"Shadow World!" Ren Xiexing shouted while rapidly circling through numerous mudras with his hands.
The aura of a Dao Rune realm cultivator erupted from within him as the pitch-black bowl of shadow continued to expand, creating immense pressure on everyone present. From the shape of a bowl, it quickly expanded into a giant black ball that sought to contain not just the falling water, but the red-haired woman as well.
"Do you really think this is enough to hold me in?" the red-haired woman sneered, making no effort to escape the closing ball of shadow.
Instead, she waved the fan in her hands, and the water bursting out from the spatial rupture suddenly increased in pressure, pressing down heavily on the approaching walls of the black ball. The growth of the shadow ball slowed down almost instantly, clearly affected by the onslaught of water.
"Damn it!" Ren Xiexing cursed through gritted teeth. "Hurry up and take care of the rest! I won't be able to hold her back for long!"
His call served as a signal that broke the other members of the main strike force out of their daze. They were still under the pressure of the Dao Rune aura coming from both Ren Xiexing and the red-haired woman, but they knew that they could not be mere spectators here.
Who knew how long Ren Xiexing could hold back the leader of the Scarlet Leaf Sect outfit?
They certainly were not intending to find out for themselves. The moment that happens would be the moment that all of them lose their lives!
No matter how difficult it was, they had to get rid of the rest of the Scarlet Leaf Sect members before going to assist Ren Xiexing. That would be the most reliable approach!
"Kill them all!"
The members of the main strike force were suddenly filled with a sort of frenzied bloodthirst – one that was fuelled by pure survival instinct. The intensity of their attacks was kicked up a notch, almost to the level of reckless aggression.
The Scarlet Leaf Sect members were no different. Even though the red-haired woman did not say anything, they, too, understood that they had to end things here and help her out as soon as possible.
Because of the two sides sharing this same sentiment, the battle instantly intensified to its climax.
So, this was why the earlier group claimed that the battle was over the moment the leader of the Scarlet Leaf Sect outfit made her move...
Zhao Yunxiao mused to himself.
Indeed, in the end, the side that could win the battle at the Dao Rune realm would claim victory here. A difference in cultivation levels was simply too difficult to overcome. The moment one of the two Dao Rune realm cultivators was defeated, the remaining opponents would be nothing more than easy pickings for the victor.
He could only hope that Ren Xiexing would live up to his name as the hunter of unorthodox cultivators and emerge victorious.
That said, this was also a great opportunity to observe a battle between two Dao Rune realm cultivators. He made sure to capture every single detail – every movement, every energy fluctuation – not wanting to miss a thing. In fact, he almost hoped that this fight would continue for as long as possible, just so that he could continue watching and learning from their exchange!
Amidst the intense fighting, cultivators from both sides inevitably began to fall. Fresh blood soaked the ground, though even that quickly turned into red crystals due to the sheer coldness of the chamber.
This blood was not just from cultivators either. Members of the vanguard party were left completely exposed to the stray attacks from the ongoing battle. With no way to defend themselves, each hit would claim a life.
The physically weaker ones did not even need to be struck by an attack. Just the spiritual pressure within the chamber alone was enough to cause them to bleed from all orifices, claiming their lives like a silent reaper.
Compared to the cultivators, the ordinary mortals were dying at a far higher rate!
"Damn it!" Fei Qing clenched his fists and decisively stepped out of Ke Huofen's barrier.
"Wait, where are you going?" Cong Liexian hurriedly called out after him.
"Of course, I'm going to save these people! Or am I supposed to stand by and watch as they die in front of my eyes?" Fei Qing answered without turning back, charging straight towards the centre of the vanguard party.
"Tch! You promised!" Cong Liexian clicked his tongue in frustration as he quickly followed after Fei Qing. "At the very least, let me do it instead!"
With a flick of his wrist, Cong Liexian produced a dozen talismans that he threw out without hesitation. They stuck to the ground upon contact, forming a circle around the members of the vanguard party who had not managed to enter Ke Huofen's barrier earlier.
"Activate!" Cong Liexian shouted, and the talismans immediately started to burn up. As they did, a deep purple barrier appeared around the vanguard party, Cong Liexian and Fei Qing, with its boundary marked by where the talismans had been.
Just like the barrier erected by Ke Huofen and his companions, stray attacks were completely kept out by the deep purple barrier, creating a safe haven for those within. In fact, Cong Liexian's barrier seemed to be even stronger than Ke Huofen's – the attacks that fell upon it disappeared without even causing any ripples, just like eggs being thrown against a stone wall.
The barrier was obviously working well, but there was absolutely no hint of joy to be seen on Cong Liexian's face.
Even Fei Qing did not seem pleased. A deep frown hung on his face despite the cheers of relief and gratitude coming from the vanguard party members.
The barrier had successfully kept the rest of the ordinary mortals safe from the ongoing battles within the chamber, but it was clear that they were not happy at all about being forced to do this. After all, Cong Liexian's actions did more than just protect the members of the vanguard party – it also ended up revealing information about himself, and that included his cultivation level.
Primary Origin Core realm!
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel shocked upon realising this.
As it turned out, these two weirdos were no insignificant characters. With his cultivation level, Cong Liexian was more than qualified to join the main strike force and participate in the ongoing battle!
Not just that, but Zhao Yunxiao also noticed something special about the talismans that Cong Liexian had used to create the barrier. He only had a quick glimpse, but there was no doubt about it – the talismans had the mark of the Duyuan Empire on them.
In other words, Cong Liexian was either an official of the Duyuan Empire, or at least someone related to one!
Zhao Yunxiao felt a lot more reassured upon realising this. The Duyuan Empire was a faction that was even more influential than the Four Great Symbol Sects. Surely, Cong Liexian, and by extension Fei Qing, would have plenty of trump cards at their disposal.
As long as they were willing to get involved, which Zhao Yunxiao was confident about since they had repeatedly shown concern about the lives of the ordinary mortals, the Righteous Coalition would have a far higher chance of victory here!
Come to think of it, Ke Huofen and his companions also erected a barrier earlier. Why had there been no hint of their cultivation levels then?
Did they have some special way to hide their cultivation levels?
Or did those jade pendants not require the injection of essence energy to be activated?
No, now was not the time to be thinking about such things. He had to focus on the exchange between Ren Xiexing and the red-haired woman!
At this moment, the shadow bowl had completed its transformation into a shadow ball, completely engulfing the red-haired woman within. Even then, Ren Xiexing had a deep frown on his face, with his entire body breaking out in cold sweat. It was clear that despite having the upper hand, just trying to keep things under control was taking a heavy toll on him.
The shadow ball might have completely engulfed the red-haired woman, but violent tremors could still be felt repeatedly, testament to how it was under constant assault from within.
In response, more and more black tendrils shot up from the ground, wrapping around and eventually fusing into the shadow ball to strengthen it from the outside.
One was trying to break out, while the other was trying to keep her in.
Thankfully, with their leaders stuck in a stalemate, the members of the main strike force of the Righteous Coalition proved superior to their counterparts from the Scarlet Leaf Sect. Slowly but surely, they started to establish a clear advantage in this battle.
Ultimately, they were all established cultivators who had come to Thousand Autumn City only because they were absolutely confident in their own combat capabilities. Considering that, such a result came as no real surprise.
Before long, the last of the Scarlet Leaf Sect members fell to the ground, and the relentless attacks came to an end, leaving a now-unfamiliar silence in the chamber – a huge contrast to the loud sounds of battle just a moment prior. Or rather, there would have been silence if not for the loud tremors coming from within the shadow ball.
"Hahaha! These Scarlet Leaf Sect dogs are nothing much after all!" Nian Qin laughed heartily despite the sorry state that he was in right now. His robes were torn and tattered, and there were deep wounds all over his body.
He was not the only one in such a state either.
Despite their victory, members of the main strike force were all heavily injured at this point, and even that was only applicable for those who had survived. In fact, more than half of them had already fallen during the fierce battle earlier.
Calling this a hard-fought victory could be considered a gross understatement.
That said, the surviving members did not mind that one bit. While they might all be part of the Righteous Coalition right now, they had all come on their own initially, so there was no real sense of camaraderie among them. On the other hand, each fallen comrade would only result in a greater share of the spoils left for them to claim, so there was no reason for them to complain!
But even before the surviving members of the main strike force could fully relish in their relief and pride, a loud explosion snapped them back to reality.
Boom-!
The shadow ball that was hanging overhead suddenly burst apart, causing water to burst out in all directions.
"That's enough!" the red-haired woman emerged from within, her sharp and seductive eyes now filled with a tinge of madness. "All of you will die here!"
"She's far stronger than I expected! Everyone, I need your help to launch your strongest attacks altogether!" Ren Xiexing desperately pleaded. "Only then would I be able to take her down once and for all!"
"Don't worry, Fellow Cultivator Ren! You are already amazing enough to have held back a Midrib-ranked member of the Scarlet Leaf Sect all by yourself for so long. We are here to help you now!" Nian Qin responded immediately.
"Isn't it just throwing out a full-powered attack? Count me in!"
"This is the final push! I am putting everything into this!"
"Kill her!"
The members of the main strike force answered Ren Xiexing's call without hesitation, all of them channelling all of their energy to launch their strongest attacks.
They understood that with the difference in cultivation levels, anything less than that would be completely useless against the red-haired woman. Only by combining all of their strongest attacks would they be able to help tilt the battle in Ren Xiexing's favour!
Just like that, numerous attacks shot out from the main strike force, all headed towards the red-haired woman.
In response, the red-haired woman waved her fan, and water streams shot down from above, meeting these attacks head-on.
Ren Xiexing did not miss this opening where she had to deal with the attacks from the other members of the coalition, immediately launching his own attack by summoning hundreds of black tendrils all at once.
Zhao Yunxiao focused all of his attention, careful not to miss a single detail. There was no doubt about it – the battle would be decided here and now!
It was at this moment that he realised something was amiss.
The hundreds of black tendrils from Ren Xiexing... they were not headed for the red-haired woman. Instead, they were charging straight towards the members of the Righteous Coalition, who were all focusing on attacking the red-haired woman and had their backs wide open!