Chen Feng faced the attacks of two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet instead of fear, a feverish delight welled up across his face!
"Hahaha, perfect! Ye Lingshuang, you really came. I've been waiting for you!"
His wild laughter brimmed with the arrogance of a scheme fulfilled. He shot a glance at the other Foundation Establishment cultivator and sneered, "And look at that, buy one, get one free—a Foundation Establishment old ghost thrown in as a bonus? I'll take care of you both!"
He paid no heed to the Foundation Establishment cultivator's attack and abruptly slapped the storage pouch at his waist!
A black talisman shot out, radiating a soul-shaking aura and bearing the image of a hideous, roaring ghost head!
The moment it appeared, it seemed to swallow the light around it. A baleful wind howled, and the shrill wails of vengeful spirits seemed capable of shattering souls!
That terrifying pressure instantly suppressed Ye Lingshuang and the other Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Li Qingshan's expression changed as well. He quickly retreated several steps, sensing a deadly threat.
"A Talisman Treasure?! And a top-grade demonic one!"
The middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator in the air was suddenly stricken with terror!
He sensed a fatal threat from the Ghost Head Talisman Treasure. It was already too late to change his move and dodge!
The Ghost Head Talisman Treasure swelled with the wind, transforming in an instant into a pitch-black ghost claw as large as a house, solid and substantial!
Countless spectral images of anguished, twisted spirits coiled around the claw. Its nails were as sharp as hooks, and it bore a terrifying demonic might that could tear apart anything and corrupt all living things. It ignored the Azure Sword Light slashing toward it and lunged straight for the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator's Golden Light Dharma Seal!
Ye Lingshuang's Azure Sword Light struck the ghost claw's arm with a metallic clang, scattering sparks. It only made the black aura roil slightly and failed to stop it at all!
Boom!
The ghost claw collided savagely with the golden seal!
The condensed Dharma Seal, emblematic of a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, was like paper before that overwhelming disparity in strength. It was crushed to pieces in an instant!
The ghost claw's momentum did not falter. Fast as lightning, it caught up with the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator, whose body had gone rigid from the backlash of his shattered seal!
"No!"
The middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator could only let out a desperate cry!
"Pfft!"
The sound of claws piercing protective spiritual light chilled the blood. The pitch-black ghost claw punched straight through his chest and crushed his heart without the slightest resistance!
The light in the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyes dimmed at once, filled with disbelief, terror, and despair. Like a kite with its string cut, his body plunged straight from the sky, his life force extinguished completely.
In a single exchange, a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator had fallen!
Ye Lingshuang's pupils contracted. Her delicate frame shuddered, and all color drained from her pretty face!
She had never imagined that her opponent possessed such a terrifying weapon. It was undoubtedly a top-grade demonic Talisman Treasure crafted by a Golden Core cultivator!
"Cough, cough..."
Chen Feng had forcibly activated a Talisman Treasure far beyond his cultivation level. His face blanched for an instant, but the madness and triumph in his eyes only grew stronger. "You're next, Ye Lingshuang!"
The enormous ghost claw turned in midair, locking onto Ye Lingshuang once again, trailing a nauseating stench of blood and overwhelming demonic might!
Though its glow had dimmed slightly, Chen Feng believed it was still more than enough to kill Ye Lingshuang, who had only just reached Foundation Establishment!
In an instant, Ye Lingshuang felt the deadly breath of death close in.
She clenched her silver teeth, forcing down the turmoil in her heart and the grief of her fellow sect member's death. Her gaze turned utterly resolute!
She too slapped her storage pouch and cried out, "Demon! Don't you dare run rampant!"
A blood-red, sparrow-shaped Talisman Treasure soared into the sky!
It was the Vermilion Sparrow Talisman Treasure Li Qingshan had once presented to her.
"Chirp!"
A clear cry, majestic with sacred authority, rang through the heavens. The Vermilion Sparrow phantom spread its wings, and the blazing Vermilion Sparrow True Fire dispelled the gloom. Bearing the Supreme Yang force that could burn away every evil under heaven, it charged fearlessly toward the enormous pitch-black ghost claw!
Supreme Yang countered evil and demons. It was an absolute clash of opposing attributes!
Rumble!
Two utterly opposite yet equally terrifying forces collided violently in the air.
Terrifying shock waves spread in all directions like a tsunami, plowing yet another layer from the ruins below!
The low-tier demon beasts nearby were instantly vaporized!
The light flared so fiercely that no one could look directly at it!
At last, amid an earth-shaking explosion, the Vermilion Sparrow phantom and the pitch-black ghost claw both reached their limits. With a mournful cry, they shattered together, turning into countless red and black motes of light that slowly faded from the world.
The Talisman Treasures had destroyed each other!
"Pfft!"
As if struck by a heavy blow, Ye Lingshuang spat out a large mouthful of blood. Her face turned as pale as gold paper, and her aura rapidly weakened. Unable to remain aloft, she toppled unsteadily from her flying sword.
She crashed into the ruins. After struggling a few times, she found she couldn't even stand. The Talisman Treasure she had refined with her spiritual sense had been destroyed, and the powerful backlash had grievously wounded her in an instant!
Chen Feng was in no better shape!
The fierce backlash from the destroyed Talisman Treasure made his meridians ache and his demonic energy run wild. He spat out several more mouthfuls of black blood, his aura plunging to rock bottom. His cultivation dropped straight from Qi Refining Great Perfection to the late stage, and his injuries were severe!
But at least he was still standing!
"Cough... cough... Hahahaha!"
Chen Feng wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Ye Lingshuang lying helplessly in the distance. He let out a triumphant, hoarse laugh. "Ye Lingshuang! You may be a peerless genius and have a Talisman Treasure to protect you, but in the end, you're still going to die at my hands!"
"Cough... cough... Hahaha!"
The backlash from his Talisman Treasure had made Chen Feng cough up several mouthfuls of black blood as well, leaving his aura weakened to the late stage of Qi Refining. But seeing Ye Lingshuang on the brink of death, he wore the frenzied, triumphant expression of a man whose plot had succeeded. "Ye Lingshuang! You may be a peerless genius, but today you'll fall right here!"
He struggled to his feet, killing intent surging in his eyes as he walked step by step toward Ye Lingshuang, who lay helpless on the ground.
Though he was gravely wounded, the prospect of personally killing a Foundation Establishment genius from the Spring Autumn Sect—and earning the credit for it—filled him with excitement.
"To crush a genius like you with my own hands is such a pleasure! Don't worry, I won't let you die too easily. I'll make sure to give you a good beating first!"
Grinning viciously, Chen Feng gathered a dark demonic blade in his palm. Though dim, it remained lethal. He aimed it at Ye Lingshuang's heart and slowly raised it!
At that moment, he was utterly absorbed in the thrill of completing his mission and slaughtering a genius. His guard had dropped to a minimum, and he had completely ignored Li Qingshan, who had been huddled in the corner of the ruins the whole time, seemingly scared witless.
At that life-or-death moment!
Li Qingshan, who had been motionless as a rock, his aura so faint it was almost gone, moved!
There was no earth-shaking burst of power, no dazzling glow of surging spiritual energy—only the utmost precision and speed!
He still wore his aged appearance, but his eyes turned as keen as an eagle's in an instant! Like a ghost, he sprang soundlessly from the shadows, moving so fast he left behind only a faint afterimage!
His target was Chen Feng's completely unguarded back!
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