Two arrows drew two arcs in mid-air, bypassing Ao Pan, and shot straight at Lu Zeng.
Pong pong.
The Ice and Fire Power erupted in succession, forming a shock wave mixed with countless ice shards and flames.
Lu Zeng flew backward out of the shock wave, half-kneeling on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
But the bronze knife in his hand was no longer struggling, successfully refined by him.
Lu Zeng suddenly stood up, launching a counterattack.
Ao Pan’s long whip shadowed closely.
A golden iron storm rose again around Tie Zheng, straight up proudly.
The three Golden Core Cultivators were engaged in a fierce battle; although their strength was suppressed by the Great Array, they were still the top combat forces in the field.
Tie Zheng was fighting two opponents and was being pushed to the disadvantage.
"Opportunity!" Lu Zeng threw the bronze knife in his hand, forcing Tie Zheng to dodge.
He suddenly grabbed the bronze hammer beside him and smashed it out forcefully. Whoosh! The power of the hammer was suffocating.
Tie Zheng’s Divine Sense activated, both the bronze long rod and the bronze spear striking out.
The long rod carried a dull thunderous sound, sweeping upwards toward the hammer’s shaft from below, with a precise angle. The spear, like a venomous dragon emerging from its hole, condensed a cold light in one point, piercing straight at the center of the giant hammer’s surface, breaking the surface at a point.
Two explosions erupted almost simultaneously.
The heavy hammer grazed Tie Zheng’s shoulder, ultimately hitting the ground, instantly creating a deep pit.
The long rod and spear were repelled a step back, leaving Tie Zheng wide open.
Ao Pan’s attack followed closely, about to pierce Tie Zheng’s chest...
"Flash!" Tie Zheng shouted lowly.
One of the twelve Beast Head Copper Bell Balls hanging at his waist suddenly vibrated, flying into the air, transforming into a blade light attacking Ao Pan.
Ao Pan was hit by a tremendous force, retreating in shock, only to see a leopard-shaped Blade Beast biting his bronze sword.
Ao Pan’s bronze sword was his seventh weapon, the most formidable.
He decisively let go, attempting to control it with his Divine Sense for autonomous combat.
This choice became the most critical mistake!
The Blade Beast was composed of numerous blades, some heavy, as wide as a person’s palm, some thin like cicada wings, extremely sharp. Suddenly, it spun and vibrated madly at high speed, the blades rubbing against each other, forming a bronze sphere, swallowing the bronze sword within.
Then, a series of grinding metal sounds, extremely sharp, making teeth ache.
Only two breaths, the Blade Beast transformed into a leopard shape, pouncing at Ao Pan again. The bronze sword, however, was severely damaged and removed from the field by the Great Array.
"Is this the Blade Beast?!" Ao Pan’s pupils contracted sharply, sensing a fatal crisis.
He frantically swung the long whip in his hand, forming layer upon layer of defensive whip shadows in front of him!
The Blade Beast Flash’s speed was incredibly fast, like lightning, shooting straight into the whip shadows.
In the next moment, the whip shadows shattered!
Ao Pan’s relied-on bronze whip was cut into countless pieces.
Ao Pan stared in shock, showing a look of panic.
The Blade Beast Flash carried with it residual power, pouncing at him, transforming once more into a ball of blade edges.
Ao Pan was hit, bursting forth in the desperate situation, fiercely slashing with the only remaining bronze artifact in his hand.
A loud clang, Ao Pan barely managed to repel the Blade Beast.
He retreated several big steps, his tenacious body covered with blade wounds, some places with flesh nearly minced, some wounds deep enough to reveal bone.
Severely injured!
The terrifying injuries made the cultivators witnessing the scene all have their pupils shrink tightly.
The Blade Beast Flash whirled backward, landing on the ground, transforming into a leopard shape once more.
The Blade Beast pounced at Ao Pan again.
Lu Zeng felt things were amiss, hurriedly blocking halfway, but the Blade Beast Flash was extremely agile, like lightning, turning mid-course, easily bypassing Lu Zeng, heading for Ao Pan.
Ao Pan felt chill in his chest, having no choice but to shout, "I surrender!"
The Blade Beast struck him, but was blocked by the Power of the Great Array, preventing further injury to Ao Pan.
Ao Pan gasped heavily, looking at Tie Zheng with lingering fear, and in the next moment, he was removed from the field.
As Ao Pan was eliminated, Lu Zeng’s expression changed dramatically, panic setting in uncontrollably.
The Blade Beast pounced at him.
Clang clang clang clang...
Lu Zeng activated the Mysterious Armor with full strength, retreating step by step under the Blade Beast’s fierce attack.
When the Blade Beast showed its leopard shape, its power was immense, its movements agile; while when it was a blade edge ball, it released terrifying crushing and cutting power, easily crippling Lu Zeng’s Mysterious Armor.
Lu Zeng quickly ended up weaponless, bathed in blood, decisively admitting defeat.
Lu Zeng was removed from the field, the radiance in Tie Zheng’s eyes gradually dissipating.
The Blade Beast Flash returned to his side, the outline formed by countless vibrating blades subtly undulating, as if breathing. Steam wafted around its body, like sweat evaporating after rapid movement of flesh and blood. But in reality, it was metal dust created by countless blades rapidly cutting and rubbing.
The cultivators witnessing this scene all stared wide-eyed; whether it was the hosts of the Xingyun Trial inside the Xuan Armor Cave, or the competitors, all were shocked by the Blade Beast’s combat power.
Someone exclaimed, "The combat strength of this Blade Beast is too strong!"
Some were puzzled, "The refining technique for Blade Beast is not rare. Why is Tie Zheng’s so impressive?"
The Hao-surnamed cultivator murmured under his breath, "Natural Martial Arts..."
Tie Zheng’s life had been tragic, but blessings and misfortunes accompanied each other. He cultivated alone in the wilderness, resonating his heart with martial arts, gleaning the wildness in nature. He didn’t possess artifact refining skills, but relying on the special properties of Green Flowing Copper and Mysterious Armor, he managed to create this powerful Blade Beast Flash.
The cultivator next to him assessed, "With such a Blade Beast by his side, he should be the winner of this Xingyun Trial. The only uncertainty is whether he can seize the top spot."
The top spot of the Xingyun Trial at Xuan Armor Cave requires the cultivator to be first, and have at least nine pieces of Mysterious Armor in hand. Both conditions are indispensable.
The battle among the three Golden Core Cultivators had concluded, but the Foundation Establishment Cultivators continued their fierce battle.
The Blade Beast Flash’s momentum left Tie Zheng unchallenged. He began to calmly pick up the Mysterious Armor, refining them.
With Lu Zeng and Ao Pan both eliminated, several pieces of Mysterious Armor were left, combining with Tie Zheng’s, already exceeding nine pieces. His advantage was enormous, nearly securing the top spot.
The Hao-surnamed cultivator looked towards Ning Zhuo and Ban Ji and others.
"If the Foundation Establishment Cultivators can rally together, there’s still suspense."
"Is there any possibility of Ban Ji and Ning Zhuo teaming up?"
The cultivators watching realized that for the Foundation Establishment Cultivators to team up, the key was the attitude of Ning Zhuo and Ban Ji.
Ban Ji shouted, "Ning Zhuo, stop immediately! Now is not the time for us to fight each other!"
"Continue fighting, and the top spot will fall to others."
Ning Zhuo snorted coldly, "The top spot doesn’t mean much to me! I came this time just to intercept you. Ban Ji, this is the consequence and retribution for your scheming against me."
Ban Ji erupted in anger, "You fool!"
His eyes filled with bloodshot fury, his heart raging uncontrollably.
The Xingyun Trial and Mysterious Armor were extraordinarily significant to him; according to the divination, his goal for this journey was the top spot.
Ning Zhuo could be indifferent, but Ban Ji couldn’t!
However, Ban Ji was now besieged, unable to fight off four attacks with two fists.
"Damn it! Damn Ning Zhuo, damn Human Tribulation!!" In the midst of Ban Ji’s frustration and intertwined anger, suddenly, several cultivators changed their tactics and simultaneously launched a sneak attack on Ning Zhuo.
"What?!" Ning Zhuo was shocked, his face turning pale, unexpectedly stabbed in the back, blood splattering.
He swiftly turned to pull back his shield but was forcefully kicked by an attacking cultivator, flying backward, his shield immediately slipping from his grasp.
The sneaky cultivators coordinated well, with one immediately securing the shield, suppressing it with full effort.
Ning Zhuo fell like a sack, crashing into the cave wall, quickly tumbling.
In the next moment, several bronze weapons sliced at the cave wall, missing Ning Zhuo’s body by a hair’s breadth.
Swift shifts marked another dramatic change in the contention among Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Ban Ji:?!
The cultivators who attacked Ning Zhuo looked at Ban Ji, all bowing with hand salutes.
"Master Ban Ji, do not doubt. The Ban Family walks the Righteous Path, does good deeds, and had been kind to us in the past few years. Today, we repay here."