By dawn the next day, after a night of fighting, both the evil cultivators and the Liu Household cultivators were utterly exhausted, their magical power nearly depleted. The Little Four Symbols Formation had also lost much of its strength because the lineage cultivators lacked magical power and had consumed enormous quantities of spirit stones. Powerful as the formation was, its consumption was immense!
Yet neither side dared speak lightly of retreat, for one side falling back could easily lead to a complete rout. Now it all came down to who would buckle first.
At this point, the two sides were roughly evenly matched, though the Liu Lineage cultivators still held a slight advantage thanks to their formation.
Seeing this, the evil cultivators' leaders conferred and decided to make one more desperate push. If it failed, they would withdraw!
Seeing this, Liu Changxu sent his father a voice transmission with his suggestion!
After hearing it, his father, Liu Shihao, laughed and scolded, "My son, that's one devilishly clever idea!"
Then he discussed it with Grand Elder Liu Qiusheng and the other elders!
Soon, the evil cultivators launched a fierce assault. Determined to make one more desperate push, the burly evil cultivator leader brought out two Second-Tier Fire Python Talismans from his last reserves. Two enormous flaming pythons, each over ten zhang long, hurtled toward the formation's light barrier. Unable to withstand their ferocious assault, the barrier gave off thunderous cracks and shattered!
The evil cultivators cheered loudly at the sight and charged toward the Liu Household cultivators.
But in their excitement, the evil cultivators failed to notice that the Liu Household cultivators were merely falling back, with little panic on their faces!
Soon, the evil cultivators were locked in combat with the Liu Household cultivators.
What the evil cultivators had not expected was that mist would suddenly rise beneath the previously clear skies. Many of their nearby companions vanished without a trace, and even their spiritual senses were severely affected. They could only faintly hear cries of battle!
The evil cultivators were no fools either, and cried out, "We've been tricked!"
They hurriedly rushed outward. The Liu Lineage's Little Cloud Mist Maze Formation had been activated.
Inside the formation, the evil cultivators could no longer coordinate with one another! Meanwhile, the Liu Household cultivators broke away from them and worked together to attack those evil cultivators about to escape the formation.
With several Liu Household cultivators fighting each evil cultivator, five evil cultivators were soon killed! By now, the scales of power had tipped toward the Liu Household cultivators.
Seeing this, the evil cultivator leaders who had already escaped the formation hurriedly gathered their forces, hoping to flee!
How could the Liu Household cultivators let them have their way? They immediately organized the lineage cultivators and set off in pursuit of the evil cultivators.
Liu Changxu also pursued a severely wounded evil cultivator in late-stage Qi Refinement. That evil cultivator's Lightness Technique was quite impressive. Had he not been gravely wounded, Liu Changxu would never have been able to keep up.
Two other lineage members joined Liu Changxu in pursuing this evil cultivator, but they were soon left behind. Amid these towering mountains and rugged ridges, there were far too many places to hide. This evil cultivator was a seasoned, crafty veteran, darting into the forest one moment and running into a mountain gully the next. That was how he shook off Liu Changxu's two fellow lineage members!
The reason Liu Changxu had not been shaken off was Xiao Qing's presence! Demonic beasts' greatest advantage over human cultivators was their extraordinarily keen sense of smell. No matter how the evil cultivator ran, it was useless; he simply could not shake off Liu Changxu's pursuit.
Seeing this, the evil cultivator stopped and took out his upper-grade first-tier magical artifact, the Purple Gold Sword, sending the sword flying toward Liu Changxu.
Liu Changxu sent the Dragon Spring Sword flying to meet the Purple Gold Sword. The two magical swords collided head-on, scattering sparks and ringing out with a piercing clang!
This evil cultivator was at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement. Although his magical power surpassed Liu Changxu's, his grievous injuries left him barely holding on. Liu Changxu, meanwhile, cultivated both magical power and his body, and had no fear of a battle of attrition. He soon gained the upper hand.
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