The Dharma Platform spirit was originally a malevolent spirit that committed acts of violence and evil, subdued and made into a protector by Yue Qinyin using spells, and usually nurtured by the incense offerings to become formidable — its nature still that of a ghost or demon.
At that moment, their shouts were extremely loud, echoing through the mountains and fields; however, deceptively cunning in reality, seeing the two inner cores smashing down, unstoppable, they neither wished nor dared to show themselves. But their primordial spirits were controlled by Yue Qinyin's command talismans; when the Dharma Platform was under attack, they had no choice but to appear. Thus, they put on a full display, their cries fierce and thunderous, yet as they shouted, they dodged to the side.
The four Dharma Protectors, in pairs, shouted as they split to the left and right, clearing the path in the middle.
The two inner cores passed through them and first collided with Furong Walker Sun Fu's flying sword.
Sun Fu had been initiated late and used a sword that wasn't one of Wutai's famous swords, naturally not refined with the help of the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor. Given its limited quality, when released, a yellow light shielded him in front. Struck by the inner core, it let out a crisp sound and shattered into pieces, breaking into many scraps of useless metal!
After the inner core shattered the flying sword, it then collided with his Protective Dharma Treasure, a pan-cover like yellow light also burst into a sky full of fireflies in an instant.
Sun Fu performed hand signs to cast a spell, intending to flee. Barely two feet off the ground, he was struck by the Water and Fire Inner Core upon his body, instantly exploding into powder and bone fragments, with even his Primordial Spirit unable to escape, body and soul destroyed.
Blazing flames splattered everywhere, and icy mist filled the sky, forming powerful airwaves that burst outwards — the rocks set up for the Dharma Platform were instantly blown into gravel, with the incense burner bowls, talisman banners, and mirrors on top all reduced to powder!
Yue Qinyin and Hu Shi were suddenly faced with such a violent attack, and were flustered and in a panic, simultaneously controlling their swords to fly backward.
Shi Feiyang knew that Yue Qinyin was the one among them with the highest mana. As the Water and Fire Inner Core smashed toward Sun Fu, he secretly fired the Black Crow Needle from Brooyinca, a streak of green fire hidden in the luminous tail of the Water and Fire Inner Core. Upon reaching the front of the platform, it abruptly turned and shot at Yue Qinyin.
Yue Qinyin saw the fierce attack that had blasted Sun Fu into a ball of fire, his body completely broken, and felt a chill mixed with a touch of relief that the attack had not been aimed at himself, else he would have been gravely wounded if not killed. He looked up into the sky, but before he could fully grasp the situation, the Black Crow Needle hit his left leg, its nine sharp points piercing into the flesh. Green Demon Fire spurted from the front, searing flesh and bone, an agony that pierced his heart.
He retreated in flight to several miles away, staggering and falling to the ground; upon seeing the Black Crow Needle on his leg, he was immediately startled, recognizing it as the signature Magical Treasure of Brooyinca, the high monk of the Western Demon Cult. How did this thing appear here? And on his own body!
He sat down against a tree, his left hand forming signs pressing on his thigh's meridian, his right hand holding a talisman between two fingers, muttering words. The talisman paper burned into a fist-sized ball of fire, held steady between his fingers, and he brought this yellow light close to the Black Crow Needle. The ball of light immediately merged into it.
The next moment, the Black Crow Needle sprang from his leg.
The Demon Cult's Magical Treasure had its wonderful uses; although it left his body, the sharp points in the front each produced a strand of green fire that connected to the bloody holes in his leg, like a living thing. It automatically adjusted its angle and aimed to pierce again!
Yue Qinyin had practiced cultivation for many years and knew the severity of his predicament. With his left hand, he had already grabbed the Immortal Sword and swept it across, severing the nine strands of azure flame. Biting his middle finger, he drew a Blood Talisman in midair with his right hand and pressed it into the Black Crow Needle while urgently saying, "I am Yue Qinyin, Mr. Iron Zither under Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor of the Wutai Sect. My sect and esteemed colleagues, including Poison Dragon Venerable of your sect, have always had good relations. I'm unaware of any offense that might have been caused to you, friend. Please show yourself and clarify, so as not to harm the amity between our two families!"
His actions were completely based on a misunderstanding. The Black Crow Needle was Brooyinca's renowned Magical Treasure. Having lost it at Dinghu Peak and also suffered the loss of Wei Fengniang, Brooyinca saw it as an enormous disgrace. Since then, he had secluded himself in Great Snow Mountain, fervently cultivated a set of Demon Blades, and prepared to avenge his humiliation by killing the Demon Dragon on Dinghu Peak once his blades were perfected—an affair unknown to anyone else.
Shi Feiyang had seen some Demon Cult cultivation techniques in Wei Fengniang's cultivation notes, but they only described the cultivation of a few spells and didn't include the method to refine the Black Crow Needle. He had devised his own way to sacrificially refine this treasure. Yet, he couldn't control it as freely as Brooyinca did, and now pressed by Yue Qinyin, he couldn't make it return to him either.
With his inner core, he had shattered Furong Walker Sun Fu and used the Black Crow Needle to fend off Yue Qinyin. At that moment, he was fiercely attacking Hu Shi.
Hu Shi, known as Fire Wing Vajra, wielded two fiercely flamed Flying Swords with exceptional skill. Shi Feiyang had trapped him using two inner cores, pressuring him from both ends with fire and water, bombarding him relentlessly.
Unable to withstand the assault, Hu Shi exerted all his strength. Merging his Dual Swords, he created a slit in the inner cores and took to the sky in a Body and Sword Combined attempt to escape; Shi Feiyang gathered clouds to envelop him. While shrouded in the clouds, he manipulated the elements, casting the Inverting Five Elements spell, shifting heaven and earth.
By himself, he wouldn't have been able to cast such an advanced spell; at this moment, he was empowered by a Magical Treasure he had recently refined—the Mica Tent.
The Mica Tent was created during the plum rain season, from the condensation of clouds gathered from hundreds of miles around, fused with Dan Qi and refined through the primordial energies of True Yin and True Yang. Once spread out, it enveloped an area of more than a hundred miles with thick clouds!
As Hu Shi penetrated the clouds with his Sword Control, though flying straight upwards, Shi Feiyang inverted the directions, and Hu Shi shot out of the clouds upside down and plummeted toward the ground.
Realizing his partner Sun Fu was killed and feeling desperate, Hu Shi's only thought was to escape. He flew rapidly, propelled by sheer panic, until the verdant earth loomed large in his vision. Only then did he realize something was wrong. He hurriedly tried to gather the sword light to change direction, but in that moment, Shi Feiyang's inner cores reached him.
Shi Feiyang waited for this critical moment to strike. The Sword Refining Technique of the Wutai Sect was unmatched across the land. Although Hu Shi had forged his Flying Swords himself, ultimately having two allowed the Dual Sword Fusion, combined with his own Essence Energy, to unite body and sword—where there is the sword, there is the person. Breaking through such a defense was not easy by any ordinary means.
Yet just as Hu Shi was trying to slow down, curbing the forward rush of sword light, his mind swayed his energy, and with it, the sword light, all seeking to reverse direction. In that instant of weakened sword momentum, both inner cores collided, bursting into the fused swords and instantly scattering the sword light, breaking the Immortal Swords into several pieces.
In the Body and Sword Integration State, with the swords broken, the person was bound to suffer severe injuries. Hu Shi felt as if all his organs were about to burst. Blood gushed from his throat before it could even spill from his mouth, and then the inner cores struck his body, instantaneously exploding him into a great fireball, his flesh and bones splintering and burning him to death!
Having dealt with Sun Fu and taken care of Hu Shi, Shi Feiyang turned to find Yue Qinyin.
Yue Qinyin, still beneath the tree, was conversing with the Black Crow Needle: "Our Wutai Sect has always had a friendly relationship with your Western Demon Cult. Your Sect Leader, Chi Li Lao Fu, and my master, Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, have met several times. The current Sect Leader, Poison Dragon Venerable, has excellent relations with our Wutai Sect brethren as well. Oh, and there's Huashan Sect! Huashan Sect and our Wutai Sect are closely related, almost like one family. You know Shi Nanxi, the revered uncle? As far as I know, Poison Dragon Venerable even wanted to invite him to join your sect as Vice Sect Leader..."
Affected by Shi Feiyang's insufficient refining method, the Black Crow Needle had lost its previous spiritual nature experienced under Brooyinca's control and would not initiate attacks on its own. Dangling there, it occasionally turned east, then west, now tilting up, then nodding, all movements without meaning. Yue Qinyin mistook these aimless actions for Brooyinca controlling the treasure and responding to him, showing tenfold patience, appealing to emotion, reasoning with Brooyinca to swiftly end the spell to avoid harming the harmony of both families.