Shen Long's wings on his back flapped gently, avoiding the yellow Earth Cones.
The man in the red shirt summoned a talisman that flashed red, turning into more than twenty bowl-sized red fireballs, while his right hand shook, sending out another yellow Earth Cone flying towards Shen Long.
Shen Long summoned the Xuangui Shield, placing it in front of him.
Both the red fireballs and the yellow Earth Cone were blocked by the Xuangui Shield, but a short knife flashing with red light circled around the Xuangui Shield and slashed onto the Xuan Water Shield, causing it to shudder slightly.
At the same time, another silver lightning struck down, adding a few more tiny cracks to the surface of the red shield.
The man in the red shirt's legs were entangled by two thick Green Vines, leaving him no chance to avoid; He took out another red-flashing talisman and slapped it onto his body, with a flash of red light, a thick red luminescent screen appeared, protecting his whole body.
Shen Long released fireballs one by one, smashing them onto the red shield, causing more and more cracks to appear on its surface.
After the seventh silver lightning struck, the red shield shattered into pieces, completely ruined.
The eighth and ninth silver lightning bolts struck the yellow luminescent screen one after another. The Spiritual Light of the yellow screen grew dim and flickered, as the thundercloud also vanished.
A red fireball descended from the sky, crashing onto the yellow luminescent screen, engulfing it in rolling flames. At the same time, the Xuan Water Knife plunged into the flames, shattering the yellow screen, which was then stopped by the red luminescent screen.
The man in the red shirt was startled and quickly took out a three-colored talisman, slapping it on himself, and a thick tricolored luminescent screen emerged, forming a second layer of protective barrier.
Shen Long's eyebrows furrowed tightly; the opponent had quite a few talismans, and it would not be easy for him to prevail.
He fell to the ground, the Spiritual Light of his green feathered wings growing dim. With a flash of green light, the Flying Heaven Talisman fell off from him, self-igniting into fly ash; its potency was exhausted.
It had already lost much of its power last time, and this time it was used up completely.
The man in the red shirt summoned a Fire Serpent Talisman, which turned into a ten-foot-long red fire serpent, lunging towards Shen Long.
Shen Long pointed his finger lightly, the Xuangui Shield moved to meet it, blocking the red fire serpent.
A loud booming sound erupted, and rolling flames overwhelmed the Xuangui Shield.
In Shen Long's right hand, a talisman flickering with green light appeared, its surface bearing the pattern of a miniature tiger.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed out the Beast Soul Talisman.
With a muffled "plop," the Beast Soul Talisman burst open, transforming into a gigantic Green Wind Tiger.
"Beast Soul Talisman!" the man in the red shirt exclaimed, having thought that the Summon Lightning Talisman was Shen Long's trump card, he hadn't expected Shen Long to have a Beast Soul Talisman as well. Both being at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, Shen Long was too well-off!
Besides that, Shen Long had cultivated three first-level spells to Great Perfection, which was very rare among Loose Cultivators.
As soon as the Green Wind Tiger appeared, it opened its huge maw and sprayed out a ten-foot-long enormous Wind Blade, striking the red luminescent screen with a flicker, making it shake.
Shen Long's right hand flicked, sending out a fireball as large as a water jar flying towards the opponent, while the Green Wind Tiger also slung out waves of green Wind Blades, attacking the man in the red shirt.
Before long, the red luminescent screen shattered.
The complexion of the man in the red shirt turned ugly; he had no more first-level talismans in his hand.
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The Green Wind Tiger springs into action, leaping towards the man in the red shirt, who hastily throws a red dart at the approaching beast.
The Green Wind Tiger opens its mouth and releases a green Wind Blade, colliding with the red dart, resulting in a muffled clang akin to metal striking metal.
Shen Long retrieves the Xuangui Shield and summons the Qingyue Scissors, striking the tri-colored light barrier together with the Xuan Water Knife. The light barrier shakes violently, and at the same time, a red fireball falls from the sky, hitting the barrier and engulfing the man in the red shirt with roaring flames.
The man in the red shirt clearly understands the defensive talisman can't withstand the assault from two magic artifacts for long and hastily controls the red flying dagger to defend, blocking the Qingyue Scissors, while the red dart continues to target the Green Wind Tiger.
He releases one earthen cone after another in a yellow hue, intercepting the incoming red fireballs.
The battle enters a stalemate as both parties wield two magic artifacts each; however, Shen Long, with the help of the Green Wind Tiger, gains the upper hand, forcing the man in the red shirt to focus entirely on defense.
Shen Long does not want the fight to drag on. Who knows if Xu Lei can eliminate Chen Xiong—should someone else come to aid, that would complicate things.
While continuing to launch red fireballs, he reaches into his bosom, pulls out a Spirit Beast Bag, shakes it behind him with the opening facing downward, and a streak of yellow light shoots out, burrowing into the ground.
The man in the red shirt has no excess attention to spare on Shen Long's every move, and under the relentless onslaught of the Xuan Water Knife, the spiritual light of the tri-colored barrier begins to dim.
Shen Long forms a spell with his hand, and the Xuan Water Knife's blue glow intensifies as it heads straight for the red dart, engaging it in a fierce tussle. The Green Wind Tiger opens its huge maw and emits an enormous Wind Blade, over a yard long, striking the weakening tri-colored light barrier and further dimming its spiritual light.
The Green Wind Tiger pounces, its gaping mouth revealing a row of sharp teeth capable of easily biting through a neck.
The man in the red shirt is startled and flicks his sleeve, sending a yellow earthen cone flying toward the Green Wind Tiger.
At the same time, his feet glow brilliantly with a green light as he retreats backward. Suddenly, a thick green vine bursts from the earth, entangling his left leg, but thankfully, the tri-colored light barrier protects him from harm.
A red fireball, the size of a water jar, falls from above, smashing onto the tri-colored light barrier and engulfing it in rolling flames.
Despite the barrier, the man in the red shirt can still feel an incredible heat.
An immense Wind Blade flies towards him, striking the tri-colored light barrier, which briefly flickers in and out of existence.
A grey-white stinger emerges from the Earth, hitting the already faltering tri-colored light barrier. It shatters like the last straw on a camel's back.
The stinger pierces through the man in the red shirt's head. His body goes limp, and he collapses, the spiritual lights of his two magic artifacts dimming and falling to the ground.
Shen Long breathes a sigh of relief and conjures a spell, turning the Green Wind Tiger into a green talisman that floats down into his hand—a third of its power depleted.
This battle cost him over a hundred Spirit Stones, but the spoils were significant—two medium-grade magic artifacts—though the lower-grade artifact was destroyed by a lightning spell.
The Iron Tail Scorpion emerges from underground, issuing a cheerful hiss. Its stinger swings in apparent declaration of victory.
"I'll give you a big meal when we get back," Shen Long promises. In critical moments, the Iron Tail Scorpion proves quite useful.
He puts the Iron Tail Scorpion back into the Spirit Beast Bag, takes a red Storage Bag from the body of the man in the red shirt, picks up the two medium-grade magic artifacts, and then casts a red fireball to incinerate the corpse before leaving the area.
Returning to the marketplace, Shen Long enters Soldier Hall and fortunately finds Sun Huowang there.
He presents a wolf pelt and four claws, saying, "Here is the pelt and claws of a Middle Stage first-tier Galewind Wolf. What do you say, Shopkeeper?"
A freshly killed Galewind Wolf in the early stages isn't worth much, so he plans to keep it as food for the Iron Tail Scorpion.
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