Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

’Taoist Ancestor above, is this asking me to do a good deed?’

Ji An frowned. He hadn’t expected the very thing he wanted to avoid coming right to him.

Zhu Mingli saw the newcomer was a cultivator he’d met once before, and in a flash of clarity, shouted:

"Run! Use an escape technique to flee!"

Before his words could land, bright yellow spirit light illuminated the cave.

Yang Wu laughed lightly and said:

"I triggered the Earth-to-Steel Talisman quickly enough!"

He looked at the two cultivators with interest, one like a cornered dog, the other a hapless prey walking into a trap.

Zhu Mingli sighed in despair, knowing the Fire Element Spirit Mechanism in the cave had already dissipated, making it unsuitable for using the Fire Escape Technique. He could only flee with Earth Escape Technique, and it seemed there was no hope now.

To him, it appeared more innocent blood was about to be shed here.

He had originally hoped that the other party would escape, which might provide clues for his master.

Yang Wu’s voice remained casual, but his muscles had tensed in full alert. The scars on his face and body continually reminded him never to relax, not even if the enemy had just one breath left.

His spiritual artifact appeared on his arm, and he stared unblinkingly at the prey walking into the trap. The moment any fear surfaced in his opponent’s eyes would be the moment he launched his attack.

Ji An calmly regarded his enemy. His opponent’s spiritual artifact resembled a circular shield with bladed edges, not unlike Liu Yu’s Blazing Golden Wheel.

However, this was purely a metal spiritual artifact with a rough tiger head relief on its surface.

The Wuji Xinghuang Banner hovered above his head, enveloping him in a yellow spirit light.

The distance between him and his opponent was less than ten meters, just two strides for a body cultivator to reach the front.

"Hehe," Ji An chuckled softly, extending a finger to beckon.

He had never fought a body cultivator before and was eager to see the sparks that would fly from this battle. As long as the enemy wasn’t a Golden Core cultivator, he felt no fear.

"Hehe," Yang Wu also laughed, the scars on his face writhing like centipedes. He was not unfamiliar with provoking opponents, but these opponents had all become his trophies.

A necklace comprised of various creatures’ skulls in his Grotto Void Stone bore witness to his bravery.

"All these years, no cultivator of the same tier has been my..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, stepping forward as his body blurred like a bullet fired forward.

Mid-charge, he swung his arm round to fling the blade shield, allowing the spiritual artifact to deliver the first blow, while he paused momentarily to assess his enemy’s reaction before launching a second attack.

Many people seeing his spiritual artifact for the first time would instinctively overlook the bladed edge of the shield, mistaking it for a defensive spiritual artifact, ignorant of the fact that with his body’s strength, what need did he have for a defensive spiritual artifact!

Zhu Mingli closed his eyes, having tasted the enemy’s might and realizing there was no chance of overturning the situation once they were close.

The circular shield transformed into a stream of light, cutting through the darkness like a sword, reaching his front instantaneously.

Ji An remained unmoving, still quietly watching Yang Wu.

The Wuji Xinghuang Banner raised a myriad of golden flowers, with yellow spirit light transforming into fast-spinning yellow sand.

The blade shield carved through the golden flowers, getting trapped in the "Desert Sea," finally halting before his face.

Zhu Mingli didn’t hear the imagined sound of impact and inadvertently opened his eyes, seeing that his defensive spiritual artifact had surprisingly intercepted the attack, rekindling his hope.

’It turns out he’s a defensive-focused cultivator. If he can exhaust enough of the enemy’s Qi and blood power, perhaps escape might be possible.’

His junior sister’s death meant that the Soul Lamp in the City Lord’s mansion in Silver Moon City would surely extinguish, suggesting his master might already know something had gone awry.

He opened his mouth to warn about the enemy’s tactics but found his throat unable to produce sound, plunging his heart to rock bottom again.

"So you have a turtle shell, huh, no wonder you’re so confident. Are you betting on who can hold on until the end?"

Yang Wu deliberately laughed loudly, thinking if his opponent’s reliance was solely on the defensive spiritual artifact, he’d show them what real brutality meant!

"I’m betting I can hold on until the end."

Ji An smiled, his voice gentle as jade.

Betting? Only fools would bet. His reliance was on Tier Three attack talismans, Talisman Treasure.

Unless facing a Golden Core cultivator, what did he have to fear!

At this moment, he secretly clutched the Talisman Treasure in his hand, prepared for anything, though he thought it wouldn’t be necessary.

"Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, judging by the spirit light emanating from it, it’s been refined for many years, no wonder you’re so arrogant.

Alright then, let me measure your worth."

Yang Wu cast a deathly gaze over the barely upright Zhu Mingli, before channeling his cultivation technique.

The tattoos on his body lit up with spirit light, and surging Qi and blood power gathered behind him forming a blood-colored tiger head phantom.

"Roar!"

A tiger’s roar echoed through the forest, carrying endless wild defiance and madness.

At the same time, he stepped forward once more.

The tiger’s roar had the effect of stunning the spirit soul, allowing him to ambush Zhu Mingli successfully, thanks to this secret technique.

Although it could only stun the enemy momentarily, that was enough for him.

With his ability, a single battle would allow him to unleash secret techniques three times.

As the tiger’s roar sounded, Ji An felt ripples appear in his sea of consciousness as the enemy charged valiantly forward, his fists shining with red spirit light, both fierce and eerie.

Zhu Mingli’s face turned deathly pale at the roar and could no longer hold up, collapsing in place.

The sudden spirit soul attack indeed caught Ji An by surprise, but for a cultivator with a strong spirit soul foundation, who frequently drank Jade Dew Golden Tooth Tea and had Soul Nourishing Wood magical artifacts nurturing him, its effect was severely limited.