Chapter 1332: Silver Moon Spirit Slash Blade

Their primary goal was to seize the Seven Star Demon Slaying Blade; other treasures were secondary. Acquiring a spiritual treasure would significantly boost their strength, allowing them to dictate terms, whether they chose to fight or reconcile.

Wang Changsheng's body blurred into an afterimage as he swiftly darted towards the stone shelf in the upper left corner.

"You're asking for death!" Zhang Wuchen's expression turned cold. She slapped her right hand into the void, and a colossal white hand, over ten zhang in size, shot out, striking the red giant hammer.

With a thunderous boom, the woman in the red dress was forced back several steps, her wrist numb.

Santa had already reached the humanoid skeleton. He reached out to grasp the storage ring on the skeleton's hand, and it began to fly towards him. Just then, a small mound abruptly rose from the ground. The soil transformed into quicksand, and a large amount of it surged towards Santa. A furry rat paw then shot out from beneath the ground, snatched the storage ring, and instantly retreated.

Seeing this, Santa immediately flared up and was about to attack. However, Lin Yuzong's gentle voice reached his ears: "Friend, there's no need for anger. Since we agreed to join forces, it's better to maintain harmony for mutual benefit. There's no need to fight to the death."

For some inexplicable reason, Santa's mind momentarily blurred upon hearing the voice, and he almost instinctively agreed. He was startled back to his senses.

A piercing female scream erupted from behind him. The woman in the red dress flew backward, utterly bloodless and pale.

A massive yellow jade seal hovered in mid-air, with a lifelike yellow flood dragon coiling around it, continuously shifting as if alive.

This was the Yellow Dragon Seal, a spiritual treasure and one of Zhang Wuchen's major trump cards.

Lin Yuzong, a descendant of Old Man Tianhuan, had a practiced synergy with Zhang Wuchen; countless enemies had fallen to their combined might. However, due to his low-key nature, his reputation had never been widely known.

Meanwhile, Wang Changsheng had reached the stone shelf. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, all the items on it vanished.

"Attack, Fellow Daoist Wang, kill them!" Zhang Wuchen whispered, a murderous intent in her voice.

In her prime, she had been a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, her current early-stage cultivation a result of damage to her soul. Nevertheless, she possessed numerous profound secret arts. Her primary goal for this expedition to the Heavenly Void Cavern was to observe Wang Changsheng's cultivation methods. Upon discovering the Seven Star Saber Saint's isolated dwelling, she intended to use this opportunity to strengthen her bond with Wang Changsheng. Their combined effort to eliminate the barbarians would solidify their alliance and demonstrate their power to him.

A sharp glint flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes. He summoned a metal sphere, infused it with a magical incantation, and it transformed into a resplendent golden Luan bird. The golden Luan bird unfurled its wings and lunged towards Santa.

"I'll keep him occupied; you eliminate one of them first," Wang Changsheng transmitted, confident that with a fourth-tier puppet beast, he could easily restrain a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Ostensibly, it was a four-on-two battle in their favor.

Santa let out a bestial roar as dense green runes erupted across his body, which rapidly swelled to more than twice its original height, transforming him into a ten-foot-tall azure giant. Wielding a ten-foot-long azure great axe in each hand, he moved his arms. With a flash of green light, two sharp azure axe shadows shot forth, cleaving Wang Changsheng into three pieces before his body dissolved into specks of blue light and vanished.

The golden Luan bird swooped in, and Santa swung both axes, striking at it.

The golden Luan bird flapped its wings, more than doubling its speed, and narrowly evaded the attack. With a thunderous crash, the two azure axe shadows struck the stone wall, instantly carving two long cracks into its surface.

Wang Changsheng drew out the Taihao Spirit-Slaying Blade. He slashed at Santa through the air; with a flash of golden light, the blade turned a pale gold. A large expanse of golden blades then shot out, forming a vast golden net that descended upon Santa.

The stone chamber was relatively small and simply couldn't withstand the intensity of their battle.

Zhang Wuchen and Lin Yuzong jointly assailed the woman in the red dress, whose body also swelled to more than twice its original size. She wielded her red giant hammer, smashing it against the ground and instantly creating a large crater.

A tremendous roar reverberated as five Nascent Soul cultivators engaged in battle within the confined stone chamber. The continuous rumbling shook loose large quantities of stones from the walls.

Santa swung his twin axes, repelling the golden Luan bird. The golden Luan bird then spewed a broad stream of thin golden light, striking Santa's body with a dull thud of clashing metal.

He pulled out a palm-sized azure rhino horn and blew gently. A loud horn blast erupted, and a misty azure sound wave swept forth, striking the golden Luan bird. The bird was instantly flung backward, crashing into the stone wall.

Two gleaming azure great axes then cleaved down, striking the golden Luan bird. Sparks flew as two dull thuds of metal clashing resounded.

A loud whoosh filled the air, and a bone-chilling cold swept over them. A white light blade shot forward, which Santa blocked with the azure great axe in his hand.

With a muffled thud, the white light blade shattered. At that very moment, a dazzling golden long saber descended from above, striking towards Santa's head. Santa attempted to defend himself, but after a series of rapid bell chimes, his reaction faltered.

The golden long saber struck Santa's head, producing a dull clang of metal on metal.

Barbarians naturally possessed powerful physiques. However, Santa's current body was the result of possessing a fourth-tier demonic beast, so a single strike from a magic treasure wasn't enough to kill him.

A flicker of surprise crossed Wang Changsheng's eyes. The saber tip turned snow-white, emanating a frigid white aura that swiftly froze Santa's head. However, dense azure runes quickly surfaced on Santa's body, causing the ice to shatter instantly.

A piercing female scream echoed. The woman in the red dress was sent flying backward, and a massive yellow jade seal came crashing down. To be struck by it would be certain death.

A harsh light flashed in Santa's eyes. With a flick of his sleeve, a dark streak of light shot out, flying directly towards Wang Changsheng.

The Taihao Spirit-Slaying Blade in Wang Changsheng's hand rapidly shrank back to its original size. He slashed forward into the void, and numerous saber shadows flew out to intercept the incoming attack.

The dark streak of light abruptly vanished. The next instant, an eerie dark glow materialized above Wang Changsheng's head, forming a spherical pearl wreathed in Yin energy. With a flash of black light, the black pearl expanded into a colossal black energy curtain, engulfing Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng's vision blurred, and he suddenly found himself in a dim, hazy space filled with ghostly wails and howls, as chilling winds blew in gusts.

This was the Thousand Ghost Pearl, a treasure used to trap enemies.

Following a series of shrill ghostly wails, grotesque vengeful spirits lunged at him from all directions.

Most of these spectral entities were Foundation Establishment-stage ghosts, with three reaching the Core Formation stage. Santa had acquired this magic treasure by slaying a ghost cultivator, and it proved quite effective in trapping adversaries.

Santa swung his twin axes, striking at the Yellow Dragon Seal. With a thunderous crash, Santa was forced back three steps, and the Yellow Dragon Seal recoiled several zhang.

"Quick, let's go! Their strength is no weaker than mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!" Santa shouted, transforming into a streak of azure light and fleeing towards the exit.

He had underestimated the human cultivators. With Zhang Wuchen possessing a spiritual treasure and Lin Yuzong's skillful cooperation, they were outmatched. Once Wang Changsheng broke free, their demise would be certain.

At that moment, Lin Yuzong flipped his palm, revealing a delicate golden bell. The small bell radiated potent spiritual energy and was intricately carved with lifelike demonic beast patterns, unmistakably a spiritual treasure.

Clang, clang, clang! A series of resonant chimes rang out, causing Santa and the woman in the red dress to grimace in pain, their eyes glazing over.

The golden Luan bird spewed forth a torrent of golden flames, engulfing Santa and the woman in the red dress. The Yellow Dragon Seal then burst with blinding yellow light, crashing into the inferno.

An azure light shot out from the inferno, streaking towards the cave exit.

Zhang Wuchen's body glowed with an intense silver light, and a silver full moon abruptly appeared behind her. With a flash, the silver moon shot forward, precisely striking the azure light. A scream pierced the air.

Santa was bisected by the silver full moon, splitting him into two.

"Silver Moon Slash..." His eyes widened in disbelief.

With a flash of azure light, a miniature Nascent Soul darted out, but the silver full moon swiftly circled back, piercing through it.

Zhang Wuchen gasped for breath, her face bloodless, as she slumped to the ground, her legs trembling. She had just unleashed the Sun-Moon Palace's unique secret art, the Silver Moon Spirit-Slaying Blade—a technique only the Palace Master and Vice Palace Master of the Moon Palace were permitted to cultivate and wield.

She had nearly exhausted all her spiritual power to deliver that decisive blow to Santa, a feat only possible because Wang Changsheng had already injured him. Without Wang Changsheng's prior attack, she wouldn't have been able to kill Santa so effortlessly.

It was Santa's misfortune that both Zhang Wuchen and her husband possessed spiritual treasures—a fact he hadn't anticipated.

Even in death, he would never know that Zhang Wuchen was the Vice Palace Master of the Moon Palace within the Sun-Moon Palace. An ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator could never have eliminated them with such ease.

With a flash of dark light, the black energy curtain condensed back into a spherical black pearl, and Wang Changsheng emerged, free. He glanced at Santa lying on the ground and the woman in the red dress, now reduced to a bloody pulp. A hint of apprehension appeared in his eyes as he cautiously regarded Zhang Wuchen and her husband.

Greed could sway anyone; there was no telling if Zhang Wuchen and her husband would suddenly turn hostile.