Chapter 365

“Junior Brother!”

An immensely powerful and razor-sharp blade energy slashed across the cliff face, carving a massive scar into the rock.

What made Xuan Yi even more furious and shocked was that, right in front of him, several of his junior brothers had been caught in the path of that blade energy. In just an instant, blood splattered as they were all cleaved in half at the waist!

Neither their protective qi, short staff artifacts, nor their resilient Golden Bodies—painstakingly forged through thousands of trials—could hold up.

Against that deadly, unstoppable blade energy, nothing could even slow it down. They were cut cleanly in two with a single stroke!

“Who are you?!”

Xuan Yi’s fury intensified as he looked at his junior brothers writhing in agony on the ground, then abruptly raised his gaze to Lu Qing.

However, Lu Qing wore a mask, and the aura emanating from him was completely unfamiliar, making it impossible for Xuan Yi to deduce his origins.

“Innate-level, dual cultivator of both body and magic... you do have some skill.”

Lu Qing stood with his blade at the ready, his voice raspy, a hint of surprise in his tone.

He hadn’t held back at all with that strike.

It was, without a doubt, his most powerful attack in his regular state.

Yet, it failed to bring down Xuan Yi.

He saw it clearly: just before his blade energy reached Xuan Yi, a layer of golden light appeared around him, easily blocking part of the attack.

He knew it had to be an artifact that automatically protected its owner.

Otherwise, with only an Innate-level cultivation, there was no way Xuan Yi could have withstood blade energy emanating from a magical artifact-grade warblade so effortlessly.

Hearing this, Xuan Yi’s pupils contracted sharply, his heart sinking even further.

His cultivation of both body and magic was a well-guarded secret.

Even within the sect, few disciples, and not even most elders, knew about it.

Moreover, the treasure within him could obscure his aura and deflect divination attempts. By all logic, no one should be able to see through his background.

Yet, this mysterious masked man seemed to know all his secrets so well.

This discovery filled Xuan Yi with dread and an even stronger desire to uncover his opponent’s identity.

“Ah! Brother Xuan Yi, kill this scoundrel!”

“Elder, avenge us!”

The few bald monks who had been bisected weren’t dead yet.

Their robust vitality as Innate-level cultivators meant that unless their souls were instantly obliterated, they could endure even severe injuries for quite some time.

Instead, the endless pain drove them to the brink of insanity, and they screamed out in fury.

Meanwhile, the craftsmen who had been carving Buddha statues on the cliffside were completely frozen.

Pressed flat against the cliff wall, they barely dared to breathe, let alone flee.

They, too, were martial artists, and the moment they sensed the might of Lu Qing’s blade, they knew:

A battle of this caliber, between Innate-level cultivators, was far beyond their ability to interfere. Merely spectating was already a considerable risk.

“Such noise!”

With a look of disdain, Lu Qing swept his hand, releasing several more blade energies that sliced towards the ground.

“How dare you!”

Seeing this, Xuan Yi could no longer concern himself with the stranger’s origins. A golden light surged from his body, swiftly expanding to shield the elder’s severed bodies.

The blade energies struck the golden light and vanished, just as before.

But this was precisely the moment Lu Qing had been waiting for.

The instant Xuan Yi activated the golden light, Lu Qing sprang into action.

He stomped down, shattering a massive boulder beneath his foot as he appeared before Xuan Yi in a flash, almost as if he had teleported.

With the warblade in hand, he struck with the speed of lightning.

This time, it wasn’t just blade energy.

It was the true edge of a magical artifact-grade warblade.

Forged entirely from Heaven’s Meteorite Iron, this warblade’s sharpness was beyond imagination, capable of slicing through even defensive artifacts...

So, in an instant, the golden light barrier shattered under Lu Qing’s strike, his blade aimed directly at Xuan Yi’s face.

“Hmph!”

Despite the broken golden barrier, Xuan Yi showed no sign of panic. Instead, a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

Just as Lu Qing’s warblade was about to reach him, Xuan Yi’s arm emerged from the wide sleeve of his robe, and his broad palm, gleaming with golden light, struck forward.

As his palm extended, an immense, overpowering aura burst forth from Xuan Yi.

A colossal image of a golden Buddha appeared behind him, likewise stretching out an arm to strike at Lu Qing.

“Hm?”

Lu Qing was taken aback by this spectacle.

But he would not back down; his warblade pressed forward, slicing directly toward Xuan Yi’s hand.

Boom!

As blade and palm collided, the resulting shockwave surged outward in a violent tempest.

The combined power of the two Innate-level cultivators created a suffocating pressure that left everyone around struggling to breathe.

The craftsmen clinging to the cliff felt their limbs go numb with cold, their entire bodies trembling.

If not for their overwhelming instinct to survive, clutching onto the protruding rocks with all their strength, they would have plummeted down like dumplings.

“There’s some real power here.”

Within the turbulent airflow, Lu Qing withdrew his blade, taking several steps back.

He looked at Xuan Yi’s unscathed palm with a hint of surprise.

That strike should have cleaved off Xuan Yi’s hand entirely.

“A defensive and offensive magical artifact?”

Lu Qing’s gaze settled on the towering Buddha shadow behind Xuan Yi, seven or eight zhang tall, and his dazzling golden arm, seemingly made of pure gold.

He realized that it was, yet again, the opponent’s artifact at work.

To withstand the edge of his warblade, Xuan Yi must have had at least a magical artifact-grade treasure.

“What?!”

Lu Qing’s surprise was mirrored by Xuan Yi’s shock.

He hadn’t expected that even with his magical artifact, he couldn’t overcome this mysterious masked man.

The opponent’s aura was clearly still at the Innate level, yet he could withstand even a blow backed by a magical artifact with ease.

Such strength was far beyond the norm for Innate-level cultivators.

Moreover, the opponent’s warblade was clearly also a magical artifact!

“Who exactly are you? Why have you attacked Xuankong Mountain? Is there some misunderstanding between us?”

Realizing the power Lu Qing wielded, Xuan Yi’s expression grew tense as he spoke slowly.

At the same time, he covertly activated another object, sending a strange wave toward a specific spot within the mountain.

“Calling for reinforcements?”

With his acute spiritual senses, Lu Qing instantly detected the strange wave.

His eyes narrowed. “Bald old monk, I was planning to have more fun with you, but since that’s your choice, prepare to die!”

With that, a dense white light surged from Lu Qing’s body.

At the same time, his aura suddenly intensified, growing several times stronger than before.

“Your body is radiating magical light. You’re a body cultivator? Impossible!”

Seeing the white light on Lu Qing’s body, Xuan Yi’s eyes widened in shock, exclaiming in disbelief.

But before he could finish speaking, he saw Lu Qing’s figure disappear from sight.

An overwhelming sense of danger surged within Xuan Yi...

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