The Blazing Heaven Sword Qi was scorching hot now, far more oppressive than the Sword Qi Chen Fan had wielded before. With a simple sweep of his sword, he burned up the several talismans as they ignited, rendering them useless.
But Lin Shang was in no hurry. With his palm facing the ground, he poured out True Essence Power without pause. The ground beneath Chen Fan turned into a swamp, and countless muddy hands crawled up his legs, drawing them into the mire and leaving him unable to move.
A smug smile appeared on Lin Shang's face. This was the first spell he had learned after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm: the Earth Sinking Technique. As the saying went, "Only after reaching Foundation Establishment can one truly be called a cultivator."
Only after entering the Foundation Establishment Realm did a cultivator's True Qi condense into liquid form, becoming what people called True Essence Power. A single drop of True Essence Power was comparable to hundreds of strands of True Qi. This was the qualitative difference between the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Qi Refining Realm—and the reason it was so difficult to break through. The time needed to build a proper foundation was simply too long. Good aptitude was essential, but resources were the key. That was why Foundation Establishment experts were often countless times stronger than Qi Refining cultivators.
Spells required True Essence Power to cast. People often called powerful spells "immortal arts." Gradually, Qi Refining cultivators came to be regarded as little more than martial artists in the eyes of Foundation Establishment experts, since releasing True Qi outside the body was the mark of a martial artist at the peak of their abilities.
The force holding Chen Fan's legs in place had used True Essence Power to influence the laws of nature. A Foundation Establishment cultivator could use True Essence Power to control a small patch of land. It was only a tiny area, but it was still the greatest difference between immortals and mortals.
"Elder Li, why haven't you attacked yet?" Lin Shang hadn't yet mastered the Earth Sinking Technique. For now, he had to keep his hand in contact with the ground to maintain its effect.
"Foundation Establishment truly is extraordinary." A trace of envy flashed in Elder Li's eyes. He slapped a yellow talisman onto his palm and swung it toward Chen Fan's head, his arm cutting through the air with a whistle.
Chen Fan seemed completely unaffected. He stood calmly in place with his eyes closed and his brows faintly furrowed, as if he were building toward something.
"Sect Master, it's time to act," Li Tieniu urged as Elder Li attacked.
"Wait a little longer. Let's see how many rounds he can last." Qin Xian'er watched expectantly. She had noticed the expression on Chen Fan's face.
"Vmmm!"
The piercing ring of a sword finally sounded again. Blazing Heaven Sword Qi once more covered Chen Fan's entire blade. This time, however, he began his attack far more slowly than before. Yet as he raised his hand, there was a hint of mystery to his movements, as if they stirred the world itself.
Elder Li couldn't see it. Li Tieniu couldn't see it either. But Lin Shang and Qin Xian'er both turned pale!
Influencing the laws of nature was something only a Foundation Establishment cultivator could do. Yet this Qi Refining Eighth Layer kid had actually managed it.
"Immortal Sword Art? You actually know the Immortal Sword Art? How is that possible? You're only at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer..." Lin Shang cried in shock. Among sword cultivators, the Immortal Sword Art was as renowned as the spells of Dao Cultivators, and both required Foundation Establishment to use.
"Know how to tour Three and avoid Five; remember the true mystery of creation." Chen Fan silently recited a line from the Nine Palaces Sword Technique Incantation. The sword in his hand began to vibrate rapidly, then suddenly flew free of his grasp.
"Five Dwellings Center!" Chen Fan roared. In an instant, more than eighty percent of the True Qi in his body was drained away. The sword, wrapped in Blazing Heaven Sword Qi, spun rapidly through the air around him.
"Pfft!" A sword shadow flashed across Elder Li's hand. His body kept moving forward, but his arm fell away. The talisman clutched in his palm never even had the chance to ignite.
"Ah..." Amid Elder Li's scream, Chen Fan suddenly moved.
"Two and four form the shoulders, six and eight the feet; three on the left, seven on the right; nine above and one below, five in the center!" He stepped through the Nine Palaces. Though he had learned only the barest surface of the technique, it was enough to free him from the clumsy Earth Sinking Technique.
Bang!
After a muffled thud, Chen Fan used the clever force of the Nine Palaces to shatter every muddy hand. His figure became a mysterious, ethereal blur as he sped toward Lin Shang.
Tour Three and avoid Five, command the sword to strike its target!
Five Dwellings Center was one of the eighty-one swords in the Nine Palaces Sword Art. Commanding the sword relied primarily on Divine Sense, and Chen Fan's Divine Sense was already as powerful as a Foundation Establishment cultivator's. Combined with his abundant True Qi, he could pull off this move despite not having fully grasped the Nine Palaces Sword Art. Taking the Nine Palaces Footwork with only a surface-level understanding, he sent his sword sweeping toward Lin Shang in a dazzling storm of golden sword shadows.
In his panic, Lin Shang withdrew his True Essence Power and cast several talismans. But the golden sword shadows wiped them all out in an instant. Faced with Chen Fan's overwhelming assault, he began to feel powerless.
He had only recently used spirit medicines to force his way into the Foundation Establishment Realm. He hadn't had time to study any other spells or arts. That was what frustrated him most: he had a body full of True Essence Power but no way to use it.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two sharp sounds split the air. Half the hair on Lin Shang's head was sheared away by the sword shadows, leaving him drenched in cold sweat. If the blades had dipped just a little lower, or if he had dodged a moment more slowly, his head would already have hit the ground.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a solid sword suddenly emerged from the dazzling golden shadows.
"That's a real sword!" Lin Shang hurriedly retreated, but no matter what he did, he couldn't escape Chen Fan's Nine Palaces Footwork.
Lin Shang grew more alarmed with every step back. He realized he was slowly falling into some kind of formation. As he retreated, the other man's footwork influenced him, forcing him toward a particular position. Still, relying on his abundant True Essence Power, he managed to hold his ground against Chen Fan's mysterious movements.
"What bizarre footwork. I can't make sense of it at all." Li Tieniu drew in a sharp breath and murmured.
"He's already touched the threshold of the Immortal Sword Art. For a Qi Refining cultivator, this boy is a monster. I daresay that within a hundred years, as long as he's still alive, the Immortal Sect will face a formidable enemy." Qin Xian'er smiled faintly.
"Th-that's too much, isn't it? The Immortal Sect has Nascent Soul cultivators. If he can form a Golden Core within fifty years, he'll be a prodigy. But I don't think it's likely he'll form a Nascent Soul within a hundred years." Li Tieniu's eyes widened.
"Can't you see? He's had plenty of chances to kill Lin Shang, but he's held back every time." Qin Xian'er watched Chen Fan on the battlefield with a knowing smile.
"What? How is that possible? Why would he do that? With his True Qi, he can't afford to keep fighting like this." Li Tieniu was dumbfounded again. He trusted Qin Xian'er without question, but what she said was still difficult to accept. Chen Fan had seemed evenly matched with Lin Shang, yet she claimed he had deliberately spared him.
"He's using Lin Shang to get used to his footwork. At first, he was clumsy; now he's just beginning to grasp its secrets. His progress is astonishing! With talent like this, I'm determined to take him as my disciple." Qin Xian'er's clear, bell-like laughter rang out without restraint. She lightly touched the air with her beautiful, crystal-bright bare foot and rose toward Chen Fan.
"The Earth Ghost Sect?" Seeing Qin Xian'er approach through the air, Lin Shang lost his composure for a moment before quickly coming to his senses.
"You're the new Sect Master of the Earth Ghost Sect. We're both of the Demon Sect. Why not help me eliminate this hypocrite from Heavy Sword Peak?" A glimmer of hope rose in Lin Shang's heart. He spoke as he retreated.
"New Sect Master, help us out, and the Heaven Ghost Sect will repay you handsomely." Elder Li had stopped the bleeding from his hand and was speaking from where he had taken shelter at the side.
"Hahaha..." But the only answer was Qin Xian'er's sultry, ear-tingling laughter, which made Chen Fan's brows draw together.
"Good disciple, let me take care of one of your troubles first." As she spoke, Qin Xian'er tossed several talismans at Elder Li.
Good disciple? Lin Shang and Elder Li turned pale. Chen Fan was connected to the Demon Sect too?
"You dare?" Chen Fan gave a cold snort. He still needed to force the whereabouts of the inheritance out of Elder Li. How could he let this demoness ruin everything?
He turned and charged toward Elder Li, intercepting the talismans. Then, with a thought, he sped up the orbit of the golden sword shadows around him until they grew denser and denser. Holding nothing back, he strode through the Nine Palaces Footwork and attacked Qin Xian'er.
"Hahaha, good disciple, isn't he your enemy? What use is there in keeping him alive?"
"This has nothing to do with you." Chen Fan pulled a Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman from his robes and ignited it with a hiss. It turned into three red orbs of energy that hovered above his head. His True Qi, blood and vital energy, and Divine Soul surged to their limits in an instant, restoring him to peak condition.
Qin Xian'er recognized the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman and quickly wiped away her smile. She had come out to toy with Chen Fan because she thought he had little True Qi left. If she truly fought him, there was no doubt it would be a vicious battle. She wasn't afraid of one, but there was no need. All she wanted was to control Chen Fan.
"Chen Fan, stop! I don't want to fight you," Qin Xian'er scolded. Seeing the coldness in Chen Fan's eyes, she felt a flicker of unease.
"You'd been lying in wait here for a long time. Did you think I didn't know?" Chen Fan shot her a cold glance. His sword never stopped attacking, sending an endless stream of golden sword shadows slashing toward her.
"Don't push me too far. You're no match for me," Qin Xian'er said with a frown. She disliked this feeling. It seemed that her pawn was slipping beyond her control.
"Then why not find out?" Chen Fan's fighting spirit blazed. His golden sword shadows shone with razor-sharp brilliance, every strike filled with boundless killing intent. Qin Xian'er suddenly felt a trace of pressure.
Qi Refining Eighth Layer—was this really Qi Refining Eighth Layer?
Everyone present wondered in astonishment!
Li Tieniu couldn't stand watching any longer. He stepped forward and called out to Chen Fan, "Chen Fan, don't go too far. The Sect Master has saved your life again and again. Is this how you repay her kindness?"
"Perhaps you're just trying to use me?" Chen Fan gave a cold laugh. He stopped attacking Qin Xian'er, but he couldn't truly afford to fight her to the death. He only wanted to make it clear that he wasn't a pawn she could manipulate.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Lin Shang turned into a black shadow and melted into the darkness, quietly slipping away. Chen Fan sprang into motion at once, stepping through the Nine Palaces Footwork, whose secrets he had just begun to grasp. He held nothing back as he caught up with Lin Shang and struck. The golden sword shadows passed right through Lin Shang's body. The frustrated Lin Shang fell unwillingly into a pool of blood, True Essence Power still filling his body.
Chen Fan paid no attention to Qin Xian'er or Li Tieniu. He simply grabbed Elder Li and continued racing toward the outskirts.
"Sect Master?" Watching Chen Fan and Elder Li disappear, Li Tieniu turned to Qin Xian'er.
"This is going to be fun. The Immortal Sect will have a lot of trouble ahead." Light danced in Qin Xian'er's beautiful eyes. She chuckled and added, "Since he has secrets he doesn't want outsiders to know, we'll wait here for him to come back!"
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