Before Yu Yue could finish speaking, Ye Li’s expression changed dramatically. He hadn't anticipated that Zeng Zao’s emergence would bring about such a complication. Initially, he had only intended to resolve some peripheral troubles before the inevitable clash with the Kunlun Sect, but now it seemed they were already moving against him and the Shu Mountain Sect.

‘…Has the Kunlun Sect started implementing that plan?’

Truthfully, the Kunlun Sect’s machinations were not inherently negative; in fact, they might even benefit the entire cultivation world. The only flaw lay in the Kunlun Sect’s immense ambition.

This ambition became the sole variable in the equation—if the Kunlun Sect was willing to yield those profits, the Shu Mountain Sect would have absolutely no chance of recovery.

However, as things stood, the Kunlun Sect clearly harbored ambitions of dominating the cultivation world. This was evident from the fact that even while executing their plan, they were still focused on eliminating the Shu Mountain Sect first.

Of course, the precise machinations of the Kunlun Sect, or whether other sects would turn against them, were not Ye Wen’s immediate concern. According to his calculations, the strength of the Shu Mountain disciples had increased significantly after so many years of secluded cultivation. With a little more time, they could fully emerge from the Immortal Realm and take revenge on Kunlun.

But unexpectedly, Kunlun had made their move before he was fully prepared, and precisely when he was absent from the Immortal Realm.

‘…Did the Kunlun Sect somehow receive a tip?’

Just as this thought surfaced, he heard Yu Yue remark, “Not at all. It is merely a coincidence that Sect Master Ye happened to be away from the Immortal Realm! But for an old man like me, this coincidence is quite opportune!”

This only served to baffle Ye Wen further. Why did Yu Yue seem almost pleased by this situation? Logically, if Yu Yue truly intended to kill him, collaborating with the Kunlun Sect would offer a far greater chance of success. Yet, he forwent that possibility, choosing instead to confront Ye Wen one-on-one. The whole thing felt unsettlingly strange.

‘…Has this old man gone senile?’

Deeming that possibility extremely remote, Ye Wen dismissed the thought. The current situation was clear enough: Yu Yue was blocking his departure, while the Kunlun Sect was preparing to attack the Changbai Immortal Realm and slaughter the Shu Mountain disciples currently residing there.

No matter what, the Kunlun Sect could not be allowed to succeed. With a wave of his hand, seven Zixiao Swords materialized before him. He had been prepared to go all out from the start, even contemplating the use of the Myriad Sword Art.

Unexpectedly, the moment the seven Zixiao Swords appeared, Yu Yue offered a slight smile. The surrounding mist suddenly thickened considerably, reaching a point where even extending an arm made it impossible to see one’s fingers.

Ye Wen watched with surprise and suspicion, realizing that even utilizing his Glazed Pupils, he could not penetrate the dense fog, indicating its inherent strangeness. Ye Wen was forced to gather his focus and prepare fully.

Just as he settled into his stance, he heard a rush of wind beside him. Before he could turn to look, he felt three powerful streams of force aimed directly at his ear canal and solar plexus—vital points. Startled, he immediately swung his left arm to block the strike aimed at his ear, while simultaneously pivoting his body. Using the momentum of the turn, he swept his right hand out, aiming to intercept the attack toward his waist.

Only after turning did Ye Wen see that Yu Yue had suddenly appeared beside him. Though his true form remained obscured within the mist, the two arms striking out were perfectly clear. Both hands were presented with fingers tightly pressed together, the thumbs tucked beneath the forefingers—the stance of the Serpent Fist.

‘…Close-quarters combat?’

Ye Wen had expected the incoming attacks to be artifacts, not Yu Yue himself. This realization brought another shock.

However, his movements were swift. His right hand prepared to use the grasping motion to seize Yu Yue’s wrist, intending to trap the old man and defeat him through grappling skill.

But Yu Yue, having lived for millennia, was proficient in more than just spells and internal power. His close-combat abilities were far from lacking. Furthermore, as a demon cultivator, his physical body was inherently countless times stronger than that of ordinary human cultivators. Although Ye Wen’s grasp brushed against Yu Yue’s wrist, Yu Yue’s hand refused to be held. Instead, it twisted away like a nimble serpent and smoothly flicked out. His entire forearm exploded with tremendous force, like a suddenly recoiling python, knocking Ye Wen’s grab aside.

Immediately following, his right hand shifted its attack, his shoulder wrenching to strike Ye Wen’s vital point at the shoulder junction (Jianjing). His left arm, utilizing the momentum from the flick, swung in a wide arc, concluding with an attack aimed at Ye Wen’s lower dantian (energy center).

Seeing these two moves from Yu Yue, Ye Wen immediately understood: this old demon was not only powerful in sorcery but also highly skilled in martial arts. It was likely that over thousands of years, he had explored many disciplines. Ye Wen raised his spirit, no longer daring to be careless. His own techniques flowed ceaselessly. Whatever move Yu Yue unleashed, Ye Wen countered with the most suitable response.

Moves from Soft Palm, Quanzhen Swordplay, Taizu Long Fist, Iron Palm, and Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms were displayed in rapid succession, interwoven without adherence to fixed forms. Yet, every technique was executed at the precise moment it was needed. He keenly observed the timing and launched a palm strike, employing the layered force of the Taiyue Three Peaks.

These three layers of force overlapped, each one stronger than the last. Yu Yue, being vastly experienced, recognized the lethality immediately. Even with a body far more robust than ordinary cultivators, he dared not meet Ye Wen’s strike head-on.

Moreover, Ye Wen had infused this palm strike with three distinct energies from the Primordial Chaos Scripture: the first layer used the searing Fire Essence of the Rose Glow Sweep (Meixia Dang); the second utilized the extreme cold of the Azure Snow Ice (Bixue Bing); and the third employed the thick, heavy power of Earth Kunlun, delivered last for maximum impact.

Coupled with the alternating heat and cold of the first two energies, a chilling/burning mixture whose destructive power was immense—even without understanding chemistry or physics, anyone knew the devastating consequences such energies would yield.

Thus, Yu Yue absolutely refused to block the strike. He leaped back slightly, then timed Ye Wen’s palm movement, slamming both hands downward. With a loud pa sound, Ye Wen’s palm strike was precisely deflected by Yu Yue against the softest part of his arm, causing the strike to deviate uncontrollably and slam into the ground before him with a resounding hong.

Ye Wen’s palm strike had restrained its external force, preventing it from fully releasing; however, the impact from Yu Yue’s blow caused the internal energy to become somewhat chaotic. Taking advantage of this, Ye Wen expelled the energy to prevent internal injury. Consequently, the resulting burst caused the ground to erupt into a large crater, and the explosion generated a powerful gale that dispersed a significant portion of the surrounding mist.

Yu Yue had intended to use the recoil from that strike to retreat back into the fog, but he hadn't expected Ye Wen to seize the momentum and unleash all his energy. The resulting gale was stronger than he anticipated, blowing away the dense fog in the area where he believed he could remain concealed, thus revealing Yu Yue’s position.

Noticing this, Yu Yue instantly knew things were bad. He hastily ducked low, executing a technique similar to the Thousand Jin Drop, plunging sharply toward the ground, and then rolling to burrow back into the thick mist.

But in the instant Yu Yue ducked, a streak of purple sword light grazed the top of his scalp, immediately followed by two more sword lights crossing where he had just been standing. As he hit the ground, two Zixiao Swords stabbed precisely where he had landed. Even before he fully vanished back into the mist, a final purple sword light pursued him. Fortunately, Yu Yue reacted with lightning speed, spitting out something from his mouth. The Zixiao Sword immediately emitted a sharp ding and was knocked aside.

Ye Wen saw clearly: what was spat out was a venomous fang. It possessed immense kinetic energy and was laced with a thousand years of serpent poison. If it had struck an ordinary flying sword, it would likely have been destroyed by the potent venom.

With a long sigh, Ye Wen felt a touch of frustration at failing to eliminate Yu Yue during that opening. Simultaneously, his wariness of the old fellow intensified—despite his millennia of cultivation and seniority, he showed no restraint, adhering strictly to the most appropriate tactics for the current situation.

First, setting up an illusory formation, then using the cover of the fog to neutralize Ye Wen’s proudest asset—long-range attacks (the Zixiao Swords)—forcing Ye Wen into close combat where he could only react defensively to Yu Yue’s offensive bursts.

Meanwhile, Yu Yue could calmly hide within the mist, seizing opportunities to launch extremely swift attacks—much like a snake hunting its prey.

This fighting style perfectly aligned with Yu Yue’s inherent nature, allowing him to exert 200% of his strength. But what about Ye Wen? With his major killing moves neutralized, how much of his power could he still unleash?

‘…A pity that the Glazed Pupils are not yet fully mastered; otherwise, this mere mist couldn't trap me?’

Influenced by the Buddhist teachings imparted by Wu Zhen that day, Ye Wen’s understanding of these eyes gradually deepened. He realized their true utility went far beyond mere sight or the ability to glare and burn opponents. To temper his eyes, Ye Wen had been practicing using the Nine Heavens Demonic Blood God Sword over the years, hoping to gain mastery over these divine eyes quickly.

Unfortunately, he had not yet achieved completion. This was one of the reasons he had delayed a full confrontation with the Kunlun Sect—he wished to act only after fully mastering the divine eyes, granting him an extra trump card.

Now, facing this predicament, and in an environment so perfectly crafted, his half-baked eyes were useless for penetrating the heavy fog, especially with a master like Yu Yue hidden within…

‘…This battle today… will be difficult!’

Sensing the mist closing in around him again, Ye Wen simply closed his eyes. Since his vision was nullified, it was better to forgo using it entirely. In this environment, the effect of his ‘Mind Eye’ was superior to relying on sight.

The moment his eyes closed, he suddenly detected a sound of air being broken within the mist—a sound Ye Wen identified as Yu Yue’s venomous fang. He wondered how many poison fangs the old man could actually spit. This time, the kinetic force far exceeded the previous one. If this fang struck him, setting aside the poison, the sheer force alone could severely injure Ye Wen.

The Zixiao Swords, which had been recalled to his hands, were waved. Ye Wen felt the long swords vibrate violently, followed by a sharp pain in the web between his thumb and index finger and a numbness in his wrist. The force of this single impact was so tremendous that Ye Wen grew even more cautious.

In the instant his arm went numb, Yu Yue’s figure suddenly reappeared before Ye Wen. Both hands were executing the Serpent Fist, and faintly, two different energies emanated from his fists. Ye Wen sensed one energy was like seawater but carried a potent toxin, while the other was an overwhelmingly domineering Thunder Essence. Furthermore, influenced by the Thunder Essence, the speed of this punch increased sharply, making Ye Wen’s already prepared reaction a beat too slow.

Peng, pa!

Two distinct sounds indicated two different outcomes. Yu Yue’s punch, laden with Thunder Essence, landed squarely on Ye Wen’s waist and abdomen. The punch infused with venom, however, was struck by Ye Wen’s palm against his wrist, using a technique very similar to what Yu Yue had employed earlier, causing the blow to go wide.

Despite managing to deflect one attack, the sudden impact caused Ye Wen intense pain, making him wince. A sudden metallic taste flooded his throat, nearly causing him to vomit blood. But Ye Wen clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to spit. At that moment, he was rapidly circulating his true qi. If he expelled the blood, while it would neutralize some of the impact force, it would simultaneously cause his own easily depleted internal energy to flow out rapidly.

Thus, suppressing the pain, Ye Wen used the Indestructible Body technique solely to process the initial trauma and initiated a counterattack immediately.

The Purple Qi Heavenly Net energy, which had been adhering to him, suddenly erupted. As Yu Yue struck Ye Wen, his brow furrowed; a sense of unease suddenly washed over him. Then, he felt a bizarre, thread-like energy ensnare his arm. Alarmed, he immediately tried to pull back, but his arm felt as if it were bound, making withdrawal impossible.

Having trapped Yu Yue with the Purple Qi Heavenly Net, Ye Wen immediately brought both palms up, executing the ‘Frost Creeping to the Extreme’ (Lüshuang Bingzhi) move from the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. This was a move Ye Wen had never successfully executed before, as he had previously failed to master it. Even after later studying descriptions, his initial misunderstanding of the Dragon-Subduing Palms kept him from utilizing it.

Now, having returned to the correct path, and with Guo Jing having completed the full manual for the Dragon-Subduing Palms, Ye Wen had studied it intensely before being able to unleash the true power of this strike.

This move differed significantly from the predominantly fierce and powerful strikes of most Dragon-Subduing Palm techniques; it was a balance of hardness and softness. His two hands delivered one punch and one palm strike, one fast and one slow, one hard and one soft. This equilibrium of Yin and Yang generated immense power. Moreover, having mastered Innate Purple Qi, Ye Wen had learned the Yin-Yang transformations of the Supreme Ultimate Divine Art, which complemented the energies of the Primordial Chaos Scripture perfectly within this realm.

Consequently, the power Ye Wen unleashed with this ‘Frost Creeping to the Extreme’ surpassed that of typical practitioners of this palm style.

As Ye Wen executed his ‘Frost Creeping to the Extreme,’ Yu Yue, caught off guard, could only raise his arm to block. With two muffled peng peng sounds, Yu Yue felt the internal energy in his body surge chaotically, the oscillation between hardness and softness making it extremely difficult to manage.

However, this strike also freed him from the entanglement. Just as he prepared to leap back further, he saw Ye Wen launch another ‘Frost Creeping to the Extreme.’ This time, however, he did not use the Yin-Yang transformations of the Supreme Ultimate Art, but rather the White Cloud Smoke (Baiyun Yan) and Dark Chaos (An Huntun) energies from the Primordial Chaos Scripture. These two energies were also Yin and Yang, corresponding perfectly, and yielded immense power when deployed together.

Seeing he could not evade, Yu Yue could only use the arm that had just broken free to block again. Following two more dull peng peng thuds, Yu Yue felt his internal energy become even more disordered, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But it wasn't over yet. Ye Wen immediately followed with a third ‘Frost Creeping to the Extreme.’ This time, he used the Fiery Radiance Sweep (Meixia Dang) and the Indigo Sea (Dian Canghai) true qi—precisely fire and water, still corresponding to the essence of the palm style.

Yu Yue was now depleted of energy and his internal qi was in chaos. He was unable to block this strike and was driven back with two solid palm strikes directly to his chest, causing him to erupt in a spray of blood.

Even so, Ye Wen was not prepared to stop. He unleashed the Earth Kunlun and Golden Dawn (Jinchen Xi) energies, representing Heaven and Earth, perfectly corresponding to the Qian and Kun trigrams. Following these two palms, he immediately released the Purple Star River energy, executing a ‘Regret of the Soaring Dragon’ (Kanglong Youhui). The Purple Star River attribute embodies 'substantiality' within the spectrum of virtuality and reality, aligning perfectly with the path of the Dragon-Subduing Palms, increasing the strike's power when used in conjunction.

The force of the rear palm chased the front, striking Yu Yue almost simultaneously. Yu Yue, having been bombarded by this relentless succession of Dragon-Subduing Palms and Primordial Chaos energies, was struck solidly and sent flying a considerable distance.

As the energy erupted, the fog in the area surrounding the two fighters was completely dispersed. Thus, even though Yu Yue was sent flying, Ye Wen could still see him clearly.

After completing this chain attack, Ye Wen himself felt a sudden fatigue. He had intended to follow up with a sword-energy version of the Lightning Speed Fist, but he discovered that his Innate Purple Qi stalled; a breath of true qi failed to follow, causing his movements to falter momentarily, nearly sending him tumbling from mid-air.

Staggering a couple of times, Ye Wen stabilized his form, murmuring internally: ‘…The Dragon-Subduing Palms paired with the Primordial Chaos Scripture—the power is formidable, indeed, but it consumes too much energy! Still, after taking so many hits, that old snake must be near death even if not dead? I effectively used my ultimate move this time; let’s see if you survive!’

After several deep breaths, Ye Wen managed to recover his breath as his Innate Purple Qi circulated rapidly. Simultaneously, the Zixiao Swords, which had dropped nearby during his stumble, soared back into the air, zooming around the spot where Yu Yue had landed, completely surrounding the old serpent. Should the old man move in the slightest, he would face the outcome of ten thousand arrows piercing the heart—the Zixiao Swords could detonate at will.

Ye Wen clutched the area Yu Yue had struck, feeling a searing pain. Since achieving mastery in his martial arts, he rarely suffered injury in combat. After forging the Eternal Indestructible Body, he had believed he would never be wounded in a direct confrontation. Yet today, in a head-on clash, he was severely wounded, and not due to recklessly deploying major techniques with his own energy release.

However, upon reflection, he realized he had knowingly taken a heavy blow from the enemy to ensure a swift victory. In essence, the outcome was fundamentally the same.

This sensation was profoundly unfamiliar. But Ye Wen was no masochist, so he thought it best never to experience this feeling again.

Walking a few steps to where Yu Yue lay, Ye Wen saw the old serpent on the ground, a look of serene smile fixed on his face, gazing up at Ye Wen: ‘…Little brat… those few moves… were well executed…’

Ye Wen had no interest in Yu Yue’s praise. He only wanted to know why this old serpent was persistently causing him trouble: “Now you can tell me the reason you sought me out?”

………………………