Holding the red silk in her hand, the Immortal Fairy looked awe-inspiring and majestic. With a casual strike, she reaped the life of a Golden Core demon beast.
Her brows knitted slightly, a sight of captivating beauty.
This was the first time Lu Yang had seen the Immortal Fairy make a move. The strike seemed effortless, but beneath the surface lay profound mysteries.
To Lu Yang's eyes, that single strike demonstrated the Immortal Fairy's exquisite mastery over power; not a single shred of force was wasted.
One had to remember that the Immortal Fairy was using Lu Yang's clone, which possessed only eighty percent of Lu Yang's strength.
Had it been Lu Yang himself, he could have slain that Golden Core demon beast in a single blow as well, but he could never have done it with such elegance as the Immortal Fairy. He would have squandered a great deal of force.
*Whoosh—*
The red silk was like a flood dragon soaring through the sea, claiming a Golden Core with every strike.
In just the span of a daze, two Golden Core demon beasts and one Golden Core cultivator had already been cut clean in half by the red silk.
Whenever a Golden Core attacked, the Immortal Fairy could control the red silk to shield herself. Any blow landing upon the silk failed to leave even the faintest mark.
The red silk was on par with the immortal treasures acquired by the Immortal Cult. Never mind the Golden Core stage—even if a Body Integration stage expert were to arrive, they could not damage so much as a corner of it.
"Who are you!" the Heaven Herding Grass shouted, deeply startled. Seeing the Immortal Fairy strike repeatedly, an ominous premonition seized it.
Just moments ago, the situation had been firmly under its control, and Lu Yang's death had been certain. Yet an unexpected anomaly had fallen out of the clear blue sky!
It had clearly watched Lu Yang cast an avatar technique earlier, conjuring another Lu Yang.
Why, then, had that clone completely changed appearance and transformed into a woman? Moreover, this woman spoke with absurd arrogance, giving off an aura entirely different from Lu Yang's.
Did this Lu Yang suffer from a split personality, or was there some other reason?
For a moment, the Heaven Herding Grass could not fathom the truth.
The Immortal Fairy gave a cold sneer, utterly dismissive of the Heaven Herding Grass's demand. "A broken weed that turned into a spirit, puppeteering a pack of corpses reeking of rot—what right do you have to ask who I am?
"Before I attained immortality, I slaughtered more things like you than I could ever count!"
"Insolent boast! You're nothing more than two Foundation Establishment cultivators! All of you, attack together!" The Heaven Herding Grass was infuriated by the Immortal Fairy. The strike with the red silk had not exceeded the power of the Foundation Establishment stage, which meant its opponent had merely gone from one Foundation Establishment cultivator to two.
It commanded seventy Golden Cores here—could they truly fail against two Foundation Establishment juniors?
The gap in cultivation realm and sheer numbers was an immutable fact; no trickery could bridge such a chasm.
Facing the swarming horde of Golden Cores, the Immortal Fairy showed no fear, looking as though such scenes were commonplace to her.
With a sharp snap, the red silk flew forth and wrapped around the demon beast Lushu as it prepared to pounce. The Lushu struggled and tore with all its might, yet could not break free of the restraint.
Gripping the other end of the red silk, the Immortal Fairy slammed the Lushu violently into the ground. The immense impact sent a slight tremor through the earth.
The other Golden Cores either took to the air, burrowed through the soil, or lunged from all directions with a single, clear objective: slay this clone of Lu Yang!
Wrapping the Lushu in the red silk, the Immortal Fairy swung it like a meteor hammer, spinning it at high speed before hurling it forcefully toward the oncoming Golden Cores.
*Boom— Boom—*
Every strike from the Immortal Fairy landed like an explosive shell. Anyone struck by her attacks, if not killed outright, was gravely wounded with shattered limbs, making it difficult for the Heaven Herding Grass to even force them back to their feet.
Yet as more and more Golden Cores joined the encirclement, the movement of the red silk became severely restricted, no longer able to sweep freely and harvest foes.
The Immortal Fairy immediately shifted her combat tactics, dropping the Lushu that had been pulverized into chunks of meat and wrapping the red silk tightly around her body.
This clone was not as robust as Lu Yang's true body and could not endure the high-intensity melee that was to come; she needed the red silk wrapped around it to protect the entire body.
A Golden Core body cultivator charged in the lead. The Immortal Fairy's delicate brows rose sharply, and she slammed a palm directly into his face.
"Ha!"
With a clear, spirited shout, the force behind her palm surged even higher. She swung downward, smashing the Golden Core body cultivator flat against the earth.
*Roar—*
Demon beasts and human cultivators pressed forward in a coordinated assault. The Immortal Fairy took half a step forward with her left foot and settled into a stance.
"Fairy Boxing!"
Dainty fists rained down like a torrential storm. They appeared delicate, but their power was terrifyingly immense, creating an illusion that one was facing not fists, but great rivers crashing down from the heavens, utterly irresistible and impossible to withstand.
The Fairy Boxing moved so swiftly it left afterimages, each punch striking with pinpoint accuracy at the Golden Cores' dantians, severing the connection between the Heaven Herding Grass and its thralls.
"If all of you were at the late Golden Core stage, this body might not have been able to handle it. A pity you aren't."
Most of these Golden Cores were only at the early or middle Golden Core stage; those in the late Golden Core stage were few.
Lu Yang was completely captivated by the Immortal Fairy's fist technique. This was the second time he had seen Fairy Boxing.
The first time was when Huang Doudou gave the Immortal Celestial a brutal beating. As the third-in-command of the Immortal Lineage, the Immortal Celestial was naturally suppressed by the Immortal Fairy.
Back then, no matter what technique Huang Doudou used, she thoroughly suppressed the Immortal Celestial, leaving no way to appreciate the true profundity of Fairy Boxing.
This time was different. The Immortal Fairy was facing opponents an entire major realm higher than herself. In this situation, Lu Yang could see at a glance that this Fairy Boxing was undoubtedly one of the finest fist arts under heaven, boundless in its ingenuity.
With his current capabilities, he struggled even to grasp its barest basics.
Yet that did not stop him from studying and comprehending it.
*I see. In battle, one must pay close attention to the distribution of power and the rhythm of combat. It's not simply that heavier punches are better...* Lu Yang pondered, picking up on a few key insights.
"Lu Yang, watch out! Some of the Golden Cores are heading your way!"
"I see them!"
Lu Yang had anticipated this. It was impossible for more than seventy Golden Cores to strike the Immortal Fairy at the same time; had they tried, their own attacks would have collided before ever reaching her.
Furthermore, it was impossible for the Heaven Herding Grass to manipulate so many cultivators at once. It had not fully matured yet; its limit was controlling ten Golden Cores, and if all were at the late Golden Core stage, that number would drop to eight.
At present, four to six Golden Cores were attacking the Immortal Fairy simultaneously, while the others served as reserves, stepping in the moment one was eliminated or blasted away.
The Heaven Herding Grass had a clear aim: bypass the Immortal Fairy and swarm Lu Yang.
Taking advantage of the commotion earlier, Lu Yang had already seized the chance to recover his strength. He felt no fear facing these Golden Cores.
Lu Yang channeled sword qi into the Green Blade Sword, reigning it in so it was restrained rather than dazzling like before.
"Come!"
The Heaven Herding Grass directed the Golden Cores forward dismissively, but the instant they clashed, it realized Lu Yang was entirely different from before.
There appeared to be no sword qi within the Green Blade Sword, yet whenever the blade crossed paths with a Golden Core, the sword qi would erupt violently, catching the Heaven Herding Grass off guard. And when the Heaven Herding Grass braced itself to take the sword qi head-on, the sword qi vanished without a trace, leaving its efforts wasted!
In such a short span of time, his control over his power had ascended to an entirely new level!
Though his mastery was not yet polished, it was undeniably control on an entirely different plane!
This could not go on. A swift resolution was imperative, lest further delays breed unexpected trouble!
Unaware that the Heaven Herding Grass had made up its mind, Lu Yang slipped once more into that earlier state—before him lay a swath of thick mist, and beyond the mist was a halo whose true form remained indistinct.
"Hm?"
Noticing the change in Lu Yang, the Immortal Fairy blinked in surprise.
Chapter 270