Golden light flashed as the dazzling sword radiance chopped toward that figure.
Seeing this, the figure immediately dodged to the side.
Although he avoided what looked like an extremely powerful strike, the formidable spiritual energy attached to the longsword still released intense sword qi in all directions, directly dispersing the dark red mist that had been surrounding the figure.
As the red mist dispersed, the man’s true appearance was revealed.
He was an ordinary-looking man with a somewhat thin build.
His face was so ordinary that if he stood in a crowd, no one would notice him, let alone realize he was a demonic cultivator.
However, the dark green long robe he wore, decorated with some dark-colored skull ornaments, made up for that.
“This outfit makes it obvious he’s no good person at a glance. And he looks much stronger than those Qi Refining demonic cultivators we saw in the village last time. It feels like he has ‘I’m a demonic cultivator who’s not weak’ written all over his face.”
Shucao, who was concealed nearby, complained like this.
Shucao, who had been charging toward the canyon, stopped the moment that figure appeared and blocked the others behind her.
After all, she did not know whether the strength of the other side’s Foundation Establishment cultivator would pose a threat to them, so she chose to be more cautious and wait until Bai Yumo began exchanging blows with the opponent, leaving him no time to pay attention to them, before preparing to enter.
“Do these people really need to dress so exaggeratedly inside the stronghold?”
“Aiya, little Shucao, this is where you don’t understand. For demonic cultivators, the strong have status. Of course they need to make people know at a glance how powerful they are. If they dress too ordinarily, they become just another small fry.”
While Shucao and An Qianhua were discussing the man’s attire, the man who had dodged the attack also made his next move.
“Looks like Fellow Daoist has no intention of walking away unscathed today!”
He shouted, then beckoned with one hand.
A dark-colored long staff appeared in his hand.
Silver decorations were embedded at both ends of the staff, and from the gaps in those decorations, streams of dark green flames carrying a dense aura of death burst forth.
At the same time, his figure flashed as he rapidly closed in on Bai Yumo.
Staff shadows as dense as a storm, accompanied by streams of dark green flames, poured toward her.
“These flames are definitely problematic!”
Bai Yumo’s eyes focused. She held the longsword horizontally in front of her.
At the same time, spiritual light flashed on the sword body as she blocked the staff’s sudden attack while also obstructing the dark green flames that surged upward.
When the flames and golden spiritual light intermingled, a sound like burning arose from them.
Then both the spiritual light and the flames weakened somewhat, but upon closer inspection, the green flames had been weakened more.
The Qi Refining cultivators who witnessed the first exchange between Bai Yumo and the demonic Foundation Establishment cultivator all couldn’t help marveling at Bai Yumo’s strength.
“Senior Bai’s artifact is so powerful! With this kind of might, she truly lives up to being a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”
“Yeah, from that round of exchange just now, it’s clear that Senior Bai’s artifact is superior to that man’s.”
“That golden longsword can’t be Senior Bai’s spirit item, can it? Such powerful might, and it’s much stronger than many top-grade artifacts. The shock of splitting open a mountain with one strike like earlier is something I’ve never seen from those artifacts.”
“With this level of intensity, it must be. A battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators of this caliber is truly rare. Coming here was totally worth it!”
Among them, some people were also discussing other topics.
“I didn’t expect Senior Bai to look like this under that hood. Although golden hair and eyes are extremely rare, this appearance is also impressively beautiful. Why does she usually present herself in that manner?”
While one Qi Refining cultivator was saying this, a companion beside him patted his head and said.
“Idiot, Senior Bai must have her reasons for doing this. In my view, it’s definitely because such an eye-catching appearance is too conspicuous, so she has to conceal her face!”
“But look, Fellow Daoist Shucao’s appearance is also very attention-grabbing. Pink hair, that adorable face, and that extremely peculiar outfit… it feels even rarer. Why does she always show herself so openly?”
Hearing the topic suddenly turn to herself, a faint heat rose on Shucao’s face.
Although the others were speaking very quietly, Shucao could still hear their conversation quite easily, and the discussion of her appearance immediately made her feel a bit shy.
So she turned her head and said to the two of them.
“Hey, you two, what nonsense are you spouting for no reason? Hurry up and find a chance to charge into that stronghold!”
After making the two shut up, Shucao turned her gaze back to Bai Yumo, who was still in combat.
On the battlefield, seeing that she held the advantage in the clash, Bai Yumo immediately thought to herself.
Hmph, these flames are indeed some kind of evil entity. It’s just a pity that they ran into me!
She then poured spiritual energy into the sword, causing the slightly dimmed spiritual light to become dazzling once more.
Then she raised the longsword and charged toward the man.
The man who had suffered in the first probe thought with a solemn expression.
Tch! This spiritual light can actually resist and even melt my Heavenly Corpse Demonic Fire.
Even though it’s not the origin fire, the flames derived from it aren’t something ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators can block. Just what is that longsword!
At the same time, the man also made the flames burst forth again and wrapped them around himself, forming circles of eerie and terrifying dark green fire rings.
From within them, he continuously launched streams of flame bullets that whistled toward Bai Yumo as she charged at him.
Bai Yumo twisted her body to dodge the first few dark green fire bullets that flew over, then swung the longsword in her hand.
A horizontal slash of golden sword light shot out.
Accompanied by the golden spiritual energy on it, the moment the sword light swept across those incoming fire bullets, they instantly exploded and then turned into nothingness.
Seeing the obstructive fireballs cleared, Bai Yumo’s figure immediately shot toward the man at explosive speed.
In an instant she arrived in front of him and brought the longsword straight down toward the man’s face.
The golden longsword easily sliced through the surrounding fire rings.
The sharp edge was already within a hair’s breadth of the man’s vital point.
I’ve got him!
Just as Bai Yumo thought this, the corners of the man’s mouth suddenly curved into a cold smile.
Then he formed a hand seal with his fingers.
The fire rings that had previously been cleaved instantly blazed up again.
Dark green flames soared into the sky and then exploded violently.
The intense impact, accompanied by those sinister flames, surged forward in a rush and directly blasted Bai Yumo away.
I was careless!
Bai Yumo hurriedly stabilized her figure in midair and tried to use spiritual energy to resolve the impact, but the man had no intention of letting her go just like that.
He formed another hand seal with his fingers.
The green flames that had stained Bai Yumo’s body due to the explosion suddenly grew fierce, their cold and sinister energy continuously eroding her protective spiritual light.
Just as the man wanted to press forward and pursue further, the spiritual energy around Bai Yumo’s body suddenly began to change.
A radiance carrying a sacred purifying meaning emerged from her body.
The moment the erupting green flames came into contact with the radiance, they were immediately enveloped within it and then vanished without a trace.
Ugh!
As the flames disappeared, the man let out a muffled grunt. A violent burning sensation came from his qi sea.
It seemed that Bai Yumo’s elimination of the green flames this time had caused a certain degree of damage to his Foundation Establishment spirit item.
What a joke! Just resolving one divine ability can damage my origin fire?
This woman’s spirit item can actually restrain my demonic fire like this!
The man thought, then suddenly retreated backward.
I can’t keep fighting like this. This is a pure loss!
When Bai Yumo and Shucao saw the man retreat, and that his speed showed no sign of slowing at all, they both thought the same thing at the same time.
This guy wants to escape!
Seeing this, Bai Yumo immediately shouted loudly.
“Don’t even think of leaving!”
At the same time she erupted with her spiritual energy and chased after the man.
Seeing the man leave, Shucao immediately led the group of Qi Refining cultivators behind her to charge toward the Blood Fiend Sect stronghold.
“That demonic sect Foundation Establishment cultivator wants to escape. This also means there’s no one left in the stronghold who can support him. The strongest inside are only at Qi Refining. Let’s go in now!”
A streak of pink light cut across the ravine, leading the cultivators riding various flying artifacts as they flew toward the demonic sect stronghold below the canyon that had been split open with a large gap.