"Fellow Daoist Hong Yin..."
"You're going to tie him down yourself..."
As soon as Hong Yin's voice fell, the surprised and uncertain voices of the Great Elder and Yan San echoed in their minds.
The short-haired, black-robed man had already taken a step forward. Wan Qingshe, who had likely received his voice transmission, transformed into a streak of white light and quickly flew backward, soon putting some distance between them.
It seemed the short-haired, black-robed man also knew that without being able to fully utilize his Spirit Transformation cultivation, he couldn't quickly deal with the combined forces of several peak Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Hong Yin said no more. She was much like Li Yan; when it was time to act, she was unwilling to waste words.
Li Yan also said nothing and immediately charged forward, but he gave Hong Yin a deep look.
'She was once a Spirit Transformation cultivator. Even if her realm has fallen, she still has extremely powerful trump cards. Either she can use a secret art that surpasses her own realm, or her understanding of the laws of heaven and earth is still preserved in her heart, which is why she is confident she can tie down the opponent. In terms of past strength, Hong Yin's realm was a level higher than this Spirit Transformation cultivator before me. Now that she has recovered her physical body, her cultivation is definitely not as simple as that of an ordinary Late-stage Nascent Soul...' Li Yan thought quickly.
The moment Hong Yin flew out, holding her spear in one hand, she tapped her other hand between her eyebrows, and red lotus flowers flew out, eighty-one of them in total. The moment these lotuses flew out, they immediately scattered a sky full of yellow light.
With a "whoosh... whoosh..." sound, flames appeared on these lotuses. In an instant, this part of the world was filled with a scorching heat.
Everyone felt their breathing become stifled, and streams of fire appeared between their mouths and noses. The figures of each other also became distorted.
"You don't know life from death!"
The sudden change made even the short-haired, black-robed man's breathing become labored for a moment. But if it was just this, it couldn't affect his magical power fluctuations in the slightest.
He waved his sleeve seemingly casually, and four streaks of white light shot out like swimming fish, vanishing in a flash as they slashed towards the four people. But in the next moment, the short-haired, black-robed man's expression changed.
The four flying swords he had sent out were actually entangled by invisible threads just as they were about to slash at the four people. And those threads were caused by the high temperature between the red lotuses that filled the sky.
After the high temperature appeared, it seemed as if they responded to each other. Amidst the flickering flames, the high temperature they emitted created threads of connection, forming a Buddhist-light world.
'This... this is the "Law of Karma"? Are those invisible, untouchable things the Threads of Karma? This is impossible! This is a power of law that only Spirit Transformation cultivators can comprehend. If she had comprehended it, she should have already broken through to the Spirit Transformation realm, but her aura is clearly only that of a Late-stage Nascent Soul...'
The moment he felt the power of those threads, a tempest raged in the short-haired, black-robed man's heart. Although the swords he had unleashed did not have the true power of the Spirit Transformation stage, they contained his Law of Wind.
The opponent either had to block it head-on or counter it with the power of other laws. But the former would definitely result in a great loss, or even death.
But this time, the opponent once again did not meet it head-on, but countered with skillful force. And it was just one Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator who had acted. How could she have comprehended this level of law?
No matter how he looked at it, the short-haired, black-robed man felt that the sky full of red lotuses the other party had unleashed was particularly similar to the Buddhist sect's "Law of Karma."
And just as he was in a daze, two attacks had already arrived. The Great Elder's palm spun and led, and with a palm strike, a beastly roar that seemed to come from ancient times resounded through heaven and earth.
A figure of a Qiongqi instantly shot out. This was originally a phantom created by a divine ability, but at this moment, it had already become semi-transparent, its entire body having solidified by more than half.
As the Qiongqi roared, one could even see the air it exhaled and the trembling of the muscles in its throat, clearly visible, shaking heaven and earth.
In an instant, the Qiongqi's figure was behind the short-haired, black-robed man. It opened its bloody maw and, with its cold, sharp teeth, bit down on his neck!
Two black feathers automatically detached from behind Yan San's ears. The moment they detached, the bases of the two feathers connected, and with a squirm, a thick smell of blood appeared on the two feathers.
"Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!..."
The black feathers instantly stood up, and in an instant, they transformed into a "Wind Goose Beast" clad in steel armor. This beast was only a foot in size, and on its hooked eagle beak, a black, glossy light flashed and disappeared on its tip.
Its eyes were a blazing white, like a bird of death from the nine netherworlds. As it spread its wings, they were like two sharp blades cutting through space, and wherever they passed, ripples appeared in the space.
Its speed was extremely fast, and in an instant, it was behind the short-haired, black-robed man. The white light in its eyes flared again, and it pecked fiercely at the short-haired, black-robed man's back.
"Crack!"
"Ding!"
The short-haired, black-robed man felt the attack coming from behind, but he did not turn around. His eyes, however, glowed with a strange light as he stared at the red lotuses filling the sky around him.
He carefully sensed it again. This nun's cultivation was indeed at the peak of a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.
'This person's aptitude is extraordinary. She must have relied on her heaven-sent talent to comprehend a trace of the Buddhist "Rule of Karma," but she is unable to use it at will. She can only use it indirectly through the power of other divine abilities. This greatly reduces the power of this rule, retaining only about ten percent of the "Rule of Karma's" power...'
The short-haired, black-robed man was somewhat surprised by the origin of this somewhat voluptuous nun. He should have known of a Buddhist master of such strength. But when he thought of Li Yan's origin, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
'The Tianli Clan actually knows so many experts from other realms. My previous considerations were indeed somewhat incomplete. I thought that after they lost their Great Sacrificial Priest, I could manipulate them as I pleased... but since things have come to this...'
Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in the short-haired, black-robed man's eyes. If the Tianli Clan hadn't been in peace talks with the Wind Beasts, he probably wouldn't have made a move against them in the short term. After all, there was no reason.
As for whether to have peace talks with the Wind Beasts, the opinions of the few Spirit Transformation cultivators were not unified. He was the one most against it, and his reason was that the Wind Beasts were taking the opportunity to strengthen their race, and one should not nurture a tiger to become a future threat.
Another Spirit Transformation cultivator who shared his opinion was still hesitant because he had some friendship with the former Great Sacrificial Priest of the Tianli Clan, so he had not yet made his position clear, but he did agree with his own attitude.
That Spirit Transformation cultivator also hated the Wind Beasts, but with the opposition of the other Spirit Transformation cultivators, they couldn't forcibly issue a decree for all the sects on the Wind God Continent to follow.
However, the "Sword-Washing Sect" had always advertised itself as exterminating demons and defending the Dao, so the short-haired, black-robed man had still decided to make an example of the Tianli Clan, the first to have peace talks with the Wind Beasts.
On one hand, he was thinking of trying to use the Tianli Clan as a test case, then kill the three clans of Wind Beasts here, and then probe the true bottom line of the other Spirit Transformation cultivators.
Another point was that he wanted to obtain the Tianli Clan's cultivation resources, especially their cultivation methods, and this was also a good reason.
But he knew that he couldn't directly wipe out the entire Tianli Clan. This would arouse the hostility of the other Spirit Transformation cultivators, so he needed to take down the Tianli Clan first.
At worst, he would share the Tianli Clan's various resources with them, or share a part of the territory. Anyway, no one really cared about a clan or sect without a Spirit Transformation cultivator.
What they cared about was whether they got what they deserved. On this continent, it was still up to the few of them to make the decisions.
This time he came out, he had used a secret art to conceal his sect, only revealing a trace of his clone's aura, while his true body came in person.
Because the Tianli Clan had many Nascent Soul cultivators, and he also had to slaughter the three clans of Wind Beasts, all of this had to be completed in a very short time.
Otherwise, sending other cultivators from the "Sword-Washing Sect" would turn it into a major war, and possibly a protracted one.
The Tianli Clan here had the Wind Beasts as allies, and his own sect was far away.
As long as he couldn't kill or capture all of the opponent's Nascent Soul cultivators in the first instance, it would become very tricky, and everyone's eyes would be on this place.
His secret art of concealment also had its flaws, and it required the support of two drops of his Essence Blood. This had already weakened his true body's combat power considerably.
He estimated that he could only fool that fifth-rank "Skyfire Beast" for about three hours. He had used the "Sword Spirit Crossing the Void" grand divine ability to cross over in such a short time.
Now, more than half the time had passed. He could only stay here for about another quarter of an hour. The remaining hour and a half was needed to quickly fly back to his sect.
As these thoughts flashed through the short-haired, black-robed man's mind, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his Divine Soul.
At this moment, on one of the flying swords entangled by Hong Yin's Threads of Karma, a black talisman had appeared and slammed into it. It was Li Yan, who had acted after them.
"Soul-Tugging Execution." This was the secret art he had unleashed with all his might after reaching the Late-stage Nascent Soul.
While Hong Yin and the other two were attacking with all their might, Li Yan had quickly inscribed a "Black Water Talisman" within his sleeve.
This talisman was at least twice as large as before, and the runes on it were clearer, revealing a soul-capturing, profound light.
Then, with a flick of his hand, he had struck one of the flying swords that had been slowed down by the high temperature.
The entire process of Li Yan's attack was silent and without a trace. Even his figure had become somewhat blurry, truly like a ghost, making it easy to overlook his presence. This was precisely the fighting style that Li Yan preferred.
The moment the black talisman collided with the other party, a strange change occurred. The black iron hook that had been hanging inside the talisman suddenly jerked upwards.
Immediately, the short-haired, black-robed man, who was just about to deal with Hong Yin, suddenly saw his eyes widen, and he let out a painful groan.
He felt as if the "Human Soul" among his three huns was about to be forcefully torn out from his complete soul by a great force.
Even he could not suppress this kind of pain. He had not experienced such excruciating pain for a long time. Subconsciously, the powerful soul power and magical power in his body erupted simultaneously.
In an instant, he had forcefully suppressed the soul that was about to be torn out.
'Damn it, this is a divine soul secret art!'
This was the thought that came to the short-haired, black-robed man's mind. But the moment his magical power and divine soul were in turmoil, a sudden sense of dread rose from the bottom of his heart again.