Chapter 1364: The Bewildered and Helpless Liu Huaigu

Fighting these two, Shangguan Tianque felt as if his strength was being stifled, leaving him feeling constrained and clumsy.

Just as Shangguan Tianque dodged the attack of the Immortal-Striking Stone, the pain in his Sea of Consciousness had yet to fully subside. He was still dizzy when he suddenly felt a tightening in his grip, and the long spear nearly flew out of his hand.

He subconsciously tightened his grip, abruptly halting the shaft that had slipped a short distance, and held it firm once more.

This sent a cold sweat down Shangguan Tianque’s back. He quickly focused his Divine Sense and swept it around, his heart sinking.

In his Divine Sense, a transparent thread had wrapped around the head of his spear. The other end of the thread was in the mouth of the nearby Blood Jade Spider-Snake.

The creature had actually spat out a strand of spider silk the moment it was forced back by his spear. The silk was transparent and almost invisible in the void.

Coupled with Liu Huaigu’s tight coordination, Shangguan Tianque’s Sea of Consciousness was disrupted at the same time he repelled the Blood Jade Spider-Snake, preventing him from noticing it in time.

While Shangguan Tianque was momentarily stunned, Liu Huaigu certainly wasn’t going to give him time to react. The moment the Immortal-Striking Stone had grazed his body, it had just flown past.

Then, with a sudden flicker, it instantly flew back, and its speed was even more rapid, striking again from a diagonal angle.

Shangguan Tianque’s reaction was also extremely fast. Without any hesitation, he let go of the long spear and slammed his fist onto its butt.

The silver spear’s entire body trembled, emitting a “buzzing” sound. In the next moment, with a sharp, piercing sound, it shot out like a silver arrow.

In a flash of lightning, it had already reached the front of the Blood Jade Spider-Snake’s head.

The Blood Jade Spider-Snake’s eyes flashed with a vicious light. With a sudden shake of its head, the transparent thread wrapped around the silver spear instantly emitted a blood-red glow.

At the same time, a powerful tearing force erupted from the transparent thread, forcibly pulling the silver spear to one side.

Although Shangguan Tianque’s punch had imbued the silver spear with even greater force, it was still yanked aside by the transparent thread.

While Shangguan Tianque threw the punch, a shield had also appeared in his other hand. The shield expanded in the wind, its surface covered with silver, snake-like runes that writhed unceasingly, like streaks of silver lightning.

The moment the shield appeared, it flew from his hand, rapidly spinning around his body and creating a silver arc of light.

With a “thud,” the returning Immortal-Striking Stone struck the shield. The silver runes on the shield quickly converged on the point of impact, and as they gathered, they erupted in a dazzling light, successfully blocking the attack.

As the Sect Master of a sect, Shangguan Tianque had fought his way through countless battles to survive to this day. He was not one to have an undeserved reputation; he naturally had his own life-saving measures.

He had blocked it, but the Immortal-Striking Stone was not repelled. For a moment, it was locked in a stalemate with the shield.

As the yellow and silver lights clashed, they continuously erupted in one burst of light after another. Shangguan Tianque, as if weathering a fierce storm, slowly retreated under the flashing lights.

Fortunately, this shield was his life-saving item. It even managed to block about seventy percent of the Immortal-Striking Stone’s power that affected the Sea of Consciousness.

This meant that although Shangguan Tianque’s Sea of Consciousness was still affected, it was at least within a tolerable range.

In the distance, the masked cultivator in red’s eyes flashed with a vicious light. His method of controlling spirit beasts was different from others, but he himself was still a Great Cultivator.

Seeing that his Blood Jade Spider-Snake had entangled the opponent’s magical treasure, and that Liu Huaigu had temporarily pinned Shangguan Tianque’s figure, he formed a ring with his thumb and middle finger, about to flick something out.

But just then, the masked cultivator in red didn’t notice that a figure had quietly appeared behind him. Because the opponent had arrived at a speed almost comparable to a Nascent Soul’s instantaneous movement, it had already surpassed his reaction time.

Not only did he not react in time, but the other two also failed to notice this bizarre scene.

The newcomer was Li Yan. After using Quaking Cosmos, a distance of a thousand li was covered in an instant. His first glance showed him that Shangguan Tianque was in danger, but it probably wasn’t a true life-or-death situation yet.

Li Yan didn’t feel like he had a savior’s halo, arriving just in the nick of time every time. He believed that Shangguan Tianque definitely had more life-saving trump cards.

He struck the moment he appeared, without any further observation.

It was still the Five Elements Disarray Mantle plus the Demon-Sealing Needle. He knew it would be best if he could capture the opponent alive this time. He had to try a soul-search, no matter what, to see why they had ambushed them.

Although Shangguan Tianque had roughly guessed the reason for the other party’s hostility when he saw Liu Huaigu at the market, it was still just a guess. Whether it was truly because the elder of the Dragon-Catching Sect had developed a killing intent was not necessarily the case.

Just as the masked cultivator in red was about to attack, he suddenly felt that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him became chaotic when he tried to use his technique.

The fire-element technique he was about to unleash instead drew out water, metal, and earth element spiritual energy. Instantly, his chest tightened, and three unexpected spiritual energies entered his body, crashing directly into his internal organs.

His head buzzed. He had suffered a backlash from his own technique. The masked cultivator in red was shocked, but before he could react, “Crash!” a sound like a mirror shattering came. A powerful force instantly struck him. The timing of this force was perfect, hitting him just as he suffered the backlash and was unable to gather his magical power.

The protective light shield on his body, which had suddenly become unstable, was directly struck by this brute force, emitting a crisp, clear sound.

Then, the masked cultivator’s body trembled violently, and he stood there, frozen, not moving at all.

All of this happened too quickly. A Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator hadn’t even had time to react before being ambushed.

And if this had happened to a normal cultivator, no one would have ever dreamed that the power of the laws of heaven and earth around them would suddenly undergo such a bizarre change.

One moment it was perfectly normal, the next it was a chaotic mess! He hadn’t even successfully cast his spell before he was harmed by it.

Li Yan was now increasingly familiar with his routine of surprise attacks. By the time he “teleported” over, he was already prepared.

His series of actions was smoother than flowing water. It was almost as if the moment he appeared, he had already completed all subsequent actions, leaving no one with a chance to intervene.

Li Yan barely paused for a moment. The Phoenix Soars to the Heavens movement skill was instantly deployed, and he charged out again. At short distances, with Phoenix Soars to the Heavens at its peak, it was two points faster than casting Quaking Cosmos.

Liu Huaigu’s side had just heard the “crash” sound. He thought the masked man in red had launched another attack and just swept his divine sense backward.

He saw that at the position where the masked man in red stood, there seemed to be two figures standing one behind the other. Before he could even see clearly, a chill suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart.

This chill, without any warning, shot straight to the crown of his head. He felt like a rabbit with its fur standing on end.

And just as Liu Huaigu reacted, Li Yan had already arrived behind him, leaving only his afterimage in his original spot. Liu Huaigu didn’t even think. In the face of danger, he threw himself forward.

His movements and reactions were all completed in an instant, already pushing himself to his physical limit.

But by this time, it was too late. A powerful force still slammed directly into his back.

But Li Yan hadn’t expected this person to react so quickly. His arm had just been raised, and before he could even use the Demon-Sealing Needle to seal him, he had to change his palm from a swing to a chop, striking the opponent’s back from a distance.

“Boom!”

Liu Huaigu’s body was instantly sent flying forward!

And the moment he lunged forward, a circle of golden light had already lit up around him, protecting his entire person within it.

It was a jade ring hanging from his waist. He usually wouldn’t put it in his storage ring but would keep it hanging there, ready to be used with just a thought.

Li Yan felt as if he had struck a piece of thousand-year-old refined iron. His arm trembled, and his palm was knocked back.

This palm of his should have been able to shatter the protective light shield of an ordinary Great Cultivator, but it was blocked by that sudden golden light.

“Hmm?”

Li Yan let out a soft sound of surprise. The opponent’s defensive magical treasure was very strong, actually withstanding seventy percent of his physical strength. Although he was surprised, his feet did not stop moving.

His body once again disappeared from its original spot. Liu Huaigu, who was lunging forward, still didn’t know what had happened; he had just been sent flying.

If it weren’t for the terrifying pressure that came with the force striking his back, which made his whole body tremble, he might not have activated his defensive magical treasure.

“What kind of ferocious beast is this?”

This immense force, even through the defensive magical treasure and the protective light shield, felt like a thunderclap to Liu Huaigu. His entire mind roared incessantly.

The vertebrae in his back made “cracking” sounds. He even suspected that he had seen wrong before. The one standing behind the masked man in red should have been a demonic beast.

As he lunged forward, he forcefully drew upon his magical power, about to counterattack. But just as he raised his hand to form a seal, and the spiritual energy of the surrounding space suddenly converged, “Puff!” a wisp of light smoke suddenly emerged from his fingertips.

Liu Huaigu was a bit dazed. The power of the laws of heaven and earth he had just gathered had suddenly been mixed with several types of rule powers he didn’t recognize.

Fortunately, his technique had just begun. If this had happened when it was fully formed, the technique might have instantly self-destructed in his face.

Thinking about the power of his own condensed techniques, that would have been tantamount to rapid suicide.

“What the hell?”

This kind of unpredictable situation during spellcasting had long since faded from his memory.

It seemed that it was only when he was in the Qi Condensation stage and first came into contact with techniques that he had repeatedly failed to condense them, causing the techniques to explode and leave him battered and bruised.

Of course, at that time, he didn’t understand the power of rules at all; he didn’t even know the term. But now, he was a revered Late-stage Great Cultivator. How could this be happening?

This sudden scene actually caused the battle-hardened Liu Huaigu to be stunned for a moment. But before he could figure out what was going on, the terrifying force from behind appeared again.

“Boom!”

The stunned Liu Huaigu was hit squarely.

This force was even stronger than before, and Liu Huaigu had no way to deflect it. His body was sent flying forward at an even faster speed, the jade ring bursting with a dazzling golden light.

This time, although the attack still failed to break through the jade ring’s defense, some of the force had penetrated into Liu Huaigu’s body. Liu Huaigu felt his internal organs being churned, and he couldn’t help but let out a heavy grunt.

His body tumbled, and he was sent flying another hundred feet or so, with wisps of blood seeping from his mouth.

Liu Huaigu’s combat experience was quite extensive. Even under such continuous attacks, with his chest so tight that blood was overflowing, the small figure of his Nascent Soul had already risen. His magical power circulated rapidly again, slightly stabilizing the qi and blood in his body.

As he fled in a sorry state, he once again quickly formed a hand seal. But a figure once again approached before his Divine Sense could scan it.

So, just as his magical seal was formed… “Puff!” it was like a muffled fart again. A wisp of green smoke once again emerged from his fingertips.

The power of heaven and earth around him, which had seemed normal just a moment ago, once again became chaotic. The power of the laws he had gathered instantly dissipated.

“What now…”

Liu Huaigu’s eyes instantly turned crimson. He didn’t know what kind of immortal art this ferocious beast chasing him was using, that it could repeatedly disrupt his techniques.

This left him with a body full of divine abilities, yet he was being chased and beaten by his opponent, completely powerless to fight back. He could only rely on that protective jade ring to constantly defend himself.

Just as Liu Huaigu was about to go mad with frustration, another terrifying force struck. Li Yan once again closed in on his back and, with a blank expression, threw another punch.

“Bang!”

The golden light on Liu Huaigu’s body had become dazzling. Accompanied by his roar of rage, he was sent flying again. But his roar was only half-uttered before it was replaced by another sound.

“Pfft!”

This sound was much louder, but it wasn’t Liu Huaigu’s failed spell. It was him, as he was sent flying, spitting out a large mouthful of blood towards the sky.

The blood drew an arc in the air, so dazzling under the bright sun.

The third blow from behind was even stronger. Liu Huaigu’s defense still held, but more force had penetrated, and he could no longer suppress the injuries inside him.

At this moment, Liu Huaigu was already somewhat disoriented by the inexplicable situation around him. After spitting out an arrow of blood, he was even more dizzy and disoriented.

But his powerful survival instinct still allowed him to forcefully maintain his consciousness. The life-and-death crisis behind him had filled his heart with an indescribable fear.

The opponent’s three consecutive strikes were like an inescapable nightmare, causing him to be hit every time, powerless to dodge.

Driven by a strong desire to live, he instinctively began to form hand seals again.

“Boom!”

This time, however, it wasn’t Li Yan’s attack. A ball of white light exploded in Liu Huaigu’s hands. As his fear reached its peak, he had formed an even more powerful and deadly hand seal.

And the result this time was no longer a muffled sound. The moment the light of the technique appeared, it became extremely unstable. Halfway through its formation, it suddenly exploded.

The panicked Liu Huaigu only saw a flash of white light before he was sent flying.

The power in the golden light outside his body had already been mostly depleted by Li Yan’s attacks. Finally, at this moment, under the force of his own powerful technique, it completely shattered.

Liu Huaigu was thrown high into the air. A deep gash appeared on his chest, and large amounts of blood gushed out as if it were free.

He was still conscious, but his eyes were not filled with the pain of his physical injuries. Instead, they were filled with a deep confusion. He didn’t know what had happened to him today, what kind of ghostly divine ability he had encountered.

This was something that hadn’t happened since he was in the Foundation Establishment stage. And… and he was actually severely injured by his own technique.

As he was thrown through the air, Liu Huaigu turned his head with some difficulty and saw, not far from him, a bald elder staring at him, his gaze as calm as water.

Li Yan was also frustrated. This Liu Huaigu was truly skilled at escaping. His instincts were fast, and he had that jade ring protecting him, allowing him to escape his pursuit time and time again.

And after using the Five Elements Disarray Mantle several times, his own Sea of Consciousness was also beginning to become unstable.

“A truly difficult person to kill!”

Li Yan thought to himself, completely unaware of the frustration of Liu Huaigu, who was already in a state of disarray.