"I will skin you alive, burn your flesh, and confine your soul to an oil lamp to endure centuries of burning agony!"
The chief of the Liuhuo Bandits spoke slowly, his cultivation surging. His grayish-white hair began to dance as if by itself.
Intense killing intent flared in his eyes. With a mere gesture, a bronze cauldron, ten feet wide, flew back into his palm, shrinking to a size of a few inches.
"I will tear your bones apart!"
The third chief roared furiously.
The wound on his severed arm had stopped bleeding. Despite having only one arm, he charged forward ferociously.
Boundless fire light surged, converging above his head. A crimson bead spun rapidly, spewing forth waves of scorching flames.
Witnessing this, Ji Yuan was about to vanish into the void. However, a bronze cauldron, a mere few inches in size, suddenly appeared above his head. Its chime reverberated, completely sealing the void within a radius of over ten feet.
"Suppress!"
The chief exclaimed, his voice rumbling.
In an instant, the bronze cauldron let out a deafening roar, its sound waves spreading outwards in ripples.
It did more than just seal the void; it aimed to crush Ji Yuan as well. The immense power of a late-stage third-realm cultivator descended.
Even though most of the formation bases of Jiulang Mountain had been dismantled, this person's cultivation had not fallen below the late stage, barely maintaining that level.
"One sword... shatters all techniques!"
Ji Yuan suddenly looked up, his eyes gathering a brilliant radiance.
His abundant sword intent flowed, then surged outwards, merging entirely into the white jade flying sword before him.
He pointed his sword forward. The life-bound flying sword shot out, appearing slow but in reality being incredibly swift.
The moment the sword broke through the air, it was as if a sky curtain unfurled, forcefully shattering the bronze cauldron's seal and scattering the surging flames!
The chief of the Liuhuo Bandits' expression changed. He quickly unleashed several streams of spiritual energy and even spewed forth a wisp of true essence.
From the rising sword intent, he felt unprecedented pressure. The moment the heavy sky curtain appeared, it caused his state of mind to fluctuate violently.
However, no matter how forcefully he exerted himself, the power of the bronze cauldron, when it struck the sky curtain, vanished instantaneously, dissolving silently like snow on a bonfire.
"One sword shatters all techniques" was not merely a boast, nor a slogan to boost morale.
With the Xuantian Sword Intent flowing, all spells seemed to lose their effect, being dismantled and even collapsing and dissipating upon approach.
Even powerful spiritual artifacts could not unleash much of their might.
Just like the bronze cauldron controlled by the chief of the Liuhuo Bandits, its might was no less than that of an ordinary magic treasure. With just one strike, it had nearly gravely injured Ji Yuan.
Yet now, as the bronze cauldron's power neared the sky curtain erected by the Xuantian Sword Intent, it vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.
"Third brother, retreat quickly!"
At the same moment, the chief shouted in alarm.
He could no longer maintain his previous indifference and composure, his eyes filled with anxiety.
Hearing this, the third chief of the Liuhuo Bandits immediately tried to stop his charge and retreat backward with all his might.
However, the moment the sky curtain rose, this world seemed to be frozen. Terrifying pressure came from all directions, preventing him from moving even an inch.
Even the spiritual energy within his body was almost completely stagnant!
The third chief roared, and boundless fire light surged from within him, his aura suddenly increasing significantly.
Clearly, this person had used some kind of secret technique, a desperate measure.
However, as the crimson bead before him stirred, raising a scorching sea of fire and attempting to break through the sky curtain that solidified this space, a white jade flying sword had already arrived.
It existed within the world, yet seemed to traverse the void, existing between the ethereal and the real, emitting a profoundly mystical aura.
"Burn everything!"
The third chief grunted, unleashing his secret technique to its limit.
At the cost of depleting his potential and burning his true essence, he briefly ascended to the middle stage of the third realm, just one step away from the late stage.
The crimson bead descended, and the endless sea of fire pressed down.
His skin turned crimson, his pupils were filled with bloodshot veins, and his aura surged to an unprecedented level, as if he could truly burn everything!
But at this moment, Ji Yuan suddenly revealed a smile. The sword seal in his hand changed abruptly, and his life-bound flying sword completely vanished into the void.
When the flying sword reappeared, it was in the sky above, towering over the bronze cauldron and the crimson bead.
"Descend!"
He softly chanted, and the sky curtain reflected in his eyes immediately fell with the life-bound flying sword.
And descending with it was the bronze cauldron, enveloped by the sky curtain, and the immense power unleashed by the crimson bead!
"Not good!"
The chief of the Liuhuo Bandits cried out in alarm and anger. At this moment, he finally understood the opponent's intention.
This person didn't intend to kill them, but to use their strength to shatter the peak of Jiulang Mountain!
That's right!
From the very beginning, Ji Yuan had no intention of killing the third chief. Everything he did was to provoke the two of them to unleash their full power!
And then, with their combined strength, they would utterly shatter this mountain peak!
Since the formation core was protected by a magical artifact, and his own strength was insufficient to break it, he would simply shatter the mountain body that bore the formation!
RUMBLE!!!
In the next moment, all the power, under the sky curtain, finally descended upon the mountain below!
A thunderous roar immediately filled the sky, countless rocks shattered, and the entire body of Jiulang Mountain cracked open!
Terrifying power erupted, and a blinding light, resembling a miniature sun, suddenly rose from the mountaintop. Where its light shone, even the void distorted and finally collapsed.
Concurrently, two figures shot into the sky, moving at top speed away from the mountaintop.
They were precisely the chief of the Liuhuo Bandits and the third chief, whose aura was rapidly weakening.
Even the former's aura was swiftly declining. As the formation continued to crumble, his cultivation plummeted from the late third realm back to the middle third realm.
Furthermore, the backlash from the formation caused his face to turn pale, and a trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Not good!"
The chief seemed to sense something. His heart throbbed wildly, and he suddenly rushed towards the third chief in the distance.
However, he was still a step too late. Halfway through his charge, he saw a figure silently appear behind the third chief.
"Third brother! Be careful!"
He hurriedly issued a warning, but as soon as his voice rose, a sword light flashed!
In the blink of an eye, a large amount of blood splattered into the air. Under the flash of sword light, a head flew straight up, its face still bearing an expression of disbelief.
It seemed that until he was beheaded, he still hadn't understood what had happened.
Finally, wisps of sword qi emerged, instantly shredding the head and body into nothingness!