series of hand seals. With a soft hum, the Three Yang One Qi Sword split apart, and one Flying Sword shot toward Qin Shuang while the other two tightly engaged his pearl.
Seeing this, Qin Shuang hurriedly swept out a sleeve, sending a streak of blue sword light toward the incoming Flying Sword. With a sharp crack, the Flying Sword shattered the blue light and stabbed fiercely into the blue shield cast by the ice armor. The shield buckled violently, but thankfully, it held, stopping the attack and allowing Qin Shuang to breathe a little easier. He then directed the pearl back to defend him, knocking the Flying Sword away, but the Three Yang One Qi Sword once again surrounded the pearl.
Seeing this, Huang Ting laughed aloud. "Let's see how long you can hold out. Once I kill you, I'll have the treasures in the abode all to myself."
Hearing Huang Ting declare that he would claim all the treasures for himself, Qin Shuang grew anxious. He hadn't expected Huang Ting to be so difficult to deal with. It seemed he had no choice but to take a desperate gamble; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to kill him. Having thought this through, Qin Shuang immediately made up his mind.
Qin Shuang continued to control his Talisman Treasures as he fought Huang Ting, while secretly taking out two talismans. When Huang Ting formed hand seals again, splitting the Three Yang One Qi Sword to attack Qin Shuang, Qin Shuang immediately darted forward, dodging the Flying Sword's attack. At the same time, he used the pearl to hold off the other two Flying Swords while rapidly closing in on Huang Ting.
Seeing Qin Shuang's sudden move, Huang Ting immediately grew wary and hurriedly retreated. Qin Shuang saw how cautious Huang Ting was and had no choice but to activate the Phantom Talisman in his hand. The talisman immediately turned into a beam of white light that enveloped Qin Shuang, and then he vanished from where he stood.
Huang Ting was startled. He hurriedly stopped and looked around, but found nothing—Qin Shuang was nowhere to be seen. Huang Ting grew even more tense, heightening his awareness to the limit as he guarded against a surprise attack.
At that moment, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out. Huang Ting immediately moved from where he stood, darting around to prevent Qin Shuang from locking onto him. Qin Shuang could only watch in frustration. He had no choice but to make the pearl break free of the Three Yang One Qi Sword's entanglement and fly toward Huang Ting.
Cracks appeared across the pearl as it blazed with light and radiated a powerful aura. Huang Ting's expression changed drastically. Realizing that Qin Shuang was fighting for his life, he hurriedly retreated while directing the Three Yang One Qi Sword to intercept it.
With a deafening boom, the pearl exploded under Qin Shuang's control. Its tremendous force blasted the Three Yang One Qi Sword far away. The light along the swords' blades dimmed to almost nothing; their power had clearly been depleted so severely that they would not last much longer.
Huang Ting had no time to mourn the state of the Three Yang One Qi Sword. A talisman was speeding toward him, blazing with light—it had clearly already been activated. Huang Ting could no longer dodge, so he poured all his True Essence into the Huangji Tower.
With a sharp crack, the talisman shattered into pieces. A burst of white light erupted, covering everything within a fifteen-meter radius. Huang Ting was immediately enveloped in the light.
When everything had settled, a sheet of white ice covered the ground within fifteen meters. The temperature was bitterly cold; even a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator would not dare enter without protection. The talisman was called Three Feet Ice Seal. Qin Shuang had obtained it from the Ancient Cultivator Abode. Its power was immense, making it one of his trump cards. Using it on Huang Ting pained him greatly.
Huang Ting was in a truly dire state. Struck head-on by Three Feet Ice Seal, he had been frozen solid. Even with the Huangji Tower protecting him, he had still suffered severe injuries. The Huangji Tower itself had even exhausted its power and turned to ash.
A streak of white light appeared in the area, and Qin Shuang emerged. The Phantom Talisman's power had been exhausted. As soon as he appeared, he made no delay, sweeping out his sleeve and sending a top-grade Dharma Artifact Flying Sword hurtling toward Huang Ting, who was trapped in the ice.
Huang Ting panicked and hurriedly directed the Three Yang One Qi Sword to protect him. Qin Shuang naturally wouldn't let him have his way. He rapidly formed hand seals, sending the ice armor on his body flying off to block the Three Yang One Qi Sword.
Huang Ting panicked and hurriedly probed the Qiankun Bag with his spiritual sense, trying to take out another Dharma Artifact to defend himself, but it was too late. Qin Shuang's Flying Sword pierced through his chest, pulverizing his internal organs. Huang Ting stared at Qin Shuang with unwilling eyes as he died.
Seeing Huang Ting dead, Qin Shuang was overjoyed and finally let out a breath of relief. After ransacking the man, he cast a low-level spell and burned the body to ash.
Once he had dealt with Huang Ting, Qin Shuang looked up at the cliff, his face full of worry. I wonder what's happening inside the abode. Ling Feng is already injured; I'm afraid Xu Yang won't be able to hold out on his own. If they die, I'll grind those three to bone and scatter their ashes.
Ling Feng had struck Xu Yang with a palm, sending him through the doorway. Xu Yang immediately felt the world spin around him. When he came to, he found himself on a platform paved with white jade. Rows of runes had been inscribed across its surface, forming an array. Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be a Teleportation Array.
Below the white jade platform was nothing but darkness; not a trace of scenery could be seen. In front of the platform stretched a long corridor of white jade. At its far end was a bend, beyond which he could see nothing.
Before he could examine the place more closely, the space on the platform rippled, and Ling Feng appeared out of thin air. Xu Yang immediately took two steps back and watched him warily. As soon as Ling Feng appeared on the platform, he fell to his knees and spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale; he was clearly gravely injured.
Seeing this, Xu Yang immediately asked Ling Feng, "What happened to you? How did you get hurt so badly?"
Ling Feng looked up at Xu Yang. "Hurry, we have to go! Liu Peng, Hu Xinrong, and the others have turned against us. They ambushed us outside the entrance just now. Luckily, I reacted quickly, or we'd both have been badly hurt."
Xu Yang froze, then his expression changed drastically. He hurried forward, hoisted Ling Feng onto his back, and ran toward the white jade corridor ahead. In a short while, the two had disappeared around the bend at the corridor's end.
Not long after Xu Yang and Ling Feng left, the space on the platform rippled again. Liu Peng, Hu Xinrong, and Zhao Man appeared. As soon as they arrived, they warily scanned their surroundings.
Only after seeing that the place was empty and Xu Yang and Ling Feng had vanished did they relax slightly. The three surveyed the area but found nothing. The chubby Hu Xinrong said impatiently, "Let's go! There's no treasure here, just a Teleportation Array. We'd better hurry and chase Xu Yang and the other one. Ling Feng is badly injured and no longer much of a threat. Once we deal with Xu Yang, we can explore this abode at our leisure."
After hearing him out, Liu Peng and Zhao Man decided Hu Xinrong was right. They should eliminate Xu Yang and Ling Feng first; the treasures weren't going anywhere, and they could search for them later. The two nodded to Hu Xinrong, agreeing with him.
Hu Xinrong smiled smugly and said to the two, "I have plenty of experience with explorations. As Master's eldest disciple, I've already explored several abodes with him. You two only just joined the sect, so you still have a lot to learn!"
"Of course, as my Dao companion, I'll take good care of you, Junior Sister Zhao." At this, Hu Xinrong leered at Zhao Man. Liu Peng, standing nearby, heard him and a flicker of concealed jealousy crossed his face.
Zhao Man smiled coyly at his words. "Then I'll have to thank you, Senior Brother Hu, for looking after me. Once this mission is over, I'll keep my promise and become your true Dao companion."
Hearing Zhao Man's promise, joy spread across Hu Xinrong's chubby face. Excitedly, he said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go hunt down Xu Yang and the other one! We'll finish Master's orders as quickly as possible, then you and I can spend the night together."
With that, Hu Xinrong strode ahead into the white jade corridor to pursue Xu Yang and Ling Feng. Liu Peng and Zhao Man exchanged a glance, then hurried after him.
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