Above the lake surface.
The old cultivator's body half plunged into the water with a splash, creating a large red halo.
Fang Xi reached out, grabbing the gourd magical tool and storage pouch left behind by the old man, deep in thought.
"The speed of the 'Black Cloud Pouch' is still too slow. If it weren't for this old cultivator being careless and flying confidently towards me, allowing me to turn defense into offense catching him off guard, I might not have been able to get this close without resorting to using the 'Flying Talisman.'
This is also a drawback of body cultivation, lacking in long-range attacks.
"Not only in long-range attacks, but also in reconnaissance."
Fang Xi leaned on the Xuan Iron Sword, trying to investigate the situation on the central battlefield, but found himself unable to...
While the old wooden Daoist and the Wei couple chose to flee in different directions with great tacit understanding, their fates were now uncertain.
"What if... I change into a different set of clothes now, disguise myself, and go back for the kill?"
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
Relying on the 'Qi Circulating Throughout the Body' of a grandmaster along with the Xuan Iron Sword, Fang Xi was confident in taking down a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.
At that moment, the balance of the battlefield would surely shift!
"But it's a bit too deliberate. Ruan Xingling only has a few people on her side. If she randomly guesses, she'll know it's definitely related to us... If I investigate one by one, I'll expose myself...
"Although revealing my identity doesn't seem like a big deal, it's still somewhat inappropriate... With such high strength, it's easy to arouse suspicion and wariness. This woman is not easy to deceive...
"Let's just wait quietly for the results. I believe in Ruan Xingling's shrewdness; she must have some hidden cards...
"Even if I lose the bet, I can always look for another opportunity, or perhaps become the head of the Spiritual Plant Department at the Guiye Divine Sect?"
...
Above the lake reef battlefield.
A mass of blue fluorescence intertwined with dark clouds, faintly revealing dancing blue butterflies and howling spirits...
Lu Jingqing relied on the Diamond Talisman to protect himself, sitting cross-legged, silently circulating his profound energy. He had already dispelled the transformation of the Red Ape and his eyelids were twitching frequently, indicating that he would soon regain his ability to move.
As for Ruan Xingling?
With her cultivation only at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, she was besieged by the Kou brothers, in a very dangerous situation.
"Haha... Big brother, put in more effort, this little girl can't hold on much longer!"
The second Kou brother wielded a golden dragon blade, slashing wildly at Ruan Xingling's flower basket.
Every time Ruan Xingling's protective flower basket was hit, petals scattered, and it seemed like the spiritual plants inside the basket were withering.
The eldest Kou brother was much more composed, using a top-grade weapon, a golden dragon hammer!
This top-grade weapon was extremely heavy, entangled with Ruan Xingling's flying sword. Every strike would make the sword emit a mournful cry.
The two of them joining forces to attack Ruan Xingling seemed to have the upper hand.
Suddenly, the eldest Kou brother revealed a sly smile and exerted all his spiritual power!
Boom!
The golden dragon hammer suddenly expanded several times, its scales seeming to come alive as golden light shimmered, and with a heavy blow, it landed directly on the blade of the flying sword!
Buzz!
A clear crack appeared on the surface of the flying sword, and it was smashed into the lake, creating ripples.
"Wu..."
Standing on the flower basket, Ruan Xingling, protected by thousands of petals, instantly blushed, then turned extremely pale.
"Haha... Die!"
Seizing the opportunity, the second Kou brother's golden dragon blade turned into a streak of light, rapidly expanding, breaking through the defense of the flower basket, and aiming directly at Ruan Xingling's slender and fair neck!
Although he was fond of wealth and beauty, he was ruthless towards ordinary-looking female cultivators, showing no mercy.
Ding ling ling!
Just as the blade light broke through the flower basket, Ruan Xingling gently shook her left hand.
A pleasant bell sound suddenly rang out.
Both Kou brothers felt a shock in their minds, as if they had been hit on the head, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
The top-grade weapons, the golden dragon blade and the golden dragon hammer, were like drunken men in mid-air, swaying unsteadily.
Seizing the opportunity, Ruan Xingling tapped her storage pouch, and a shimmering rune flew out.
After infusing it with spiritual power, the rune instantly activated, emitting flashes of lightning!
Second-grade lower-tier - Thunder Strike Rune!
Zap!
A purple lightning bolt seemed to descend from the sky, directly hitting the eldest Kou brother!
The defensive light around the eldest Kou brother shattered like paper, his robe instantly dimmed, turning into flying ashes.
Boom!
After the lightning, the upper half of the eldest Kou brother's body was charred, his vitality rapidly weakening, clearly seriously injured!
"Big brother?!"
Recovering from his daze, the second Kou brother panicked, quickly manipulating the golden dragon blade to guard in front of his big brother.
"It's a special weapon that directly attacks the sea of consciousness! And a second-grade rune! Ruan family girl, you've hidden it well!"
The eldest Kou brother spat out a mouthful of blood, panting.
"I didn't expect that you, the eldest Kou brother, are actually a third-level body cultivator! Otherwise... that lightning just now would have surely been fatal for you!"
Ruan Xingling toyed with the bell in her hand, her tone devoid of much fluctuation.
"Hmph! So what now?"
The eldest Kou brother tore off his upper body clothing, revealing a fierce demeanor.
But in the next moment, he froze.
One, two, three...
Ruan Xingling smiled as she took out three second-grade runes of different colors but with strong spiritual power fluctuations from her storage pouch, saying with a smile, "Please proceed!"
"Not good, split up!"
The eldest Kou brother shouted in alarm, chanting a spell with his hands, his wounds bursting open, a burst of blood light appearing, enveloping his entire body, swiftly fleeing in one direction, displaying an incredibly fast Blood Escape technique!
"Big brother!"
Seeing his big brother run, the second Kou brother could only choose another direction, turning into a streak of golden light and escaping.
On the spot, Ruan Xingling watched the two Kou brothers flee, suddenly smiling wryly as the runes instantly turned illusory, bursting into specks of light... They were all fake!
"Too bad, couldn't keep these two, even if the runes were real, I don't have that much spiritual power left."
She sighed lightly, looking at the Yin-named cultivator entangled with Feng Baimeng, nodding, "At least one person must be left today!"
Ruan Xingling controlled the flower basket, flying towards Feng Baimeng's battlefield, the pleasant bell sound ringing once again...
...
"Damn it, I didn't expect that girl to be so tricky!"
The second Kou brother controlled his escape light, flying out tens of miles in an instant.
He gritted his teeth inwardly, "Both of us brothers have lost this time. Sigh... Ever since the third brother left inexplicably, my luck has been getting worse and worse..."
"I'll remember today's grudge for now, and the Ruan family will pay in the future! Hmph!"
The second Kou brother was lamenting his defeat when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slowly moving black cloud magical tool.
There was a person standing on the magical tool, holding a huge black iron sword, seemingly gazing at the battlefield.
Upon seeing his escape light, he was immediately frightened and turned to flee.
"It's that woman's subordinate!"
A flash of malice crossed the second Kou brother's eyes, about to chase and kill the person!
But in the next moment, he retracted that thought, "Escaping is more important... You're lucky this time!"
...
"Why isn't he chasing after me? That doesn't fit the nature of a calamity cultivator!"
Fang Xi had been acting for a while, only to find that the escape light seemed to be leaving directly, feeling a bit frustrated.
If the other party had come straight at him, he could have reenacted the scene of killing the old cultivator earlier, saving a 'Flying Talisman.'
"Too bad, what a pity!"
He sighed, took out the 'Flying Talisman,' and slapped it on himself.
With the operation of spiritual power, his body soared straight up, moving several times faster than the Black Cloud Pouch!
In the next moment, the second Kou brother saw the fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator not fleeing but flying towards him, and couldn't help but roar, "You're looking for death!"
The golden dragon blade turned into a streak of light, swiftly killing him!
Fang Xi stood his ground, shouting.
With the True Qi released outward, his whole body seemed to be covered in a layer of crimson gauze!
Clang!
The golden dragon blade struck the True Qi and was directly bounced away.
In the next moment, he met the horrified gaze of the second Kou brother.
Flying Talisman!
Qi Circulating Throughout the Body!
The Xuan Iron Sword emitted a roar, and a three-inch crimson sword aura appeared at the blade and tip of the sword!
"Chop!"
Fang Xi held the sword with both hands, raised it high, and struck with all his might!
Puff!
The Xuan Iron Sword, infused with True Qi, easily cut through the golden protective shield, landing on the second Kou brother.
After moving a distance away, the second Kou brother seemed to come to his senses, a bloodline appearing from top to bottom on his forehead, passing through his nose, mouth, and reaching his stomach.
Then, his left and right sides split apart, falling into the lake, blood splattering in the air!
With one sword strike, the calamity cultivator lost his head!
Fang Xi sheathed the Xuan Iron Sword, very satisfied with his move.
He deliberately chose not to slash horizontally but vertically, fearing that the cultivator's vitality was too strong, and even if he was cut in half at the waist, he could still support himself to use some secret techniques or magical tools.
But chopping from top to bottom was different; the one hit would die instantly, with no room for struggle!
"Just lacks a bit of immortal aura..."
Fang Xi complained, collecting the second Kou brother's storage pouch and the golden dragon blade that looked familiar to him.
"This magical tool... is indeed part of the same series as the third Kou brother's. I wonder when I can complete the set of three."
He stored the golden dragon blade in the storage pouch, then hid the second Kou brother's storage pouch.
After some thought, he took out the yellow gourd magical tool left by the old cultivator earlier, refined it, and then controlled it to spit out a mass of black water, smashing it on himself!
Bang!
The green-patched robe instantly split open, looking extremely disheveled.
But his skin was incredibly smooth.
With the True Qi protecting him, the middle-grade magical tool couldn't break through his defense.
"Almost done?"
After doing all this, Fang Xi controlled the Black Cloud Pouch, swaying and flying towards the central battlefield.
He arrived neither too early nor too late, just in time to see Ruan Xingling gently shaking the bell, causing the Yin-named cultivator to lose focus.
Countless blue dream butterflies immediately flew up, enveloping the Yin-named cultivator.
When the dream butterflies dispersed, only a skeleton remained in the lake.
"Xingling did well!"
Feng Baimeng's face was full of joy, picking up the Yin-named cultivator's storage pouch and small flag magical tool.
At this moment, from two other directions, the old wooden Daoist and the Wei couple rushed over.
The Wei couple were in high spirits, after all, it was two against one, so they didn't feel much pressure, while the old wooden Daoist seemed a bit exhausted.
But the most disheveled one was Fang Xi.
"Friend Fang, you actually survived against the Lu family cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refinement?"
Hua Chanjuan covered her lips, finding it hard to believe.
"I exhausted all my cards, fought hard for a long time, and finally killed that formidable enemy..."
Fang Xi raised the yellow gourd in his hand, smiling bitterly in response.
With the situation now settled, in the upcoming distribution of benefits, he had to show some strength; otherwise, everyone would see him as an easy target.
"Everyone is safe, which is cause for celebration!"
Ruan Xingling landed her flower basket, scanning each of the four individuals with a smile.
"Thanks to the powerful magic of the fairy, driving away the Kou brothers, otherwise we would have had no place to bury ourselves... I am incompetent, letting the Lu family cultivator escape."
The old wooden Daoist smiled wryly, bowing.
Wei Yixin's expression was cold as she threw out a severed head.
When Feng Baimeng also landed, the group surrounded Lu Jingqing, who was protected by the Diamond Talisman. Only then did Lu Jingqing open his eyes, seeing the scene before him, his face filled with despair...
(End of this chapter)