Guo Xingyue's spiritual awareness was incredibly powerful. Even from a distance, he had already locked onto the positions of Ke Yeluo and Hao Chiping. When the two of them used teleportation to flee, Guo Xingyue had already noted their respective directions: both were fleeing in the same general direction, but their landing points differed. Hao Chiping, being less injured, had managed to escape farther away, while although Ke Yeluo was at a higher cultivation level, his severe injuries limited his distance compared to Hao Chiping.
After pondering for a moment, Guo Xingyue decided to pursue Ke Yeluo. Despite Ke Yeluo's high cultivation, his heavy injuries made him vulnerable. Furthermore, Ke Yeluo was likely the mastermind behind this invasion of demon cultivators; even if he wasn't the main culprit, he was undoubtedly one of the most important figures. If allowed to recuperate, even though Guo Xingyue was not afraid, the Yixin Sect would surely be doomed. As for Hao Chiping, he was merely a timid character; even if he escaped, it wouldn't significantly affect the larger situation. Guo Xingyue sheathed his flying sword and activated his spiral true essence, vanishing from sight.
Ke Yeluo, having teleported into outer space, was secretly relieved to have finally evaded Guo Xingyue's pursuit. He cursed his timid junior brother Hao Chiping for abandoning him, contemplating how to take revenge on the Yixin Sect later. Suddenly, he sensed a disturbance in the space behind him and felt a tightening in his chest: who had just teleported in?
A flash of white light cut through the vast emptiness of space, revealing Guo Xingyue standing not far behind Ke Yeluo, coldly observing the shocked demon cultivator.
For a moment, Ke Yeluo was taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. The youth before him may have had a lower cultivation level, but his spiritual awareness was formidable, capable of locking onto his position. What angered him was that Guo Xingyue, with his less than Integration stage cultivation, was relentlessly pursuing him. Ke Yeluo slowly began to gather his magical essence, preparing to teach Guo Xingyue a lesson.
Guo Xingyue unleashed his flying sword, letting it circle protectively around him without rushing to attack. The thin camel may be larger than a horse; after all, Ke Yeluo was a late Integration stage expert, four levels above him in cultivation. Despite his heavy injuries, a sudden attack from him wouldn't be easy to endure, so Guo Xingyue decided to rely on his combat skills to deal with his opponent rather than engage in a direct confrontation.
Seeing Guo Xingyue release his flying sword, Ke Yeluo also summoned his magical weapon, entering a standoff in the vastness of space. As Ke Yeluo circulated his magical essence, he felt intense pain in his meridians (demon cultivators merge their demon infant with their physical body upon reaching the Integration stage, similar to how cultivators do). He realized that he had suffered severe injuries; his remaining magical essence barely accounted for thirty percent. Uncertain if he could defeat Guo Xingyue in a head-on clash, he decided to close the distance, relying on his formidable physique and melee combat skills to overpower him.
Ke Yeluo transformed his magical weapon into a large, dark hammer, gripping it tightly with both hands. He suddenly lunged toward Guo Xingyue with a swift dash. Guo Xingyue, seeing his opponent adopting a close combat strategy, smiled slightly and transformed his flying sword into a golden long sword, charging directly at the oncoming Ke Yeluo.
In an instant, the distance between them shrank from over a hundred feet to within ten. Ke Yeluo struck first, shaking the massive black hammer and sweeping toward Guo Xingyue's torso. Guo Xingyue's body, previously moving forward quickly, suddenly hesitated. He executed a side roll to evade the incoming hammer, then flicked his wrist, launching a technique called "Eight Directions of Storm and Rain," sending dozens of golden sword flowers rapidly toward Ke Yeluo.
Seeing Guo Xingyue's fierce attack, Ke Yeluo quickly responded by anchoring his hands. The huge hammer, which Guo Xingyue had previously avoided, spun back around, targeting Guo Xingyue's legs. However, Guo Xingyue's aggressive move was merely a feint. When he saw Ke Yeluo's hammer sweeping toward his legs, he executed a roll, avoiding the hammer's sweep. With a light touch of his sword against the hammer, he entered the hammer's defensive blind spot and unleashed "Celestial Finger," aimed directly at Ke Yeluo's chest.
Realizing there was no way to dodge, Ke Yeluo instinctively shrank the massive black hammer down to a small one. As he flicked his wrist, he managed to block Guo Xingyue's incoming sword strike. The two treasures collided, creating a dazzling explosion of sparks, causing both to be forced back.
After this encounter, both sides had reached a stalemate; neither gained an advantage. Once Guo Xingyue stabilized himself, he quickly took a Returning Essence Pill from his storage bracelet and circulated his true essence to recover slightly. He calculated silently: although Ke Yeluo was severely injured, his remaining magical essence was still considerably higher than his own. While Guo Xingyue could use the benefits of spiral true essence to neutralize part of Ke Yeluo's magical force, a direct confrontation would likely lead to mutual destruction. Ke Yeluo seemed to possess extensive battle experience and used his magical weapon with great skill; he was indeed a formidable opponent. If Guo Xingyue did not eliminate him while he was injured, allowing him to recover would certainly lead to dire consequences.
With this thought in mind, Guo Xingyue rapidly charged at Ke Yeluo, denying him any chance to catch his breath.
Ke Yeluo, already heavily wounded with only thirty percent of his magical essence remaining, initially intended to rely on his close combat skills to secure victory. However, having gained no advantage from their previous exchange, the last clash had only worsened his injuries. He understood that Guo Xingyue's melee skills matched his own, and with insufficient magical essence to withstand a direct confrontation, he decided to evade instead. When he saw Guo Xingyue take a pill, his anxiety intensified; he couldn't afford to continue fighting and expended his remaining magical essence to teleport away.
Guo Xingyue had already locked onto Ke Yeluo's position with his spiritual awareness. Upon seeing Ke Yeluo teleport away, he immediately followed suit. Just as Guo Xingyue reappeared in the space, a massive black hammer was hurtling toward him. He hurriedly mobilized all his true essence to retreat. The hammer relentlessly pursued him, and at that moment, Guo Xingyue swiftly pressed against the hammer, leaping over it to charge toward Ke Yeluo. This was Guo Xingyue's life-saving ultimate technique, the Qiankun Hand.
Ke Yeluo anticipated that Guo Xingyue would also use teleportation to pursue him and initially planned to ambush him as he emerged from the teleportation state. However, to his surprise, not only did Guo Xingyue evade his ambush, but he also turned the tables, leaping over the hammer to attack. In a panic, Ke Yeluo could only retreat hastily. With his sword in hand, Guo Xingyue unleashed a surge of sword energy, quickly catching up to the retreating Ke Yeluo, and lightly flicked his wrist, unleashing dozens of sword flowers toward Ke Yeluo's chest.