“Huo Qifeng, a Soul Cultivator. The bronze mirror in his hand is a high-grade artisan artifact. He nurtures mountain ghosts with his essence blood and is skilled at sneak attacks.”
This was the description of the seemingly harmless and friendly young man in front of them, according to the Refining Spirit Sect’s Jade Slip.
At the same time, Huo Qifeng tapped his fingers repeatedly, throwing out transparent Soul Darts one after another.
Some Soul Darts carried the sound of ghosts wailing and wolves howling, while others were silent.
After throwing the Soul Darts, Huo Qifeng waved both hands, and a long Soul Blade appeared in his hand, chopping down at Qian Duoduo.
The bronze mirror naturally hung down, resting on his chest.
This three-hit combo in the Foundation Establishment Realm was executed by Huo Qifeng in one smooth motion.
Clearly, he wasn't foolish either; Qian Duoduo, the top-ranked Xiong Jun in the Refining Spirit Sect, would have some skill, no matter how weak he seemed.
Even a lion uses its full strength to fight a rabbit, let alone when Qian Duoduo didn't look as cute as a small rabbit.
Qian Duoduo pointed his right hand forward, and the Golden Rooster Sword flew out, directly confronting the mountain ghost.
He clenched his left hand, and a Soul Shield appeared in his grasp.
Although this Soul Shield had no patterns and offered no enhancement effects, it was thick.
After opening the Middle Spirit Sea, condensing a Magic Treasure with Spiritual Awareness was but a thought.
“A Soul Cultivator?” Huo Qifeng exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Qian Duoduo condense a Soul Shield.
He knew that Qian Duoduo was an Artifact Refiner, but he had never known that Qian Duoduo’s Spiritual Awareness was strong enough to condense a soul weapon.
No sooner said than done. The mountain ghost’s sharp claws collided with the Golden Rooster Sword.
The Golden Rooster Sword, filled with Spiritual Qi by Qian Duoduo and burning hot, immediately made the mountain ghost cry out in pain.
The Golden Rooster Sword continued to maintain its restraint over dark entities.
Huo Qifeng’s Soul Blade landed on Qian Duoduo’s Soul Shield.
He pressed down three times with force but failed to break through the simple and unadorned Soul Shield.
Qian Duoduo’s Soul Shield was simply a thousand layers of Spiritual Awareness stacked one upon another.
As for the Soul Darts flying erratically in the air, they were deflected by the Soul Arrows launched by Qian Duoduo.
“As expected, there’s something to him.”
Huo Qifeng sneered, flicked his wrist, and two short-handled Soul Blades flew into the mountain ghost’s hands.
The mountain ghost and Huo Qifeng, one in front and one behind, advanced towards Qian Duoduo.
The mountain ghost's two short blades focused on the Lower Road. With long arms and legs, the mountain ghost occasionally swept its legs across the ground.
Huo Qifeng, with the long blade in his hand, continuously chopped fiercely at Qian Duoduo from a distance.
Compared to the mindless Sha Souls in the Yin Peach Forest earlier, their attacks were much more threatening.
However, they were only threatening.
With powerful Spiritual Qi as a backing, it was not difficult for the Golden Rooster Sword to penetrate their defense.
Qian Duoduo controlled the Golden Rooster Sword with his Spiritual Awareness, striking Huo Qifeng’s rear from time to time.
And directly in front, Qian Duoduo condensed a sword and a shield, easily blocking their three Soul Blades.
If he hadn't wanted to practice more with them and see how battles in the forest unfolded, Qian Duoduo would have long since unleashed his power and killed them.
After about ten rounds, Huo Qifeng let out a soft cry from his mouth, and his body actually retreated.
The mountain ghost protected him, its Soul Blades dancing up and down, and slowly retreated towards the forest.
“This man and ghost aren’t foolish,” Qian Duoduo thought.
Just as he was about to strike hard to keep them, a mountain ghost over two zhang tall emerged from the forest.
This large mountain ghost was holding a large black tiger in its mouth, swallowing it.
As soon as this large mountain ghost appeared, the previous mountain ghost seemed like a child.
“Sacrifice Ghost!” Huo Qifeng shouted loudly.
He and the small mountain ghost leaped vertically, jumping into the mouth of the large mountain ghost.
“Jie jie,” the large mountain ghost let out two strange cries.
After swallowing one person and one ghost, its aura surged, reaching the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.
It turned out that the mountain ghosts Huo Qifeng nurtured were not one, but two.
After his Foundation Establishment, the mountain ghost he nurtured was the large mountain ghost.
He brought the large mountain ghost into the forest to directly devour Sha Souls and strengthen its power.
Unexpectedly, he was encountered by Qian Duoduo.
Huo Qifeng outwardly underestimated Qian Duoduo, but in reality, he was waiting for the battle on the large mountain ghost's side to end.
After it ended, he would use the ultimate move of Sacrifice Ghost, using his Foundation Establishment Great Perfection to crush Qian Duoduo.
The large mountain ghost clenched its hand, and a black steel fork appeared, its three prongs formed from the tongues of malevolent ghosts.
The steel fork thrust fiercely at Qian Duoduo. A fork shadow immediately flew out.
Leaping from the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage to the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, the large mountain ghost’s movements became much faster, and the black fork shadow reached Qian Duoduo’s eyes in an instant.
Facing the black fork shadow, Qian Duoduo raised the Soul Shield in his hand.
The Soul Shield, as if struck by a giant rock, suddenly sank downwards, almost slipping from his grasp.
If Qian Duoduo hadn’t opened his Middle Spirit Sea and his strength far surpassed before, he would have truly been repelled by this single thrust.
Qian Duoduo quickly swung his sword, cutting the fork shadow in two, and stabilized his stance.
Unexpectedly, after the fork shadow broke into two sections, one section stuck to the sword and the other to the shield.
The sword and shield immediately became heavy, and his Spiritual Awareness even felt a faint pain!
This fork shadow was poisonous soul substance!
Throwing away the sword and shield in his hands, Qian Duoduo condensed another set of sword and shield.
However, the blackness on the discarded sword and shield grew heavier, and Qian Duoduo’s head ached more and more.
This was Soul Combat; win or lose, it would give you a headache.
Seeing that his attack was gaining momentum, the large mountain ghost kept its black fork moving, and fork shadows rained down like a storm.
Qian Duoduo no longer dared to directly block with his shield and sword, only continuously dodging.
Thanks to his Spiritual Awareness far surpassing the large mountain ghost’s, combined with his body being much lighter and quicker, he managed to dodge the torrential fork shadows without much danger.
Seeing that Qian Duoduo’s dodging speed was too fast and long-range attacks were ineffective, the large mountain ghost suddenly spread its arms and thrust the steel fork at Qian Duoduo.
Just as Qian Duoduo was about to raise his sword to block, the large mountain ghost unexpectedly threw the steel fork with the momentum, and it actually stabbed towards his eyes.
During the thrust, the black fork flashed three times, shooting out three fork shadows.
Qian Duoduo retreated several steps sideways, barely dodging the black fork and its shadows, but his peripheral vision caught the large mountain ghost fleeing into the forest.
This Huo Qifeng was truly cunning; after determining he had no chance of winning, he immediately turned and fled!
But how could Qian Duoduo let him escape?
“Ten Coins Unite as One!”
The Everlasting Wealth and Nobility Art had already been poised to strike.
A golden, shimmering copper coin appeared on the large mountain ghost’s neck.
Qian Duoduo clenched his right hand, and the large mountain ghost’s greenish head flew into the sky, while its body continued to burrow into the woods.
After a few stumbles, the large mountain ghost crashed down, and Huo Qifeng tumbled out, already on his last breath.
“Don’t kill me. Aren’t you an Artifact Refiner? I’ll tell you a huge secret. This secret can greatly improve your Artifact Refining level and allow you to refine the legendary Sacred Artifacts.”
Huo Qifeng said to Qian Duoduo, covering his neck and widening his eyes.
Sacred Artifact!
Looking at Huo Qifeng, Qian Duoduo genuinely began to hesitate.
Sacred Artifacts were three levels higher than Treasure Artifacts and currently only existed in legend.
“Only I know this secret. If you kill me, this secret will be lost forever.”
Huo Qifeng saw Qian Duoduo hesitate, knowing he had guessed Qian Duoduo’s thoughts correctly, and actually became assertive.
“You let me go, and I promise to tell you this secret.”
Huo Qifeng stated his demand. “No, in this Secret Realm, you must protect me; you cannot let me die. If I die, this secret will vanish.”
Hearing his demands continuously increase, Qian Duoduo couldn't help but smile.