Phase Two

As the words were spoken, under the endless moonlight, the battle officially began.

Xu Yuan's figure transformed into a blur as he sped across the paddy field. The Willowwood Ghost Blade in his hand drew a blood-red ribbon more than ten meters long in the wind and disappeared into the soil. As he raised the blade, no sword light appeared. Instead, willow buds sprouted from the soil.

In the blink of an eye, willow buds sprouted, and a vast, eerie Thousand-Thorn Ghost Willow stretched across the boundless paddy fields.

The eerie, withered willow branches intertwined, like a giant curtain being drawn up, concealing Xu Yuan's figure and blocking Aurenli's view.

Aurenli was a woman so intelligent she was almost demonic.

A contest of wits is not just about fighting and killing, but also a battle of intelligence and talent between the two sides.

Countering every move, setting traps, using words to entice, and misleading actions—any subtle tactic can become the final weight that tipes the scales.

Given Aurenli's displayed talent and strategic acumen, Xu Yuan was certain that this woman had already begun plotting her escape from Xu Changge the moment they met.

It's important to understand that this is a woman who achieved her goals despite being trapped in enemy territory with an absolute intelligence disadvantage, and even turned around and used Li Yunqing's scheme to create a way out for herself.

The weaknesses Xu Yuan has seen about her, and the opportunities he has discovered to win, may all have been deliberately leaked to him by her.

Aurenli was like a feigned wounded beast, waiting for her hunter to approach step by step, and then tearing him apart with her ferocious mandibles in an instant.

However, none of this prevented Xu Yuan from devising a plan to deal with the Crown Princess of Xien based on the limited information he had.

First, Xu Yuan needed to use the Willowwood Ghost Blade to create terrain that was advantageous to him.

Looking down at the eerie willow grove below, radiating an ominous aura and still growing ever stronger, Aurenli parted her red lips slightly, a smile playing on her lips:

"Changtian Master Changtian, are you trying to lure me in?"

"What, you're afraid?"

Xu Yuan's leisurely voice drifted from the ever-growing willow grove. "If you don't dare, that's fine too. Anyway, your knight shouldn't last long under Xu Changge, and then your plan will fall through."

Aurenli sighed softly, a hint of regret in her beautiful eyes:

"Your observation skills are quite good. As a World Mage, I indeed cannot see things beyond my field of vision, but unfortunately, your approach to dealing with it is really naive."

As she spoke, the crimson, intricately patterned magic ring beside the slender woman standing in the void once again emitted a dazzling light.

Sparks appeared behind it, then rapidly expanded into shape.

Dozens of fiery balls, like the rising sun, hovered in mid-air, their light illuminating almost half the sky.

Then, Aurenli smiled and gently waved down with her slender index finger:

"Wouldn't it be better to just destroy the geographical advantage you created?"

In an instant, like a conductor's baton falling, a symphony of blazing flames began to play, and dozens of explosive fireballs rained down on the ground like meteorites!

"."

The scorching air seemed to freeze. Looking at the apocalyptic scene in the sky, Xu Yuan, hidden in the Ghost Willow Forest, unconsciously twitched the corners of his lips.

For a fleeting moment, he almost wanted to ask Xu Changge's relatives on his household registration, but he held back after thinking about it.

Is Aurenli really a woman he, a Body Fusion, can defeat?

He wasn't sure what the upper limit of Aurenli's abilities as a mage was, but the fireballs she was unleashing were already beyond the level of a typical Grandmaster.

When such a wide-ranging magic ring spell strikes, cultivators at the Fusion Realm will die in droves, no matter how many come.

In a flash, the falling, exploding fireballs crashed into the eerie willow forest that Xu Yuan had created with his Willowwood Ghost Blade.

A series of explosions resounded through the silent moonlit night, with flames rising one after another, and the resulting shockwaves spreading for hundreds of feet in all directions.

When all the dust settled, a look of astonishment flashed across Aurenli's beautiful eyes as she saw the view below.

Despite her relentless bombardment, the sprawling, intertwined Thousand-Thorn Ghost Willow below remained intact, with only the surface layer of connected willow branches burned to charcoal. And to her astonishment, these charred willow branches began to rapidly regenerate.

Aurenli immediately realized something was wrong.

This willow forest is strange; Xu Changtian's strength makes it impossible for him to have created such a thing.

However, Aurenli sighed softly to herself in an instant.

Thinking about this now is pointless; what's important is figuring out how to break through this shell.

After much deliberation, Aurenli ultimately gave up.

She could raze this eerie willow forest to the ground, but she couldn't perfectly control that power at this stage. In destroying the forest, she might also kill Xu Changtian inside.

Thinking of this, Aurenli glanced in the direction Xu Changge and Huron had left.

If Xu Changtian dies, she will be buried with him.

Her beautiful eyes flickered with light and shadow. Aurenli let out a soft breath, maneuvering herself to land at the edge of the willow grove as she whispered:

"Did you create this forest with the wooden sword in your hand?"

"."

Silence fell on her lips; the only response Aurenli received was the eerie, ghostly aura emanating from the forest.

After a few breaths of silence, a hint of helplessness appeared on Aurenli's delicate face. She landed on the ground, and as she waded through the water into the eerie willow grove, she whispered:

"The atmosphere in this forest is just like that of Resident Evil Spirit Castle. If I could, I really wouldn't want to go in."

Five minutes later, the battle ended.

In a life-or-death struggle, each side relies on its own methods.

Xu Yuan's plan to deal with Aurenli is actually quite simple; he only needs to focus on three key points.

First, Aurenli wouldn't dare kill him.

Secondly, Aurenli's physical condition was very weak.

Third, play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, and make use of everything that is available.

Everything proceeded as Xu Yuan had anticipated, and the result was obvious.

He sent it.

The willow grove was silent and dark, with muddy water from the paddy fields settling at the base of the willow trees.

An ominous wooden sword lay silently in the ground, half of its blade submerged in water and the other half embedded in the soil.

"Clatter"

"Clatter"

"Clatter"

Walking on water in the desolate, eerie silence, the sound is soft and gentle.

Aurenli strolled leisurely through the dense forest, the thirteen magical rings swaying lightly in the air like a natural barrier, isolating her from all the ominous darkness.

Finally, she stood before him.

Leaning against the base of a willow tree, Xu Yuan's tattered clothes were soaked with mud and water. His gaze swept over the two ice spikes that had pierced his collarbone, and finally settled on the blonde woman in front of him.

All his speculations were correct; Aurenli's physical condition was indeed very weak, and she truly dared not kill him.

But he, and even Xu Changge, underestimated her power.

Just as Mr. Zhou Shuren said in his previous life, the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to deceive people.

This woman has been acting all along.

Her performance began the moment she met Xu Changge.

In some ways, she was even stronger than that tin can Huron.

His opponent's unfathomable probing technique rendered his Void-Stepping Slash useless, and the thirteen magic rings meant she could cast thirteen spells simultaneously, making it difficult for him to defend himself even with the advantage of terrain.

Besides, what's most deadly is that the magic rings controlled by Aurenli can merge with each other, thus unleashing bizarre and powerful combination spells.

Dressed in a formal gown, Aurenli possessed an elegant and refined demeanor. She glanced at the foreign gentleman sitting in the mud and smiled gently.

"Shall we continue?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan sighed softly, struggled to his feet, looked directly at the blonde woman standing on the water, and chuckled lightly:

"You're very strong, and you're also a great actor."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Aurenli smiled sweetly, "Although your strength is far inferior to your brother's, you are still one in a million."

As she spoke, Aurenli glanced up at the eerie willow grove around her:

"Changtian, I am very grateful to you for creating this forest that isolates us from outside detection. It has saved me a lot of trouble, but now it is time to end this."

"Although Xides is useless, his life is still very important to me. If he dies at your brother's hands, when I return to Xien, I will no longer be able to use his name to hide my strength. If that monster targets me then, my situation will be very awkward."

Xu Yuan smiled helplessly upon hearing this:

"Opening champagne at halftime isn't a good habit?"

"Champagne?"

A hint of doubt flickered in Aurenli's eyes, but she quickly shook her head and said, "Because of your brother, I don't want to cause you too much harm, so please don't put up any more futile resistance."

"Aurenli."

Xu Yuan interrupted the other person, reached for the ice spike piercing his body, and pulled it out forcefully while whispering:

"I've said it before, I'm the strongest of my generation."

"."

The sudden words left Aurenli speechless for a moment, but she then sighed softly.

A magnificent azure magic ring behind him suddenly emitted light.

She stared at him:

"Since that's the case, to show my respect for the strongest, I have no choice but to be impolite and destroy your so-called Dantian."

"Crack."

Before the words were finished,

The dazzling, intricate magic ring was suddenly shattered by a wisp of black energy.

"."

"."

They stared at each other in silence, a look of surprise flashing across Aurenli's eyes.

Xu Yuan casually tossed away the ice spike he had pulled out, his blood-red eyes, which had been flashing with golden light, gradually turned black, and he chuckled softly:

"Now, you can begin the second phase of the boss fight, Aurenli."

As soon as he finished speaking, an eerie black mist instantly enveloped the area within a hundred feet.