Urban Immortal Cultivation Supreme

Time flies; it had been four months since Zhu Bufan and the others arrived at the fifth layer. During those four months, Bufan had been continuously cultivating within this cave, occasionally exchanging moves with Emperor Yan. In just a short period of time, Bufan's cultivation base had soared to the peak of the Body Tempering Ninth Layer Heaven, and with just one opportunity, he would be able to break through the shackles of body refining and reach the Bone Forging Realm!

"Killing Technique? Radiant Hunting Shadows!"

"Devouring Demon Heavenly Dragon Break? Kirin Shock!"

The Purple Cloud Giant Sword clashed with Emperor Yan's kirin-shaped shock wave. Under the attack of the Devouring Demon Heavenly Dragon Break, Radiant Hunting Shadows shattered bit by bit, but even so, Emperor Yan did not show the slightest sign of relief.

"Evil Technique? Blood-colored Pan-Nie!"

Sure enough, the originally purple sword energy suddenly transformed into blood-red sword energy. After Bufan's figure flashed, the giant sword morphed into a blood-red phoenix, charging straight at Emperor Yan.

"Phoenix Soaring!"

The spreading wings of the phoenix charged directly towards Emperor Yan. Wrapped around it, the Blood Spirit Poison Fire transformed into rings of fire patterns as the blood-red phoenix dived. Faced with Bufan's sudden change in tactics, Emperor Yan remained unsurprised, clearly having encountered this transformation multiple times before.

"Chenjiang Duanliu Break? Wave-Rolling Formation!"

Facing the oncoming blood-red phoenix, Emperor Yan immediately unleashed the Wave-Rolling Formation. Like a tornado, the sword energy swirled upwards, crazily weakening the blood-red phoenix unleashed by Bufan. Without the madness controlled by Emperor's Hatred, Bufan seemed somewhat lacking in strength when using Blood-colored Pan-Nie and was quickly thwarted by Emperor Yan's Wave-Rolling Formation.

The blood-red phoenix shattered, and Bufan's true form was revealed. Not waiting for Bufan to regain his stance, Emperor Yan swiftly pressed forward, his agile figure flying towards Bufan. The Black Flame Long Sword in his hand fiercely slashed down at Bufan. Reeling from the quick counterattack, Bufan hastily raised his sword to block but was struck by Emperor Yan's heavy blow, sending him flying backward.

"Stamping Feet!"

At this moment, Emperor Yan's figure chased Bufan like a specter, his tiny feet mercilessly stamping towards Bufan's face. Inescapable, with a sigh, Bufan's face then bore a new, clear imprint of a tiny foot.

Seeing another footprint stamped on his face, Bufan had no choice but to stop helplessly. He didn't know when Emperor Yan started to favor using 'Stamping Feet' as an ending 'martial arts' move—once Bufan's face was stamped with the little footprint, it signified the end of the spar.

"How do you feel today?" Putting away the Black Flame Long Sword and looking at Bufan with a footprint on his face, Emperor Yan smiled brilliantly before asking him.

"I still don't feel like I'm about to break through. Is it because I haven't been at the peak of Body Refining for long enough?" Feeling the flow of Primordial Qi within his body, Bufan shook his head. He had been at the peak of Body Tempering for over a month, but still had no feeling of breaking through to reach the Bone Forging Realm, which made him feel somewhat discouraged.

"It's not about how long you've been at the peak of the Body Tempering Ninth Layer Heaven." Shaking his head, Emperor Yan then put on a pretentiously sage-like demeanor, "What you truly lack is a battle of life and death. Do you remember how that girl, Huo Ling, broke through? To put it plainly, Huo Ling broke through to the Bone Forging Realm after having a fierce battle with you on the Soul-locking Chain. What you lack now is a battle where you have to stake your life on the victory."

"Now that you mention it..." Upon hearing Emperor Yan's words, Bufan plunged into deep thought. Indeed, what Bufan lacked now was that kind of life-or-death struggle. Only on the brink of life and death could one break through their own limits, which is what Emperor Yan often said.

"Since this Emperor is your opponent, I cannot bring myself to kill you. Thus, our encounters have always been in the form of spars, which while greatly improving your techniques, naturally won't lead to a breakthrough, so..."

"So what?" Bufan quickly asked as Emperor Yan paused.

"So, this Emperor plans to let you experience real death. And to make things clear, I won't make a move. Life or death will be entirely up to you." Having said that, Emperor Yan began to form seals, with waves of energy fluctuation spreading outwards, rattling the air around them.

"Four Desolate Battle Souls, converge here; Dark God Heavenly Soul, return to the Underworld; all phenomena return to the true, all laws condense to heaven; evil gathers, unsealing and breaking..." As Emperor Yan recited the profound and deep spell, Zhu Bufan increasingly felt an extremely bizarre aura enveloping the surroundings. Even more peculiar, within this sealed underground cavern, there suddenly arose a gust of chilling wind.

When Emperor Yan uttered the last word, Zhu Bufan noticed that the Wutian Black Flame enveloping Emperor Yan's body began to separate from him and slowly took shape. Soon enough, the Wutian Black Flame condensed into a humanoid form of great stature, clad in dark armor.

"The Tiger Demon Guard, one of my trusted aides in the bygone years. Although at present my power can only summon a weakened Tiger Demon Guard, that is sufficient. They are loyal guards who know only to slay anyone besides myself, showing no mercy. Oh, and you need not fear killing them, as they are merely spiritual bodies temporarily returned to this world through my Black Flames," explained Emperor Yan after summoning the Tiger Demon Guard, quickly flashing aside and then speaking to Zhu Bufan.

Looking at this stalwart guard enveloped completely in dark armor, not even revealing his face, Zhu Bufan immediately showed a trace of a smile and said, "That's perfect! Let me see the extent of what your little minion's guard can achieve."

"You damn fool, dare to call me a little minion? Tiger Demon Guard, no need for courtesy, attack!!" Emperor Yan was instantly infuriated, leaping three feet into the air at Zhu Bufan's words. With a command, the eyes of the Tiger Demon Guard burst with intense red light, and the figure, seemingly lifeless as before, pounced towards Zhu Bufan.

"Break!!"

Confronted by the Tiger Demon Guard suddenly lunging at him, Zhu Bufan immediately drew the Purple Cloud sword, and then several snake-shaped sword energies whistled towards the Tiger Demon Guard.

Facing the powerful sword energy that Zhu Bufan slashed out, capable of piercing through gold and breaking iron, the Tiger Demon Guard did not dodge or evade, meeting it head-on. In an instant, the snake-shaped sword energy landed on the Tiger Demon Guard's body.

"What's going on?" However, the moment the sword energy made contact with the Tiger Demon Guard, Zhu Bufan was shocked to find that his snake-shaped sword energies were silently absorbed by the Tiger Demon Guard. The Purple Cloud's sword energy did not even leave a scratch on the Tiger Demon Guard's body, and at this time, the Tiger Demon Guard was already upon Zhu Bufan.

'Boom'

The Tiger Demon Guard, having reached Zhu Bufan, lifted its hand and slapped down fiercely at Zhu Bufan, just like swatting a fly. The combination of heavy force and extreme speed left no room for Zhu Bufan to dodge, and he could only meet the oncoming palm with his own fist.

"Heaven and Earth Unbound!"

The fist imbued with the Qiankun Shocking Force collided with the Tiger Demon Guard's giant palm, and Zhu Bufan was instantly sent flying by the powerful impact, crashing into the cave wall. The strength of the Tiger Demon Guard far exceeded Zhu Bufan's expectations; he had never imagined that sheer physical power alone could reach such a level.

Having blasted Zhu Bufan into the cave wall, the Tiger Demon Guard, like a cannonball shot from its chamber, once again charged at Zhu Bufan. The path trodden by the speeding Tiger Demon Guard appeared as if plowed, showcasing the sheer might of its power.

'Boom!!'

With a thunderous noise, the Tiger Demon Guard's shoulder rammed into the cave wall, creating a huge crater. Had Zhu Bufan not reacted swiftly to evade, he would have likely been reduced to minced meat by the shoulder charge of the Tiger Demon Guard.

After the missed attack, the Tiger Demon Guard immediately lunged again toward Zhu Bufan, the heavy oppressive force bearing down unrestrainedly on Zhu Bufan. Confronted with the Tiger Demon Guard's assault, Zhu Bufan repeatedly launched sword energy, all of which were silently dissolved and absorbed by the Tiger Demon Guard, unable to even leave a mark on its armor.

"What kind of monster is this? Does Primordial Qi not work on it?" As the Tiger Demon Guard almost reached him, Zhu Bufan hurriedly retreated in a fluster. As soon as he moved, the spot where Zhu Bufan just stood was bombed by the Tiger Demon Guard, leaving two huge and deep craters. From beginning to end, the Tiger Demon Guard had only displayed brute strength, but even so, this pure physical power made Zhu Bufan feel somewhat helpless.

"I refuse to believe it! You can't absorb every move! Overwhelming Sky Formation!" With a flash of fierce light in his eyes, Zhu Bufan wielded the Purple Cloud sword and lashed out with an Overwhelming Sky Formation at the Tiger Demon Guard. The vastness of the sword energy instantly engulfed the Tiger Demon Guard's body, but Zhu Bufan found, to his dismay, that all sword energy that hit the Tiger Demon Guard simply vanished into thin air, as if the attacks made of Primordial Qi genuinely had no effect on the Tiger Demon Guard.

"It's useless, the Tiger Demon Guard can absorb attacks from others. The more it absorbs, the stronger its power becomes. Only by unleashing a move that is stronger than the Tiger Demon Guard's absorption can it possibly be harmed," thought Emperor Yan, watching Zhu Bufan battle the Tiger Demon Guard. But he did not speak out loud; Zhu Bufan had by now given up on using Martial Arts attacks and was instead entangled with the Tiger Demon Guard using the sharpness of the Purple Cloud sword. Regrettably, the sharpness of the Purple Cloud sword was clearly unable to penetrate the Tiger Demon Guard's iron armor, and no matter how Zhu Bufan struck, he could only spark without any effect.

Compared to Zhu Bufan's struggle, the Tiger Demon Guard's attacks were getting faster and faster. Its heavy and immense punches and kicks exhausted Zhu Bufan, each strike no weaker than the Martial Arts attacks Zhu Bufan executed. This was still just the ability of a weakened Tiger Demon Guard; Zhu Bufan could hardly imagine how terrifying the Tiger Demon Guard would be at its peak.