Dusk deepened.

Song Yan’s faint breathing merged with the wind in the forest.

The blessing of the Hidden Sword Gathering Spirit Stance made him seem like a withered leaf in the woods.

"..."

His lowered gaze narrowed.

Discovered?

Where did he go wrong? This thought of tracing back the source only appeared for a fleeting moment before Song Yan extinguished it.

Now, what he should be considering was how to kill Dan Zifeng here.

Not to review his mistakes, that was meaningless.

"Fellow Daoist, why hide..."

Buzz—

Before he finished speaking, a black and white Flying Sword shot out at extreme speed!

Even though Dan Zifeng was mentally prepared, he was still startled by the speed of the Flying Sword.

He quickly dodged in all directions.

However, the Spiritual Qi and Sword Qi fluctuations from wielding the Flying Sword still allowed Dan Zifeng to pinpoint him.

He patted the qiankun bag at his waist, conjuring three fire Talismans that hovered at his side.

A flash of firelight at his fingertip, and three fiery snakes swiftly lunged from the Talismans, heading straight for Song Yan’s hiding spot.

He finally revealed himself.

"Who are you?"

Dan Zifeng looked at the unfamiliar person; he had little impression, or rather, he was very unfamiliar.

He didn’t remember such a person on his list of spiritual item acquisitions.

"Did someone hire you to kill me?"

Dan Zifeng sneered, "A bunch of insects and ants, truly stupid to the core."

"To actually hire a 6th Level of Qi Refining Cultivator to ambush me?"

"What? Don’t they have enough Spirit Stones?"

Dan Zifeng grinned savagely; having seen through the ambush gave him a sense of control over everything.

"I have a lot of Spirit Stones here, do you want me to give you some more? Anyway..."

"They were all taken from them."

"Hahahahaha..."

Towards these low-level Cultivators, Dan Zifeng was unwilling to hide anything; on the contrary, he subjected them to extreme humiliation.

Song Yan’s heart was calm, without any ripples.

The fact that the other party saw through the ambush didn’t make him panic either.

The reason was simple.

Sometimes, some Cultivators with special treasures or Divine Abilities, or even just Cultivators whose five senses were sharper than ordinary people, could indeed detect traps and ambushes.

However, "detecting a trap" and "resolving a crisis"... those were completely two different matters.

Thump.

The sound of dripping water came from Song Yan’s hand.

A brilliant spiritual light burst forth from his hand, and waves like flowing water spread outwards.

Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman!

The sky-blue ripples spread like waves, and the surging Water-attribute Spiritual Qi almost overflowed the area.

The Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi within a radius of fifteen zhang immediately stagnated, then, like floodwaters, began to collapse and scatter.

At the same time, Song Yan pressed forward, and the black and white Flying Sword struck again.

Dan Zifeng’s expression changed drastically.

He made a decisive move, on one hand, sweeping outside the range covered by the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman, and on the other hand, urging the Spiritual Qi within his body to conjure a reddish bronze bell.

Clang—

The Flying Sword struck Dan Zifeng’s front, but a flash of fiery red spiritual light appeared, deflecting the Flying Sword.

A defensive Spiritual Artifact!

Dan Zifeng sneered inwardly.

Where did this wild Loose Cultivator come from, with no experience in life-and-death battles?

Such a powerful Talisman, if only it had been used as a killing move when his Spiritual Qi was half depleted, it would have been extremely dangerous.

But like this, at the very beginning of the fight, the opponent used the Talisman... then even if he couldn’t escape the range covered by the Talisman under the opponent’s pursuit, by the time his Spiritual Qi was depleted, the Talisman’s duration would have already passed.

A great opportunity, wasted for nothing.

Dan Zifeng looked at the opponent with nothing but endless mockery and a playful pity.

The Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman’s water spiritual field fully expanded, almost covering half of the forest clearing.

Within the dense forest, a thick fog lingered.

Song Yan was hidden within it.

"Hiding your head and showing your tail!"

Dan Zifeng roared, and a crimson spiritual light burst from his fingertip, forcibly activating the "Complete Record of Fire Blessings".

Flames spewed from his palm, emitting a piercing "hissing" sound as they touched the water mist within the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman’s range.

The fiery snakes, originally a foot thick, now shrunk to an inch.

Not caring about this change, Dan Zifeng’s Spiritual Qi surged, and the scorching fire spirit struggled within the water mist, actually pushing the water mist Spiritual Qi outwards slightly.

The black and white Flying Sword suddenly broke through the air, precise and ruthless, heading straight for Dan Zifeng’s Dantian.

"Clang!"

The bronze bell, glowing with fiery red spiritual light, once again blocked a sword strike for him.

The Unmoored Boat was merely a sword body Song Yan reserved for his future Natal Flying Sword; even with the Sword Cultivator’s refining methods, his Natal Flying Sword was not yet formed, so he wasn’t a true Sword Cultivator yet.

Ultimately, the Unmoored Boat was still just an ordinary Flying Sword.

"Hmph... save it."

Dan Zifeng suddenly bit his tongue, and a drop of essence blood floated out. A jade pendant slowly rose, and the essence blood dripped onto it.

"Boom!"

The violent fire spirit temporarily broke through the Ren Water’s shackles, condensing into a fiery red armor phantom around his body.

At this moment, fifteen breaths had passed since the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman was activated.

The Unmoored Boat suddenly let out a clear sword cry, and Song Yan’s middle and index fingers of his left hand joined together, a stern wind and thunder colored light coalescing in his hand.

With a flick of his finger, a thunderous sound erupted from the Unmoored Boat!

His left hand immediately formed a hand seal, and a Qi Replenishing Pill was already swallowed into his stomach by his right hand.

Previously, it was mostly probing, and at this moment, Song Yan had not consumed much Spiritual Qi.

But he had to constantly ensure he was in his peak state.

Surging Spiritual Qi poured into his Meridians.

Nine white sword shadows, carrying golden lightning, stabbed from all directions towards the various weak points of the fiery red armor.

Dan Zifeng’s expression was grave; this Flying Sword, compared to before, had changed significantly, and he dared not be careless.

Spiritual Qi surged throughout his body, and his large palm, encased in the crimson spiritual armor, slammed to the ground. Fire spirit, carrying airflow, gushed out.

"Bang—"

The water spiritual mist was pushed away again, and the water mist within a zhang radius of Dan Zifeng instantly evaporated.

Song Yan advanced instead of retreating, taking half a step forward.

The black and white Flying Sword cut a tricky arc directly at Dan Zifeng’s throat, but it clanged against the red armor, striking out a few sparks.

Dan Zifeng also took advantage of the momentum to leap towards the edge of the Talisman, escaping outside the range of the water mist.

Recalling his sword to defend, Song Yan leaped up, lightly tapping the Flying Sword with his toes, and then flipped to the top of an ancient pine tree.

Dan Zifeng sneered, looking at Song Yan at the top of the ancient pine.

"Fellow Daoist, I wonder if you’ve had your fill of fighting?"

"..."

Song Yan didn’t speak, his expression very calm.

"What, could it be that you’re thinking of how to beg for mercy..."

The surrounding Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi began to surge, gathering towards Dan Zifeng.

He temporarily put away the protective small bell.

Feeling the surging fire spirit, a hint of enjoyment flashed across his expression.

The phantom of the crimson armor suddenly solidified!

Boom!!

The Talismans at his side burst into red light, and three ten-foot fiery snakes roared menacingly in his vicinity towards Song Yan!

Now that the restrictions of the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman were gone, in Dan Zifeng’s view, killing the opponent was simply a piece of cake.

"Hoo—"

Song Yan threw another Qi Replenishing Pill into his mouth.

Replenishing his already unconsumed Spiritual Qi to its peak.

"Finally, you’re in."

"Huh?"

Dan Zifeng’s gaze sharpened.

But then, spiritual light suddenly appeared all around, and six milky white lights burst forth with profound patterns, interlinking with each other.

"A trapping Formation?"

Dan Zifeng scoffed, his body surging with fire spirit, "You think you can use this trapping Formation to keep me here?"

"You’re truly deluded."

Crimson flames fiercely attacked Song Yan, "Die!"

Song Yan’s face remained calm; at this moment, caught between life and death, he was incredibly composed.

Even... there was a strange sense of excitement.

He slightly raised his right hand, and a brilliant glow coalesced at his fingertip.

Suddenly.

A highly condensed, murderous Sword Qi gathered at his fingertip, golden lightning faintly flickering.

Wind and thunder converged, Dao of the Sword True Essence!

Buzz—

Dan Zifeng didn’t even realize what had happened; the fiery red protective spiritual light melted away like spring snow under that Sword Qi.

A small, distinct void appeared in the chest of the crimson armor phantom.

Dense cracks spread outwards.

Bang!

The armor phantom suddenly dissipated.

Dan Zifeng stared blankly at the shattered protective spiritual jade in front of him, somewhat in disbelief.

This spiritual jade was sought by his father from Wang Lin years ago, and he had worn it since childhood.

Although not a high-grade treasure, it was both offensive and defensive, and easy to use.

It was almost the most cherished Spiritual Artifact he had since entering the Cultivation World.

Damn pigs... a frenzied, furious expression almost swallowed his eyes.

He formed a Dao seal with his hand, and his eyes were also tinged with a fiery red glow.

"Spirit of Blessed Fire!"

Dan Zifeng was engulfed in flames, and a massive amount of fire Spiritual Qi condensed into a giant fiery bird in the air, sweeping towards Song Yan!

That incomparably sharp Sword Qi had indeed made him feel fear and lingering dread.

But he also knew very well that with the opponent’s 6th Level of Qi Refining strength, that level of Sword Qi couldn’t be used a second time.

Feeling Song Yan’s ethereal aura, he grinned wildly, "Now... it’s my turn!"

In his eyes, the opponent was already a dead man.

However, he looked up.

Those eyes actually made Dan Zifeng feel a sense of unease.

Unconcealed indifference, and a calm demeanor as if looking at a corpse or an insect.

It was like annoyance, or perhaps weariness.

Those eyes were drowsy, yet filled with icy killing intent.

As if sensing a dangerous aura, Dan Zifeng subconsciously looked back.

"..."

Behind him, above the trapping Formation, white Talismans suddenly floated.

The sharp aura on those Talismans went from dormant to extreme in just an instant.

It gave Dan Zifeng a very familiar feeling.

Because he had just taken one head-on.

The Talismans shattered one after another, leaving only dense white sword lights hovering around the trapping Formation.

Lightning surged, wind and thunder were murderous!

Song Yan’s sword-fingers moved slightly, and the first Sword Qi moved without warning.

Buzz!

Although Dan Zifeng tried his best to dodge, the sharp aura still tore through his protective Spiritual Qi, piercing his shoulder.

"Ah—"

Excruciating pain struck, he screamed, and knelt on the ground.

Dan Zifeng could feel it.

The power of these sword lights was far less than the one on Song Yan’s fingertip just now.

But the problem was... there were simply too many of them!!

There was no more time for him to think, because he knew the second sword light was about to strike.

He conjured the bronze bell, and all the Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi in his body circulated frantically, the fiery red light on the bell greatly intensifying.

Clang!!

The second sword light fiercely struck the bronze bell, emitting a loud, crisp sound.

The third... the fourth... the light of the fiery red bronze bell, little by little, wore down.

The fifth, the sixth, the seventh!

The speed of the sword lights became faster and faster... finally, when the ninth sword light was unleashed, the crimson spiritual light on the bronze bell flickered erratically.

Eventually, its luster extinguished.

Dan Zifeng’s mouth overflowed with blood, he stared blankly, his face somewhat dazed... "No..."

"Impossible..."

The effect of the Qi Replenishing Pill had passed, and at this moment, beneath Song Yan’s Zhen Dao Sword Mansion, a sharp sword light began to re-condense.

His sword-fingers flicked out from his sleeve, and the Sword Qi rapidly divided.

Nine white sword shadows slowly circled around Dan Zifeng.

"This is fake..."

"Everything is fake..."

In a daze, Dan Zifeng’s vision blurred somewhat.

He only saw a somewhat familiar figure... which overlapped with an image in his mind.

Only at this moment did he awaken as if from a dream, startled and alarmed.

The surrounding sword lights and sword shadows rapidly flickered.

At Song Yan’s fingertip, that terrifying sharpness grew more and more intense... "Song..."

Buzz—

He seemed to want to shout a name, but didn’t have time.

He was completely engulfed by the sky-filling Sword Qi.

The sharp energy waves lingered for a long time.

The Unmoored Boat sliced through Dan Zifeng’s corpse, already covered in sword marks, splitting it in two.

He was truly spooked by the strange Spells and Divine Abilities in the Cultivation World.

He even worried whether a killed Cultivator might return from the dead.

"..."

He knew that compared to other Cultivators, his offensive methods were lacking.

Although there were many sword-wielding techniques in the Essentials of Swordsmanship, he chose to specialize in one.

Hence, after all the practice, only the Cloud Piercing Sword move was presentable.

Now that his Natal Flying Sword had not yet taken shape, even including the Dao of the Sword True Essence, the killing moves available to him were truly not many.

However... two things gave him great inspiration.

After the Peach Blossom Dock incident, he often recalled, while practicing sword control techniques, how that Demonic Cultivator used Flying Swords as array cores.

The Essentials of Swordsmanship actually mentioned something called a "Sword Formation."

Multiple Flying Swords or Sword Qi used in coordination, possessing extremely powerful offensive capabilities.

In fact, the Cloud Piercing Sword could be considered an extremely simplified version of a Sword Formation.

It was just that, since it used Sword Qi for attack, it was more flexible but less powerful compared to a true Sword Formation.

The second thing was that after the Dao of the Sword True Essence condensed, it could be temporarily stored beneath the Zhen Dao Sword Mansion, held without being released.

So... could it be stored elsewhere, for example... in Talismans?

After a brief attempt, it actually worked!

Although the Talismans he could afford in large quantities were of relatively low quality, and he had no understanding of the Talisman Dao, merely copying it mechanically.

The Sword Essence sealed within the Talismans had its power greatly weakened.

But the advantage was that the quantity was sufficient!

And when the Sword Essence was not activated, it was extremely restrained.

Hidden within an ordinary trapping Formation, it was difficult to detect.

The Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman was merely a diversion.

This killing Formation, formed by Sword Essence, was his trump card.

Without the use of Formation, a simple stacking of Sword Essence was enough to deliver a fatal blow to the opponent.

Xiao He had by now thoroughly searched all the spoils of war near the corpse.

Dan Zifeng’s qiankun bag hung from her tail.

Song Yan adjusted his breathing slightly and came to the corpse’s side.

He used Spiritual Qi to create fire, burning the corpse to ashes.

With a flick of his finger, earth and wood surged, burying the corpse underground.

"A Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level Cultivator actually died by my hand."

Recalling it, it felt like a dream.

"This battle just now caused quite a commotion; it’s better to leave as soon as possible."

After dealing with everything.

He urged the remaining Spiritual Qi, and with a few leaps, disappeared into the forest.