“Bang!”

Xu Taiping swung his saber to block, only to be sent flying backward by the force of the punch.

At the same time, the leopard demon and the lion demon had recovered and, without waiting for Xu Taiping to hit the ground, they both extended their claws towards him in unison.

“Bang!”

Under the combined strength of the two beasts, nearly as powerful as king-level demon beasts, the wind barrier that was already unstable from the fiery punch shattered instantly.

As the wind barrier broke, another fiery fist shot out from the talisman scroll, rapidly closing in on him and smashing down with great force.

However, Xu Taiping’s attention wasn’t on the fiery fist or the poised demon beasts around him, but on Lu Chen.

When he saw Lu Chen thrusting his sword towards him, Xu Taiping’s eyes twisted sharply, and he extended his left hand, adorned with the Cang Luan Ring, and with a “snap” of his fingers.

Two fingers, Mountain Shatter.

“Boom!”

Almost simultaneously with the snap, fierce gusts of wind, like invisible giant hands, enveloped the two demon beasts, the fiery fist, and Lu Chen, who had charged close to Xu Taiping, crushing them all with great force.

“Bang!”

In the midst of the massive explosion, the bodies of the two king-level demon beasts burst into a cloud of blood mist, their bodies riddled with cuts as if sliced by blades. Although not dead on the spot, they were gravely wounded.

The fiery fist was directly torn apart by the blade-like gusts.

Lu Chen, who was the farthest from Xu Taiping, managed to retreat in time to avoid the fatal blow, but his talisman shield shattered upon impact.

Xu Taiping seemed to have anticipated all of this, his expression unchanged.

After snapping his fingers, he immediately gripped the Spring Tiger saber and slashed towards Lu Chen once more.

“Get out of my way!”

In a panic, Lu Chen pulled another talisman scroll from his ring and threw it towards Xu Taiping, who was swinging his saber at him.

As soon as the talisman was revealed, the temperature in the courtyard rose sharply, and strands of flame spiraled around it.

Three words flashed through Xu Taiping’s mind—”True Fire Talisman.”

Compared to the basic True Fire Talisman he had bought before, the one in Lu Chen’s hand had an aura two to three times stronger, just from the surface energy fluctuations.

“Whoosh!”

Without any hesitation, Xu Taiping retreated, sheathing his saber.

He was well aware of the power of True Fire; once burned by it, even a cultivator would struggle to heal without special spiritual medicine.

“Trying to dodge? Too late!”

Seeing Xu Taiping retreat, Lu Chen sneered and began to form hand seals, shouting, “Majestic heavenly might, where do you roam? Sunlight extinguished by the eight strange clouds. The extreme thunder of heaven and earth stirs, the eight treasures and five thunders descend from the clouds. Fire scorches all evil beings, thunder punishes all wretched villains!”

As his words fell, the talisman exploded into the image of a giant palm, aimed directly at Xu Taiping.

From the palm’s center, where the runes were, bursts of scorching True Fire rained down on Xu Taiping like droplets.

Seeing this, Xu Taiping took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully towards the incoming flames.

Ice Breath Technique!

“Boom!”

With a massive blast, a silver-white cold mist exhaled from Xu Taiping’s mouth, enveloping the flames completely.

“Boom!”

The alternating cold and heat created a warm blast that swept through the courtyard, and suddenly, the cloudless sky was covered with dark clouds, and a heavy rain poured down.

Xu Taiping’s Ice Breath Technique had countered the True Fire Talisman!

This was the first time he had fully unleashed the Ice Breath Technique’s greatest power.

“This is impossible!”

Staring at the scene before him, Lu Chen’s face was filled with disbelief, momentarily forgetting to flee.

“Whoosh!”

In the instant the True Fire was extinguished, Xu Taiping quickly popped a Gathering Qi Pill into his mouth and executed the Shadow Wind Step, disappearing from his spot.

When he reappeared, he was already behind Lu Chen.

“Zing!”

Without any hesitation, the Spring Tiger saber was unsheathed and slashed towards Lu Chen.

The attack was so sudden that Lu Chen, caught off guard, could only raise his sword to meet Xu Taiping’s strike with all his might.

“Boom!”

Even though Lu Chen’s cultivation was a notch above Xu Taiping’s, and he wielded a treasured weapon, Xu Taiping’s saber, now infused with the essence of Mortal Bones, easily broke through Lu Chen’s sword technique and cleaved his sword in two.

The saber landed heavily on his chest.

“Bang!”

To Xu Taiping’s surprise, Lu Chen was wearing a protective garment that suddenly transformed into an armor covered with spikes, withstanding Xu Taiping’s blow.

Porcupine Armor?

Xu Taiping recognized the armor at a glance.

It was familiar because it was consistently one of the top three most expensive items in the Treasure Pavilion, requiring six hundred thousand Merit points to exchange.

However, Xu Taiping only hesitated for a moment before his Spring Tiger saber “whooshed” towards Lu Chen again.

“Bang!”

With a loud noise, Lu Chen was pushed back several steps by the saber, but the porcupine spikes on the armor absorbed most of the force, leaving him unharmed.

In that brief moment, Lu Chen threw out another talisman scroll and rapidly formed hand seals, chanting quickly, “Majestic thunder, dragon and tiger clash, sun and moon illuminate, enlighten my path, distant celestial friends, heed my command, summon the heavenly soldiers and generals, the earthly soldiers and generals, the divine soldiers and generals, the official soldiers and generals, the five thunder generals, the talisman arrives and thus act, urgent as a decree.”

This was a Divine General Talisman.

“Boom!”

Almost as soon as the incantation was completed, Xu Taiping’s saber appeared in front of Lu Chen once more.

But alongside the saber, there was also a towering, imposing, yet lifeless golden-armored divine general.

“Crack!”

Facing Xu Taiping’s saber, the golden-armored general roared and lifted his broadsword, slashing towards Xu Taiping’s blade.

“Bang!”

Xu Taiping was jolted by the general’s strike, his hand numbed, and he was forced to retreat repeatedly.

“Clang!”

Lu Chen seized the opportunity, quickly circled to Xu Taiping’s back, and transformed into a streak of sword light, thrusting at Xu Taiping’s heart.

“Boom!”

Once again, Xu Taiping formed a circle with his thumb and forefinger, using the power of the Cang Luan Ring to create a wind barrier around himself.

“Bang!”

Lu Chen’s sword thrust caused a slight tremor in the wind barrier.

But then, the golden-armored general’s broadsword descended upon Xu Taiping once again.