For the red-robed youth to injure his opponent, he would have to pay a price, and the reason for that lay with the black-clothed cultivator. Although the black-clothed cultivator's aura was not as strong as the red-robed youth's, he was able to change direction at extreme speed within a very small space and then appear at an awkward angle that made it very difficult for the red-robed youth to attack. This had caused the red-robed youth to be nearly struck several times while entangled with the Cangyu Sect cultivator. Fortunately, his magical power was much higher than his opponent's, and he had managed to endure it. But there were already three or four tears in the clothing on his back and shoulder, though thankfully no blood had seeped out.
The battle between the two sides was exceptionally fierce, causing the disciples in the valley who were watching through the light screen of the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation to be terrified. Dazzling lights would flash from time to time on the formation in the sky. Each time the light flashed, the entire Falling Star Valley would tremble violently. Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators floating in the air watching the battle were swaying unsteadily, their faces ashen. This was with the protection of the grand formation; they already felt their minds shaken. If they were outside, the aftershocks of the battle alone would have been more than enough to kill them over and over again.
They were in awe of the Grand Elder's power, marveling at how one person could suppress two Golden Core cultivators, forcing them to constantly dodge. His bravery was extreme.
When the great battle had lasted for about a quarter of an hour, the red-robed youth suddenly let out a high-pitched cry like that of an old ape. The moment his cry sounded, the two opponents thought he was about to use some secret technique to fight to the death and immediately focused all their attention on him.
However, what caught them off guard was that a large expanse of faint blue star-points suddenly rose from the valley below. The speed of these star-points was truly as fast as meteors. In the dark night, it was like a meteor shower flying up from the ground into the sky. The moment they appeared, they were already at the feet of the three. By the time the black-clothed cultivator and the whisker-faced cultivator reacted, the ocean of faint blue star-points had already spread to the soles of their feet in an instant.
The two's faces changed drastically. They could already sense the danger from these dense, faint blue star-points. Their figures, which had been as fast as lightning and as swift as the wind, suddenly became heavy. A viscous suction force had emerged from the sea of star-points. The suction from each star-point was not great, but the force from such a large expanse of star-points all at once was extremely terrifying, and it had already affected their movement skills.
The moment their feet touched the faint blue star-points, their speed immediately slowed by more than half. Although this speed was still astonishing, and in the eyes of the cultivators below, it was still an afterimage, in a battle between experts, this was already enough to be fatal. In contrast, the red-robed youth was completely unaffected, which shocked the two even more. They unleashed all their magical power without reservation, and their speed instantly increased. But the faint blue star-points were even faster. After clinging to the soles of their feet, it was as if they had found a place to climb and leverage. In just a moment, the star-points had already risen to their calves.
Although Lie Changfeng and Sang Dongxing were panicking, with their powerful strength, they quickly adapted to the intensity of the suction force below. They then flew up into the sky at an even faster speed. In just another breath and a half, both of them would be able to break free from the starlight below. Of course, Lie Changfeng would be at least half a breath faster than Sang Dongxing.
This breath and a half was but the blink of an eye. But now, they had a red-robed youth beside them, eyeing them like a tiger watching its prey, which filled the two with fear.
Amidst the boiling excitement of all the spectating disciples below, the red-robed youth acted as if he had planned it all along. The moment the star-points rose, he had already flashed, dodging the black-clothed man's previous attack, and arrived at the left side of the whisker-faced cultivator. A cold gleam suddenly lit up in his hand, and then a cold light the size of three zhang shot out from his hand. As it spun rapidly horizontally, it carried a piercing sound of breaking air as it slashed fiercely towards the neck of the whisker-faced cultivator.
At this moment, the two were struggling to break free from the star-points below. The timing of the red-robed youth's attack was truly perfect. The whisker-faced cultivator's reaction was extremely fast. The next moment, the green long fork in his hand was already blocking his side.
With a loud "clang!", followed by a series of grating "creak..." sounds that set one's teeth on edge. This scene made the disciples below can't help but sigh "what a pity!" in their hearts, their hearts instantly rising even higher.
It wasn't until the two weapons clashed that Li Yan's Divine Sense, who was inside the room, could clearly see that the cold light, which was three zhang in size, was actually an extremely exquisite willow-leaf small knife. The blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet when it struck the thick long fork, it sent green liquid splashing from the fork's sharp tines.
With the force of this collision, the body of the whisker-faced cultivator shook, and his body slowed down. In just that moment of hesitation, the star-points that were about to be shaken off climbed up even faster, instantly entangling his knees. The whisker-faced cultivator's face changed drastically. "Brother Changfeng, save me!"
He knew that if he lost Lie Changfeng's help and was left to fend for himself, he wouldn't last more than a few rounds against Tianxingzi.
Of course, Lie Changfeng saw this scene. A trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but he immediately shouted, "Fellow Daoist Sang, do not panic! You just hold him off!"
His body, however, flew up into the sky at an even faster speed diagonally. He dared not be entangled by these starlights, as his speed advantage would be completely lost. He wasn't abandoning Sang Dongxing, but rather, after quickly breaking free from the pouncing expanse of starlight, he would attack Tianxingzi from a distance, giving Sang Dongxing a chance to escape those damned starlights.
All of this happened in a flash. How could Tianxingzi not know what Lie Changfeng was thinking? He had schemed for so long; he would not give the other party any time. Thus, in the eyes of Li Yan and the others, just as the whisker-faced cultivator cried out, the red-robed youth's body was already dazzling with red light. His aura suddenly surged by more than double. The thin blade, which had been locked in a stalemate with the long fork, also emitted a light that was too dazzling to look at directly.
The red-robed youth swept a hand across his waist, and the next moment, a flame that was both profoundly cold and strangely hot shot towards the lower abdomen of the Cangyu Sect cultivator who was desperately casting spells. Seeing this soybean-sized flame, the whisker-faced cultivator let out a hoarse roar, his voice filled with a blood-curdling fear.
"He has refined the Shattered Star Fire! No!"
But the green long fork in his hand was resisting that thin blade. The moment he withdrew his Spirit Power, his neck would be instantly cut off. In just a moment of hesitation, the whisker-faced cultivator had lost his chance. The next moment, that ball of flame struck his abdomen squarely.
With a "boom," a ball of blue flame rapidly expanded, instantly engulfing his entire person in blue flames. And after shooting out that bean-sized flame, the red-robed youth's aura quickly diminished. But he didn't stop. With a beckoning motion, the thin blade transformed into a streak of cold light from within the blue flames and disappeared into his hand.
Lie Changfeng, who had finally broken free from the large expanse of faint blue star-points, was about to immediately lend a hand, but when he heard Sang Dongxing's last words before death, he immediately fled without looking back.
'How many Shattered Star Fires has that old ghost Tianxingzi condensed? One? Or two? Or more!'
Lie Changfeng thought in his heart. Although he also saw Tianxingzi's aura drop rapidly after he shot out a grain of "Shattered Star Fire," at this moment, he dared not gamble anymore. The other party was so treacherous that even the Night Fox Clan couldn't compare. He had been struck by his long wing in his own sect and then chased for tens of thousands of li, yet he still hadn't used this technique. Now that the other party's trump card was revealed, he would certainly not hold back anymore. And now, he was the only one here. If he couldn't win, could he not escape?
And the red-robed youth behind him turned around and chased after Lie Changfeng, leaving only the shrill screams coming from the blue flames. From the rise of the large expanse of starlight to the red-robed youth's attack, and then to the pursuit of the black-clothed cultivator, the entire process, like a rabbit leaping and a falcon swooping, had only taken a single breath. Everything was so abrupt, so swift as a thunderbolt. And only then did the explosive sounds from the brief clash between the two sides in the sky finally cease, leaving only a group of disciples with horrified gazes. But then, various excited shouts erupted from within Falling Star Valley.
"The Grand Elder has slain the enemy!"
"That person is dead! A Golden Core is dead!"
...
Subsequently, Lin Xinghe's figure appeared in the air. He looked at the ball of fire that had shrunk to a few inches in a very short time and sighed in his heart. A Golden Core cultivator, who could split mountains and divert rivers one moment, had his Dao dissipate and his body perish the next. The lives of cultivators were sometimes cheaper than dirt.
No more sound came from the ball of fire. Lin Xinghe knew that any cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage who was struck by his Martial Uncle's flame would rarely last more than five breaths if they tried to resist with their own strength.
"All deacons, continue your patrols and be on standby!"
Lin Xinghe did not stop the cheers of the disciples below. His voice simply overshadowed everyone else's, letting their morale soar. The next moment, his figure had vanished. Only he knew what price they had paid this time to kill one of the enemy's cultivators. The brief expanse of faint blue starlight just now had consumed fifty years' worth of Falling Star Valley's Spirit Stones in a mere moment. It was an unimaginable number. To hold back two Golden Core cultivators was not so easy. And the consequences of his Martial Uncle using the "Shattered Star Fire" he had painstakingly cultivated were even more severe, not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Li Yan sat in his room, his body already soaked in sweat. He was terrified of the point of profoundly cold flame that the Grand Elder of Falling Star Valley had unleashed at the end. From that flame, he had felt the same aura as the blue point of light in his Dantian's Purple Mansion.
'An immortal art that can instantly incinerate a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator!'
Just thinking about this, a coldness as thick as a winter fog, too dense to be dispersed, filled Li Yan's heart. A Late-stage Golden Core's protective shield was like paper in front of that small blue flame. What about this blue point of light in his own body?
'This old man's methods are too vicious! To use such a dark hand against a Foundation Establishment cultivator like me!'
At this moment, apart from fear, Li Yan was filled with more fear. Originally, he had still harbored a sliver of hope that he could find a way to remove it by some miracle. Now, it seemed that there was no hope at all. He even felt a lingering fear for having proactively provoked that blue point of light above his Dantian before.
After a full incense stick's time had passed, Li Yan, who had always been calm, finally managed to return to normal. After sitting silently for a while longer, he immediately began to regulate his breathing. It seemed that if he didn't put in any effort this time, he would be at a dead end. He had to do everything possible to give Falling Star Valley the upper hand. If the Grand Elder perished in the next battle, then no matter how many people he killed later, it would be useless.
'I must achieve the goal of having him remove the restriction in the shortest possible time. Even if I can't use the Earth Fire Spirit Vein later, I must have the restriction removed first!'
Faced with such a powerful existence, Li Yan's various tricks and schemes had become useless. Just as Li Yan forced down his turbulent emotions, he suddenly remembered something. Because, during the great battle just now, when the large expanse of starlight first appeared, Li Yan, who was inside the grand formation, had sensed the auras of some cultivators flying rapidly towards the north of the valley.