"Boom!"
Amid an explosion like a thunderclap, a smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down.
"So they finally broke through that rebound restriction?"
Xiao Yan gazed calmly at the scene below. The moment he had long awaited had finally arrived.
A moment earlier, Yuan Qing, who had been pounding the rebound restriction with all his might, suddenly went pale. He forcibly twisted his body in midair as he flew toward the restriction and struck backward with his palm at a spot in the void. At the same time, the two remaining incarnations on either side of him rushed toward him.
Yuan Qing's palm finally slammed into a bony hand that had suddenly emerged from the void. A few breaths later, a violent explosion erupted beside the two men. They were only a few dozen feet from the mountain wall, and Yuan Qing and Old Ghost Yan Mo, being at the center of the blast, naturally suffered the worst injuries. As the two incarnations exploded, a tremendous storm of energy swept across a vast stretch of forest, and both men were sent flying backward by its force. The restriction on the mountain wall was left teetering on the brink, as though one final blow could bring the entire mountain crashing down. It looked extremely dangerous.
The next moment, Yuan Qing's body, bent forward as he flew backward, slammed into the already tottering curtain of light formed by the restriction. With a crisp sound like shattering glass, the curtain of light that had displayed such might earlier broke apart. Even so, the rebound force unleashed when the curtain of light collided with Yuan Qing's body in that final blow added to his already serious injuries.
Old Ghost Yan Mo, who had exchanged a palm strike with Yuan Qing just now, had also suffered some injuries, but compared with Yuan Qing's, they truly amounted to nothing.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough! Old Ghost Yan Mo, you... you despicable wretch!" Yuan Qing cursed with blood-red eyes as he watched Old Ghost Yan Mo slowly approach, blood pouring from his mouth.
Yuan Qing no longer looked like the immortal sage he had been at the start. His cyan robes were in tatters, with a gaping hole torn in the back. The exposed skin had been scraped bloody and raw, with gleaming white bone faintly visible beneath. His face was covered in blood, and thin streams still dripped from his lips, staining a large patch of his long cyan robes red. His snow-white hair flew wildly, several silver-white strands stuck to his blood-covered face, making him look savage and terrifying, giving off a chill that came from deep within a person's heart.
"Hehehehe, old Yuan Qing, how did it feel to take my Demonic Cloud Heaven Devouring Palm? Hahahaha!" Old Ghost Yan Mo approached Yuan Qing step by step, letting out bursts of mocking laughter as he stared blankly at him.
Most of the black mist around Old Ghost Yan Mo had dispersed, exposing part of his gaunt body, but his face wore the look of a man certain of victory. Each step he took seemed to tread on Yuan Qing's heart, and fear rose from the depths of Yuan Qing's heart, leaving him too afraid to move.
High in the sky, Xiao Yan watched everything with a calm expression, his Dou Qi circulating through his meridians. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Old Ghost Yan Mo, ready to attack at any moment. Experts at their level had extremely powerful perception. Without sufficient confidence, no one would launch a sneak attack lightly, because no one could be certain whether the person they attacked had a trump card left, or whether the other party had already discovered them the instant they made their move. In that case, even a successful sneak attack would not do much good, for if the other party had discovered them long ago, how would they let the attack succeed?
Old Ghost Yan Mo continued slowly toward Yuan Qing. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy suppressing an enemy psychologically and making them feel fear.
Thirty feet. At last, only thirty feet separated Old Ghost Yan Mo from Yuan Qing.
Yuan Qing had gradually grown numb to the fearful pressure Old Ghost Yan Mo exerted. He slowly raised his head and calmly looked at Old Ghost Yan Mo, who was only thirty feet away. His expressionless face made Old Ghost Yan Mo's slow advance falter slightly. Then anger flared in Old Ghost Yan Mo's heart: he had actually been frightened by a dying man. He abruptly quickened his pace and reached Yuan Qing in a few breaths.
"Hehehehehe, old Yuan Qing, you were probably just thinking about how to kill me after breaking the restriction, weren't you? What a pity, this old man was a little quicker than you, hehehehehe!"
Old Ghost Yan Mo reached out, and an ink-black, three-foot sword appeared in his hand. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he slowly raised it above his head. He stared at Yuan Qing, his eyes brimming with bloodlust, then brought the sword slashing down.
"A good chance! Mystic Fire Finger, kill!"
Xiao Yan seized the opportunity and immediately dived down, unleashing a Mystic Fire Finger as he went.
Old Ghost Yan Mo was about to kill Yuan Qing, but when the ink-black sword was less than a foot from Yuan Qing's head, he abruptly forced his wrist around and swung it back to block above him.
"Crack!"
Old Ghost Yan Mo's hurried defense did little. After holding for only an instant, the ink-black sword in his hands snapped with a crisp crack. Xiao Yan's powerful finger strike paused for a moment, then continued blasting toward Old Ghost Yan Mo.
Sensing the terrifying danger bearing down on him, Old Ghost Yan Mo's expression turned grave. He could clearly sense that there was something extraordinary about this move. If it struck him, he would probably be badly injured even if he survived. And once he was gravely wounded, he would face a choice between life and death.
Old Ghost Yan Mo had cultivated for so many years to gain his lifespan; how could he give it up easily? Since he could not give it up, he could only sacrifice something else. As things stood, there was no way to evade this Mystic Fire Finger attack. He had already been locked onto by its presence, so his only option now was to do his best to move his vital points out of its path.
Acting on the thought, Old Ghost Yan Mo watched the rapidly approaching Mystic Fire Finger with a grave expression and forcibly twisted his body in midair, successfully moving his vital points out of its path.
"Yellow Springs Heavenly Wrath! Moo!!"
Old Ghost Yan Mo's dodging body faltered slightly. He reacted a moment later, but it was already too late. When experts exchanged blows, victory or defeat was decided in an instant. And so, the next moment-
"Ah!"
A sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and Old Ghost Yan Mo screamed violently, his face contorted. The enormous impact sent him flying backward, his body skimming the ground and leaving a furrow several hundred meters long. He snapped several enormous ancient trees along the way before slamming into a rock wall, finally stopping when his body became embedded in the hard stone.
Xiao Yan stood quietly where he was. He glanced at Yuan Qing, whose face was full of gratitude as he used a medicinal pill to treat his injuries, then looked toward Old Ghost Yan Mo with anticipation.
Although Old Ghost Yan Mo had indeed been struck by Xiao Yan's Mystic Fire Finger and had snapped dozens of ancient trees along the way, at their level of strength, his body was already incomparably tough. For him, such injuries were no more than superficial. Given some time to recover, he would naturally heal completely.
"Boom!"
Stone chips flew in all directions, raising a cloud of dust. A breeze swept past, scattering the dust and revealing a figure who looked somewhat weak. With Old Ghost Yan Mo's physical cultivation, he need not have been in such a state, but he had first been injured by Yuan Qing's two incarnations and then taken a Mystic Fire Finger from Xiao Yan, which was why he appeared somewhat weakened.
Old Ghost Yan Mo's black robes were completely shredded, and most of the black mist surrounding him had dispersed, revealing the body he had hidden within it. He was as thin as a stick, with shriveled skin. On his right shoulder was a thumb-sized, charred black hole that had clearly been burned by fire, and a faint smell of scorched meat wafted from it.
Old Ghost Yan Mo glanced in surprise at the wound on his right shoulder. The damage he had imagined had not materialized. Seeing that he had not been badly hurt after all, he immediately relaxed, thinking that this person's attack was nothing special and had merely been a bluff. He looked mockingly at Xiao Yan, who had been watching him from a distance. Only when he saw the cold smile on Xiao Yan's face did he suddenly realize that something was wrong.
"Bang!"
The next instant, a violent boom erupted inside Old Ghost Yan Mo's body. As though struck a heavy blow, he spat blood and shot backward. With a crash, he fell into the pile of rocks once more, unable to move.
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