At this sight, the female cultivator let out a cold snort, formed a hand seal with one hand, and activated it directly.
Immediately, a silver-white shield about a foot in diameter appeared before her, blocking the incoming blade Qi.
"Is that really all you've got? With just these petty tricks, you dare to come out and play the highwayman? Let your auntie here deal with you!"
Hearing the female cultivator's mockery, how could the rogue cultivator possibly endure it?
He once again manipulated his large sword dharma tool, hurtling straight toward her.
Seeing this, the female cultivator suddenly shattered a talisman she had long concealed in the palm of her hand. A golden glow immediately emerged around her surface, and the large sword dharma tool still failed to inflict any damage at all.
Realizing that his two attacks had both failed to achieve results, a trace of intent to retreat surfaced in the rogue cultivator's eyes.
Through the exchange just now, he discovered that his opponent was not some greenhorn lacking combat experience as he had imagined, but a veteran whose combat experience surpassed his own. This made him realize he had kicked a hard board this time.
Moreover, in their line of work, the key was a quick victory. If things dragged on and a passing cultivator notified the patrol guard, his situation would become perilous.
Therefore, he began to slow his attacks, looking around instead, preparing to flee.
Little did he know that all his thoughts had been thoroughly seen through by the female cultivator opposite him. She shouted loudly:
"You've been doing all the attacking until now, so it's my turn. Take this!"
As her voice faded, a small blue sword appeared out of thin air, shooting straight toward the rogue cultivator's vital points.
The rogue cultivator did not dare to be careless, either, directly summoning an apricot-colored shield to meet it.
The small sword arrived in an instant, striking the small shield and producing a fierce, ear-piercing clash of sound. It looked as though they were evenly matched.
However, in the next moment, the female cultivator's hand seals shifted, and the small sword actually adjusted its trajectory, bypassing the small shield and continuing to pierce toward the rogue cultivator.
This move completely exceeded the rogue cultivator's expectations. Just a moment ago, he had been controlling his shield to desperately block the small sword's thrust.
Small though this sword may have been, the force behind its single strike was something he had to expend all his strength to deflect. Who would have thought that the moment the pressure on his hands eased, the small blue sword would suddenly appear right before him?
Before he could even react, it thrust straight toward his throat. Had it hit, he would likely have been decapitated.
Fortunately, his reflexes were fast. With a tilt of his head and a twist of his body, the small sword pierced straight through his shoulder.
"Hold off on your attack! Your spell control is so proficient, Fairy. If my guess is correct, you must hail from the Liu Family of Tianmu Mountain, right? I beg you to show mercy and spare my life this once. I will surely repay this kindness in the future."
Seeing the small sword recalled by the female cultivator and preparing to launch another attack against him, the rogue cultivator completely lost his nerve and immediately begged for mercy.
Hearing his inquiry, the female cultivator's phoenix eyes widened as she said coldly:
"You little thief actually have some discernment. That's right, I do indeed come from the Liu Family of Tianmu Mountain. Since you know who I am, why don't you put down your dharma tool? As long as you offer no further resistance, when I hand you over to the market town patrol guard, I will put in a good word for you so they can spare your life."
Her meaning was crystal clear: sparing your life was possible, but letting you go was out of the question.
Hearing this, the rogue cultivator looked at his left shoulder, which was nearly severed, a ferocious look welling up in his eyes as he asked once more:
"You are the proud scion of a great clan, while I am worth nothing more than a worthless life. Does Fellow Daoist really intend to drag me down with you in a mutual destruction?"
"So noisy." The female cultivator squeezed just those two words through her teeth, and then manipulated the small sword to thrust forward once more.
Seeing this, the rogue cultivator knew that today would not end peacefully. Without further hesitation, he drew three talismans directly from his storage bag, hurled them straight at the female cultivator of the Liu family, and shouted with a touch of madness:
"Fine! Since you leave me no path to survival, let's die together!"
Feeling the violent spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the talismans, Xu Feng had only one feeling at that moment: danger—extreme danger.
Therefore, even though he had already put a considerable distance between himself and the two combatants during their fight, he still rapidly scrambled backward.
All three talismans were offensive, and all were Rank 1 Mid-Grade: a Fire Bird Talisman, a Golden Blade Talisman, and a Wood Thorn Talisman. Every single one was extraordinary.
With so many attacks swarming toward her like a torrential downpour, a solemn expression finally appeared on the Liu family female cultivator's face, yet she showed no sign of fear, suggesting that this kind of attack was not fatal to her.
He saw her form hand seals with both hands and then burrow into the ground at lightning speed, while an extra layer of golden light simultaneously blossomed over her body.
With a loud "boom," dust and dirt flew everywhere.
However, when the dust settled and one looked across the scene, aside from a giant crater ten feet wide, there was nothing else left. The female cultivator of the Liu family had no idea where she had gone, though the likelihood of her perishing under the talisman attack was not high.
"What brilliant earth-escape art! She vanished in an instant. As expected, the disciples of great families are truly extraordinary—I've truly witnessed it today!
Right, the golden light that appeared on her body just now must have been produced by a Rank 1 Mid-Grade talisman, the Golden Light Talisman. That is the most complex Rank 1 Mid-Grade talisman drawn on the jade slip Master passed down to me. I never expected to encounter it here today.
Still, if I linger any longer at the battle site of two Qi Refining 5th Layer cultivators, I might run into danger. Since the Liu Family fairy has escaped underground, I should leave as well; otherwise, what if that rogue cultivator goes berserk and turns his attacks on me?"
Having witnessed everything, Xu Feng was already planning to slip away. In fact, he had harbored this thought earlier, but didn't dare act, fearing he would provoke the two Qi Refining 5th Layer cultivators.
Yet now that one was injured and the other had escaped, this was the absolute best time to flee.
However, he was not the only one harboring this idea.
Seeing the female cultivator of the Liu family frightened into a panicked flight by his counterattack, the rogue cultivator did not show much joy, instead immediately making a run for it.
For he understood that the commotion from his previous strike was not small, and members of the patrol guard would soon arrive drawn by the sound, so he needed to leave before that happened.
As luck would have it, the escape route chosen by the rogue cultivator coincided with Xu Feng's. However, because his cultivation realm was higher, the former moved much faster.
As he rushed past Xu Feng, the rogue cultivator caught an inadvertent glimpse of the storage bag at Xu Feng's waist. Perhaps his professional instincts flared up, but he struck out directly without warning.
Yet the moment he realized the rogue cultivator was closing in, Xu Feng had already concealed two self-drawn wooden shield talismans in his hand.
Discovering that the rogue cultivator was launching an attack against him, he directly deployed the two talismans. Two overlapping wooden shields blocked the strike without even exhausting all their spiritual energy—for the rogue cultivator was injured, and his strength at the moment had been greatly diminished.
Seeing that he had failed to kill his enemy in a single blow, the rogue cultivator felt annoyed, yet he didn't stop moving. Exchanging a glance with Xu Feng, his eyes seemed to say, "Consider yourself lucky, kid," before he continued sprinting away.
Yet right at that moment, a sudden shout rang out from behind:
"Halt, rogue cultivator! Leave your life behind!"
Hearing this, Xu Feng instantly felt at ease. The female cultivator of the Liu family, who had been driven underground, had reappeared, and her robust voice indicated she was completely uninjured.
Yet seeing the evil cultivator just a few steps away from turning the alley corner, an unknown surge of courage welled up within Xu Feng. He unleashed a Golden Arrow Spell directly from his hand, aiming straight for the back of the man's head.
Even though this strike was merely a Rank 1 Low-Grade spell, it targeted the most vulnerable part of the human body, the head, so the evil cultivator did not dare to ignore it. He abruptly halted his momentum, and the Golden Arrow Spell brushed past his cheek.
Taking advantage of those few breaths of time bought by delaying the rogue cultivator, the female cultivator of the Liu family finally caught up and directly manipulated her small sword dharma tool to pierce straight through his chest.