You wretch, stop!

"Hahaha! Now this is a fight!" Yang Yu laughed wildly. Not a drop of blood clung to the Yama Battle Blade in his hand. The next instant, he reversed its edge and swept it toward the bare-chested, unarmed man on his left.

That man was Hong Tao, the strongest of the seven Human Tier experts from the Ghost Infant Sect!

"Kill!" Hong Tao raised his fists to meet him.

The other five surviving Human Tier experts were surrounded by the fifteen Giant Mantis Beasts Yang Yu had brought!

The beasts formed teams of three, surrounding and attacking each of them!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yang Yu unleashed broad swathes of scarlet blade light, trading furious attacks with Hong Tao!

Flaming fist shadows filled the air before Hong Tao!

The two attacked relentlessly, exchanging dozens upon dozens of blows within a second or two!

Rain poured from the sky, and thunder rolled. Within a five-hundred-meter radius, even the rain seemed stained red by the blood flowing across the ground. At that moment, the entire area became as sinister and terrifying as hell on earth!

Yang Yu and Hong Tao were locked in a fierce, deadlocked battle!

Hong Tao was at a slight disadvantage, but he could still barely hold on... given enough time, he might be defeated and killed, but for now, he could last another two or three minutes!

His body was powerful, after all, and he practiced a high-grade body-refining cultivation art. His physical strength was only slightly inferior to Yang Yu's.

He was also fighting Yang Yu head-on, the style he excelled at, so he could naturally withstand Yang Yu's furious onslaught for a short while.

Unlike Hong Tao, the other five Human Tier experts of the Ghost Infant Sect were in much worse shape... Meng Jiu, who was doing the best among them, could still barely hold his ground and had suffered only minor injuries.

But the other four were already covered in wounds under the attacks of their respective teams of three Giant Mantis Beasts. They were like tiny boats on a raging ocean, liable to capsize at any moment amid the howling winds, torrential rain, and towering waves!

The Giant Mantis Beasts possessed the same level of strength as they did: the acquired Human tier!

Their bodies were also incredibly tough, and they fought without fear of death!

Their willingness to trade wound for wound and life for life made the Ghost Infant Sect's Human Tier experts suffer terribly!

After a brief exchange.

On the left side of the battlefield, a Giant Mantis Beast suddenly threw back its head and shrieked.

A pair of wings as thin as a cicada's unfolded on its back, and it leaped with all its strength... in an instant, it was gliding several meters above the ground, streaking like lightning straight toward a Human Tier expert of the Ghost Infant Sect wielding a massive hammer.

This Giant Mantis Beast had been pursuing one of the surviving black-clad Ghost Infant Sect members at Mortal Peak.

Its pursuit had brought it into the area.

Acting entirely on the Giant Mantis Beast Squad's combat instincts, it immediately abandoned the black-clad man it was chasing and joined its three companions in attacking the hammer-wielding Human-tier expert.

In a battle between opponents of equal rank, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Even the smallest mistake or lapse could inflict a fatal wound, bringing immediate defeat and death!

Against three Giant Mantis Beasts, the hammer-wielding Human Tier expert had already been struggling desperately to fend them off... now a fourth had joined, striking in a surprise attack.

He immediately lost control, leaving his defenses wide open!

"No!" Despair filled the hammer-wielding Human Tier expert's eyes as he let out a mournful cry.

Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Amid a flurry of chilling Mantis-blade strikes, the massive hammer was knocked from his hands.

Then a flash of light passed, and the hammer-wielding Human Tier expert stopped moving entirely.

Thud!

A second later, he collapsed where he stood. His body split apart into chunks of flesh that sprayed bright red blood.

The second Human Tier expert of the Ghost Infant Sect had fallen!

"Zhao Tong!"

"No!"

"Die, you damned bugs!" The other injured Human Tier experts of the Ghost Infant Sect saw it happen. Grieving for their companion and fearing the same fate, they roared wildly and attacked the Giant Mantis Beasts around them with every ounce of strength they had.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Blood-red blade light flashed repeatedly through the night, growing more savage and powerful with every attack. By now... Yang Yu had completely suppressed Hong Tao.

The area covered by Hong Tao's flaming fist shadows had shrunk by a full third under the pressure of the blade light. Their glow was also fading, threatening to collapse and vanish at any moment.

"Brat!"

"Even if you defeat us, you'll never escape the Ghost Infant Sect's pursuit!"

"You and those damned bugs of yours will eventually be crushed and wiped out by the forces the Ghost Infant Sect sends after you! Don't get smug. We're nothing more than a few insignificant inner sect disciples!"

"The Ghost Infant Sect's power is beyond your imagination!"

Hong Tao's eyes were bloodshot, and he had become utterly frenzied.

"Kill!"

As he fought, he tried to distract Yang Yu with his words, hoping to put him under mental pressure, create an opening, and find a way to escape alive!

Unfortunately, he was doomed to disappointment!

Yang Yu knew the Ghost Infant Sect's situation all too well. Besides... the second page of the Insect Codex was about to be unsealed, and the Blade Queen would soon finish hatching.

Then Yang Yu would be able to expand his Giant Mantis Beast Squad again, greatly increasing its combat power, while his own strength would advance to the Earth Rank.

The Ghost Infant Sect was powerful?

Yang Yu's potential was no less impressive... as long as he could maneuver around them and buy enough time, there was no telling who would have the last laugh!

Hong Tao's empty threats were destined to accomplish nothing.

Not only was Yang Yu's assault unaffected, but he pursued and battered Hong Tao with ever greater ferocity!

Dozens more attacks crossed amid the blade light and fist shadows.

Another two or three seconds passed.

Finally—Hong Tao exposed an opening in his panic!

A cold gleam flashed in Yang Yu's eyes as he caught that fleeting change with perfect precision.

In a battle between experts, the slightest opening could decide life or death!

Yang Yu turned the blade in his hand.

He drove its edge hard toward the front left, sending a sharp streak of blade light shooting straight at a vital spot on Hong Tao's flank!

"Die!"

This change of attack was sudden, swift, and viciously angled!

It targeted precisely the spot Hong Tao could not move to defend!

"No!!!" Hong Tao screamed in despair and desperately tried to dodge.

But it was already too late.

Bam!

In less than half a second, the blade light Yang Yu unleashed slammed into Hong Tao.

Pfft—

Hong Tao spat a great mouthful of blood into the air. Like a kite with its string cut, he was blasted backward by the exploding blade light. He crashed into the ground, throwing up great swathes of muddy black earth. The tremendous force even plowed a straight furrow more than twenty meters long through the dirt road.

Hong Tao lay on his back, the flesh across his chest and abdomen torn open around a wound that had nearly ripped his entire chest apart... his breathing was barely perceptible!

Yang Yu blurred forward, appearing beside Hong Tao and bringing his blade down!

Whoosh!

A lethal flash of blade light slashed toward Hong Tao's neck without hesitation.

"You wretch!"

"Stop!" At that same moment, a deafening roar erupted from the distant sky. The roar even slowed Yang Yu's falling blade, forcing it to hang suspended in midair.

Beneath that boundless might, even the rolling thunder overhead was momentarily drowned out... then a terrifying sense of danger erupted deep within Yang Yu's soul!

Pressure swept toward him like mountains and seas!

The Ghost Infant Sect's Earth Rank expert, Elder Xu, had finally arrived and made his move!

"An Earth Rank expert?"

"So the Ghost Infant Sect really did send an expert of this level." Anxiety, excitement, and eagerness flickered in Yang Yu's eyes!

An Earth Rank expert was at least ten times stronger than an ordinary Human Tier cultivator!

He could kill a Human Tier cultivator instantly with ease.

With Yang Yu's current cultivation, he should have fled far away upon encountering such an expert, immediately abandoning his slaughter of the remaining Ghost Infant Sect members.

But... Yang Yu understood just as clearly.

There was no avoiding today's battle.

Escape from an enraged Earth Rank expert?

That was almost impossible!

His only choice was to fight!

Victory or defeat would be decided in a battle to the death!

Meanwhile, the Giant Mantis Beast Squad had killed another two Human Tier cultivators... Of the seven Human Tier experts sent by the Ghost Infant Sect, only three remained alive.

The gravely wounded Hong Tao was still beneath Yang Yu's blade!

And those black-clad men with strength at the Mortal Peak?

They had all been killed!

From Yang Yu's sudden attack and summoning of twenty Giant Mantis Beasts from the Life-Soul Space, to the reversal of the battle and slaughter of the Ghost Infant Sect's disciples.

It might have seemed like a long time, but in reality, no more than five minutes had passed.

Amid the wind and rain, fierce gusts whipped up the hem of Yang Yu's clothes, making them snap and flutter. He stood on the blood-soaked battlefield, muddy earth dyed crimson beneath his feet... facing the mountain-and-sea-like pressure pouring down from the distant sky, a savage smile curled his lips.

"Come on!"

"Earth Rank cultivator of the Ghost Infant Sect, let me see just how strong you really are!" Boundless fighting spirit surged through Yang Yu. Without the slightest hesitation, he drove the Yama Battle Blade down hard.

Pfft!!!

Beneath the blade, the gravely wounded Hong Tao, who had no strength left to resist, was instantly beheaded and died in a spray of blood!

"You little bastard, you're asking for death!"

In midair, Elder Xu flew into a thunderous rage.

With several bounds, he covered hundreds of meters with each leap and landing.

Within a second or two, he had leaped high into the air directly ahead of Yang Yu!

"Die!"

Elder Xu thrust his palm down in fury, and a ripple of Cosmic Force so dense it was visible to the naked eye spread outward.

In the blink of an eye, the purple, mist-like Cosmic Force condensed into a radiant purple-black palm bearing immense pressure.

The palm slammed downward. More than a hundred meters across, it enveloped Yang Yu and the vast majority of his Giant Mantis Beasts.

Beneath the overwhelming pressure and killing intent, the legs of some of the more seriously wounded Giant Mantis Beasts buckled. They dropped to their knees, unable to move.

Though the pressure pinned their bodies in place, the fearless Giant Mantis Beasts still raised their heads and let out insect shrieks brimming with fighting spirit!

They feared nothing!

They held nothing back!