As Yueshi fell, he could even hear the air screeching in his ears as his body was affected by the forces of gravity. Gulping, he prepared himself for what he had to do next.
When he was a certain distance away from the ground, the arm which was holding his spear moved in a flash.
Under the pressure of gravity and the fall, it was quite hard to move it, however, he successfully pierced the rock walls.
Nevertheless, the speed at which he was descending was so great that instead of stopping, the rock walls were torn apart by the spear, cracking as Yueshi continued his descent.
Yueshi felt as if his arm would break under the intense pressure, but this was the only way of slowing down his fall.
And it was working. Although it seemed like the rocky walls were being torn apart like butter, they were putting a fairly good amount of resistance and properly slowing him down.
Meanwhile, the fight between You Ping and the bandit leader continued at a fast pace.
You Ping lifted his sword sideways, blocking a slash toward his head, which resulted in him having to retreat a few steps.
Yet, even before he had time to recompose himself, another slash came flying in toward his hips.
The strike glowed with a dangerous and sharp light, forcing him to forcefully defend against it with his sword. Under the sheer power behind it, he retreated a step while his arm grew numb.
'Heavens Tearing Slash', his sword glowed for a moment before diving itself in many blades - all of them moving smoothly and following different paths.
However, he was not the only one who knew Cultivation Techniques.
The bandit leader gave a single step back, his blade releasing a dangerous red-aura; then, the blade moved forward as the screams of demons and devils echoed.
To everyone's surprise, it easily tore apart You Ping's hundreds of blades as an enormous fire slash flew toward You Ping.
"Urgh!" You Ping released a groan as the embers burned his hand while he tried to defend.
This was not the first time it was happening, and his hands had long been burned black.
"If you surrender, I can think about sparing you." The middle-aged man spoke coldly; however, there was no way You Ping would believe him.
Not only that. Even if his words were true, what about the others, then? He was particularly worried about what the girls would have to go through.
This bunch of people, whatever their origin was, was not the sort that was against robbing, killing and raping, so there was no way the girls would have a fortunate end.
After the screams he had heard days before, he was absolutely sure of that.
That aside, he also knew he had to find a way to win soon, even if that meant dying together.
If Yueshi or Yuan Yue were in top condition, they would be able to deal with this person. However, neither of them was in fighting condition, and taking on this battle could lead them to their deaths.
Therefore, he was the one responsible for dealing with this problem.
However, just as he was going to rush forward once more, his pupils trembled slightly. He finally caught glimpse of Yushi descending through the canyon's walls.
Still, his expression did not falter, neither did he change his movements.
If he acted suspiciously, then the other party would take note there was something amiss, which in turn could ruin Yueshi's plan.
That being so, he would have to be cut a few more times until help arrived.
His sword then moved from left to right as he aimed for the opponent's waist, only to be blocked; however, he had not ended, and he stepped firmly on the ground before using one of his legs to kick at the bandit leader.
The other side promptly jumped backward to dodge. Such a simple trick would not work on any of them.
Anyway, You Ping was not disappointed with it. He was now only buying time so that Yueshi could join him as winning alone had already been proved impossible.
Nonetheless, he would not just idle around because of that.
While the two continued to exchange hits, Yueshi finally made his way down.
By then, he was already panting hard. The intense physical force he had to exert while descending made his wounds open once more, and one could his bandages being colored red by the blood.
The blood flowing from the corner of his mouth also indicated that his internal wounds had also relapsed, which was the most worrisome thing.
As he stared at You Ping and the bandit leader's fight. he could feel his organs churning and aching, so he took a single moment of respite.
In addition to that, one of his shoulder blades was broken by the Ape Queen and had not recovered yet, while his other arm was sore and numb.
All in all, he was in hags.
That would not stop him, though.
Catching his breath, he thought of nothing else and immediately advanced toward the opponent. Yueshi did not want to give him time to notice his presence or be warned of it.
His spear seemed to face no resistance as it pierced through the air and flashed forward. Although his current condition did not allow him to use all his power, this amount of power was enough.
The moment he made his move, the bandit leader seemed to have sensed something as he immediately sidestepped, dodging You Ping's sword slash.
Then, he masterfully used his blade to clash against Yueshi's spear, changing its trajectory – sparks flying everywhere together with the sound of the collision.
Seeing Yueshi, the man's face immediately darkened. "You damned bastards!" He was clearly angered beyond the limit, to the point where his eyes turned blood-red.
However, more surprising than that was the fact that his entire bearing seemed to change.
Yueshi was not sure if it was some sort of cultivation technique or strange, demonic art; however, the man released a bloody aura as his body increased in size, becoming bulkier and apparently stronger.
More experienced than him, You Ping seemed to understand what was happening.
"Dodge it; he is using a demonic art!" Just as he spoke, the middle-aged man roared toward the skies, two flashes of light slashing toward Yueshi and You Ping at the same time.
Demonic arts frequently changed a person's personality if their will was not strong enough, and they tended to be unstable - their mood changing easily as they found themselves frequently angry and annoyed.
Right now, it was as if the middle-aged man was a demon beast going berserk.
Yueshi could only lift his spear in front of him in defense, the flash of light that slashed against him sending him tumbling a few meters back toward the bandits' camp.
Fortunately, Zhu Xiong was keeping the archers occupied; or he would have been pierced by a few arrows.
You Ping also had a hard time defending; however, he did not cough blood like Yueshi ended doing.
The two then exchanged glances with dreary expressions - this was going more and more out of control, and right now, they were not even sure if they could with the two of them.
However, they could only do their best and hope it was enough.
The middle-aged man was consumed by fury, so, while his speed and power increased, his ability to think was reduced.
His appearance had slightly changed too – his upper body seemed out of proportion with the rest and, as he stood with his back hunched, his arms were elongated enough for his hands to touch the ground.
'He had an increase in power, speed, reach… and probably resistance.' As Yueshi analyzed he could only sigh.
Even if he moved only by instinct right now, the man's years of experience made his instincts extremely sharp too.
While he was thinking and pondering, he did not stay still. Stepping forward, he thrust once more in coordination with You Ping's 'heavens tearing slash', the two attacks aiming for different points but with the same timing.
However, that seemed to not be a problem for the berserk man.
His sword flashed out with even greater speed than before, easily knocking You Ping against the canyon walls, making stones tumble down because of the impact.
At the same time, his other hand punched at Yueshi spear, and as the two came into contact, the spear was knocked aside.
Yueshi had to hurriedly jump back to avoid being hit by the incoming punch – any damage right now could pretty much end him. After all, even moving in his current condition was a hard task.
"Sky… shattering… palm!" A rough voice escaped the man's voice as he jumped toward You Ping, making him and Yueshi curse in annoyance.
This guy had even more cards under his sleeve!
Just as You Ping jumped and rolled to the side, a booming explosion echoed as a five meters deep, giant palm imprint was carved in the rocky walls.
The impact sent a lot of stones tumbling down, and even some parts of the path broke off and fell to the bottom of the canyon.
"Haha, maybe he wants to kill everyone in this canyon?" You Ping joked, however, his voice was dreary and tired.
Yueshi could only nod with clenched teeth. Had this guy gone completely crazy?
While the area where they were standing was more resistant and safer than the rest of the steep and narrow pathway, if he repeated such actions a few times, it would all break down eventually.
To not talk about the man-sized stones that had fallen just now. If they were hit by it, they would be severely hurt or knocked down the path.
However, Yueshi had no time to continue thinking about that.
After the man failed to kill You Ping, his eyes turned toward Yueshi, it was as if he could sense the boy was less of a threat and, also, an easier prey.
Under Yueshi's eyes, the giant figure distorted, becoming a blur.
The distance of tens of meters was nothing for it, and Yueshi could only use his spear in a defensive stance as a giant fist came crashing toward him, the impact sending him flying another ten meters back.
However, the power behind that fist did not only send him flying – the residual power passed through his spear, impacting directly on his body.
He could not help but let blood gush out through his throat as his organs seemed to shift place inside of him.
Right now, Yueshi could barely muster the strength to hold his spear and attack, but, if things continued like this, he would soon be too hurt to fight.
Seeing such a scene, You Ping immediately jumped toward the mad bandit leader, his sword flashing with white lights as he activated his cultivation technique once more.
However, no matter how many swords there were, the man seemed unaffected and destroyed them with a single swing of his blade.
Fortunately, while his attack had not been successful in damaging the opponent, it had caught his attention, giving Yueshi a moment of respite.
Cleaning the sides of his mouth with his sleeve, Yueshi prepared to rush in once more; the more they waited the lower their chances would get.
'If normal attacks will not work, then…' Breathing in and out, he focused. 'Then let's see if you can deal with this!'
Because his comprehension was at its lowest when he created it, his first spear move was his weakest one. Unfortunately, it was the only one that he could use right now.
That said, it was still enough to make him feel like puking blood as his mind resonated with the spear.
'I should cultivate to the sixth stage as soon as possible when I go back.'
The first five stages of the Body Refinement Realm were about cultivating the skin, the bones, and the muscles. Meanwhile, the latter five stages were about refining the insides, like the organs.
As his spear moved forward, it lacked in speed and, apparently, power. He was not concerned, however; this spear move was not just about being fast or powerful, but about power application.
From the start, he was not aiming to pierce his opponent's flesh, but to force the qi he infused in his move to pass through the outer layer and attack the man's insides.
Yet, suddenly, the situation changed completely!