"Pfft!"
Li Xun could no longer hold back, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out directly.
He had been enduring it with all his might, and the first green snake shadow was swallowed, causing him to suffer a backlash.
He strongly endured and launched a second attack, but it was also effortlessly neutralized by Zhang Ergou. This was a significant blow to Li Xun. Su Dan Novel Network.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Seeing Li Xun spit blood, Zhang Ergou swung his spear and stabbed straight at Li Xun.
The mid-Nascent Soul stage Li Xun naturally couldn't just stand there and wait. With a skillful turn, he dodged Zhang Ergou's spear thrust.
The two exchanged blows, probing each other for several more rounds.
However, neither gained a significant advantage. Although Li Xun was suffering from the backlash, his mid-Nascent Soul stage strength was not for nothing.
His seasoned combat experience allowed him to narrowly evade Zhang Ergou's attacks several times.
At this point, Li Xun had long since shed his contempt for Zhang Ergou.
Before, he might have thought Zhang Ergou was just a cultivator with mixed spiritual roots who knew a little of everything but was only proficient in alchemy.
After their initial exchange, Li Xun quickly realized his mistake.
He also paid the price for his misjudgment.
Zhang Ergou's original intention was to defeat Li Xun with a single blow while he was suffering from the backlash, but he hadn't expected him to be so troublesome.
This was the most troublesome opponent of similar age that Zhang Ergou had encountered so far.
In terms of cultivation, Li Xun was still a small realm higher than him.
In terms of experience, Li Xun's strength had also been honed through various trials, and his combat experience was not inferior to Zhang Ergou's.
Zhang Ergou frowned slightly, contemplating a way to break the stalemate.
Based on Li Xun's previous move, his transformed sword intent took the form of a snake. Snakes preferred cold, so Li Xun likely disliked being roasted by fire.
Having figured this out, Zhang Ergou feigned a lunge and changed his attack at the last moment.
A massive Fire Spirit Fist appeared out of thin air before Li Xun.
Li Xun had no time to dodge. He hadn't expected Zhang Ergou to change his attack so suddenly. Caught off guard, he was struck squarely by the Fire Spirit Fist.
His robes were scorched and deformed.
But that was all. Apart from that, Li Xun suffered no other harm.
Zhang Ergou's eyes narrowed. He could now see clearly that the robe Li Xun was wearing was a defensive magical artifact, and its grade seemed to be quite high.
It seemed that defeating Li Xun with spiritual fire would not be easy.
The magical artifact on him clearly had fire-resistant properties. However, fortunately, Zhang Ergou had other means.
After all, he was also a formation master. Since he couldn't break Li Xun's defense head-on, he would think of other ways.
Zhang Ergou held his spear in one hand, launching a barrage of sharp attacks, while with the other hand, he casually tossed spirit stones onto the arena.
"What is that kid doing? Is he that wealthy?"
"I don't know, but we can't treat Zhang Ergou like an ordinary person. That kid is too strange."
The peak lords nodded almost simultaneously. Earlier, they had thought Zhang Ergou would be defeated by Li Xun's sword intent.
Yet, to this day, they couldn't comprehend how Zhang Ergou had neutralized Li Xun's sword intent.
And even forced Li Xun to spit blood.
Li Xun himself had a bitter taste in his mouth. Zhang Ergou's troublesome nature far exceeded his expectations, and his ever-changing tactics left him, a sword cultivator, exhausted.
Although he had rich combat experience, his fights were usually straightforward, and he often defeated opponents relying on superior techniques and cultivation.
However, this was the first time he had encountered an opponent as difficult to deal with as Zhang Ergou.
Zhang Ergou was like a slippery loach, elusive and unpredictable, and his diverse attacks left Li Xun overwhelmed.
The roles of the two had completely reversed. Li Xun, the initial aggressor, had completely fallen into the position of a passive defender.
Not only that, but he also had to deal with sudden bursts of flames, green plants, and other elements.
It was truly perplexing how Zhang Ergou's mind worked, being able to multitask during such an intense battle, maintaining his spear techniques while launching various other attacks.
Li Xun was almost entangled by the green plants that suddenly sprouted behind him.
If he hadn't been quick-witted and cleaved the plants with his sword, he would likely have already become Zhang Ergou's defeated opponent.
The more they fought, the more alarmed Li Xun became. For a cultivator to be able to practice so many techniques simultaneously and master them to such a degree completely changed his perception of Zhang Ergou.
Zhang Ergou could absolutely not be judged by ordinary standards.
Just as he cleaved the green plants behind him, his chest and left arm were struck by a fireball and his spear, respectively.
The fireball merely left a faint mark on his robes.
However, his left arm was pierced by the tip of Zhang Ergou's spear, and blood flowed freely.
Li Xun was shocked. He hadn't paid much attention to Zhang Ergou's spear earlier, assuming it was just an ordinary weapon.
It could actually pierce the defense of a top-grade magical artifact.
This surprised him greatly. As for Zhang Ergou's other hand, which had been continuously throwing spirit stones into various corners of the arena, it had not attracted his attention.
Zhang Ergou's identity as a formation master was not widely known.
Therefore, although everyone was puzzled, they did not pay much attention. Only some formation masters, led by Bai Youran, noticed Zhang Ergou's actions.
Zhang Ergou was clearly setting up an Encirclement Formation.
In high-stakes duels, every second counted. Bai Youran, observing the gradually forming formation, could already predict Li Xun's fate.
"A pity. That young man named Li underestimated Zhang Ergou from the very beginning."
"Brother Bai, have you noticed something?"
"Haven't you noticed that young fellow constantly throwing spirit stones onto the arena?"
"We saw that."
Hua Xu and Mu Chen looked bewildered.
"Having known that young fellow Zhang Ergou for so long, you should know how greedy he is. He wouldn't part with a spirit stone easily. Such casual discarding of spirit stones is clearly against his nature."
Seeing their continued lack of comprehension, Bai Youran stated it directly.
"You mean that kid is setting up a formation?"
Hua Xu finally understood, his expression changing slightly. During such an intense battle, he could still distract himself to set up a formation.
It seemed their understanding of Zhang Ergou was still not comprehensive enough.
"Hush, speak softly."
Bai Youran urged Hua Xu to lower his voice. With so many people around, it was best to be cautious. If Li Xun heard and became wary, then everything Zhang Ergou had done would be in vain.
They naturally hoped for Zhang Ergou to win this match.
After all, Zhang Ergou was brought here by the three of them.
Suddenly, Li Xun saw Zhang Ergou, who had been feinting, stop and appear to be launching a final blow.
"Look, Zhang Ergou is serious now. This is where the winner will be decided."
"I'm rooting for Zhang Ergou."
"No, I'm rooting for Li Xun. After all this time, Zhang Ergou's spiritual energy must be nearly depleted."
Murmurs arose from the crowd in the plaza.
Li Xun saw Zhang Ergou stand still, raise his spear high, and smash it down at him fiercely.
He hastily retreated, and suddenly the scenery before his eyes shifted.
Li Xun discovered that he could no longer move...