A middle-aged man in gray robes stood defensively beside the woman.
His fluctuating Spiritual Qi revealed that he was at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm.
A spiritual carriage sat on the path behind the duo. Another young woman stood beside it in a defensive stance.
She focused her anxious gaze entirely on the battle ahead.
Two attackers floated in the air. One wore white robes and a pitch-black mask.
The other wore black robes and a stark white mask. They were both at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
At first glance, it was not hard to see which side held a clear advantage in this fight.
The woman used ice arts to restrict the attackers, trying to take one of them down first. However, both masked men were tricky to handle.
One used a metallic chain as a whip to attack from a distance. The other used swift movements and illusory clones.
They fought in perfect sync. They attacked and retreated together seamlessly.
The gray-robed man could not match the enemy's speed. His heavy sword attacks did not land.
Chen Xuan watched the battle calmly from the trees. He did not rush out to save them.
Tired of the enemy's tricks, the woman retreated to increase the distance between them.
"Hold them back for a few breaths!" she said, turning to the gray-robed man.
She decided to use a major move to end the fight. A pale blue light erupted from her sword.
The temperature in the surroundings plummeted instantly. Many pale blue icy swords started to form around her.
The masked men sensed the danger. They did not waste any time. They immediately increased the intensity of their attacks.
The man in white flicked his wrist. A spiked silver chain shot out from his wide sleeve.
The spiked chain stretched unnaturally through the cold air. Its front end held a sharp beast claw. It flew directly toward the woman.
The gray-robed man gritted his teeth. He took out a red pill and swallowed it instantly. His aura rapidly climbed higher.
He raised his sword to block the incoming attack.
The man in black blurred into rapid motion and activated his technique. Three identical figures materialized from his body.
The figures swarmed the gray-robed man, whose eyes widened in panic, unable to track them all.
He channeled Spiritual Qi into his sword. He swung horizontally to his right to block two of the incoming shadows.
At the same time, he launched a flaming talisman from his left hand.
A bright fireball exploded in the air. This forced the white-robed attacker to retreat and abandon his initial attack.
The gray-robed man prepared another heavy sword strike. However, two figures in black attacked him together from the front.
He decided to ruthlessly exchange damage for damage.
Abandoning his defense completely, he channeled more Spiritual Qi for a desperate sweeping attack.
However, one of the figures vanished into thin air. It revealed itself as a mere afterimage. As he slashed through the remaining clone, a deadly chill crept up his spine.
The real man in black suddenly appeared right behind him. The assassin thrust a dark dagger forward. He carved a bloody wound directly across the defender's back.
At that exact moment, the silver chain shot out from the dying fire.
The sharp metal claw penetrated the guard's thigh deeply. The dragon claw grabbed his raw leg bone with a sickening crunch.
"Die!" the man in white sneered cruelly. He violently pulled the gray-robed man forward using the heavy chain.
He dragged the bleeding guard toward the black-robed man.
The man in black readied his poisoned blade to lunge at the crippled guard.
"Glacial Piercing Rain!" the woman yelled at this critical moment.
When she thrust her pale palms forward, the surrounding atmosphere froze completely.
Hundreds of floating ice swords shot directly at the two attackers. They moved together like a swarm of locusts, blotting out the sun.
Both attackers abandoned their prey instantly. They retreated desperately.
The man in black threw a glowing golden talisman into the freezing air.
The talisman activated instantly to form a golden barrier around them. It protected them inside a thick dome.
The heavy ice swords crashed violently against the golden barrier. But the glowing shield remained incredibly strong.
Chen Xuan watched them closely. He recognized the top-grade, second-rank spiritual talisman.
Despite that strong defense, the golden barrier was dimming rapidly. Each icy impact created deep cracks across its surface.
Chen Xuan felt a chill seeing the destructive prowess of this attack.
Both attackers realized the danger as the cracks spread further across their shield.
The white-robed man quickly took out a black cauldron. He poured his Spiritual Qi directly into it.
After the cauldron expanded in the blink of an eye, it flew directly toward the icy swords.
The golden shield finally shattered. The black cauldron shielded the two assassins just in time.
The remaining ice swords struck the cauldron with loud ringing sounds.
After a few dozen more strikes, the icy weapons finally dissipated into white mist.
The devastating attack was finally over.
Chen Xuan frowned after seeing the cauldron. A third-rank spiritual treasure in the hands of two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators?
Third-rank spiritual treasures were rare. It was hard to see them even in the hands of early Core Formation cultivators.
Even major families would not easily hand over such a treasure to their promising disciples.
"It seems they prepared for it and exhausting her for some reason," he thought quietly.
The woman was breathing heavily. Traces of exhaustion could be seen clearly on her shocked face.
Her pale lips were pressed tightly together before she opened them to speak.
"What do you want?" she asked. Her voice was cold and crisp like striking jade.
She felt a wave of despair after seeing the third-rank artifact. She could not think of a reason for this sudden ambush.
Moreover, if the fight continued like this, soon her Qi reserve would be completely drained.
"Hehe... you will know soon enough," the man in black chuckled darkly. Both men prepared to attack again.
But they stopped midway. Everyone's gaze turned toward the forest below.
Chen Xuan flew out of the trees toward them with a calm expression. He made no effort to hide his presence anymore.
His sudden appearance made the everyone freeze in caution. No one knew whether he was enemy or foe.
They tried to see through his cultivation realm, but they could not see through his exact level.
The woman looked at the young man deeply . Her gaze was mixed with caution and hope.
She steadied herself with a deep breath, her grip tightening on her sword.
The gray-robed man had freed himself from the spiked chain. But the dagger attack had left a nasty poison in his system.
His Spiritual Qi flow was slowing down rapidly. He could barely stand, let alone prepare for another battle.
Both sides stared at the newcomer in a heavy and tense silence.
"Who are you?" the white-masked man asked carefully. He tightened his grip on the silver chain.
He did not know Chen Xuan's true strength, and he certainly did not want to offend a powerful expert for no reason.
Chen Xuan kept moving forward. He looked totally indifferent to their presence.
The black-masked man glared at him coldly.
"This is our private matter," he said in a heavy tone. He pointed his weapon at the Chen Xuan. "You should leave right now."
Chen Xuan halted his steps.
"And if I refuse?" he asked. His face remained perfectly calm.
"What exactly do you want here?" the white-masked man asked calmly.
Chen Xuan let out a faint smile.
"Rescuing women from two lecherous thugs. Is that not the duty of a righteous cultivator?" He turned his gaze toward the woman.