A thread of sword keening sounded beside Yu Ci's ears. The surrounding soil was forced apart, forming an almost flawless spherical space some ten feet across—it was the Li Chen Sect's secret sword art, the Flawless Sword Circle, the defensive technique Yu Ci handled most skillfully at his current stage.
The next instant, the impact struck.
The moment Sword Qi collided with the shockwave, Yu Ci's body and mind shook violently. Yet he could not move an inch, forcibly pinned in place by overwhelming pressure. With every oscillation of the shockwave, he could no longer hold back; blood surged up his throat. But the pressure outside was so immense that he could not even cough it out, and it poured back down instead.
For an instant, golden stars burst before Yu Ci's eyes. Fortunately, when the Flawless Sword Circle expanded, the vital energy around him adjusted itself and provided a buffer. Within the Inner Void, the True Dragon Form Qi also protected him of its own accord, steadying his mind and keeping his vital energy from falling into disorder. Otherwise, that single blow would have severely wounded him, and he would have ended up like those unlucky fellows before him, ground into pulp.
It had to be said, this disaster had come for no reason at all.
While observing from the sidelines, Yu Ci had paid close attention to maintaining a safe distance from Xia Shuanghe. He had remained more than fifty li away throughout. According to the shadow ghost, that was the average sensing range of True Person cultivators. His experiences in the field over the past while had proven it fairly reliable; if anything went wrong, he would have time to react.
But he had never expected the sudden change to be so violent!
The two True Person