However, that respite lasted for only a few breaths.
Since the enemies could not break Gu Li's inscribed talisman barrier, they could still capture Ye Feng and the others!
Lu Hengtian and Zhu Ying's original mission had been precisely to capture the three of them.
No matter who did it, so long as they took any one of Ye Feng, Cao Yan, or Xiao Chen hostage, Li Guanqi's temperament meant he would rush to the rescue heedless of all consequences!
In an instant, the three became the prime target of everyone present.
Xiao Chen's expression darkened. Pitted against cultivators of higher cultivation realms than his own, he was soon hard-pressed just to defend himself.
Wounds multiplied across his body, yet Xiao Chen gritted his teeth and held his ground without a word.
In this respect, he could not match Ye Feng. The lethality Ye Feng could unleash at present surpassed both his and Cao Yan's.
Gradually, Cao Yan was also reduced to strained defense.
Dodging several ferocious attacks, faint flames flickered underfoot as his speed surged.
Cao Yan's fist techniques were sweeping and grand, bearing a momentum that seemed capable of crushing mountains.
Even with a considerable disparity in cultivation realms, no one dared lightly take a punch from him.
The might of the Purple Dragon Thunder Flame was no joke; once tainted by its power, putting out those flames was agonizingly difficult.
Ye Feng swept a chilling gaze across the surrounding battlefield and shouted in a low voice, "Gu Li! Stop fucking hiding inside! Come out and greet the guests!!"
Whoosh!
Gu Li was obedient enough, flashing out of the barrier just in time to seize Xiao Chen by the collar and haul him back.
A burst of jet-black flame abruptly erupted where Xiao Chen had stood an instant earlier.
Xiao Chen flew backward, eyeing the black fire with lingering dread. "Thanks!"
Right after, Ye Feng's voice rang out again: "Fourth brother, take one side opposite Jiuxiao, back-to-back—Jiuxiao can attack too!"
"Third brother, watch your back!"
Slash!
Cao Yan shifted several zhang sideways, a moderately deep gash opening across his back.
Hummm!
Gu Li's immense divine sense instantly expanded across tens of thousands of zhang. With his divine sense shared among them, they were no longer fighting isolated battles.
The moment a thought stirred in any one of them, the others understood what to do in that very instant.
For a time, through Ye Feng and his companions alone, they forcefully held Sha's assassins at bay a thousand zhang away.
Meng Wanshu stood alone where she was, dharma artifacts and magic treasures shining with dazzling radiance around her, firmly trapping two Wang-tier assassins in place.
The battle across the field had reached a fever pitch; both sides knew little time remained.
The struggle inside would likely be decided before long. If they failed to capture Li Guanqi alive right now, they would probably never get another chance.
As Cao Yan fought on, he noticed that Ye Feng grew fiercer the longer the battle dragged on.
Amidst flickering sword gleams, Ye Feng wielded his sword with one hand, exuding a momentum that seemed capable of uprooting mountains and rivers!
The arm swinging the longsword was extraordinarily powerful—the ghost hand.
Cao Yan's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam as an immense mental force poured forth like an overwhelming tide.
The moment this power emerged, it gave Gu Li quite a shock. He glanced at Cao Yan with unfathomable astonishment.
Although this was not the first time he had sensed Cao Yan's mental force, he was still shaken by the man's innately flawless sea of consciousness.
Cao Yan narrowed his eyes, finally detecting that something was not quite right.
From the pitch-black void, wisps of demonic qi were actually being absorbed into the ghost hand.
At first, Cao Yan had not thought much of it; he knew the power of Ye Feng's arm belonged to the Abyss Demon genus.
Yet Ye Feng had forged a contract with that Abyss Demon spirit, and with the deterrent of Li Guanqi's Spirit Absolution, Cao Yan had never worried that Ye Feng would lose control.
Now, however, the situation could not help but make him uneasy.
To his perception, the black demonic qi seeping out of the void was extraordinarily pure.
Its purity surpassed even the aura radiating from all the Wang-tier assassins present.
Cao Yan could not hold back from sending a voice transmission: "Second Brother, be careful!"
Ye Feng was locked in combat with a red-robed assassin at that moment, but he took Cao Yan's warning to heart.
He knew Cao Yan would never caution him about such things without good reason.
Golden light flared beneath Ye Feng's feet as he fell back repeatedly, trying to regroup with Cao Yan and the others.
Suddenly!
Several majestic sword gleams slashed out from the flank.
Slash!
Ye Feng checked his momentum, golden light flashing underfoot as he shifted sideways over a hundred zhang!
Two assassins flanked him from the left and right, trapping him between them, and Ye Feng instantly felt the pressure mount drastically.
Yet he only grew bolder and fiercer the more he fought, as though an inexhaustible reservoir of power was erupting from within him.
Perhaps because the demonic qi pervading the surroundings was so dense, the power of the ghost hand repeatedly broke past its limits, bursting with tremendous might.
The battle raged for about the time an incense stick takes to burn. Jiuxiao was drenched in blood from head to tail, its eyes considerably dimmed.
Gu Li's consumption of inscribed talismans multiplied exponentially, and the storage rings on his hands were nearly depleted to the point of breaking.
Meng Wanshu, flitting about with her sword as she fought alone, was also nearing her limit.
The magic treasures orbiting her shattered one after another.
No matter how formidable these magic treasures were, they could never truly substitute for a cultivator's own power. Pushed beyond their limits, they shattered naturally.
Every one of them bore wounds, differing only in the severity of their injuries.
Had it not been for Meng Jiangchu's power establishing a domain that suppressed their foes, they would have fallen long ago.
A thought struck Ye Feng, and he barked coldly, "Wrap the heavenly flames around everyone's weapons!"
Boom!
Four-colored flames descended with a roar upon everyone, especially the Five Yang Ghost Fire!
In an instant, the exhaustion weighing upon the group began to recede, enabling them to fight the enemy to a standstill once more.
Boom!
Gu Li's eyes brightened, and Jiuxiao abruptly uncoiled its massive body, rearing up in a spiral!
Roar!
Terrifying shockwaves rippled outward as a white-robed figure stepped forth slowly upon crackling lightning.
Li Guanqi's eyes were clear and bright, lightning coursing around him, the Red Lotus sword in hand.
With a sweep of his gaze across the field, he took full grasp of the overall situation. He instantly assumed command from Ye Feng, ordering everyone to pull their strength inward.
At the same time...
Hummm!
A faint purple gleam flashed. Just as Gu Li was about to speak, he discovered that Li Guanqi had already vanished from his side.
Flash!
A wisp of purple lightning as thin as a hair flickered faintly behind Meng Wanshu. In the next instant, a handsome face appeared directly before the red-robed figure.
Li Guanqi murmured softly, "Demon Shadow Slash: Dark Night."
The void across a hundred li plunged into sudden darkness!
Four-colored flames abruptly wrapped around Li Guanqi's blade, and a dazzling sword gleam detonated in an instant!
Boom!
Mid Body Integration Realm!
Tempestuous sword intent poured forth as Li Guanqi, draped in purple lightning armor, stood proud with longsword in hand.
Sword light brimming with destructive might lanced out ten thousand zhang. Clutching a large severed head, Li Guanqi violently ripped out the soul and hurled it into the thunder tower.
Li Guanqi teleported behind Meng Wanshu and asked softly, "Are you alright?"
Meng Wanshu shook her head, her bright, beautiful eyes fixed on him in disbelief as she whispered, "Third tier of spirit comprehension?"
Li Guanqi nodded. With tacit understanding, the two charged as one at the red-robed assassin before them!
Chapter 924