A Bitter Battle

"What? Did I hear that right? Has this Sword Cultivator gone mad? He said he wants to kill her?"

Everyone was horrified.

Even Gu Zang, who had remained composed all along, looked startled.

"Kill me?" Bai Nishang froze, then ripped off her red bridal veil and snapped, "Just try it if you dare!"

But before she finished speaking, Li Yang had already charged at her with the Seven-Star Sword Formation.

"If you've got the guts, stick your head under my sword and try me!"

The killing intent he had accumulated along the way had long since taken tangible form.

The liquid spiritual energy in his dantian grew ever darker, as terrifying as the sea of blood the Blood River Path's Demon Scion had become.

But the latter was utterly yin and evil, while the former's bloody hue came from the purest killing intent!

"He really dares to kill the Household Ancestor Ning's mortalized body?"

Even now, some still refused to believe Li Yang would truly dare.

But Ning Xinyao, who had followed them here, sighed.

She was now completely certain-Li Yang had killed Junior Sister Shen Lou'er!

He was a madman who cared nothing for the consequences and sought only the fleeting thrill of slaughter!

Gu Zang's expression changed completely.

Without hesitation, he drew Bai Nishang, who had yet to react, into the Five-Element Small World inside his pendant.

He dared not gamble on whether a madman would kill, or whether he had the nerve.

He promptly turned and fled.

At the same time, he did not forget to shout at Xuan Shi, Golden Eyes, and the others:

"What are you standing around for? This man has gone mad, but this is your chance!

Even if you can't win her love, earning merit by protecting her is still a great opportunity!

If any of you distinguish yourselves, you might even have a chance to let her experience a second romance!"

There was no denying that Gu Zang reacted extremely quickly.

Knowing how terrifying Li Yang was when controlling the Seven-Star Sword Formation, he understood that his only option was to turn his former rivals into allies.

He gave them a common enemy and a promising opportunity-

Stop Li Yang from killing Bai Nishang.

They caught on as well, unleashing Magic Treasures and spells at Li Yang and his six companions.

This was indeed an opportunity.

Li Yang now stood as the villain opposing Bai Nishang. This was their chance!

Under the combined assault of more than ten prodigies, Li Yang had no choice but to dodge.

Gu Zang stopped fleeing too, turning to play a Demon Flute.

At times, its notes sobbed softly; at others, they rang out clear and bright.

They ignored defensive measures and the Seven-Star Sword Formation, acting directly upon all seven of them.

The Path of Love?

Li Yang's emotions grew tangled.

With the flute's melody, he sank into dejection, then sorrow, then anger...

And as his anger surged, his killing intent soared along with it!

Endless killing intent consumed his heart completely, and his eyes turned scarlet.

"I'll slaughter you!"

Gu Zang froze.

This was not what he had expected.

Instead of growing sluggish, Li Yang's sword became even more terrifying and extreme.

Inside the formation, Su Hen and the others were also steeped in that killing intent, barely managing to suppress the demonic melody's influence.

"These Sword Maniacs!"

Gu Zang summoned a Magic Treasure to defend himself, but it was breached, and a streak of Sword Qi struck his chest.

"My darling Gu!"

Bai Nishang's worried voice rang out from inside the pendant.

Then she cursed Li Yang. "You vicious bastard! My darling Gu and I love each other. Even if you're playing hard to get, don't dream of tearing us apart!"

"A pity-I failed to shatter the Five-Element Small World. Otherwise, once I cut you down, the others would retreat on their own." Li Yang shook his head.

He had unleashed that streak of Sword Qi.

Gu Zang had not been his target.

It had been Bai Nishang!

The other prodigies were already charging in. If Bai Nishang died, they would have no reason to keep fighting.

He immediately soared up on his sword, evading the prodigies' attacks.

But one spell cultivator had prepared for this.

A Golden Seal flew from his sleeve, swelling in the wind.

In an instant, it grew a thousand zhang across and descended upon the Seven-Star Sword Formation.

"Suppress!"

Li Yang immediately maneuvered the sword formation out of the way, but the shock wave still caught them, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

They had fought their way here and expended considerable strength.

Within the Seven-Star Sword Formation, aside from Li Yang and Su Hen, the other five were all skilled swordsmen, but there was still a gap between them and these dozen or so true prodigies.

This was a bitter battle.

Li Yang immersed himself in it completely, not daring to let his guard slip for an instant.

Surrounded and relentlessly pursued by more than ten prodigies, he kept shifting and maneuvering.

With a ferocity that disregarded his own life, he cut down three of them by sheer force.

But the Seven-Star Sword Formation was damaged too, and all seven of them kept coughing up blood.

"They can't hold out much longer!"

"Exactly! However strong his swordsmanship is, he's only at the peak of Qi Refining. Kill him!"

Yet the more they thought this way, the harder they found it to kill Li Yang.

The injuries of Li Yang and his companions only grew worse, but two more of their attackers were cut down.

This made Xuan Shi consider retreating.

He had fought Li Yang before and knew how terrifying this Sword Cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining was.

That was why he had been going through the motions without putting his full strength into the fight.

The urge to retreat immediately took root in his heart.

Bai Nishang's voice rang out from Gu Zang's pendant again:

"Fellow Daoists! If you can kill this man, I will owe each of you a favor!"

Everyone shuddered.

A favor!

A favor from a Mahayana Void Immortal!

Although this was only her mortalized body, and her true self might not honor it.

What if she did?

Those who had begun considering retreat promptly chose to stake their lives.

For a time, the pressure on Li Yang multiplied.

They were all prodigies, with trump cards and techniques emerging one after another.

Until, in the end.

Only Gu Zang, the male cultivator from the Moonlit Holy Land, Golden Eyes, and Xuan Shi remained.

Xuan Shi glanced at Ning Xinyao, who was watching from afar, and Maid Xiao Feng beside her.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his escape trump card and fled.

The Seven-Star Sword Formation still stood.

Within it, three Sword Cultivators were already dead.

Blood streamed from their seven orifices; they had been shaken to death.

The remaining four, including Li Yang, were barely holding on.

"Brother Li, we really can't hold out any longer!" Su Hen gritted his teeth. They had already consumed every healing pill.

Crack!

The demonic melody struck as Gu Zang played a Funeral Dirge.

Vast demon essence surged, shattering the Seven-Star Sword Formation completely.

Su Hen immediately pulled away with the other two Sword Cultivators, who were almost unable to fight.

"Brother Li, as long as the green mountains remain, you'll never lack firewood!"

But Li Yang shook his head:

"You go first."

Su Hen wanted to speak but stopped himself, gritting his teeth and cupping his fist.

Then he summoned a silvery-white talisman, which enveloped the three of them, tore open the void, and carried them away.

"Without the sword formation or your companions, you still dare to stay here when you're only at the peak of Qi Refining?" Gu Zang chuckled.

By now, Li Yang's dantian was severely depleted, and his body had been battered by violent shocks.

The intensity of the fighting had left even his mind dazed.

Only his fierce, terrifying sword intent grew ever deeper!

"How could I leave without cutting down you and that whore?"

Holding his Spirit Sword, Li Yang once again unleashed a piercing sword cry.

"Let me!"

Golden Eyes made his move.

Only now did he reveal his true strength.

His hands transformed into dragon claws, a dragon tail grew out, and two dragon horns emerged atop his fearsome head.

"I had no wish to reveal my true form, but you have thoroughly enraged me."

He was a dragon with a powerful bloodline.

No wonder he had used no Magic Treasures throughout the battle. His body itself was his strongest Magic Treasure!

Clang, clang, clang...

As Li Yang clashed with him, metallic ringing sounded incessantly, accompanied by bursts of sparks.

Those were signs that Li Yang's Spirit Sword was taking damage.

Notches appeared along its blade, revealing just how terrifying the dragon's body was.

But Li Yang's sword was also incomparably sharp, leaving bloody cuts across the golden dragon's body.

"What a thrill!" the golden dragon roared.

He transformed completely into a golden dragon a hundred zhang long.

But while the two were fighting, the male cultivator from the Moonlit Holy Land suddenly appeared behind Li Yang.

He thrust out a finger-

"Annihilate!"

This was a pseudo-Divine Ability of terrifying power.

It could bind the surrounding space and destroy everything within that area.

A look of satisfaction spread across his face.

He cared nothing for a fair one-on-one fight. Why clash head-on when he could launch a sneak attack?

Yet something struck him as wrong.

Li Yang, who had been attacking the golden dragon, suddenly turned as though he had anticipated this.

In his left hand, he held a Sword Talisman that was activating.

In an instant, a phantom of his master, Lu Feng, appeared behind Li Yang and thrust out a sword!

The power of a Sword Talisman actually depended largely on the strength of the Sword Cultivator activating it.

Not their cultivation level, but their mastery of the sword.

This was Li Yang's first time activating a Sword Talisman, and its power exceeded his expectations.

Even Lu Feng's phantom shimmered with a red glow of killing intent. This sword strike was terrifyingly fierce.

With a single thrust, it shattered the Moonlit Holy Land cultivator's life-preserving measures, layer by layer.

"No-!"

He screamed wretchedly, but was ultimately cleaved in two.

While fighting the golden dragon, Li Yang had already sensed this man's killing intent suddenly surge. He was bound to launch a sneak attack.

This was also why he had been able to kill the Blood River Path's Demon Scion so easily in their earlier clash.

Unable to see inside the blood river, he had located his enemy purely by sensing his killing intent.

But after killing this man, his back was left completely exposed to the golden dragon's attack.

A claw struck him and sent him flying.

The inner armor he wore beneath his clothes was torn apart, and several bloody gashes stretched from his left shoulder across to his right waist.