As soon as Ding Hao entered the cave, he saw that the disciples from several sects had already assembled. The people from the Blood Fiend Sect and the Soul Devouring Sect showed fierce expressions upon seeing Ding Hao enter the cave. Cheng Jiao from the Purgatory Demon Sect, on the other hand, looked on with schadenfreude, seemingly eager for an immediate brawl among them.
Noticing their malicious intentions, Ding Hao paid no heed and coldly surveyed his surroundings. He found that at the final moment of exiting the cave, everyone was cautious and no one dared to initiate a conflict first.
Today was the last moment for the cave to open. Although it had not yet opened, everyone was on full alert, guarding against a sudden sneak attack from those around them. After all, the one who could exit the cave first would gain greater benefits.
In previous Soul Refining Sect Gatherings, it was usually the disciples of the Purgatory Demon Sect who left the cave first. Although the other sects were disgruntled, they could do nothing due to their inferior strength. However, the top few would be rewarded with magic treasures. The disciples of those sects had always advanced by treading on the corpses of others. Ruthless killings were ubiquitous.
Everyone was on guard against each other and walked slowly forward. Ding Hao trailed behind, walking slowly while constantly observing the others. He calculated in his heart. Judging from the current strength, the Purgatory Sect was still the strongest, followed by the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect. The other sects were not much different. Except for the members of the Black Demon Sect who had been slain by him, in terms of numbers, he was the weakest. And the people from the Blood Fiend Sect and the Soul Devouring Sect would surely not let him off easily. It seemed that the situation was rather bleak.
Everyone was silent and only focused on moving forward. After a short while, a net formed by crisscrossing sword glows appeared in front of them. The densely packed sword glows of the net left only a gap the size of a finger. A cold and icy aura spread in all directions through this net, abruptly cutting off the path ahead.
Upon seeing this net of condensed sword glows, Xu Feng's expression changed. His originally calm and gentle gaze suddenly turned cold and ruthless. Xu Feng shifted his gaze to the puzzled crowd. After his eyes met Ding Hao's thoughtful gaze, both of their hearts stirred simultaneously. They each averted their gazes and continued to watch the others.
"Brother Xu, do you know the function and the way to break this sword glow net?" The person from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect asked.
"Heh heh, this net was refined by a secret method of our Purgatory Demon Sect. As for its function, it is to block our way of leaving. I don't know how to break it. You can try it yourself!" Xu Feng said, and his gaze returned to normal.
This person knew that Xu Feng was not telling the truth, but he had nothing to say. After a pause, he casually took out a flying sword and a purple sword glow slashed at the net in front. But when the sword glow hit the net, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any reaction. Instead, the net threads in the area hit by the sword glow became even denser, and not even a finger could pass through.
This person looked puzzled. Seeing such a situation, he dared not try again easily. After a pause, he seemed to mutter to himself, "This net is so difficult to break. Are we going to be trapped here? Is there really no way to break it?" After saying that, he looked up at Xu Feng.
Just then, a booming sound came from the front through the sword net, and there was a faint flow of light. The people outside had finally opened the sealed cave!
Five streaks of fierce flame rays radiated in all directions. Caught off guard, the people from the Purgatory Demon Sect had already launched attacks on the others!
"The way to break it is with the blood of you all!" Xu Feng laughed harshly at this time, and his refined expression suddenly turned fierce.
Seeing the Purgatory Demon Sect act like this, everyone felt threatened and launched their defenses. But because the Purgatory Demon Sect chose the perfect moment for a surprise attack, the two early-stage Heart Stirring Realm cultivators from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect and the Talisman Sect were swept into the net by two sword glows as soon as they engaged. After two pitiful screams, the two had been shredded into pieces by the net made of sword glows.
After the essence blood of these two people, the originally dense sword glows did become a bit sparser. Now the gap in the net was large enough for a fist to pass through. Seeing such a change, the people from the Purgatory Demon Sect were all startled, and their attacks became even more fierce.
As soon as Xu Feng's expression first changed, Ding Hao sensed something was amiss from him and secretly prepared. As soon as the people from the Purgatory Demon Sect made their move, Cheng Jiao charged directly at Ding Hao.
Seeing Cheng Jiao's attack, Ding Hao immediately knew that this person's strength was among the top in the cave. Perhaps apart from Xu Feng, this person was the most difficult to deal with. No wonder he was so arrogant. Ding Hao ignored the situations of the others and focused all his attention on Cheng Jiao.
A fierce and raging flame rolled towards him. Before it even got close, the heat wave had already hit his face. If it were against someone else, Ding Hao might have been a bit flustered. But Ding Hao was quite familiar with the characteristics of the Purgatory Demon Sect's cultivation method. Having spent so much time with Feng Xingran and her group, he had seen attacks more violent and fierce than Cheng Jiao's. How could he not know the power of their sect's cultivation method?
Seeing the raging flame approaching, the Reverse Heaven Demon Sword unfurled in the wind. The black sword glow seemed eager to tear the sky and split the earth. Although Ding Hao's strength was slightly inferior to Cheng Jiao's, his momentum was even greater. The cold qi on the black glow dissipated the fierce and rigid force of Cheng Jiao's flame into nothing.
Seeing that Ding Hao had broken it so easily, Cheng Jiao's expression changed. After a pause, it seemed as if he remembered that Ding Hao's cultivation was at most mid-stage Heart Stirring Realm. His expression regained its venomousness. The resentful and murderous qi mixed with the raging flame surged down again!
Seeing such power, Ding Hao remained calm. The Reverse Heaven Demon Sword kept spinning in the air, hissing as it rubbed against the surrounding air. After a moment, it formed a pitch-black deep hole. When the raging flame reached the black hole, it disappeared again. Cheng Jiao finally took Ding Hao's strength seriously when he saw how he defused it.
Just as he was about to show his true strength, a fierce and cold astral qi suddenly blasted towards him from the black hole in front of Ding Hao. The two-zhang-sized black hole kept twisting and changing, appearing and disappearing. Reflected on Ding Hao's indistinct figure, it was like a mirage.
Seeing the astral qi approaching, Cheng Jiao let out a loud shout. A fiery red sword glow suddenly appeared in the sky. Amidst the flashing light, it had already split the approaching astral qi in two. The astral qi dispersed on both sides of Cheng Jiao.
Just as he didn't have time to catch his breath, the pitch-black deep hole formed by Ding Hao's Reverse Heaven Demon Sword also charged towards him head-on. The black hole emitted rolling demonic qi that was cold and evil. Facing such power, Cheng Jiao's expression slightly changed. Instead of using his sword, he used his palms. His palms kept changing various hand seals and incantations in the air. In an instant, a dense and deep red astral shield covered his whole body.
After a muffled and loud sound, Cheng Jiao stepped back. The deep red astral shield and the pitch-black deep hole formed by Ding Hao's Reverse Heaven Demon Sword disappeared simultaneously. While retreating, Cheng Jiao still didn't forget to look around. When the black fog and astral qi dissipated, he didn't find Ding Hao's figure.
Just as he was puzzled, a heaven-shaking murderous qi came from behind. At this time, it was just when Cheng Jiao had used up two mouthfuls of true qi and his new true qi had not yet fully gathered.
Cheng Jiao's expression changed again. Without time to think, he forcedfully channeled five-tenths of his newly gathered true qi into his sword. The fierce red glow reappeared. Unfortunately, it was even weaker than his first display of power. With a clang, a loud noise of metal colliding, Cheng Jiao's retreating figure not only stopped immediately but was also thrown in the opposite direction. Before he even landed, a mouthful of blood had sprayed out like a mist.
And at this time, Ding Hao's ghostly figure finally appeared. He walked slowly towards the place where Cheng Jiao landed, looking as if he was in no hurry. But in the blink of an eye, he had reached Cheng Jiao.
The black glow exploded. A heaven-shaking murderous qi like a shower of petals from a celestial maiden rained down on Cheng Jiao. Cheng Jiao had just been injured and didn't have time to adjust his breath. Ding Hao came and attacked again. His originally fierce and venomous expression had disappeared, replaced by panic.
He retreated in a flustered manner. But even so, he couldn't completely avoid this wave of attacks. After two more muffled shouts, although Cheng Jiao didn't spit blood again, his figure swayed a bit with the two shouts and was a bit unsteady.
When Ding Hao was about to attack again, Cheng Jiao had already huddled among the people from the Purgatory Demon Sect. Shaking his head, Ding Hao didn't pursue.
After the two disciples from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect and the Talisman Sect were sneakily killed, everyone finally stabilized their positions and joined forces to deal with the violent attacks of the Purgatory Demon Sect. Although the several sects had suffered losses, with the combined efforts of the four sects, they still fought evenly with the Purgatory Demon Sect.
After escaping from Ding Hao, Cheng Jiao immediately joined the battle. Although his strength had been somewhat damaged, it didn't affect the fight. It was just that, whether intentionally or not, he always kept a distance from the area where Ding Hao was.
Taking in the situation in the field at a glance, Ding Hao let out a cold and soft laugh. His figure swayed and mysteriously appeared on the left side of Wan Qihang. Silently, he sent out a silver-white chain. Wan Qihang, who was already in a precarious situation while fighting with a mid-stage Heart Stirring Realm disciple from the Purgatory Demon Sect, was caught off guard by this change.
With a great change in expression, Wan Qihang shifted his body three feet to the left, barely avoiding Ding Hao's silver-white chain. But the deep red fist of the Purgatory Demon Sect disciple, accompanied by violent astral qi, had already hit Wan Qihang's chest. With a sound of bones breaking, Wan Qihang's figure spun and was thrown into the air. Before this Purgatory Demon Sect disciple could make another move, Ding Hao had already soared into the sky like lightning. He caught up with Wan Qihang's falling body in the air and pierced his body with a sword.
"Brother Wan, farewell!" Ding Hao whispered in Wan Qihang's ear.
He casually threw the body towards the large net made of sword glows behind him. After being baptized by Wan Qihang's blood, after a moment, the gap in the sword net was as large as a head.
Just then, Xu Feng let out a fierce laugh, "Fellow Daoist Bai, you're out of tricks! Then I'll have to send you on your way first!"
Ding Hao turned his head and saw that the female disciple from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect who had abandoned her partner in the vortex had a terrified expression. She was constantly spitting blood and retreating under Xu Feng's sword glow.
Seeing that this woman had moved to his side, Ding Hao dodged in disgust and casually sent out a white glow. The woman's retreating figure suddenly stopped. Just as a smile was about to appear on her face, suddenly her body accelerated in the opposite direction towards the sword net. With a pitiful and shrill scream, this woman was also turned into a blood mist.
And at this time, the gap in the sword net expanded again and was now large enough for a person to pass through.
Seeing this change, the people fighting all rushed towards the large gap. The only remaining male disciple of the Blood Fiend Sect was closest to the gap and was the first to reach it. His body had just passed halfway through when the disciple surnamed Fei from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect had already approached. A purple qi forcibly stretched this person's horizontal figure into a vertical one. With a scream, this person was also turned into a blood mist by the sword glow.
And at this time, Xu Feng had also arrived. Without a word, he sent a fierce and evil sword glow towards the disciple surnamed Fei from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect. This person who was about to pass through the net abruptly stopped his figure and quickly countered. With a loud explosion, both of them retreated. But Xu Feng rose up first and took the lead in passing through the hole in the net.
Seeing that the distance between him and the hole in the net was only five zhang, suddenly a black lightning bolt streaked across the sky on the left. The violent, cruel, and cold demonic qi completely blocked his path. Ding Hao, who had been waiting for a long time, finally launched a full-strength attack.
Xu Feng seemed to have known that this would happen. His advancing body suddenly stopped. A fierce glow exploded. With a clang, a loud noise, Xu Feng turned around and blocked Ding Hao's attack. And Ding Hao was also sent flying back continuously by this horizontal slash.
Looking at Ding Hao's figure getting farther and farther away from the hole in the net, Xu Feng laughed loudly, "Fellow Daoist Ding, you still lack experience. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so helpless!"
"Heh heh, that's not necessarily so!" Ding Hao's voice actually came from the direction of the hole in the net behind him.
Xu Feng's laughing expression suddenly changed drastically. Looking closely at the front, the figure of Ding Hao who had been flying back was gradually fading. Looking back, he found that another Ding Hao had already passed through the net and was floating towards the cave entrance like a ghost.
Just as he was about to pursue, the disciple surnamed Fei from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect had already charged towards him with a soaring purple qi.