Li Yundong and Yan Fang grappled intensely within the cabin, alternating between deploying magical arts and brutal close-quarters combat. Every time Yan Fang attempted to alarm others for self-preservation, Li Yundong always found a way to forcefully pin her down, compelling her to continue the desperate struggle on his terms.

After fighting for a while, Yan Fang realized Li Yundong’s intention: he was deliberately wearing down her true essence and magical power. Once her essence was depleted to a certain point, Li Yundong could deploy the Ranzhi Bowl to completely siphon away every drop of her spiritual energy.

This was a killing method using a dull blade, severing flesh piece by piece. Though the technique wasn't overtly brutal, its objective was utterly malicious.

A chill crept into Yan Fang as she fought: Could it be that after twenty years of renown, she, Yan Fang, was destined to fall at the hands of this young man?

The thought brought profound sorrow, yet she refused to yield. Determined to fight to the death, she suddenly gritted her teeth, spun her wrist, and hurled a talisman towards the stunned Chris, John, and Alba.

The talisman ignited instantly in mid-air, resembling a fiercely burning fireball, and in the blink of an eye, it lunged toward Chris, making her face glow crimson with reflected heat.

“Damn it!” Seeing Yan Fang had descended to the point of attacking civilians, Li Yundong erupted in fury. His figure flashed, appearing before Chris and the others like an immovable mountain. With a sweep of his hand, he caught the fireball in his palm.

He clapped his hands together, shattering the fireball, causing countless minute sparks to bloom across his palms, like scattered starlight.

With a wave of his hand, these tiny flames instantly surged toward Yan Fang.

Yan Fang took a deep breath and blew a sharp gust of air. This exhalation was the product of over twenty years of orthodox Xuanmen cultivation; the energy was robust and condensed, shooting out like an arrow, piercing straight through the scattered sparks and continuing relentlessly toward Chris and the others.

Chris and the other two felt the breath rush toward them—like a charging knight on a battlefield, spear held high, red tassels fluttering, horses trampling camp after camp. This piercing sharpness seemed intent on drilling through their very bodies!

Seeing Yan Fang attack them repeatedly, Li Yundong’s anger intensified. He glared, and a burst of gang qi exploded from him, instantly shattering Yan Fang’s air arrow.

This condensed aura struck like a raging tide against a high mountain, scattering violently in all directions. A sudden gust swept through the cabin, whipping Chris and the others’ hair across their faces, making it impossible for them to open their eyes.

It was precisely then that the little girl playing the pipa had reached the movement of Ten Sides Ambush titled Battle of Jiuli Mountain. She plucked and scraped, sometimes straining both strings, sometimes pushing and pulling, her fingers dancing up and down. The music was turbulent and tense, seeming to carry the echoes of hoofbeats, clashing metal, and cries of battle—the sound sharp, resonant, and dripping with killing intent!

Chris, John, and Alba had never witnessed such bizarre and spectacular duels, which felt more like a Hollywood blockbuster.

They were completely oblivious to how close they had come to the brink of death several times just moments before. If not for Li Yundong, they would have been utterly finished.

Watching this unprecedented, fierce confrontation while listening to the stirring intensity of Ten Sides Ambush, Chris and the others were utterly mesmerized, mouths agape and eyes wide, as if witnessing transcendent immortals descending from the heavens.

Yan Fang’s two successive attacks on Chris and the others finally managed to draw Li Yundong away from her immediate vicinity. She instantly contracted her form and then exploded outward like a fireball, dissipating into countless streaks of pale blue light scattering in every direction.

Li Yundong’s eyes snapped wide. His figure instantly shifted from Yang Shen to Yin Shen, suspending him mid-air. He recited the Diamond Sutra while cradling the Ranzhi Bowl in his left hand, tapping the bowl gently with his right middle finger.

Instantly, the Ranzhi Bowl emitted a clear ding, vibrating the surrounding air into countless visible ripples that spread outwards like palpable sound waves.

Fortunately, it was still night, and Li Yundong was suspended high above, so the mortals remained unaware.

However, the Yang Shen clones that Yan Fang had scattered suddenly heard the sound of the Ranzhi Bowl. Their movement froze momentarily. Immediately afterward, the sound waves caught up to Yan Fang’s clones, and with every clone they reached, the clones were tugged back slightly.

Li Yundong struck the bowl again with his finger. Ding! The bowl released another layer of sound waves, pulling the scattered clones in all directions back a little further.

Yan Fang was terrified beyond measure. She knew the Ranzhi Bowl was now functioning like a massive fishing net, enveloping all her clones. It was drawing them closer, tightening its grip. If they were pulled much closer, Li Yundong would reel them in, and at that point, even attempting a desperate mutual destruction would be impossible.

Yan Fang’s mind raced like lightning. She let out a shriek and shouted loudly, “Li Yundong, do you still want to save Ao Wushuang?”

Li Yundong froze for the briefest moment. It was precisely that hesitation that allowed Yan Fang’s Yang Shen clones to escape much further in all directions.

Li Yundong roared in fury, “You are facing death and still refuse to repent—you seek oblivion!” With that, he forcefully flicked the Ranzhi Bowl in his hand.

This single sound shook all of Yan Fang’s clones violently, and however far they had fled, they were dragged back by that same distance.

Horrified, Yan Fang cried out again, “Li Yundong, are you insane? If you kill me, how will you save Ao Wushuang?”

Li Yundong snorted coldly. Having been tricked once, he had no intention of falling for it again. Without another word, he flicked his finger towards the bowl once more.

Yan Fang heard the relentless dinging of the Ranzhi Bowl, like a bell tolling for her soul, pulling her inch by inch toward the abyss.

Terrified to the extreme, Yan Fang dared not try any more tricks. She hissed, “Li Yundong, do you want to save Ao Wushuang or capture me?” Saying this, Yan Fang immediately hurled the hidden Litian Panhuang Bell.

Li Yundong watched sharply as the Litian Panhuang Bell, thrown by Yan Fang, instantly shot toward the horizon, etching a purple streak across the sky, while Yan Fang’s crazed clones scattered everywhere.

Li Yundong snorted coldly and tapped the Ranzhi Bowl again with force. This time, the bowl dragged many of Yan Fang’s clones close. As soon as these clones crossed the three-zhang range near the bowl, they instantly dissolved into blue light and rapidly flew into the Ranzhi Bowl.

Li Yundong himself instantly transformed into a streak of blue light, chasing after the Litian Panhuang Bell.

Though Li Yundong’s actions were sequential, his speed was so immense that it appeared simultaneous.

Nearly half of Yan Fang’s clones were pulled in by the Ranzhi Bowl and swiftly refined.

The Yang Shen was equivalent to a cultivator’s second physical body. To have half of one’s Yang Shen devoured was an injury almost unimaginable for a cultivator.

Yan Fang let out a terrible, piercing scream. The agony was no less than being slowly sliced apart (lingchi), and her own cultivation was drastically weakened.

Yan Fang’s furious voice roared from a distance. No one could make out her exact words, but the sound faded into the dark night, like a wild wolf escaping back into the deep mountains and forests, leaving no trace behind.

Li Yundong’s figure instantly reappeared where he was. He held the Ranzhi Bowl in one hand and the Litian Panhuang Bell in the other, his gaze glittering toward the direction Yan Fang had fled. He deeply felt the intent of her venom and rage.

In that final instant, Yan Fang had not only thrown the Litian Panhuang Bell as a diversionary tactic but had also performed a drastic self-sacrifice—she preferred to have a large portion of her clones refined away rather than be captured by Li Yundong.

When a wolf is caught in a trap, it will even bite off its own leg to escape.

For a cultivator, cultivation and power are more important than reputation. For Yan Fang to willingly suffer the loss of half her power just to escape required immense determination and audacity!

“She got away again, what a terrifying opponent…” Li Yundong hovered steadily in mid-air for a moment, letting out a cold snort to himself, before swiftly turning into a streak of blue light and flying back toward where Su Chan and the others were located.

Meanwhile, aboard the yacht, the young girl playing the pipa had reached the movement of Xiang Yu’s Defeat. The music featured alternating passages of sparse, repeated single notes and tight, rhythmic hoofbeats. Then, with a sweep of her fingers, all four strings rang out, and the music ceased abruptly.

At that moment, those on the deck were still admiring the night view. The cabin was utterly silent. The little girl who had been playing opened her eyes, only to find that the figures of Li Yundong and Yan Fang were gone, as if they had never been there. She paused, searching the surroundings, but finding no sign of them, she murmured, “Strange. The boat hasn’t stopped. Where did they go?”

Chris and John finally let out long breaths, feeling as though they had just witnessed a harrowing Hollywood epic.

But they knew that the Hollywood blockbusters they had watched before were fake; what they had witnessed with their own eyes was undeniably real!

Chris secretly pinched her thigh hard, instantly feeling a sharp pain. She winced internally, finally convincing herself that what she was seeing was not a dream.

A saying from her grandmother suddenly echoed in her mind: “If you ever see those cultivators, you must find a way to become their disciple, or you will regret it when you are old!”

John’s mouth hung wide open, his face alight with excited fervor. His expression was exaggerated, as if he wanted to shout out and tell the entire world what he had just seen. But the words caught in his throat, unsure of how to begin.

John bounced around like a restless, fidgeting monkey, excitedly exclaiming, “Chris, did you see that? I’m going to be an immortal! I’m going to be an immortal!” He then turned to Alba with a smug, exhilarated look: “Well, Alba? Isn’t my master incredible? I’m going to apprentice under him! Are you jealous?” John acted as if he himself had fought that intense, hidden battle.

Alba was speechless, frozen as if turned to stone. After a long moment, she snapped back to reality, her eyes wide as saucers. She looked from Chris to John, then suddenly spoke with rapid-fire, decisive speed: “What are the procedures for changing to Chinese citizenship? I’ll start now!”

================================================= Too tired, going to sleep. The second update will follow tomorrow morning… E