Chapter 821: Quite Capable
When everyone fell silent, a thunderous roar suddenly resounded within the cave, the massive howl causing the surrounding cave walls to tremble. Those who heard this sound turned pale with fear.
'Boom!!'
A burst of smoke and dust exploded, followed by stones crazily shooting over from the distance. When the dust cleared, a four-meter-tall, crimson-colored mutated beast with six arms appeared before everyone.
"Is this a mutated beast? Everyone, be careful!" The sight of this crimson beast startled everyone; not only was its color unusual, but it also had six arms, exuding a fierce and murderous aura. Its angry eyes were fixed on the crowd.
"Roar!!!"
Another heart-stopping roar followed, and the red beast blurred into an afterimage. When it reappeared, it was right in front of everyone, with six huge fists targeting Zhu Bufan, Zhu Zizhen, Lin Qingfeng, Ye Gucheng, Han Ziyue, and Zhang Weiwei – evidently aiming at the six with the highest cultivation levels.
"Break!"
The six shouted simultaneously, all slashing their swords at the incoming fists. 'Ding ding ding ding ding ding' – six crisp sounds echoed. Zhang Weiwei, Lin Qingfeng, and Han Ziyue were immediately sent flying back, spewing blood. Zhu Bufan, Ye Gucheng, and Zhu Zizhen staggered back, barely managing to stand. The cultivation disparity among them was immediately apparent, with the slightly weaker three being severely shaken.
"This creature is extremely formidable, it's surely no ordinary Second Rank Demon Beast!" Seeing that the six were not easily repelled, Lan Ruoxing exclaimed in surprise while unleashing the Boundless Flying Fantasy, numerous blue sword lights bombarded the crimson beast, but did not even graze a single hair.
"Roar!!!" An angry bellow thundered. The crimson beast swung its fists towards Lan Ruoxing and the others, a fierce gale whitening the faces of the less powerful disciples.
"Kill!"
"Earth Revolving Flame!"
As Blood Spirit Poison Fire erupted from the ground, three simultaneous sword lights intercepted the swinging fists. The metallic clanging filled the air when the three sword lights struck the three fists. Seeing Lan Ruoxing and the others in peril, Zhu Bufan and Ye Gucheng promptly intervened to rescue them. They managed to evade danger thanks to Zhu Bufan's Blood Spirit Poison Fire and Ye Gucheng's defense.
"Those with insufficient cultivation, step back and don't get in the way! Five Extremes Thunder Sword? Thunder Extreme Demon Execution!"
A massive surge of Thunder Sword Qi bombarded the crimson beast, instantly igniting fierce bolts of thunder light. The beast howled in pain, but before Zhu Zizhen could even smile, a powerful gust scattered the dust and debris, and a heavy punch was already smashing towards Zhu Zizhen.
"Qingyun Sword Technique – Continuous Rain;" Zhu Zizhen's sword qi rained down relentlessly on the crimson beast, crazily slashing at its flesh, producing a 'ding ding' sound. Meanwhile, Lin Qingfeng and Zhang Weiwei also launched their attacks. Apparently, their injuries were not severe, and the trio had recovered. After continued harassment, Zhu Zizhen narrowly escaped the beast's assault.
"What kind of monster is this?" Seeing his Five Extremes Thunder Sword only scorch the beast's fur, leaving it otherwise unharmed, Zhu Zizhen exclaimed in disbelief. Yet, Ye Gucheng had already dashed towards the crimson beast. His unsheathed sword, glowing with a faint blue light, stabbed frantically at the beast with a speed that was almost imperceptible.
"Is this Ye Gucheng's Fast Sword?" Seeing Ye Gucheng's seemingly vanishing long sword and the sparks flying off the crimson beast, Zhu Bufan's heart tightened. Though Ye Gucheng's cultivation might be lower than his own, this speed made it impossible to even block or parry.
As if sensing Zhu Bufan's gaze, Ye Gucheng's mouth curled into a faint, cold smirk. Suddenly, his figure became illusory, and numerous afterimages began circling the crimson beast like a tornado, his sword strikes even faster. The beast, despite its raging roars, couldn't catch Ye Gucheng.
"Is this a show of strength?" Ye Gucheng's cold smirk didn't escape Zhu Bufan's eyes. Smirking coldly in response, Zhu Bufan's aura suddenly exploded, an overwhelming killing intent surged, terrifying all disciples of Heavenly Sword Sect except Ye Gucheng, who had already experienced it, making them retreat in fear.
"Chenjiang Duanliu Break – Overwhelming Sky Formation!"
As Zhu Bufan unleashed his sword, a vast expanse of overwhelming sword energy engulfed the crimson beast, its intensity and the scorching heat of the Blood Spirit Poison Fire surpassing Zhu Zizhen's Five Extremes Thunder Sword. Feeling the tremendous power of the Overwhelming Sky Formation, everyone looked at each other in shock. They couldn't believe Zhu Bufan's strength had reached such a level! How could this be the power of a cultivator in the Body Tempering Realm?
"ROAR!!"
Feeling the threat from Zhu Bufan, the red-skinned ancient beast roared loudly and then fiercely opened its six arms to repel Ye Gucheng, following that, its six fists flew toward the direction of Zhu Bufan's sword energy, instantly weaving into a gigantic Fist Net pressing back towards Zhu Bufan.
"Beast, you do have some skills."
'BOOM!!'
The Fist Net collided with the sword energy, bursting out powerful energy that swept all around, the cultivators from both Yao Guang Peak and Kaiyang Peak who had weaker cultivation were forced to continuously slide back towards the exit, while the Overwhelming Sky Formation from Zhu Bufan and the Fist Net from the red-skinned ancient didn't just end with a single blow, so the battle continued without a winner.
"Now, if not now, when?"
Seeing Zhu Bufan clash evenly with the red-skinned ancient, Ye Gucheng shouted angrily, shaking his long sword, at the next moment, Ye Gucheng himself turned into a long sword, stabbing towards the body of the red-skinned ancient.
'PFFT!'
Focus entirely on the Fist Net, the defense of the red-skinned ancient momentarily weakened, under Ye Gucheng's meteor-chasing-moon-like sword move, one of the ancient's arms was penetrated.
"Tch! Five Extremes Thunder Sword? Myriad Thunders Gather Stars!" Spitting harshly, Zhu Zizhen quickly swallowed several Returning Qi Pills, then hundreds of thunder spires followed his Flying Dragon Sword's swing, fiercely bombarding the back of the red-skinned ancient. Although it didn't penetrate the target like Ye Gucheng did, the continuous Thunder Spur attacks made the ancient spit out fresh blood.
"ROAR!!!"
The injured ancient beast didn't feel any weakening but instead was deeply enraged. It roared furiously, bursting through the Sword Net, its six massive fists smashing towards Zhu Bufan, the brought up gale making it difficult for Zhu Bufan to breathe.
Just as the fists of the ancient were about to hit Zhu Bufan, a transparent water curtain blocked the thunderous strike. Under the six heavy punches, the water curtain merely rippled slightly without a sign of breaking. This was precisely the Xuan Water Barrier previously used by Huo Ling, and the one enveloping Zhu Bufan was several times stronger than the one Huo Ling displayed, even a full-force attack from the ancient beast couldn't break through.
"Well done Bai Ling! Roll up the momentum!!"
Safely protected by the Xuan Water Barrier, Zhu Bufan could unhesitatingly initiate an attack, stepping on the Fire Lotus, he lunged towards the front of the red-skinned ancient, raising his Emperor Yan's Pojun, the momentum then wrapped around the ancient, cyclone-like sword energy fiercely slashing at it.
"What a formidable sword technique!" Seeing Zhu Bufan perform the Chenjiang Duanliu Break, Ye Gucheng also showed a surprised expression, but his long sword did not stop, and Zhu Zizhen, feeling his face was losing face, kept swallowing Returning Qi Pills, deploying the Five Extremes Thunder Sword technique; for a moment, the offensive from Zhu Bufan, Ye Gucheng, and Zhu Zizhen overwhelmed the ancient, forcing it to continually retreat, unable to even lift its head.
"Sister Lin, we should join too, just watching on the side would damage the reputation of the disciples from Moon Peak." Seeing the intense battle between Zhu Bufan's team and the red-skinned ancient, Han Ziyue lightly furrowed her eyebrows then turned to Lin Qingfeng.
Upon hearing Han Ziyue's words, Lin Qingfeng's eyes flashed with hesitation, then he quickly nodded and said, "Of course Sister Han, but I have consumed a lot of my Primordial Qi in a previous battle, so I hope Sister can spare me some Returning Qi Pills for emergencies."
"Of course." With a flick of her hand, two bottles of Returning Qi Pills were thrown out by Han Ziyue and she said, "Brother Lin, here are twenty Returning Qi Pills in these two bottles, I hope Brother Lin will use them sparingly, Elder Brother Zhu knows how to manage the use of pills better." After finishing, Han Ziyue leaped into the fray against the red-skinned ancient.
While Lin Qingfeng, after hearing Han Ziyue's words, blushed slightly, swallowed a Returning Qi Pill, and joined in. Before the gathering, Han Ziyue had distributed some Returning Qi Pills to Zhu Zizhen and Lin Qingfeng, and now, Zhu Zizhen still had pills left, but Lin Qingfeng said he had none left, even though there had been no battle before, revealing Lin Qingfeng's intentions.
With the addition of the two, the red-skinned ancient was even more at a disadvantage. Han Ziyue's swordsmanship was like soft continuous rain, whereas Lin Qingfeng's flame, although nowhere as terrifying as Zhu Bufan's Blood Spirit Poison Fire, was still a fierce Primordial Qi fire, causing considerable damage. Thus, with their addition, the five people besieging the ancient made it continuously struggle.
"Heaven and Earth Shock, Heaven and Earth Boundless!!"
Swiftly moving to the front of the ancient, Zhu Bufan heavily executed the Heaven and Earth Shock again, this time it wasn't ineffective like before, a dull thudding sound echoed, the ancient was pushed back a step by Zhu Bufan, who then loudly shouted: "Zhu Zizhen, target its chest with your Five Extremes Thunder Sword!!"