In mid-air, the Grand Master’s face turned pale, and the battle between him and Ougi became increasingly intense, with the sound of explosions and rumbling echoing in the air.

The Grand Master’s fire falcon spirit beast had been taken back by him at some point, and he was now controlling a white giant net magic treasure and a purple long sword, fighting against Ougi.

The long sword was a rare thunder attribute magic treasure, with purple electric arcs swirling around the blade, and it was quite powerful. Teaming up with the white giant net magic treasure, it continuously dissolved the Kui Water Divine Thunder while launching waves of fierce attacks against Ougi.

Ougi’s black robe was torn in many places, and there was a scar on his face, indicating that he had been injured.

As one of the top experts of the Bi Luo Cave, one of the five major sects in the Northern Region, the Grand Master was more than capable of handling a one-on-one fight with a fellow cultivator of the same level.

After dodging several thunder and lightning attacks, Ougi seemed to glance at the space near the Grand Master, then shouted and waved his sleeve.

A large black water cloud condensed again, turning into a black water ball with a diameter of half a meter, surging with large Kui Water Divine Thunder, heading straight for the Grand Master, emitting a thunderous roar.

The Grand Master’s expression changed, and before the water ball could get close, he used the white giant net to cover it.

Suddenly, large thunderous lights burst out from the water ball, forming a several-zhang-long black thunder snake that collided with the white giant net.

The thunder snake condensed almost all the power of the Kui Water Divine Thunder inside the black water ball, and the white giant net was instantly shaken away.

The black thunder snake twisted and turned into a black electric light, heading straight for the Grand Master, reaching him in an instant.

The Grand Master remained calm, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the long sword in his hand. The light surged, and with a crackling sound, the surface of the sword was surrounded by thunder light as it thrust forward.

Several thick purple thunder lights suddenly shot out from the long sword, aiming at the black thunder snake and Ougi behind it at astonishing speed.

Ougi did not dodge the approaching purple thunder lights, but a faint blue light shield appeared on his body, protecting his vital points. At the same time, his fingers quickly formed several hand seals in front of him, casting out several spells.

As the purple thunder lights struck the black thunder snake, it burst apart, and a black short spike shot out from the snake’s mouth, heading straight for the Grand Master at lightning speed.

The faint blue light shield on Ougi’s body was shattered by the purple thunder lights, and his body was thrown back several zhang.

The Grand Master saw the black short spike approaching him within a zhang, and he was thrown out in mid-air, while quickly forming hand seals to release the white giant net.

The white giant net opened with a “whoosh,” instantly covering an area of several dozen zhang in front of him. Although the black short spike was fast, it was still trapped by the white giant net.

The black short spike struggled within the net, but it couldn’t escape the control of the white giant net.

The Grand Master quickly formed hand seals, and a series of white spirit patterns penetrated the short spike, quickly covering its surface, causing the dark light on the spike to fade rapidly.

“Boom!” Not far away, Ougi, who had just stabilized his figure, gritted his teeth, formed hand seals, and shouted:

The Grand Master was taken aback, and hurriedly flew backward, but it was too late.

“Boom!”

The dark light on the black short spike surged, bursting open with countless black light threads, instantly engulfing an area of more than ten zhang nearby.

A large black smoke cloud rose from the center of the explosion, sweeping in all directions, causing the temperature to drop sharply, and numerous black crystals formed in mid-air.

The Grand Master’s figure shot out from the black smoke, half of his body’s clothes torn, covered in densely pierced wounds, and a bloodstain at the corner of his mouth.

“To think that you would risk heavy injuries to self-detonate the Wuhuan Spike, is it worth it?” The Grand Master stabilized his figure in mid-air, wiped off the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth, and smiled.

“The old must give way to the new. Friend Mao, give up now. Surrendering now will still give us room for negotiation.” Ougi’s mouth also had a trace of blood, and self-detonating the magic treasure had also caused him considerable injury.

At this moment, the Grand Master’s figure seemed to sway slightly, and he was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed.

A blood shadow rose into the air behind him, revealing that it was the Blood Battle who had launched a surprise attack and returned to the battle.

Seeing this scene, the Grand Master sighed a few times with a bitter smile.

“Elder, I did my best…”

…

Yuan Ming observed the scene happening in mid-air through a soul crow, his thoughts racing.

The Grand Master and Ougi fought until they were heavily injured, and it seemed that they would soon be defeated. The Second Master was poisoned and lost his combat power, and the defeat of Bi Luo was inevitable. However, the so-called Elder, the Pillar of the Sky, still showed no sign of movement.

Yuan Ming came out of his hiding place, but instead of heading towards the mountain gate, he flew towards the west. Since he couldn’t find any trace of Xiying, it was better to leave this place of trouble.

The defenses on both the east and west sides of the Bi Luo Cave had been breached, and although there were members of the Dawn Alliance stationed there, their numbers were few, making it more suitable for escape.

…

On the treetops near the square, a gray squirrel crouched quietly, looking towards the place where the Grand Master fell, with a faint glimmer of green light in its eyes.

In a secret room inside the Bi Luo Cave, a young man in a green robe was still absorbing the soul power from the Soul Calming Urn.

A green ancient mirror floated in front of him, showing the situation near the square. The disciples of the Bi Luo Cave were scattered and fleeing, and those who dared to resist were becoming fewer and fewer.

“Brother Mao, you did your best, I’m really sorry, I, Xi, feel ashamed.” The young man sighed lightly and raised his hand.”So close, yet time waits for no one. Fine, even if it costs me some cultivation, I’ll deal with you all first!” The young man in the green robe said with reluctance, forming a hand seal and pointing out.

A flash of black light crossed his brow, and the phantom of a tiger’s head disappeared in an instant, ceasing the absorption of soul power from the Soul Calming Jar.

The young man in the green robe formed hand seals like turning wheels, and a black array emerged from the ground out of thin air, enveloping the Soul Calming Jar.

“Sha Hao!” The young man suddenly stood up and walked out of the secret chamber, calling out loudly.

A figure quickly approached from outside, a cold-looking, pale-faced young man in white.

The young man’s aura was profound, revealing that he too was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“Master, what are your orders?” The man knelt on one knee, asking respectfully.

“Guard the cave dwelling, and let no one enter, especially near the secret chamber!” The young man in the green robe didn’t stop, continuing to walk outside without turning back.

“Yes, disciple obeys!” The young man in white hurriedly responded.

The young man in the green robe’s body shone with bright white light, transforming into a long white rainbow shooting outward.

…

Halfway up the Fiery Refinement Peak, more than a dozen disciples of the Bi Luo Cave had retreated here. Relying on a dangerous terrain, they clashed with the pursuers from the Dawnbreak Alliance, led by the second cave master’s personal disciple, Wu Luo.

At this moment, he was covered in wounds, his chest heaving erratically. He quickly applied several talismans to his body, and as a blue light circulated, the bleeding stopped, and he continued to drive his magical artifact into the fray.

The Dawnbreak Alliance had even more people, over twenty, led by a short and fat middle-aged man at the Foundation Establishment stage. Their momentum was overwhelming, and the Bi Luo Cave side was clearly unable to withstand them, on the verge of being defeated.

Just then, dozens of fist-sized blood bats flew in from nowhere, diving straight towards the battling sides.

“Where did all these bats come from?”

“What kind of devilry is this?”

Both the Dawnbreak Alliance and the Bi Luo Cave disciples were startled, hastily casting spells and summoning magical artifacts for protection. However, the blood bats seemed like spectral phantoms, unaffected by spells or artifacts, easily penetrating the bodies of everyone present.

Those penetrated by the bats stiffened, their eyes flashing with threads of blood, becoming dazed as if their souls had been seized.

In the blink of an eye, aside from Wu Luo and the short and fat middle-aged man, everyone else had been invaded by the blood bats, standing motionless.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Wu Luo had already summoned a green crow to ride away, but as a blood bat possessed the crow, it plummeted from mid-air, and Wu Luo was unable to avoid being dived upon directly by a blood bat.

The short and fat middle-aged man seemed to have a stronger spirit; after being dived upon by a blood bat, he did not completely lose his senses, retaining a sliver of rationality in his eyes as he turned in terror to flee down the mountain.

But just as he had run halfway, more blood bats emerged from nowhere. With no way to avoid them, he was dived upon by two more blood bats, and immediately, like those Qi Refining cultivators, he lost consciousness.

The situation reversed in an instant.

The next moment, a group of over thirty people, who had just been fighting for their lives, surged down the mountain with blood shining in their eyes, encountering scattered members of the Dawnbreak Alliance along the way and attacking indiscriminately, quickly reaching the base of the peak.

Many members of the Dawnbreak Alliance had gathered at the foot of the mountain, and seeing this bizarre scene, before they could even speak, the two sides were already embroiled in battle.

A Dawnbreak member swung a war blade, striking a Bi Luo Cave disciple in front.

The Bi Luo Cave disciple, a lower-ranking one, did not dodge. With a “crack,” several ribs in his chest were broken, but he also managed to stab his magical artifact into the throat of the Dawnbreak member.

The Dawnbreak member clutched his throat and fell, blood gushing from his chest, while the Bi Luo Cave disciple, as if nothing had happened, rushed towards the next target. After a few steps, the Bi Luo Cave disciple collapsed softly to the ground due to the severity of his injuries.

The others, with blood shining in their eyes, were similarly fearless of death and pain, quickly overwhelming the Dawnbreak Alliance.

From behind a large rock in the distance, a black-robed cultivator looked on in shock.

This person’s face was mostly covered by a hat, revealing only a pair of eyes—it was Yuan Ming.

The blood bats had fluctuations of soul power on them, somewhat similar to his own Soul Crows, but while his Soul Crows could only possess the dead, these blood bats could control the living, clearly a notch above.

At the same time, not only on Fiery Refinement Peak, but a large number of blood bats also appeared in other areas of Bi Luo Cave, entering the bodies of Bi Luo Cave disciples or Dawnbreak Alliance members, controlling them to counterattack.

Originally, the entire Bi Luo Cave was almost under the control of the Dawnbreak Alliance, but now everyone was fleeing from the attack of the blood bats, and the situation once again became chaotic.