Chapter 241: Only if My Knife Is Sharp Enough

From Hao Ren and his sister's perspective, the two figures within the formation were clearly clashing with their artifacts. They stood at a distance from each other, with streaks of inky blackness darting back and forth between them.

Inside the formation, within the rocky forest, Lu Ye and Yuan Guang were about thirty-five zhang apart, two streaks of light weaving back and forth between them, occasionally colliding and scattering dazzling sparks.

Yuan Guang was inwardly shocked at this moment, having realized his predicament.

He had been pulled into an inner formation. Recalling what had just happened, it must have occurred when he was hit by the blinding light and temporarily lost his vision. Although he had promptly activated his artifact and sword energy to protect himself, the opponent was clearly prepared. Moreover, he was only a ninth-level Spirit Creek cultivator practicing an Earth-tier cultivation technique; how could he possibly withstand the power of a formation?

The situation was dire!

Since it was a formation, besides the enemy in front of him, there must also be someone activating it. He had just heard the young man in front of him call out "Yiyi." In other words, he had at least two enemies: the young man before him, and Yiyi, who was operating the formation.

The young man in front of him was only at the seventh level, yet after only a brief exchange, Yuan Guang realized how troublesome he was. Not to mention the speed and power the young man had explosively demonstrated earlier, even the might of his artifact control was beyond what a typical seventh-level cultivator could match.

In terms of speed, range, and power, it was almost comparable to his own ninth-level abilities.

If that was all his opponent was capable of, he could handle it. The crucial issue now was that he had to be wary of "Yiyi," who would undoubtedly be manipulating things from the shadows.

Little did he know, Lu Ye had used the formation to deal with him precisely because he wanted to fight him one-on-one.

He had killed several ninth-level cultivators who had emerged from the mist in the Mirage, and he wanted to see the difference between a ninth-level cultivator in the Mirage and a real one. This was also the best way to test his own strength.

Furthermore, he wanted to use the Nine Regions Map in conjunction with Yiyi. Although he had given it to Yiyi after acquiring it from Madam Yun, it had never been used in combat. Using it more would also help them become familiar with this spiritual treasure.

Moreover, with Yiyi's current strength, maintaining the formation's operation for a short period wasn't a major issue. As for her secretly manipulating things... she could do it, but her power would quickly deplete.

In short, Yuan Guang was overthinking things.

As the two artifacts clashed, continuous clanging sounds echoed. Lu Ye, with his long saber at his waist, stared at mid-air, appearing to be exerting his full strength, but was actually observing the gap between his artifact control and his enemy's.

There was still some disparity. According to Lu Ye's estimation, the power of his artifact control was comparable to that of an ordinary eighth-level cultivator, but slightly weaker than a ninth-level one. This was evident from the frequency of the two light streaks clashing; initially, he could cope, but gradually, he was suppressed, his spiritual artifact only able to parry with almost no room to retaliate.

While Lu Ye was still observing, Yuan Guang had already made up his mind: he would deal with the young man in front of him first, ignoring Yiyi for now.

A clear, resonant sword hum filled the air as Yuan Guang's spiritual power surged around him. He continuously struck with his longsword, letting out a low shout, "Three Thousand Flowing Blades!"

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*

Several streaks of sword energy, like bolts of silk, sliced towards Lu Ye from over thirty zhang away with astonishing speed. Simultaneously, Yuan Guang himself rapidly charged at Lu Ye, continuously swinging his longsword as he advanced.

The number of sword energies increased!

In his mind, the young man in front of him was "wholeheartedly" activating his artifact's power and would be utterly incapable of blocking his attack. If the young man diverted his attention to defend, that would be perfect; his spiritual artifact was already no match for Yuan Guang's, and once distracted, it would surely become even weaker. At that point, Yuan Guang would show him his true capabilities.

Being able to use other techniques to kill enemies while simultaneously controlling an artifact was a basic skill for a ninth-level Spirit Creek cultivator.

Behind the layers of sword energy was Yuan Guang's rapidly advancing figure, quickly closing the thirty-plus zhang distance.

Lu Ye, who had been watching the two spiritual artifacts clash, lowered his gaze. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce through the sword energies, seeing Yuan Guang hidden behind them.

He slapped his storage bag, and a streak of light shot out with extreme speed, followed by a series of clanging sounds as the sword energies were shattered one by one.

Yuan Guang's face showed a startled expression. He twirled his longsword, blocking the streaking artifact's weaving attacks.

Two artifacts?

He almost wondered if he had seen incorrectly.

A typical seventh-level cultivator, even if capable of artifact control, would have to dedicate their full attention to it, making it impossible to do anything else.

Controlling two artifacts required extremely powerful control over one's spiritual power, as well as a strong enough mental state to multitask.

To control two artifacts, one would at least need to cultivate a Heaven-tier technique, and even then, not every cultivator who did so could achieve it.

Artifact control, while seemingly effortless, actually depended on talent, and more wasn't always better. The more spiritual artifacts one controlled, the greater the burden on oneself.

At the Spirit Creek Realm level, only Li Baxian was rumored to have mastered artifact control to its extreme, reportedly able to simultaneously control a hundred flying swords, though it was uncertain if this was true.

Besides him, even the ninth-level powerhouses who had cultivated Heaven-tier techniques wouldn't control many spiritual artifacts. The more artifacts controlled, the more dispersed the power, making it less effective than concentrating it.

But what did he see? A seventh-level cultivator controlling two spiritual artifacts!

Moreover, the power of each artifact was similar, meaning the power was not dispersed despite controlling two simultaneously.

His plan for a surprise kill had failed. With no time to marvel at another's talent, Yuan Guang immediately composed himself, his longsword blossoming with sword-flowers, occasionally unleashing sword energy to deflect the streaking lights hovering around him.

He was a ninth-level cultivator; if his opponent thought they could kill him with mere artifact control, they must be dreaming!

Just as he was thinking this, Lu Ye suddenly began walking towards him, step by step.

Could it be... A shocking thought surfaced in Yuan Guang's mind, only for him to immediately dismiss it. Impossible! Controlling two artifacts simultaneously was already astounding; the young man's mental energy must be exhausted. There was no way he could do anything else; he was merely trying to exert pressure.

A saber chop, aimed directly at him, utterly shattered that ridiculous notion in his mind.

Only then did Yuan Guang realize that there was a good reason why a seventh-level cultivator dared to challenge him alone. While controlling two artifacts, he could also engage in close-quarters combat!

In the rocky forest, streaks of light weaved, figures intertwined, and continuous clanging sounds emanated. The moment they clashed, Yuan Guang was immediately pushed back, step by step.

It wasn't that he wasn't strong enough; rather, the seventh-level young man's methods were too bizarre. Not only did he have to defend against the young man's slashes, but also against the streaking artifacts circling him. Moreover, the long saber that came chopping at him varied in weight and speed, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, leaving him overwhelmed.

Most importantly, the opponent's saber was excessively sharp. He had just been carelessly struck once, and the luster of his treasured armor, which he was wearing, had noticeably dimmed, startling him.

This personal treasured armor had cost him a great deal of spirit stones from the Heavenly Secret Treasury, and its protection was outstanding; even other ninth-level cultivators wouldn't dream of breaking through it.

Yet, after taking a blow from his opponent, he distinctly felt his treasured armor wailing.

There was no sun in the Nine Regions Map, but there was light. The rocky forest terrain was not large, spanning only a few li in circumference, making it the smallest among the nine types of terrain.

The entire small space, apart from the rocky forest resembling real-world terrain, featured swirling clusters of inky halos in the sky and around the terrain, as if a child had dripped ink upon them. These halos twisted and shifted, containing immense danger; no one knew what would happen if one accidentally fell into them.

Within this few-li radius, Lu Ye and Yuan Guang fiercely clashed. After only thirty breaths of combat, Yuan Guang was completely at a disadvantage. A dignified ninth-level cultivator, he was so pressured by a seventh-level one that he barely had a chance to breathe, feeling more bitterness than if he had eaten bitter gourds.

He truly regretted it. He should have just passed by, but why did he run down to see what the noise was about? Curiosity truly killed the cat.

Now he couldn't escape, and his situation was grim; continuing like this would inevitably lead to his death.

Unless he could subdue the young man opposite him and use that to force "Yiyi" to release him.

With that thought in mind, facing Lu Ye's direct stab, he hardened his resolve, neither dodging nor evading. Simultaneously, he thrust his sword towards Lu Ye's wrist.

He planned to endure the saber strike. With his treasured armor protecting him, his life wouldn't be in danger. But if he could sever his opponent's hand tendons, he could subdue him, and that would be his only way out!

"Young man, the world is treacherous. If your sect elders haven't taught you, then let me be the one to teach you!" Yuan Guang muttered in his heart.

*Clang...*

The longsword aimed at Lu Ye's wrist was blocked by a defensive spirit-mark.

Yuan Guang's body stiffened abruptly, and intense pain spread through his chest and abdomen. He clearly felt his lung had been pierced. His eyes widened in disbelief, unable to comprehend how the opponent had managed to break through his treasured armor and stab him.

The opponent's saber was indeed sharp, but not to this extent.

And what was that thing that appeared on his opponent's wrist, capable of blocking his sword strike?

Face to face, their eyes met. Lu Ye's gaze was calm. He was all too familiar with trading injuries, having done it many times before, so the moment Yuan Guang drew his sword, he knew exactly what his opponent was plotting.

Yuan Guang was indeed a powerful ninth-level cultivator. In their exchanges so far, Lu Ye's every saber strike had been mostly blocked, and he had only managed to nick him once by chance, without causing significant damage.

Lu Ye had been looking for an opportunity, initially planning a steady approach, but unexpectedly, Yuan Guang had provided him with one.

The moment he thrust that saber, the Sharpness spirit-mark imbued on his Mountain Breaker Saber was not one, but two.

Some spirit-marks on the Talent Tree didn't have specific combat functions but served as connections. These could no longer be called spirit-marks but were rather a technique – a technique for utilizing spirit-marks.

Lu Ye used this technique to instantly activate two Sharpness marks, connecting and embedding them based on this principle.

My opponent has treasured armor, I have Sharpness. If one isn't enough, then I'll use two! As long as my saber is sharp enough, any defense is just paper!