Yu Ci was very clear about his own abilities and talents.
Perhaps his swordsmanship lacked formal technique, but years of life-and-death combat had honed him into a warrior who could integrate his hand, eye, heart, and courage with the sword’s momentum. Whether facing a thousand swords or just one, it was all the same sword to him, as long as he trusted the blade in his hand.
He had no intention of giving way. Relying on his absolute confidence gained from being on the brink of life and death, he tore through the fierce wind, passing by the trajectory of the green, poisonous light like a flame without a tangible form, and lunged forward.
The Snake-like Monk only saw a flash before Yu Ci, engulfed in blazing fire, darted into the central area with his ferocious close-quarters swordplay. The monk’s narrow eyes nearly burst, and he let out a piercing scream. A flash of the golden sword, which he had recently seized, appeared out of nowhere. Even though it was not yet fully refined, he had no choice but to use it.
Yu Ci had witnessed him steal Ye Tu’s golden sword and was naturally prepared. Despite the intense offensive, he still reserved some strength. When the golden sword appeared, Yu Ci immediately unleashed a powerful counterattack. His fiery sword made a slight swing, shifting its angle rather than a straightforward thrust.
With a deafening crash, the golden sword flew away. Yu Ci’s body almost brushed the cliff as he crashed into the Snake-like Monk’s central area. The violently vibrating fiery sword blade slashed diagonally through the monk’s chest and abdomen. However, due to the impact with the golden sword, the damage was shallow, leaving only a thin cut before the blade extinguished, reverting to a blunt wooden sword.
In pain, the Snake-like Monk roared and struck downwards.
In that brief moment, Yu Ci angled his body, partially reducing the monk’s force, and slammed his shoulder into the monk’s chest wound. This was a direct reflection of his precise and swift physical response, a reckless act that disregarded the abyss.
The Snake-like Monk was caught off guard by Yu Ci’s determination. His chest was struck painfully, and the intense collision of their protective true energy caused them to plummet downwards, directly below was Old Xu.
With the Snake-like Monk’s block, Old Xu had at least three ways to obstruct their path. However, he stepped aside!
“Damn it…” The Snake-like Monk was too exhausted even to curse.
Under Yu Ci’s overwhelming momentum, the two plummeted nearly a hundred yards in the blink of an eye, reaching the edge of danger. During their meteor-like descent, the Snake-like Monk felt his chest nearly bursting, desperately trying to control the golden sword to cut the young companion in half. However, the golden sword, still recently refined, was not yet responsive enough. Distracted, Yu Ci seized the opportunity to deliver a few heavy punches to his head, making him see stars and almost reducing him to tears.
The monk, enraged and fearful, suddenly heard a voice in his ear: “Hurry!”
It was Old Xu’s voice. At the same time, his chest was struck again, and the heavy pressure on him suddenly lifted.
The Snake-like Monk could do nothing else but crash into the cliff wall, trying to reduce the force. Fortune favored him; he slid down about half a mile and found a stable foothold. The golden sword fell from above and was caught by him. It was only then that he saw, through the mist, a long black rope resembling a venomous snake shooting down from above.
Yu Ci’s Nine Yang Talisman Sword once again emitted a fiery blade and accurately struck the front end of the incoming dark rope. The clash of sword and rope caused the rope to retract and attempt another attack, but Yu Ci’s Nine Yang Fire Sword forced it back with fiery waves. However, Yu Ci’s cultivation was still inferior to the opponent’s, and he too was shaken, his feet suspended in mid-air as he slid down a short distance. When he stabilized, he was slightly lower than the Snake-like Monk.
Old Xu also descended from above, catching the returning rope. Seeing Yu Ci preparing to strike again, he hurriedly shouted, “Hold him off for a moment!”
“Damn it, what are you…” The Snake-like Monk began to curse but soon saw Old Xu muttering incantations. A circle of gray-white fire ignited around him and spread to the rope in his hand. The monk swallowed his curses; he knew Old Xu was about to exert his power.
He ultimately knew his limits. He understood that with his injuries, if he provoked Old Xu further, he would likely die in the Sky Rift Valley. He spat and braced himself, blocking Yu Ci’s reverse-slashing sword light. However, he dared not use the not fully refined golden sword to attack again. Instead, he firmly stood in the path with the golden sword, blocking Yu Ci’s way.
In the blink of an eye, their positions had completely reversed. Yu Ci, who had previously been in a favorable high ground position, now had to attack upward. But he was not afraid at all; the Snake-like Monk had lost his confidence, making him a negligible threat. Old Xu, on the other hand, had timed his attacks exceptionally well and used his strength with great skill, proving to be more adept than the Snake-like Monk.
As he thought this, Old Xu struck again, sending out the long rope, which now had a faint gray-white flame in addition to its dark color. Old Xu stood firmly at a high vantage point, making hand seals, while the rope seemed to have a life of its own, twisting and looping in the air. This method of attack was something Yu Ci had never seen before.
The Snake-like Monk moved up sharply, creating distance, and loudly praised, “What a marvelous Spirit-Restraining Rope, what a powerful Soul-Destroying Flame!”
The incoming rope, like a giant python, circled downward, not to strike but to entangle Yu Ci. Upon hearing the Snake-like Monk’s praise and seeing the gray-white flame on the rope, Yu Ci was determined not to test it. He took a deep breath and suddenly leaped sideways into the mist.
No one knew the terrain better than Yu Ci. This was already within the range where he harvested Shrimp Whisker Grass. The cliff was full of excavated crevices, and there were plenty of places to land. After leveraging his position twice, his leaping speed had reached its peak, but the long rope followed closely behind, even faster, with its tip already surpassing his body and looping inward.
Yu Ci glanced quickly and saw the shape of the gray-white flame up close. Was this the Soul-Destroying Flame?
The gray-white flames burned fiercely without emitting much heat, and the dark rope showed no signs of being burned. However, the cliff surface where the rope passed became covered in black spots, more like poison than fire. Among the flames were countless twisted patterns, which, upon closer inspection, were translucent images of living beings struggling and howling in their final moments. Though Yu Ci could not hear the sounds, he could feel a malevolent force shaking his soul.
Without hesitation, before reaching his third landing spot, he suddenly stomped on the cliff wall, propelling himself away from the landing point and cliff, throwing himself into the boundless mist. At the moment he made this move, the long rope retracted, seeming as though it had forced him out.
Yu Ci’s leap was so forceful that he was completely suspended in mid-air, with no support within five yards. As his momentum waned, he inevitably began to fall.
“Good!” The monk shouted with glee, his delight apparent. Old Xu also smiled, having intended to use the Spirit-Restraining Rope to chase him from the inside. The situation was under his control.
In stark contrast to the monk’s cheers, a startled cry suddenly rang out from a nearby cliff. The cry caught the attention of both the monk and Old Xu. Turning to look through the mist, they vaguely saw a slanted ledge with a blurred figure on it.
The cry came from Ye Tu. During the fight, he had ended up near the ledge. Though he could not take action himself, his keen senses had captured the entire fierce battle. Seeing Yu Ci being forced away from the cliff, he was horrified and involuntarily cried out, revealing his presence.
The Snake-like Monk, closer to Old Xu, was momentarily stunned before sneering, “So it’s you. Kid, you’re quite lucky…”
As he spoke, he eyed the spacious area on the steep slope and prepared to seize it. At this moment, a blinding light flashed in the valley’s mist.
Just as Yu Ci was about to be engulfed by the mist, he raised his hand. A spiritual talisman exploded in his palm, and a massive pale purple lightning burst forth like a dragon or a flood dragon, tearing through the clouds. As it soared into the air, it exploded with a thunderous roar, resembling a multi-branched giant tree sweeping across half the sky, directly hitting the Spirit-Restraining Rope at the bottom. The gray-white flame clinging to the rope was extinguished in less than half a breath by the lightning.
Only then did the rumbling thunder reverberate through the canyon, stirring the clouds in a roaring, tidal wave.
Five Thunder Talisman!
The Five Thunder Talisman that Yu Ci used was the essence of all thunder techniques from the “Celestial Qi Gathering Secret Talisman Manual.” It harnessed the power of lightning, harmonizing with the yin and yang of heaven and earth, and could command spirits, call winds and rains, and strike evil entities. It was indeed the nemesis of all malevolent ghosts and spirits.
Previously, Yu Ci had recognized that the so-called Soul-Destroying Flame was a malevolent fire born from the resentment and anger of vengeful spirits. The pre-prepared Five Thunder Talisman was perfectly suited for this. As the gray-white flames extinguished, the dark rope fell like a dead snake into the valley. Old Xu, still more than ten yards away, felt the energy impact and, with a pained groan, cursed, “Zhengde, you bald monk, which of your eyes saw him as from the Sun Light Sect?”
The Snake-like Monk, stunned, was about to respond. However, the roaring thunderbolt had swept away the long rope and surged upwards. The combined influence of Ye Tu and Old Xu had distracted him, leaving him unable to react in time. The lightning struck him with a deafening roar, turning him completely blackened, his skin torn open. Only by relying on a pure breath of true Qi to protect his heart did he avoid immediate death.
This certainly did not resemble the methods of the Sun Light Sect…
As this thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly heard a cheer from the slope. To him, it sounded ominously heavy.
As he opened his eyes, which had nearly been blinded by the lightning, they nearly burst from his sockets. Amidst the swirling mist, the so-called “Sun Light Sect junior” was stepping onto what seemed like a stairway to heaven, ascending with each step. The blinding light forced the monk to squint again, instinctively wanting to raise his blade to block, but he couldn’t lift it. A red line appeared across his vision, followed by complete darkness.
Yu Ci, with one sword swipe, removed half of the Snake-like Monk’s head. Regardless of the gory scene, Yu Ci laughed heartily, his form never pausing as he ascended through the clouds.
The poetic phrases describing him, “White Smoke Crane Feather Flying Spirit,” and “Feet Growing Clouds Swift as the Wind,” were fitting. This was the third talisman Yu Ci had prepared: the Divine Movement Talisman!
With the talisman’s effect, he seemed to grow wings, supported by the cloud energy. This brief period of levitation and stepping on air was a discovery Yu Ci made a few days ago while traveling with the Divine Movement Talisman. It was most appropriate to use in the Sky Rift Valley.
Having lost two companions, Old Xu was already frightened. Although he still had the advantage of the terrain, his most reliable tool, the “Spirit-Restraining Rope,” had been destroyed. Continuing the fight was increasingly perilous. He immediately leaped to escape.
Experience showed that this was the most foolish choice!
Yu Ci swung his sword, initially intended as a preparatory move. But as soon as he struck, he realized the sword felt incredibly natural, as if guided by invisible hands, tearing through the void with instinctual precision.
At that moment, his top of the head grew warm. The “lamp flame” that had been dormant for a long time suddenly flared up in the brain palace, radiating with immense brightness. He felt the “lamp flame” illuminating both body and mind, making his entire being seem transparent. At this instant, the talisman sword in his hand vibrated as if touched by invisible fingers. The vibrating energy within him, along with his deeper soul and intent, also resonated.
He wasn’t sure which aspect vibrated first, but he could clearly sense that the frequency of this vibration was akin to his soul’s oscillation when entering the divine realm. As the vibrations harmonized, he could no longer distinguish between the talisman sword, the true Qi, or the soul and intent. Everything was unified on the path of the “soul.”
Though it seemed complex, it was all accomplished in the moment of swinging the sword.
In the sky, a thin red line extended like a thread or lightning. It effortlessly covered the distance of three to five yards. The blood-red glow appeared, splitting Old Xu’s fleeing body in half and painting a layer of glaring red across the misty canyon.
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