“Boom!”

Just then, the black robe on the demonic cultivator’s body shattered violently, revealing a charred, towering figure with an aura of terror emanating from him, standing before Xu Taiping.

Sensing the destructive aura fluctuating around the man, Xu Taiping was certain that this was indeed a demonic cultivator.

According to the records of his sect, demonic cultivators, like martial warriors, placed great emphasis on tempering their bodies.

However, their methods were extremely bloody and brutal, resulting in a physique that often appeared terrifying.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, the female Flying Zombie, who had been motionless on the ground, leaped up.

Her hair transformed into countless sharp swords, all stabbing towards the demonic cultivator.

Unperturbed by the female Flying Zombie’s attack, the demonic cultivator casually raised his other hand and punched towards the incoming strands of hair.

“Bang!” Amidst the thunderous noise, the female Flying Zombie’s hair shattered, and her body was blasted away by the punch, crashing heavily against the courtyard wall.

Witnessing this scene,

Taiping roared and abandoned his chopping knife, gathering all his strength to punch at the demonic cultivator.

The demonic cultivator smirked, not dodging the blow, allowing it to land on his body.

“Bang!” With a heavy collision, Taiping’s punch hit the demonic cultivator’s chest solidly, but the demonic cultivator remained unmoved, only the ground beneath his feet cracked.

“Now it’s my turn.”

The demonic cultivator snorted coldly, then raised his fist, wrapped in a black aura with sparks, and slammed it into Taiping’s chest.

“Bang!”

Taiping’s chest was pierced through by the punch.

“Thud!” Taiping’s expression went blank as he fell to his knees.

“A mangy dog dares to bark in front of me?”

The demonic cultivator sneered, then without a second glance at Taiping, walked past him and crouched down in front of the female Flying Zombie, saying:

“Come, let me see how well this Heavenly Fragrance Vermilion Fruit has matured.”

With that, he extended a finger, its black, sharp nail gently slicing the female Flying Zombie’s scalp, then lifting it to reveal a red, cardamom-sized fruit nestled in the center of her brain.

The roots of the fruit had spread to every corner of her brain.

At the same time, an intoxicating fragrance instantly filled the courtyard.

“Hmm, not bad, well worth the effort I took to break in here.”

The demonic cultivator inhaled deeply, intoxicated.

“The female Flying Zombie uses a woman’s head to grow flowers, while the demonic cultivator uses it to cultivate the Heavenly Fragrance Vermilion Fruit. No wonder human cultivators are at odds with these ghostly and demonic beings.”

The scene before him sent a chill down Xu Taiping’s spine, prompting him to speed up the gathering of the Red Crow Golden Flame.

Regardless of whether he would be discovered by the demonic cultivator, he had to have a contingency plan.

The demonic cultivator didn’t immediately pluck the Heavenly Fragrance Vermilion Fruit from the female Flying Zombie’s brain but took out a palm-sized cloth bag.

With a pull of the bag’s opening, the female Flying Zombie was sucked in.

Then, holding the bag, the demonic cultivator turned to look at Taiping.

“Although I don’t fancy fruits cultivated from male corpses, it should fetch a good price if sold.”

The demonic cultivator spoke while holding the bag and walked over to Taiping’s corpse.

“After all, this is the body of the once renowned Severing Water blade Sect Leader.”

He squatted down in front of Taiping with a smile.

As he spoke, he picked up the bag again, ready to open it once more.

But just as he was opening the bag, Taiping, kneeling before him with a gaping hole in his chest, suddenly opened his eyes.

“Boom!” The moment his eyes opened, a vast and majestic pressure, like the roaring and surging of a great river, crashed down in the courtyard.

“Bang!” The demonic cultivator’s skin burst open under this pressure.

Even so, he struggled to retreat a few steps, then desperately circulated the demonic energy within him to protect himself against this terrifying pressure.

“Whoosh!”

The demonic cultivator drew a dark, black sword from his waist.

At the same time, he firmly grasped Taiping’s chopping knife in his other hand.

“Who are you?”

He asked coldly, addressing the suddenly awakened Taiping.

“Me? Who am I?”

Taiping looked at the hole in his chest, then slowly stood up before looking at the demonic cultivator.

“Didn’t you just say it?”

He looked indifferently at the demonic cultivator.

“No… Impossible!”

The demonic cultivator’s pupils dilated, his face showing disbelief.

“Old friend, come here.”

Taiping suddenly reached out to the demonic cultivator.

As soon as he spoke, the chopping knife in the demonic cultivator’s grasp vibrated with a “zing,” as if trying to break free.

But the demonic cultivator refused to let go, knowing full well the consequences if this person really was who he thought, and he got hold of the knife.

“Old friend, how could a mere demonic soldier confine you? You are my Duan Tianya’s blade!”

Taiping still held out his hand, his gaze on the chopping knife as firm as iron, his voice ringing out like a bell.

As his words fell, a blinding flash of blade light burst from the chopping knife in the demonic cultivator’s hand, followed by a “sword cry” that roared like the pent-up anger of a thousand years, echoing through the heavens and earth.

“Boom!” In the explosion, a surge of blade energy erupted from the chopping knife, shredding the demonic cultivator’s entire arm to pieces.

“Bang!”

The freed chopping knife crashed heavily into Duan Tianya’s hands, like a high-five between two old friends reunited after a long separation.