Grudges?

The Night Owl stopped retreating.

He stood still, his dark red True Essence re-condensing, thicker than ever before, as if all the blood in his body was rushing to the surface of his skin.

He looked at the two of them, his voice a few decibels deeper than before. "Since we can't leave, then you'll be buried with me."

His True Essence began to fluctuate violently, like a pot of boiling oil that could explode at any moment.

Ye An didn't give him a chance to fully gather his strength; Shuanghong had already thrust out, the tip of the sword aimed straight for his throat.

Lin Wanyue's sword followed from the other side, and the two attacked almost simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right. Night Owl took a half step back to avoid Lin Wanyue's sword, flipped his right palm, and dark red True Essence exploded in front of his palm, deflecting Ye An's sword edge slightly.

Ye An did not sheath his sword. After being deflected by the force, the blade spun around and slashed at Night Owl's waist from the side again.

Lin Wanyue's sword had caught up again, and the two took turns attacking, giving Night Owl no chance to catch his breath.

Night Owl was forced to retreat repeatedly, taking four steps back in succession. Each exchange of blows foreshadowed Night Owl's retreat. Every time he raised his hand, it was interrupted by the next sword strike.

Lin Wanyue seized the opportunity and thrust out her sword, cutting a gash in Night Owl 'Lin Wanyue left shoulder.

Seeing this, Ye An seized the opportunity and unleashed the Star-Shattering Finger, striking the opponent's right arm. The dark red True Essence around Night Owl continuously disintegrated and reformed, but the speed of reforming could not keep up with the speed of disintegration.

Night Owl was forced back to the Altar, his heel now resting on the edge of the Blood-Soaked Stone; he had nowhere left to retreat.

Night Owl admitted that the two were so powerful that he would be a formidable enemy either of them, let alone the two of them working together.

Finally, he made up his mind. He hadn't originally wanted to use this method, since the cost was too high.

Night Owl brought his index and middle fingers together, crossed his hands over his chest, and dark red True Essence spread upwards along his arms, gathering at his fingertips. Dark red spots began to appear on his skin, as if something was seeping out of his blood.

His aura was rising, stronger than ever before, like the last flicker of a lamp about to burn out. Dark red True Essence formed a thicker shell around him, no longer a thin layer, but a solid shell with dark light at the edges.

Lin Wanyue's expression changed. "Blood Sacrifice, Life-Burning." She looked at the dark red light spot on Night Owl's fingertip, "The Heaven Overturning Cult's Secret Art, burning lifespan to exchange for a burst of True Essence, we can't let him complete this move."

This move was executed very quickly, so quickly that it took only a few steps to arrive.

Night Owl raised his head, his gaze passing over Ye An, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if he already foresaw the outcome. "To die from this move is a blessing for you all."

He didn't care how much lifespan he wasted; even if he became Withered Wood Elder after this battle, he would still kill these two troublemakers on the spot.

He thrust out both palms simultaneously, and dark red True Essence condensed into a thick pillar of light in front of his palms, carrying a scorching heat, and blasted towards Ye An head-on. The speed of that pillar of True Essence was faster than any of the previous air blades, and it carried a scorching heat, like a river that had been ignited, surging from Night Owl's palms and heading straight for Ye An's face.

More than a decade of life can vanish in an instant.

The Night Owl's laughter echoed across the empty Altar. This palm strike contained ten years' worth of internal energy. Could you withstand it?

"Die!"

Upon seeing this, Ye An held Shuanghong horizontally in front of him, his True Essence gathering behind him. The True Essence arm reappeared, clearer than ever before, with tangible light condensing at its edges, like a real arm stretching out from the void.

Profound Meaning - One-Armed Asura!

The Star-Shattering Finger concentrated its True Essence Arms and fingertips, the rotating force spinning rapidly at the fingertips, emitting a faint buzzing sound, while the sword momentum of the Rosy Cloud Sword Technique was delivered at the same moment.

The sword was in front, the finger behind. The True Essence Arm followed closely, crashing into the dark red pillar of light almost simultaneously.

The ground shook the moment the two forces collided.

The dark red beam of light was cut, torn, and shattered between the sword's edge and the fingertip, splitting in two before exploding into countless tiny specks of light that dissipated into the night sky.

The Night Owl's smile froze on his face.

His palms were still in front of him, and dark red True Essence was still surging out, but that True Essence was completely out of control, drifting in the air like a kite with a broken string. He looked down at his chest, Shuanghong's sword blade had pierced through his chest, the tip of the sword protruding through his back.

It seems that this move came at too high a price; his own blood had been completely drained, and not a single drop of blood flowed out.

The sword was already enveloped in dark red True Essence and was slowly dissolving. The rotating force of the Star-Shattering Finger had entered his body, spreading upwards along his meridians, and wherever it passed, the True Essence dissipated.

Ye An withdrew his sword, and Night Owl's body lost its support, falling backward and crashing heavily to the ground, face to the sky, where it remained motionless. The dark red True Essence slowly dissipated from his body, as if the last embers had finally burned out.

Lin Wanyue stood a few steps away, still holding her sword. She had originally thought that Ye An would dodge the attack and then the two of them would slowly wear each other down. However, she never expected Ye An to be so fierce, and the True Essence Arms on his back terrified her.

What kind of Secret Art, or Profound Meaning, is this?

She didn't speak or move, but just stared at the motionless corpse on the ground, then glanced at Ye An, waiting for his next move.

Ye An sheathed Shuanghong. It was a close call; if he hadn't enveloped the sword with his True Essence, Shuanghong would probably be broken by now.

Ye An bent down and picked up the Blood Essence Crystal from the ground. Because the Altar ended prematurely, and because Night Owl was constantly absorbing its energy to fight against the two of them, the Blood Essence Crystal now had very little energy left.

Lin Wanyue walked over and glanced at the Blood Essence Crystal in his hand, saying, "The Blood Essence Crystal is the core medium of the Heaven Overturning Cult's Secret Method, usually used in the Qi Condensation breakthrough ceremony. Its effect is equivalent to several high- Upper-Grade Qi Condensation Pill stacked together. However, it's different from normal pills. This thing is a product of an evil cult, mixed with too many impurities. When absorbed, it easily erodes the mind, and a slight mistake can Qi Deviation. Therefore, righteous cultivators basically don't touch it; if they get their hands on it, they usually destroy it."

"However, the one you have is mostly broken, and its energy has dissipated. The remaining amount shouldn't affect your mind. It's usable, but the effect will be less than that of a normal pill."

Ye An nodded after listening, pretending nothing was wrong as he put the Blood Essence Crystal into his pocket. Lin Wanyue saw this but didn't say anything, only finding Ye An's actions somewhat amusing, especially his unintentional act of pretending nothing was wrong.

In the distance, the Firelight of the Demon Suppressing Guard were converging towards the Altar. The Altar behind them was already illuminated by torches, and the blood-red patterns on the ground were slowly fading, as if they were disappearing on their own after losing their support.

The Firelight of the Demon Suppressing Guard were already lit at the edge of the open space in the distance, and footsteps were approaching.

The night in Falling Stone Village finally came to an end.

The martial arts contest is nearing its end, but some grudges remain unresolved...