More than two hundred zhang away, in a pavilion, two figures were exchanging blows at high speed, their clashes occasionally producing loud booms of colliding Spirit Power and unwilling roars of anger.
"Yiming, you and I have never had any grievances. Why have you been so vicious? What is the reason?"
It was an old man in gray robes with graying hair. At this moment, his robes were stained with large patches of blood, and his face was ashen as he desperately dodged the pursuit of a yellow-robed monk.
Although the gray-robed elder was in a sorry state, he dared not flee far from the pavilion, staying within a ten-zhang radius. But for a cultivator, this distance was far too close. When he had no choice, he occasionally had to turn and clash with the yellow-robed monk behind him. But with each exchange, the gray-robed elder's aura grew weaker.
"A...mi...tabha. Brother Duan, why do you say such things? Didn't you come here to seek a breakthrough on the brink of life and death? This old monk is merely helping you. When you achieve the Golden Core in the future, don't forget this old monk's kindness."
The middle-aged monk in the yellow robe pursued him unhurriedly from behind, his face gentle and full of smiles, his words warm and comforting. But his strikes were extremely ruthless, each move capable of felling an enemy in a single blow.
His words made the gray-robed elder's chest swell with even more frustration, and for a moment, he could only do his best to dodge.
Neither of them noticed that a wisp of Divine Sense was now enveloping them, observing everything clearly.
Three hundred zhang away, Li Yan retracted his Divine Sense, a slight smile appearing on his face. He hadn't expected to recognize both of the combatants here: Monk Yiming of the Jingtu Sect and Duan Weiran.
"It seems the inside of the 'Flame Palace' is not a separate space. Yiming, let's see where you run this time."
Although Li Yan didn't know why Monk Yiming and Duan Weiran were fighting, there was never any need for reason between cultivators. It was simply the law of the jungle.
What he had always held a grudge about was being plotted against and being unable to take revenge. "A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years."
To Li Yan, that was all nonsense. As long as one had the ability and opportunity for revenge, it was best to take it immediately, right now!
As the smile appeared on Li Yan's face, his figure began to turn illusory. Finally, he vanished from the spot.
Hearing Yiming's words, filled with kindness and righteousness, Duan Weiran was tempted to turn and fight to the death, but he knew that would give him no chance of survival.
His opponent was determined to take his life. The two of them chased each other for another dozen or so laps. After several more wounds deep enough to show bone appeared on Duan Weiran's body, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
He hadn't dared to flee the pavilion before because the distance between them was too close. The moment he left the pavilion, he would be in an area teeming with Vicious Souls.
A single casual blast of Spirit Power from Monk Yiming would send countless Vicious Souls attacking him while he was in mid-air, likely before he could reach a safe place.
Since there was no escape, he would self-destruct and take his opponent with him. But he was truly unwilling.
He had cultivated painstakingly for over a hundred years, and this time, he had been on the verge of a breakthrough. Yet, his opponent had launched a sneak attack on him. Otherwise, in a fair fight, it was uncertain who would have emerged victorious.
"Hehehe, Brother Duan, are you thinking of self-destructing? I don't think you'll have the chance."
Monk Yiming seemed to have seen through Duan Weiran's thoughts. As the two of them circled rapidly, he still spoke gently, but his words carried a bone-chilling coldness.
Hearing this, Duan Weiran's heart skipped a beat. He no longer hesitated. All the Spirit Power in his body fiercely converged towards his Dantian. But the next moment, his face turned pale, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His rapidly moving figure came to an abrupt halt.
Monk Yiming, who was behind him, also stopped, smiling as he looked at Duan Weiran, who had turned to face him. "Self-destruction is not good. If the items in the Storage Pouch are damaged, wouldn't this old monk's efforts be in vain?"
Duan Weiran suppressed the terror in his heart. The sweat on his forehead was from shock. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "Chan... Chan Master Yiming, what... what do you want? I am but a rogue cultivator, with meager possessions."
"Amitabha. Brother Duan, you are mistaken. Why must you feign ignorance? You obtained two Silver Pages and then went into hiding. If this old monk hadn't also happened to enter the 'Flame Palace,' I truly wouldn't have known where you were hiding."
Yiming smiled faintly. He had met his three junior brothers and gotten some news. The matter of the Silver Pages had been widely discussed recently. It was known to many that the last two had fallen into the hands of a page boy and Liu Chong of the "Broadsword Sect."
But as for who had obtained the first eight Silver Pages, few knew. However, the Jingtu Sect cultivators were spread throughout this place, and they had a way of communicating within the sect. So, they knew the whereabouts of five of the other eight.
This Duan Weiran was a man of great fortune. He had encountered opportunities twice in the underground palace of the Red Maple Pool. After striking, both Silver Pages had fallen into his hands, and he had then vanished without a trace.
Apart from those who had participated in those two snatchings, very few people knew about this. They were unwilling to share this information with others and searched for Duan Weiran's whereabouts on their own. Some guessed that he had gone into hiding to comprehend and cultivate, while others thought he had already fled the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
Among them were cultivators from the Jingtu Sect. They had always regarded the treasures within the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda as their own. If they couldn't obtain them, they didn't want them to fall into the hands of outsiders. So, they would pass this information internally through their sect tokens.
Hearing Monk Yiming's words, Duan Weiran finally understood. So, his opponent had also learned of this matter.
"You poisoned me with your first strike. The reason you've been toying with me all this time is that this poison takes a certain amount of time to take effect," Duan Weiran now knew why his opponent had been dragging things out. It was because he wasn't confident he could kill him in one blow, but he was also afraid of him self-destructing in a last-ditch effort.
"Hehehe, Brother Duan, it's too late for you to know. This old monk is not an expert in poison, so I had to resort to this method. But the result is still good."
Monk Yiming smiled faintly, but when he spoke of using poison, the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily. For a moment, he thought of that black-robed youth. Xu Yehua's death was strange and sudden. That person was a true master of poison.
Duan Weiran's face was ashen. He sensed his Dantian. This poison was not a fatal one, but its concealment was too strong, and he had carelessly fallen for it.
Normally, if given half an hour, he should be able to slowly force this poison out. But now, let alone half an hour, he probably didn't even have a single breath.
Currently, the Spirit Power in his Dantian could still circulate, but it felt as if a membrane had covered it, allowing him to use only twenty percent of his usual Spirit Power.
How could this amount of Spirit Power be a match for Monk Yiming? It was even more impossible to self-destruct. However, he still had a chance. If he could hold his opponent off for a moment and act quickly, he could still crush his Storage Pouch.
Though he thought this, he knew the chances were slim. Yiming had long set his sights on his Storage Pouch. How could he give him a chance now? If he had known, he would have risked everything from the start, but in that situation, it was impossible to have such a thought.
Just then, a cold voice rang out in the pavilion. "Poison? You're no good at it. You can die now!"
The voice came too suddenly, stunning Monk Yiming, who was about to strike. He then saw an astonished expression on Duan Weiran's face, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked behind him.
Monk Yiming's first reaction was to cry out in his heart, "Not good!"
But no matter how fast his reaction was, he was half a step too slow. He felt a scorching, stabbing pain pour down from the top of his head. The heat was even more intense than the burning sensation in the magma, a stabbing pain that penetrated deep into his bones.
Then, he could no longer see anything. He had just started to gather his Spirit Power when he lost consciousness. His last thought was, "I seem to have heard this voice somewhere before!" Then, even his soul turned to nothingness.
Duan Weiran felt a chill run through his body. He had witnessed a terrifying scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life. The moment the voice sounded, he saw a black shadow appear behind Monk Yiming.
The person's palm was already hovering over Monk Yiming's bald head. Then, Monk Yiming, like a tallow candle, began to melt rapidly from the top of his head. In an instant, his head was gone, then his torso, and finally, his entire person vanished into thin air, not even a trace of his Storage Pouch left behind.
Only then did he see the figure slowly solidify from its illusory state. A black-robed youth stood there indifferently. Duan Weiran's heart was a block of ice. He believed that if the other party hadn't deliberately spoken, neither he nor Monk Yiming would have known what was happening.
When he saw the black-robed youth's face clearly, his gaze shifted from shock to suspicion. Then, under the black-robed youth's cold gaze, he swallowed hard and said in a somewhat dry voice, "Fellow... Fellow Daoist Jiang, is that you?"
Li Yan was very satisfied with his current cultivation. He used the Stealthy Night Art and arrived in the pavilion without any hindrance, and the two Pseudo-Core cultivators in the pavilion were completely unaware.
After hearing some of their conversation, an idea came to him. He then walked straight up behind Monk Yiming, yet Monk Yiming remained completely oblivious.
At this, Li Yan was also surprised by his own current strength, but his hand did not slow. He directly covered the top of Monk Yiming's head.
Even when his palm was already on his opponent's head, his opponent still had a look of complete ignorance. The gap was too obvious. It should be known that before, Li Yan had to use ninety percent of his strength to fight Monk Yiming.
Then, Li Yan activated the Fragmented Poison Body. The incomparably tyrannical poison was directly poured into Monk Yiming's body. What shocked Li Yan in the end was that although his cultivation had greatly increased this time, and the Fragmented Poison Body had not continued to advance and differentiate, he had clearly overlooked the effect of the True Scripture of Gui Water.
The power of the Fragmented Poison Body had far exceeded his expectations. Not only did it instantly turn Yiming into nothingness, but even his Storage Pouch was completely corroded, not leaving Li Yan with a single keepsake.
While shocked, Li Yan also felt great regret. The possessions of a Pseudo-Core cultivator were certainly not meager.
But thinking of the three who had plotted against him, all finally dying a violent death, the long-held frustration in his heart was finally eased.
This also gave Li Yan a true understanding of his current strength. A Pseudo-Core Realm cultivator would find it difficult to cause any trouble in front of him now.
"Hehe, Brother Duan, to think I would meet you here. It's truly fate!" Li Yan composed himself, chuckled at Duan Weiran, and cupped his hands.
"Are you really... Brother Jiang? Your cultivation..." Seeing Li Yan cup his hands in greeting, Duan Weiran also hurriedly returned the courtesy, but the look of suspicion in his eyes remained, and he asked hesitantly. But he regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.