Sha held his staff aloft, remotely controlling the more than ten-zhang-long stone dragon before him, staring coldly into the cavern, waiting for the surging killing intent to erupt from within.

However, he frowned and glanced toward the cultivator Ling Ru beside him, clearly displeased that she was also preparing to act.

The two of them were the highest-cultivation Foundation Establishment cultivators among the assembled group; either one of them moving would be more than enough to dispatch a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. For both to attack one would be an unwarranted display of force.

Ling Ru sensed Ba Sha’s displeasure and asked, “Ba Sha, do you not need my assistance?”

Ba Sha said coldly, “Do you think my cultivation level is insufficient to capture a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator? You only need to watch from the side. If any cultivators from the Zhou or Lü families appear in this valley, intercept them and prevent them from interfering with my duel. Since arriving in this Spirit Mist Cultivation World, I have yet to directly engage with its Foundation Establishment cultivators, and I am eager for a proper fight to gauge the strength of the Spirit Mist cultivators.”

Ling Ru replied, “How could I dare question the might of a guardian protector from the Three Sacred Gates of the Sky Dome Origin? Since you wish to cross swords with a Spirit Mist cultivator, I shall not interfere. However, if you fail to subdue him, I will have no choice but to act. This person is privy to our scheme; he must be eliminated before our plans are exposed.”

“Hmph!”

Ba Sha said no more. Ling Ru was a cultivator dispatched from the Ice Sect of Wan Yue Lake and possessed formidable control over ice-elemental magic; he was unwilling to offend her unnecessarily.

As they were speaking, a "Green-Robed Cultivator" flashed out of the cavern. Upon seeing Ba Sha and Ling Ru positioned squarely before the entrance, his face immediately darkened. He tapped the ground with his toe, then spun violently, darting toward the left flank of the cavern while launching a streak of sword light from his hand. This light transformed into a flying sword, upon which he instantly leaped, intending to escape via sword flight to the left.

“It is indeed you, Cultivator. You are merely the Imperial Master invited by the Zhou family; why meddle in affairs and spy on secrets here? Had you not interfered, I would not have acted against you. Since you have sought death by rushing in, you cannot blame this poor monk for showing no mercy.”

Ba Sha narrowed his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the hovering stone dragon in mid-air roared as it lunged toward "Ye Qin," completely suppressing him from above, preventing him from taking flight.

This stone dragon spanned over ten zhang and was immense. A single tail sweep cleared a large swath of forest.

However, "Ye Qin" was fast and incredibly agile. His sword streaked low through the trees of the valley; his speed and flexibility far surpassed that of a typical early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, reaching the level of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert. The stone dragon swept its tail several times in rapid succession but failed to strike him.

Ba Sha was somewhat surprised by Ye Qin’s agility and frowned, letting out a cold snort. He stamped his staff and pursued him through the air.

In the blink of an eye, they had flown over a hundred zhang away.

Ling Ru let out a soft “Yi.” She, too, was quite surprised, thinking she should have blasted over ten huge ice spikes out the cavern entrance the moment the green-robed cultivator appeared.

She had intended to use a wide-area attack spell, capable of completely covering an area so the opponent could not escape in time.

As she considered whether to give chase and intervene, she suddenly looked toward the cavern entrance in astonishment. Another Green-Robed Cultivator now stood at the mouth of the cave. This one looked identical to the one who had just fled, but the Golden Sword magic tool in his hand bore faint traces of blood. Someone in the cavern had certainly died by this golden sword.

“What is going on!?”

Ling Ru was deeply shocked, unable to comprehend how two Qin cultivators could appear here. Were they rare twin cultivators? Without time to ponder further, a golden light shot toward her from across the way. She immediately directed the ice spike spell in her hand straight toward the cavern entrance.

Ye Qin was anxious inside. The Demonic Shadow had only managed to lure away the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator Ba Sha, but the cultivator Ling Ru still stood at the entrance. This female cultivator’s prowess was only slightly lower than Ba Sha’s.

He had to leave this place immediately. The Foundation Establishment cultivators deep within the cavern would surely rush out upon hearing the commotion. If trapped, he lacked the means to withstand a furious siege from multiple Foundation Establishment experts.

With this thought, Ye Qin flung his Golden Sword artifact to entangle Ling Ru, while simultaneously tossing out the Bronze Bell, which expanded to a zhang in size, completely enveloping him to defend against the continuous bombardment of ice spikes.

Just as Ye Qin completed this, the ten-plus massive ice spikes descended from the sky. “Boom! Boom! Boom—!” Over ten spikes exploded near the Bronze Bell, blasting numerous deep pits into the ground. Furthermore, the cavern entrance was completely sealed by a thick layer of ice, with the Bronze Bell pinned beneath the frozen mass.

The cultivator Ling Ru manipulated an ice sword to suppress the golden flying sword Ye Qin had sent out. Seeing Ye Qin buried under the thick ice, a look of delight crossed her face. Without hesitation, she performed hand seals, and layer upon layer of ice spikes materialized around her, continuously blasting toward the Bronze Bell, utterly sealing it off. Whether they were twin cultivators or not, they all had to die.

“Boom—!”

The azure ice spikes slammed against the Bronze Bell, causing it to shake and vibrate. With every impact, a mist of azure ice flowers erupted from the bell’s surface, and the bell’s body continuously shrank.

Ye Qin forcefully kept the Bronze Bell stabilized, pouring all his spiritual power into it, urging it to expand and resist the relentless onslaught of spikes. He was utterly shocked.

This Ice Spike technique was a low-tier spell, the simplest among ice-elemental magic. Normally, low-tier spells lacked great power but were cast extremely quickly. High-tier spells usually possessed greater destructive force but were significantly slower to cast.

Yet, this cultivator Ling Ru had refined this simplest of low-tier spells to an astonishing degree of power while retaining the lightning-fast casting speed inherent to low-tier magic—she could unleash a spike several zhang long almost instantaneously.

Ye Qin had to admire the dedication; achieving this level likely required at least a century of repeated practice on that single low-tier spell. Yet, admiration aside, he held back nothing. If he could not stop her continuous barrage of ice spikes, he would inevitably be frozen stiff by the dense ice layer.

Thinking this, Ye Qin patted his storage pouch and flew out a green flying sword, which rapidly enlarged as it shot toward Ling Ru.

The cultivator Ling Ru paused, flashing a spell from her hand—a massive Ice Shield materialized before her. The green flying sword struck the shield, shattering it with a crack. Ling Ru had to produce over ten Ice Shields before finally blocking the green sword.

Ye Qin didn't blink. He sent out a Soul-Binding Rope and a Hammer artifact, deploying them to surround and relentlessly smash against Ling Ru’s Ice Shield defenses.

A flicker of panic finally crossed Ling Ru’s face. Ye Qin’s successive deployment of magic tools left her struggling to cope. She hastily conjured ice shields to fend off the barrage of incoming artifacts.

Ye Qin let out a cold laugh. He gathered all his strength and channeled a stream of spiritual power into the bell’s body. With a resounding “Dong!”, the power transformed into a dull bronze chime that surged out from the bell’s opening, violently slamming toward Ling Ru. Wherever the sound wave spread, ice spikes and ice shields shattered.

Ling Ru’s face turned ashen with alarm. She spun around to flee on her ice sword, but it was too late. “Ah!” she shrieked as she was directly struck by the bell’s resonance, instantly knocked unconscious and plummeting from the sky.

With a sweep of his hand, Ye Qin sent a streak of gold and a streak of green light flashing across the air like lightning. “Pfft,” a heavy corpse crashed onto the ground. Ye Qin let out a breath of relief, rapidly recalling all his magic tools, and glanced toward the chaotic jungle in the distance.

Once he engaged Ling Ru, he could no longer spare the mental focus to control the Demonic Shadow. Without his spiritual control, the shadow could not move on its own.

Ba Sha had already used his stone dragon to destroy the Demonic Shadow that Ye Qin had withdrawn control from. He then realized he had been tricked—the thing he killed was merely an illusion created by sorcery—and, furious, he spurred his staff toward Ye Qin.

Meanwhile, cursing and shouting could faintly be heard from within the cavern. Although the voices sounded distant, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators inside would burst out within moments.

Ye Qin dared not hesitate any longer. He leaped onto his golden flying sword, furiously driving his spiritual power, and vanished in a flash of golden light, soaring out of the dark chasm and speeding toward the State of Northern Qi under the dim sky. He had no desire to face four Foundation Establishment cultivators alone. Only by reaching the State of Northern Qi and drawing in the Lü Clan’s large contingent of Foundation Establishment cultivators to fight them would he have a chance to escape. This was, after all, the Lü family’s mess; let their cultivators handle it.

“Bastard, don’t run! If you have the guts, fight me!”

Ba Sha pursued relentlessly behind him, stomping his yellow staff, roaring his pursuit in fury. However, his anger was useless; his staff’s flight speed was slightly slower than the flying sword, and Ye Qin steadily increased the distance between them, widening it from less than a hundred zhang to several hundred zhang.

In the cavern, Daoist Zheng, Cultivator Qian, Ba Te, and the others heard the noise at the entrance. They rushed out of the cavern cursing, and upon seeing the deceased cultivator Ling Ru, their rage intensified. They flew out on their swords in pursuit, ironically catching up to the lagging Ba Sha.

Only the dozen or so black-robed cultivators from the Wulong Sect remained in the mountain valley chasm, staring blankly at the sky; they lacked the ability to fly.

“Hurry and chase him, don't let him escape!” Ba Sha shouted.

“Master Ba Sha, his speed is no slower than ours; I fear we won't catch him,” Daoist Zheng frowned, expressing doubt about the pursuit.

“We must chase even if we can’t catch him! If he flees to the State of Northern Qi, the truth will likely leak out and ruin everything. If he cannot be killed, your Wulong Sect will suffer the greatest loss. Can your Wulong Sect attack the State of Northern Qi and the Great Zhou State by force? What method do you have to intercept him?” Ba Sha shrieked.

“I have a few movement talismans here that can increase speed.”

Cultivator Qian, who had remained silent, pulled out several pale-red mid-tier talisman papers from his robes and slapped them onto his magic tool. The artifact immediately emitted a faint red glow, and the flying speed of the four of them increased sharply, allowing them to begin closing the distance on Ye Qin.

“You brat, daring to toy with this poor monk! See how this poor monk slays you!” Ba Sha roared fiercely. He had completely shed the pretense of being a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator and sought only to kill Ye Qin on the spot, even resorting to shameless ganging up—two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators plus two low-stage ones attacking a single early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He no longer cared about appearances. (To be continued, for further developments, please log on to m for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)