11: insidious

Mo Xuan, however, was indifferent and let him go.

With a plan in mind, Zhou Kaiding no longer fled, turning his direction towards the rear.

Zhou Kaiding's heart hardened: This female Cultivator was so relentless, wanting to drag him down, so it seemed they could only fight a battle.

Talismans appeared in his hand, ready to be unleashed.

Liu Ruomei saw Zhou Kaiding turn around and secretly felt pleased: She thought he was a block of wood, but now he was obediently falling into her trap.

However, she saw several Talismans activate and fly towards her, transforming into fireballs and ice thorns that enveloped her surroundings, while vines wrapped around her feet.

Liu Ruomei's expression changed drastically, her smugness turning into exasperation, but her response was not slow; Magical Power surged, and pink Yanluo Miasma surrounded her, protecting her whole body.

Fireballs, ice thorns, and vines all simultaneously struck the Yanluo Miasma. As the Yanluo Miasma contracted a few times, the fireballs extinguished, the ice thorns shattered, and the vines disappeared.

Revealing Liu Ruomei's delicate and charming small face, though her complexion was several shades paler.

If she were at her Peak, these small tricks would naturally not be able to harm her, but now it was adding injury upon injury.

Liu Ruomei's eyes seemed to want to devour people, burning with fury. The hatred in her heart for Zhou Kaiding was even greater than for Daoist Tianyang.

If Zhou Kaiding knew what Liu Ruomei was thinking, he would be incredibly astonished, wondering how there could be such an unreasonable person.

Zhou Kaiding was not surprised to see his methods broken by Liu Ruomei.

He formed a hand seal with his left hand, pointing his finger several times, and several water droplets appeared with the Magical Power at his fingertips, crystal clear.

"Wave Pointing Art."

The water droplets shot straight towards Liu Ruomei, suddenly expanding and forming a giant wave. The giant wave surged, completely obscuring Liu Ruomei's vision.

Using the giant wave as cover, Zhou Kaiding quietly accelerated. With a thought, he took out a Magical Artifact long sword with his right hand. The Magical Sword was dim, named Fu Shang (Sword Name).

This was a Medium Grade Magical Artifact of the first-tier captured earlier.

Magical Power was poured into the sword hilt in his hand, his consciousness connected, his hand formed a sword-finger, and the sword moved with his finger, quietly floating in the air, suspended behind Zhou Kaiding, not revealing its sharpness.

Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Stage could control Magical Artifacts for attack, but their Divine Soul was weaker, and the further the distance, the lower the power.

At the same time, he flipped his left hand, revealing two Talismans, which activated and turned into ice thorns, disappearing behind the giant wave.

Three layers of methods, but only the Magical Sword behind him was the killing move.

All these actions were completed in an instant. Zhou Kaiding's expression was solemn and stern.

Seeing the giant wave approaching, Liu Ruomei waved her right hand, and several peach blossoms appeared, delicate and dripping with charm, floating in front of Liu Ruomei and heading straight for the giant wave.

The peach blossoms and the giant wave met with a roar. The peach blossoms bloomed, rotating and sending all their petals towards the giant wave.

The giant wave shattered, turning into flowing water, losing its power, and the peach blossoms also transformed into pink streams of light, dissipating.

Before Liu Ruomei could sigh in relief, as the giant wave shattered, the ice thorns hidden behind it were unaffected.

Without the cover of the giant wave, the rapidly advancing Zhou Kaiding was also directly exposed to Liu Ruomei's eyes.

Liu Ruomei frowned slightly, controlling the Yanluo Miasma to split into two. One part transformed into a pink ribbon, sweeping towards Zhou Kaiding.

The other part still protected her front, blocking the ice thorns, though it was a bit weaker.

As the Yanluo Miasma divided, Zhou Kaiding found a weak spot in the Yanluo Miasma's Magical Power. With a flick of his finger, the Fu Shang (Sword Name) shot out, moving extremely fast.

The Fu Shang (Sword Name) was like a meteor in broad daylight, transforming into a streak of light, fiercely piercing into the weak spot of the Yanluo Miasma. The pink Yanluo Miasma parted, no longer able to block the Fu Shang (Sword Name).

"No!"

Liu Ruomei's eyes were bloodshot with fury. The Fu Shang (Sword Name) broke through the obstruction and pierced Liu Ruomei's left shoulder.

The white ribbon lost control, immediately transforming back into Yanluo Miasma, returning to Liu Ruomei's front, and merging with the other part.

Liu Ruomei, struck by this blow, was even more severely injured, spitting out blood and flying backward. She could only barely control the sparse Yanluo Miasma to protect her body.

Seeing the blow take effect, Zhou Kaiding controlled the Fu Shang (Sword Name), intending to attack again, but then saw Daoist Tianyang catching up from behind.

So, with a slight movement of his mind, he recalled the Fu Shang (Sword Name), suspending it around his body, maintaining vigilance.

Liu Ruomei was desperate and uneasy, her hatred even deeper, but mixed with a hint of regret. If only before... Caught between the two, Liu Ruomei was like a lamb entering a tiger's mouth, with no chance of escape.

Daoist Tianyang, seeing the heavily injured Liu Ruomei, stopped and cupped his hands to Zhou Kaiding, saying: "Fellow Daoist has excellent methods, taking down this demonic woman in such a short time."

After speaking, a smile appeared on his face, and he said to Liu Ruomei: "I originally thought of taking your lives after leaving the Immortal Cave, but you also dared to covet my treasures."

"But I didn't expect to be tricked by you, almost getting myself killed. Good, truly good!"

The smile disappeared, and his face instantly turned gloomy.

After that, he said sinisterly to Zhou Kaiding: "Fellow Daoist almost killed the person I wanted to kill. How should I repay Fellow Daoist?"

As soon as his voice fell, he suddenly attacked. A giant hand formed of Spiritual Qi slammed towards both Zhou Kaiding and Liu Ruomei.

"One Qi Grasping Great Hand Seal."

Zhou Kaiding's expression was stunned. Although he had long been wary of Daoist Tianyang, he was still somewhat surprised by his sudden attack.

"He really is a madman." Zhou Kaiding cursed in his heart. He originally didn't want to fight Daoist Tianyang, even though he was not at his Peak and he had Mo Xuan's help.

But Daoist Tianyang was, after all, a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator, and who knew what hidden methods he possessed. To put himself and Mo Xuan in danger would be extremely unwise.

But now he had no choice but to act.

Mo Xuan was also slightly surprised, unable to understand this person's thought process.

He prepared to attack.

Zhou Kaiding controlled the Fu Shang (Sword Name) to fly forward, cutting through the giant hand as it moved back and forth, but his face turned several shades paler. Coupled with his previous struggle with Liu Ruomei, his Magical Power had now been mostly depleted.

Liu Ruomei, having taken a sword blow from Zhou Kaiding, was already at the end of her rope. Now, struck by Daoist Tianyang's palm, her Yanluo Miasma crumbled upon contact, and she was knocked to the ground, losing her Aura, her fate unknown.

Ignoring Liu Ruomei's condition, Zhou Kaiding broke through the Spiritual Qi hand seal in one go, not retreating but advancing. Talismans appeared in his hand, shooting towards Daoist Tianyang.

Daoist Tianyang laughed mockingly: "Mere small tricks, what can they do to me?"

His body vibrated with Magical Power, which surged out, dissolving the incoming Talismans.

In his hand, a massive golden Magical Power giant axe condensed, splitting towards Zhou Kaiding.

"Giant Axe Art."

As Zhou Kaiding rushed forward, he formed a hand seal with his left hand, and Magical Power surged through his body, setting up three layers of water mirror shields in front of him.

The giant axe was powerful and heavy, with thick and sharp Magical Power. Its might was stronger than the previous Spiritual Qi hand seal. In just an instant of contact, the three layers of water mirror shields shattered one by one, but after this obstruction, its power was greatly reduced.

Zhou Kaiding held the Fu Shang (Sword Name) horizontally in front of him. During the collision, Zhou Kaiding's forward momentum was halted, blood spilled from his mouth, his Magical Power was slightly disordered, his mind was agitated, and the Fu Shang (Sword Name) trembled precariously, no longer agile.

But at least he managed to block the giant axe.

Zhou Kaiding spat out the blood from his mouth, exhaling the turbid Qi from his chest, feeling a bit bitter in his heart. The difference between Mid-stage Qi Refining and Late Stage was indeed enormous.

But at least the distance between them was no longer far.

Seeing that Zhou Kaiding had actually withstood his attack again, Daoist Tianyang's expression showed some surprise, and he became slightly serious. Just as he was about to attack again to finish off Zhou Kaiding,

A black mysterious light/aura (boundary) shot out from Zhou Kaiding's body, reaching not far in front of him in the blink of an eye.

Daoist Tianyang instinctively felt something was wrong and quickly dispersed the attack he was preparing to cultivate. Golden light surged from his body, forming a golden armor that enveloped Daoist Tianyang entirely.

The black mysterious light/aura (boundary) transformed into a several-zhang long ferocious great snake. The snake's tail, carrying immense speed and power, swept across Daoist Tianyang's body.

The golden armor that Daoist Tianyang had hastily condensed was, after all, not stable enough, and its defensive power was greatly reduced. It was shattered by a single strike from the snake's tail, and a small portion of the force directly struck Daoist Tianyang's body.

Daoist Tianyang's internal organs trembled slightly, and his Magical Power circulation was no longer smooth. The blood vessels in his eyes became even more prominent. Clearly, this blow had caused him no minor injuries.

Daoist Tianyang was furious. Not long ago, he had been tricked by Liu Ruomei, almost losing his life, and now he encountered a guy in the fifth layer of Qi Refining who was also so insidious.

What Beast Tamer would use himself as bait? Most would command Yao Beasts to fight.

Seeing the attack succeed, Mo Xuan pressed on relentlessly. His snake body shrank again, and with a flash of mysterious light/aura (boundary), he appeared behind Daoist Tianyang.

He then transformed back into his true form, striking Daoist Tianyang's back with his tail. Daoist Tianyang's barely condensed Magical Power was once again scattered.

His body flew out uncontrollably, his injuries worsened, blood flowed from his mouth, and he appeared disheveled and miserable, no longer possessing his previous arrogance and formidable Aura.

"If this continues, I fear there will be no way out today." Daoist Tianyang's mind raced.