Chapter 112: The Most Grueling Battle

"Damn it, this demonic mosquito is no simple creature."

Watching the creature rapidly dash forward to evade her attack and unleash a demonic art resembling wind blades, Liu Xiuqian’s expression shifted dramatically. As she retreated, she hurriedly erected her protective spiritual light.

*Clang! Clang!*

The sharp edges of the wings struck her newly formed protective barrier, causing it to warp violently. Had she not been channeling her cultivation to its limit, the barrier would surely have been cleaved in two.

However, although Xiao Wenzhi failed to breach her defenses, he had effectively occupied all of Liu Xiuqian’s focus, causing the flying sword she had been using against Chu Xin'er to lose its effectiveness. With the tides turning, Chu Xin'er, now fully focused on controlling her golden sword, successfully parried the mace and quietly gripped a flying needle artifact in her palm.

*Whoosh.* The flying needle transformed into a streak of light, aiming straight for Liu Kui’s throat. The angle was cunning, and the timing was perfect—exactly when he was distracted by the girl in the green shirt.

Yet, even a half-step Foundation Establishment cultivator, though distracted, possessed a divine sense strong enough to detect danger at any moment. With a flash of light, Liu Kui erected his protective spiritual light just as the needle reached him. Chu Xin'er’s sneak attack failed. In truth, the rough but meticulous Liu Kui kept his divine sense spread wide at all times; it was difficult to hide such small movements from him.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Having finally gained the upper hand, Xiao Wenzhi was in no mood for mercy. He flapped his wings incessantly, unleashing a barrage of wing-blade strikes that caused Liu Xiuqian’s protective light to flicker and distort. Despite this, the disparity in their realms was significant; under her full defensive effort, the barrier that seemed on the verge of shattering held on stubbornly.

"Xiuqian, you damn mosquito, go to hell!"

After blocking the surprise needle attack, Liu Kui saw his sister being pushed back and roared in rage. He waved his hand, launching a fireball toward Xiao Wenzhi. Chu Xin'er tried to intervene, but as soon as she recalled her willow-leaf blade, the opponent produced another flying sword. It was no surprise; without reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, cultivators could not fly solely on their own power, so it was normal for Liu Kui to possess a sword for transportation.

With her willow-leaf blade momentarily tangled by the sword, the fireball struck at Xiao Wenzhi without obstruction. Unable to withstand the searing flames with his physical body, he had no choice but to dodge. A gray shadow flickered; although Xiao Wenzhi utilized his "Demonic Dash" technique to escape the fireball, the girl in the green shirt, whom he had been suppressing, finally found a moment to catch her breath.

"Damn it..."

After a brief moment of panic, Liu Xiuqian was filled with shame and fury. The demonic mosquito before her was, in terms of realm, only comparable to a twelfth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, yet it had forced her into such a disheveled state. If word of this got out, she would become the laughingstock of the cultivation world.

Clenching her teeth, she formed a seal to recall her flying sword and slashed fiercely at Xiao Wenzhi. Not stopping there, she raised her delicate hands, dancing them like a butterfly among flowers. As she chanted and cast her spell, vines erupted from the ground, winding toward Xiao Wenzhi’s retreat path. These vines were not physical, but formed from wood-attribute spiritual energy. They would be ineffective against high-level cultivators, but they were more than enough to obstruct and trap Xiao Wenzhi, whose realm was lower than hers. However, Liu Xiuqian had not yet reached Foundation Establishment; casting such energy-draining arts was a strain, as evidenced by her nearly pale complexion.

"Xiao Wen, get out of the way!"

With cyan sword energy in front and green vines behind, Xiao Wenzhi was suddenly caught in a dilemma. Chu Xin'er was frantic but powerless to help.

"Little girl, you’d better worry about yourself."

Seeing his sister regain her footing and drive the detestable mosquito into a desperate situation, Liu Kui was overjoyed and intensified his assault with the mace and sword.

Was Xiao Wenzhi truly trapped in a death trap? The answer was no. Before the sword light struck his body, his figure blurred, instantly transforming into six identical large mosquitoes.

The "Demonic Shadow Technique" was not a high-level cloning secret art designed to win through numbers, but as cultivation improved, the number of illusions used to confuse enemies would increase. If it were truly useless, it would not have been recorded in the ancient supreme cultivation manual, the "Blood Spirit Great Method." Having broken through to the late stage of the ninth level of the Demonic Qi Realm, Xiao Wenzhi could manifest six illusionary clones. Previously, he had no time to practice, so he could only manifest five when dealing with Liang Fan and the others. During his time staying at the Spirit Medicine Sect with Chu Xin'er, he had no system currency to exchange for elixirs, so his advancement was slow, and he had poured most of his energy into practicing these secret arts.

Now that he had suddenly deployed the Demonic Shadow Technique to split into six, he easily passed through the sword light and the entangling vines.

"This... how is this possible?"

The cultivation world was filled with bizarre wonders; it was not strange for certain primeval mythical beasts or insectoids to possess formidable innate talents, but those were usually only accessible after they had matured to a certain degree. The large mosquito before her was clearly still weak in realm. Theoretically, even if it possessed an ancient bloodline, there was no reason for it to be proficient in so many demonic arts. Liu Xiuqian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Opportunity missed was opportunity lost. Seeing the shock and hesitation in her movements, Xiao Wenzhi, having crossed several meters to appear behind Liu Xiuqian, launched another attack. Amidst the whistling sound of tearing air, her protective spiritual light began to shake and tremble again. Liu Xiuqian dared not look away, hurriedly maneuvering her flying sword to block.

Xiao Wenzhi sighed inwardly; his cultivation realm was still too weak. Twice he had found a good opportunity, yet he had failed to break her defense. In truth, the force of his wing blades was quite impressive—continuous strikes had already caused the light shield to warp violently. If he could have increased his strength by just another seventy or eighty percent, this girl would have been severely injured or killed long ago.

But reality was reality; there were no "ifs." As the enemy’s flying sword whistled toward him, he had no choice but to use the Demonic Shadow Technique to dodge once more.

Chu Xin'er was matched against the sturdy Liu Kui and was likewise unable to gain the upper hand. Although her willow-leaf blade was of higher quality than the opponent’s sword, the mace was heavy and forceful, requiring most of her focus to barely manage. To date, this could be considered the most arduous battle Chu Xin'er had experienced since she met Xiao Wenzhi and began traveling with him.

"Little girl, you are stubborn. Go to hell!"

Although the Liu siblings held the upper hand, the act of intercepting and robbing outside cultivators seeking pills was unsavory; if discovered by the elders of the Spirit Medicine Sect, they would be in serious trouble. They wanted a quick resolution. Therefore, after once again suppressing Chu Xin'er’s golden sword with his artifact, Liu Kui reached into his pocket and pulled out several talismans. With a cold sneer, he instantly activated them—thunderfire, wind blades, and ice cones.

Most of these were mid-grade talismans, the trump cards the siblings had prepared after spending most of their savings in hopes of obtaining a potential mid-grade Foundation Establishment pill. Now, triggered all at once, the thunderfire, wind blades, and ice cones intertwined, bombarding Chu Xin'er like a torrential rain.

Chu Xin'er’s expression changed drastically. She hurriedly retreated to dodge and defended with all her might, but she had few defensive talismans on her, and the few she possessed were all low-grade, scavenged from the storage bags of the Zhang Yingli siblings.