Chapter 1363: Encirclement and Annihilation

Then, in Hu Changqi’s line of sight, a phantom-like figure appeared in front of the headless corpse, its two hands instantly reaching out.

One hand directly stripped the storage ring from the corpse’s finger, while the other, like a sharp blade, pierced through the dantian of the oncoming headless body.

The person’s movements were as smooth as flowing water, as natural as if they had been practiced a thousand times.

In his vision, he saw a bald, gray-robed elder holding a Nascent Soul. The face of the Nascent Soul still wore a bewildered expression, but the light of life had already faded from its eyes.

Because everything had happened so quickly, the Nascent Soul’s consciousness was still stuck on its previous train of thought at the moment of its death.

Then, Hu Changqi fell into darkness…

Li Yan looked at the Nascent Soul in his hand, which had been instantly pierced through the forehead by a Demon-Sealing Needle. With a surge of magical power, “Bang!” the Nascent Soul, which looked identical to Hu Changqi, dissipated without any pain.

Then, Li Yan’s figure vanished once more.

In the distance, the masked cultivator in red still stood frozen in place. The figure behind him seemed to overlap for a moment in the next instant, but then it was as if nothing had happened at all.

If anyone had seen this scene from afar, they would never have believed that the gray-robed elder behind the masked cultivator had just left, killed a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with casual ease, and then returned.

Having survived a life-and-death calamity, the current Li Yan had a deeper understanding of the laws of heaven and earth. His ability to borrow the unpredictable powers of the world had become much more fluid.

He no longer had the sense of separation and unfamiliarity he felt when he first entered the Late-stage Nascent Soul realm and tried to manipulate the laws of heaven and earth. Dealing with Nascent Soul level cultivators, he could now command the power of the world almost at will.

And at this stage, the formidable power of the Five Immortal Sects’ late-stage techniques was also revealing its ferocious fangs. With a mere gesture, he could disrupt the technique-channeling of a cultivator of the same rank.

The moment the masked cultivator in red had attacked him, at such a close distance, the Phoenix Soars to the Heavens technique allowed him to close the distance in an instant with a short, angled burst of speed.

Even though his opponent was a Late-stage Great Cultivator, he had only just sensed that something was wrong. The distance between them was too close. After refining the eighth drop of essence blood, Phoenix Soars to the Heavens had reached a level of eerie unpredictability.

Especially within a hundred-foot radius, Li Yan was practically omnipresent. Almost no one below the Spirit Transformation Realm could escape his surprise attacks. By the time he reached his opponent, the masked cultivator’s Divine Sense was still focused on his previous position.

Just as a chill began to rise in his heart, Li Yan unleashed the Five Elements Disarray Mantle, instantly disrupting the five-element rules in the surrounding area and throwing them into chaos.

This caused his opponent’s techniques to become extremely unstable for a short period, temporarily unable to draw on external power—more precisely, unable to stably draw on the power of the five elements.

This technique had been effective even against a Spirit Transformation cultivator like Xue Longzi; he had no way to dispel it. How could a cultivator of the same rank compare? After being cleansed by the Immortalization Liquid, Li Yan’s cultivation had advanced even further.

When using this technique on someone of the same rank, the backlash to Li Yan’s Sea of Consciousness was no longer as severe.

In the brief moment the masked cultivator’s magical power failed to replenish, the Demon-Sealing Needle pierced his body and pinned him to the spot.

In the next moment, Li Yan had already appeared hundreds of li away, using the Quaking Cosmos technique. This was a technique almost equivalent to a Nascent Soul’s instantaneous movement. A distance of several thousand li could be crossed in a single thought, let alone a mere few hundred.

Hu Changqi had no time to react at all before Li Yan stepped out of the void and chopped him on the neck with the side of his hand. The difference in their strength was too great.

Coupled with the fact that this was essentially a surprise attack, his opponent’s protective shield was like paper. It was instantly shattered, and as his head flew high, Li Yan had already sent a volley of Demon-Sealing Needles piercing through his body.

Against a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, as long as the opponent didn’t have an extremely strong defensive magical treasure, trying to defend against Li Yan’s attacks with just their physical body was a fool’s dream. He was like a peerless human-shaped beast.

It was just that when Li Yan took out the opponent’s Nascent Soul, he hadn’t expected him to be so weak. He had used too many Demon-Sealing Needles.

Hu Changqi’s Nascent Soul was pierced through the head before it even had a chance to think about escaping, dying instantly. Li Yan hadn’t given him the slightest chance to use the life-saving instantaneous movement of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Like a ghost, Li Yan reappeared behind the masked cultivator in red, as if he had never left.

He was becoming more and more proficient with the combination of Quaking Cosmos and Five Elements Disarray Mantle, complemented by his extremely familiar surprise attack methods.

Li Yan felt that these techniques from the Gui Water Immortal Sect were simply the finest killing tools in the world.

The moment he appeared, he shot out a beam of light from one hand, wrapping around the storage ring on the opponent’s finger, while his other hand pressed down on the crown of his head and immediately began a soul-search.

He didn’t have much time. Shangguan Tianque’s side was likely struggling to hold on. So, he killed one immediately and left a Late-stage Great Cultivator for a soul-search, hoping to get more information.

But in the next moment, a brilliant light suddenly erupted in Li Yan’s eyes. His figure blurred, leaving only an afterimage that was still raising its hand to perform the soul-search…

“Boom!”

A cloud of blood mist erupted from where Li Yan had been standing. Hundreds of li away, Li Yan’s face was etched with frustration.

‘Someone placed a restriction in his Sea of Consciousness, forbidding soul-searching. Once the restriction is touched, it will immediately self-destruct. Even I couldn’t detect this restriction. I only sensed it when I touched it…’

Li Yan hadn’t expected that the moment he used the Soul-Searching Art, the opponent’s Sea of Consciousness would immediately become unstable. A bone-chilling fear that made even him feel cold instantly appeared in his heart, causing the hair on his body to stand on end.

Without a second thought, he had instinctively retreated and fled into the distance.

In his Divine Sense, a powerful shockwave erupted from that location, instantly spreading out for four hundred li. Although Li Yan was already at the edge of the shockwave, his gray robes were still buffeted by the wind, making a flapping sound.

His sparse gray-white hair was also constantly being torn at, flying about in all directions. The masked cultivator in red was now gone without a trace, completely vanished from this world.

“How vicious. Even the Nascent Soul was completely dissolved in the self-destruction. This was a Late-stage Great Cultivator. To be able to place a restriction in his Sea of Consciousness, doesn’t that mean the person behind him is even more powerful…”

At this thought, Li Yan was moved.

He then recalled that Shangguan Tianque had recognized their attacker as Liu Huaigu of the Green Goat Temple. But the strongest cultivator in the Green Goat Temple was only at the Late-stage Nascent Soul realm. This didn’t add up!

For a moment, Li Yan felt that things were becoming a bit complicated. But right now, he had no more time to think.

Fierce battles were raging in several places, and no one had noticed what was happening here yet. He had to hurry.

Before the enemy realized something was amiss, he had to strike again, quickly. Shangguan Tianque was fighting against two opponents and was desperately fighting and retreating in one direction.

At this point, Shangguan Tianque was already injured. If he couldn’t shake off the two of them, there was a high probability that he would perish.

However, at least Liu Huaigu and the other had not yet been able to force Shangguan Tianque to the point of abandoning his physical body. Shangguan Tianque was still holding on desperately. He basically knew Li Yan’s true strength.

And although two people were chasing Li Yan, there was only one Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Thus, he had to hold these two off to create an opportunity for Li Yan to see if he could change the tide of the battle.

But at the same time, he wasn’t just blindly stalling. If something went wrong on Li Yan’s side, then his entire gamble would be lost, and the outcome would likely be sealed.

“Liu Huaigu, are you trying to start a war between our sects?”

Shangguan Tianque’s face was grim as he fought and fled. To kill him, Liu Huaigu had somehow found two other Late-stage Great Cultivators.

He didn’t know the strength of the other masked cultivator in red who was chasing Li Yan, but he couldn’t see through the cultivation method of the person who was teaming up with Liu Huaigu. And his combat power seemed to be even stronger than Liu Huaigu’s.

His own strength was about on par with Liu Huaigu’s. Therefore, the moment the two of them joined forces, Shangguan Tianque had almost used his full cultivation.

In just a short time, he had already consumed more than sixty percent of his magical power. A large hole had been pierced through his right thigh, a mess of mangled flesh and blood.

The magical treasure-grade clothing on his back was also torn to shreds, revealing the white bones beneath. One could even see his internal organs squirming through the gaps between two ribs. He was in a truly miserable state.

“Hehehe… Fellow Daoist, you must have mistaken me for someone else. Which sect is this Liu Huaigu from? And do you really think you’ll have a chance to start a sect war?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Huaigu, disguised as a scrawny youth, let out a string of cackles.

Although he had been recognized, he still wouldn’t admit it. Who knew if there were any people or demonic beasts hiding nearby?

“Kill him quickly! We’re already in the Blood Lantern Sect’s territory. Other cultivators could appear at any time!”

Seeing Liu Huaigu’s mocking demeanor, the masked cultivator in red immediately sent a voice transmission to remind him. His goal on this trip was to quickly complete the mission and kill the target. He wasn’t like Liu Huaigu, who was here to vent his anger.

He had just scanned the other directions with his Divine Sense. His companion had already caught up with the gray-robed elder, but the other two Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators had not yet caught up with the “two” handsome youths who had fled.

“Kree!”

With a strange cry, Shangguan Tianque, who was in mid-flight, suddenly flicked his silver spear to the left, creating a violent tremor.

“Clang!”

With another clash of metal, a red object was struck by his spear, and a phantom-like figure was revealed from the void.

With Shangguan Tianque using his magical power unstintingly, the red object was pushed back by a great force from the spear, turning into a long red shadow in the air until it finally came to a stop three hundred feet away.

“Kree!”

Another strange cry. It was a creature that was semi-transparent red, with a body like a giant snake but a head like a spider.

“A Blood Jade Spider-Snake!”

Shangguan Tianque’s heart chilled. This demonic beast’s attacks were as fast as the wind, extremely difficult to deal with.

The demonic beast’s eight giant legs supported its massive body. A pair of crimson eyes stared viciously at Shangguan Tianque.

And in the center of its head was a single horn like red jade, curved like a bloody tusk, glowing with a crimson light.

The bloody hole in Shangguan Tianque’s thigh had been pierced by it earlier. If Shangguan Tianque hadn’t reacted quickly, one of his legs would have been torn off by this demonic beast.

Shangguan Tianque’s last spear strike had used seventy percent of his strength, hitting the beast’s suddenly attacking horn head-on, but it had managed to withstand the blow.

The most troublesome thing about the Blood Jade Spider-Snake was its speed. Within a hundred feet, Shangguan Tianque’s Divine Sense could barely keep up. Coupled with the two cultivators attacking him, its power was even more bizarre and deadly.

Fortunately, the demonic beast’s cultivation was slightly lower than Shangguan Tianque’s, and the masked cultivator in red controlling it should be a powerful Spirit Beast Master.

Most of his own combat power was also in this Blood Jade Spider-Snake. Otherwise, if the two men and one beast attacked together, Shangguan Tianque felt he might not even last thirty breaths.

Not far behind, the red spear in the hand of the masked man in red was gone. His hand seal movements also paused slightly as the Blood Jade Spider-Snake retreated.

This Blood Jade Spider-Snake usually took the form of a red whip that he used. When he commanded it, it would only reveal its true form when it was close to the opponent, catching them off guard and delivering a fatal blow.

The beast-taming art he cultivated was different from other Spirit Beast Masters. His technique involved integrating a part of his own Divine Sense into the demonic beast.

In battle, it wasn’t just relying on the Blood Jade Spider-Snake’s instincts and innate divine abilities. He would observe the opponent from a “bystander’s” perspective and control the Blood Jade Spider-Snake to launch unexpected attacks at the right time.

At that time, the Blood Jade Spider-Snake would abandon its innate attacks and be completely under his control. The angle and power would all be determined by his will.

And when he withdrew his control and used his own techniques to fight the enemy, the Blood Jade Spider-Snake’s attacks would be determined by itself, using whatever methods it chose. This made the demonic beast’s power stronger and its movements more agile.

He had many such demonic beasts in his spirit beast pouch, but he had to consider not revealing his identity and true intentions, so he couldn’t use many of them.

Secondly, Shangguan Tianque was very strong, and he didn’t have many demonic beasts that could deal with him.

With these two conditions, the methods he could use were greatly reduced, which also limited much of his combat power.

However, even so, he felt he could still take down Shangguan Tianque. What’s more, with Liu Huaigu’s help, Shangguan Tianque couldn’t hold on for much longer.

Just as Shangguan Tianque’s spear strike knocked back the ambushing Blood Jade Spider-Snake, a sharp “Screech!” rang in his ears almost simultaneously.

A pained expression appeared on Shangguan Tianque’s face, but he was a battle-hardened veteran. With a roar in his Dantian, he once again forcefully drew upon his magical power, suppressing the intense pain and discomfort in his Sea of Consciousness.

With a sharp turn of his body, a yellow gleam grazed past his side. He knew it was Liu Huaigu’s flying locust stone magical treasure, named the “Immortal-Striking Stone.”

This treasure was truly formidable. Its sound waves would affect the Sea of Consciousness of others. Even if it didn’t hit, within a five-zhang range, the Sea of Consciousness of any living being would be affected, causing instability.

This would cause the enemy’s Divine Sense to lag for a short time. In a battle at their level, where life and death could be decided in an instant, that was more than enough to be fatal.

Once hit by it, even a Great Cultivator like Shangguan Tianque would immediately be sent tumbling.

Under normal circumstances, with Shangguan Tianque on full alert, he would certainly not let it get close.

But under the pincer attack of two men and one beast, especially the Spirit Beast Master who was abnormally calm from a distance, every move he made was at a critical moment of his escape.

And Liu Huaigu was extremely cunning, his timing perfectly coordinated. Otherwise, Shangguan Tianque’s back would not have been so severely injured.

Although the cooperation between these two felt unfamiliar to Shangguan Tianque, their experience was too rich. After just a few encirclements, their coordination was rapidly improving, pushing Shangguan Tianque to the brink.