Slaying Them One After Another

Chapter 1: Consecutive Slashes

Yu Ci was acutely aware of his own abilities and talents.

Perhaps his swordsmanship lacked formal structure, but years of honing his skills through life-and-death struggles had imbued him with the spirit to unify his senses, heart, courage, and sword intent. A thousand swords, ten thousand swords, were all just one sword. As long as he trusted the sword in his hand, it was enough!

He had no intention of yielding his path. Instead, relying on his absolute confidence in self-judgment under the extreme conditions of life and death, he tore through the gale, brushing past the trajectory of the poisonous green light. He descended like a formless blaze, pouncing.

The Poisonous Snake Monk merely saw a blur before his eyes. Yu Ci, enveloped in scorching flames, had already burst into the center. It was the same fierce and peerless close-quarters combat swordsmanship he had witnessed before. The monk's narrow eyes widened almost to the point of splitting. He let out a sharp hiss from his throat, and a void blade light suddenly appeared. The golden saber he had snatched just two days prior flew around his body. Even though it wasn't fully refined yet, he couldn't afford to hesitate.

Yu Ci had personally seen him snatch Ye Tu's golden saber. How could he not be prepared now? Although his offensive was fierce, he still held back some strength. Seeing the golden saber materialize, he immediately unleashed his remaining power. The flaming sword edge made a slight swing, no longer a direct thrust but shifting its angle slightly.

With a deafening "clang," the golden saber flew upwards. Yu Ci's body, almost pressed against the cliff face, slammed into the Poisonous Snake Monk's center. The violently vibrating flame blade grazed the monk's chest and abdomen diagonally. However, due to the immense shock from colliding with the golden saber, it only managed to tear a shallow gash before naturally extinguishing, reverting to its crude, blunt wooden hilt.

The Poisonous Snake Monk cried out in pain and struck down with a palm.

In that brief instant, Yu Ci half-turned his body. While partially deflecting the palm's force, he forcefully slammed his shoulder into the monk's injured chest. This was a direct manifestation of his precise and swift bodily reactions, and an act of madness that treated a ten-thousand-foot abyss as nothing.

The Poisonous Snake Monk hadn't expected such a desperate move. Caught off guard, his chest was struck with a dull thud. The protective vital energies of both combatants violently vibrated. Amidst distorted curses, their bodies nearly merged as they plummeted downwards, directly towards Xu Lao Er.

After the Poisonous Snake Monk's block, Xu Lao Er would have had at least three countermeasures to block the path of both individuals. However, he moved aside!

"Bastard..." The Poisonous Snake Monk didn't even have the strength to curse anymore.

Under Yu Ci's powerful momentum, the two plummeted nearly a hundred zhang in an instant. Their speed had reached the edge of danger. During their meteor-like descent, the Poisonous Snake Monk felt his chest about to explode. In his desperation, he tried to control the golden saber to cleave the junior in his arms in two. But the golden saber had only recently been refined and was far from being controllable at will. Furthermore, a momentary lapse in concentration allowed Yu Ci to seize the opportunity. Several heavy punches landed on his head and face, leaving him seeing stars and almost bringing him to tears again.

The monk was furious and fearful. Just then, a voice suddenly entered his ear: "Hurry!"

This was Xu Lao Er's voice. Simultaneously, his chest felt another dull impact, and the heavy pressure on his body suddenly shifted away.

The Poisonous Snake Monk ignored everything else and slammed himself against the cliff face, using it to slow his descent. He was quite lucky; he slid down for another half-li and found a stable foothold. The golden saber above his head followed him down, and he caught it. It was only then that he saw, amidst the clouds and mist, a long black rope, like a true man-eating viper, shooting down from above. Yu Ci's Nine Yang Talisman Sword once again emitted a flame blade, accurately striking the tip of the black rope that flew from behind. Sword and rope clashed. The rope recoiled, preparing to strike again, but Yu Ci's Nine Yang Fire Sword forced it back with waves of fire. However, Yu Ci's cultivation was still not as robust as the opponent's. He also trembled, his feet left the void, and he slipped down a distance. After stabilizing himself, he was actually slightly lower than the Poisonous Snake Monk's position.

Xu Lao Er also rushed down from above the cliff face, reaching out to catch the returning long rope. Seeing Yu Ci about to exert force again, he quickly shouted, "Hold him for a moment!"

"What the hell are you?" The Poisonous Snake Monk opened his mouth to curse, but he quickly saw Xu Lao Er chanting incantations, and a circle of grayish-white firelight ignited around him, transferring to the long rope in his hand. He swallowed the curse in his throat. The Poisonous Snake Monk knew that Xu Lao Er was stalling for time and was about to unleash his power.

He ultimately knew the gravity of the situation. More importantly, he understood that he was injured. If he offended Xu Lao Er, he might truly die in Sky Rift Valley. He spat, braced himself, and met Yu Ci's upward-shooting sword light. But he no longer dared to let the unfinished golden saber fly out to attack. He simply blocked this necessary path honestly, using the golden saber to obstruct Yu Ci's way.

In the blink of an eye, the positions of the three had completely reversed. Yu Ci, from a superior vantage point looking down, was now forced to attack upwards. But he was not afraid at all. The Poisonous Snake Monk had lost his confidence; such a person was not worth worrying about. It was Xu Lao Er, however, who had grasped the timing of his moves exceptionally well and understood how to leverage the situation. He was indeed more skillful than the Poisonous Snake Monk!

As he was thinking, Xu Lao Er attacked again. The same long rope flew out, but this time, over its dark base color, there was a layer of extremely faint grayish-white firelight. Xu Lao Er formed hand seals, standing steadily at a high position, while the long rope seemed to move with intelligence, coiling and looping. This method of attack was something Yu Ci had never seen before.

The Poisonous Snake Monk moved upwards abruptly, increasing the distance, and shouted loudly, "Good Spirit Binding Rope, good Corrosive Soul Fire!"

The flying long rope descended like a giant python. It wasn't striking but seemed intent on binding Yu Ci. Let alone hearing the Poisonous Snake Monk's praise, even just looking at the grayish-white firelight on the long rope, Yu Ci absolutely did not want to test it with his body. He took a deep breath and suddenly leaped towards the side into the clouds and mist.

No one knew the surrounding terrain better than Yu Ci. This was already within the range where he picked Shrimp Whisker Grass. The cliff face was riddled with crevices, so there was no shortage of places to land. After borrowing force twice, his leaping speed had reached its limit. However, the long rope behind him followed closely, even faster. The tip of the rope had already surpassed his body, looping inwards.

Yu Ci glanced quickly. Up close, he saw the form of the grayish-white firelight. Was this the Corrosive Soul Fire?

The grayish-white flames burned intensely, yet there was no perceptible heat. The black long rope showed no signs of burning, but wherever the rope passed, the surface of the adjacent cliff face developed black spots. It didn't look like fire, but more like poison. Within the flames, there were countless distorted patterns. But looking deeper, what were those patterns? They were clearly countless semi-transparent images of living beings, roughly maintaining their original forms, struggling and howling in the flames. Yu Ci couldn't hear any sound, but malevolent thoughts that vibrated his spirit and soul penetrated directly into him.

He hesitated no longer. Before touching the third landing spot, he suddenly stomped hard on the cliff face. The force was no longer directed upwards and to the side but pushed him far away, away from the landing spot, away from the cliff face, throwing himself into the boundless clouds and mist. The moment he made this move, the long rope retracted inwards, making it seem as if the long rope had forced him out.

Yu Ci had jumped with too much force. He was now completely suspended, with no place to borrow force within five zhang of him. As his momentum waned, he inevitably began to fall downwards.

"Good!" the monk shouted, his face beaming with joy. Xu Lao Er above also showed a smile. The reason he controlled the Spirit Binding Rope to pursue from the inside was not without this intention. The situation was entirely within his grasp.

In stark contrast to the monk's cheers, a sudden exclamation rang out from a cliff face to the side. This cry drew the attention of the monk and Xu Lao Er. They turned to look, and through the clouds and mist, they vaguely saw a protruding slope in that direction, with a blurry human figure on it.

The one who exclaimed was Ye Tu. This battle had unknowingly brought them near the slope. The boy, unable to act, had sharp ears and keen eyes, witnessing the entire fierce battle. He had already been holding his breath in astonishment, and when he suddenly saw Uncle Yu being forced away from the cliff face, he cried out in terror, revealing his location.

The Poisonous Snake Monk was closer than Xu Lao Er. He froze upon seeing this, then sneered, "So it's you, kid. You're quite lucky to be alive..."

As he spoke, he also eyed the spacious area on the steep slope and prepared to seize it. However, at this moment, in the deep valley's mist, a brilliant light suddenly appeared.

Yu Ci, about to be submerged in the mist, raised his hand at this moment. The Spirit Talisman in his palm exploded, and thick, light purple lightning, like a dragon, split through the clouds. As soon as it rose halfway into the air, it buzzed and exploded, like a giant tree with multiple branches, sweeping across half the sky. The first to bear the brunt was the Spirit Binding Rope at the very bottom. The grayish-white firelight attached to it couldn't even last half a breath before being annihilated by the lightning.

Only then did the rumbling thunder roll through the canyon, churning the clouds like a surging sea.

Five Thunder Talisman!

The Five Thunder Talisman Yu Ci used was the general principle of all lightning techniques in the "Shangqing Juxuan Xing Shu Mi Shou Fu Jing." It relied purely on the circulation of lightning script, infused with one's own vital energy, to connect with the yin and yang of heaven and earth. It grasped the pivot of thunder and lightning, capable of commanding spirits, summoning wind and rain, and striking evil spirits. It was precisely the nemesis of all Yin and evil spirits.

He had already seen that the so-called Corrosive Soul Fire was an evil fire born from burning the malevolent energy of resentful souls and fierce spirits. This prepared Five Thunder Talisman was perfectly suited for the situation. The moment the grayish-white firelight extinguished, the black long rope, like a dead snake, fell into the valley. Xu Lao Er, still more than ten zhang away, sensed it and let out a pained cry, clutching his chest and cursing:

"Zhende bald donkey, which eye of yours saw him from Bai Ri Mansion?"

The Poisonous Snake Monk wanted to reply, but the roaring lightning, after annihilating the long rope, had already surged upwards. Influenced by both Ye Tu and Xu Lao Er, he had been distracted. By the time he reacted, the lightning struck him. He let out a miserable scream, truly experiencing a "five thunders striking the top." Instantly, his entire body turned black, his skin and flesh split open. It was only by a thread of pure vital energy protecting his heart and pulse that he didn't die on the spot.

This truly didn't seem like the methods of Bai Ri Mansion...

As this thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly heard the boy's cheers from the slope. To him, these cheers sounded like a potent omen of misfortune.

He opened his eyes, which had been almost blinded by the lightning, and his eyeballs nearly burst. He saw that in the rolling clouds and mist, the "Bai Ri Mansion junior" was stepping on a ladder connecting to the heavens, ascending through the void. There was also a dazzling firelight, forcing the monk to squint his eyes again. He instinctively wanted to raise his saber to block, but how could he still lift it? A red line flashed before his eyes, followed by complete darkness.

Yu Ci slashed off half of the Poisonous Snake Monk's head with his sword. Ignoring the sight of his boiling brains, he let out a laugh and continued upwards, his body unhindered, stepping on the clouds.

White smoke and crane feathers fly freely, clouds rise beneath the feet, swift as the wind.

The words of the ancients seemed very fitting at this moment. And this was the third talisman Yu Ci had prepared: the Divine Movement Talisman!

With the Spirit Talisman attached to his body, it was as if he had grown wings or was being carried by clouds. The ability to briefly tread on air was something Yu Ci had only recently discovered while traveling with the Divine Movement Talisman a few days prior. It was most suitable for use in Sky Rift Valley.

Having lost two companions in succession, Xu Lao Er was now intimidated. Although he still held the advantage of terrain, his most effective "Spirit Binding Rope" had been destroyed. Continuing the fight would result in a grim outcome. He immediately leaped up, intending to escape.

Facts told him this was the most foolish choice!

Yu Ci waved his sword as a prelude, a motion of gathering strength. But the moment he made the move, he realized that this sword strike felt too good. Everything flowed naturally, like an eagle preying on a rabbit, or a hungry tiger pouncing. It was guided entirely by the instinct of natural creatures hunting their prey, led by an invisible hand from the void, tearing through space.

At this very instant, his crown felt a warmth. The "lamp flame," which hadn't reacted for a long time, flashed with a sizzling sound. This time, it was beneath his crown, within his mental palace, accumulating a momentum that was about to be released, emitting a brilliant light. He felt as if the "lamp flame's" light encompassed both body and mind, making his physical form appear transparent. In this instant, the talisman sword in his hand seemed to be lightly plucked by invisible fingers, vibrating with a hum. Simultaneously vibrating were the vital energy within him, and even deeper, his soul and intentions.

He didn't know which force vibrated first, but he could clearly perceive that the frequency of vibration was infinitely close to the resonance of his spirit and soul when he entered the Spirit 통 realm, transcending his physical body. Later, as all forces harmonized, he could no longer distinguish which was the talisman sword, which was the vital energy, and which was his soul's intention. Everything was unified under the "spirit and soul" track.

Though complex to describe, this was merely the matter of a sword swing.

In the sky, a red line as thin as a hair extended, like lightning flashing in the void. Before it, a distance of three to five zhang was no problem at all. Bloodlight appeared, and the fleeing Xu Lao Er was split in two, leaving a glaring red smear in the canyon's mist.