Yue Jun dismissed Bai Shengyi's anger with disdain.
"Hand over the Heart of the Divine Wood!" he warned coldly.
The Heart of the Divine Wood could only be his!
Bai Shengyi let out a laugh of disbelief, "Are you still asleep? Dreaming with your eyes open!"
Before she finished speaking, Bai Shengyi channeled her spiritual energy into a sword and slashed out, severing the mound beneath Yue Jun's feet.
Yue Jun, with a dark expression, soared into the air and found a new footing.
This woman was too vengeful! Not like a woman at all!
He thought angrily, when a chilling sensation suddenly rose from his back. Years of vigilance made him immediately leave his spot again. The moment he departed, a fierce sword light pierced the sky, carving a bottomless gully in the ground.
Bai Shengyi raised an eyebrow coldly and swung her sword again.
She didn't use the Heavenly Mystery Sword, but a long sword formed from her own spiritual energy. The sword light was in sync with her thoughts, and as it flew out, it transformed into myriad sword rays, tightly surrounding Yue Jun.
"Shengyi, what happened?"
Qin Sanxiang and Ximen Hongchun rushed over after hearing the commotion. Sensing the oppressive aura of the Mahayana stage emanating from Yue Jun, their expressions darkened, and they solemnly guarded Bai Shengyi's rear.
Battles of this caliber were beyond their involvement.
"Bang bang!"
Yue Jun advanced towards Bai Shengyi step by step, holding a massive black umbrella in his left hand and that domineering, sharp great saber in his right.
Although the giant umbrella blocked most of the attacks, Yue Jun left behind bloody footprints wherever he stepped. Soon, the area was filled with the scent of blood.
Far from making Yue Jun apprehensive or fearful, this blood only made him more excited, like a little lion eager to show off upon glimpsing success.
"Is this all you've got?" Yue Jun's tone was as if he were amused by Bai Shengyi's weak attacks.
He looked down at Bai Shengyi contemptuously and said coldly, "In that case, it's time for all this to end!"
As he spoke, he took a step forward. With this step, the early Mahayana cultivation on his body immediately rose to the middle Mahayana stage!
Another step, late Mahayana!
Thunder flashed in the sky, and the heavenly thunder rumbled, as if ready to strike. But the black giant umbrella 'swooshed' open in the sky, instantly obscuring the aura of the peak Mahayana stage, perfectly giving Yue Jun the opportunity to unleash an attack far exceeding his Mahayana cultivation.
One saber strike, overbearing and forceful, undeniable, was unleashed!
Yue Jun was very pleased with this saber strike. Holding the Bi Xuan Umbrella, he coldly waited to witness Bai Shengyi's demise, "I admit you have some skill, but this little bit of skill is not enough to earn the Divine Wood—"
His voice froze in mid-air.
A streak of green light shot out from Bai Shengyi's sleeve, pinning the saber's edge in place!
Immediately following, a thick bolt of lightning crashed down, further impeding the saber's momentum by a third!
What was originally a ten-tenths lethal strike could only exert one-tenth of its power, like a tickle to Bai Shengyi, which she lightly blocked.
"Heavenly Dao!" Yue Jun gritted his teeth, filled with hatred. The Heavenly Dao of the Green Rong minor world would actually help a cultivator?
If this were told, others would surely think he was dreaming!
Yet, all of this was happening before his very eyes.
Enraged, Yue Jun drew his saber again and roared, "They say the Heavenly Dao is just and fair. As the Heavenly Dao, do you intend to interfere in the disputes between us cultivators?"
The saber blade flipped, and a mountain peak was directly cut in half, its summit plummeting straight towards the foothills.
Bai Shengyi's gaze flickered to the village nestled beneath the mountain. Her eyes instantly focused, and the Reincarnation Brush shot out, transforming into a massive banner. It slid forward, dragging the falling mountain peak to the great river beside it.
In an instant, the river was filled, forming a mountain.
In An Yang Village, Li Ya, who had just finished crying with her family, suddenly heard exclamations from outside.
"Heaven! What is that?"
"Everyone, look quickly, the mountain has collapsed!"
Li Ya ran outside and saw that the sky, which had been extremely bright moments ago, suddenly dimmed. A mountain peak, shaped like an inverted triangle, was descending from overhead in a terrifying manner.
Its descent was incredibly fast. The villagers in the village panicked and fled in all directions. Li Ya, relying on her cultivation, took to the air on her sword, attempting to stop the mountain peak from falling, but found it futile.
Just as everyone could not help but feel a sense of despair, a streak of green light, carrying a green banner, tore through the void. The green banner rolled up the mountain peak and departed. Moments later, a 'plop' sound of a massive object entering the water was heard.
"The heart of the An Yang River has been filled!"
Bai Shengyi was unaware of any of this.
She and Yue Jun exchanged another dozen blows. During this time, the thunderclouds in the sky seized any opportunity to rumble down a bolt of lightning onto Yue Jun.
Initially, Yue Jun would curse, "The Heavenly Dao is unfair." By now, Yue Jun was numb.
This damned heavenly lightning had struck him twenty-seven times, and not once had it affected Bai Shengyi!
"Are you perhaps the Heavenly Dao's daughter?" Yue Jun even entertained an unreliable guess.
Bai Shengyi raised her eyebrows coldly, "Heh, I think the Heavenly Dao dislikes your presumptuous behavior in its domain!"
Of course, she knew why.
The Heavenly Dao Tree was formed from the spiritual energy within her body and the Reincarnation Brush, giving it a natural affinity towards her.
But she would naturally not reveal any of this to Yue Jun.
Bai Shengyi suddenly retracted the Reincarnation Brush, rotated its tip, and leaped towards the left front of the forest. She then drew her sword again. The rust-covered long sword emitted a blue light, reflecting her face filled with murderous intent.
"Yue Jun, I told you, you are courting death."
She drew out all the spiritual energy in her body without regard for her own life, infusing it into the earth beneath her feet. Mysterious lights flickered faintly all around.
Yue Jun had sensed something amiss, but Bai Shengyi's sword soon captured all his attention.
"Divine artifact?"
Although it lacked a spirit, with this sword, Bai Shengyi was like an extra arm. Each sword strike and move was more robust, causing his saber to feel sluggish.
Yue Jun had to focus his attention on dealing with Bai Shengyi's sword, but at that moment, he felt an intense chill from his back.
Yue Jun immediately tried to move, but he didn't know when a thick, sturdy vine had tightly wrapped around his legs, leaving him unable to move.
A brush swept past Yue Jun's eyes and lightly landed to his front left.
That was where Bai Shengyi had stood just moments ago.
Everything happened in an instant.
"Humph—"
The entire mountain forest roared like a awakened lion, letting out a fierce growl!
The scene reversed. Lightning fiercely struck down. Intense pain shot through his chest. Before Yue Jun could even react, he saw thousands of golden lights, like knives and swords, shoot out from where Bai Shengyi had stood, landing on him. They caused his flesh and bones to melt away, and the light even pierced his dantian!
Before losing consciousness, Yue Jun saw only the woman's joyful smile amidst a sea of golden light.
"It seems I must thank you, Yue Jun. If it weren't for you, I might not have been able to activate this natural formation."
"Pfft!"
Yue Jun, though unaware of what a formation was, was so enraged by this mere "thank you" that he vomited blood. In moments, his form vanished amidst the golden light, leaving only a black giant umbrella.
"Bang!"
Bai Shengyi also couldn't hold on, half-kneeling on the ground, creating a deep pit and stirring up dead leaves and dust.
"Shengyi!"
From a distance, Qin Sanxiang and Ximen Hongchun rushed towards her.
Bai Shengyi immediately stopped them, "Don't come closer! This golden light is extremely dangerous."
As she spoke, bright red blood flowed from Bai Shengyi's arms, legs, and the hem of her clothes.
She too had been cut by the golden light, but now that Yue Jun was dead and the threat was gone, she no longer concealed it.