Chapter Twenty: Fighting to the Death

  The murderous intent contained in the sword light made Wang Guanlan's heart sink, his agile body dodging, but his mind was still a blur. How did this guy enter this heavily guarded courtyard? And how did he avoid his own "circle" and sneak up to his side? If it wasn't for his sudden realization while practicing the "circle" earlier, he would probably have had his throat cut by now.

  But now he had no time to think carefully, the other's sword momentum was continuous, like a gentle rain, one wave after another, Wang Guanlan didn't even have the chance to counterattack, and could only rely on his own footwork to dodge. Fortunately, the footwork of "Lingyuan Xi Xue" was ingenious, although he hadn't fully grasped the basics, and his body had been cut a few times, but he was barely able to cope.

  "Damn it, the sword is poisoned!" After a few rounds, Wang Guanlan felt a numbness spreading from several wounds on his body and couldn't help but curse silently. He wiped his hand at his waist and put three Hundred Spirit Detox Pills into his mouth, but his movements were inevitably slowed down by one step, and he got a few more wounds on his body.

  "What a strange and unpredictable movement! If it weren't for the 'Spirited Ape Playing in the Snowy Cliff' technique, I wouldn't have been able to block his several sword strikes!" This assassin's movements were as elusive as a shadow, appearing and disappearing at will, making it impossible to grasp his position. His sword would always emerge from the dense sword shadows to strike at an unexpected location, and with just a slight lapse in attention, one would be caught off guard."

  "Fortunately, I was cautious and the antidote pill has never left my side. Otherwise, who knows if I would have fallen here today!" Wang Guanlan secretly congratulated himself in his heart, but at the same time, he also felt a chill, "With such a big commotion here, why hasn't anyone come yet? Could it be that all the guards outside were killed by this guy?"

  Swish swish swish!!

  The black-clad man's sword stabbed out, seeing no effect, seemingly somewhat unexpected, let out a low growl, and his originally eerie figure suddenly accelerated by a lot, the chill on the black sword increased greatly, and the speed of his sword strikes also quickened by thirty percent.

  No good!!

  Lingyuan Xi Xuejiu was indeed ingenious, but Wang Guanlan was only at the second layer of Qi refinement and had not reached the third layer where his Qi could flow freely throughout his body. As a result, he couldn't fully display the foundation of this martial art. When the black-robed man increased his strength, Wang Guanlan immediately found himself in trouble, and his speed was even more lacking. In just one breath, two swords had already struck him, although he managed to avoid the vital points each time, but still suffered significant injuries.

  "Damn, it can't go on like this! If not for being stabbed to death by him, he would be drained of blood!! The two swords may not have pierced too deeply, but the bleeding was rapid. Moreover, Wang Guanlan was in intense exercise and had no time to stop the bleeding, so he knew that under these circumstances, he wouldn't last long."

  And the black-clad assassin was even more experienced, seeing a few swords take effect, and increasing the intensity of his attack, soon putting Wang Guanlan in a precarious situation.

  "To hell with it, I don't believe it!!" Just as the black-clad assassin's long sword was about to pierce Wang Guanlan's chest again, Wang Guanlan gritted his teeth and steeled himself, not dodging or evading. He suddenly stretched out his five fingers, and five fireballs appeared out of thin air, hurtling towards the black-clad assassin's face.

  The assassin was shocked, and the momentum of his sword paused for a moment. This sword seemed to be able to pierce Wang Guanlan, but at the same time, he would also be hit by the fireball emitted by Wang Guanlan, which was a situation where both sides would suffer.

  He came to kill people, not to be killed. Moreover, he also understood Wang Guanlan's situation, although he was a formation master, his Taoist rank was very low, only a first-rank Taoist.

  A first-rate wizard, even if he can cast spells, how many times can he cast them?

  So, he had enough patience to wait for the moment when Wang Guanlan's spiritual power would be exhausted. However, what happened next made him extremely depressed, because Wang Guanlan's spiritual power seemed endless, and in his hands, one fireball after another appeared endlessly.

  Not only were there many fireballs, but they were also extremely powerful. After several rounds, the entire house had been set on fire, with flames shooting up to the sky. Wang Guanlan took advantage of this opportunity to rush out of the house and into the courtyard.

  "What's going on? Did he really kill everyone outside?! Wang Guanlan, who rushed out of the room, looked at the quiet courtyard with equal confusion and silence."

  "No one will come to save you!" The black-clad assassin followed closely behind Wang Guanlan, charging out with a corner of his dark night clothes burned away, looking somewhat disheveled but still attacking with razor-sharp ferocity. After saying this in an extremely low and solemn tone, he once again pounced forward.

  Wang Guanlan didn't dare to be careless, and began to respond to the assassin's attack with all his might. On one side was a fireball, on the other was a sword light, and after several rounds of fighting, the black-clothed assassin finally discovered something that wasn't quite right. With Wang Guanlan's first-class mage strength, this spell was being cast a bit too many times, and the speed was also a bit too fast, completely unlike the performance that a first-class mage should have.

  But now it's a bit late to realize this, the original initiative has already been somewhat passive, Wang Guanlan can not only release fireballs with both hands, but also has more than ten fireballs around his body, ready to counterattack at any time.

  Another sword was forced back by Wang Guanlan's fireball, and the black-clothed assassin finally stopped blindly attacking, instead starting to engage in a mobile battle with Wang Guanlan.

  This performance once again made Wang Guanlan's heart sink.

  "He actually dared to fight with me on my own turf, looks like he's not afraid of disturbing others. And sure enough, something happened outside!" He felt a slight sense of anxiety in his heart and began to lose his composure. - The Tyrant's Fist 20

  The black-clothed assassin grasped a bit of the doorway during the fight, "He indeed doesn't fear the consumption of magic, it seems he has an artifact on him that can amplify his spells!" A thread of greed flashed in the eyes of the black-clothed assassin, "However, his spellcasting speed isn't very fast, although there are many fireballs around him, they aren't without openings, it seems I can only make a desperate gamble now!"

  The black-clad assassin changed his strategy once again and charged straight at Wang Guanlan, narrowly avoiding several fireballs, one of which even grazed his body. However, he remained undaunted and pressed forward.

  Wang Guanlan, who was in a state of unease, jumped in fright and responded hastily, his breathing uneven. Although he had the Chi Yanjing on him, he couldn't help but make a slight mistake in mobilizing his spiritual energy, causing the fireball's power to weaken. The black-clothed assassin took advantage of this opening and landed several more wounds on Wang Guanlan's body.

  The situation returned to its original state, with Wang Guanlan dodging the assassin's attacks with all his might, while the assassin clung to him like a leech, using his strange movements and venomous swordsmanship to force Wang Guanlan back step by step.

  Soon, Wang Guanlan felt that the situation was completely out of his control. He refocused his mind and cast the fireball technique again, but the black-clothed assassin had already found a way to counter it. Although he had the help of the Chiyan crystal, casting the fireball technique still required some time. Now, he had been approached by the black-clothed assassin and didn't have enough time to cast the fireball technique. Even if he managed to cast it, one or two fireballs would be of no use.

  "Ah!!!!!!"

  Successive flashes of sword light, Wang Guanlan took a few more swords, his whole body was already stained with blood, and his breathing began to become noticeably urgent.

  With rapid breathing, Wang Guanlan's footsteps retreated in a hurry, his movements much slower than at the beginning. He also felt his body becoming heavier, his internal energy dispersing, and his movements no longer as agile as they were initially. The wonders of the Lingyuan Xuejie stance could not be displayed, and even his spirit became somewhat dazed.

  When the dim sword light appeared in front of his throat again, the icy chill finally made him shudder. With no way to avoid it, he could only use his left hand to block in front of him. The long sword pierced through his palm, and the unbearable pain transmitted to his soul. He violently withdrew his hand and retreated, his left hand trembling, unable to grip tightly again. Meanwhile, the black-clad assassin seemed to have seen Wang Guanlan's fatal weakness, and the black long sword shot out like a poisonous tongue, pressing towards Wang Guanlan.

  "You think you can kill me!!!" Wang Guanlan, who was in a desperate situation, let out a loud roar, and with a sudden bite of his tongue tip, the sharp pain in his left hand and tongue tip brought back his originally dazed spirit. His right hand then wiped his waist, and a light golden dan bead appeared in his hand.

  Dragon and Tiger Golden Elixir!!

  "Since we're going all out, let's see who can last till the end!" He growled and tossed the Dragon Tiger Golden Elixir into his mouth.

  The Longhu Golden Elixir melted instantly, turning into a scorching hot current that surged into his throat, stimulating his four limbs and hundred bones in an instant. The originally dry dantian was once again filled with rich and dense vital energy, which poured into the dantian and transformed into the knife aura of Ananda's Broken Vow Knife under the natural rotation of the dantian. However, these knife auras were apparently too much for Wang Guanlan's dantian to contain.

  "Ah!!!!!" The intense tearing pain in his lower abdomen made Wang Guanlan let out a loud roar again, and he strongly manipulated the knife energy to pull it out of his lower abdomen.

  BOOM!!!!!

  A sharp knife aura, under Wang Guanlan's guidance, broke through the layers of checkpoints and flowed throughout his body's meridians. However, Wang Guanlan was extremely regretful. Without any mental preparation, he had taken the Dragon Tiger Golden Elixir, and its essence had transformed into the Adnan Breaking Blade's knife aura at such a rapid speed. The dense knife aura was like a dull knife cutting flesh, leaving his body's meridians scarred and wounded. Countless blood vessels were severed, countless meridians were cut off, and in just one short breath, Wang Guanlan suffered extremely severe internal injuries. Even the surface of his body floated with a faint layer of bloody mist.

  However, the cost was not without reward. The checkpoints of Refining Qi Layer 2 and Refining Qi Layer 3 were broken through in an instant. His cultivation also soared from the late stage of Refining Qi Layer 2 to the late stage of Refining Qi Layer 3. With his body filled with abundant internal energy, he could now execute Lingyuan Play Snow Cliff without any hindrance. As his energy flowed throughout his body, his movements became as agile as a mischievous monkey playing on the snowy cliff, always able to dodge the black-clad assassin's long sword at the most critical moment.

  The intense pain made Wang Guanlan scream while dodging, and as he looked at the assassin, his resentment grew deeper. After avoiding several swords, he discovered the crazy screaming, "You're going to die! You must die! I will definitely kill you! Go die for me!!!"