"How can she be this fast?" Niu Dazhuang's eyes nearly popped out of his head. This is a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator? Seriously?
"Senior Brother!"
Yin Shang's black hair whipped in the wind, his eyes sharp as torches. He surged forward, his tone heavy:
"Fellow Daoist Xia, stop right there!"
Xia Qingxue showed no reaction to the incoming Yin Shang. She slowly raised her hands at some point; she had slipped on a pair of white gloves, as thin as cicada wings.
The gloves glowed with a silver-white light. In that instant, Xia Qingxue's entire aura underwent a dramatic transformation. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
"Ice spirit root... and a top-grade spiritual artifact!" Yin Shang's expression changed. She's only at early Foundation Establishment, yet she can activate a top-tier spiritual artifact? Does she have that much spiritual energy?
Not far away, Song Changsheng, who was observing the situation, was just as stunned. He had known Xia Qingxue wasn't ordinary, but he hadn't expected her to be this abnormal. Using a top-grade spiritual artifact at the early Foundation Establishment? Is she even human?
When he was at the same stage, just fully activating a high-grade artifact like his Lu Wu Bell had been difficult, never mind a top-grade one. They were simply not on the same level.
"Senior Brother, stall her!" Niu Dazhuang shouted before rushing toward the vine in the valley.
But Song Changsheng wasn't about to give up. He immediately summoned his Measuring Heaven Ruler and struck at Niu Dazhuang's back.
Bang!
"You little punk, trying to block me?" Niu Dazhuang dodged the blow, glaring at Song Changsheng.
"With fortune so close at hand, I'm afraid I must witness your skills firsthand, Daoist Niu," Song Changsheng said calmly as he flashed forward and blocked Niu Dazhuang's path.
Niu Dazhuang was fuming, then burst into laughter.
"Good, good! I've been wanting to teach you a lesson anyway. Today, I'll show you what real strength looks like!"
With that, a jet-black halberd, over three meters long, appeared in his hand. A wave of killing intent surged toward Song Changsheng, who immediately became alert.
"Top-grade spiritual artifact…" Song Changsheng's eyes narrowed. No wonder. Disciples from major sects are different. They can pull out a top-tier artifact like it's nothing. My Song Clan only has two in total.
Facing an opponent like this, Song Changsheng felt enormous pressure. This was the strongest foe he had encountered so far. But rather than fear or retreat, his fighting spirit surged.
He wanted to know where his limits truly lay.
"If you can beat me, the treasure is yours!" Niu Dazhuang roared, halberd in hand, bloodlust pouring from him like a beast unleashed.
"Hahaha! You said it. Come fight me then!"
With his blood roaring, Song Changsheng gripped the Measuring Heaven Ruler, suspended the Lu Wu Bell above his head, and hung the Yin-Yang Soul-Slaying Gourd from his waist. Apart from the Slaughter God's Flying Dagger, he summoned every spiritual artifact he had.
Only by going all out could he hope to narrow the gap between them.
"Tch. All show, no substance!"
Muscles bulging, Niu Dazhuang raised his halberd and brought it crashing down. The suffocating pressure from his killing intent made Song Changsheng's breath hitch.
Clang!
The iron ruler and the halberd collided. Song Changsheng was sent flying, while Niu Dazhuang's arm trembled violently, and he almost lost his grip on the weapon.
"What powerful physical strength..." Niu Dazhuang's expression changed. He, too, was a body cultivator, strong enough to withstand magical weapons, yet he hadn't gained the upper hand in the clash.
Song Changsheng stabilized himself midair, a grim look in his eyes. His palm had been torn open from the impact, and his opponent's physical body was even tougher than his own.
If I had mastered the Five-Beast Body Refining Technique, I'd be able to crush him physically. But I'm still far from that level. I can't fight him head-on.
His thoughts raced. In moments, he switched strategies.
He flung the Measuring Heaven Ruler, turning it into a streak of black light aimed at Niu Dazhuang.
Niu Dazhuang didn't even glance at it. With a swing of his halberd, he sent it flying off and charged at Song Changsheng, completely unaware this was exactly what Song Changsheng wanted.
"Earthheart Cold Flame!"
The black-and-white gourd spun rapidly in front of Song Changsheng, spitting out a thin stream of sky-blue flame.
This was the first real battle test of the Earthheart Cold Flame, and Song Changsheng was eager to see how it performed.
When Niu Dazhuang saw the thumb-thick flame, warning bells rang in his head. He might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid. This fire felt incredibly dangerous. He immediately retreated.
Song Changsheng wasn't about to let things go his way. Forming a few hand seals, he triggered the flame thread, which exploded in the air and instantly turned into a sea of blazing blue fire, engulfing Niu Dazhuang.
"Shield!"
Niu Dazhuang quickly activated his spiritual shield, but the moment it touched the flame, it was burned through, leaving a small hole that rapidly expanded into larger ones.
"Qian Ming's spiritual fire?!"
Niu Dazhuang's expression turned grim. Qian Ming was fairly well-known in the Border Province, and the fact that he possessed a spiritual fire wasn't exactly a secret. But he hadn't expected it to be this troublesome.
"This punk has some skill. I can't keep holding back."
Boom
Niu Dazhuang got serious. His spiritual power erupted in full force, whipping up a powerful gust of wind that cleared all spiritual energy within dozens of meters around him.
Without any spiritual energy to feed on, the Earthheart Cold Flame quickly extinguished.
In the next moment, Niu Dazhuang, now fully enveloped in killing aura, charged at Song Changsheng with a halberd in hand, opting to play to his strengths.
Spell combat wasn't his specialty, but up close, his halberd strikes were bold, brutal, and imbued with deadly intent, perfectly showcasing his real power.
And that, unfortunately, was precisely where Song Changsheng was weakest.
Of course, Song Changsheng had already guessed his intentions. He'd suffered in close combat once and had no desire to repeat it, so he continuously used Flickering Shadows to dodge and maneuver, trying to widen the distance.
The two clashed, one chasing, one fleeing, neither gaining the upper hand.
Meanwhile, the fight between Yin Shang and Xia Qingxue had reached a boiling point. The more they exchanged blows, the more shocked Yin Shang became.
Even without using his spiritual artifact, he was already exerting 70% of his strength. Yet after dozens of rounds, the woman still held her ground.
And she was only at the early Foundation Establishment.
"Where the hell did the Golden Crow Sect find such a monster?"
Much like the Heavenly Vein Sect, Luoxia City had almost no intel on Xia Qingxue. It was as if she'd just appeared out of thin air.
This was, strictly speaking, her first time revealing her true power in public. Before this, her abilities had been a total mystery.
Yin Shang had been testing her strength this whole time, intentionally holding back. Had he used his spiritual artifact from the start, he might've already won.
As the battlefield intensified, Hou Tianming, who had been "counterattacked" by the formation earlier, slowly regained consciousness. He lay at the bottom of the valley, barely breathing, too weak to even get up.
The formation's final strike had been devastating, far beyond what he could endure. If it hadn't been for a protective treasure, he would've been sipping tea with the King of Hell by now.
Seeing the aerial battle unfold, Hou Tianming felt both shock and fury.
He was shocked that the two people he had looked down on could hold their own against Yin Shang and Niu Dazhuang.
And he was furious that he could only lie here, irrelevant, reduced to nothing more than a bystander.
"I was the one who broke the formation! Why do they get everything?!"
A glint of madness flashed in Hou Tianming's eyes as he looked toward the valley, sensing the overwhelming vitality radiating from it.
"If I can't have it, then no one will!"
Summoning every ounce of strength left in him, he took out a Tier-2 talisman from his storage pouch and activated it. The talisman instantly ignited into ash and transformed into a white orb of light, shooting straight toward the heart of the valley.
From the sky, Song Changsheng's expression changed drastically when he saw it.
"How dare you!"
He no longer cared about the fight. Immediately, he summoned the Lu Wu Bell in a desperate attempt to intercept the light.
But he was a second too slow. All he could do was watch helplessly as the orb landed beside the spiritual plant.
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, the spiritual plant disintegrated. The vine, its leaves, and its fruit burst into three separate streaks of light, each flying off in different directions.
Two of them were closest to Yin Shang and Xia Qingxue. The moment they saw them, they ended their battle and each dashed after one.
The third streak happened to be closest to Song Changsheng. Without hesitation, he activated Flickering Shadows and sped after it.
With three targets and only one choice, Niu Dazhuang hesitated.
But not for long.
He remembered the culprit who had started this chaos, and rage surged in his chest. Whatever disagreements they had, it was still fair competition until this lunatic flipped the whole table.
"Screw this. Some things you just don't tolerate."
He dropped down to the ground, walking step by step toward Hou Tianming, his body radiating danger.
Hou Tianming showed no fear, instead sneering at him.
"What, you gonna hit me?
I'm the personal disciple of a Heavenly Vein Sect elder. Touch one hair on my head and you're declaring war on my sect!"
Niu Dazhuang's gaze turned icy. He reached out with one massive hand, grabbed Hou Tianming by the collar, and growled:
"You threatening me, punk?"
"You can take it that way."
"Hah... Heavenly Vein Sect's golden boy, huh?
Think that makes you special?"
Niu Dazhuang, however, wasn't having any of it. He hoisted Hou Tianming high into the air and, under the latter's horrified gaze, slammed him violently into the ground.
Bang!
Hou Tianming was driven straight into the dirt, coughing up a mouthful of blood on impact.
"Y-You… you dared to lay a hand on me?!"
His eyes were full of disbelief. He couldn't understand why the tricks that had always worked for him now failed so miserably.
But Niu Dazhuang didn't bother answering with words. He simply lifted him again and smashed him down even harder. This time, Hou Tianming passed out cold.
"Tch. Trying to threaten me? What a joke."
Niu Dazhuang spat disdainfully.
If it had been a personal disciple of a Golden Core master, he might have held back a little. But a mere elder's disciple? Not worth his time.
...
Meanwhile, Song Changsheng had already chased the beam of light for over a thousand kilometers. Once he closed the distance to within a hundred meters, he didn't hesitate to activate the Lu Wu Bell, trapping the streak of light.
"Got you!"
Eyes lighting up with joy, he quickly went to inspect the item. It turned out to be a fist-sized fruit, glowing a vibrant red so tempting it almost begged to be bitten into.
"It's the fruit… but what does it do?"
Song Changsheng frowned in thought. Usually, the fruit was the most refined part of any spiritual plant, but he had no idea what this plant was, let alone what effect the fruit might have.
"There are only a few known fourth-rank life-extending spiritual herbs… and this vine wasn't any of them. The vitality in this fruit is intense. Could this be a new species?"
That possibility worried him. If it were a life-extending treasure, there was no way he'd be able to keep it.
But then he shrugged it off.
"Whatever. Worst case, I'll trade it to Luoxia City."
Just as he was about to extract the fruit, the moment his fingers touched it, it dissolved into a stream of liquid and was instantly absorbed into his body, leaving only a peach pit–like seed behind.
"!!!"
Song Changsheng froze, completely dumbfounded.
That's it? It's just… gone?!
He immediately checked his condition, but even after absorbing the liquid, his body showed no changes, no rise in spiritual power, no physical mutation, nothing. It was as if it had never happened.
"What the hell…?"
Uneasy, he frowned. It was downright eerie. That was supposed to be a fourth-rank spiritual fruit, yet after absorbing it, nothing happened?
Based on his cultivation, ingesting such a fruit should've caused his body to explode from the overwhelming energy. But now he didn't feel a thing.
"Well, at least I can rule out it being a life-extending herb… but that's not exactly easy to prove, especially now that the evidence is gone."
He stared at the seed in his hand, his head aching.
There had only been one fruit. And with its overwhelming vitality, anyone could easily claim it was a longevity treasure. If that happened, no amount of explaining would save him.
"Sigh… I'll deal with it if it comes to that."
He tucked the seed away and started making his way back to regroup with Yin Shang and the others.
By the time he returned, the others had already made it back. Yin Shang had acquired a single leaf, and Xia Qingxue had secured a strip of the vine, both excellent materials for crafting spiritual artifacts. But it was clear they were less than satisfied.
The moment Xia Qingxue saw Song Changsheng, she stepped in front of him and asked coldly:
"You have the fruit, don't you?"
Anticipating this, Song Changsheng calmly retrieved the seed and forced a bitter smile.
"The fruit dissolved the moment it separated from the vine. I only managed to retrieve the seed."
"Just the seed?"
The others exchanged glances, surprised, but none of them outright accused him of eating it.
The reason was simple: a fourth-rank spiritual fruit was so potent that even Purple Mansion cultivators had to be extremely cautious. For a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like Song Changsheng, swallowing one would be practically suicidal.
Xia Qingxue, wasting no time, said bluntly:
"That spiritual plant is no ordinary specimen. I must bring the seed back to my sect. I'm willing to trade this vine for it or offer you other compensation. Name your price."
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