Although the third Wind-Iron Beast's strength had reached the peak of the third rank, it could no longer withstand the might of the Tianli Clan's ultimate ancestral technique—a single strike that concentrated hundreds of streams of power from the fifth layer of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art.
With a tremendous "bang," accompanied by a pained, muffled grunt, the third Wind-Iron Beast plummeted backward like a meteor.
At the same instant, a streak of azure light shot into the sky.
As Gong Chenying's figure spun, her jade-like hand had already gripped the azure halberd once more. A chilling killing intent erupted from her beautiful eyes as she stomped heavily on the void.
"Boom!"
Her slender body crossed the sky as if traversing a thousand mountains and rivers, her dark green robes fluttering wildly in the wind.
In a blur as her arm bent and straightened, she thrust the halberd out like a bolt of lightning toward the Wind-Iron Beast before her. The beast had already lost its long tail, and cracks were beginning to appear from its hindquarters to its waist.
Even though she was fighting one against three, her movements were a single, fluid sequence, as smooth as flowing water and as swift as a thunderclap!
In a flash, she had put distance between herself and the other two Wind-Iron Beasts, who had only just regained their footing after being forced back.
Gong Chenying's lips were pressed tightly together. As she rushed forward, the fierce wind pulled her robes taut behind her. With one leg extended straight back, treading on air, and the other bent at the knee like a bow, she flew above the third Wind-Iron Beast's head with the speed of a shooting star chasing the moon.
At this moment, the Wind-Iron Beast could only feel the terrifying force from the previous attack numbing its lower body. For a moment, it couldn't control the magical power within it, and its retreat slowed drastically.
That power was simply too immense. It couldn't believe it was something a Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could unleash. Not only had its tail been destroyed, but the tremendous force had also surged straight through its rear orifice, grievously injuring its entire lower body.
Its internal magical power was in chaos, making it impossible to form an effective defense.
"No!"
A shrill roar shook the heavens and the earth.
With a "chi" sound, the azure halberd instantly pierced through the Wind-Iron Beast's skull. A jet of blood shot high into the sky.
The light in the third Wind-Iron Beast's eyes quickly dimmed. Without a moment's hesitation, Gong Chenying flicked her wrist.
"Boom!"
The Wind-Iron Beast's body exploded violently. Immediately after, a grey, round pearl shot out from the bloody mist.
"Die!"
A sharp glint flashed through Gong Chenying's eyes. She let out a cold snort from her delicate nose. The beast's Demonic Core actually thought it could escape from right under her nose.
Before she even retracted her halberd, she had already lifted her knee and swung her leg in a whip-like kick, unleashing a piercing whistle as it swept out viciously.
The direction she kicked was not toward the grey pearl, but at a patch of empty space in front of her.
Following the piercing whistle, a spatial crack appeared without any warning thirty zhang away from her.
Though the crack was thin and looked as if it would vanish at any moment, it had appeared there abruptly.
The very instant the crack appeared, a faint grey light flashed and flew right into it.
"What is this...!" a shrill female voice cried out in terror from within the grey light. But before she could finish her words, the grey light had already slammed into the spatial crack and been sucked inside.
The spatial crack then vanished completely.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. After Gong Chenying's leg swept through the air, an unnatural flush appeared on her beautiful face, and the two proud, magnificent peaks on her chest heaved violently.
"Impossible!"
"You slut, you're courting death!"
Two furious roars sounded from behind Gong Chenying. In an instant, two figures flashed and were once again at her back. Gong Chenying spun around abruptly, her Divine Sense spreading out at the same time.
All around her, the sound of explosions was continuous. Every warrior of the Tianli Clan was engaged with one to three enemies.
She was horrified to discover that in just a few moments, the number of Bone-Shattering Spikes being fired from her side had become increasingly sparse, and there were not many Grey Cloud Eagles left in the sky.
Amidst sorrowful cries for their fallen companions, the remaining Grey Cloud Eagles continued to fight to the death against the large flock of Wind Goose Beasts, heedless of their own safety.
'A Yuan!'
The thought flashed through Gong Chenying's mind for only a moment, because she had already seen the young man who was so infatuated with her leading all the cultivators of the reinforcement squad to charge into the flock of Wind Goose Beasts.
As for her, no one else had the time to help her.
Without the support of the Bone-Shattering Spikes and Grey Cloud Eagles, more and more low-rank Wind Beasts swarmed in from the distance like a tide. The mortal warriors of the Tianli Clan fell one after another...
Furious roars filled Gong Chenying's ears. As she spun around, the two figures shooting toward her were so startled by her action that they froze for a moment.
They had just witnessed how terrifying this cold and beautiful woman was. A Late-stage Golden Core cultivator who could actually tear space—she was the strongest Golden Core cultivator they had ever seen.
Although their companion's Demonic Core had escaped, after plunging into the Chaotic Flow Space, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it would never come out alive. The momentary Astral Wind would be enough to claim its life.
The formless intimidating presence from Gong Chenying's turn made the two Wind-Iron Beasts feel a sense of dread.
However, when they saw the trickle of blood seeping from the corner of Gong Chenying's mouth and her violently heaving, full chest, their eyes immediately lit up with delight.
It was clear that in the one-on-three fight just now, she must have used some kind of secret art to kill their companion. Otherwise, how could a Golden Core cultivator tear space? Her current state was a sign of a severe backlash.
Although the two Wind-Iron Beasts' charge had faltered for a moment, it was only for an instant. Seeing that Gong Chenying was injured, they closed the distance again in a flash.
Gong Chenying brandished her halberd, thrusting it toward one of the eyes of the foremost Wind-Iron Beast.
But just then, a sharp, twisting pain shot through her abdomen. Her beautiful face turned pale, and beads of sweat instantly appeared on her smooth forehead, plastering a few strands of short hair to her skin.
Today, she had been in continuous battle with enemies, and she had slain several Wind Beasts of the same rank. To accomplish all this, she relied not only on her powerful cultivation for support, but also on the constant, heavy consumption of her magical power and stamina.
In order to maintain her formidable combat strength, Gong Chenying could only swallow medicinal pills one after another, with no time to fully refine them.
Especially that final kick—she had over-exerted herself, using the peak initial-stage power of the fifth layer of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art.
Normally, she could only barely manage it on occasion. To ensure a one-hit kill, she had used one hundred percent of her strength in that kick. Although she succeeded, she was instantly hit by the formless backlash from the void, which injured her internal organs.
Gong Chenying immediately took a pill to suppress her injuries, but the numerous magical power-replenishing pills she had swallowed earlier finally, along with the accumulated Pill Poison, erupted.
Gong Chenying bit down hard on her teeth, the cold glint in her eyes growing even sharper. Ignoring the excruciating, knife-twisting pain in her abdomen, she continued to madly channel her magical power. The azure light on the halberd in her hand flickered erratically as she thrust it out with an arc of electricity.
These changes were all seen by the two Wind-Iron Beasts.
"She's a spent force!" the Wind-Iron Beast facing the azure halberd said in human tongue, its voice filled with delight.
A Late-stage Golden Core cultivator who could tear space had truly terrified them. It was impossible for her to have grasped the Rules of Heaven and Earth, or she would have already faced her Heavenly Tribulation.
Therefore, she must have used brute force. This conjecture made the two Wind-Iron Beasts even more fearful; the Tianli Clan's body refining arts were truly their nightmare.
The first Wind-Iron Beast saw Gong Chenying's halberd thrusting toward it. It opened its mouth and spat out a silver crescent spade engraved with dense patterns.
When the silver crescent spade first appeared, it was only about an inch in size. It grew with the wind, instantly expanding to several zhang as it smashed down toward the azure halberd.
At the same time, the other Wind-Iron Beast's iron scales stood on end once more. Its eyes had turned completely crimson. The Wind-Iron Beast that Gong Chenying had killed, whose Demonic Core had failed to escape, was its Dao Companion.
"Zeng, zeng, zeng..."
The iron scales on its body lifted and flew off, carrying specks of blood with them, and hurtled toward Gong Chenying from the other side like a rain of flying sabers and locusts.
A look of immense pain appeared on its face, a clear sign that this attack caused it great harm as well. But at this moment, its heart was filled more with hatred for Gong Chenying.
In an instant, Gong Chenying's halberd collided with the silver crescent spade in mid-air.
With a deafening "boom," a screen of azure light and a screen of silver light erupted at the point of impact, expanding out into the void on both sides.
Following the violent explosion, the two magical treasures were locked in a brief stalemate in the air.
A huge backlash traveled directly through the halberd's shaft. Gong Chenying could no longer suppress the sweetness in her throat.
"Pfft!" She spat out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, it felt as if her internal organs were being sliced apart inch by inch.
Gong Chenying's face turned deathly pale, and on the other side, the rain of sharp iron scales was already upon her...
Gong Chenying felt a wave of dizziness. She knew she had taken too many pills. After clashing with her opponent with all her strength, she had no energy left to suppress it, and the Pill Poison had finally taken effect.
The strength in her body was draining away rapidly. She was only holding on by the last ounce of her will, refusing to fall.
'Alas!'
Gong Chenying sighed inwardly. There comes a time when one's strength runs out. She had finally reached this point.
In the sky, many people witnessed this scene.
"A Ying!"
"Sister Ying, dodge!"
"A Ying~ retreat!"
All around, shouts and cries rang out in a cacophony...
Ten thousand zhang up in the sky, the Great Elder, who was fighting Yan San, saw this and his expression changed drastically. Gong Chenying was his descendant. Especially after Gong Shanhe's disappearance, Gong Chenying was the successor he valued the most.
The glossy walking stick in his hand flew from his grasp, transforming into a thousand-legged centipede that wiggled its head and tail. With a furious hiss, it pounced toward Yan San.
At the same time, the Great Elder's figure flashed and vanished from his original spot.
"Hehehe... you're not even keeping your magical treasure? Where do you think you're going, old ghost Gong!"
As Yan San's voice sounded, he abruptly plucked the two black iron feathers from behind his ears and tossed them forward.
As the two black iron feathers crossed each other, they transformed into a pair of massive black shears, a full hundred zhang long. With a "kacha" sound, they snipped at the pouncing thousand-legged centipede.
The Great Elder's vision blurred, and a figure blocked his path. It was Yan San.
"Kill that woman for me!"
At the same time, Yan San's voice rolled downward like a tidal wave. He had already determined that Gong Chenying must be an important person to the Tianli Clan.
Otherwise, with Tianli Clan members dying every second below, he wouldn't have seen old ghost Gong in such a hurry. The Great Elder's face was ashen.
"You can all die together!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
At the same moment, the peerlessly beautiful Third Elder's phoenix eyes shot open. She waved her hands, forming a series of seals. The two fourth-rank Wind Beasts opposite her suddenly felt the world around them turn pitch black...
The Nascent Soul cultivators unleashed a world-shaking might. The aftershocks caused nearby mountain peaks to collapse one after another. It was clear they had also seen Gong Chenying's crisis and wanted to save her, but they were hopelessly entangled by their opponents.
"Save A... Ying!"
In the distance, more Tianli Clan cultivators let out earth-shattering roars!
Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes suddenly shone with a dazzling light. Once again, she released her grip on the azure halberd. Her body tilted sharply in the air. A simple movement that was once effortless now left her drenched in sweat, as if she had been pulled from water.
She clenched her silver teeth, and the sole of one of her jade-like feet slammed viciously onto the butt of the azure halberd.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
As a long stream of blood sprayed from her mouth, her body left a long afterimage in the air, the soles of her feet repeatedly kicking the halberd's butt.
"A Ying, quick... retreat!"
At the same time, a Tianli Clan cultivator closest to Gong Chenying, an old woman with a thick grey cloth wrapped around her head, came stumbling over, leaving a trail of blood across the sky!
The old woman's body had been nearly cleaved in two by a third-rank Wind Beast's saber. Her cultivation was only at the Initial-stage Golden Core, and her Qiongqi Purgatory Art had only reached the mid-stage of the third layer.
After taking a direct blow with her physical body, she was already so grievously injured that she was on the verge of death.
But she still relied on her last breath to fly to Gong Chenying's side. As she spoke, blood mixed with internal organs poured from her mouth. Her body lit up with a golden glow, instantly blocking most of the incoming iron scales.
"Chichichi..."
Amidst the continuous sound of sharp weapons entering flesh, the old woman's body trembled like a sieve. She had little magical power left and could only desperately burn the last remaining trace of her Essence Blood.
She had to buy precious time for Gong Chenying to escape. Behind her, several other cultivators closest to Gong Chenying were also desperately fighting their way over. They too were trading their lives, ignoring the hits they took as they charged forward...
But apart from this old woman, the others were at least three thousand zhang away from Gong Chenying.
"Granny Xiu!"
Gong Chenying's heart tightened. She too had only a sliver of strength left. Even if she fled, she wouldn't get far and would still be overtaken by the iron scales. But it was too late for her to stop the old woman.
All of this happened too quickly, within a single breath after Gong Chenying had killed the first Wind-Iron Beast.
Following her dozen or so lightning-fast kicks on the butt of the halberd...
"Chi!"
With the sound of flesh being pierced, the azure halberd's light vibrated intensely as it passed through the silver light screen. The Wind-Iron Beast behind it was struck as if by lightning.