Reversal

"Tricked?"

"Damn it! This is bad!"

Su Shi'er's breath caught, and his heart instantly sank to the bottom.

He could not figure out when it had been swapped. But he also knew this was not the time to dwell on it.

Fortunately, it was still a Defense Talisman. Without time to think, he hurriedly channeled True Yuan into it.

The next instant, the ground rumbled as earth and stones surged up, gathering into a defensive shield.

At the same time, he pushed off the ground with the tips of his feet. Shadowless Illusionary Steps combined with the Wind Calling Technique forcibly pulled his body backward and upward.

As he retreated, he threw out three more Defense Talismans just in case.

The four Defense Talismans transformed into four earthen defensive shields layered atop one another.

Even so, Su Shi'er still did not feel safe. Just as he was about to throw out more Defense Talismans—

Bang! Bang! Bang...

In an instant, two streaks of sword light flashed past.

Before the sword light, the four defensive shields of earth and stone were like paper mache. The sword light easily pierced through them and struck Su Shi'er squarely.

"Hiss..."

As the sword light swept past, a shallow cross-shaped sword scar immediately appeared on his chest.

Blood flowed from his body, and the pain made Su Shi'er suck in a cold breath.

I was careless! As expected, someone at Qi Refining Stage Five was not easy to deal with!

Had the four Defense Talismans not weakened most of the attack, those two streaks of sword light would have torn him to pieces.

Once Su Shi'er steadied himself from the fright, he rode the wind down onto a giant tree. He quickly took out three Minor Restoration Pills, crushed them, and sprinkled them over his wounds.

Minor Restoration Pills were healing spirit medicines that could be taken internally or applied externally.

At that moment, the Youth in Silk Scarf finally emerged from the firelight. A faint, blood-red, demonic glow covered his body, while his face and body bore many cuts from shattered Porcelain Bottle fragments and scorched wounds.

He held a white smoke-colored two-foot longsword in his hand and exhaled a breath of foul air, viciously cursing in his heart. That damned bastard is actually this crafty! If I hadn't just cultivated the Blood Light Shield the other day, I would have lost half my life even if I didn't die this time.

Staring at Su Shi'er, the Youth in Silk Scarf flew into a towering rage, his face twisted savagely.

"Very good! It seems you really bought quite a few talismans! Then let me see just how many talismans you have left to use!"

"Gale Slash!"

The Youth in Silk Scarf curled his lips into a cruel smile. Surging True Yuan poured into the sword, and with a sweep of his flying sword, four streaks of sword light shot forth, weaving into a grid-shaped formation that radiated sharp, fierce intent.

Four streaks of sword light? Wasn't that just shameless cheating?

Su Shi'er could not help sucking in a cold breath. He knew full well that these four streaks of sword light were powerful, and he absolutely could not be struck again.

Facing the four incoming streaks of sword light, he took a deep breath and leaped into the air.

A whirlwind appeared at the same time, carrying him soaring ever higher.

Then the sword light swept through. The lush, towering giant tree more than ten meters high was shattered into pieces beneath that strike.

In midair, Su Shi'er watched with his heart pounding in terror.

"So this is how sword cultivators attack? This is far too frightening. It's powerful, and it isn't affected by the Wind Calling Technique or other spells at all?!"

"No, blindly dodging like this is not a solution. I don't have many Defense Talismans left, and using spells at this level consumes True Yuan far too quickly!"

"I have to end this quickly!"

After hesitating briefly, Su Shi'er's eyes hardened. He concealed all his attack talismans in his sleeves and dove toward his opponent on the wind.

Suspended in the air, he continuously altered his movements with the wind, giving his opponent no chance to attack. In a blur, he arrived before him.

"Eight Extremes Mountain Collapse!"

The instant he closed in, he let out a thunderous roar and decisively activated Eight Trigrams Eight Extremes Fist, crashing down from above toward his opponent.

"A martial artist's move? You overestimate yourself! Did you think I didn't know what you were planning? You want to break my Blood Light Shield with those trash talismans? Daring to come close to me, you can go down to the Yellow Springs!"

Facing Su Shi'er's attack, the Youth in Silk Scarf sneered. With his sword in hand, he mercilessly exposed Su Shi'er's intentions.

At such close range, he did not believe Su Shi'er could still dodge.

As for those so-called talisman attacks, even if they could break his Blood Light Shield, he was confident he could withstand them.

Swish!

Yet at the instant they clashed, Su Shi'er did not throw out any attack talismans. Instead, a one-foot sword appeared in his hand.

It was the White Mist Sword he had obtained four years ago and kept hidden in the Sword Pouch all this time.

"So you had another flying sword hidden away? What a pity. Playing with swords before a sword cultivator—do you really think you have a chance of winning?" Seeing the one-foot flying sword suddenly appear in Su Shi'er's hand, the Youth in Silk Scarf froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.

As a sword cultivator, he had confidence in his swordsmanship. Besides, his cultivation was stronger than the person before him to begin with.

Still, to be safe, he pasted several Defense Talismans onto himself.

Then he lightly flourished his flying sword, raised his hand, and swept it out. With a clang, he easily blocked Su Shi'er's descending strike.

Seeing this, he finally relaxed completely. The strike had been blocked so easily—this brat's swordsmanship was truly abysmal. It seemed he really had run out of tricks.

With a thought, the Youth in Silk Scarf immediately channeled True Yuan into his sword, preparing to finish him in one stroke.

But at that moment, a sharp crack rang out, and the Precious Sword in his hand shattered on the spot.

The True Yuan in his body had nowhere to go.

"What? You... this is actually a high-grade magical artifact?! How is that possible...?"

Only then did the Youth in Silk Scarf realize what had happened. His heart jolted, and he cried out in shock. Before he could finish speaking, he sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly tried to pull away.

But Su Shi'er's sword showed no mercy. Even as it severed the other man's flying sword, it continued downward. His swordsmanship was nowhere near as refined as his opponent's; he had waited all this time for this very moment.

Before a high-grade magical artifact, even the Youth in Silk Scarf's Blood Light Shield, no matter how tough, could not withstand it.

The sword light flashed past. A spray of blood splattered through the air, and an arm was flung away with it.

"Pfft! Aahhh~~~"

The Youth in Silk Scarf collapsed into a pool of blood, unable to stop himself from letting out a miserable scream of agony.

At that moment, he was filled with boundless regret!

If he had known Su Shi'er possessed a high-grade magical artifact, he would never have allowed him to get close so easily.

His overwhelming advantage had been reversed in the blink of an eye. Now that his arm had been severed, he was grievously wounded, and his combat strength had been greatly diminished.

As for Su Shi'er, after succeeding with one strike, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately mobilized the True Yuan within him and poured it into the White Mist Sword.

The White Mist Sword trembled faintly, its light blazing brilliantly. A sharp streak of sword light burst free and shot straight for the Youth in Silk Scarf's neck.

Although he had severely wounded his opponent with one strike, Su Shi'er did not dare lower his guard in the slightest. This was a cultivator at Qi Refining Stage Five—who knew whether he had any other trump cards?

Ever since he had nearly been killed by Fierce Tiger's desperate counterattack four years ago, he had become exceptionally cautious in all his actions. Otherwise, he would not have noticed from the very beginning that this fellow had been following behind him.