Time slipped by. The enemy stood in the light while he remained in the shadows.
Liu Yu circulated the Spirit-Concealing Art, masking his presence as he slowly approached from beyond the range of the scholar-robed cultivator and his companion's Divine Sense.
At one moment, dark clouds drifted across the moon, suddenly dimming the light.
The scholar-robed cultivator's search had yielded nothing, and he turned to speak to the alluring female cultivator.
In that very instant, Liu Yu struck without hesitation!
He controlled the Giant Wood Sword, swiftly enlarging it into a blue-green broadsword roughly ten feet long and two feet wide, then sent it cleaving toward the length of red silk with imposing force!
At the same time, the superior-grade magical artifact, the Golden Dragon Sword, flew from his hand as he formed a rapid succession of hand seals.
The Golden Dragon Sword blazed with spiritual light, growing to three feet long in the blink of an eye. Following the Giant Wood Sword's path, it streaked toward the scholar-robed cultivator right behind it.
In the night sky, the two flying swords became streaks of blue-green and gold, swiftly closing in on the scholar-robed cultivator and his wife.
The light of the flying swords already shone upon them.
Having done this, Liu Yu slapped his Storage Bag and took out the Black Tortoise Shield.
He controlled it to circle his body, guarding against any sudden attack.
The scholar-robed cultivator instantly detected the Giant Wood Sword's spiritual energy fluctuations, but instead of alarm, he felt delight.
The skulking coward has finally shown himself!
"Hmph, finally lost your patience?"
"You actually thought you could ambush us?!"
The scholar-robed cultivator sneered.
But his smile soon froze. The Golden Dragon Sword's astonishing might made his expression change dramatically.
"A superior-grade magical artifact!"
To ordinary rogue cultivators, lineage cultivators, and even sect disciples, superior-grade magical artifacts were far beyond their reach.
Generally, only elite cultivators of the Qi Refining Period could possess one.
Their owners were either rogue cultivators with some renown, direct descendants of a lineage, or elite sect disciples.
In short, they would never be ordinary cultivators.
Once Liu Yu attacked, the Spirit-Concealing Art could no longer conceal him, and his cultivation was instantly exposed before the pair.
But the scholar-robed cultivator had no time to consider how Liu Yu could wield three magical artifacts with his middle Qi Refining cultivation.
The two flying swords were already upon him!
In desperation, he urged his blue-green flying saber to blaze with light. It likewise grew to three feet long and moved to intercept the Golden Dragon Sword.
He hoped his trusty magical artifact could block the golden flying sword's terrifying momentum!
Without pausing, the scholar-robed cultivator then took out a small yellow fork, a lower-grade magical artifact. Enlarging it to five feet long, he hurriedly sent it to intercept the Giant Wood Sword.
Clang, clang!
The Golden Dragon Sword lived up to its status as a superior-grade magical artifact. Under its keen edge, the Green Knife was driven back again and again, reduced to passive defense.
Still, it could not overwhelm the saber immediately and was held off for the moment.
Bang!
The Giant Wood Sword met the small yellow fork and swept it aside with a heavy, powerful blow.
Yet that single strike inevitably consumed some of its power.
It then slammed into the red silk, forcing a large section of it inward.
A faint layer of red light quickly appeared across the Red Silk's surface.
Then a force rebounded outward from within, driving the Giant Wood Sword back. It tumbled two or three times before barely steadying itself.
Only then did the alluring female cultivator react.
Her willow-leaf brows drew together, her expression grave. She quickly took out a ruler-shaped lower-grade magical artifact and deployed it, enlarging it to ten feet long.
The ruler-shaped magical artifact spun and lashed toward the Giant Wood Sword's flank.
Then she took several talismans from her Storage Bag, infused them with a trace of magical power to break their seals, and activated the spells within.
They transformed into several fireballs, ice spikes, and similar spells, which she sent flying toward Liu Yu without even looking.
Smack!
The Giant Wood Sword had yet to steady itself, caught at the moment when its old force was spent and new force had not yet arisen.
Taken by surprise, it was struck by the ruler-shaped magical artifact and driven back repeatedly.
Liu Yu's expression remained cold, the lake of his heart without a ripple as he calmly assessed the situation.
Intent on seizing every opportunity, he was even calmer than during his last battle.
He pointed with one hand, moving the Black Tortoise Shield to easily block the incoming ice spikes and fireballs.
At the same time, with a thought, he used his Divine Sense to make the Giant Wood Sword withdraw sharply, evading the pincer attack from the ruler-shaped magical artifact and the small yellow fork. It gathered its power, poised to strike.
Meanwhile, he increased the magical power flowing into the Golden Dragon Sword, leaving one scar after another on the blue-green flying saber's blade.
The Golden Dragon Sword's offensive power surpassed even that of ordinary superior-grade magical artifacts. The Green Knife was merely an ordinary middle-grade magical artifact; how could it meet that edge head-on?
Clang, clang!
Under the fierce exchange, several sword marks had already been left on the Green Knife's blade.
Its spiritual light began to dim, and its might gradually waned. Clearly, it would not hold out much longer.
This man's strength...
At the sight, the scholar-robed cultivator's face paled slightly, and a sudden wave of unease swept through his heart.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
He swiftly drew a small oval mirror of an antique design from his sleeve, gripping its frame as he continuously poured magical power into it.
A breath later, a beam of white light shot from the oval mirror, piercing the darkness and instantly illuminating the Golden Dragon Sword.
Under the white light, the circulation of magical power within the Golden Dragon Sword abruptly grew sluggish.
Almost simultaneously, its spiritual light dimmed slightly and its power weakened, allowing the Green Knife to barely hold it in check.
Seeing this, the scholar-robed cultivator felt a little relief.
Yet he dared not grow careless. His lips moved as he hurriedly sent a Divine Sense transmission to the alluring female cultivator.
She nodded and poured magical power into the two magical artifacts without restraint, directing the ruler-shaped magical artifact and the small yellow fork to attack the Giant Wood Sword together, hoping to make it their point of breakthrough.
Liu Yu's expression was solemn, his hands never pausing in their seals.
He made the Giant Wood Sword turn slightly. Blue-green light flared as it swept toward the two magical artifacts.
Boom!
The Giant Wood Sword truly deserved to be the fine magical artifact the Pockmarked Cultivator had selected through years of killing and plundering. Its performance did not disappoint.
It blocked both magical artifacts at once and even seemed to hold a slight advantage.
For a time, the battle actually fell into a stalemate!
At this, a sheen of cold sweat appeared on Liu Yu's forehead.
He understood that allowing the stalemate to continue would put him at a severe disadvantage.
Although his cultivation had improved considerably, he was still in middle Qi Refining.
Wielding two middle-grade magical artifacts and one superior-grade magical artifact at the same time rapidly drained his magical power. He already had less than half of his full reserves left.
I can't let this stalemate continue. I have to break the balance!
With that thought, Liu Yu willed a stack of talismans into his hand.
They were precisely the Fireball Talismans and Fire Serpent Talismans he had previously purchased in the Market Ward!
Infusing them with magical power and breaking their seals, he swiftly unleashed the Fireball Technique.
Ten orange-red fireballs appeared in a vertical line, shooting toward the red silk like arrows.
Without pausing, Liu Yu waved his hand and activated another ten Fireball Talismans, sending them in a line to bombard the red silk.
Even after this, he was not reassured. He reached for his Storage Bag, took out three Fire Serpent Talismans, and activated them.
They transformed into three long flames with faintly serpentine outlines. Their flames roared as they shot toward the scholar-robed cultivator with menacing force.
The barrage of flames bathed everything within half a li in red light, even raising the temperature slightly.
It was as though they stood amid an ocean of fire!
At the sight, the scholar-robed cultivator's face changed in alarm.
But the oval mirror required a continuous supply of magical power to maintain its effect, leaving him unable to spare a hand.
Otherwise, without its support, the Green Knife would swiftly lose to the Golden Dragon Sword.
The alluring female cultivator also looked terrified. She hurriedly reached into her Storage Bag and took out all her talismans.
Her fair little hands waved repeatedly as she activated every last one.
They transformed into several ice spikes that moved to intercept the fireballs, along with a golden barrier that enclosed both the red silk magical artifact and the pair.
Then, not daring to pause, the alluring female cultivator formed seals with her slender fingers in rapid succession.
She released two balls of water, trying to neutralize some of the Fireball Techniques.
Boom, boom, boom!!!
A succession of explosions and impacts rang through the woods.
The fireballs, arranged like an arrow, collided with the ice spikes and water balls and were extinguished by them. The few at the arrow's tip quickly went out.
In the end, more than a dozen remained, continuing toward the golden barrier.
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