Chapter 72 - Eldest Senior Brother

Chapter 72: Chapter 70: Eldest Senior Brother"Someone is coming." the Earth Spirit slowly said, already so familiar with the Small Secret Realm that it detected the strange aura immediately.

Ye Qiu was startled, but quickly regained his composure, thinking he should know who it was, since in his previous life, it was Qingling who had obtained the Earth Spirit. He just didn’t expect her to arrive so quickly.

"It’s you!" Qingling gripped her long sword tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent.

At the same time, Xue Yang, Fanxing, and that eerie man quickly formed a circle around Ye Qiu, positioning themselves defensively. Only Ming Jing, dressed in white monk robes and holding a string of rosewood Buddha beads, chanted ’Amitabha Buddha’, seemingly without the intention to attack.

"What, you want to make a move against me?" Ye Qiu’s face was stern, a purple-black long sword appearing in his hand, exuding fierce killing intent.

"No matter how talented you are, Ye Qiu, now I am also a Cultivator in the late-stage of Divine Transformation, and we have one in the Late-stage Nascent Soul and another in the Mahayana Realm, you are destined to die under my sword today," Qingling said fiercely.

"Do you know why villains fail? Because they talk too much." Ye Qiu took the initiative, his sword carrying a thunderous power, striking directly at Qingling’s face.

"Despicable. Shameless." Xue Yang cursed furiously, but being only in the Late-stage Nascent Soul, he couldn’t get involved in the battle between Ye Qiu and the others, and was soon wounded by the stray Sword Qi.

Although Qingling was in the late stages of Divine Transformation, Ye Qiu had reached the Body Integration Realm, and after years of hardship, his attacks were far more formidable than those of cultivators on the same level. Although Qingling was constantly on guard, she was still wounded in an instant, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

After landing a successful strike, Ye Qiu didn’t have time to launch a second attack before the Mahayana Realm Snake Demon had already reacted, attacking fiercely with a palm wind mixed with traces of green mist.

The green mist touched the surrounding flowers and plants, which instantly withered — it was highly toxic!

The Snake Demon, in the Mahayana Realm and also a poisonous snake, caused Ye Qiu to avoid confronting it head-on, carefully dealing with it, while Fanxing raised a long knife, enveloped in flames that were red mingled with white, emitting searing heat.

After being wounded by Sword Qi, Qingling quickly swallowed an Elixir, and her injuries miraculously recovered in the blink of an eye, the fire in her eyes growing even fiercer, determined not to cease until Ye Qiu was dead.

On one side, Ye Qiu battled fiercely with the Snake Demon, and occasionally Fanxing caused him some trouble. Although he had recently made a breakthrough, facing the highly toxic Snake Demon was still challenging at the moment.

"Silent Annihilation!" Ye Qiu nearly exhausted all the Spiritual Energy in his body, his Lifebound Spirit Sword named Silent Annihilation, and his Sword Intent also called Silent Annihilation, a sword move that breaks all laws, seemed to turn everything into ash under this move.

The Snake Demon instantly sensed the danger, and even with its sturdy demonic body, it dared not withstand the attack directly. The three swiftly avoided, but the power of Ye Qiu’s strike was too incredible, the entire canyon was split in half, and the mountains on either side affected by the Sword Qi, the earth and rocks crashing down.

The Snake Demon, being the closest, had a long sword mark across its hundred-meter-long body, its scales flipped open, and blood gushed out profusely.

Xue Yang, with the lowest cultivation, even though farthest away, was still overturned once more, crashing heavily to the ground, and Fanxing, failing to dodge in time, knelt on one knee, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Only Qingling, quickly taken away from the scene by Ming Jing, was unaffected.

After executing that move, Ye Qiu was far from relaxed, his body’s Spiritual Energy rapidly depleted, falling from mid-air, while enemies lurked around, he quickly took out a segment of uneaten Ice Lotus Root from years ago, and after consuming it, the refreshing Spiritual Energy surged to his forehead and Dantian, gripping Silent Annihilation as he resumed the intense battle with the furious Snake Demon.

"Boy, you will surely die today," said the Snake Demon, its body a hundred meters long with scales like hardened steel, ordinary Sword Qi unable to harm it in the slightest, its thick snake tail powerful and fierce, Ye Qiu, caught off guard, was thrown away instantly, his internal organs felt displaced.

Qingling seized every opportunity, secretly releasing a black beetle from her hand, while simultaneously conjuring a clump of icy Alien Water in her left hand and a clump of scorching Spiritual Fire in her right, cautiously and carefully merging the two together.

"Qiuqiu, beware of the beetle." Little Wood Spirit recognized the beetle, the Soul Devouring Worm, which looked ordinary and showed no fluctuations of Spiritual Energy. However, this creature thrived on consuming anything containing Spiritual Energy. Once it burrows into a cultivator’s body, it never stops until death. Numerous cultivators have perished under its mandibles ever since Qingling acquired it.

Ye Qiu always faced combat with his best demeanor, especially against Qingling. He knew she had numerous tricks up her sleeve and remained cautious of her at all times. Despite the beetle showing no Spiritual Energy fluctuations, he still noticed it.

His left hand released a burst of purple-blue Thunder, instantly frying the beetle amidst electrified sparks, causing Qingling’s gritted her teeth in frustration and hastened the movements of her hands.

Within the red and blue spherical aura, Ye Qiu sensed a dreadful aura and dared not take it lightly. Meanwhile, the Snake Demon released its deadly poison. In his urgency, Ye Qiu’s robe got contaminated, causing him a bout of dizziness and blurred vision.

Seeing the urgency, the Snake Demon pressed its attack while Ye Qiu steadied his mind and summoned the Heaven and Earth Net.

The Heaven and Earth Net, forged from Thunder Essence Stone and steeped in Thunder Liquid for months, although it did not develop a Spiritual Sense, it was much more powerful than ordinary Treasure Artifacts. Even the Mahayana Realm Snake Demon could not move under the Net, its skin even emitting a burnt smell due to the fierce strikes of Thunder.

Temporarily escaping from the Snake Demon, Ye Qiu swiftly swallowed the last slice of the Ice Lotus Root, and then he raised his long sword.

"Silent Annihilation!"

"Yin Yang Polar Rings!"

On one side was the deep purple-black Silent Annihilation Sword Intent, and on the other were the red and blue Destruction Polar Rings. Both of them drained their own Spiritual Energy, determined to trap each other here.

He vaguely felt that Qingling, this Son of Heaven, was no longer as indestructible as before.

"This is bad, the space is unstable," Xiao Mu anxiously said.

But Ye Qiu and Qingling, at the center of the battle, after the confrontation of their ultimate moves, were momentarily immobilized.

"Hiss..." The Snake Demon, tormented by the Heaven and Earth Net, rolled around in pain. With the injured Xue Yang and Fanxing’s help, it also managed to escape heavily wounded.

At that moment, an intense explosion erupted between the Sword Intent and Yin Yang Polar Rings. Ye Qiu and Qingling were instantly blown away, their bodies soaked with blood.

At this point, Ye Qiu felt as if all his internal organs were shattered; he had no strength even to move a finger. The Nascent Soul in his Dantian dimmed and cracked, as if his Primordial Spirit was about to leave its shell.

"The space is collapsing, we must leave quickly." Qingling also passed out, and Ming Jing transmitted a Buddha’s Light within her body, while the Snake Demon, Xue Yang, and Fanxing collectively summoned their Spirit Boat.

The Snake Demon, still wary of Ye Qiu and wanting to strike once more, realized it was too late as the space had already begun to collapse and Ye Qiu was blasted too far away.

However, seeing that Ye Qiu sustained such severe injuries and with the space collapsing, it seemed unlikely for him to survive, so it also left reassured.