Feng Jiuge had barely finished one defiant retort when the fierce winds around her seemed to intensify. That crushing pressure, like a massive boulder hurtling down, grew explosive and rampant, devastating everything in its path.
“Pfft—”
A large mouthful of scarlet blood sprayed out like a mist, soaking into the man’s ink-black robes, its red hue growing ever more bewitching beneath the moonlight.
Yun Aotian sensed the change behind him. His expression turned severe, his thin lips pressing into a tight line as he abruptly erupted with an intense, violent aura, fierce and savage. “Pull back and protect yourself!”
His right hand swept up, and that blue long whip arced through the air with a silver light that illuminated the heavens, accompanied by biting, gale-force winds. Like a chain extending from the sky itself, carrying the wild fury of thunder and lightning, it shot forth at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye, piercing straight toward the eye of the Tian Yuan Array at its highest point!
“Boom—”
A brief, thunderous roar, like the angry howl of an ancient divine beast breaking free from its shackles.
“Break!” With a roar, the purple sphere enveloping them exploded like brilliant fireworks during a festival, blooming into a beautiful shape in the air in an instant, dazzling and bright.
The shockwave of qi rippled outward, forcing the nine black-clad men to stagger backward. Eyes that had been expressionless from the very beginning now revealed looks of terror.
“No… impossible! With your current cultivation, you fundamentally cannot summon Punishment Thunder!”
“Hmph. This Venerable One is here—what is impossible!” An arrogant and overbearing voice accompanied the blue long whip as it danced wildly through the air, like a savage beast baring its fangs and spreading its bloody jaws wide, ready at any moment to devour all insignificant enemies.
The nine black-clad men retreated in unison, yet Yun Aotian did not press the attack. Instead, he instantly withdrew and swept to Feng Jiuge’s side.
“Give me the ring!”
His low voice carried an urgency, as if chasing after stars and moons.
Feng Jiuge lifted her eyes to look at Yun Aotian. The colors in his eyes shifted, gradually being consumed by a demonic red-black mist. And his body was like the glacial cold of a snowy mountain peak assailing him; the surface had frozen into a thin layer of ice, and upon moving, one could hear the sound of ice shattering across his skin.
Those black-clad men were right. He truly could not summon Punishment Thunder again. That strike just now had already overdrawn all of his power.
Feng Jiuge immediately reached out to pull off the ring, yet that previous joke had unexpectedly become reality at this very moment. The ring was stuck on her hand, truly impossible to remove!
Damn it!
Here, the ring was still stuck on her finger; there, the black-clad men had already reacted. Yun Aotian’s aura abruptly withdrew after that single strike, and those with discerning eyes instantly understood the general situation. After all, they were people accustomed to judging strength through slaughter and battle—in this fight, either you die or I die, and their attacks grew increasingly desperate and reckless.
With a grasp at the empty air, a peerless weapon instantly appeared in each of the black-clad men’s hands, perfectly suited to their grasp. A majestic great blade wreathed in purple qi, magnificent enough to move mountains and rivers. A bright silver spear with plain tassels flickering with purple light, bringing wind and rain in its wake…
Heaven and earth dimmed; winds whirled and clouds surged.
The blood threads in Feng Jiuge’s eyes grew denser. The intense pressure behind her was like a massive vortex, constantly pulling her toward that dangerous center.
She bit down hard, steeled her heart, and raised the knife in her right hand, about to bring it down!
“Have you gone mad!”
His red-black eyes surged with boundless killing intent, that furious roar shaking the nine heavens.
Feng Jiuge stared blankly for half a second at Yun Aotian’s hand gripping the blade of the Soul-Annihilating Knife, then hurriedly pulled the blade away. Lifting her eyes, she cast him a deep glance, her voice neither warm nor cold: “Mind your own business!”
Losing a finger to protect herself was still far better than losing her entire life here.