"Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Zhang appears to be surrounded. Aren't you going to help him?" Song Hesong asked, a look of worry on his face.
Recalling Senior Brother Zhang's strength from Li Chen's memories, Li Fan shook his head.
"Never mind four ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if an early Golden Core cultivator came, they might not be able to do anything to him."
Hearing this, Song Hesong showed a strange expression.
As if to confirm Li Fan's words, following a furious roar from Chu Liang, four beams of brilliance surged forth at the same time, about to blast into Zhang Qianmo.
Yet at the critical juncture, a purple mirror instantly materialized above Zhang Qianmo's head, forming a protective barrier around him.
It immediately reflected the four beams of light right back.
Caught off guard by such an unexpected turn of events, Chu Liang and the other three besiegers were struck head-on by their own attacks.
"Grains of rice dare to emit light!" The purple lightning mark between Zhang Qianmo's eyebrows radiated a palpitating glow.
Wisps of purple lightning swirled around his body with imposing might.
A halberd dripping with baleful aura slowly materialized in Senior Brother Zhang's hands.
Leveling the halberd at Chu Liang and the others, Zhang Qianmo looked down disdainfully and said, "Today, I'll show you the gulf between a true disciple of a great sect and unorthodox rogue cultivators!"
Before his voice could fade, Zhang Qianmo flashed beside the nearest enemy.
With a sweep of his halberd, purple lightning surged like a dragon, ruthlessly swallowing him whole.
"Ah!"
The man only had time to let out a bloodcurdling scream before vanishing into the furious purple light.
In a split second, one of the four was gone.
The remaining three couldn't help showing utter horror.
Chu Liang yelled out, "Fellow Daoist Song, if you don't act now, what are you waiting for?!"
Hearing this, Li Fan's expression shifted.
Before he could react, eight blood-colored chains suddenly sprang forth beside him, binding him tightly.
Then, an immense force far surpassing the Foundation Establishment stage slammed violently into his back.
Likewise, a purple mirror manifested above his head, and the barrier it formed absorbed a fraction of the impact.
Yet the force was simply too overwhelming; the purple mirror's protective light endured for only a moment before shattering into fragments and dissolving into starlight.
Taking the full brunt of the blow, Li Fan coughed up a mouthful of blood, his aura plummeting rapidly.
Yet his attacker showed no mercy.
Li Fan looked back to see Song Hesong wielding a massive blood-colored warhammer, his face devoid of emotion.
Bearing boundless might, successive hammer strikes bore down, poised to crush Li Fan to death on the spot.
At the brink of death, a jade pendant on Li Fan's chest abruptly shattered.
A gigantic hand formed entirely of purple lightning coalesced from the shattered fragments of the jade pendant.
It formed a hand seal, locking onto Song Hesong.
Above, dark clouds gathered in an instant.
A bolt of purple thunder as thick as a water barrel crashed down squarely toward Song Hesong's head.
A ruthless expression crossed Song Hesong's face. Neither dodging nor evading, he maintained his attack without pause.
He was prepared to take the hit head-on if it meant killing Li Fan first.
In the nick of time, a halberd flew in from afar, intercepting the blood-colored warhammer.
Zhang Qianmo arrived in a flash beside Li Fan and supported him.
"Are you alright, Junior Brother?"
As he spoke, he channeled a wisp of spiritual energy to stabilize Li Fan's injuries.
Then, with a solemn expression, he turned his gaze toward Song Hesong.
Only now did the spiritual energy within Li Fan's body slowly recover from the shock. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Song Hesong.
This man's sudden betrayal and display of strength far exceeding his apparent late Qi Condensation stage cultivation had truly caught Li Fan off guard.
On top of that, having possessed someone else's body, he was still unfamiliar with its cultivation methods and techniques. Caught unprepared, he had nearly been killed by the sneak attack.
Fortunately, the original owner, Li Chen, was an inner disciple of the Purple Cloud Sect after all and possessed considerable protective measures, allowing him to barely survive the ordeal.
Looking at Song Hesong again, the man seemed heavily wounded after being struck by the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder.
Yet immediately afterward, streams of green life energy drifted up from Ningyuan City below, rapidly mending his wounds. In mere moments, he was fully restored.
With a dark expression, Song Hesong let the blood-colored warhammer transform into a longsword, which he held in his hand.
Chu Liang and the other two also rushed over from the distance, encircling the two disciples of the Purple Cloud Sect in the center.
Ignoring Chu Liang and the two other Foundation Establishment cultivators, Zhang Qianmo stared at Song Hesong, his brows furrowed tightly. "Mid Golden Core? Manager Song, have you also cultivated that so-called new method?"
Song Hesong sneered mockingly. "What else? I toiled away for your Purple Cloud Sect for the better part of my life, only to end up with a petty position as an outer sect manager.
"Apart from a shallow Purple Cloud Thunder-Calling Formula, all I got each year was a pittance of spirit stones.
"Most likely, I would have remained stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage until the day I died."
Song Hesong said resentfully, "Telling me I lacked the aptitude! After switching to the new method, I reached Foundation Establishment in five years and formed my core in ten!
"Senior Brother Zhang, how does my aptitude look to you now?"
Looking at the dense blood-colored aura still lingering around Song Hesong, Zhang Qianmo's eyes flashed with undisguised murderous intent. "Demonic heretic! I will surely strike you down!"
As though he had heard the most hilarious joke in the world, Song Hesong burst into laughter, dripping with derision. "Demonic heretics? You so-called prestigious sects raise mortals like cattle, siphoning their lifespans to refine Longevity Fruits.
"With methods so utterly vile, how dare you call others demonic heretics?
"If you ask me, you are the greatest demons of all!"
The blood-colored aura around Song Hesong churned violently along with his furious words.
Zhang Qianmo's expression remained unmoved. "Mortals receive our protection, so naturally they must pay a price. In the wilderness beyond, demons and monstrous beasts roam everywhere, and mortals are nothing more than rations.
"Without our immortal sects' protection, how could they have lived in peace for so long?
"Do you think a few reckless words from you could shake my Dao heart?"
The purple in Zhang Qianmo's eyes deepened further.
He pointed his halberd at Song Hesong from afar. "Though you are Golden Core, I will still slay you today!"
Pointed at by Zhang Qianmo's halberd, Song Hesong's breath hitched, seemingly intimidated by his aura.
But soon, humiliation turned into rage.
"I've long heard how extraordinary the inner disciples are. Today, I'll be sure to experience it firsthand!"
With that, the blood-colored sword in his hand split into six blades, meeting Zhang Qianmo's halberd head-on.
Meanwhile, Chu Liang and the other two cultivators surrounded Li Fan.
Facing the siege of three cultivators of the same stage, Li Fan remained calm and unhurried.
Circulating the Purple Cloud Thunder-Commanding True Scripture, he drew out his magical artifact—a spear.
He shook the spear shaft, which seemed to unleash bursts of dragon roars, and clashed into a melee with Chu Liang's trio.
At first, Li Fan was not yet accustomed to the techniques at his disposal, and his attacks felt sluggish. As he wielded the spear, Chu Liang and the other two were able to dodge easily.
Although the three late Foundation Establishment cultivators like Chu Liang shared the same cultivation stage as Li Fan, they were converts who had taken up cultivation halfway through life, and their attack methods were vastly inferior. Li Fan handled them with more than enough room to spare.
As time went on and Li Fan grew increasingly familiar with his spells, his attacks turned ever sharper and more lethal.
Before long, Chu Liang's trio gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Chapter 176