After the ice block fell, Liu Yuxin's long saber, which had already been thrust out, immediately swept to the left.
With a *pa* sound, the body of the saber struck Fang Xiaoyu's left shoulder. The powerful force directly sent Fang Xiaoyu flying.
"You don't kill me, and I won't kill you, but I'm not to be trifled with."
Liu Yuxin snorted coldly, leaped up, and brought her long saber down on Fang Xiaoyu with the force of breaking mountains.
Clearly, this was a combat move focused on enhancing strength, characterized by sharp and fierce attacks. As the saber slashed down, Fang Xiaoyu didn't try to block it head-on. Instead, she rolled to dodge it and simultaneously thrust her twin swords upward.
"Continuous Spring Rain."
Fang Xiaoyu's move was primarily defensive, her twin swords dancing in a dense, impenetrable flurry, skillfully neutralizing all of the opponent's attacks, like the continuous drizzle of spring rain.
Liu Yuxin grew increasingly frustrated as she fought. Each saber strike felt like hitting cotton, failing to harm her opponent.
"Xi Yan!"
Seeing her direct assault yielding no results, Liu Yuxin changed her divine ability again.
Black, eerie flames suddenly erupted from her black armor. The flames crackled around her, and the surrounding spiritual energy visibly formed a storm before exploding.
*Boom!!!*
Flames engulfed Fang Xiaoyu, sweeping towards her and enveloping her in an instant.
The flames distorted space, and Fang Xiaoyu, observing closely, realized that these flames shared the same origin as the black mist, emitting an aura of darkness, stillness, and calamity—an extremely oppressive presence.
Fang Xiaoyu used her internal spiritual energy to resist these flames, only to discover that her own spiritual energy was becoming fuel for this so-called "Xi Yan," making the flames even more ferocious.
"Hmph, using fire against a cultivator of the wind attribute, you truly lack combat experience."
Fang Xiaoyu sneered.
"Is that so? You can try!"
"Gale of Absolute Annihilation!"
Fang Xiaoyu unleashed her own divine ability. A fierce wind swirled around her, carrying the surrounding black flames to form a fire tornado.
"Go!"
Fang Xiaoyu flicked her finger, attempting to command the tornado to attack Liu Yuxin. However, the outcome left her utterly astonished.
Not only did the tornado fail to attack the enemy as commanded, but it also rapidly became chaotic under the burning flames.
Those flames could even devour the gale.
"What kind of strange fire is this?"
Fang Xiaoyu tried to recall the gale, but it only became more chaotic.
With a slight frown, she decided to retreat, prioritizing getting away from the area of the gale.
"Explode!"
Liu Yuxin softly shouted, and the fire tornado detonated violently, scattering flames everywhere and slamming Fang Xiaoyu, who was within, heavily onto the ground.
The black flames spread out like sparks, falling into the bamboo forest. Wherever they touched, the bamboo instantly turned to ash.
Fang Xiaoyu stood up. The surrounding flames still burned. She looked at Liu Yuxin, who seemed like a demon god amidst the black flames, her gaze solemn.
In the time since they last met, Liu Yuxin had gone from being defeatable with a single move to being able to contend with her.
Although she hadn't used any powerful divine abilities yet, nor her Sword Immortal Dharma Body that enhanced her combat power.
But in terms of conventional combat strength, she had been an overwhelming force against the former Liu Yuxin.
How had the opponent become so strong?
"The problem lies with that black mist."
The black mist on Liu Yuxin's body was continuously transforming into flames, burning Fang Xiaoyu.
"Call Wind!"
This was Fang Xiaoyu's first presentable divine ability.
Five colossal black dragons emerged from behind her, opening their cavernous maws and emitting earth-shattering roars.
"Roar!!!"
The dragons coiled in the sky, their crimson eyes glaring. The black hurricane, carrying an aura of annihilation and stillness, roared towards the patch of black flames.
Upon encountering the hurricane of stillness, the black flames were swept up like snowflakes, root and all, transforming into blooming black flowers that drifted into the air, emitting a final flicker before vanishing.
The hurricane from the dragons' mouths continued to howl. Liu Yuxin's saber tip was planted on the ground, desperately resisting the hurricane's impact.
However, the constant drain on her vitality and cultivation told her that she couldn't hold on for much longer.
"Little sister, big sister likes to bully girls."
Fang Xiaoyu strolled towards Liu Yuxin, twirling her soft sword into a graceful bloom, confident and elegant.
In stark contrast to the earth-shattering events here, the other side remained remarkably peaceful.
"How long are you going to keep up this pretense? If that light sphere isn't working, just throw it into the sky and use it as a sun."
Wan Liuchuan looked at Wan Lei, who had been striking poses for a long time, with an expression of profound concern for his intelligence.
"It doesn't make sense. Isn't that black mist Yin-attribute energy? Why can't my Path of Light restrain it?"
"There is some restraint, but the effect is weak. Are you going to fight or not? If not, I'm going to make my move."
"Fight, who said I wouldn't fight?"
Wan Lei tossed the light sphere aside, raised his greatsword, and charged at Wan Liuchuan.
Both were protected by armor and enhanced by their Dharma Bodies. The moment they clashed, a fierce battle erupted.
Wan Lei's greatsword whistled through the air with each swing. Every time it collided with the long saber wielded by the vicious ghost, it forced the opponent back several steps.
Wan Liuchuan was also formidable. The Vicious Ghost Dharma Body, now empowered by the mysterious black mist, was terrifying.
Most crucially, both were covered in raging lightning. With every attack, lightning struck the enemy.
Each time Wan Liuchuan was struck by lightning, his Dharma Body trembled. Wan Lei, however, recovered some cultivation with each lightning strike.
This was the Innate Thunder Body. Wan Lei had a natural advantage against cultivators with thunder-attribute powers.
While fighting Wan Liuchuan, Wan Lei also observed the battle on the other side.
Indeed, he noticed that after acquiring this black mist, both Wan Liuchuan and Liu Yuxin's strength had increased severalfold.
"What about your divine abilities? Your thunderclouds? Your formations? Why aren't you using them?"
Wan Liuchuan grumbled furiously, feeling insulted.
He was giving his all, yet Wan Lei hadn't even used his common attack methods and had already fallen behind. At this rate, when would he ever surpass Wan Lei?
Wan Lei, unlike Fang Xiaoyu, was not completely engrossed in the fight. He had already begun to ponder the nature of the black mist on the opponent.
"Since I can't figure it out, let me take a look."
Wan Lei dispelled his Sword Immortal Dharma Body. Wan Liuchuan was puzzled and was about to ask when he suddenly saw Wan Lei form a hand seal, and a bloody, massive demon head appeared on his body.
After its appearance, the bloody demon began to voraciously devour Wan Liuchuan's energy, absorbing it into Wan Lei's body.
Upon entering Wan Lei's body, this black mist felt somewhat familiar. After a moment of thought, Wan Lei's expression drastically changed. His eyes widened, filled with shock and disbelief. He glared at Wan Liuchuan and furiously reprimanded him,
"How could you cultivate demonic energy?!"