Wu Tao's fighting spirit surged, merging with the surrounding Buddhist intent. Empowered by it, he unleashed an invincible Buddhist fist, a peerless strike that descended with immense force.
Though imbued with the profound meaning of Buddhism, this fist at this moment throbbed with a terrifying power that could suppress heaven and earth, threatening to shatter them.
Ye Hong, Yu Mo, Ma Fan, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang watched the scene unfold, utterly dumbfounded.
"Can this guy really kill a Core Formation cultivator?" Yu Mo exclaimed, her face filled with shock.
"You mean he might be able to kill a Core Formation cultivator?" Ma Fan echoed, a tremor of fear in his voice.
"Looking at him now, do you think it's impossible?"
"I've heard a rumor that if someone hadn't saved Hong Bai's life on the arena that day, our fearsome teammate would have already killed him!"
"I always thought that rumor was false. After all, no matter how weak Hong Bai was, he was still a Core Formation cultivator!"
"How could he be killed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator? But now, it seems entirely possible."
Ye Hong chimed in, adding her agreement.
Yu Mo, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang exchanged pale glances. Was Wu Tao truly this formidable?
"How is this possible? How are you not dead?"
Seeing Wu Tao's increasingly potent aura, Xue Zhahan also wore a look of utter astonishment.
Wu Tao erupted, his spiritual energy surging like a tidal wave, his body radiating Buddhist power. His Buddhist fist blotted out the sky, serene as an immeasurable abyss, yet moving like a thousand-zhang towering peak!
Its might was overwhelming, compelling onlookers to bow in reverence.
"Pseudo-divine ability, Xuan Xuan Zao Hua Fo Zu Quan!"
Xue Zhahan deployed five blood-red tentacles, attempting to kill Wu Tao.
"Boom!"
The golden fist, filling the sky, seemed poised to pierce through heaven and earth, possessing unparalleled strength.
This strike, the Xuan Xuan Zao Hua Fo Zu Quan, appeared to merge with the very fabric of heaven and earth. Upon its release, Xue Zhahan was utterly subdued.
He was sent flying backward, the powerful impact too much even for him. He coughed up blood, landing ignominiously on the ground. Enraged, Xue Zhahan surged upward again, his body ablaze with blood-red light, extinguishing the flames. "You mongrel, I'll drink all your blood!"
Wu Tao, not a fool, fled once he lost his ability to retaliate.
Meanwhile.
Lü Yuehua held the advantage and had no intention of letting the situation turn. She granted him no respite, unleashing a barrage of divine abilities in rapid succession.
Her divine abilities streaked across the sky, each striking true. Her initial lead allowed her to maintain constant pressure, her relentless offense virtually trapping Xue Zhahan.
The heavens and earth seemed to crack, the ice and snow freezing the skies.
The fierce collision caused even the sky and the ground to boil.
Lü Yuehua unleashed various divine abilities.
"Sixth-grade divine ability—Ice Surface Illusion!"
"Fifth-grade divine ability—Ice Fire Phoenix Strike!"
"Fourth-grade divine ability—Xuanwu Breath!"
"Third-grade divine ability—Space Shatter!"
...
Her divine abilities shifted endlessly, unpredictable.
One moment Lü Yuehua unleashed ice-element divine abilities, the next, spatial ones, battering Xue Zhahan as if he were a child.
Xue Zhahan's fleshy tendrils writhed, his twelve tentacles bristling, emitting terrifying fluctuations like a vast ocean as he desperately sought to turn the tide.
Such an intense confrontation was rarely seen: a Grand Count of the Blood Race, facing the descendant of a Nascent Soul stage Vice-City Lord.
Lü Yuehua and Xue Zhahan, representing their respective races, were locked in a clash as sharp as needles. Their battle was soul-stirring, causing the very firmament to tremble.
...
On this side, Lü Yuehua’s spiritual energy seemed inexhaustible, her momentum growing with each passing moment. Even Xue Zhahan, who had resorted to a forbidden Blood Race technique, felt a surge of apprehension.
The continuous, terrifying divine abilities forced him to retreat again and again.
Currently, his tendrils were ineffective against her, and every divine ability she unleashed left him numb, the fearsome power rattling him so much he had coughed up blood multiple times.
Lü Yuehua was determined not to give him any chance to recover. She never underestimated her opponents, especially Xue Zhahan, who had employed a forbidden Blood Race technique. Her assault was relentless.
"Bang!!!"
With a storm of attacks, she overwhelmed Xue Zhahan, causing him to bleed continuously. The blood-red light emanating from him had dimmed considerably.
After an unknown duration, Lü Yuehua finally shattered Xue Zhahan's defenses and pierced through.
A divine ability directly struck Xue Zhahan’s chest. This heavy blow, even for the monstrous form he had become, was unbearable, sending waves of pain through him.
He was sent flying backward once more, blood spewing forth.
...
It was a devastating blow that left him disoriented and unbalanced.
Xue Zhahan, who had employed a forbidden Blood Race technique, was reduced to such a pathetic state. This caused not only Wu Tao but also Ye Hong, Yu Mo, Ma Fan, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang, to collectively gasp.
After all, a Grand Count of the Blood Race was comparable to a late-stage Core Formation human cultivator.
Especially after utilizing a forbidden Blood Race technique, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would find Xue Zhahan at this moment exceptionally troublesome.
Yet, Lü Yuehua, with her mid-stage Core Formation cultivation alone, was making Xue Zhahan cry out in anguish. Witnessing this, Wu Tao, Ye Hong, Yu Mo, Ma Fan, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang were naturally astonished.
...
However, while Lü Yuehua appeared to hold the advantage, only she knew her true condition.
Her spiritual energy was depleted, with only a little over half remaining. Even consuming more pills couldn't quickly restore it. If the fight dragged on, she would be the one to perish.
What…
What was going on?
There was actually someone who could withstand over a dozen divine abilities and still not be killed.
With no other option, Lü Yuehua continued her assault while speaking in a heavy tone, using a taunt: "Perhaps I underestimated you, considering you a waste. I didn't expect you to be so durable..."
"..."
Xue Zhahan's eye twitched. One shouldn't hit someone and then slap their face, nor should one curse and then expose their weaknesses. Was she deliberately humiliating him?
Following this, Lü Yuehua and Xue Zhahan engaged in another fierce duel. After dozens of exchanges, neither side could manage to kill the other.
Lü Yuehua, nearing exhaustion, reluctantly produced a mysterious fiery red box.
"It seems I must use this! Only then can I kill this monster. Though it's my life-saving item."
Glancing at the box in her hand, a trace of reluctance appeared on Lü Yuehua's face. But her expression quickly turned cold as she tore off two talismans from the box.
Instantly, the entire box shattered, revealing a miniature Red Flying Spear.
Even more astonishing was that as soon as this miniature Red Flying Spear appeared, waves of terrifying heat emanated from it, causing the surrounding temperature to skyrocket, leaving everyone parched.
Wu Tao, Ye Hong, Yu Mo, Ma Fan, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang, all eight of them, witnessed this astonishing scene.
"A disposable pseudo-spiritual treasure!"
Ye Hong, a descendant of a Nascent Soul cultivator himself, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the item.
A "disposable pseudo-spiritual treasure," though related to spiritual treasures, was not as complex as one might imagine.
Firstly, a disposable pseudo-spiritual treasure possessed at most one percent of the original spiritual treasure's power.
Secondly, forging a disposable pseudo-spiritual treasure required depleting some of the original spiritual treasure's vital energy.
Of course, the energy lost by the spiritual treasure could be replenished through refining. However, most spiritual treasures in the cultivation world were held by Purple Mansion stage cultivators, or at the very least, by late-stage Nascent Soul grand cultivators.
Except for some top-tier cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan who, rather than parting with their precious spiritual treasures, chose to leave behind a few disposable pseudo-spiritual treasures for their descendants, other top-tier cultivators would never do such a thing to the treasures they cherished.
From this, one could see how rare and precious disposable pseudo-spiritual treasures were.
Various true fires, such as Three Yang True Fire, Six Yang True Fire, and Nine Yang True Fire, coalesced with spiritual energy, transforming into Vermilion Bird Immortal Fire.
As the firelight dissipated, Lü Yuehua held a crimson spear in her left hand, its tip shaped like a phoenix's wing, burning with the formidable Vermilion Bird Immortal Fire. Wherever its tip pointed, crimson flames flared.
The Vermilion Bird Immortal Spear, the guardian treasure of Tongguan Town.
Lü Yuehua wielded the Vermilion Bird Immortal Spear, and the Vermilion Bird Immortal Fire scattered like a phoenix spreading its wings.
Seeing the Vermilion Bird Immortal Spear thrust towards him, Xue Zhahan concentrated the Vermilion Bird Immortal Fire at the spear tip, carrying a hint of the law of fire.
"Vile human blood slave, I do not accept this! The lords of the Blood Race will surely avenge us..."
Before Xue Zhahan's words could even fully register, crimson flames erupted from his body, consuming everything he was.
"Rumble!"
The endless sea of crimson fire scorched the sky, spreading for miles, burning fiercely.
Xue Zhahan turned to dust, vanishing from existence.
Witnessing the terrifying power of the Vermilion Bird Immortal Spear, Wu Tao, Ye Hong, Yu Mo, Ma Fan, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang, all eight of them, had their pupils constrict violently. Fear began to creep onto their faces.
Xue Zhahan, who had rendered everyone helpless, was so easily annihilated by a raging inferno. How could Wu Tao, Ye Hong, Yu Mo, Ma Fan, Cong Shujie, Shi Zhenxiang, Zuo Zong, and Li Zhang, not be filled with disbelief, their faces etched with incredulity?
At this moment, Lü Yuehua's figure flickered, and she suddenly appeared above the sea of crimson flames. With a casual wave of her hand, she extinguished the raging inferno.
"Clean up the battlefield and send back those hundreds of thousands of mortals. The rest will be handled by me with the City Lord once we return."
Lü Yuehua glanced at the dozens of Viscount-level Blood Race corpses scattered on the ground, as well as the hundreds of thousands of mortals still imprisoned in the cages, and calmly issued her instructions.