Assassination

This is the reason the lizard could react so quickly; it must have detected Yan Chihuo's attack through the Wind Sensing Art, otherwise, caught off guard, the lizard would likely have been unable to respond in time.

This lizard was also at the Body Tempering Middle Stage, so Yan Chihuo dared not underestimate it in the slightest. He executed Earth Shrinking Step again, instantly shifting over ten yards away, but the lizard took to the air with a gentle breeze flowing beneath its feet, catching up in an instant. This was none other than a low-grade wind-attribute spell: the Wind Riding Art!

During the Body Tempering Stage, in terms of movement techniques, wind and earth attributes are supreme. The wind attribute is naturally fast, while the earth attribute relies on the boundless support of the ground beneath one's feet. Next are the water and lightning attributes; while lightning-attribute movement techniques can rival wind in short bursts, they consume too much mana, making them inferior to wind and earth for long-distance travel.

Following these are the fire, wood, and ice attributes, with the gold attribute being the weakest. The reason water and fire movement techniques fall short of the earth attribute is that cultivators typically operate on land; if one were in water, the water attribute would naturally be the strongest, just as the fire attribute would be in the midst of flames.

Yan Chihuo had long been prepared. With a wave of his long sword, countless giant rocks plummeted from the sky. The lizard had not expected Yan Chihuo to react so swiftly; it lashed out with its four claws in a flurry while retreating.

Hindered by these boulders, the speed of the Wind Riding Art inevitably faltered. At that very moment, Yan Chihuo arrived within ten yards of the creature and swung his sword, sending a biting wave of Sword Qi whistling toward it.

The lizard spat out a whirlwind to neutralize the Sword Qi, but Yan Chihuo had already closed the distance. The lizard waved its two front claws, and Yan Chihuo felt a sudden constriction, as if he and his sword were bound by an invisible rope. This was the wind-attribute spell: Wind Catching Shadow!

The lizard's front claws, capable of piercing metal and stone, swiped toward Yan Chihuo's head. Since it was in mid-air, Yan Chihuo's Imprisoning Earth was useless, and because they were too close, he could not cast Falling Rock Art. After all, Yan Chihuo was only at the Body Tempering Middle Stage; even with his formidable Talisman Artifact, he could not wield Falling Rock Art with the same effortless precision as Zhong Yun.

The lizard knew this, which was why it used Wind Catching Shadow to deal with Yan Chihuo. Among wind-attribute cultivators and monsters, this spell was notoriously difficult to master; generally, even those at the Body Tempering Late Stage struggled to grasp it, yet this lizard had somehow mastered it.

Seeing that Yan Chihuo was about to be wounded by the lizard's claws, he flipped his right hand and fired five rays of light. With a loud bang, they struck the lizard's two front claws.

The lizard let out a strange, pained cry and flipped backward in the air. Yan Chihuo flicked his sword, shattering the Wind Catching Shadow, then leaped into the air and brought his blade down in a vertical strike as another shower of boulders fell from above.

Having just had its front claws injured by Yan Chihuo's Soul-Snatching Claw, the lizard saw the sword and boulders descending and hurriedly summoned a few gusts of wind beneath its feet to dodge. Though its speed was not slow, it was still struck in the hind leg by a boulder.

With this, the lizard's injuries compounded, and its speed inevitably slowed further. Yan Chihuo followed up with several more strikes, sending waves of Sword Qi slashing forward, leaving the lizard with only the ability to parry and no room to counterattack.

Bang! Another boulder smashed into the lizard's waist. The creature let out a miserable shriek, and Yan Chihuo slashed his sword directly into its abdomen, carving open a wound from which blood gushed out instantly.

Severely wounded, the lizard crashed heavily to the ground with a thud. Yan Chihuo brought his sword down in a swift arc, and with a sharp crack, he severed the lizard's head.

He let out a breath; this lizard had indeed been difficult to handle. Had he not possessed the Soul-Snatching Claw taught to him by Ping Qi and relied solely on earth-attribute techniques, he would have been the one lying dead on the ground.

At this moment, a dark shadow lay silently in the tall grass about thirty yards away from Yan Chihuo.

Although that battle didn't last long, this person cast spells over a dozen times; even if he has strength left, he must have consumed a significant amount of mana. Furthermore, while he knows Earth Shrinking Step, his cultivation limits his speed to be roughly on par with my own, the shadow in the distance calculated inwardly.

Yan Chihuo had just finished a major battle and was inevitably a bit relaxed, and the shadow remained perfectly still. Consequently, Yan Chihuo noticed nothing. He sheathed his sword on his back and walked over to the lizard to see if there was anything useful on its carcass.

Suddenly, a sense of palpitations washed over Yan Chihuo. This feeling was all too familiar; it appeared every time he faced a life-or-death crisis.

Without time to think, he executed Earth Shrinking Step, darting backward at high speed. As he turned his head, he saw a dark figure wielding a long blade slashing directly at him, moving even faster than Yan Chihuo himself.

Yan Chihuo was shocked. This was also Earth Shrinking Step, yet the speed was superior to his own. This was not because the opponent had higher cultivation or a sharper Talisman Artifact, but because the attacker had been planning this for a long time while he was forced to react in haste. Even so, this person's cultivation was certainly not below his own.

"Such speed!" Yan Chihuo retreated repeatedly, but the shadow clung to him like a maggot on a rotting bone, and the long blade was already before his eyes. With no time to draw his sword, Yan Chihuo opened his right hand, and five rays of light flew out.

Clang! The opponent's blade collided fiercely with the five rays of light, and after a series of explosive sounds, the light was shattered.

This was a half-step Dharma Tool—a Talisman Artifact inscribed with twenty-four layers of restrictions! Otherwise, it would not possess such power!

The long blade finally reached Yan Chihuo's chest. He grabbed the blade with his right hand, relying on the Talisman Artifact bestowed by Ping Qi to try and block it, but the blade still slowly pierced forward. The two of them sprinted dozens of yards across the ground until the blade pierced into Yan Chihuo's side, and blood began to flow.

"Die!" the dark shadow hissed!

At that moment, a look of extreme terror appeared in the attacker's eyes. A thin layer of black mist seeped through the long blade, instantly covering his hands.

Bang! The long blade shattered into countless pieces, and pus began to seep from the shadow's hands; he had clearly been poisoned.

Yan Chihuo drew his sword and, with a sharp crack, severed the opponent's head. Simultaneously, he reached out with his right hand, snatched the pack from the man's back, and leaped over ten yards away. With a heavy thud, the headless body collapsed to the ground, and before long, it dissolved into a puddle of pus.