Confrontation

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Nian Laoda's attacks were violent and dense, each punch carrying the power to crush dry weeds and smash rotten wood.

The entire underground karst cave trembled violently under his iron fists, and rubble fell continuously from the dome above.

Li Xiaoyu's figure wove through the gaps in the shadow of the fists like a ghost.

Beads of sweat had already seeped from his forehead, and his face had turned pale.

Nian Laoda's strength far exceeded his imagination.

The opponent was not only powerful, but his speed and reaction time were also at their peak.

Several times, he had narrowly avoided being grazed by the wind of the punches, the force of which made his skin sting with pain.

Li Xiaoyu knew that continuing like this was not a solution.

Although the Seven Star Steps were miraculous, the consumption of spiritual energy was also extremely immense.

He could not keep dodging like this forever.

He had to find an opportunity to counterattack!

A flash of determination crossed Li Xiaoyu's eyes.

He no longer dodged blindly; instead, in the gaps between his evasions, he began to urge the gourd within his dantian, imbuing a wisp of golden light onto the Autumn Water Sword.

"Geng Metal Sword Qi!"

He shouted inwardly.

"Now!"

Seizing the split second when Nian Laoda's punch missed and his old strength was spent while his new strength had yet to arise, Li Xiaoyu's figure came to a sudden halt.

Instead of retreating, Li Xiaoyu advanced, and the Autumn Water Sword in his hand transformed into a bolt of golden lightning, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it thrust toward Nian Laoda's chest!

This sword strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless!

It was a strike into which he had condensed all his essence, energy, and spirit!

Nian Laoda clearly had not expected that Li Xiaoyu, who had been passively taking a beating, would dare to launch a counterattack.

A look of contempt flashed in his eyes.

"Overestimating yourself!"

He let out a cold snort and, without dodging or evading, chose to take Li Xiaoyu's sword strike head-on with his own chest.

In his view, a kid at the sixth level of the Jade Purity Realm, no matter how exquisite his swordsmanship, could never break through his protective aura.

Nian Laoda wanted to use this most humiliating method to let the other party know what an absolute gap in strength meant!

"Clang!"

A sound of metal clashing rang out.

The tip of the Autumn Water Sword struck precisely on Nian Laoda's chest.

However, the scene Nian Laoda had anticipated—of the opponent's sword shattering and the boy vomiting blood and flying backward—did not occur.

The contemptuous smile on his face froze abruptly.

A sharp aura that made his soul tremble emanated from the tip of the sword, instantly piercing through his prideful protective aura!

"Puchi!"

The sound of a sharp blade entering flesh echoed.

The tip of the Autumn Water Sword had actually pierced into his chest; although it was only an inch deep, that Geng Metal Sword Qi had already surged into his body through the wound, beginning to ravage his meridians.

"Ah!"

Nian Laoda let out a roar of pain and looked down at the wound on his chest.

He was injured!

He had actually been wounded by a kid who was a whole major realm lower than himself!

How could this be possible?!

"You're courting death!"

The intense pain and humiliation drove Nian Laoda into a complete frenzy.

He roared and slammed a palm toward the crown of Li Xiaoyu's head.

Having succeeded with his strike, Li Xiaoyu did not linger and immediately withdrew his sword to retreat.

But Nian Laoda's counterattack in his rage was at its absolute fastest, and he could not dodge it completely in time.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, Li Xiaoyu was struck by the force of Nian Laoda's palm. His entire body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into the stone wall in the distance and spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

He felt as if his internal organs had been displaced and every bone in his body was about to fall apart.

"Senior Brother Li!"

"Xiaoyu!"

Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi, who were locked in a fierce battle on the other side, cried out in alarm upon seeing this.

They wanted to rush forward to support him, but were held back by their respective opponents, unable to break free.

"Hahahaha!"

Nian Laoda laughed, clutching the wound on his chest, blood continuously pouring from between his fingers.

"Kid, you can be proud to have injured me!"

"But, the game is over!"

"Now, die!"

He sneered, raising his fist again, preparing to deliver the final blow to Li Xiaoyu.

However, at this critical moment.

The entire underground cavern suddenly began to shake violently.

"Rumble."

A deafening roar, like the earth splitting apart, came from beneath everyone's feet.

"What's happening?"

Everyone stopped their actions, looking around in surprise and uncertainty.

They saw the ground beneath them, the altar built from black rocks, suddenly erupt with a blinding blood-red light.

The runes on the altar seemed to come alive, beginning to writhe.

A vast and evil power awakened from the depths of the earth.

"Not good! The grand formation the Hall Master set up earlier has been triggered!"

Lin Feng, the white-clothed youth from the Blood Refining Hall, his face changed drastically, he exclaimed in shock.

Nian Laoda was also stunned, then ecstatic.

"Hahahaha! Heaven helps me! Heaven helps me!"

"This formation was originally meant to blood sacrifice all living beings on Kongsang Mountain, to refine supreme Blood Pills for our Blood Refining Hall!"

"I never expected it to be used on you juniors of the righteous path today!"

"You will all become nourishment for my Blood Pills!"

He bellowed.

The moment his words fell.

"Crack! Crack!"

Huge cracks began to appear on the ground beneath everyone's feet.

Thick, lava-like blood-red light gushed from the cracks.

The ground of the entire cavern began to collapse over a large area!

"Hurry!"

Li Xiaoyu gritted his teeth against his injuries and roared at everyone.

No one cared about fighting anymore, they all summoned their magic treasures and flew towards the cave entrance they had come from.

The people from the Blood Refining Hall also fled outwards in panic.

However, it was too late.

The speed at which the entire cavern collapsed far exceeded their imagination.

"Boom!"

A deafening sound.

The ground beneath everyone's feet completely caved in.

A bottomless, dark, giant abyss appeared beneath everyone.

Within the abyss, cold winds howled, and ghosts wailed, as if it connected to the Nine Nether Hells.

An irresistible suction force emanated from the abyss, pulling everyone downwards.

"Ah!"

Screams echoed one after another.

Some disciples with lower cultivation levels were instantly pulled into the abyss by the suction, disappearing into the darkness.

Li Xun and Yan Hong swayed precariously, on the verge of collapse.

Faxiang summoned the Great Compassion Golden Wheel, its golden light blazing, barely protecting himself and the disciples around him.

Qi Hao was even more disheveled, the Six Harmonies Mirror in his hand flickered, but could only barely protect himself.

"Xueqi!"

Li Xiaoyu saw that in order to protect Zhang Xiaofan behind her, Lu Xueqi had been caught by a suction force and her body was falling toward the abyss.

Without a moment's hesitation, he forcibly drove the little spiritual energy he had left, executed the Seven Star Steps, and appeared rapidly behind Lu Xueqi.

Li Xiaoyu shoved Lu Xueqi toward the direction of Faxiang.

"Go! Don't worry about me!"

He roared at Lu Xueqi with the last of his strength.

As for himself, because of that push, he could no longer resist the suction, and his body was swept into the abyss.

"No! Xiaoyu!"

Lu Xueqi was pushed toward a safe zone, but when she turned back, all she saw was the final silhouette of Li Xiaoyu falling into the darkness.

Despair and grief flashed through her eyes.

Without any hesitation, Lu Xueqi turned around and charged headlong toward that abyss.

She had to find him!

Even if it meant death, she would die together with him!

"Senior Sister Lu! Don't!"

Zhang Xiaofan and Qi Hao both cried out in alarm, but it was already too late.

Lu Xueqi's figure plunged into that darkness without a backward glance, chasing after the silhouette she would never be able to forget for the rest of her life.