「They're fighting!」
In the distance, Liu Yue, who was leading Su Mei away, suddenly turned her gaze toward your direction, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.
She could sense that right now, you weren't relying on the Talisman Sword she'd given you—and yet the combat power you were unleashing was on par with a true Heavenly Being, if not stronger.
A power this terrifying—even the late Ghost Doctor Venerable would've been doomed if he'd faced you head-on, with zero chance of survival.
「Brother Sun! I'm going to help Brother Sun!」 Su Mei suddenly struggled, trying to break free and rush to your aid, only to be knocked unconscious by Liu Yue without a shred of mercy.
「With your half-baked Cursed Eye, you might stand a chance against a run-of-the-mill Heavenly Being, but taking on that guy? That's a fool's errand. You'd only be getting in the way.」
「That kid's tougher than you think. Add my Talisman Sword to the mix, and he'll hold his own for a while. Once he's inside the mountains, someone will protect him.」
.....
BOOM!
You'd gone all out—you were certain that even a regular Heavenly Being would've been one-shotted, with absolutely no way to survive.
But what happened next defied all your expectations.
CRACK!
The ice-fire dragon was suddenly torn apart by a streak of bloodlight, reduced to countless shards of ice and embers that scattered in all directions.
The robed figure wearing the Asura mask reappeared before you, his body completely shrouded in the blood-red robe. Aside from a bit of dust, he didn't have a single scratch on him...
「Looks like I underestimated you. No wonder that useless hack Ghost Doctor died so quietly. No wonder that woman stuck by your side all this time...」
Your eyes narrowed sharply. You'd poured every ounce of strength into that attack, yet you hadn't managed to injure him even slightly. This opponent was far beyond your ability to defeat—strategic retreat was the only option.
「With all these tricks up your sleeve, you could've taken down just about anyone else...」 Suddenly, the robed man's voice rang out from behind you.
Oh no!
You activated Supreme Mode in the blink of an eye, your mind transcending mortal limits. Your body twisted unnaturally as you unleashed the Vast Tyrant Dragon Fist, shrouded in a blizzard of cold air, and met a massive blood-colored palm head-on!
SPLURT!
Your right arm crumpled instantly, and you were sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into the ground and embedding yourself deep into the dirt.
One of your Profound Yin Mirrors was wrenched from your grasp by the robed man.
「Hmph. To detect my Blood Escape Technique in advance and mount a counterattack—your battle instincts are impressively sharp.」 The robed man sounded genuinely surprised.
He'd originally intended to shatter your spine with that palm strike, but you'd reinforced your fist with the Profound Yin Mirror, meeting his attack head-on and blocking the killing blow.
But when he glanced down at the crater where you'd landed, he found that you'd vanished without a trace yet again.
「That vanishing trick again? Heh.」 The robed man let out a cold laugh, as if he'd seen right through its flaws. He instantly expanded his Blood Domain, covering every inch of the surrounding area.
Countless drops of blood rain materialized out of thin air, transforming into blood spikes that shot forth in an indiscriminate hail of attacks.
When it came to battle acumen, this robed man outclassed Ghost Doctor Venerable by more than a hundredfold.
SPLASH!
Even with your You Can't See Me ability active, your expression shifted slightly. You had no choice but to activate your last remaining Profound Yin Mirror, conjuring a towering wall of ice to block the onslaught...
「Found you!」
CRASH!
The ice wall shattered. A streak of bloodlight pierced through the debris, and a right arm clad in blood-red armor tore through your chest in an instant, clamping down on your Supreme Imperial Bone as if it would yank the bone straight out of your body...
In less than a few heartbeats, you'd been pushed to the brink of death.
Beneath the Asura mask, the robed man's face twisted into a ferocious grin. His pair of sinister blood-red eyes locked onto yours, eager to see the look of despair and agony on your face. 「Little bastard, feel the pain...」
But the next second, his vicious crimson eyes froze.
Because in your eyes, there was none of the pain or despair he'd expected—only absolute calm, and a hint of mocking triumph, like you'd just pulled off the perfect scheme.
SNAP!
Ignoring the gaping hole in your chest and your bone being crushed in his grip, a surge of bone-chilling cold suddenly erupted from your body, freezing the robed man's arm solid. In your right hand, the Talisman Sword Liu Yue had given you had appeared out of nowhere, pointed directly at him.
You detonated the Talisman Sword without hesitation.
「Sword! Come forth!」
BOOM!
A blinding sword light exploded outward. For a fleeting moment, the faint silhouette of a graceful woman could be seen, wielding a sword that sliced through the air with a terrifying chill capable of annihilating all things—hurtling straight toward the robed man, who was just inches away.
「A Heavenly Being Sword Cultivator!」
A scream of terror tore from the robed man's throat.
Sword cultivators were already feared for their unmatched destructive power—and Heavenly Being Sword Cultivators were reputed to be invincible among those of the same realm.
A full-powered strike from a Heavenly Being Sword Cultivator at such close range—even at his peak, he wouldn't have dared to block it head-on. Now, he didn't even have time to dodge!
In that instant, he finally realized the truth: from the very beginning, you'd been planning a suicide trade.
RIP!
The terrifying frigid sword qi sliced through the robed man's right arm in an instant, along with half his neck. A fountain of blood erupted from the wounds, and threads of sword qi burrowed into his bones, searing him from the inside out...
This sudden, devastating injury wracked him with agony—but it also unleashed his feral rage.
He was confident that even half crippled, he could still kill you without breaking a sweat.
You raised the now-powerless Talisman Sword in your hand, pointing it at him again as if you were about to detonate another one. 「Sword...」
「AAAGH!!!」
The robed man was scared out of his wits, letting out a pained grunt of terror. He didn't hesitate for a second—he discarded his severed arm and fled into the distance in a streak of bloodlight.
As he vanished, his vengeful roar echoed behind him. 「You little bastard! I swear I'll hunt you down and make you pay!」
THUD!
You clutched the robed man's severed arm and the powerless Talisman Sword in your hand. The gaping hole in your chest oozed blood relentlessly, and you collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath, on the verge of death.
The power of the Nine Steps to Treading the Heavens began to fade, and your cultivation realm plummeted rapidly—from Half-Step Heavenly Being all the way back to Mountains and Rivers Realm in the blink of an eye...
You'd won this battle.
But it had cost you nearly your life. It had taken the power of the Talisman Sword to sever his arm, and even then, you'd only managed to scare him off with the useless hilt. Calling it a narrow victory was an understatement.
This was by far the toughest fight of your life. You'd laid all your cards on the table and still couldn't injure him. In the end, you'd only prevailed thanks to borrowed power and a stroke of luck.
「I never thought that bastard would be this strong. If it weren't for the Talisman Sword Liu Yue gave me, I would've definitely bitten the dust in this villain simulation.」
A fierce glint flickered in Sun Qian's eyes as he stared intently at everything unfolding inside the Villain Simulator, silently breathing a sigh of relief...