Chu Huaiyuan sought out Chu Shaoqiang to fight desperately, and now she had Chu Shaoqiang tied down.
Martial Cultivator Tian Dasong was caught up by He Yuxiu.
The situation was extremely grim for Literature Cultivator Guo Jinshi; his throat had been bitten through by Li Banfeng, and his "Word Worth a Thousand Gold" technique was about to fail.
Seeing Scholar Guo motionless, Tang Sword was about to decapitate him when suddenly an invisible force separated Li Banfeng and Scholar Guo.
Scholar Guo moved towards Chu Shaoqiang while Li Banfeng was forced to retreat tens of meters away.
Meanwhile, He Yuxiu and the others were also separated from Tian Dasong; what was once a chaotic melee turned into two sides facing each other.
By now, Li Banfeng knew what technique it was.
The technique wasn’t used by Scholar Guo; it was Chu Shaoqiang who used it.
His wife had told him before that Craftsman Cultivation had a Cloud Top Technique called "Cease War Dividing Technique," which could quickly separate friend from foe amidst chaos, provided that the enemy’s cultivation level was much lower than his.
It’s not very useful for an average Cultivator, but for a Craftsman Cultivator, it’s extremely valuable.
Craftsman Cultivators are vulnerable to sneak attacks; without proper preparation, they can easily employ the wrong tactics and may even be defeated by a lower-level Cultivator.
The "Cease War Dividing Technique" could give a Craftsman Cultivator time to prepare.
Additionally, some Magical Treasures and Spiritual Objects used by Craftsman Cultivators could harm both allies and enemies on the battlefield, so "Cease War Dividing Technique" could also prevent their own comrades from getting hurt.
His wife had once said that if this technique was used, it proved the user’s cultivation level was at least Cloud Top Third Layer. However, as long as they were not Above the Cloud, this technique could only be used once in a short period.
Li Banfeng, his mouth full of blood, looked towards Scholar Guo, who lay on the ground, barely alive. He guessed Scholar Guo wouldn’t recover any time soon.
He was mistaken.
Scholar Guo wrote four characters on his body: "Dead Wood Meets Spring."
His body began to slowly recover. Although the pace was not fast, the progress was visible.
Both his eyes had been gouged out by Li Banfeng. Scholar Guo wrote the character for ’eye’ above his left eye socket. A crack opened from his eyebrow, revealing an eyeball within the fissure.
If this dragged on, Scholar Guo would soon regain his combat power, and all previous efforts could go to waste.
Li Banfeng wanted to rush forward, but the power of the "Cease War Dividing Technique" still persisted. With his cultivation level, he couldn’t break through, at least for now.
Chu Shaoqiang scanned the crowd and said, "Why must you all do this? I came here looking for the Local Deity Qiu Luoye. What does that have to do with any of you?"
Li Banfeng said, "Today you seek out Qiu Luoye, and it has nothing to do with me. Tomorrow you’ll come after me, and it will have nothing to do with others. Eventually, you’ll have hunted down everyone, and it will have had nothing to do with any of them, as they all die at your hands. I heard you came from the Inner State. Was it the Inner State that taught you these despicable tricks?"
Chu Shaoqiang did not speak. Chu Huaiyuan asked, "Dad, you’ve been to the Inner State?"
He Yuxiu glanced at Chu Huaiyuan, then swiftly looked back to Chu Shaoqiang. "It really is you, Chu Shaoqiang! You damn bastard, you didn’t die?"
Chu Shaoqiang smiled and straightened his coat. "Yuxiu, after all these years, you’re still as good-looking."
"Don’t fucking try to cozy up to me! Who are you to call me Yuxiu?" He Yuxiu scoffed. "It doesn’t make sense, though. I never thought much of you, but you used to have some guts. How did you end up running off to the Inner State to be a dog? And you sneaked off too, without telling anyone."
Chu Shaoqiang sighed. "What’s wrong with going to the Inner State? Does that make you look down on me? I saw He Haiqin there too. Do you think he went there to be a dog as well?"
"You really saw Haiqin?" He Yuxiu said, playing along with Chu Shaoqiang’s words, trying to distract him.
Li Banfeng carefully observed Scholar Guo’s recovery, planning to take him down as soon as the "Cease War Dividing Technique" wore off.
Chu Shaoqiang saw through Li Banfeng’s intention. "So you’re Li Qi, right? Wipe the blood from your mouth; it’s quite unnerving.
"You’re a cunning one, not playing by the rules. You did give me a scare.
"But do you expect to beat a veteran with random punches? That’s wishful thinking. I can lift the technique now and let you try again. I want to see if you still have a chance to get close."
As Chu Shaoqiang spoke, Scholar Guo had already struggled to his feet, his single eye fixing unsteadily on Li Banfeng.
"Madman! Thug!" Scholar Guo could speak now. Pointing at Li Banfeng, he shouted, "If you have the guts, fight me again!"
Li Banfeng, his face covered in blood, grinned viciously. "You Bird Person! You’re only running your mouth because you know I can’t get to you right now."
Chu Shaoqiang scanned the crowd and said to Li Banfeng, "These are your friends and your subordinates. I can tell you plainly, if this fight continues, not one of them will survive."
Li Banfeng replied, "And you think those two subordinates by your side will make it out alive?"
Chu Shaoqiang glanced at Scholar Guo and Tian Dasong. "You mean them? They don’t have a clear status in the Inner State yet. To achieve an Above the Clouds cultivation level, they need to build more merit. For this, they are willing to die here.
"Ask the people around you, do they want to die?"
Indeed, these two were Tenth Layer Cultivators—Tenth Layer Cultivators with flesh and blood, and also the ones closest to reaching Above the Clouds.
To say they were willing to die was perhaps an exaggeration, but this battle was indeed crucial for their advancement to Above the Clouds.
Li Banfeng took a step forward but was once again repelled by an invisible force. The technique’s effects had not yet dissipated; he still couldn’t break through.
Chu Shaoqiang frowned and said, "Have you been listening to me at all?"
"No," Li Banfeng answered truthfully.
He really hadn’t been listening. From the moment he decided to fight this battle, nothing anyone said to him mattered anymore.