Chapter 168: 法修提剑，兵修施法

A Fantasy Novel

The Holy Maiden of the Sacred Flame Sect clenched her jaw, extending her small hand forward. She channeled the little spiritual power remaining in her body, and a red glow immediately appeared on her palm.

That was the convergence of her spiritual power.

As the red glow emerged, the scattered energy from the previous large-scale spell quickly gathered.

The searing temperature at the Golden Apex suddenly dropped.

In the blink of an eye, a humanoid entity composed purely of flames appeared before her.

"Fire Giant!" a cry of alarm came from the Haotian Alliance side. This was clearly the name of the spell cast by the Sacred Flame Sect's Holy Maiden.

This was also a spell that should not be cast by a seventh-level法修 (magic cultivator), which demonstrated the Holy Maiden's exceptional talent.

However, perhaps due to insufficient cultivation, the Fire Giant, which should have been awe-inspiring and at least several zhang (meters) tall, was now only human-sized. This Fire Giant had no legs; its lower body consisted purely of flowing flames, and even its facial features were not very clear. Yet, its figure was robust, and it appeared suddenly, blocking the female cultivator.

After casting this spell, the Holy Maiden of the Sacred Flame Sect collapsed onto the ground with a thud, truly exhausted.

It had to be said, she was a clever woman.

In this final moment, she used her last spiritual power to summon a Fire Giant instead of casting a Fire Snake spell or similar techniques. Spells could easily be dodged; if Lu Ye avoided her final attack, she would simply be waiting for death.

Her mind throbbed with a needle-like pain, and the blood flowing from her seven orifices was a dark red. Though she knelt on the arena in utter disarray, she still looked up directly at the charging Lu Ye, her mind controlling the Fire Giant to meet him.

As the heat wave hit, Lu Ye instinctively raised his broken saber to slash.

His survival from the previous spell's attack was entirely due to the Guard Spirit Mark. When the spell's power struck, he activated a Guard Spirit Mark that could envelop his entire body.

This nearly depleted his already scarce spiritual power.

Fortunately, the opponent's spell didn't last long, or he would have been burned to death.

He could still activate one last spirit mark, which he had reserved for his opponent, not for this inexplicable thing before him.

His vision was blood-red, making it almost impossible to see clearly. The Holy Maiden of the Sacred Flame Sect was exhausted, but Lu Ye was equally at the end of his tether.

Around the arena, powerful cultivators from both major factions watched the final battle with grave expressions. No one had expected a clash between mere fifth and sixth-level cultivators to be so brutal.

At this moment, the two figures fighting in the arena looked incredibly comical. Lu Ye had lost his previous sharpness and ferocity; each saber strike seemed weak, and every step was a stumble, as if he could collapse at any moment.

The Fire Giant also seemed sluggish and slow to react. This was because the Holy Maiden's consciousness was blurring. Though the Fire Giant was summoned by her power, it had no thoughts of its own and required her control.

This made the fight in the arena resemble a children's brawl…

No one laughed, only secretly shocked by the unwavering will of the combatants.

A group of powerful cultivators on the Spirit Stream Ranking asked themselves if they could have achieved this level of intensity when they were at the fifth or sixth cultivation levels. If these two fighters survived today, their names would surely appear on the Spirit Stream Ranking in the future.

The childlike brawl continued, not intensely, but as time passed, the Fire Giant summoned by the spell began to become unstable, even shrinking in size.

The mood on the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge side grew tense.

Having come so far, they could not afford to fail now.

"Blazing Holy Fire, consume my body!"

A low chant began, at first from just one person, but soon, many cultivators of the Sacred Flame Sect chanted in unison, their voices gradually rising.

In the arena, the Holy Maiden, whose consciousness was already blurred, suddenly unleashed her last burst of power. Crimson blood streamed from her eyes, and the Fire Giant, grappling with Lu Ye, suddenly expanded, throwing a punch.

With a clang, Lu Ye's half-broken saber shattered completely. He himself was sent flying by the punch, falling to the ground.

Along with his fall went the hope of the Haotian Alliance.

After knocking Lu Ye away, the Fire Giant also suddenly dispersed, turning into points of light and vanishing. It had exhausted its power.

The Holy Maiden of the Sacred Flame Sect gasped for breath, laboriously rising from the ground and slowly walking towards Lu Ye, who lay motionless. She softly chanted the Sacred Flame Sect's doctrine, and her pained expression gradually calmed.

Li Baxian's expression became solemn and tense. Wei Yang also secretly activated her spiritual power. At the same time, the powerful cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge fixed their gaze on the two. Any sudden movement from them would invite an attack from those formidable cultivators.

In that instant, the atmosphere became extremely tense.

In the arena, the Holy Maiden, halfway to Lu Ye, slowly pulled a longsword from her storage pouch. This single action seemed to drain all her strength. It appeared to be an ordinary mortal sword, as it showed no spiritual light, but it was enough.

She lacked the strength to lift the sword, so she dragged it as she walked up to Lu Ye, swaying a few times before slowly steadying herself.

Looking down at her opponent, who lay on the ground, covered in burns, the Holy Maiden, who had not smiled since the start of her cultivation, finally revealed a faint smile.

She wanted to tell her opponent: I won!

But when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

She held the sword hilt in both hands, reversed, and slowly raised the sword, its tip pointing at Lu Ye's chest.

The already tense atmosphere around the arena reached its breaking point. Countless individuals began to silently activate their spiritual power.

Lu Ye, lying motionless on the ground, suddenly slowly raised a hand, palm facing the woman standing beside him, as if to block the incoming sword thrust.

His parched, cracked lips moved, and a faint sound emerged.

"Fire… Phoenix…"

Fiery red spiritual power surged in his palm. The smile on the Holy Maiden's face immediately froze. She exerted her last ounce of strength, thrusting the sword downward.

A flapping sound was heard as a plump, quail-sized firebird flew out, striking the Holy Maiden's chest and exploding with a boom.

A scream pierced the air. The Holy Maiden was blasted backward, her chest scorched, and she lost all signs of life upon hitting the ground.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events. The side believed to be doomed still possessed the strength to counterattack, and with a spell at that…

In those final moments, the magic cultivator wielded a sword, while the saber cultivator cast a spell.

Victory had been decided, and life or death determined!

Two figures rushed onto the arena almost simultaneously. The clang of swords resounded. Li Baxian stood before Lu Ye, and behind him, over a hundred sword lights surged and weaved—each light a flying sword.

Sword energy soared to the sky, the Sword Cultivator's killing intent arose!

Anyone daring to make a move would be met with an attack from a hundred flying swords.

Wei Yang cradled the bleeding Lu Ye, checking his injuries.

Suddenly, a fierce spiritual energy fluctuation, like a surging tide, came from the rear of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge side. Countless people turned back in alarm, seeing a figure dozens of zhang tall slowly straighten up, its form colossal, obscuring the clouds and sun.

It was the figure of a Cloud Giant, a spell.

And in the entire Spirit Stream Battlefield, fewer than three individuals could cast the Cloud Giant spell on such a scale.

"Everyone, don't move recklessly, or you'll die!" A crisp voice came from the Cloud Giant. Only then did the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge side see a female figure seated on the Cloud Giant's shoulder. The small figure contrasted sharply with the massive Cloud Giant, but no one dared to underestimate that figure.

For that person was the top-ranked individual on the Spirit Stream Ranking, a monster who had monopolized the first spot on the Spirit Stream Ranking for over ten years!

"Feng Yuechan!" a cultivator from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge gritted out.

No one knew when she had secretly appeared nearby. Earlier reports said she was blocking the gates of the Hundred Refinements Valley outpost. Now it seemed she had already left that place. After all, even if she was the top of the Spirit Stream Ranking, she couldn't block a fourth-grade sect's outpost for too long.

"Senior Brother, I'm here to help you!" Feng Yuechan raised her hand, enthusiastically greeting Li Baxian.

There was no time to correct her address. Li Baxian nodded: "Whoever dares to make a move, kill them!"

"Got it!" Feng Yuechan responded crisply.

In the arena, Wei Yang had already given Lu Ye a spirit pill and fed him an unknown medicinal liquid to sustain his life.

Lu Ye's lips moved. Wei Yang didn't hear him, so she leaned her ear closer and whispered, "Little Junior Brother, what did you say?"

"Is it… over?" Lu Ye struggled to speak.

"It's over!" Wei Yang nodded.

One of Lu Ye's eyes was already shut, and the other was only a slit. He tried to smile but couldn't. His tense mind relaxed, his head tilted, and he promptly fainted.

Wei Yang panicked, quickly checking him. She relaxed when she confirmed Lu Ye was merely exhausted. She looked up at Li Baxian's back: "Return to the sect!"

Li Baxian called out, "Yuechan, send Senior Sister and Junior Brother to Cangming Mountain!"

"Yes!" Feng Yuechan replied. The dozens-of-zhang-tall Cloud Giant bent down, extending a hand towards the arena. Under the colossal shadow, the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge scattered like startled birds.

The massive hand landed beside the arena. Wei Yang, holding Lu Ye, jumped on. As she gently set Lu Ye down, she suddenly felt something beside her. Turning, she saw a large, snow-white tiger.

She knew this was Lu Ye's spirit beast. Seeing the worry in the tiger's eyes, she, on an impulse, comforted it: "Don't worry, with me here, he won't die."

The Cloud Giant's hand lifted, gently holding the two people and one tiger in its palm. Then, under Feng Yuechan's control, it turned and sped towards the Cangming Mountain outpost, moving with astonishing speed!

"Fellow Daoists of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, please wait here for the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. After that, you may do as you please. But if anyone makes any rash moves before then, do not blame me, Li Baxian, for a massacre!"

Li Baxian's voice drifted calmly, but the hundred flying swords swirling behind him told all the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge that this fellow was not joking.

Yan Xing, who had been staring at Li Baxian, had a grave expression. Only today did he realize that Li Baxian's sword mastery had reached such a terrifying level. When he fought him before, this fellow had not used his full strength at all.