Cui Zhixia turned his head and saw a man wearing straw sandals, with a Bamboo Knife tucked at an angle and a vermilion gourd hanging at his waist.
The man crouched on a huge rock diagonally above him, looking down at him with a mocking smile.
"You?"
Cui Zhixia's expression darkened. He slowly pushed his sword from its sheath with a rasping scrape. His long hair stirred without any wind, and fierce killing intent radiated from his entire body. "You're courting death yourself. Don't blame me!"
"I really like that proud, untamable look of yours. I hope you can keep it up!"
Liu Chuang grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, gripped his saber with both hands, and leaped down.
Cui Zhixia thrust his sword. Its talisman instantly burst open, sending seven crimson flame-patterns tearing through the air. Wrapped in the scorching force of the Nine-Turn Profound Art, the blade seemed to unleash seven dancing Golden Crows, targeting Liu Chuang's face, throat, chest center, Dan Foundation, and other vital points.
This was the Sword Talisman Way's "Seven Baleful Flames Scorch the Heavens." Even half a flicker of its sword-flame would char an ordinary cultivator's skin and rot their flesh. Having failed to kill He An earlier, Cui Zhixia vented all his pent-up fury on this fellow with the infuriating smile.
Liu Chuang held the saber in his left hand. The Bamboo Knife moved as swiftly as a shadow—not through the propulsion of true qi, but through sheer hand speed.
As the blade flashed, Cui Zhixia saw an exceedingly faint yellow glow rise over it and could not help frowning.
This man's aura was too clean, like a pebble washed by a stream for a thousand years. No true qi leaked from him, nor was there the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power. Even