Every strike of the tempestuous sword light was imbued with terrifying might.
Faced with two opponents whose strength faintly surpassed his own, even Li Changqing struggled to hold his ground as their longswords flashed unpredictably in a flurry of blades.
Li Changqing stood alone against the two, while the three behind him flanked the skirmish, watching for an opening.
The two branch clan heads of the Lu clan grew increasingly alarmed as the clash wore on.
It was understandable that Li Changqing, as a member of the Meng clan, possessed formidable strength, but these three youths in the late Void Refining Realm were by no means to be trifled with, either.
At this moment, the three seemed bound by an unspoken understanding, holding back their full might. None of them unleashed the power of their spirit ruins, their respective concept intents, or their higher-tier secret techniques.
A delicate balance had formed between the two sides, neither able to overcome the other.
Yet just as the stalemate dragged on, the white-haired Li Changqing suddenly erupted!
His sword momentum swept out in broad, sweeping arcs, carrying the desperate resolve to trade wounds for lives!
Boom! Boom!
With eyes blazing in fury, Li Changqing ignored the lacerations tearing open across his body. Raising a hand to form seals, he let out a thunderous roar.
"Imperial Dragon Incantation!"
Boom!
A phantom golden dragon a hundred zhang long roared toward the heavens, its massive frame charging straight at the two men like a towering mountain!
The two black-robed men felt their hearts tighten at the sight; the might of such a secret technique was not to be taken lightly. Hurriedly pulling their swords back into defensive stances, they joined forces to slash out dozens of consecutive sword lights.
Li Changqing's aura plummeted sharply; this Imperial Dragon Incantation had depleted a considerable amount of his primal energy.
Catching the old man's gaze as if sharing a single thought, Ye Feng barked a voice transmission.
"Focus your power and blast this boundary apart with Elder Li!"
Boom!
Sure enough, the instant Li Changqing unleashed the Imperial Dragon Incantation to pin the two down, he threw his head back and slashed out a hundred-zhang ribbon of sword light!
"Bright Moon Heart-Homeward Slash!"
Boom!
The power of Ye Feng's ghost hand unsealed instantly, turning one of his eyes blood-red. Gripping the Nu Sha sword and locking onto the exact spot Li Changqing was striking, Ye Feng coiled like a hunting leopard and abruptly teleported over a hundred zhang!
"Tiger's Roar: Mountain Cleaver!"
Roar!
A resonant tiger's roar resounded as a fierce beast seemed to leap toward the firmament from within the magnificent golden sword light.
Cao Yan paused for a fraction of a breath, twisting his body as his paired gauntlets smashed upward into the sky!
"Firmament Shatterer: Thousand-Layer Waves!"
Boom!
Two massive fiery fist projections burst forth. The surging, layered waves of flame heightened the momentum of his strike, shattering the surrounding space wherever the fist force traveled.
Xiao Chen's expression remained grim. He knew Li Changqing was in dire straits fighting two foes at once; this was likely the only opportunity the old man could create for them!
The spear in his grip trembled faintly, its crimson markings glowing with subdued light.
Holding the spear with both hands, Xiao Chen shifted his footing in an evasive art, soaring rapidly toward the dome above.
As the spear spun through the air, its momentum condensed continuously until he thrust it out with explosive force alongside Ye Feng and the others!
"Great Heavenly Armillary Spear!"
Boom!
Several attacks slammed toward the firmament almost simultaneously!
The two from the Lu clan noticed it at once, but how could Li Changqing's Imperial Dragon Incantation—cast at the cost of nearly thirty percent of his primal energy—be so easily cast aside?
Veins bulged across the old man's forehead, his face flushed as he roared, "Break for me!"
Yet the moment the attacks were about to strike the overhead boundary, a violent explosion erupted from within the golden dragon.
A burst of blood mist scattered, and a dark shadow broke free at blinding speed. Appearing high above, the figure raised a hand and unleashed a terrifyingly lethal wave of sword qi.
That sword intent of the Sword Heart Realm soared into the clouds. The pupils of all four men contracted sharply; they had never expected the enemy would willingly take grievous injuries just to keep them from escaping!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions rang out. Li Changqing teleported up to the firmament, raising his hand once more to unleash another Imperial Dragon Incantation. The golden dragon slammed the black-robed man backward, surging straight toward the dome!
Boom! Crack, crack, crack!
The moment fragments of the barrier drifted down, an irresistible spatial shifting force enveloped the three youths. In that shifting expanse, the old man prepared to cast them out beyond the boundary.
Yet at that critical juncture, Ye Feng saw the other black-robed man appear right behind the elder!
Xiao Chen's voice rang in Ye Feng's ear: "Watch your back!"
At the same time, the primal energy within Xiao Chen surged as he attempted to tear free from the elder's shifting force.
Ye Feng glanced toward the other black-robed figure, who was already preparing to seal the domain once more. The torn opening behind the three was knitting back together at high speed...
In the blink of an eye, Ye Feng made his choice!
With a thrust of his palm, he threw Cao Yan and Xiao Chen backward, hurling them out of the domain!
"Second Brother!"
Cao Yan reached out to grab Ye Feng's robes and drag him along, but Ye Feng had already darted back toward the interior of the domain without a hint of hesitation.
Xiao Chen watched with bloodshot eyes as Ye Feng's resolute voice reached their ears.
"Return to the sect at once! I will definitely come back!"
Whoosh! Boom!
The boundary snapped shut.
Cast out into the void, Cao Yan and Xiao Chen stood frozen in place, their divine sense unable to locate the enemy's boundary dharma artifact at all!
A supreme pressure suddenly erupted from within Xiao Chen. His black hair flew wildly in the air, and in an instant, She Shen took on its savage Apocalypse form.
Gripping She Shen, Xiao Chen thrust his spear straight into the void!
Boom!
The void splintered, and the expanse for a thousand zhang around trembled violently, yet nothing emerged.
Just as he was about to strike again, a large hand clamped down firmly onto his spear!
"Third Brother! What is the meaning of this!"
Gritting his teeth, Cao Yan stared at Xiao Chen and said in a heavy voice, "There are only four shichen left before the wager tournament begins!"
Xiao Chen threw off Cao Yan's hand and roared, "So what?!
"Second Brother is still inside! Elder Li is inside too!
"The two of them are facing two old monsters at the early Body Integration Realm! Their lives are on the line, and you're still worrying about that?!
"Saving them is our priority!"
Even as he spoke, Xiao Chen relayed word of what had occurred to Meng Jiangchu and demanded that experts of the Xiao clan rush to their aid immediately.
Slap!
Cao Yan struck Xiao Chen across the face. A red handprint flared up, leaving Xiao Chen completely stunned.
He had never imagined that Cao Yan, who usually looked like a frail scholar, would ever strike him.
Primal energy surged through Cao Yan as his dark eyes bore into Xiao Chen. His voice shook with anger.
"Four shichen!
"The teleportation passage is destroyed! We have to run back with everything we have!
"If we don't make it back... Boss will have to take the first fight! And once Boss steps into the first fight...
"The Great Xia Sword Sect will lose!"
Cao Yan paused, his voice turning bitterly cold.
"You think you're the only one worried about Second Brother?
"I'm telling you, I care about him more than you do!
"Because he's my Second Brother too—the brother who risked his own life back then just to save my miserable, worthless skin!
"But hear this: right now, we must go back!"
Furious, Xiao Chen found Cao Yan's words absurd and shouted back, "Then why are you stopping me from going back to help?!"
Cao Yan pointed straight at Xiao Chen's face, his voice chillingly stern.
"Because I understand Second Brother better than you do! Compared to our worry and us turning back to save him...
"If the Great Xia Sword Sect loses... he will never forgive us for the rest of his life!"
Chapter 785