Chapter 44 Foundation Building Battle

Ye Fan sensed something was amiss from the subtle clues, but the current situation gave him no chance to think carefully.

Murong Wan quickly retreated to Ye Fan's side, her beautiful eyes filled with solemnity.

"It seems we've been ambushed."

Murong Wan had clearly noticed something too, but saying it now was too late; figuring out how to escape was the best course of action.

"Escape? I don't think it'll be that easy."

Just as Ye Fan said, Luo Ruhai would not let them go.

If they fled now, they would only be picked off one by one. It was better to fight with all their might, perhaps there would still be a way out.

"Besides, I think there might be a problem with him.", Ye Fan said thoughtfully.

"A problem? What kind of problem?"

"It's hard to say. We'll know after a few exchanges."

Before the two could say anything more, Luo Ruhai swung his long saber and attacked.

Every strike seemed to carry immense power, forcing the two to hurriedly dodge.

"Where did your previous arrogance go! Didn't you say you would kill me to uphold the Sect's rules? Why are you scared now?!"

Luo Ruhai's attention was entirely focused on Murong Wan, forcing her to scramble around with no power to fight back. This gave Ye Fan a golden opportunity.

"Senior Sister, hold him off for now! I'll rush back to the Sect to call for help to save you!"

As Ye Fan spoke, he fled towards the main hall exit, which undoubtedly sounded an alarm for Luo Ruhai.

If he allowed Ye Fan to escape, the consequences would likely be disastrous.

"Kid, I'll make you die here!"

Luo Ruhai flashed forward, catching up to Ye Fan, and brought his great saber down like splitting Mount Hua.

The power of this single strike was enough to crush a Medium Grade Magical Artifact. Even if Ye Fan possessed the cultivation of Great Perfection of Qi Refining Realm, he would likely be in grave danger.

But just as this strike was about to hit Ye Fan, the barrier formed by the golden armor immortal robe easily blocked it, and the violent saber light actually returned the way it came!

"It's a protective Magical Treasure?!"

The sudden turn of events made Luo Ruhai's pupils tremble. He couldn't believe his attack was blocked and even rebounded, much less that a low-level Qi Refining Realm Disciple would possess such a Magic Treasure.

At the critical moment, he hurriedly struck out with another saber. The two violent forces collided at close range, shaking Luo Ruhai so much that his blood churned incessantly, almost making him vomit blood.

Before he could even catch his breath, Ye Fan was right behind him, like a shadow.

"Mysterious Jade Finger!"

Ye Fan seized the opportunity and unleashed his full power. The eighteen forms of the Mysterious Jade Finger were pushed to the extreme, his offensive attacks like a torrential storm. Every strike severely damaged Luo Ruhai's internal organs, giving him absolutely no chance to breathe.

Ye Fan's sudden outburst of strength far exceeded Luo Ruhai's imagination. The final move, Severing Rivers and Dividing Seas, was executed with twelve parts of his strength.

The violent force sent Luo Ruhai flying out like an arrow loosed from a bow, crashing heavily towards the distant throne, stirring up a spiritual explosion that nearly destroyed the already crumbling main hall.

Not far away, Murong Wan stared blankly at everything, her beautiful eyes full of shock and joy.

Although Murong Wan had long known that Ye Fan possessed the strength of Great Perfection of Qi Refining Realm, she never dared to imagine he could defeat a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator across Realms.

"Ye Fan, are you alright?!"

Murong Wan snapped back to reality and rushed forward to check. Discovering Ye Fan was unharmed, she finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"I really didn't expect you could defeat a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator. Has your cultivation improved again?", Murong Wan asked with some pleasant surprise.

But upon hearing this, Ye Fan revealed a wry smile, frankly stating that it was too early to say he had won.

In the next second, Luo Ruhai's battered figure crawled out of the ruins. He was covered in wounds from head to toe, looking like a 'blood man' from a distance.

A large hole had been blasted right through his chest, and blood was gushing out uncontrollably. His terrifying appearance made him look like a vengeful ghost crawling out of Hell.

"He's not dead?", Murong Wan thought in astonishment.

Although he had taken Ye Fan's entire set of Mysterious Jade Finger head-on, Luo Ruhai still managed to endure it relying on his formidable cultivation.

This injury, though appearing terrifying, was far from fatal. He still had the strength left to finish off Ye Fan and Murong Wan.

A dignified Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator being beaten into such a state by two juniors in the Qi Refining Realm made Luo Ruhai so angry that he almost suffered Qi Deviation, causing him to vomit blood in large gulps, nearly dying of anger on the spot.

Murong Wan's expression became slightly grim, but Ye Fan looked much calmer.

"Don't panic. This guy probably just recently reached Foundation Establishment, maybe only at the first or second level. Perhaps he didn't even use a proper method to achieve the Breakthrough.", Ye Fan said after savoring the situation.

Through the previous exchange, Ye Fan had keenly perceived the issue.

Luo Ruhai's strength was far less formidable than the Elders at the Foundation Establishment Realm in the Sect.

Although his saber strike earlier looked violent, its power was actually very superficial. The golden armor immortal robe hadn't even consumed much spiritual power.

Combined with Luo Ruhai's use of low-class cultivation methods, the truth was not hard to guess.

He must have used some kind of evil technique like harvesting Yin to supplement Yang, forcibly breaking through to the Realm, making his strength far inferior to a true Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator.

Ye Fan's words seemed to have stepped on his sore spot. Luo Ruhai reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, complete with an instinctive reaction.

"Kid, you're courting death!"

Luo Ruhai was struck where it hurt by Ye Fan's words. In a fit of shame and anger, he charged at the two, but the result was completely different from before.

Although Ye Fan's attacks failed to kill Luo Ruhai, they inflicted serious injuries on him, causing his strength to drop by more than half compared to before.

Conversely, Ye Fan and Murong Wan were: one, a human tank at Great Perfection of Qi Refining Realm, wielding the red lotus sword and clad in the golden armor immortal robe; the other, a Sect Prodigy and Personal Disciple at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm. If they fought to the death, it was truly hard to say who would win.

Although it was their first time fighting side-by-side, Ye Fan and Murong Wan seemed to share a tacit understanding.

The red lotus sword and the Profound Frost Sword flew up and down. Facing Luo Ruhai's violent offensive, they didn't lose ground; they even had the spare energy to counterattack, which made Luo Ruhai's expression grow uglier.

As one side fought with increasing vigor and the other grew more apprehensive, the scales of victory quickly tilted towards Ye Fan and Murong Wan.

The turn of events was far beyond Luo Ruhai's expectations. His gaze towards Ye Fan was burning with rage, wishing he could devour him alive.

"No, I can't delay any longer."

Luo Ruhai worried that any further delay might lead to unforeseen complications. If the Joyous Union Sect came to reinforce, he would undoubtedly die in his current state.

In any battle, morale is king, and this is even more true in duels between Cultivators fighting for their lives.

Luo Ruhai felt a surge of fear, and his techniques and Divine Abilities became more scattered, inadvertently speeding up his own defeat.

Luo Ruhai feigned an attack to force Murong Wan back and turned to flee the main hall, but he didn't know that Ye Fan had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Ye Fan pointed his right finger directly at Luo Ruhai's back, but this was met with a cold sneer from the latter.

"Kid, you want to use that move again! I'll send you to the West now!"

It turned out Luo Ruhai had long been prepared. This scene was merely a staged feigned defeat, waiting for Ye Fan to expose a flaw.

But just as Luo Ruhai focused his attention on Ye Fan's left hand, the red lotus sword in his right hand suddenly emitted violent Fire Qi. The resulting flames were enough to inflict fatal injuries on a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator!

"This is... this is... a Magic Treasure?!"