85: The master no longer needs to pretend to test Jiang Yan.

At the third quarter of the Xu hour, Jiang Yan stood opposite the Yue Lai Inn. After confirming the deployment tasks, he gestured to Xie Shan in the distance.

Upon receiving Su Chen's signal, Xie Shan then gestured to Jin Peng and the others on the other side.

After the final confirmation, Jiang Yan flipped his left hand, and three low-grade Fireball Talismans instantly appeared. He then hurled the Fireball Talismans at the second 'Heavenly Room' of the Yue Lai Inn.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three consecutive explosions rang out, and a figure rushed out extremely fast, then stood opposite Jiang Yan.

"Kid, are you looking for death?" Murong Xue said coldly.

A 'Holy crap!' flashed through Jiang Yan's mind.

'Junior Martial Uncle, can we not overact? Even though it's a play, you should at least respect the assassin's mission.'

Jiang Yan did not reply, quickly pulling out a handful of Talismans and shooting them at Murong Xue.

This handful of Talismans contained all types of Talismans, and it also let the ten servants in the dark know that the great battle had begun, and they should prepare to assassinate Murong Xue.

The Talismans in Jiang Yan's hand shot out like scattered flowers from a celestial maiden. Fireball Talismans, Ice Cone Talismans, and Thunderstorm Talismans mixed together, weaving into a dazzling and deadly net in mid-air.

Seeing this, a cold light flashed in Murong Xue's eyes. With a flick of her sleeve, an invisible Qi wall instantly formed, blocking all the incoming Talismans.

"Petty tricks, daring to show off before an expert!" Murong Xue sneered, a cold glint condensing at her fingertip. However, just as she was about to counterattack, Jiang Yan suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"Boom!"

The first to explode were the Smoke Talismans hidden among the others. Dense black mist instantly enveloped an area of a hundred zhang. Immediately after, blood-colored array patterns suddenly lit up on the ground; this was actually a pre-arranged Trapping Array!

Murong Xue's expression subtly changed. She felt ten chilling auras approaching from different directions. These auras were elusive, clearly belonging to experts skilled in stealth.

"Your life, I'm taking it!" Jiang Yan's voice drifted erratically in the black mist, while the sound of Sharp Weapons tearing through the air came from all directions.

Murong Xue snorted coldly, and a dazzling golden light suddenly erupted around her: "With just these methods?"

Wherever the golden light passed, the black mist dispersed, revealing ten blood-robed figures. Their weapons were within three feet of Murong Xue but could no longer advance an inch.

Jiang Yan quickly threw out a Gravity Talisman, immediately smashing it towards Murong Xue.

Seeing this kind of Talisman appear, Murong Xue knew that they were about to enter the second stage. Jiang Yan had said last night that this assassination plan against her had three steps in total, and as soon as the Gravity Talisman appeared, it was Murong Xue's moment to counterattack.

At that time, she just needed to inflict minor injuries on his ten servants, while he himself would genuinely fight Murong Xue.

"Boom!"

The moment the Gravity Talisman exploded, the entire space suddenly twisted, and the ground collapsed three inches! A cold light flashed in Murong Xue's eyes... Now!

Her figure swayed, seemingly suppressed by gravity, but in reality, she secretly formed a hand seal, and a silver thread silently shot into the ground from her sleeve.

"Attack!"

As Jiang Yan roared, Jin Peng and the others simultaneously charged out from the shadows, their blades and swords aimed directly at Murong Xue's vital points! But just as they approached... "Zheng!"

Dazzling silver light suddenly burst from underground, and countless silver threads as fine as hair broke through the earth, instantly coiling around Xie Shan and the others' wrists and ankles! The silver threads tightened, and the ten people's movements immediately froze, as if they had fallen into an invisible quicksand.

Seeing Murong Xue's Move, Jiang Yan gave her a mental thumbs-up.

But before he could be happy for long, Murong Xue sneered and struck him with a backhand palm.

'Holy crap!'

Jiang Yan's pupils contracted. If he took that palm strike head-on, he wouldn't recover for days.

He hastily crossed his arms to block, and with a "crack," his forearm instantly became covered in a layer of ice crystals, the biting cold seeping directly into his heart and meridians!

'Damn it, Junior Martial Uncle, are you for real?!' Jiang Yan retreated rapidly, shaking his right arm, sending ice chips flying.

Murong Xue's offensive did not diminish. She pointed her two fingers like a sword at Jiang Yan's glabella, transmitting her voice: "Didn't you say you wanted to fight for real?"

Jiang Yan inwardly groaned but had no choice but to meet the challenge. Their figures intertwined, and as their fists and palms clashed, Qi waves exploded, genuinely stirring up sand and stones!

Jin Peng and the others were bewildered. They never expected this Core Formation Realm mighty figure to be so powerful; they didn't even get to participate.

A small sword faintly appeared between Murong Xue's eyebrows, launching a Sword Heart Clarity Soul attack at Jiang Yan.

Feeling Murong Xue's attack method, Jiang Yan's body resonated with sword hums, instantly erupting into the Sword Heart Clarity state.

Although he didn't have Murong Xue's Moves, he could defend.

Murong Xue was greatly shocked. She knew Jiang Yan was strong, but Jiang Yan hadn't told her that he also possessed Sword Heart Clarity!

Murong Xue was now very suspicious of Li Yi, wondering what kind of little monster he had cultivated.

"Zheng!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Two invisible Sword Intents collided in mid-air, actually producing the sound of metal clashing!

Jiang Yan's Sword Intent surged around him. Though he had no Moves, it was like an impenetrable wall, blocking all of Murong Xue's Sword Heart Clarity attacks.

"Little fellow, you hide quite well!" Murong Xue transmitted, a trace of shock flashing in her eyes, which then transformed into sharp Battle Intent.

With a swipe of her sword-finger, seven ice crystal sword shadows condensed in the Void Realm, each containing a sharpness capable of severing the Divine Soul.

Jiang Yan grinned. In the Sword Heart Clarity state, he could clearly perceive the trajectory of each sword shadow.

His figure flickered like a ghost, weaving through the gaps between the sword shadows. At the same time, he gathered strength in his right fist and slammed it violently into the ground... "Rumble!"

The ground exploded, and shattered rocks shot out like a rainstorm, forcibly interrupting Murong Xue's sword momentum.

Although Jiang Yan could not transmit his voice, his hand gestures made Murong Xue understand.

Murong Xue snorted coldly, and the ice crystal sword shadows condensed again. But this time, a hint of appreciation appeared in her eyes.

"Brat, try taking another sword strike from me!"

As the message reached Jiang Yan's ears, he saw Murong Xue's Martial Skill!

Murong Xue pointed her fingertip, and the seven sword shadows suddenly merged into one, transforming into a giant crystalline ice sword that chopped down directly at Jiang Yan!

At this moment, Jiang Yan really wanted to curse. A simple fight would have been fine, but to try and probe how deep his 'ingredients' were, that was truly excessive.

Battle Intent burned in Jiang Yan's eyes, pushing his Sword Heart Clarity perception to its limit.

He clasped his hands together, and the Sword Intent around him, mixed with Qi and Blood Power, actually condensed into a blood-colored barrier.

"Boom!"

The moment the sword edge collided with the blood-colored barrier, violent Sword Qi exploded outwards, submerging the entire battlefield in ice crystals and sword light!

“Puff!”

Jiang Yan forcefully spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, then applied a Light Body Talisman to his body.

"The target is tough, retreat!"

Hearing the Blood Son's command, Jin Peng and the others exchanged glances, nodded simultaneously, and then activated their Escape Talismans.

"Where do you think you're going!" Murong Xue quickly rushed towards Jiang Yan, but when she tried to grab him, only an afterimage remained on the ground.

Hundreds of zhang away, Jiang Yan pretended to be injured and hastily swallowed a Medicinal Pill.

"Blood Son, where are you hurt?" Xie Shan asked quickly.

Jiang Yan quickly said, "I'm fine, don't worry about that for now. The opponent is a Core Formation Realm cultivator, we're not safe yet, keep retreating!"

As Jiang Yan's words fell, everyone once again activated their Escape Talismans.

And it wasn't until they had retreated nearly a hundred li that Jiang Yan and the others felt safe.

"The Core Formation Realm is indeed extraordinary," Jiang Yan feigned emotion.

"We've done well, at least no one died," Jin Peng said.

"Yeah, at least stronger than Blood Son Lu and them..."

Before that servant could finish speaking, a pressure unique to the Core Formation Realm spread to their location.

"Holy crap, this is bad, keep running!" Jiang Yan feigned shock.

But before his voice could fall, Murong Xue's figure had already appeared above their heads.

"You guys go first! I'll hold her off. Let's meet at the old spot!" Jiang Yan said, then was about to rush towards Murong Xue.

But before he could fly up, Jin Peng and Xie Shan grabbed Jiang Yan: "Blood Son, you go first, we'll..."

Jiang Yan had no intention of letting the two stay, immediately interrupting their chance to show off: "You two idiots, you'd just be throwing your lives away, you can't stall for long at all. Listen to my command, retreat immediately!"

Seeing Su Chen's resolute expression, Jin Peng and Xie Shan were very moved, but Jiang Yan wouldn't give them another chance to speak. He slapped Escape Talismans on them, instantly making them leave.

"You all hurry and go!" Jiang Yan shouted at the other eight servants.

The eight servants bowed their fists in salute, and then quickly activated their Escape Talismans.

As the ten servants left, Jiang Yan let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Junior Martial Uncle, no need to act anymore."