Sword Qi shattered!
Yet Chou Libei's figure was also blasted backward!
The fist in his hand was actually pierced with a bloody hole!
Chou Libei clutched his fist as fresh blood gushed out between his fingers!
How could this be possible?!
He was at the Peak Purple Palace Realm!
Yet Ye Qiubai before him was only at the Mid Purple Palace Realm!
With an entire realm separating them, how could he so easily inflict heavy injuries on him?
"Utter trash!"
The armored man from the Sunset Dynasty side let out a cold shout, saying, "No wonder you needed to collaborate with us."
With that, the four armored men simultaneously unleashed their might!
A wave of blood-colored killing intent swept toward Ye Qiubai like a towering sea of blood!
Resembling a bloody tsunami!
However.
The present Ye Qiubai had undergone the Heavenly Demon trial.
He had killed through it day and night under those conditions.
Even back then, he had not been crushed.
How could this sort of blood-colored killing intent possibly affect his state of mind?
Ye Qiubai gripped his wooden sword and soared into the sky!
Slash after slash was unleashed, transforming into a web of sword Qi that swept toward his surroundings!
Countless cracks were cleaved into that towering sea of blood!
Yet, a new wave of the blood sea immediately filled them back in!
Under the joint effort of the four men, their might had long since surpassed the Purple Palace Realm!
This level of offensive capability could even slay someone in the Qi Sea Realm!
Seeing this, Ye Qiubai put away the wooden sword and instead took out a pitch-black, edge-less long sword!
Dark Demon!
The moment Dark Demon was summoned, rolling waves of demonic energy swept across the heavens and earth!
It actually formed a stance opposing that towering sea of blood!
The four men on the outer perimeter could not help but change their expressions.
"A Heaven-grade magical treasure!"
"Mere Southern barbarians, how could you possibly possess a Heaven-grade magical treasure!"
"So what if you do? Once we cut you down, this Heaven-grade magical treasure will be ours!"
As the words fell, the seal-formations in the four men's hands shifted once more!
The towering sea of blood transformed into a giant, blood-colored fist that smashed toward Ye Qiubai!
Ye Qiubai let out a cold snort: "The Heavenly Demon Nine Swords, third sword!"
Instantly!
Demonic energy surged to the heavens across the Dark Demon sword!
A massive black sword Qi slashed toward the giant blood-colored fist!
Boom, boom, boom!
The shockwaves swept through the surroundings!
Chou Libei watched this scene with disbelief in his eyes!
He had no qualification whatsoever to intervene in a clash of this magnitude!
Any random stray attack could cut him down!
How could Ye Qiubai possibly possess such strength?!
Could it be that he found some fortuitous encounter within the Blood Prison?
Even so, he still shouldn't be a match for the four men of the Sunset Dynasty... or so he thought?
The next moment, that giant blood-colored fist was actually cleaved in two!
Chapter 29: Shadow Kill!
The weather within the Blood Prison secret realm was entirely different from the outside world.
The sky inside the secret realm was forever a sea of crimson, completely devoid of sunlight.
That giant blood-colored fist had been shattered by a single sword strike, causing the expressions of the Sunset Dynasty men to fill with panic!
You must know that they had held nothing back with this attack!
Its power was sufficient to blast apart a Peak Qi Sea Realm expert!
An Elder of the Mingyang Sect had previously died under this very attack.
Yet Ye Qiubai was merely at the Mid Purple Palace Realm, inferior to any of them!
How could he possibly block this punch?
Chou Libei shared the exact same thought.
Under this punch, even he would definitively lack any power to resist.
Yet not only had Ye Qiubai blocked it, he had actually shattered it!
Thinking of this, Chou Libei's expression turned unsightly, while also feeling a trace of lingering gratitude that he hadn't sought out Ye Qiubai alone.
As for Ye Qiubai, he paid no attention to whether he could withstand this strike.
He had never even considered such a question.
Right now, his attention remained spread out across the surrounding space.
Where on earth were those people in black?
Could it be that their target wasn't him?
Or did they have another objective entirely?
Ye Qiubai did not dare to lower his guard.
After all, that group of black-clothed figures had filled Ye Qiubai's heart with extreme unease!
"How did you do it?"
The armored man's expression was grim as he asked in a deep voice, "With your realm, you clearly shouldn't have been able to resist."
The four of them acting together could casually slaughter even someone in the Qi Sea Realm.
Yet now they couldn't even resolve a person at the Mid Purple Palace Realm!
Ye Qiubai said indifferently, "I wanted to do it, so I did."
Seeing Ye Qiubai's carefree and unconcerned demeanor, the man's expression sank.
The four of them simultaneously stepped forward!
The killing intent permeating the air instantly boiled!
The blood-colored murderous aura actually condensed into an peerless God of Slaughter, stepping toward Ye Qiubai!
Ye Qiubai let out a cold snort and thrust the Dark Demon in his hand straight toward the sky!
A massive surge of demonic energy continuously expanded!
At this moment, Ye Qiubai was like a Demon God, fiercely slashing down with the demonic sword in his hand!
It was as if he were mobilizing all the demonic energy in the world.
Gathering it entirely within this single sword strike!
"Fourth sword!"
With the enhancement of the Dark Demon, the current Ye Qiubai was already able to execute the fourth sword of the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords!
Its power naturally increased exponentially compared to the third sword!
His momentum was terrifyingly imposing for a moment!
Feeling this aura, Chou Libei's expression filled with terror!
That's right!
If he were merely to step forward and try to block this slash, he would have no means of resistance whatsoever and would be torn to pieces by this power!
At this thought, Chou Libei's expression turned extremely unsightly.
The gap in strength was simply too vast!
And in the future, it would only grow wider and wider!
On the other side.
Feeling the towering demonic energy condensed into a single sword strike, the four armored men could not help but undergo a drastic change in expression!
Was this something a Purple Palace Realm practitioner could unleash?
Could it be that the opponent had concealed his realm?
This was the first thought that flashed through the four men's minds.
However, the slash arrived in a flash!
It left no time for the four of them to think.
Crying out in unison, they actually drew a drop of vital essence blood from between their eyebrows!
The complexions of all four men turned deathly pale!
They seemed to wither instantly, losing all vigor.
Those four drops of vital essence blood merged into the body of the peerless God of Slaughter.
Instantly!
Crimson light blazed brilliantly!
Waves upon waves of murderous aura soared continuously into the sky!
Causing everyone nearby to feel this murderous aura and involuntarily turn their heads to look toward this direction!
"Whose aura is that? The killing intent is so dense?"
"Could it be those four from the Sunset Dynasty?"
"With that kind of momentum, probably no one else who entered the Blood Prison secret realm is a match for them..."
Watching this scene, Ye Qiubai's expression didn't change in the slightest as he slashed down once more with the Dark Demon in his hand!
The slash transformed from towering demonic energy struck directly against the body of the God of Slaughter condensed from blood Qi!
Rumble!
Instantly!
The entire heaven and earth emitted a deafening roar!
As if the earth were cracking apart and the firmament collapsing!
Countless shockwaves and Qi ripples swept through the surroundings, forcing Chou Libei to deploy his full strength just to defend himself!
This left Chou Libei incomparably furious.
Merely the aftershocks of the battle required him to utilize his full defensive power.
Was the gap between his strength and theirs truly this massive?
For a time, doubts began to take root in Chou Libei's Dao heart...
And on the path of martial arts, a wavering Dao heart was precisely the greatest taboo...
The four men from the Sunset Dynasty side were now pale beyond measure!
Their hands continually thrust forward, maintaining that blood-colored God of Slaughter, yet they appeared exceedingly strained.
As for Ye Qiubai, he held his sword in one hand, appearing relaxed and at ease!
That towering demonic energy constantly gathered and continually slashed forth!
Very quickly, numerous cracks began to appear across the surface of the God of Slaughter's body.
Blood Qi leaked out from those widening fissures.
"This won't do..."
The four of them knew very well that without other methods, they would be slain by this single sword stroke!
"Why aren't the people from Shadow Kill making a move?!"
They didn't speak these words aloud, instead communicating via spiritual transmission.
At this moment, Ye Qiubai murmured, "It's time to end this."
With those words, he took a step forward, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed out once more!
That blood-colored God of Slaughter completely fractured and shattered at this very moment!
The four men coughed up a wild mouthful of blood simultaneously!
Backlash!
Ye Qiubai naturally would not let this opportunity slip by; he took a step forward and prepared to press the attack.
Suddenly, Ye Qiubai slashed out with his sword!
However, the direction of his slash was not toward the four men of the Sunset Dynasty, but straight up above himself!
Instantly, the space above distorted, and a man in black materialized from within, holding daggers in both hands as he collided directly with Ye Qiubai's sword strike!
"You've finally shown your fox tail."
Ye Qiubai had been keeping a portion of his focus on monitoring the surrounding situation.
Because he knew clearly that that group of black-clothed individuals would definitely lay an ambush for him here.
After all, the Sunset Dynasty's target was him!
The moment that sword was swung at the four men of the Sunset Dynasty, he would inevitably reveal an opening.
And that was when the other party would show their hand!
The black-clothed figure uttered not a word; when his initial strike failed to land, he vanished directly from the spot!
His speed was exceedingly swift!
Moreover, he possessed some sort of technique to conceal his own aura.
Making it impossible for Ye Qiubai to track him!
However, what about the other two?
Abruptly!
The surrounding space distorted once more. Black-clothed figures reappeared directly in front of and behind Ye Qiubai, holding daggers and slashing toward his neck!
And the black-clothed figure who had just retreated also reappeared, completely sealing off Ye Qiubai's escape route above!
These three attacks were exceptionally swift, directly locking down all of Ye Qiubai's dodging angles!
He had no choice but to meet them head-on!
Seeing this, Ye Qiubai's expression tightened as he swung the Dark Demon outward!
The fourth sword of the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords!
Ye Qiubai did not dare to be careless. Although the enemy's strength was merely at the Peak Purple Palace Realm, the danger they brought him far exceeded that of those four men!
The towering demonic energy transformed into a sword net, slashing toward all directions!
However, the moment the daggers struck against that sword net!
That sword net actually began to dissolve!
There was something strange about those daggers!
Ye Qiubai's expression flashed with surprise; taking advantage of the opening in their attack, he took a step forward and rushed toward the black-clothed figure ahead!
The long sword in his hand slashed out once more!
The black-clothed figure's daggers met the block, producing a sharp, clashing clang!
And at that very moment, Ye Qiubai vanished from the spot!
The black-clothed figure's expression turned grim as he said in a deep voice, "Pursue!"
With that, the three of them likewise vanished from the spot, speeding away into the distance!
Chapter 30: Abandoning Perception, the Mind's Eye!
Outside.
Dark clouds pressed heavily upon the city.
Looming over everyone's hearts.
Only the general laughed as he said, "By now, that Ye Qiubai should have been killed, right?"
On the side of Cangdao Academy.
Hearing this, the Sword Hall Elder's gaze hardened, and he immediately shouted, "What did you do?!"
The Confucian Academy Elder's gaze also shifted away from the book in his hands to look at the general, his eyes exceptionally cold!
Yet the general treated it as nothing, completely ignoring the aura suppression of the two Peak Water Overflowing Realm experts as his own cultivation burst forth to resist this pressure.
He spread his hands and chuckled, "Our purpose in coming this time is Ye Qiubai. Otherwise, for the mere sake of a Blood Prison secret realm, why would our Sunset Dynasty specifically send people to this Southern barbarian territory?"
Before this.
They had also been wondering why people from the Sunset Dynasty had come over.
After all, trial grounds similar to the Blood Prison secret realm existed in abundance across the Northern Domain.
There was simply no need to make a special trip to the Southern Domain!
Now, the truth stood revealed.
The Sunset Dynasty's target was Ye Qiubai!
Sword intent surrounded the Sword Hall Elder's body, his eyes filled with a murderous aura as a sword was already gripped in his hand!
"If anything happens to Ye Qiubai, our Cangdao Academy will not let you off."
The Confucian Academy Elder had always been calm, but this time, he did not stop the Sword Hall Elder's words.
After all, this was also his exact sentiment!
Yet the general sneered derisively, "The path of martial arts is naturally fraught with life and death. If Ye Qiubai lacks the skill and falls halfway along the martial dao, who is there to blame?"
"What's more... does your Cangdao Academy dare to go to war with our Sunset Dynasty? I'm afraid your main academy would not agree either, right?"
Cangdao Academy's heritage spread across all four domains, and naturally, there was a main academy sitting above them.
And Cangdao Academy's purpose was to spread teachings across the world, so they naturally would not consent to starting a war with other factions.
The general continued to mock, "If it were your main academy, our Sunset Dynasty might perhaps harbor three parts of dread, but just based on the likes of you?"
The general left the rest of his words unsaid, but everyone understood his meaning.
The Sword Hall Elder flew into a rage and stepped forward, only to be stopped by the Confucian Academy Elder.
"Don't make a move yet. Observe the situation first."
Hearing this, the Sword Hall Elder finally came to a halt.
In his view, Ye Qiubai's talent in the sword dao was of paramount importance to Cangdao Academy.
If he did not fall prematurely, Ye Qiubai would eventually become a sword cultivator renowned across all four domains!
This was also the reason why the Sword Hall Elder was so enraged.
"Let's hope Ye Qiubai can weather this crisis..."
...
At the same time.
Within the Blood Prison secret realm.
Ye Qiubai was speeding across the crimson wasteland.
His other hand was gripping a medicinal pill, absorbing its medicinal efficacy to continuously restore his spiritual energy.
This medicinal pill had been given by Lu Changsheng.
Its effects were naturally stellar.
Before long, the spiritual energy depletion caused by continuously using the fourth sword of the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords had recovered by half!
Given Ye Qiubai's current strength.
Although he could use the fourth sword.
Using it consecutively would still leave him severely weakened!
This was also the reason why Ye Qiubai had chosen to retreat first.
Ye Qiubai glanced behind him.
Behind him, those three black-clothed figures were still biting at his heels, refusing to let go!
Following closely behind the black-clothed figures were the four armored men, and bringing up the rear was none other than Chou Libei!
He wanted to witness Ye Qiubai's death with his own eyes!
Only then would he feel at ease.
"This won't do, he's recovering his spiritual energy."
Suddenly, one of the black-clothed figures warned, "We have to make our move."
"What kind of medicinal pill allows someone to recover while fleeing, and recover at such a speed?"
"Stop talking nonsense, burn your vital essence blood! Otherwise, once he recovers, the situation might change!"
When these words were spoken, the other two wore calm expressions without a trace of objection.
As if this were the most ordinary matter in the world!
This was precisely what made Shadow Kill terrifying to people.
For the sake of a mission, they would use any means necessary!
Even if it meant perishing together, or burning their vital essence blood!
Even sacrificing teammates...
As long as the target could be eliminated!
They would stop at nothing!
With that, crimson auras simultaneously enveloped the bodies of all three men.
Their vital essence blood began to burn.
Their auras skyrocketed instantly!
In an instant, their speed surged exponentially as they blasted toward Ye Qiubai like bolts of lightning!
Seeing this, Ye Qiubai could not help but narrow his eyes.
Burning their vital essence blood just to kill him.
It showed the absolute resolve of the enemy.
Ye Qiubai also brought his body to a halt; that medicinal pill had been completely absorbed, and his strength had once again returned to its peak!
The three men in black surrounded Ye Qiubai.
Forming a triangular formation!
They naturally sensed that Ye Qiubai's strength had recovered once more.
Yet, being assassins.
They did not waste breath on meaningless words.
So what if his strength had recovered?
Ye Qiubai remained their target.
More words led to more flaws.
Saying more meant making more mistakes.
This was the golden rule of assassins.
They would not commit such minor errors that could cause their mission to fail!
Swiftly.
The three of them simultaneously struck out an archaic seal-formation, and a murderous array instantly enclosed Ye Qiubai within it!
Within this murderous array, layers of mist continuously expanded, shrouding Ye Qiubai completely inside!
The killing array was formed.
The figures of the three men also vanished from Ye Qiubai's field of vision.
It wasn't just the figures of the three men that disappeared.
The scenery beside him, the surrounding aura.
Vanished entirely!
The four armored men and Chou Libei also arrived at this location.
Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but smile and say, "Shadow Kill's Mist-Hidden Killing Array. This array is unleashed at the cost of burning their vital essence blood; Ye Qiubai completely lacks any possibility of escape now."
"Trapped within this Mist-Hidden Killing Array, Ye Qiubai's perception is severed. He probably won't even know how he dies."
Clearly, the four of them also held immense dread toward this Mist-Hidden Killing Array.
Meanwhile, inside the array, Ye Qiubai frowned slightly.
He could no longer sense the presence of those three individuals.
Yet he knew they must be hiding within this mist!
This was far more formidable than the illusion array from the academy tournament back then...
Suddenly, a dark figure launched a surprise attack from behind Ye Qiubai!
Ye Qiubai's expression startled; with a tumble, he narrowly dodged this fatal blow.
Yet a gash was still torn across his shoulder!
The wound was deep enough to expose the bone!
Had Ye Qiubai not reacted in time, he likely would have perished on the spot.
The black-clothed figure hiding in the shadows also wore an expression of astonishment.
He had not expected his sure-kill strike to be evaded.
Ye Qiubai's expression was grave as he scanned his surroundings; the array had no flaws whatsoever!
Wherever he looked, there was only endless mist!
Since his eyes were of no use...
Ye Qiubai closed his eyes, standing tall amidst the swirling fog.
Discard vision!
Discard sensation!
Discard all perception!
Feel it with the heart.
See it with the heart!
Use the mind's eye to pierce through all things in this world!
"Pretending to be mysterious!"
Before the words had even faded, a dagger thrust straight toward Ye Qiubai's heart!
Ye Qiubai still did not open his eyes.
Yet the long sword in his hand swept outward to meet the dagger!
Clang!
The sound of metal colliding rang out!
That dagger was directly knocked flying, vanishing into the mist!
This was a special mental cultivation technique from the Primordial Sword Classic!
The Mind's Eye!
Chapter 31: Cutting Through Dry Weeds and Rotten Wood!
The Mind's Eye.
Capable of piercing through all evils in the world!
Whether it was a maze array or an illusion array, as long as one wasn't being utterly crushed in raw power by the opponent, it could be easily seen through!
Under the Mind's Eye, all manner of hidden techniques were exposed without a doubt!
What kind of technique was this?!
In the shadows, the three black-clothed figures watched this scene, storms raging within their hearts!
In the same realm, no one should be able to see through the Mist-Hidden Killing Array!
Especially not a Mist-Hidden Killing Array deployed at the cost of burning their vital essence blood!
Even someone at the Peak Qi Sea Realm would be unable to pierce through it!
Unless a Water Overflowing Realm expert smashed the array by sheer force, breaking it open was impossible!
Yet Ye Qiubai was merely at the Purple Palace Realm.
His realm was lower than theirs!
How on earth did he manage to do this?
Could it be a coincidence?
However, the moment this thought crossed their minds.
They felt an oppressive sword intent soar from Ye Qiubai's body!
As if it were about to cleave this entire space asunder!
Sword intent?!