Chapter Sixty-Nine: Strike to Kill in One Blow

Despite everything, he was still a formidable cultivator, only half a step away from the Foundation Establishment stage, and the man in red had a wealth of battle experience. Before the razor-sharp wing blades from Xiao Wenzi and the willow-leaf saber controlled by Chu Xiner could strike him, he gritted his teeth, summoned his protective spiritual light, and slapped his storage pouch, drawing out a yellow talisman. This was a mid-grade Earth Shield Talisman, his most prized possession, renowned for its formidable earth-based defensive properties—enough to withstand the full-force attack of a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Yet, before he could activate the talisman, two wing blades whistled through the air, slashing against his protective aura. Fortunately, though the shield twisted and warped, it was far from shattering. With a resonant hum, the talisman was activated, and a dense, earthy yellow barrier materialized outside his protective light. The man in red let out a long breath, his face etched with relief at his narrow escape from death. As expected, when the willow-leaf saber and the wing blades struck simultaneously, the Earth Shield’s barrier easily absorbed both blows.

Taking advantage of the moment, the burly man retrieved a jade bottle from his pouch, poured out a handful of healing pills, and swallowed them all in one go. He then glared, teeth clenched, at the little mosquito persistently fanning its wings and attacking from outside the barrier. That creature had nearly cost him his life—a truly insidious pest. Though he could not fathom how it had concealed its presence earlier, he swore to make it suffer a fate worse than death.

“Ah, this fellow’s reactions are too quick,” Xiao Wenzi thought regretfully, seeing that the man in red was only injured and not incapacitated. So close—if only he had struck a vital point, the outcome would be decided already. Now that the man had taken healing pills, it was unclear how much his wounds would hinder him, but one thing was certain: they could not afford to give him time to recover, or both he and Chu Xiner would be in mortal danger.

If Xiao Wenzi could grasp this, the brilliant and perceptive Chu Xiner understood it equally well. Seeing her willow-leaf saber unable to breach the talismanic barrier, she bit her lip, withdrew her spiritual sense from her lower-grade flying sword, and quickly summoned her mid-grade flying sword from her storage pouch.

Thunderous clashes resounded as Chu Xiner struggled to control two mid-grade magical weapons at once, but the effect was immediate. The barrier from the Earth Shield Talisman, battered by repeated strikes, quickly thinned and warped, slamming against the burly man’s protective aura and aggravating his injuries until he coughed up several more mouthfuls of blood.

“A mid-grade magical weapon? How is that possible? Could she truly be the descendant of some Core Formation elder?” Mid-grade and higher magical weapons were typically the exclusive domain of disciples from major sects. While rogue cultivators sometimes possessed them, they were usually at least Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet Chu Xiner, at only the eleventh level of Qi Refinement, had produced two such weapons, causing the man in red to seriously doubt her identity.

But with their conflict now a matter of life and death, it was too late for reconciliation; he could only fight for his life. As he pondered, the man in red swiftly drew a flying sword from his pouch, sending it out to meet Chu Xiner’s Vajra Sword, while simultaneously recalling his dim, battered lower-grade flying sword to his side. His plan was clear: use the Earth Shield Talisman and his lesser sword to stall for time and exhaust his foes’ spiritual power, waiting for the right moment to counterattack.

As for the tiny mosquito, whose cultivation was only equivalent to the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refinement, its attacks could never pierce his protective aura. Once Chu Xiner was dealt with, destroying it would be child’s play.

Chu Xiner grew paler by the moment, the toll of wielding mid-grade magical weapons draining her spiritual energy rapidly. She was nearing exhaustion, and controlling two such weapons at once was also a severe strain on her consciousness. She could not comprehend why Xiao Wen had not used his “innate divine ability” to summon talismans, resorting instead to sporadic, futile wing-blade attacks—but she had no time to ask. She could only grit her teeth and persist in her duel with the man in red.

The talisman’s power was finite, especially under constant assault. At last, after several heartbeats, the earthen glow flashed and vanished like a bursting bubble, leaving only the thinned protective aura around the man in red.

Indeed, his shield was now but a faint shimmer. Wounded and forced to devote most of his attention to battling Chu Xiner, he could only muster a partial defense—primarily to guard against the ever-present mosquito. Otherwise, with Chu Xiner’s weakening aura, he would not have bothered maintaining his shield at all. Had he not been ambushed and injured, he could have easily dealt with the pest while fighting Chu Xiner.

Fortunately, the heavy spiritual drain of mid-grade magical weapons soon took its toll. Chu Xiner’s delicate form trembled, her chest heaving as she staggered on unsteady legs; the light from her Vajra Sword and willow-leaf saber began to dim. The burly man’s lips curled in mockery. He already glimpsed the dawn of victory, though his own spiritual power was nearly depleted.

Just then, Xiao Wenzi, who had been persistently attacking from behind, suddenly produced a fiery red talisman before him. In an instant, the talisman transformed into a fireball radiating a sinister, demonic aura, which shot toward the burly man. Nor did it end there—almost as soon as the demonfire talisman flew forth, a second talisman appeared, swiftly activated, then a third, a fourth, a fifth.

The Blood Spirit Grand Art was an ancient and supreme cultivation method—arduous to master, but once broken through, it granted both demonic power and spiritual sense far beyond others of the same rank. Xiao Wenzi’s spiritual sense now effortlessly spanned over a hundred meters, comparable to that of a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refinement. With such a powerful soul, he could ignite talismans in rapid succession.

“How—how is this possible?” The man in red was stunned, watching as the tiny mosquito conjured talismans many times larger than itself from thin air, triggering them instantly. Small wonder—though the Conceal Demon Talisman’s effects were less fleeting than those of combat or defensive talismans, once Xiao Wenzi erupted into action, his aura could no longer be suppressed. He was clearly only at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refinement—no matter how exceptional his talent or how ancient his bloodline, it should be impossible for him to have cultivated an internal storage space.

The man in red was certain Xiao Wenzi carried no storage pouch, so how could he produce so many palm-sized talismans from nothing? It defied comprehension.

Normally, the demonfire talisman was equivalent to a full-force strike from a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement. Under other circumstances, the burly man could have easily neutralized such a fireball, even if he failed to block it outright. But Xiao Wenzi had chosen his moment precisely—when the man’s guard was down and his power nearly spent. Had he thrown the talisman earlier, while the earth shield was still intact, it would have been of little use.

He had bided his time for one deadly blow.

No—!

There is no room for distraction in battle. The instant the first fireball struck the protective aura, spreading in a searing wave of heat, the man in red’s eyes filled with utter terror.