By then, the late Core Formation cultivator guarding the final restriction had also noticed what was happening. Panic seized him, and he hurried to a spot not far behind the long-bearded elder, knelt, and begged forgiveness:
"Grand Elder, this has nothing to do with me! I truly have no idea how this man got in here!"
"Silence!"
The long-bearded elder swept his sleeve, sending the man flying backward.
With a thud, he rolled several times across the ground, breaking the bridge of his nose. Blood covered his face, but he dared not make a sound.
"Would you be Fellow Daoist Dongmen Tu, Grand Elder of the Spirit Controlling Sect?" Xiao Yu asked with an awkward smile.
"Early Nascent Soul Stage! Your face is quite unfamiliar, Fellow Daoist. May I ask your name... What are you doing?!" Before Dongmen Tu could finish, he shouted again, then waved his hand to summon a ring-shaped magic treasure and sent it hurtling toward Xiao Yu.
While he was speaking, Xiao Yu had opened his mouth and spat out a golden thread. Upon meeting the air, it transformed into a string of flying swords, each about a foot long. Golden light flashed as they shot in every direction, instantly vanishing from sight.
The next moment, a golden barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping the entire underground space.
At the same time, thick black radiance poured from the ring the long-bearded elder had summoned. In a flash, it expanded to several dozen feet across, then flickered and appeared before Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu neither dodged nor evaded. He simply clenched his right hand into a fist and punched forward fiercely.
A thunderous boom reverberated through the entire space. The ring, so imposing a moment earlier, flew backward even faster than it had come.
With a thunk, it embedded