Fierce Battle with Demonic Cultivators

Clang—

The moment he finished speaking, a crimson sword light flew over and slashed toward the beautiful middle-aged woman.

It was Chen Nianzhi, activating the formation and unleashing the formation artifact, the Sunfire Sword. His move was exceedingly decisive—his first strike targeted the weakest of the three, the beautiful middle-aged woman.

The woman was only at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. At the sight, she frantically produced a black silk artifact, hoping to block the attack.

But the Sunfire Sword possessed boundless power. Even Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivators would struggle to withstand it, much less her.

With a thunderous explosion, the silk artifact was cleaved in two and burned to ash by the power of sunfire.

Nor did the Sunfire Sword lose momentum. It continued onward, cutting straight for the woman's brow.

In her haste, the burly middle-aged man produced a blood-red little shield, spreading a blood-colored curtain of light that blocked the strike.

This was a Tier 1 High-grade Demonic Path artifact, refined using vast quantities of ordinary people's blood essence. The light curtain it produced was extraordinarily formidable, yet after blocking the Sunfire Sword's might, it had still dimmed by forty to fifty percent.

Seeing that his first strike had failed, Chen Nianzhi activated the Sunfire Sword again and sent it slashing down.

As a formation artifact, the Sunfire Sword could only unleash nine strikes after accumulating ten years' worth of morning glow. Its power was naturally astonishing.

The second sword light fell, and the blood-red shield light shattered in response, forcing the three Demonic Cultivators to scramble apart into the mist.

"Pure Yang formation artifact."

The burly Demonic Cultivator's expression darkened. Gazing at the blood shield, its spirituality greatly damaged, he drew out a talisman with a pained look.

This talisman was called the Six-Ghost Talisman. It sealed six evil ghosts at the Late Stage of Qi Refining. Because it demanded high-quality materials as well as six Late Stage of Qi Refining evil ghosts, Zhang Old Devil possessed only one or two of them.

Though this single-use Six-Ghost Talisman was far less valuable than the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner, in a critical moment, its usefulness was not much different.

As the six Late Stage of Qi Refining evil ghosts burst forth, Chen Nianzhi immediately frowned.

If these six evil ghosts were allowed to run rampant, the Spirit Fields, spirit geese, and even the two siblings on Lakeheart Island would all be in danger.

With a thought, he could no longer concern himself with anything else. He immediately unleashed the Sunfire Sword in six consecutive strikes, reducing all six evil ghosts to ashes.

There is one strike left. Who should it be for?

After destroying the six ghosts, Chen Nianzhi looked at the three of them, the thought flashing through his mind in an instant.

Though that previous strike had forced the three apart into the clouds and mist, if this dragged on, they would surely gather together again.

It was only an instant of deliberation before Chen Nianzhi's eyes turned cold.

Better to cut off one finger than wound all ten.

"Slash—"

His decisive sword strike flashed forth, aiming straight at the weakest woman.

This woman had the lowest cultivation, and her demon artifact had been destroyed. The backlash had already inflicted serious injuries on her.

Now, seeing the Sunfire Sword slash toward her again, terror immediately filled her face. In her panic, she only had time to produce a Devil Fork artifact in defense before she and the fork were cleaved in half.

"Aah—"

A scream that cut off abruptly echoed across the island. The expressions of the other two demons changed wildly, and they immediately rushed toward its source, gathering together at once.

The two glanced at the woman who had been cleaved in half. Their pupils contracted, and they exchanged a terrified look.

At the same time, Chen Nianzhi looked at the Sunfire Sword and could not help frowning. After that strike, the morning glow power stored within it had been exhausted. Even the clouds and mist created by the Cloud-Mist Hood were gradually dispersing.

"Looks like I'll have to fight another round."

Setting down the formation disk, Chen Nianzhi charged toward the two demons.

When one man and two demons met, it naturally became a fight to the death. The gaunt old man struck first, producing a sharp treasure wheel that came slashing down.

This was a Tier 1 High-grade Demon Treasure. Though its power was far inferior to a top-tier Demon Treasure like the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner, it was still solid enough.

As the treasure wheel spun toward him, Chen Nianzhi's gaze sharpened. He immediately activated the Green Leaf Sword and sent it across the air to intercept it.

Not only that, he continued channeling true qi and sent the Golden Light Blade flying toward the gaunt old man's head.

The flying sword was incredibly swift. Like a shooting star, the Golden Light Blade reached the gaunt Old Devil in an instant.

At that critical juncture of life and death, however, the gaunt Old Devil had long been prepared. He activated an artifact and produced a pitch-black little bell, which spread a curtain of light around him and actually blocked Chen Nianzhi's flying sword.

"A defensive demon artifact."

Chen Nianzhi's eyes shifted. This little bell was also a Tier 1 High-grade defensive demon artifact, and he could not help feeling somewhat fortunate.

Fortunately, he had not used the Sunfire Sword's final strike against this man. With a high-grade defensive demon artifact, this gaunt Demonic Cultivator could have withstood the Sunfire Sword's full-powered blow.

If he failed to kill him, facing the attacks of a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator and two Late Stage of Qi Refining Demonic Cultivators would have placed him in a very passive position.

"Boy, die!"

The battle had taken only an instant, and the burly Demonic Cultivator attacked at the same time.

As the strongest among the three, though his blood shield had been destroyed and he had lost his defensive artifact, he was still not to be underestimated.

He activated a flying sword brimming with Sha Qi, which transformed into a streak of sword light and soared through the air toward Chen Nianzhi.

Chen Nianzhi showed no fear. The small azure shield in his hand spread a shield light, easily blocking the flying sword's attack.

The azure shield was a fine artifact. Back then, that Seventh Layer of Qi Refining Demonic Cultivator had relied on it to block Chen Nianzhi's two flying swords, showing just how outstanding its defense was.

Now that this treasure had fallen into Chen Nianzhi's hands, its power increased by more than fifty percent under the activation of his Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation. He naturally stood in an invincible position.

Relying on his abundant true qi and the power of this formidable defensive artifact, Chen Nianzhi actually held the upper hand despite fighting two opponents alone.

After the two sides had battled for a quarter of an hour, the gaunt old man saw that the light of his defensive demon artifact had dimmed and it could no longer endure the Golden Light Blade's continuous attacks. He could not help looking toward the burly Demonic Cultivator.

"If this continues, you and I will certainly die."

"If you have any other means, use them quickly."

At those words, the burly Demonic Cultivator's expression turned slightly cold.

His gaze hardened as he produced a speck of golden light and shot it toward Chen Nianzhi.

"Golden Radiance Heart-Locking Needles!"

The instant Chen Nianzhi saw the golden light, his pupils constricted slightly. He immediately pushed the shield light to its limit and activated the Golden Armor Talisman as well.

The Golden Radiance Heart-Locking Needles were a special Tier 1 High-grade artifact. Though such needle artifacts were not particularly powerful, they specialized in countering defensive shield light, and their effects were often exceptional.

Sure enough, the golden light soared into the air and shot toward him with a sharp whoosh. Even the Azure Light Shield's shield light could not stop it, and it was pierced through with a small hole.

Fortunately, the Golden Armor Talisman was extraordinarily effective. It transformed into a suit of golden armor around Chen Nianzhi, actually blocking the Golden Radiance Heart-Locking Needles.

At this critical moment, Chen Nianzhi could no longer spare thought for anything else. He immediately unleashed the blade blank, striking the Golden Radiance Heart-Locking Needles until their light dimmed and they fell to the ground.