The Xiao Family Elder was filled with a mixture of shock and rage. Looking at Fang Cheng, who was several levels below him, he didn’t dare to be careless. With a wave of his long sleeve, the shadow of a pale golden staff shot out and clashed with Fang Cheng’s sword light.

The Cold Wave Radiance Sword trembled slightly before curling upward again. Its sword light was incredibly fast, circling the Elder and constantly slashing and thrusting at him.

The Elder’s expression was grave. He swung the pale golden staff up and down, forming an impenetrable defense.

Atop the auspicious cloud, the two had exchanged over a hundred blows in the blink of an eye.

The Elder was utterly shocked. He increasingly felt that he had still underestimated this Outer Disciple of the Yinluo Sect.

After all, he was at the Eighth-Layer Sensing Cultivation. He had been an ascetic cultivator for many years, his Magical Power foundation was stable and profound, and he possessed a wealth of experience fighting Demon Beasts. Among the senior elders of the Xiao Family, his strength could be ranked in the top three!

Yet this young man before him, who looked to have just entered the Sixth Layer of Sensing, was able to throw him into disarray with just a single Flying Sword.

’Is this what it means to be a disciple of a major sect? For an Outer Disciple to have such strength!’

The Elder mused to himself as he fended off the sword light.

Suddenly, a clear, piercing sword cry rang out.

A Flying Sword crackling with purple lightning flashed past!

The Elder, tied down by the Cold Wave Radiance Sword, was unable to dodge the sword light in time.

The Purple Brilliance Sword sliced through his waist, instantly splitting his body in two and killing him on the spot!

Fang Cheng withdrew his sword light and looked at the Elder’s corpse, thinking to himself, ’To get distracted while dueling me... he must have had a death wish.’

He didn’t approach the Elder’s body. Instead, he released five Vajra Gu, which devoured the corpse completely in a matter of moments.

He collected the Elder’s storage pouch and then walked into the pavilion.

His fight with the Elder had been swift and decisive, not taking much time at all. If he hadn’t wanted to leave some "blood food" for his Vajra Gu, using the Li Hen Demon Light would have been even faster.

As he entered the pavilion now, he immediately saw Elder Lu Wei.

The beautiful Elder, with her gentle and charming disposition, was trapped inside a scarlet heart. She sat cross-legged in mid-air, circulating her Magical Power to resist the refining power of the Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon.

She was not inherently skilled in combat, but the peculiarity of her Cultivation Technique granted her vast and enduring Magical Power, so she didn’t seem to be struggling too much.

Lu Wei also noticed Fang Cheng walk in. A look of surprise appeared in her beautiful eyes, as if she couldn’t quite believe that he had not only escaped but had also dealt with the senior Xiao Family elder in such a short time.

"Elder, the situation is urgent. How can this Disciple help you escape?" Fang Cheng asked, getting straight to the point.

Lu Wei came back to her senses and asked softly, "How did you break out of the demon cocoon?"

Fang Cheng answered truthfully, "I used brute force to find a weak point in its energy flow, then broke it with a single strike."

A wry smile appeared on Lu Wei’s beautiful face. "I’ve already tried that," she said.

Fang Cheng pondered for a moment before saying, "This Disciple has an item that can unleash power comparable to a single strike from a Life Talisman Cultivator. If you, Elder, attack from the inside while I strike its weak point from the outside, we should be able to break this demon cocoon."

Lu Wei’s beautiful eyes lit up. She nodded and said, "That item must be quite precious to you, right? If I can escape, I will be sure to compensate you."

Fang Cheng replied, "This is a matter of great importance to the sect. This Disciple dare not consider personal gain."

A look of approval appeared in Lu Wei’s eyes. "There’s no time to lose," she said. "Let’s begin!"

With that, she waved her fair hand, and strange blue flowers bloomed from the void, beginning to spin rapidly!

There were dozens of these strange blue flowers. They circled around Lu Wei like they were made of metal, cutting at the Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon.

The Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon trembled slightly, its bloody light swirling unstably. The runes on its surface flickered, yet it stubbornly resisted Lu Wei’s assault with exceptional toughness.

If this continued, Lu Wei would be the first to give out.

She had to resist the cocoon’s refining power while simultaneously attacking it. This dual drain on her energy would instead accelerate the cocoon’s refining process, and she would ultimately be turned into a Blood Bodhi!

Fang Cheng took a deep breath and took out a Taiyi Thunder Pill. His eyes were fixed on the changing runes on the surface of the Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon as he waited for the right moment to strike.

Suddenly, a glint appeared in his eyes. The Taiyi Thunder Pill in his hand shot out instantly and landed on the Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon.

BOOM!

A blinding Thunder Light erupted. Under the furious assault of the lightning, the large pavilion was instantly blown to pieces, then reduced to dust.

Fang Cheng summoned the Bronze Shell Leaf to protect himself. Bathed in the glow of the lightning, he watched, completely unharmed, the Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon that imprisoned Lu Wei.

Under the pincer attack from both inside and out, the bloody light rapidly faded until only a thin layer remained.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Wei reached out her fair hand, formed a Palm Seal, and struck the bloody curtain.

POP!

The Blood Nightmare Demon Cocoon shattered. A clear light enveloped Lu Wei, and with a faint flicker of her slender and graceful figure, she shot out of the range of the lightning.

More than ten breaths later, the lightning dissipated.

Standing on the Bronze Shell Leaf, Fang Cheng stepped forward and bowed. "This Disciple greets you, Elder. Congratulations on your escape!"

Lu Wei gazed into the distance, silently sensing her surroundings for a moment. Her dark brows furrowed slightly as she said, "Fang Cheng, you did very well. You have rendered a great service this time. I will be sure to report it truthfully when we return to the sect."

"Right now, I must go and rescue the other Elders. You take this item and save the other Disciples."

With that, she waved her fair hand, and a palm-sized, strange blue flower drifted down before Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng took the flower and nodded. "This Disciple accepts your command."

Lu Wei said gently, "Be careful!"

The moment she finished speaking, she transformed into a magnificent, flower-filled Escape Light and vanished into the distance.

Fang Cheng looked down at the strange flower and felt a curious sensation, instantly understanding how to use it.

...

「A few moments later.」

Fang Cheng went back to get Wen Qianqian, then lowered his Escape Light and followed the path toward the other Cyan Bamboo Studies in the valley.

From a distance, the two saw a Cyan Bamboo Study. Fang Cheng couldn’t be bothered to speak; he simply sent a beam of sword light over, splitting the study apart.

A Xiao Family disciple roared in anger and shot out from the study. He was wreathed in a bloody glow, his aura boiling. He was actually at the Seventh-Layer Sensing Cultivation.

Within the ruins of the study, the Yinluo Sect Outer Disciple was nowhere to be seen. He had likely already met a grim fate, refined into a Blood Bodhi by the Xiao Family disciple.

"Have you come here to die?"

The Xiao Family disciple gave a savage grin. The aura around him surged once more as he brazenly broke through to the Eighth Level of Sensing.

His gaze fell upon Fang Cheng and Wen Qianqian, like a ferocious beast choosing its prey.

Fang Cheng sighed softly. Although he didn’t know which fellow disciple had been stationed here, it was still a lamentable end for a member of his sect.

He raised the strange blue flower and blew on it gently.

The Xiao Family disciple was just about to attack when he let out a strange cry, suddenly feeling an inexplicable itch all over his body.

He reached out to scratch, and instantly, numerous small blue flowers sprouted from his skin!

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of bewitching blue flowers bloomed in dense clusters all over his body.

The man screamed repeatedly as his entire body instantly shriveled, as if he had been "sucked dry" by the strange blue flowers.

...