The moment the silver greatswords appeared, a thick layer of frost instantly covered everything, from the rocks to the lush green grass.
The silver greatswords materialized with an eerie silence, appearing with a sudden hum.
As soon as they manifested, they split into five groups, with two greatswords each slashing down toward Ying Shisan and the other four.
Cui Ting was the first to be targeted. Just as he sensed something was wrong, an bone-chilling cold swept over his head. At the same time, an arrogant voice resounded in their ears.
"You mongrels, witness the peerless might of your grandfather's legion! For me, slash! Slash, slash, slash!!"
Caught off guard, Cui Ting let out a cold snort.
"An ice-attribute attack? A mere pearl daring to shine!"
He was of the Snow Moon Wolf Clan; he was the true expert when it came to controlling the power of ice and snow. The other two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Snow Moon Wolf Clan also sneered.
'Has our opponent lost his mind? Using ice and snow powers against the Snow Moon Wolf Clan.'
A mocking sneer played on Cui Ting's lips. The moment the frosty qi touched his body, the Spirit Power within him circulated, and the thin layer of ice that had just formed on his skin melted away.
At the same time, Cui Ting rubbed his hands together, and an even larger ice pillar instantly formed. With a ferocious grin, the muscles in his arms bulged as he swung the massive ice pillar viciously towards the silver greatsword descending upon him.
The other two Snow Moon Wolf Clan Foundation Establishment cultivators also summoned their ice-attribute magical treasures. With great momentum and cold sneers, they met the attack head-on.
In stark contrast to the three from the Snow Moon Wolf Clan were Ying Shisan and his companion from the Night Fox Clan.
A layer of frost rapidly covered their bodies, visible to the naked eye. With every movement, a series of cracking sounds, "kaka-kaka," emanated from their bodies. Although it didn't stop them from casting their arts, it did affect them to some extent, causing their expressions to shift uncertainly.
A series of explosions erupted in an instant. With a savage grin, Cui Ting smashed his massive ice pillar against the two heavily descending silver greatswords.
With two loud "bangs," a continuous stream of force transmitted through his hands, but he managed to block it forcefully. At the same time, an even more intense coldness seeped into his body through his hands.
Cui Ting, however, casually rolled his thick neck left and right, thoroughly enjoying the refreshing sensation the cold brought him.
'I wonder what kind of ice-attribute material these ten greatswords are made of. The ice-attribute power within them is so incredibly dense. It's a fine set of high-grade Magical Artifacts. Although not at the level of a Magical Treasure, a complete set of high-grade Magical Artifacts like this is extremely valuable, no less than an ordinary mid-grade Magical Treasure.'
This thought flashed through his mind. He knew that Falling Star Valley's artifact refining was also highly skilled, and he hadn't expected to encounter it himself.
A fire ignited in Cui Ting's heart. If he could get his hands on this, his strength would immediately rise by a level.
This was a rare, complete set of ice-attribute Magical Artifacts. Such sets were rarely seen in the entire cultivation world.
Its value was such that not even a Magical Treasure could necessarily be traded for it.
At the same time, he was searching for the source of the arrogant shout from just now, but he couldn't find the owner of this set of Magical Artifacts anywhere.
Sharing his thoughts were the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Snow Moon Wolf Clan. They too had recognized the extraordinariness of this set of Magical Artifacts, and their eyes were filled with greed.
Good things went to whoever could seize them. The two of them would not give up this great opportunity just because Cui Ting's cultivation was a bit higher than theirs.
All of this happened in a single instant.
Cui Ting held the massive ice pillar with one hand, blocking the descending silver greatswords. The white Spirit Power on his thick arm exploded violently as he prepared to knock the two silver greatswords away.
Simultaneously, his other hand slapped his waist. He was going to summon his own Magical Treasure to first trap these two silver greatswords.
Then he would go and control the other eight. He had seen through his companions' intentions and naturally wanted to snatch as many as possible for himself.
A complete set of Magical Artifacts could not be missing any pieces.
But just as he raised his hand and his Spirit Power erupted, his motion to slap his storage pouch paused for an instant, and the ferocious grin on his face froze.
He suddenly looked up, and what met his eyes was a scene that he couldn't believe. The two silver greatswords that should have been sent flying by him had now appeared phantom-like before his forehead and neck.
With an indomitable and vicious aura, they slashed down again. The stupor in Cui Ting's eyes instantly turned to terror.
At the same time, several disbelieving cries rang out. Because the ten silver greatswords had appeared so suddenly, their immediate reaction was to block.
Aside from Ying Shisan, whose Magical Treasure was a net, the others either condensed physical objects with Spirit Power to block or used items like swords and sabers.
In the heat of the moment, this reaction was indeed correct, and they had all successfully blocked the attacking silver greatswords.
But what they hadn't expected was that the greatswords, which felt incredibly tough, would snap in two the moment they were blocked.
They slid past their own Magical Treasures or arts, clean and swift, fast as lightning.
This caught Cui Ting and the others completely off guard. One moment, they felt the immense power coming from their opponent; the next, the upward force in their hands vanished.
Even more bizarrely, the greatswords above each person, which had broken into four pieces, suddenly and without warning re-fused during their descent.
In the blink of an eye, they became two complete silver greatswords again, and they slashed towards them with even greater speed.
This sudden change left them defenseless. In their past duels, they had encountered situations where an opponent's Magical Treasure would split in two or even more.
But those were always a mix of real and illusory, using sleight of hand to confuse the enemy. Furthermore, the refining materials that could be separated and rejoined were extremely rare; obtaining even a small amount was a great opportunity.
The ten silver greatswords before them, however, felt completely solid upon contact, not illusory at all.
They would never have guessed that someone could obtain so much supreme-grade refining material for such massive and numerous greatswords, only to forge them into mere Magical Artifacts.
Their breaking and rejoining contained not a hint of illusion.
It all happened too fast, leaving them no time to react further.
Instinctively, the Spirit Power in their bodies surged, and they desperately summoned their protective light shields.
But it was too late. Aside from Cui Ting and Ying Shisan who managed to block the fatal blow, the other three each let out a blood-curdling scream as their large heads rolled to the ground.
In an instant, a rain of blood filled the sky. Three headless corpses flailed their hands uselessly, even taking a few aimless steps before crashing to the ground.
Cui Ting survived solely due to his superior strength. As a Pseudo-Core Realm cultivator, despite the suddenness of the attack, the two re-fused greatswords only managed to strike two white streaks of light against his forehead and neck.
He used the force of their strike to retreat rapidly.
Ying Shisan, on the other hand, survived entirely because of his unique Magical Treasure. The two silver greatswords were caught by the large net he summoned.
The moment the two greatswords entered the net, they immediately shattered into countless pieces, but even these myriad fragments could not escape through the mesh.
Although it was a net, it had long been protected by Ying Shisan's Spirit Power, making it impenetrable.
As a result, Ying Shisan was the only one who had completely blocked the opponent's attack with his Magical Treasure.
At the same time, the bizarre events happening around him registered in his eyes.
Ying Shisan was greatly alarmed. He looked again at the silver fragments in his net and only now realized that they weren't broken pieces of a greatsword at all.
Unable to escape, the fragments had transformed into transparent mosquitoes, each with a long proboscis.
He had never seen this type of mosquito before. They were bizarre yet possessed a certain kind of magnificent feel, different from any small, insect-type Demonic Beast he had ever encountered.
"The greatswords are illusions created by Demonic Beasts!"
His instincts made him cry out, but it was already too late. His shout was accompanied by three tragic screams.
However, Cui Ting and Ying Shisan reacted extremely quickly. After the opponent's bizarre attack failed, the two of them flew backward rapidly.
At this moment, how could they care about conserving the magic power in their bodies? But as fast as they were, they couldn't outpace someone who had meticulously planned an ambush.
Just as Cui Ting's figure moved, he felt his back slam heavily into what felt like a great mountain. The impact sent his blood and qi into turmoil, and his internal organs felt as if they had been instantly twisted into a knot.
But just before, his Divine Sense had clearly scanned the area behind him. It was just the space above the mountain path they had taken.
He had no time to think about it. Cui Ting's body came to a sudden halt, and he felt his strength rapidly draining away.
He slowly lowered his head. The excruciating pain from his organs wasn't from the powerful impact, but from a hand that had pierced through his back and out of his abdomen.
The hand flickered with black Spirit Power, completely unstained by blood. Cui Ting struggled to turn his head to see his attacker.
But his head had only turned slightly when a foot kicked his back. With a loud rumble, Cui Ting's breath ceased.
Li Yan retracted his right leg, quickly withdrew his hand, and stared indifferently at the falling corpse.
At the same time, Ying Shisan, who was controlling the net with his Spirit Power, was also retreating.
Suddenly, in his Divine Sense, a small ball of purple water appeared out of thin air on his retreat path.
At this moment, he was fleeing with all his might, with a large portion of his magic power focused on controlling the Magical Treasure in his hand, terrified that the dense swarm of mosquitoes within would break free. If that happened, he would be in a miserable state.
The small ball of purple water appeared very abruptly, with no prior fluctuation of aura. In his shock, Ying Shisan crashed headfirst into the purple water.
Immediately, a continuous "tzz-tzz-tzz" sound was heard as a large hole was corroded through his back by the purple water.
But before he could scream in pain, he felt a cold sensation in his back, followed by the sight of a bloody, beating heart being held before him, impaled on a thick, transparent proboscis.
Staring at his own still-beating heart, Ying Shisan was stunned for a moment before letting out a horrifying scream. At the same time, his body went limp and he collapsed.
Only then did an eerie voice sound from behind him.
"Did you think you could take my children with you?"
All of this had transpired in less than three breaths.
Sect Master Wang and the others, who were rapidly descending the mountain, also sensed the pursuers closing in and involuntarily scanned the area with their Divine Sense in vigilance.
Then, a bizarre scene appeared in her Divine Sense. First, amidst a blinding silver light, three screams shot into the sky, and amidst a rain of blood, several heads rolled on the ground.
The screams immediately made the Feng Family Ancestor turn his head. Then, in his Divine Sense, he saw two figures shooting backward like arrows.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the ground like a ghost, appearing silently in mid-air, and pierced through one of the retreating figures with a single palm strike.
At the same time, on the other side, wisps of green smoke suddenly rose, and the handsome youth of the Night Fox Clan was impaled in mid-air by a Demonic Beast that emerged from behind a rock.
It all happened too fast, especially considering the cultivation level of these five people, which Sect Master Wang and her group had just experienced firsthand.
The two of them couldn't help but stop in their tracks. Sect Master Wang's beautiful almond-shaped eyes revealed an expression of disbelief.
"They... they were just... killed? And... so... so easily!"