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The Flying Swords shuttled through the air, attacking Tan Sheng continuously while Tan Sheng thrust out several blossoming flowers with his spear to block the incoming attacks, the clanging sounds incessant. He truly was worthy of being a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Despite the density of Li Baxian’s onslaught, his defense was impenetrable. He even had enough strength to counterattack, pressing towards Li Baxian amidst the numerous Flying Swords in his way.
Li Baxian was a Sword Cultivator, and the purest kind at that. Facing such an enemy, Tan Sheng knew that he must never allow him to create distance between them. Otherwise, with the continuous barrage of Flying Swords, he would never be given any breathing room. Dealing with a Sword Cultivator was similar to dealing with a Spell Cultivator. One had to close the distance and deny the Sword Cultivator any space to use Telekinesis.
However, even while fighting in close quarters, it was more dangerous to face a Sword Cultivator than a Spell Cultivator since the former were also Combat Cultivators to begin with, so fighting in close quarters was commonplace for them.
Li Baxian grabbed his wine gourd and took another large swig. As he belched with satisfaction, sword cries sounded behind him and even more Flying Swords were unleashed, chasing and attacking Tan Sheng urgently and making it difficult for him to make any progress.
While their battle raged on, Lu Ye and Xia Liang’s figures dashed forward in unison on the side.
Both of them were blade-wielding Combat Cultivators, and one of them was even from the Raving Bladesmen, which was made up of the most traditional of Blade Cultivators.
Compared to Sword Cultivators, blade wielders lacked no killing intent and possessed a fierce and relentless aura.
So, even though Xia Liang was heavily injured and pale-faced, he still showed no signs of shrinking back as he faced an opponent with a cultivation level several minor realms lower than his own.
Neither of them had the intention to test each other with telekinetic techniques. The distance of a few hundred meters was quickly closed, and with a thunderous crash, they collided.
A loud bang erupted, and Spiritual Power ran wild. Sabers were crossed, and they exchanged glances in each other’s faces.
The ground beneath their feet instantly cracked like a spider’s web, and a violent aura swept in all directions, causing the surrounding trees to sway.
After being in a stalemate for a brief moment, they both exerted their strength and their sabers passed each other by. Lu Ye’s saber slashed towards Xia Liang’s neck, while Xia Liang’s saber stabbed towards Lu Ye’s chest.
Their lives were put on the table in that exchange. This was the collision between Blade Cultivators. No frills, only ruthlessness.
The Protection Glyph at Lu Ye’s chest shattered and blood splattered. Meanwhile, a line of red was drawn on Xia Liang’s neck, with droplets of blood oozing out. In that instant, both sides edged past the gates of Hell.
Their figures retreated backwards almost simultaneously and once again pressed forward. Both blades slashed through the air in a sharp arc, and with a loud clang, they once again collided and separated, searching for another opportunity to cut the enemy down.
Their bodies moved, and their sabers clashed incessantly, creating a continuous symphony of clanging sounds, each clash a fierce collision of Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye had battled countless enemies since he began cultivating, and the enemies who died under his Inviolable Saber were too numerous to count. Among them, some were weak and could be easily slain with a single strike, while others were formidable opponents that he struggled to match. However, in no previous battle had the danger been as great as it was today.
This fight with Xia Liang made him truly realize what it meant to walk on the edge of life and death.
Both of them, regardless of one or the other, swung their sabers with the intent of killing each other while protecting themselves. However, after fighting for just a moment, they realized that it was simply not possible.
If they fought intending to kill the enemy, they would undoubtedly be killed by the other as well, and the most likely result would be mutual destruction.
This was something that neither of them could accept.
The frequency of blade flashes shortened, and the sounds of their sabers colliding grew more intense. Lu Ye keenly sensed Xia Liang’s vitality converging at his right arm, indicating that he was using the Blood Shifting technique.
In terms of cultivation, he was inferior to Xia Liang by a full five minor realms, and this was a gap that couldn’t be easily bridged.
The reason he could compete evenly with Xia Liang at this moment was entirely due to the heavy injuries that prevented him from unleashing his full strength.
This was undoubtedly advantageous for Lu Ye.
As time passed, Xia Liang’s condition continued to deteriorate, while he, due to his continuous fusion with Amber’s vitality, would unleash greater and greater strength.
If he were to reach the point of triggering the Beast Form transformation, Xia Liang would undoubtedly be doomed.
But that required time and the accumulation of momentum. Since obtaining the Beast Form Secret Technique, he had only triggered it once in his battle with He Bing.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye showed no hesitation in his slashes.
Xia Liang also knew that prolonging the fight would be detrimental for himself, so he put all his strength into each strike. Even when blood was spilling constantly from his body, the momentum of his attacks only grew stronger with each strike.
During another clash of their weapons, the recoil caused both of their bodies to pause momentarily. However, in that instant, a warning surged in Lu Ye’s heart.
As he looked up, he saw Xia Liang holding his saber horizontally in front of himself, one hand on the hilt and the other pressed against the blade. Violent Spiritual Power suddenly surged as a dazzling Blade Light slashed out.
The speed of this strike left Lu Ye with no time to react, but luckily, he sensed the danger and swiftly retreated.
Even so, his chest throbbed with pain.
He had been hit. He didn’t know what kind of technique it was that Xia Liang used, but it had to be some kind of Secret Technique as it was more powerful than all his previous attacks.
In the instant he was struck, Lu Ye advanced instead of backing away, and under Xia Liang’s astonished gaze, he swung his saber down.
Flash!
Blood splattered in the air.
A follow-up slash!
However, when the saber came down a second time, Xia Liang readily blocked it. The violent force sent him flying while Lu Ye staggered for a moment.
With Glyph: Windwalk applied to his legs, Lu Ye mercilessly pressed on, enveloping Xia Liang with a terrifying sense of oppression. The flurry of slashes momentarily overwhelmed Xia Liang, who sustained several more wounds as he struggled to defend himself.
Although his Secret Technique had injured Lu Ye, using it with such serious injuries also placed a considerable burden on himself.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Ye, who was wounded, should have retreated, giving himself a chance to recuperate and prepare for the next wave of attacks.
But what actually happened went beyond his expectations. Instead of retreating after being injured, Lu Ye counterattacked and pressed forward, which threw Xia Liang into an increasingly precarious position.
To his chagrin, his opponent seemed to grow stronger as the battle progressed. They were evenly matched at the initial clash, but at this moment, the speed and power of his opponent’s strikes were faster and fiercer than before. With the balance disrupted, Xia Liang could only defend against Lu Ye’s onslaught.
Despite being forced back step by step, Xia Liang did not give up his resistance. He seized a moment to look towards the other side of the battlefield, and a chilling sensation washed over him.
That was because Tan Sheng’s situation was even worse than his own.
After all, his opponent was Li Baxian, a legend of over a decade in the Spirit Creek Realm. Even though he was currently only in the Fifth Order, his true strength far exceeded that.
Tan Sheng’s injuries were no lighter than his own, but his strength was also inferior. In such a situation, fighting against Li Baxian would not bode well for him.
He couldn’t even get close to Li Baxian, and despite exerting all his effort, he could only defend against the onslaught of the Flying Swords, sustaining new wounds from time to time.
[How did things end up like this?]
Three Ninth Order cultivators came to the Grand Wilds Peak with high spirits to seek revenge on Yi Ye, but one died first, and the remaining two were pursued to this point, where their lives were now hanging by a thread.
Before setting off, they had considered countless possibilities, including that Yi Ye could escape through a Teleportation Ward, the Divine Opportunity Column or some other means… Yet, they ended up being the ones escaping, and they were caught.
It was the end for them!
Xia Liang knew that he probably wasn’t getting out of this situation.
With no will to survive, a resolute expression appeared on his face, and Lu Ye, who was attacking ferociously, immediately sensed his change and left some strength to guard against any unexpected developments.
Sure enough, Xia Liang completely gave up defense in the next moment. His Spiritual Power surged violently, and he seemed to throw his life on the line as he engaged Lu Ye in a fierce battle, unleashing various exquisite blade techniques. For a while, it seemed like he could reverse the decline of his position.
However, at this moment, the integration of Lu Ye’s and Amber’s vitality had reached an extremely deep level. He could borrow Amber’s power with every strike, and it wouldn’t be long before he even had hopes of triggering the Beast Form Secret Technique. So, no matter what Xia Liang did, he was ultimately just a trapped beast struggling in his cage.
However, at this moment, Lu Ye suddenly sensed some unusual movements that caused his eyebrows to furrow.
In the next moment, the sound of something breaking through the air swiftly came from not far away, followed by streams of light entering their field of vision.
As the streams of light dispersed, numerous figures were revealed, surrounding the battlefield where they were.
[How could there be so many people so deep in the Grand Wilds Peak?] Lu Ye wondered.
Most importantly, he couldn’t tell the origins of these people.
There were quite a few of them, about a dozen or so, and judging from the fluctuations of their Spiritual Power, several of them were Ninth Order cultivators, while most of the rest were above the Sixth Order.
This unexpected group of guests had formidable levels of cultivation, to say the least.
The intense battle instantly subsided. Not only did Lu Ye and Xia Liang stop fighting, even Li Baxian and Tan Sheng ceased their actions. They each separated and gathered back in pairs, remaining vigilant and on guard.
A group of people had suddenly arrived in the midst of their life-or-death battle. Before figuring out the situation, no one dared to act rashly.
Despite their unwillingness to stop, Lu Ye and Li Baxian had no choice but to put on their guards.
On the other hand, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang both breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of which faction these people belonged to, they could temporarily stop worrying about their lives at the very least.
An extra moment alive was a moment cherished… What if these people were from Thousand Demon Ridge?
Next to Li Baxian, Lu Ye held the Inviolable Saber, his Spiritual Power surging and his blood boiling. He turned his head and glanced at Li Baxian.
Li Baxian shook his head slowly, indicating that he didn’t recognize any of them.
Even though he had a wide network of contacts and spent over a decade in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, sending off one group of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators after another, he mostly stayed in the Outpost of the Devoted Ones and rarely went out. Most of the people he interacted with were the experts on the Roll of Supremacy, and he didn’t know many who weren’t on the list. So, though there were quite a few people who arrived, he truly hadn’t seen any of them before.
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