Above the sea of clouds, Liu Xin softened his stance: "If my two junior brothers reconcile with me, I am willing to present a superior Daoist book."
"Has it come to this? You're not joking, are you?"
Lü Yang laughed. "Senior Brother Liu, we're all disciples of the Holy Sect—why pretend? You have a blade at our throats now."
"..."
Liu Xin didn't answer, his face darkening.
Lü Yang was right. At this moment, those truly unwilling to reconcile were no longer Lü Yang and Xiao Shiye, but Liu Xin and Fairy Qingchen.
The reason was simple: the Holy Sect's rules.
"While the Holy Sect's rules mean nothing if you aren't caught, once discovered, they become truly effective," Lü Yang sneered. "You've done this before—ambushing and robbing fellow disciples—but no one noticed. Now, if I report this to the Enforcement Hall, the truth will come out. Senior Brother Liu, you'll be dead."
"Junior Brother jokes," Liu Xin's face twitched. "We can sign a contract agreeing not to speak of today's events. Then I'll be at ease."
"Really?" Lü Yang retorted.
Of course, it was a lie.
Only the dead are truly reassuring!
"Qingchen!"
At Liu Xin's low shout, Fairy Qingchen—silent until now—parted her red lips and uttered a single syllable:
"Open!"
Before the word faded, the sea of clouds shifted again. Towering peaks materialized, trapping Lü Yang and Xiao Shiye at the center.
Another formation!
"You think I fear your Heavenly Demon Blood Transformation Divine Light?" Liu Xin recognized the technique and smirked. A banner fluttered into his hand. "My 'Primordial Qi Myriad Spirits Banner' lacks a main soul. Today, you'll become its sacrifice."
"Go!"
Before Liu Xin finished, Lü Yang merged with his sword pellet and slashed forward. The overwhelming stench of blood choked Liu Xin's mockery.
"Souls, return!"
Liu Xin formed a seal, shaking the Myriad Spirits Banner. Two streams of white qi emerged, solidifying into human figures.
Lü Yang didn't hesitate—his sword descended.
Guided by Liu Xin, the two figures gathered their qi and met the strike. A loud bang echoed as sword qi shattered them.
Liu Xin, about to join the summoned banner spirits in battle, instantly retreated.
"Qingchen, now!"
Fairy Qingchen's face turned solemn. She drew a phoenix-tail hairpin from her hair and threw it. It transformed into golden light, shooting toward Lü Yang's brow.
But before it struck, another glow intercepted it—Xiao Shiye, the Treasure Boy. He unleashed over a dozen magical treasures at once. Their quality varied, but all shone brilliantly before exploding mid-air!
"Boom!"
The blasts resembled small suns, disrupting Qingchen's killing formation and nearly tearing it apart from within.
Such extravagance made the other three twitch.
Unlike Lü Yang, Xiao Shiye lacked powerful magical abilities—but he didn't need them. He simply threw out artifacts and detonated them.
This tactic darkened Liu Xin's face further. He waved the Myriad Spirits Banner, summoning dozens more banner spirits—all harvested from recent ambushes on fellow disciples.
"Reinforce the formation."
The banner spirits obeyed, stationing themselves around Qingchen's formation to bolster its power.
Relieved, Qingchen shook a small flag in her hand. The surrounding mountains responded, sealing heaven and earth, blocking all directions, and shielding her and Liu Xin from Lü Yang's sword light.
Satisfied, Liu Xin shook the banner again.
This treasure, obtained years ago along with the "Primordial Dao Book," had been his greatest combat reliance since beginning cultivation.
The banner required one main soul, two guardians, and three corpse gods—"The Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things." Only with these six positions and tens of thousands of souls would the treasure be complete.
It sounded simple, but Liu Xin had refined it for over a decade without success. Tens of thousands of souls were easy—a slaughtered mortal city sufficed—but the six key positions remained empty. He hadn't even gathered the three corpse gods, let alone the two guardians.
Still, the banner's power was formidable.
"Kill them!"
Liu Xin waved the banner, releasing tens of thousands of souls. Unlike cultivated banner spirits, these were vengeful ghosts born from mortal resentment—poor in quality but vast in number.
Summoned forth, they surged like a demonic tide, engulfing Lü Yang.
Crucially, these fleshless, bloodless wraiths feared no Blood-Transforming Divine Light.
Yet Lü Yang stood calm.
The Blood-Transforming Divine Light was his strongest technique, but not his only one. After refining the sword pellet, his Divine Firmament Sword Control Technique was equally potent!
With a thought, his sword pellet split into dozens, then hundreds, of sword lights. He teleported among them, evading direct clashes, retreating when pressed and striking when they weakened—guerrilla warfare against the banner spirits.
This was a sword cultivator's true advantage.
Strike once, retreat a thousand miles, then attack from another angle, forcing opponents to reveal flaws before delivering the final blow.
Soon, tens of thousands of demonic spirits lay scattered and routed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Shiye intensified his assault, detonating several superior magic treasures. The recently stabilized formation shook violently again.
Seeing the tide turn, Fairy Qingchen glanced at Liu Xin. "Senior Brother..."
"Don't worry. If I'm not worried, why are you?"
Liu Xin remained calm. He refused to believe Lü Yang could maintain such swordplay without draining his energy.
This was his strategy: expend insignificant banner spirits to wear down his foe, then play his trump card when the opponent weakened.
In truth, he loathed using that card. That banner spirit was too precious, and its living identity too sensitive. If seen, witnesses couldn't be left alive—even a whisper would mean his doom.
"Fine. No risk, no reward."
After a moment's thought, Liu Xin raised the banner and bowed respectfully. "A powerful enemy approaches. To resolve this, I implore Senior Brother to act."