162: Confrontation

"Hiss—"

The moment the Sword Qi collided with the White Tiger phantom, there was no earth-shattering roar, only a soft sound like fabric being torn.

The seemingly invincible White Tiger phantom melted rapidly like ice meeting the sun, and the magnificent fist force instantly dissipated by more than half.

The man's Face changed drastically, feeling a bone-chilling cold power spread along his arm, as if to freeze his Nascent Soul.

He was horrified and quickly retracted his fist and retreated. Even so, his left arm was still grazed by a wisp of Nine Nether Sword Qi. His sleeve instantly turned to ash, and a layer of black ice crystals condensed on his arm, causing his Spiritual Qi circulation to stagnate.

Li Xiangyun stood with his sword sheathed, the Nine Nether Sword Qi slowly receding around him, leaving only a faint, chilling aura lingering on his longsword.

He looked at the ashen-faced man and said indifferently, "A Nascent Soul Cultivator is nothing more than this."

"Good!" As if infected by Li Xiangyun's boldness, the onlookers cheered.

"You..." The man who had been repelled, however, felt greatly insulted and immediately wanted to strike again.

But he was stopped by Zhao Tian, "You do have some strength, no wonder you dare to presumptuously protect Tang Fu."

"But if that's all you have, then you can die."

Saying this, Zhao Tian took a step forward, and the pressure unique to a Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator surged around him like an angry tide crashing against the shore.

Crimson Spiritual Qi churned behind him like magma, and then a Vermilion Bird phantom slowly emerged.

"How dare a mere speck of light contend with the sun?" Zhao Tian's voice, imbued with Spiritual Qi, boomed. The Vermilion Bird phantom's wings suddenly spread, and a sky-darkening wave of fire was about to sweep down.

"Brother Li...!" Deng Qi watched this scene and was about to step forward to help, but Li Xiangyun stopped him.

The next second, a black and white sword shadow suddenly lit up.

Li Xiangyun stood still, his Late-stage Golden Core Spiritual Qi seemingly weak, yet it condensed into a peculiar Sword Domain around him.

The Yin-Yang Life-Death Sword Intent erupted from his fingertips, half like ice covered in snow, carrying a deathly Kill; the other half like oil on a raging fire, exuding vigorous vitality. The two intertwined into a Tai Chi-like sword wheel, which actually managed to block the Vermilion Bird phantom's Divine Might three feet away.

"A nascent Domain!"

"But why is this nascent Domain so powerful?"

The crowd raised their eyebrows at this scene, surprised and a little confused.

"Middle Stage Nascent Soul, yet you dare to be so overconfident?" Li Xiangyun's voice was calm and unruffled. As the sword wheel rotated, the two forces of life and death continuously wore away the Vermilion Bird phantom's Spiritual Qi.

Zhao Tian's Face sank. He hadn't expected a mere Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator to be able to withstand his Divine Might, nor had he expected this Sword Intent to be so bizarre.

He fiercely urged his Spiritual Qi, and the Vermilion Bird phantom let out a sharp cry. Its wings flapped, and countless fiery feathers transformed into arrows shooting towards Li Xiangyun.

Li Xiangyun's eyes narrowed slightly, and the sword wheel suddenly accelerated. The two forces of life and death turned into two sword walls, blocking all the fiery feathers.

The Spiritual Qi shockwave generated by the collision spread in all directions, cracking the ground with numerous ravines, but the confrontation between the two showed no sign of stopping.

"Boy, do you think you can defeat me with this Sword Intent?" A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Zhao Tian's eyes, "Today, I will let you know that there is a chasm between Golden Core and Nascent Soul!"

Immediately, he formed hand seals, and the Vermilion Bird phantom's aura became even more violent, as if it was about to break free from its shackles and completely devour Li Xiangyun.

Li Xiangyun, however, slowly raised his hand, gripping his longsword. Feeling the cool touch of the hilt, his gaze grew even firmer: "Chasm? Under my sword, there has never been a chasm."

As his voice fell, the Yin-Yang Life-Death Sword Intent suddenly surged. A black and white interwoven sword shadow faintly emerged within the sword wheel, pointing directly at the core of the Vermilion Bird phantom.

The air seemed to solidify at this moment. On one side was the immense Spiritual Qi and Vermilion Bird Divine Might of a Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, and on the other was the Heaven-Defying Life and Death Sword Intent of a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator.

In the dead silence before the storm, their gazes clashed fiercely in the air. A great battle seemed imminent... Just at this critical moment, a starlight flickered in front of them.

Then a hearty voice rang out, "Both of you are Prodigies of your respective Star Domains. Why must you fight over such a small matter?"

"You should know that the Bone-Eating Chi is just the beginning; who knows what dangers lie ahead? This is precisely when we need to work together."

"How about giving me, Lin Ye, some Face? Let's put this matter aside for now. After the Netherworld Darkfire appears, you can seek revenge or settle grievances then, how about it?"

Hearing this, Li Xiangyun breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced at Zhao Tian and said casually, "I don't care."

It wasn't that Li Xiangyun was cowardly, but starting a fight now was indeed unwise.

After all, although the people from the Four Symbols Star Region had suffered some losses earlier, there were still fifteen of them. Even counting the one he had just killed, there were still fourteen.

Among them, there were eight Nascent Soul Cultivators, and including Zhao Tian, two Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators.

If a battle broke out, setting aside everything else, Tang Fu and Deng Qi would definitely not survive.

Fortunately, although these people seemed to be led by Zhao Tian, they had a tendency to obey orders but not commands.

This included the other Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, who chose to ignore the confrontation between him and Zhao Tian.

But he certainly couldn't gamble.

Therefore, it would have to be a long game.

And clearly, Zhao Tian also had similar concerns, otherwise he would have acted already.

Seeing Li Xiangyun nod, Lin Ye immediately turned to Zhao Tian and asked, "What about this Fellow Daoist from the Four Symbols Star Region?"

Zhao Tian's expression changed several times, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Boy, we'll meet again!"

With that, Zhao Tian turned and led his people away.

"Brother Zhao..." The man who had just attacked called out, unwillingly.

Hearing this, Zhao Tian ignored him.

Seeing this, the man could only glare at Li Xiangyun resentfully, then followed closely behind.

Watching this scene, Li Xiangyun knew he had undoubtedly made the right gamble.

In fact, Lin Ye's mediation and even Zhao Tian's retreat were all within his expectations.

The reason was precisely as Lin Ye said: the Bone-Eating Chi before them was just the beginning; who knew what dangers lay ahead? This was when cannon fodder was needed.

Therefore, any intelligent person would come out to mediate, they just didn't know who that intelligent person would be!

As for Zhao Tian, the reasoning was the same.

From his previous observations, Li Xiangyun had noticed that Zhao Tian's control over the team was not strong.

The reason was also very simple: in the Face of profit, let alone friends, even brothers would be killed without hesitation.

Don't look at them being together now; that's because they haven't seen the Netherworld Darkfire yet. Once they arrive before the Netherworld Darkfire, who can resist the temptation of a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire?

Therefore, their fundamental relationship was actually one of competition. The reason they were currently led by Zhao Tian was simply that they had a common goal and needed someone to lead.

But if they could use this to deplete Zhao Tian's strength, they would also be very happy to see it.

And Zhao Tian was precisely wary of this, which was why he didn't dare to act.

After all, he had already proven his strength, and with Deng Qi, if a major battle were to break out...

Once his injuries worsened, he could easily lose the ability to contend for the Netherworld Darkfire.