The Rhino-Horned Green Python's explosive attack landed. Li Yan felt a massive force transmit from the fan's frame. His wrist holding the fan went numb, and his body had no choice but to use the force to retreat.
"Brat, nice magical treasure, but your cultivation isn't enough. You're staying here!"
Only after these words were spoken did a blurry figure appear where Li Yan had just been, while the Rhino-Horned Green Python's afterimage in the distance was still slowly fading.
The moment the Rhino-Horned Green Python's figure appeared, it took another step sideways, arriving at Li Yan's left side with even greater speed. The fist it had thrown turned into a claw, slashing viciously at Li Yan's neck. It brought with it a sharp, whistling sound that seemed to tear through space.
Li Yan's expression changed repeatedly. He hadn't expected the Rhino-Horned Green Python's attack to be so fast, without any lag at all.
Li Yan hurriedly leaned back, dodging the sharp claw aiming for his neck. The python's claws almost grazed his skin, brushing past his protective Spirit Power and setting off a series of explosions.
At the same time, Li Yan's left hand, with its long, slender fingers, wiped and drew across the folding fan. A bolt of white silk instantly shot out from the front of the fan. This bolt of silk formed a vast river before him, its bloody aura soaring to the sky.
The tide of blood surged, rolling up large, blood-colored waves. These waves formed into faces like vicious ghosts in the air. Hissing, they opened their large mouths and bit at the green claw. Like dozens of ferocious heads launching a frenzied siege, they immediately submerged the lightning-fast claw in the tide of blood.
Li Yan had seen the Bloodhand Flying Sickle use this Blood River Art before, causing Zhuo Lingfeng to lose many of his Black-Armor Demondogs. After refining the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan, he too could command this blood river. He didn't know its original name, so he just called it the "Blood River Art."
The Rhino-Horned Green Python felt as if its fist had sunk into a mire. Even when it channeled its demonic power, it couldn't immediately break free. It couldn't help but grunt, "This magical treasure has some tricks."
At this moment, a greedy desire for the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan had already sprouted in its heart. Its mind was connected to its "Jade Pillow Bone-Splitting," so it knew what had happened before. It was extremely covetous of the strange flame in the fan. Now, seeing the blood river that could trap its attack like a mire, how could it not be delighted by the hunt?
Liking it was one thing, but the sharp pain coming from its hand meant it couldn't delay for a moment. Its other hand instantly plunged into the sea of blood. Its hands came together, forming several hand seals in quick succession. Then, with a loud shout, as if tearing silk, with a "rip," its hands forcibly tore apart the blood river and pulled them out.
At this time, the green light on its hands was dim, and its skin was no longer full, as if some substance had sucked the moisture out of it. This made the Rhino-Horned Green Python frown. The strangeness of this blood river exceeded its expectations. It could actually absorb the blood qi from its body. It had absolute confidence in the firmness of its own qi and blood.
It didn't have time to think too much. The moment it pulled its hands out, a cold shout came from its ear: "Fellow Daoist, good moves!" Then, a wave of heat descended from the sky. And the surging blood river in front of it, as if being pulled, rolled towards its body as its hands were withdrawn.
All of this happened in a very short time. Li Yan's blocking, retreating to dodge the attack, and immediately using the Blood River Art were all done in one smooth motion.
The moment the blood river entangled the opponent's hand, Li Yan had already flashed to the Rhino-Horned Green Python's side and rear. A light flashed in his hand, and an iron ruler, carrying a sky full of flames, smashed towards the python's head.
A fierce glint flashed repeatedly in the Rhino-Horned Green Python's eyes. It hadn't expected the opponent to be so troublesome. Not only was his magical treasure sharp, but his attack rhythm was also extremely well-timed. If the opponent's cultivation wasn't so shallow, he really might not be able to capture him.
Li Yan's sharp counter-attack aroused its ferocity. In an instant, this part of the world was filled with raging demonic power.
The Rhino-Horned Green Python opened its mouth and spat out a green pill. It shot out and instantly struck the blood river rolling towards it. It didn't even glance at the blood river that was already upon it. Instead, with a shake of its shoulders, a giant tail suddenly appeared from behind it, sweeping up from below towards the iron ruler.
The green pill the Rhino-Horned Green Python spat out struck the blood river. The roaring river, the moment it was hit by the green pill, shattered like a mirror.
Li Yan, who was attacking from the side, also turned pale. The iron ruler in his hand slowed for a moment. This was not an act. It was because his Divine Sense, which was controlling the blood river, had been impacted. Li Yan felt a surge of qi and blood in his chest, and his head spun with an indescribable discomfort.
Although Li Yan had advanced to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and his Spirit Power far exceeded his peers, the five Spirit Power cauldrons in his Dantian had expanded severalfold, and his Spirit Power was much more abundant than even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, almost comparable to an ordinary Pseudo-Core cultivator. But this Rhino-Horned Green Python had roamed the second level of the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for so many years. Its strength was far from being as simple as a Pseudo-Core.
Li Yan could even feel that this Rhino-Horned Green Python was, on the whole, slightly stronger than the beautiful woman in the green gauze he had met before, but still much weaker than Ancestor Redfire.
The two had only exchanged blows for a few short breaths, yet they had already displayed all their supernatural arts in a flash.
The Rhino-Horned Green Python had also gone from initial contempt to seriousness. When Li Yan had used the blood river to trap him, he had felt that the opponent's cultivation was not as weak as the mid-stage Foundation Establishment it appeared to be. No wonder his Jade Pillow Bone-Splitting had been defeated by the opponent in a few moves.
'This kid's cultivation is strange. His realm is clearly not high, but besides his magical treasure, his abundant Spirit Power is infinitely close to that of a Pseudo-Core. But from the degree of his Spirit Power condensation, he still looks like a mid to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. I wonder which sect he's from.'
When experts fought, the outcome was often decided in a few moves. A seemingly ordinary move could often be a matter of life and death, unless both sides were evenly matched and had to fight for hundreds of rounds, or even for days and nights.
Thus, the Rhino-Horned Green Python got serious. The demonic core he spat out contained sixty percent of his power. Sure enough, Li Yan's mind was immediately injured by his blow, and he fell into a disadvantage.
Affected mentally, the iron ruler in Li Yan's hand paused, and the opponent's giant tail had already swept over. Li Yan didn't have time to think. He immediately let go of the iron ruler and dodged to the side.
A muffled "thud" stunned the Rhino-Horned Green Python. The collision between the iron ruler and its long tail hadn't produced the sound of metal striking metal. The moment the iron ruler touched the long tail, it turned into a sky full of flames. Its prediction that it would send the iron ruler flying, or even break it, came to nothing.
The spot where the python's tail struck seemed to meet no resistance. The iron ruler immediately vanished and dispersed. A Crimson Crow appeared near the python's long tail. This Crimson Crow looked somewhat dispirited, but it was still full of fierce energy. The moment it materialized, it carried a body full of flames and pecked at the python's tail.
The Rhino-Horned Green Python's attack hit empty air. In its momentary daze, it felt a sharp pain in its tail, causing it to let out a low roar. With a shake of its tail, the Crimson Crow let out a sorrowful cry and once again collapsed into a sky full of flames.
When the Crimson Crow reappeared, it was already a hundred zhang away. At this time, the Crimson Crow looked even more exhausted. This iron ruler was something Li Yan had gotten from Cheng Wenming. The magical treasure's greatest power currently came from its artifact spirit. The Crimson Crow artifact spirit had been seriously injured in the battle with the Snow Sprite Lord. Otherwise, with its own peak second-tier strength, it could have really fought a battle with the Rhino-Horned Green Python.
After sensing the Crimson Crow's weakness and looking at the fist-sized, charred black hole on its tail, the Rhino-Horned Green Python pursed its lips, its eyes flashing with a fierce light. It then looked at the retreating Li Yan and snorted heavily. "You even released a seriously injured artifact spirit. You've run out of tricks!" As it spoke, the Rhino-Horned Green Python once again chased after Li Yan.
At this time, Li Yan had already moved far away from the pool at the foot of the mountain. His speed suddenly increased again. He had abandoned the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis, the blood river, and the iron ruler he had just summoned, fleeing deep into the jungle. The short exchange with the Rhino-Horned Green Python had put immense pressure on him. Every clash with the python made him feel like he was being overpowered.
"Can you escape?" The Rhino-Horned Green Python's voice came to Li Yan's ear. Not only was the python's combat power terrifying, but its speed was also astonishingly fast. Before Li Yan could summon the Cloud-Piercing Willow, it had quickly closed in behind him.
Li Yan, retreating, had a cold expression. Seeing that the Rhino-Horned Green Python had already attacked, he tightly gripped the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan in his hand and fanned it again. The Rhino-Horned Green Python had been paying close attention to this fan. Although it had seemed to effortlessly extinguish the flames on its Jade Pillow Bone-Splitting, it had actually consumed a trace of its most powerful demonic power containing its essence blood.
Essence blood, whether for a cultivator or a demonic beast, was the most important thing besides the soul. It was different from the qi and blood of the whole body. A Foundation Establishment cultivator only had about ten drops of essence blood, all obtained through painstaking cultivation.
No one would be willing to consume essence blood unless it was a critical moment. Consuming even a little would mean it was permanently gone and would not recover on its own. It had to be regained through arduous cultivation.
Through the experience of its Jade Pillow Bone-Splitting, the Rhino-Horned Green Python knew that ball of flame was too domineering. Besides using its demonic power containing its essence blood, it really had no way to extinguish that tyrannical flame.
Now, seeing the fleeing Li Yan turn around and fan at him, its rapidly approaching body couldn't help but pause. Being on guard, how could it be willing to waste its essence blood to block it head-on? But the next moment, the Rhino-Horned Green Python couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Because although the opponent's fan had shot out flames, they were extremely scarce. The pitifully small flames dispersed on their own less than an inch from the fan.
"Brat, I was wondering why I had never heard of such a powerful magical treasure. It must have some kind of limitation. Otherwise, if you just kept fanning, wouldn't you have few rivals of the same rank?"
The Rhino-Horned Green Python spoke thus, but it was still cautious, afraid that this human cultivator was trying to trick him, saving the strange fire in the fan for a sneak attack.
The Rhino-Horned Green Python was confident that being sneak-attacked while on guard was almost impossible. Sure enough, after Li Yan's fan failed, his expression changed, and he fled even faster.
The Rhino-Horned Green Python sneered and also increased its speed again, several times faster than before. At this point, the two of them, one in front and one behind, had only just left the side of the pool.
With a flicker, it approached Li Yan's side. In mid-flight, its body spun sideways again. Its tail suddenly grew several times longer, and with a whistling sound, it came from the front, smashing towards Li Yan's waist. Like an iron chain blocking a river, it left the fleeing Li Yan with no way to dodge.