Li Hongyi faced the massive Buddhist Giant Handprint in the air above with a sense of despair. Suddenly, she felt an intensely sharp Sword Intent emanating from behind her. She couldn't help but glance back, only to see sword light flowing around Li Fan's body, exuding unparalleled sharpness.
"Sword Cultivator!"
Li Hongyi's beautiful eyes sparkled. Although Li Fan's Dharma Form had already manifested as a sword previously, it hadn't qualified to call him a true Sword Cultivator.
True Sword Cultivators possess unparalleled killing power. They nurture their Sword Seeds with their mana and soul essence, becoming one with the sword.
Around them, the swords in the hands of the female Ghost Cultivators trembled ever more violently, humming as if ready to escape their grip and fly towards Li Fan. Even the iron steeds beneath Cao Gong and the Demon Suppression Knights appeared to shudder.
"What an exceptional Sword Cultivator." Cao Gong's gaze sharpened, his suspicions appeared confirmed—it must be true, this young man came from that place. Within a thousand-mile radius, there was only one place capable of producing such a Sword Cultivator.
Even now, major figures from Chuzhou were on their way, arriving within days. It seemed like another great opportunity. Whether he could rise through the ranks depended on whether he could seize this chance, albeit with certain risks.
The massive Buddhist handprint descended with overwhelming pressure, and Li Fan raised his arm, extending a single finger to pierce directly towards it.
The golden handprint's oppressive force was terrifying enough to crush flesh and bone instantly, let alone challenge it with a single finger. The scene looked as futile as a mantis trying to stop a cart.
However, when his finger reached the massive Buddhist handprint, a crisp "crack" resounded. Cracks began appearing all over the golden handprint, as though countless strands of Sword Aura flowed within it.
"Boom..."
With a deafening explosion, the golden handprint shattered into countless pieces, torn apart.
The Jingang Temple monk's pupils emitted golden Buddhist light. He also realized Li Fan was a Sword Cultivator. He stepped forward, crushing the bricks beneath his feet. Below, Li Fan leapt into the air like a bolt of lightning, launching an attack straight at him, his arm extending again, this time aiming directly for him.
The sharp aura slammed into him, Sword Aura rampant, and the monk felt a trace of genuine threat.
"Degenerate." The monk barked coldly, the Buddha Beads in his hands spinning rapidly as Buddhist light radiated outward. He raised his right hand, extending a finger toward Li Fan. Behind him, the Dharma Form of Buddhism mimicked his motion, projecting a massive finger toward Li Fan.
The renowned Buddhist Vajra Finger—impenetrable and indestructible.
The massive Buddhist finger collided with Li Fan's outstretched finger, producing a resounding boom as the Vajra Finger shattered.
Li Fan hovered midair, Sword Aura flowing beneath his feet.
"Sword, come."
With a thunderous shout, the swords held by the female Ghost Cultivators broke free simultaneously and soared through the air, assembling above Li Fan's head.
"Kill!"
As Li Fan's voice dropped, the swords whistled fiercely, charging toward the Jingang Temple monk.
Li Hongyi watched the dazzling scene before her, her heart surging. Cultivators of the Refinement Realm had the ability to control objects, but she could only command her long spear. Someone like Li Fan, capable of such mastery, was likely a unique feature of pure Sword Cultivators.
The radiant swords streaked forth, their destructive power vastly exceeding that of the female Ghost Cultivators wielding them manually. Each sword seemed infused with Sword Intent, sharp to an extreme.
"Clang." A loud chime echoed as a protective golden bell materialized around the Jingang Temple monk's body. The swords struck against it repeatedly, producing piercing cracks and causing the golden bell to fracture.
The Jingang Temple monk struggled to defend himself, granting the ghostly women and the female Ghost Cultivators a much-needed opportunity to breathe.
She turned her gaze to the battlefield. The Jingang Temple monk had suppressed her to the point of suffocation. If given more time, he could have killed her outright, but now the younger Li Fan had him cornered instead.
Li Fan's body radiated an aura akin to an unsheathed sword. One finger pressed against the golden bell, producing a crisp sound as it shattered.
As his finger prepared to strike the monk's body, the Jingang Temple monk's Buddha Beads erupted with blinding Buddhist light. Chanting filled the air, the monk's entire body transformed into gold while Li Fan's finger landed with a sound akin to metal striking metal. The monk countered with a powerful punch, shattering the rubble beneath his feet.
"What a formidable monk." The ghostly woman exclaimed in awe. It was her first encounter with a Sword Cultivator and a Buddhist Practitioner, and she was witnessing their battle firsthand.
This monk's cultivation realm was slightly higher, but the Sword Cultivator's offensive power was terrifyingly potent. She considered herself strong, yet either of the two could easily kill her.
"A Sword Cultivator, yet you consort with ghosts and demons, aiding evil! Today, I won't forgive you." Below, Cao Gong said loudly, adding, "Capture him!"
The steeds under the Demon Suppression Army Knights neighed wildly, but despite their restlessness, they advanced in unison. Instantly, an overwhelming murderous aura surged forward. The Demon Suppression Army's warriors were Martial Artists whose individual strength might be ordinary. However, coordinated in formation, their combined power was fearsome—their sheer vitality could suppress specters.
"You dare." The ghostly woman's gaze locked onto Cao Gong, unleashing gusts of eerie wind toward the warhorses. Yet with the collective momentum of the advancing Demon Suppression Army, a wave of strong vitality enveloped the area, stabilizing the warhorses and allowing them to press forward.
On the rooftop, Li Fan stared at the opposing monk, noticing the golden light flowing on the monk's body—like a Golden Body, likely a Secret Technique of the Buddhist Sect.
"I hadn't expected the honorable one to be a Sword Cultivator. No doubt you hail from a respected lineage, but it's a shame you're consorting with demons. I, a humble monk, cannot forgive you." The Jingang Temple monk's pupils shone with golden light, revealing a faint excitement within his gaze as Li Fan met them.
As his words fell, the monk's body shot forward, releasing a tyrannical and ferocious aura. Houses crumbled madly in his wake.
"Monk, you're not worthy." Li Fan retorted calmly, his palm aligned vertically before him. A horrific Sword Intent surged from between his brows, intensifying the aura surrounding him.
"Buzz!" Li Fan himself appeared like an unsheathed sword, stepping forward and facing the monk. Although cloaked in his Golden Body, the monk could not withstand Li Fan's forward-moving palm, which transformed into a sword. The Golden Body shattered. With a faint slicing sound, blood poured out of the monk's Golden Body as he lowered his gaze to examine it in disbelief.
"You bald donkey, let me send you on your way."
As Li Fan's voice faded, he moved forward, raining fist after fist upon the monk's Golden Body. "Bang, bang, bang!" The Golden Body crumbled; the Jingang Temple monk spat blood as his body was hurled into the ruins below.
Li Fan pressed on, seeing the blood-soaked monk struggle to rise from the rubble. A glint of killing intent flickered in his eyes as Sword Aura gathered again—a final strike to end him.
"What a remarkable Sword Cultivator." Cao Gong thought to himself, then shouted aloud, "Formation kill."
At his command, the Demon Suppression Army advanced together, arranging themselves in formation. Their collective vitality transformed into overwhelming murderous intent.
"Kill!" He roared, and the Demon Suppression Army echoed his cry, releasing waves of suffocating killing intent.
Li Fan raised his hand, and a storm of Sword Aura took shape, gathering numerous swords in the air. A radiant glow formed between his brows, and with a single thought, the blades hurtled forward, slicing through the Demon Suppression Army formation.
In an instant, chaos erupted. Men and horses fell as the swords tore through their ranks, leaving blood splattered in their wake. Several soldiers of the Demon Suppression Army were impaled and collapsed from their horses.
Chen Li, startled by the ferocity of Li Fan's killing intent, hid behind others with a grim expression.
"Such audacity." Cao Gong thought inwardly as Li Fan attacked the Demon Suppression Army itself.
This youth, so young yet filled with such intense murderous intent—it far exceeded what he had imagined.
Li Fan moved forward, Sword Intent swirling around him, his form charging ahead with overwhelming killing aura.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Suddenly, from the darkness, a Buddhist chant echoed—a figure emerged from the shadows, bathed in radiant Buddhist light so blinding it momentarily robbed all of sight.
Li Fan paused briefly, looking up toward the figure. Emerging from the darkness like a specter, the figure appeared directly in front of him and unleashed a strike.
"Bang..."
With a thunderous explosion, Li Fan's body was thrown backward forcefully, crashing through structures until he skidded to a halt far away.
Li Fan's internal energy roiled, and he coughed, blood forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Li Fan!" The abrupt shift left Li Hongyi frozen in shock as she rushed toward him.
"It's nothing." Li Fan wiped the blood from his mouth and raised his eyes toward the figure emerging from the darkness—the figure was cloaked in Buddhist robes, appearing slightly older than the previous monk, possibly in his thirties.
"Wuxiang Senior Brother." The young monk defeated by Li Fan called out, revealing to all that the newcomer was another Buddhist Practitioner from Jingang Temple.
The Wuxiang Monk gazed at Li Fan and said, "Why does the honorable one burden himself with such heavy killing intent?"
Li Fan: "?"
"Shameless."
Li Hongyi, upon hearing this, glared at the monk. The younger monk had shown intense bloodlust earlier, ready to "deliver them beyond," yet now accused Li Fan of excessive killing intent?
Li Fan's lips curled into a mocking smile. Given they were fellow disciples, their favoritism was unsurprising.
However, when it came to loyalty and protection, this monk fell far short.
He thought of his own Senior Brother and Senior Sisters.
When he joined Li Mountain as a disciple, his Senior Sister had cared for him. Upon discovering his body's abnormality, someone from Li Mountain sought his death, prompting his Senior Sister to storm Li Mountain in fury, shaking the entire sect.
Later, while hunting for a Demon Core alongside his Junior Brother, he nearly lost his life to a Great Demon. His Junior Brother pursued that Great Demon for three months, slaughtering its entire kin of thirteen—including its offspring.
"Monk, you're dead."
"Oh?" The Wuxiang Monk looked at Li Fan with an expression of calm indifference and said, "If the honorable one bears such heavy killing intent, this humble monk must act in accordance with the will of heaven."
Li Hongyi's face turned stark with anger. For all its reputation as a Buddhist Holy Land, Jingang Temple showed little of its supposed righteousness.