"You are certainly shameless, Ji Cheng." Hua Wanru blocked an incoming slash with her sword, all the while maintaining a cold stare at Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng executed a beautiful somersault and landed flawlessly on the ground. He smiled faintly. "What do you mean, Fairy Wanru? I haven't done anything disgraceful, have I?. Why are you calling me shameless?"
"Put away your hypocritical smile. I feel nauseous every time I see it." On the side, Hua Litong said, while slashing at one of the members of the Sword Profound Sect, and sent him flying away.
Currently, Hua Litong's group had no way to escape because Ji Cheng's people had blocked the route. No matter how strong she was, Hua Litong couldn't go against fifteen people with only five members on her side. She could only pray for her other sisters and the people of the Yang clan to arrive at this place.
"Oi! You guys, don't harm their faces. Understand?" A tall, handsome youth with unusual red hair said. He wore the attire of the Sacred Flame Sect, but it was more extraordinary than that of other members of his sect around here. He crossed his arms, staring at Hua Litong's body with a lecherous smile on his face.
"Understood, Young Master Huo." Everyone from the Sacred Flame Sect said in unison and then burst into waves of laughter. They were very familiar with their Young Master's lustful nature. Without a doubt, these women would become Young Master Huo's playthings tonight.
"Work hard! There will be a share for everyone." Huo Ao encouraged. The confrontation between the Sacred Flame Sect and the Misty Cloud Sect was imminent. He naturally didn't need to spare them. As for Hua Litong, Hua Wanru, and Yang Mengli, they could be considered a bonus.
Ji Cheng glanced at the arrogant Huo Ao with a slight sense of dissatisfaction. He despised this type of person the most. He thought they were too uncultured and didn't know how to appreciate a flower. However, he didn't plan on saying anything since they shared the same goal at this moment.
Meanwhile, Qi Tian'er appeared as though she didn't care about it. However, upon closer inspection, a hint of jealousy could be detected in her eyes whenever she glanced at Hua Litong. She was jealous of Hua Litong's beautiful face and amazing figure. She wished she could have a devilish body that would attract every man wherever she goes. Hence, witnessing Hua Litong being beaten brought her a sense of joy.
"I will use The Final Haze." One of the members of the Misty Cloud Sect said. Her name was Yun Jing. She was one of the strongest members, alongside Yun Chan and Yun Ting, and she was also capable of using The Final Haze.
The other two women hurriedly stopped her. "Don't! Sister Jing. We can hang on for a while. I believe our sisters will arrive here soon."
Yun Jing struggled for a while but ultimately chose to listen to them. Although she was strong, her personality was milder and less decisive compared to Yun Chan and Yun Ting. There was a possibility that she wouldn't be able to defeat all of her opponents before The Final Haze's effect ended, and she would become a burden by then. Therefore, she decided to hold on and endure a bitter fight further.
"Die!" A storm of petals emerged around Hua Litong's figure. She lunged her sword at a man from the Sacred Flame Sect in front of her, and the swirling petal storm wrapped around her blade before piercing straight into the man's heart.
The expressions of Ji Cheng and Huo Ao abruptly changed when they witnessed this scene. It was already too late for them to save the man.
The storm of petals was like a sharp spear, piercing through the man's heart and stealing his life away.
Hua Litong retracted her hand and moved back, avoiding the attacks from other opponents nearby.
"Trash!" Huo Ao spat coldly. He had no sympathy for the deceased man and even insulted him. Nevertheless, he didn't move an inch from his position and continued to observe the battle without any intention of personally getting involved.
At that moment, a powerful aura erupted from Yang Mengli's body as she swung her sword at the member of the Profound Sword Sect in front of her, decapitating him instantly.
Ji Cheng's eyes narrowed, and a sense of murderous intent emanated from his body. At first, he thought everything was within his grasp and that there shouldn't be any casualties among his subordinates. Unexpectedly, Yang Mengli and the others were much stronger than them.
Ji Cheng drew his sword, standing motionless for a moment before a terrifying aura burst forth from his blade. His figure swiftly moved a short distance in a split second, appearing in front of Yang Mengli. Without mercy, he forcefully thrust his sword towards her collarbone. His speed was extremely fast, so fast that his sword created multiple shadows.
Yang Mengli's expression abruptly changed when she saw Ji Cheng appear before her in a ghostly manner. She was too late to react and could only hastily raise her sword, attempting to block the incoming attack.
Puff!
Blood splashed in the air as a severe wound appeared on Yang Mengli's left collarbone. The sword shadows from Ji Cheng didn't stop there. They continued to bombard Yang Mengli, forcing her into a corner of the hallway with no way to fight back.
Hua Litong saw this. She quickly pushed her opponent away and leaped towards Ji Cheng, accompanied by a swirling petal storm enveloping her sword.
Ji Cheng had always paid attention to Hua Litong because she was the only opponent who could harm him. Hence, when Hua Litong attacked him, he was able to effortlessly evade her sword and retaliate by slashing back at her.
Clang!
Their swords collided, producing a resounding noise that echoed through the hallway. Ji Cheng was forced to take several large steps back, while Hua Litong successfully arrived at Yang Mengli's side.
"Are you okay?" Hua Litong asked with concern.
Yang Mengli's current state was extremely miserable. There were several holes in her robe, and many fatal wounds could be seen beneath it. She lifted her head and replied, "I'm fine." However, she knew that she could no longer use her left arm.
Hua Litong didn't have the luxury of time to take care of Yang Mengli, as Ji Cheng had launched another attack on her. After fighting for several hours, her profound energy was almost exhausted. She had taken several of the Replenish Energy Pills, but they were insufficient to sustain a prolonged battle. She needed to find a way to overcome the current predicament.
***
"Now you know how to control it." Yan Qi said with a smile after teaching Yun Lintian how to control a profound formation in this area.
"Are you sure there is no transmission formation there? How can I bring my senior sisters here?" Yun Lintian asked, staring at the battle on the projection.
Earlier, he discovered that the sun-like object floating above this hall was a counterfeit and functioned as the controller for the profound formation of this place. Now, he gained control over every profound formation in the entire mythical realm and didn't see a transmission formation within the maze tunnel. Thus, he wanted to confirm this matter with Yan Qi.
Yan Qi shook his head. "Young man, you should learn to be content with what you have. If you want to see them, you can either go to them or wait for them to come here. Simple as that." Yan Qi looked at the projection and continued, "When I constructed this place, my intention was not to directly bring anyone here. All of you appearing here was a mistake to begin with. If it weren't for the profound formation's inability to suppress The Sun any longer, you would never find your way to this place."
Yun Lintian went silent for a moment. The only thing he could do at this moment was to eliminate the enemy above this location first. However, there was not a single killing formation around the statue. He could not kill them directly.
He spread his right hand slightly, and the sun orb slowly descended into his palm. The moment he touched it, he could feel a connection between himself and every profound formation in this place. A moment later, his mind shifted, controlling the statue to move backward.
***
Hua Litong and Ji Cheng had been fighting with each other for some time now. The strength between the two seemed to be equal. No one gained a significant advantage over the opposing party.
"I didn't expect Young Miss Hua Litong to conceal your strength so well. Those people who judged you as a failed genius are truly blind." Ji Cheng complimented Hua Litong.
However, Hua Litong knew that this guy was a hypocrite. She disregarded his words and continued to relentlessly attack Ji Cheng.
"It seems that I need to get serious now. If I accidentally hurt you, please don't take it to heart, and there's no need to worry that I will disfigure you. After all, I am a man who knows how to cherish a beautiful jade." Ji Cheng drew his sword in a horizontal line, causing several sword afterimages to appear around it.
Hua Litong's expression turned solemn when she saw several afterimages around Ji Cheng's sword. This indicated that he possessed a sword intent. She never thought there would be another person, aside from Yang Chen, who could comprehend a sword intent at the age of sixteen.
Yang Chen's sword intent heavily focused on destructive power, while Ji Cheng's sword intent was solely concentrated on speed. Ji Cheng firmly believed that speed was the essence of a swordsman. As long as you moved the sword faster, the lethality and sharpness naturally increased along with its speed.
"Ha!" Ji Cheng let out a low cry. His figure instantly vanished from the spot and reappeared before Hua Litong. He lunged his sword forward and several afterimages of his sword were ruthlessly shot at her.
Hua Litong had already expected this. She formed a petal shield beforehand and used it to block against Ji Cheng's endless sword storm.
Layer after layer, Hua Litong's petal shield was torn into shreds by Ji Cheng. She gritted her teeth as she forcefully poured all of her profound energy into strengthening her petal shield.
Yang Mengli saw this scene. She hastily retrieved a small dagger from her sleeve, infusing it with profound energy before hurling it towards Ji Cheng's back.
"Hmph!" Ji Cheng snorted and bent his body to avoid the dagger.
Hua Litong took this chance to make a slash on Ji Cheng and successfully forced him away several steps.
Buzzz—
While everyone was concentrated on the battle, the statue at the center of the hallway suddenly moved backward and the hidden passage beneath it slowly appeared in everyone's sight.
"Sisters, get in!" Hua Litong didn't even think for a second as she shouted at Hua Wanru and others, telling them to enter the passageway.
"Block them!" Huo Ao yelled at his lackeys, but no one could react in time. Hua Litong's group had already entered the passageway.
"Follow them!" Huo Ao shouted angrily and chased after Hua Litong's group with his followers.
"Young Master, do we need to chase after them?" One of Ji Cheng's subordinates asked.
Ji Cheng pondered for a moment before he replied, "Let's go. There might be a treasure down there." Following that, he led Qi Tian'er and the others to the passageway.