Chapter 271: Strong Attack

Shangyong Commandery, within an endless azure bamboo forest. Deep within the forest lay a narrow valley, inside which was a massive pit from which metallic clanging sounds occasionally echoed.

Outside the valley, several azure pavilions stood. Three men and two women were inside, chatting over tea. The one with the highest cultivation was a young man in a yellow shirt, around twenty years old. Their clothing bore a blood-red skull emblem.

This was the insignia of the Blood Skull Sect. The young man in the yellow shirt was Li Feng, the direct grandson of a Core Formation cultivator named Li from the Blood Skull Sect, and he was at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

This small spirit stone mine was controlled by the Blood Skull Sect, constantly being mined for spirit ore, which was then sent back to the sect.

Because this spirit stone mine was located far behind the front lines, it had never been attacked. Coupled with a shortage of troops, only five Foundation Establishment cultivators were guarding it.

“Senior Brother Li, do you think we can conquer Chu? I heard that the front-line battles are not going well. I wonder if that’s true.”

“It’s hard to say. The Twelve Sects of Chu and Wei against our Five Sects… Even if we can’t take them down, digging out this small spirit stone mine before the war ends to compensate for losses is also…”

Before Li Feng could finish speaking, a strange ghostly wail emanated from his embrace.

He frowned, took out a palm-sized blood-red skull, which emitted peculiar sounds.

“Not good! Someone triggered the Profound Child Skull! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Be vigilant!”

The nearby demonic beasts had all been killed, and the surrounding villages had long been destroyed. The warning artifact placed on the outer perimeter suddenly alerted them, meaning enemies must have sneaked in.

He quickly pulled out a yellow formation plate and cast several incantations onto it.

A flash of yellow light appeared, and a massive yellow light barrier materialized out of thin air, enveloping the entire valley.

On an open area outside the valley, the middle-aged scholar’s expression was grim. A shattered skull lay beneath his feet.

“A surprise attack is impossible now. We’ll have to assault them directly. The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators shouldn’t be high.”

The middle-aged scholar summoned his flying artifact, jumped onto it, and soared towards the sky above the valley.

Wang Mingjiang and the others followed, either summoning their flying artifacts, releasing spiritual birds, or casting spells.

Soon, they reached the sky above the valley, and over a dozen massive skulls flew out from within the yellow light barrier.

“Follow me and kill them!”

The middle-aged scholar coldly shouted, patting the azure sword box on his back. A crisp sword hum rang out, and nine two-foot-long azure flying swords flew out from the sword box, meeting the over a dozen massive skulls.

Wang Mingjiang and the other six either summoned second-tier puppet beasts, used artifacts, or released spiritual birds.

Under the middle-aged scholar’s control, the nine azure flying swords quickly transformed into a single azure giant sword, over five zhang long, carrying an astonishing momentum. It shattered the over a dozen giant skulls and then struck the yellow light barrier fiercely, causing the barrier to tremble violently.

The middle-aged scholar’s name was Zhao He, and he was the fourth disciple of the Sword Palace Master, so his strength was naturally beyond doubt.

“You have some skill. No wonder you dared to attack us. Consider yourselves unlucky. I was just looking for a chance to stretch my limbs and fully eliminate the invading enemies.”

Li Feng said coldly, his eyes filled with burning desire.

After a burst of blood-red light erupted from his body, a large amount of blood mist appeared out of thin air around him. After a tumultuous swirl, it transformed into a massive blood-red giant bird.

“Be careful, Fellow Daoist Zhao. Most cultivators of the Blood Skull Sect cultivate blood arts, which can defile artifacts, especially swords.”

Wang Mingjiang remembered something and hastily warned him.

At this moment, the blood-red giant bird spread its wings and swooped towards the azure giant sword.

“Break for me!”

Zhao He gave a cold shout, changing his incantation.

The azure giant sword suddenly burst apart, releasing hundreds of flying swords that shattered the blood-red giant bird.

Li Feng and the other five Blood Skull Sect disciples chanted incantations, and a large amount of blood-red light appeared around their bodies.

When fighting, Blood Skull Sect disciples usually employ secret arts to first defile the enemy’s artifacts, then summon their own artifacts to eliminate the foe. With this tactic, few could stand against them.

Wang Mingjiang and the other five controlled their second-tier puppet beasts and artifacts, striking the yellow light barrier, which continued to shake.

Two disciples of the Beast Taming Sect each released a giant crimson raven, which each spewed a thick crimson flame, striking the yellow light barrier.

Continuous roaring sounds echoed, and the yellow light barrier’s glow dimmed slightly.

At this moment, Li Feng and the five others stopped chanting. A massive blood-red skull floated above their heads, emitting a strong bloody scent.

With a strange roar, the blood-red skull flew out from the yellow light barrier, opened its mouth, and sprayed a large expanse of blood-red flames towards the artifacts and second-tier puppet beasts.

When the artifacts touched the blood-red flames, they swayed back and forth, soon dropping from mid-air. When the puppet beasts came into contact with the blood-red flames, their surfaces became pitted, and they swayed, appearing to have lost much of their spiritual essence.

“Break for me!”

Zhao He raised both hands, releasing a large expanse of azure sword qi, which transformed into a massive azure sword light. It fiercely struck the blood-red skull, shattering it.

Li Feng opened his mouth and spat out a palm-sized blood-red command flag. Blood-red light flowed ceaselessly. After infusing it with spiritual power, it rapidly grew to over a zhang in length. A ferocious skull pattern was embroidered on its flag surface.

The other four also summoned blood-red glowing command flags, each embroidered with a ferocious skull pattern.

“Not good! They’re going to release Profound Yin Blood Flame! Don’t let them unleash that fire, or we’ll all die!”

Wang Mingjiang shouted loudly, his expression extremely grim.

Profound Yin Blood Flame was a secret art of the Blood Skull Sect. With this secret art, a third-level Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Blood Skull Sect had killed a fifth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator. Wang Mingjiang had witnessed this personally. Of course, this secret art required a long casting time and could not be successfully cast instantly.

Zhao He frowned. He opened his mouth, and a streak of azure light flew out, revealing a foot-long azure small sword, radiating spiritual energy.

The azure small sword flashed and instantly merged into the azure giant sword. The azure giant sword’s light burst forth, and a layer of azure flames appeared on its surface.

“Strike for me!”

The azure giant sword quickly slashed downwards. Wang Mingjiang and the other six controlled their second-tier puppet beasts and artifacts, following closely behind.

Just then, Li Feng and the five others each summoned a blood-red glowing skull, which flew out from the yellow light barrier. Each skull sprayed out countless thin blood threads, meeting the incoming attacks.

Dozens of blood-red fine threads struck the second-tier puppet beasts, quickly wrapping around them. The artifacts touched the blood-red fine threads, immediately swaying and dimming in spiritual light.

As the blood-red fine threads approached the azure giant sword, they were severed by its sharp sword qi, unable to touch it. The azure giant sword struck the yellow light barrier, causing the barrier to tremble violently.

At this moment, Li Feng and the other five desperately shook their blood-red banners. The blood-red banners’ light burst forth, and the skulls on their surfaces seemed to come alive.

“Decisive battle! Don’t give them time to release the Profound Yin Blood Flame!”

Zhao He summoned an azure seal, which grew to the size of a small mountain in the wind, rapidly smashing towards the yellow light barrier below.

The other four either summoned second-tier spirit talismans, detonated artifacts, or controlled spiritual birds to attack.

Wang Mingjiang hesitated for a moment. The blue light from his boots erupted, transforming into a streak of blue light that flew downwards.

“Roar!”

With a strange roar, five blood-red skulls each sprayed a thick stream of blood-red flame. Three streams struck the azure seal, and two struck Wang Mingjiang.

Wang Mingjiang’s body blurred, splitting into four. He rapidly flew towards the yellow light barrier. The bodies of two of the Wang Mingjiang clones were struck by the blood-red flames, disintegrating into specks of spiritual light.

As the three blood-red flames touched the azure seal, the seal was submerged by a large expanse of blood-red flames, shaking and making “hissing” sounds. Dense blood threads flew out from the mouths of the five skulls, piercing through the azure seal.

Second-tier talismans and self-detonating artifacts transformed into thick bolts of lightning. Crimson flames, golden flying swords, and azure wind blades mingled with spiritual light, creating continuous explosions that engulfed more than half of the yellow light barrier.

After the spiritual light dissipated, the yellow light barrier became even dimmer.

At this moment, the blood-red banners in the hands of Li Feng and the five others shone even more brightly. A large expanse of blood-red fireballs, numbering over a thousand, emitting a strong bloody scent, floated above their heads. Li Feng showed no unusual signs, but the others’ faces turned very pale. Using this secret art with artifacts consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power and took a considerable amount of time.

Wang Mingjiang also reached the yellow light barrier. Unbeknownst to anyone, a blue gauntlet now adorned his left hand. Judging by its spiritual energy fluctuations, it was clearly a mid-grade artifact.

He took out a hazy yellow talisman and slapped it onto his left arm. With a flash of yellow light, his arm grew noticeably thicker and was filled with power.

The second-tier mid-grade talisman, Ten-Jun Talisman, could enhance the user’s strength, tripling its original power.

Wang Mingjiang was already a body cultivator, and with this Ten-Jun Talisman, his strength increased even further.

When Li Feng saw Wang Mingjiang put on the gauntlet, he inwardly cried out that it was not good. He quickly summoned three blood-red flying knives, slashing towards Wang Mingjiang.