Zhang Fan pushed his speed to the extreme, even burning his blood essence into a streak of bloody light, before he finally managed to flash ahead of the saber light.
Because the saber light was too fast, by the time Zhang Fan blocked it, he didn't have time to use his sword techniques for defense. He was directly struck in the chest by the saber light, his body sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the lake.
The onlookers at the lake shore watched the battle with bated breath, marveling inwardly at how strong the one-armed saber wielder was. To be able to send even Master Zhang flying with a single saber strike, who exactly was he?
With such strength, he shouldn't have been unknown until now.
None of them knew that this one-armed saber wielder was not from Earth, but from the vast Wu Shan Star Domain.
Qin Luoshui, Zhang Xing'an, and the others were filled with worry when they saw Zhang Fan sent flying for the first time, their hearts in their throats. At the same time, they felt a pang of guilt.
If it weren't for them, why would Zhang Fan have taken such a blow head-on?
"Boom!"
The lake suddenly erupted, water splashing everywhere. Zhang Fan emerged from the lake, a faint bloodstain on his chest. The one-armed, burly man's saber strike had only caused Zhang Fan some minor injuries.
With his divine body reaching quasi-minor accomplishment, Zhang Fan, who was comparable to a peak first-grade Golden Core realm cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, was not easily killed by anyone below the Nascent Soul stage.
The one-armed, burly man, who had been full of anticipation, saw that his full-power strike had not severely injured Zhang Fan, and he cursed inwardly at the anomaly.
Although these body-refining powerhouses had limited techniques, their survival methods were indeed far beyond what their opponents could compare.
Seeing that Zhang Fan was unharmed, Xue Jing and Lin Yun breathed a sigh of relief and then attacked the one-armed, burly man. However, their strength was still a notch below the one-armed, burly man's, and they could not harm him at all.
"Haha, since I can't kill you, I won't linger any longer. I shall take my leave now, and we shall meet again!" The one-armed man saw Zhang Fan charging forward again. Continuing to entangle would be meaningless. With Zhang Fan's interference, it was difficult for him to kill anyone.
Therefore, after repelling Xue Jing and Lin Yun, his body transformed into saber light and he fled from the lake island.
His speed was so fast that Zhang Fan would likely only be able to catch up by using his blood shield technique. However, Zhang Fan made no move, watching the one-armed, burly man disappear from sight.
"He still got away!"
Zhang Fan sighed softly as he watched the one-armed man disappear.
Although he still had some trump cards he hadn't used, he knew that even if he used them, it would be difficult to keep the other party.
After all, the opponent had condensed a second-grade superior Golden Core and cultivated it to its peak. Only those who had condensed a first-grade Golden Core and cultivated it to its peak, the absolute geniuses, had a chance of killing such a person.
Unless Zhang Fan's divine body reached complete minor accomplishment, it would be difficult to deal with him.
Although this battle had resulted in the deaths of thirteen Condensing Core realm cultivators and one Golden Core realm cultivator, Zhang Fan did not feel any joy from it.
The one-armed man's escape would surely lead him to seek help from other powerhouses in the Wu Shan Star Domain. Once Earth's coordinates were exposed on a large scale, that would be the true disaster.
With only one Saber Venerable being so difficult to deal with, if three or five more experts of the Saber Venerable level arrived, how would they resist?
...
In this great battle, more than half of the lake island sank to the bottom of the lake. The remaining small half of the island was also reduced to ruins by the aftermath of the battle, with no buildings standing.
However, to Zhang Fan's slight relief, he had collected the treasures of the thirteen Condensing Core realm and Golden Core realm cultivators. Among them were quite a few rare treasures useful for cultivation.
Due to the large amount of manpower invested, within just a week, the lake island was completely cleared out. The sunken half of the island was also refilled. The island's environment was restored to its original state, the only difference being that the villa was gone.
During this week, Zhang Fan also organized the spoils of war and refined a large number of spirit pills, formulating a short-term cultivation plan for everyone.
...
After the one-armed, burly man escaped from the lake island, he soared into the sky, passed through the atmosphere, and returned to the starship parked in Earth's outer space.
The group of Saint Domain and Divine Realm slaves in the starship were filled with confusion when they saw the Saber Venerable returning alone, but they did not dare to ask.
After all, they were merely slaves, and a slight misstep in angering the Saber Venerable would lead to a tragic fate.
The Saber Venerable did not pay attention to the slaves' thoughts. His face was grim, and he was secretly contemplating how this encounter had served as a wake-up call.
Although he was powerful and had few rivals among Golden Core realm cultivators, he was still insufficient to seize the opportunity alone.
Normally, cultivators who came to search for treasures would invite three to five friends of similar strength. However, the Saber Venerable was too arrogant. He had come alone with a group of subordinates. Although he had found the place of opportunity, he did not have the strength to seize it by himself.
As for that body-refining powerhouse alone, with all his means used, the Saber Venerable was confident he could defeat him, but he couldn't kill him at all.
"It seems I still need to find a team of helpers!"
After pondering for a long time, the Saber Venerable finally made up his mind. Although he was very reluctant to share the present opportunity with others, if he delayed further and the opportunity was seized by that body-refining powerhouse, he would not even have the chance to regret it.
"Wen Xin Old Man!"
The Saber Venerable took out a black crystal from his spatial treasure. He channeled his magic power into the crystal, communicating with a trace of divine consciousness within the crystal, and spoke.
This black crystal was a universally used Mirror Stone in the universe. As long as one stripped away a trace of their divine consciousness and injected it into the other party's Mirror Stone, the other party could communicate within a star domain range using this trace of divine consciousness.
Although it was universally used, generally only those with considerable strength would possess a Mirror Stone, as a single Mirror Stone cost one hundred thousand spirit crystals to purchase. Even an ordinary Golden Core realm cultivator would find it too extravagant.
In just a few short breaths, a phantom image of an old man in a white robe emerged from the Mirror Stone and floated in the air.
Although it was a phantom image, his eyes were incredibly lively, as if he were a real person.
"Haha, it's rare for the Saber Venerable to contact me proactively."
"I remember the last time the Saber Venerable contacted me was because you drifted in the Milky Way for over three hundred years and encountered a Golden Core realm cultivator from the Milky Way for the first time."
The old man in the white robe said with a gentle smile, unhurriedly, "May I ask why the Saber Venerable is contacting me this time?"
"Where are Li Yangzi and Bai Zhen? Hurry up and let them out. I have something to discuss with you," the Saber Venerable said impatiently, clearly disliking the old man's hypocritical smile.
The old man in the white robe did not mind the Saber Venerable's attitude. He still had a smiling face and said, "Those two are much more diligent than me. They are still in seclusion cultivating. May I ask what matter the Saber Venerable wishes to discuss with us?"
"It's about the place of opportunity," the Saber Venerable said calmly, glancing at the old man in the white robe.
"Place of opportunity?"
...
ps: Second update!