The man casually flicked away the sword energy frozen in the air, sending it slicing towards the side.
The sword energy struck nearby, felling several large trees with a crash.
Xie Bi'an looked at the man before him, his expression etched with extreme gravity.
To effortlessly catch his Ghost God Four Directions Slash, this person's strength was not weak.
The figure chuckled lightly, his hoarse voice emitting, "As expected of the famed technique of Xie Qiye, it truly has some substance."
Xie Bi'an snorted and spoke, "Does Your Excellency dare to show your true face?"
"Why would I not dare." As the figure's voice fell, he slowly lowered his hood, revealing a pale countenance.
The man appeared to be around twenty-five years old. While not strikingly handsome, he was at least a standard handsome man.
Xie Bi'an sized up the man for a few moments, his brow furrowing slightly.
He was certain the man was far older than his apparent twenty-five years.
His face completely lacked any vitality, not at all the complexion of a living person.
However, there was no eye tattoo on his forehead, the mark of an apostle of the Divine Religion.
"Who are you?" Xie Bi'an stared intently at the man, gripping his mourning stick tightly.
The man did not conceal his identity and introduced himself, "I am the strategist of the Divine Religion, Xu Zhao."
Confirming he was from the Divine Religion, a glint of killing intent appeared in Xie Bi'an's eyes, "You were the one who detonated those few people earlier, weren't you."
Xu Zhao smiled faintly, his voice icy, "Betraying the Cult Master, self-detonation was already letting him off easy."
"You!" Xie Bi'an suddenly became enraged.
He had been so close to extracting the location of the Divine Religion's main base.
A smile spread across Xu Zhao's face, "Xie Qiye should be more concerned about himself right now."
"Oh, you are so confident you can capture me?" Xie Bi'an became slightly curious.
He had also long suspected that Xu Zhao had deliberately lured him here.
Xu Zhao confidently stated, "Although I am in a civilian role, I am confident in capturing Xie Qiye."
"Seeking death!"
Xie Bi'an suddenly swung his mourning stick, slashing towards Xu Zhao.
Xu Zhao calmly drew the long sword at his waist and met the attack.
When Xie Bi'an saw the entirely black long sword in Xu Zhao's hand, his expression drastically changed, "This is one of the Seven Profound Artifacts!?"
The moment the long sword struck the mourning stick, Xie Bi'an was forced back several steps before he could stabilize himself, his face filled with astonishment.
Xu Zhao raised the long sword in his hand and smiled, "Xie Qiye has sharp eyes. This sword is indeed one of the Seven Profound Artifacts, named Chun Jun Sword."
Xie Bi'an stared at the Chun Jun Sword in Xu Zhao's hand, his expression serious.
Legend had it that the Chun Jun Sword could slice through hair with a mere blow and cut through iron like mud, but it had been missing for two hundred years, its whereabouts unknown.
Xie Bi'an expressed some admiration, "I didn't expect the Divine Religion to be able to find this treasure sword."
Hearing this, Xu Zhao became somewhat displeased, "What are you saying? The Chun Jun Sword has always been in my possession, what do you mean by finding it."
"Always in your possession?" Xie Bi'an's brow furrowed.
It seemed this fellow had lived for more than two hundred years.
Xu Zhao suddenly realized and smiled, "Alright, let's stop delaying."
Upon hearing this, Xie Bi'an's expression turned grim, and he instinctively prepared to retreat.
"Hah!"
Xu Zhao swung the Chun Jun Sword in his hand and slashed at Xie Bi'an again.
Xie Bi'an was forced to raise his mourning stick to block.
The Chun Jun Sword in Xu Zhao's hand danced gracefully, each strike aimed at vital points.
Xie Bi'an could only wield his mourning stick to parry.
Within three breaths, the two had exchanged dozens of moves.
Xie Bi'an retreated, his clothes already bearing several slashes.
Black blood flowed from a wound on his cheek. Xie Bi'an wiped the blood from his face, his expression grave, and uttered two words: "So fast!"
Although he had dodged the fatal blow, he had still been grazed on the cheek.
It seemed he had miscalculated this time.
This person's strength was not weak, and he might not be able to defeat him alone. He needed to find Xiao Ba for help to take this fellow down together.
How could Xu Zhao not know what Xie Bi'an was thinking? He swung the Chun Jun Sword in his hand and slashed.
Seeing this, Xie Bi'an propped himself up with one hand and muttered, "In the name of the ghost messenger, I command the underworld soldiers, come quickly!"
Suddenly, ghostly energy surged from the ground, and countless underworld soldiers appeared.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the underworld soldiers, Xu Zhao let out a disdainful chuckle, "Some insignificant trifles, die!"
As his voice fell, he unleashed his Chun Jun Sword, and sword energy shot forth.
The newly appeared underworld soldiers instantly turned into wisps of smoke, scattering into the air.
Xie Bi'an seized this opportunity and had already fled twenty meters away.
Seeing this, Xu Zhao calmly stomped on the ground and roared, "Shrinking Ground Technique, Four Directions Array."
The surrounding environment rapidly shifted. Xie Bi'an, who had fled, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned around to see Xu Zhao only five meters away from him.
Xie Bi'an looked at Xu Zhao with utter astonishment.
This Four Directions Array should have been lost for three hundred years.
Why did this fellow know this technique?
Three hundred years ago, a Taoist priest had created a set of powerful magical texts.
However, because the spells within these texts were too potent, and his descendants were all wicked evildoers,
The underworld and the human realm had joined forces to slay him, and the book was destroyed.
The Shrinking Ground Technique, Four Directions Array, was one of the spells from this book.
Seeing Xie Bi'an's astonished expression, Xu Zhao grinned, "What, aren't you surprised by my use of the Shrinking Ground Technique, Four Directions Array?"
Xie Bi'an stared at Xu Zhao with a grim expression, "Who exactly are you!?"
"Who am I?"
Xu Zhao chuckled lightly and swung the Chun Jun Sword in his hand, "I am the one who will take your life!"
Looking at the incoming Chun Jun Sword, Xie Bi'an instinctively raised his mourning stick to block in front of his chest, muttering, "Ghostly Wail!"
The mourning stick erupted with a dazzling light, blinding Xu Zhao.
A moment later, the light disappeared.
Seeing the mourning stick broken in two, Xu Zhao was slightly surprised, "I didn't expect to let this fellow escape."
But upon seeing the black blood emanating ghostly energy on the ground, Xu Zhao immediately reacted and looked ahead, giving chase.
Behind a large tree ahead, Xie Bi'an clutched a bleeding wound on his chest, panting heavily.
"I didn't expect this fellow to be so powerful. If that sword had hit me fully, I probably would have died on the spot."
Hearing the approaching footsteps on the ground, Xie Bi'an immediately held his breath.
The footsteps grew closer, then slowly receded.
Only when the footsteps had completely disappeared did Xie Bi'an let out a long sigh of relief, "It seems he's gone."
"As if!"
Suddenly, Xu Zhao burst out from the side, swinging the Chun Jun Sword in his hand towards Xie Bi'an's head.
Seeing the long sword mere inches away, Xie Bi'an instinctively closed his eyes.
Just as the sword was less than half a meter from Xie Bi'an's head, a large hand suddenly grabbed the sword.
Seeing that the sword did not strike, Xie Bi'an opened his eyes to look.
He saw a tall figure, clad in leopard-patterned armor, wearing a double-leopard golden helmet, a red cape draped over his shoulders, and a golden leopard long saber at his waist, blocking in front of him.