The sleeves on Hong Yin's arms had already been blasted open, revealing two arms as fair as tender lotus roots and white jade.
"Boom!"
But in the next moment, with another deafening roar, one of her arms exploded into a cloud of blood mist. The lingering sword qi, still potent, struck her body.
A bloody hole immediately appeared on Hong Yin's left chest. She continuously spat out large mouthfuls of blood as her aura rapidly declined, and her face grew increasingly pale.
She had repeatedly used Buddhist secret arts to block the Spirit Transformation cultivator's attacks and had already reached her limit.
But by this point, the giant sword that had been slashing at her had shrunk to less than an inch in size.
"Myriad Buddhas' Congregation!"
Within the great formation, Gong Chenying murmured to herself. The flying Maitreya Buddhas in the air were part of a cultivation method that could be learned at the mid-stage Nascent Soul . She never thought that in Hong Yin's hands, it could actually block the furious strike of a Spirit Transformation cultivator.
Although Hong Yin was now severely injured, she had indeed blocked it.
"The Power of Rules again! Damn it, just how many types of the Power of Rules has she mastered!"
The short-haired, soap-robed man immediately noticed this and was once again shocked. That nun had blocked his sword strike yet again.
Moreover, she hadn't used the Law of Karma this time, but seemingly the Law of the World-Honored One. But that wasn't the only thing that shocked him.
"Boom!"
Another tremendous roar echoed from the distance. The Great Elder, clad in crimson armor, threw a punch, striking the giant sword above his head.
His body flashed wildly with red and yellow light, and his armored fist unleashed a heaven-toppling force.
"Screeeech..."
A series of ear-grating sounds of metal being squeezed and ground, like a saw being dragged, echoed between heaven and earth.
The Great Elder's aura was now monstrous. He stirred up endless gales and clouds, and the dark clouds in the sky began to rotate madly with his arm at the center.
His arm bent only slightly before straightening abruptly.
"Weng!"
Amidst an even more ferocious aura, the gales and clouds scattered, and the door-plank-sized giant sword was sent flying by his punch.
Then, the Great Elder stomped heavily on the void.
"Boom!"
With another thunderous sound, he transformed into a streak of light and instantly charged toward the short-haired, soap-robed man. The Great Elder knew he only had a total of five breaths, and now, less than four remained.
Meanwhile, Li Yan, trapped in the swamp-like space, flickered with light as bloody gashes appeared all over his body, each one glinting with silver light.
At the same time, a Black Water Talisman appeared in Li Yan's hand, and he slapped it fiercely onto the body of the giant sword!
Upon contact, a ball of black light erupted and dissipated. He managed to slap the giant sword off its original course, and it grazed past Li Yan's body, slashing viciously downward.
This exchange of attacks and defenses happened in an instant, completed in a flash.
The short-haired, soap-robed man saw that although the nun was formidable, her physical strength was the weakest. Thus, under the strain of casting magical arts, she suffered the heaviest backlash, and her combat power plummeted.
Li Yan and the Great Elder, on the other hand, had physical bodies so strong that perhaps even he couldn't compare. This was the strongest cultivation method of the Tianli Clan , the very thing he coveted most.
However, these two were now also suffering from internal injuries. Furthermore, the short-haired, soap-robed man could guess that the Great Elder's ability to exert power almost equivalent to an initial-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator couldn't last long.
And afterward, the Great Elder would either be severely injured or would perish from self-inflicted wounds.
"Zheng!"
Another sword appeared in his hand. He slashed it down toward the approaching Great Elder, who was charging at him like a god of war.
The offensive methods of a Sword Cultivator were simple and direct, forging ever forward, capable of sundering all things in heaven and earth.
As the Great Elder charged, his body suddenly accelerated into the air. He raised his knee in a flying strike, aiming for the short-haired, soap-robed man's face.
"Thud!"
The long sword in the short-haired, soap-robed man's hand instantly slashed down on the flying knee. Golden and red light alternated and flickered, and the red light on the Great Elder's knee guard flared brightly.
In the stalemate, he seemed frozen in mid-air, one executing a flying knee strike, the other holding a sword and slashing down!
Just then, the short-haired, soap-robed man's expression suddenly changed. An intense pain shot through his Divine Soul once again.
'Not good!'
The pain forced him to divert his power to suppress the fluctuations in his Divine Soul, causing his concentration to falter for an instant.
"Chi!"
His strength was instantly dispersed, and he could no longer contend with the Great Elder's all-out, desperate strike. The long sword was sent flying by the knee, and as it flipped backward, the back of the blade slammed heavily onto his own protective light shield.
"Crack!"
Under the combined force of the two massive impacts, the short-haired, soap-robed man's magical power became even more turbulent. The "Human Soul" within him stirred restlessly, threatening to fly out.
In his haste, he could only divert more magical power to suppress it. But the immense force from the sword striking his body came crashing down like a flood, and his protective light shield could no longer be maintained.
"Bang!"
In an instant, the light shield shattered. The ricocheting sword light also struck his forehead, leaving a deep, bloody gash.
The Great Elder's eyes narrowed. His opponent's aura was unstable. He immediately seized the opportunity.
His airborne body spun violently. He bent his elbow and swept his arm out. The tip of his elbow, whistling sharply, struck toward his opponent's head.
But the short-haired, soap-robed man reacted even faster. The moment the line of blood appeared on his forehead, killing intent flared in his eyes. But he did not attack the Great Elder again. Instead, he retreated rapidly, instantly putting distance between them.
The Great Elder's sweeping elbow strike hit empty air, causing the space itself to ripple and fold.
A ghost-like shriek followed in the wake of his elbow, and the space emitted a dense series of cracking sounds, a truly terrifying display of power.
Although the short-haired, soap-robed man knew that the Great Elder's current state could not last long, to defeat him quickly might require him to use his true power, which he was unwilling to do.
At that moment, his Divine Sense also swept over the retreating Hong Yin in the distance, as well as Li Yan, who had just escaped his flying sword's attack. Li Yan was also continuously spitting up blood.
Clearly, by manipulating his soul art to attack, he had suffered a tremendous backlash due to the huge gap in their cultivation levels.
The short-haired, soap-robed man wiped the beads of blood from his head. His killing intent now truly surged forth. He no longer wanted to let the Great Elder live.
In the several exchanges of blows today, he had actually been injured repeatedly.
What's more, he never expected that Li Yan could injure his Divine Soul without even making physical contact, merely through the clash of their magical treasures. This man absolutely could not be allowed to live.
Fortunately, after Li Yan coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, his aura, like Hong Yin's, subsequently weakened and slumped. Only then did the short-haired, soap-robed man feel a bit of relief.
He knew that after using such a heaven-defying secret art, Li Yan had also paid a heavy price.
This was indeed the case. At this moment, Li Yan's own soul was in so much pain it felt like it was being torn to shreds. His vision had become a blur, but he still forcefully channeled his magical power, trying to clear his mind.
"You all want to perish together? Then go die!"
As the short-haired, soap-robed man spoke, a dazzling white light flashed from his hands, connecting into a blinding sheet. Over a thousand flying swords flew out.
A dozen or so flew towards the Great Elder, Li Yan, and Hong Yin respectively, while the rest of the swords shot straight down towards the Tianli Clan below!
His sudden action caused everyone who saw it to tremble in their souls. Enraged and humiliated, he had actually launched an attack on the Tianli Clan's great formation.
"Not good! Activate the defensive formation to its full power!"
"Quick, quick, quick!"
"To think you are a senior cultivator, yet you are so despicable!"
In an instant, the Nascent Soul cultivators both inside and outside the great formation felt the crisis of death descend upon them. Their expressions changed drastically as shouts erupted.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
A continuous series of explosions echoed. The Great Elder's eyes were nearly splitting with rage, but he was instantly entangled by several long swords. More than three breaths had already passed, and he only had just over one breath of time left.
Hong Yin, relying on her understanding of the Power of Rules, barely managed to evade the pursuit of the flying swords. She too was in a precarious situation, unable to break free from the relentless assault of several swords for the time being.
As for Li Yan, he endured the intense pain and relied on his unpredictable Phoenix Soars to the Heavens movement skill. For now, the flying swords were unable to catch him, but at this speed, his magical power was also being rapidly consumed.
'Such a world-shaking commotion, how has it not attracted the attention of other great powers? And what about the fifth-rank Wind Beast? How long can he stay out here...'
As Li Yan's thoughts raced, the unobstructed flying swords had all descended below.
"Rumble, rumble..."
In an instant, a deafening roar, several times louder than before, reverberated between heaven and earth. Bursts of colorful light continuously erupted in the air. This was the massive impact of the flying swords colliding with the great formation, sending out terrifying shockwaves that spread in all directions.
Outside the Tianli Clan , giant peaks collapsed one after another, rivers flowed backward, and vast forests were flattened by the spreading shockwaves like a strong wind blowing through a field of wheat.
The moment they fell, most of the trees turned to dust, which was then swept away by the ensuing gale, disappearing to places unknown...
Inside the great formation, Gong Shanhe, Gong Chenying, and several other elders were already sitting cross-legged, their hands forming one Daoist seal after another, sending them towards the sky.
Above them, the Tianli Clan's great formation erupted in dazzling bursts of white light. When the first wave of flying swords fell, the ground inside the formation also shook violently.
A large number of mortals vomited blood and collapsed from the violent tremors. The mortals who had not practiced the simplified version of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art had bloody gashes appear all over their bodies before bursting into clouds of blood mist.
Shrill screams and vicious curses echoed from every corner of the Tianli Clan . In their dying moments, they were all cursing the Sword-Washing Sect .
Every cultivator was desperately channeling their cultivation to resist. Many of them swayed violently, blood spraying from their mouths, eyes, noses, and ears. If not for the protection of the great formation, they too would have been shaken to death by the terrifying force of the first wave of flying swords.
"Quick, into the underground caves, everyone!"
Gong Shanhe's furious voice echoed throughout the clan, his tone having lost its usual composure.
Among the crowd were Qian Ji and Zi Kun, who had emerged from their seclusion a few years ago.
By now, Qian Ji had broken through to the late-stage third-rank, while Zi Kun remained at the peak of the late-stage third-rank.
In a short period, the two demons could only achieve minor progress in their cultivation; they were unable to break through to the fourth-rank. That, too, required opportunity and a trigger.
The two demons knew they had entered a bottleneck, so they no longer engaged in painstaking cultivation alone. Instead, they left the Earthen Patch . Due to their special status, many cultivators of the Tianli Clan were acquainted with them.
Thus, they often dueled and sparred with the Tianli Clan cultivators, which, to their surprise, led to a slight increase in their cultivation once more.
The two demons were stunned by the sudden turn of events today. They felt the terrifying aura emanating from everyone in the sky, watching Li Yan fight, yet they were completely powerless to help.
The last time Li Yan had contacted them, he had told them through voice transmission that after he finished cultivating a certain art in the near future, he would release the contract between them.
Then, Li Yan had cut off the transmission, giving them no further explanation. This left the two demons with a mix of joy and disappointment; it was clear they could no longer be of any help to Li Yan.
Nowadays, the most they could do was assist with minor tasks. This feeling was even stronger today.
At this moment, the two demons were also suffering from splitting headaches. Fortunately, their cultivation was already at the level of a top-tier Golden Core, and under the protection of the great formation, they managed to hold on.
With the app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the book-chasing artifact, it's what all the old bookworms are using.
In their hearts, the two demons held an almost blind faith in Li Yan.
Li Yan had led them through fire and rebirth from death time and time again. This time would be no different, the two demons thought to themselves...
High above, Wan Qingshe watched as his master, with a wave of his hand, nearly annihilated an entire clan. He couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. His wild laughter mixed with the deafening rumbles, and he felt an unparalleled sense of release and exhilaration!
Meanwhile, the short-haired, soap-robed man, seeing that the first wave of flying swords had failed to break the enemy's great formation, a more ferocious look appeared in his eyes. With another wave of his hand, the giant swords below whistled as they flew up and gathered once more.
As they circled, the bodies of the swords vibrated continuously, emitting a chorus of buzzing sounds. The simultaneous launch of over a thousand flying swords carried an aura several times stronger than before...
Amidst the roaring sounds from below, Li Yan saw the situation inside through the great formation.
With just one strike from the short-haired, soap-robed man, the defensive formation, though not broken, already had cracks appearing on it. It was hard to say if it could withstand the next attack.
What made Li Yan's eyes suddenly turn red was that besides Gong Shanhe and the Third Elder, whose bodies were shaking continuously, Gong Chenying and the other elders were also coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.
Each of them was still struggling to maintain the operation of the sect-protecting grand formation!
Just as the short-haired, soap-robed man gathered his flying swords again to build up momentum, the Third Elder's slender figure shot up abruptly.
As she stood up, her long, jet-black hair danced in the air. The other Nascent Soul cultivators simultaneously raised their hands and formed seals. A terrifying aura quickly emerged...
As Li Yan saw Gong Chenying, Gong Chenying also looked up at him. Her beautiful face was splattered with blood, and streams of blood continuously flowed from the corners of her mouth, giving her a tragically beautiful appearance.
As she looked at Li Yan, her crimson lips parted slightly.
Li Yan clearly saw her mouth one word.
"Flee!"
In the sky, a clap of thunder suddenly resounded!