Slaying Enemies in Succession, a Great Victory

Meanwhile, outside, Chen Nianzhi turned the Sword Embryo around. Its sword light carved a dazzling arc through the sky, then with a clang, severed Zuo Zhouqi's head.

This young Foundation Establishment cultivator, only in his sixties and with more than a century of lifespan remaining, was killed outright. Not even a Nascent Soul True Lord could possibly save him now.

Seeing Zuo Zhouqi die, Zhang Old Devil finally revealed his fear. All will to fight vanished from him, and he decisively snapped three fingers, using the Blood Escape Technique to flee for his life.

The Blood Escape Technique was incredibly fast. Eight years ago, this devil had ambushed them, broken the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Formation, and killed seven Chen Clan elders.

Back then, the Old Clan Leader had unleashed the Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword in fury, yet this devil had escaped Chen Changxuan's hands using that very technique.

Now that he used it again, Chen Nianzhi found that he couldn't catch up either.

Yet the old devil had flown less than a hundred zhang when he crashed headfirst into a sea of Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame. With a shrill scream, his Blood Escape Technique was broken, and he fell heavily to the ground.

It turned out that the Third Elder and the other five had disregarded their injuries and forcibly activated the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Formation, causing Zhang Old Devil to walk right into the trap.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

"This old man entered that Demon Cave only because he had no other choice!"

At death's door, the old devil showed utter terror. Looking at Chen Nianzhi, he begged again and again.

Chen Nianzhi raised his eyes and saw that one of the devil's arms was gone, every finger had been lost, and his body had been burned beyond recognition, giving off a nauseating stench of charred flesh.

With such injuries, even if Zhang Old Devil survived, the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame that had invaded his meridians would torment him day and night. He would spend the rest of his life in agony.

"When you attacked the clan leader and killed seven elders of my Chen Clan; when you had men blood-sacrifice three thousand mortals from our Chen Clan's Peaceful Reach Town; when you wanted to use one hundred thousand Chen Clan blood descendants to refine the Blood-Refining Demon Saber—"

"Did you ever imagine this day would come?"

"You broke the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Formation and killed seven elders of my Chen Clan. Now you die because of the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Formation. The wheel of cause and effect turns; retribution never fails."

Chen Nianzhi sighed. The Sword Embryo became a streak of sword light and slashed down, cutting Zhang Old Devil into two halves.

It sounded slow, but it had all happened in a flash.

From Zuo Zhouqi's death to Zhang Old Devil's execution, only a few breaths had passed. By the time the others recovered from their shock, it was already too late.

At the critical juncture between life and death, they all brought out their magical artifacts, intending to use this chance of entering the formation to kill Chen Changxuan.

But the Old Clan Leader was vastly experienced in combat, and within the Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation, he was like a fish in water, his strength surging dramatically. How could they possibly kill him?

Within only a few breaths, Chen Nianzhi had finished his battle and charged straight over.

The moment he entered the formation, Chen Nianzhi immediately found Lin Taihe and helped relieve some of the Old Clan Leader's pressure.

Lin Taihe already had to resist the overwhelming Lihuo within the formation, and now he had to face Chen Nianzhi's assault. He was instantly plunged into misery, forced to maintain his defensive artifact while controlling two other artifacts to fight Chen Nianzhi.

On the other side, Chen Changxuan recovered from the weakness caused by activating the Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword. His gaze turned icy as he looked at Zuo Mingxu and Hong Old Devil, calculating who should receive his next strike.

Of the two, Hong Old Devil possessed profound cultivation and powerful Demon Treasures, but he was thoroughly suppressed by the Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation, able to exert only sixty or seventy percent of his strength.

Especially after his favored Black Blood Pouch had been destroyed, he no longer dared to bring out any Demon Treasures. He only dared to fight with a black-glowing dharma saber and a golden sphere artifact.

Zuo Mingxu's cultivation was somewhat weaker, but his artifacts were more versatile. For this battle, the Zuo Clan leader had emptied the Clan Treasury and actually purchased two Tier 2 High-grade artifacts.

Besides the small ancient-bronze defensive tower, he also possessed a purple treasure mirror that could emit streams of purple light.

The mirror light could pierce the protective screens of defensive artifacts and even knock down a cultivator's artifacts. Once a cultivator was enveloped by that light, the True Essence within their body would become sluggish and difficult to circulate, causing their strength to plummet rapidly.

Unfortunately, Zuo Mingxu's cultivation was insufficient. He could only unleash seventy percent of the treasure's power. Its light couldn't pierce the surging Lihuo of the Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation, and it simply couldn't harm the Old Clan Leader.

Chen Changxuan glanced at Zuo Mingxu, a trace of killing intent flashing through his eyes.

"This bastard's talismans have likely been exhausted by the Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation after fighting for so long. He's also activated Tier 2 High-grade artifacts repeatedly, so his spiritual power is running low. With no defensive artifact left, he's perfect for a killing blow."

"Hong Old Devil, on the other hand, may look like he's being suppressed to death, but he's still a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator. I may not be able to kill him in one strike."

"Better to kill Zuo Mingxu first, then use the Blazing Fire Soul-Burning Formation Flags to slowly refine this devil to death."

No sooner thought than done, the Old Clan Leader activated the Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword once more. The others only saw a brilliant streak of sword light rise into the sky before it slashed toward Zuo Mingxu with a clang.

"Not good!"

The moment Zuo Mingxu saw the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Sword coming down on him, his heart sank.

He barely managed to use the purple treasure mirror and the Mingxu Sword to block it, but both were instantly knocked away. The sword light, dazzling as the sun, continued its slash without losing any momentum.

"My life is over!"

Zuo Mingxu's final thought flashed through his mind before he was cleaved in two by a single strike.

Boom—

At that very instant, Hong Old Devil seized a sliver of life.

He destroyed several Demon Treasures in succession, forcibly blasting open a corner of the Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation. Then he used the Blood Escape Technique to fly out, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"Chen Changxuan, I have learned the might of this Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation today."

"But I will remember today's grudge!"

"Quite decisive."

Watching Hong Old Devil escape, Chen Changxuan said with a cold sneer.

That old devil had chosen his moment well. If Chen Changxuan hadn't been devoting most of his attention to activating the Blazing Fire Heavenly Sword at the time, he only needed to delay him slightly and the old devil would have been trapped within the Soul-Burning Separation Fire Formation, a turtle in a jar.

Seeing Hong Old Devil flee, Lin Taihe revealed a despairing expression and pleaded with Chen Changxuan.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, for the sake of our past acquaintance, spare my life."

"Do you remember? Back at Heavenly Ruins Mountain, I even treated you to tea."

"At the brink of life and death, and this is all the bearing you have." Chen Changxuan shook his head and sighed. "No wonder you were stuck at Foundation Establishment Early Stage for over thirty years before breaking through."

As his words fell, the boundless Lihuo swept over him. Lin Taihe held out for less than a quarter of an hour before being burned into a patch of ash.

After the battle ended, both men's spiritual power had been severely depleted, but it still wasn't time to rest.

During the earlier melee, more than a dozen cultivators from the caravan had taken advantage of the chaos to seize the Five Elements Essence. Some had already fled dozens of li away.

The two had killed four Foundation Establishment cultivators, thoroughly intimidating everyone. A few were so frightened that they returned the Five Elements Essence, but some stubborn fools were still fleeing for their lives.

After briefly cleaning up the battlefield, Chen Nianzhi and the Old Clan Leader split up. Riding their swords through the skies, they searched for those people. Within an hour, they had caught every last one and directly executed them in the Great Wilderness.

For cultivators who dared rob a caravan, the two showed no mercy, even if they were members of the Six Great Families. This was a rule shared by all Six Great Families; even if the other party's clan learned of it, they would have nothing to say.