From the moment Shen Xiuhan used the 【Overturning Sea Bead】 to submerge and conceal himself, to the 【Mystic Ice Force】 freezing and locking down Hu Jiu, and finally to his dragon-like emergence from the water to decapitate him with a single strike, only a few breaths of time had passed!
Pang Wei and Xiong Laosan had first watched helplessly as Chen Hongyuan's corpse sank to the bottom of the water, and now they saw Hu Jiu lose his life in the river. Their hearts were filled with absolute horror!
Pang Wei's eyes trembled slightly, cold sweat drenching his back.
Xiong Laosan's Adam's apple bobbed, a sudden chill running straight to his heart!
The two exchanged a look, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.
They had to fight for their lives...
If they didn't risk everything, they probably wouldn't get out of this alive today!
The two took a deep breath, circulating their demonic techniques in unison.
In an instant, an eerie, pale-red qi leaked from their pores, flickering strangely like little flames against their skin.
The pale-red qi grew thicker and fiercer, gradually turning into a thin layer of blood flames that enveloped them.
【Yinsha Great Art: Blood-Burning Longevity-Consuming Technique】!
Once this technique was unleashed, their lifespan would instantly decrease by eight years!
The whites of Pang Wei and Xiong Laosan's eyes quickly became bloodshot, turning a deep crimson. A thick, unrestrained murderous aura surged forward!
“Little bastard...”
Pang Wei's voice was hoarse and low, every word squeezed from the depths of his throat:
“You killed my fifth and sixth brothers, forcing me to use a secret technique that burns my lifespan... Even death is too good for you!!”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan tilted his head. He raised his index finger and wagged it gently, saying in a leisurely manner:
“Wrong, wrong...”
Then, under the suspicious and startled gazes of Pang Wei and Xiong Laosan, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly as he said:
“The one who went onto the island was also killed by me!”
“...”
Pang Wei's face twitched violently. Then, his eyes widened so hard they nearly split, blood almost seeping from the corners of his eyes as he roared toward the sky:
“Little beast!!”
“If I don't skin you alive, pull out your tendons, and scatter your ashes, I don't deserve the name Pang!!”
Swish!
The pale-red blood qi surged around him. He ran across the water as if it were solid ground, lunging toward Shen Xiuhan at an incredible speed!
His long blade was raised high and slashed straight down, the resulting windstorm sounding like the wailing of a vengeful ghost!
Xiong Laosan was not to be outdone. His spear technique targeted the lower body, sinister and ruthless.
The moment Pang Wei slashed, Xiong Laosan slid across the water. His long spear was like a venomous viper emerging from its cave, thrusting silently and viciously toward Shen Xiuhan's vital points from an incredibly tricky angle!
Shen Xiuhan's eyes flickered. His legs split as he activated 【Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon】, turning into a streak of green light as he plunged into the dense, lush woods of Thousand Pools Island!
Boom!
Pang Wei's slash missed!
The violent blade force tore a deep trench in the water where Shen Xiuhan had just stood, kicking up a water column over twenty feet high!
“Where do you think you're going?!”
Without another word, he kicked off, turning into a blood-red streak of light along with Xiong Laosan as they pursued him into the island!
Whoosh!
The wind howled through the forest!
Wherever the three passed, the residual shockwaves of their qi shredded the green bamboo along the way, sending bamboo leaves flying through the air like green snow.
Shen Xiuhan's figure dodged and shifted through the dense bamboo forest.
Veering left and turning right, he seemed to be fleeing in panic, but his eyes were completely calm.
These two are both late-stage Anjin experts, and they've used a sinister secret technique, causing their combat power to surge dramatically. They are far stronger than Chen Hongyuan and Hu Jiu!
If I fight them head-on by the riverbank, I will inevitably have to reveal some of my trump cards. It's best to find a secluded place so I can fully unleash my strength...
Shen Xiuhan's eyes flickered, and his speed surged once more, his figure dragging a long green afterimage through the dense forest.
“Little beast, let's see where else you can run!!”
Pang Wei's sinister sneer came from behind, his voice overflowing with murderous intent!
Xiong Laosan remained silent, his red eyes locked onto Shen Xiuhan's back, pursuing him relentlessly like a shadow.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Shen Xiuhan's figure suddenly paused, and he stopped in his tracks.
Before him was a secluded valley surrounded by cliffs on three sides.
In the valley, lush green bamboo formed a sea. When the wind blew, ten thousand stalks swayed, making a rustling sound like waves.
The gorge walls were steep and sheer, rising into the clouds as if cleaved by axes and knives.
At the top of the valley, apart from a few lush, towering ancient trees, there was only a dilapidated, long-abandoned temple standing alone on the cliff.
The temple doors were half-collapsed and covered in spiderwebs. It was unknown how many years it had been since anyone had set foot there.
Swish! Swish!
Pang Wei and Xiong Laosan's figures arrived with a boom, trapping Shen Xiuhan between the valley entrance and the gorge wall.
Pang Wei swept his gaze left and right, taking in the entire terrain of the secluded valley. A trace of mockery immediately welled up in his eyes, and he sneered coldly:
“This place is surrounded by cliffs on three sides, with high and steep terrain. The lake wind can pass through the forest—it's a quiet spot... Little beast, your escape skills are mediocre, but your eye for choosing your own graveyard is quite good!”
Shen Xiuhan turned around. There was no panic on his face; instead, he wore a playful smile:
“Chosen for me?”
“If not, then who?”
Pang Wei sneered, slowly raising his ghost-headed blade to point directly at the space between Shen Xiuhan's brows. The blood flames on the blade were still burning fiercely:
“Could it be that you chose it for the two of us?”
Snap!
Shen Xiuhan smiled. He raised his right hand, lightly snapping his fingers, and praised:
“Bingo! Your reward is... something beautiful.”
“Playing tricks!”
Pang Wei roared savagely, stomping his foot heavily. The packed dirt splattered like bullets as he charged toward Shen Xiuhan like a blood-red meteor!
His ghost-headed blade was raised high, the blood-red blade-glow even more violent than before, making him look like an Asura climbing out of a pool of blood.
Xiong Laosan flanked him from the right, his iron spear shaking out dozens of spear shadows, forming a dense, airtight net of death.
Surrounded from two sides, a pincer attack.
Both of them were late-stage Anjin experts, and they had used a blood-burning secret technique that cost them eight years of their lifespan. Striking with all their might, their power was incredibly terrifying.
The entire sea of bamboo was churned up, dust rolling, and bamboo leaves flying wildly, blotting out the sun.
Shen Xiuhan stood in the center of the encirclement, his green robes fluttering loudly, the cold light in his eyes condensed to the extreme.
Clang!
【Hanlin】 suddenly let out a clear, long hum!
The frosty white light flared dramatically, like a dragon trapped in an icy abyss that had finally shattered the ice, wandering restlessly across the snow-like blade.
Shen Xiuhan shook his right wrist, and with a single sword strike, he swept from left to right!
Whoosh!
The world lost its color!
A bright white sword-qi, as large as a ship's sail but as thin as a cicada's wing, in the shape of a perfect crescent moon, erupted from the sword tip, meeting the two flanking attackers.
Pang Wei's expression changed dramatically. He felt a dense aura of death cover him, his voice cracking with panic:
“Not good!”
In the reflection of his pupils, that crescent moon sword-qi, carrying an overwhelming and sharp murderous intent, arrived in an instant!
Before it even reached him, the vacuum wind whipped up by the sword had already cut his face, leaving it bloodied.
The blood flames on the ghost-headed blade flickered violently under the pressure of the sharp, fierce sword-qi, almost going out.
On his right side, the always taciturn Xiong Laosan had shock wash over his expressionless face for the first time.
Before Xiong Laosan entered the demonic path in his early years, he had joined the 【Ancient Sword Sect】 in Xinyi Prefecture to practice martial arts.
Although he had not received the true teachings of swordplay, through what he had seen and heard, he knew that there were levels in the Sword Dao.
And this white light sweeping through everything before him...
unexpectedly overlapped with the teachings he had once heard from the sect elders in the Ancestor Hall of the Ancient Sword Sect...
“The Way of the Sword is vast and boundless. Those who comprehend sword-glow are merely beginners. Only by comprehending sword-qi can one prove their talent with the sword.”
“And among those who comprehend sword-qi, nine out of ten can obtain sword-yuan. Once sword-yuan is formed, below the Heavenly Gang Rank, no one can match them...”
“Sword-qi...”
Xiong Laosan's eyes turned vacant, and he murmured softly.
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