Jiufeng Ridge.
When two Golden Core Stage cultivators began a fierce battle in the sky outside Jiufeng Ridge, Zhou Chun and others within the Zhou Family Mountain gate were all on tenterhooks.
For those loose cultivators and ordinary Zhou Family cultivators who were unaware of the inside story, the series of changes filled them with terror, leaving them clueless about what to do.
Especially for those loose cultivators, they had inadvertently become embroiled in an undeserved calamity, and were now all nervously grabbing any Zhou Family cultivators they could find, bombarding them with questions to find out what was happening.
However, those in the know simply couldn’t spate time to explain to them at this moment.
In the end, to prevent any mishaps, a few of the Zhou Family’s Foundation Establishment Elders had no choice but to use their cultivation levels to intimidate these people and temporarily suppress them.
Meanwhile, as the Ancestor of Su Family took the initiative to strike and engaged in battle with Liu Xi, Ruan Hongzhuang’s value as a bargaining chip was lost.
Zhou Mingde, Zhou Daoyi, and Su Yuzhen, who had also emerged at this time, combined forces. They quickly exhausted the power of Ruan Hongzhuang’s Talisman Treasure and, without giving her a chance to plead for mercy, killed her on the spot.
After killing Ruan Hongzhuang, several high-ranking members of the Zhou Family personally took charge of the various foundational elements of the Mountain Protection Array, operating it with all their might to prevent Liu Xi from making a sudden attack.
The "Five Directions Mirlo Array" was also a formidable Forbidden Formation in its own right; although it could not withstand the attacks of a Golden Core Stage cultivator indefinitely due to environmental constraints, it should still be able to resist several attacks from a Golden Core Stage cultivator.
And the Ancestor of Su Family would certainly not sit by and watch Liu Xi attack the Zhou Family Mountain gate.
At this time, Zhou Chun also emerged from the ancestral hall to personally explain the situation to the clan members and calm the frightened loose cultivators.
With his personal explanation, the emotions of the Zhou Family clan members stabilized, after all, the battle inside the mountain gate had ended, and they couldn’t see the battle taking place outside.
The loose cultivators, upon learning about the battle between Golden Core Stage cultivators outside, were filled with panic but were not foolish enough to demand immediate departure.
After Zhou Chun assured them that they would not be implicated and waived their Spirit Coin expenses for cultivating that day, they finally ceased their clamoring.
It was only then that Zhou Chun had time to observe the battle between the two Golden Core Stage cultivators.
Unlike the Golden Core Stage battles he had seen in the past, this time, because Liu Xi had no juniors or subordinates to consider, he did not choose to engage in high-altitude combat with the Ancestor of Su Family.
Instead, he confronted the Ancestor of Su Family in the sky less than fifty miles away from the Zhou Family Mountain gate.
This made it clear that he intended to take the entire Zhou Family as hostages, forcing the Su Family Ancestor to be apprehensive about attacking.
However, there seemed to be a disparity in strength between him and the Ancestor of Su Family.
After observing for a while, Zhou Chun noticed that from the beginning to end, Liu Xi relied solely on a cyan-green Flying Sword as his Dharma Treasure, protecting himself with only a third-order high-quality Defensive Dharma Artifact and a protective secret technique he had cultivated.
In contrast, the Ancestor of Su Family not only wielded the Eight-Pronged Treasure Mace, his Lifebound Dharma Treasure, but had also cultivated another Dharma Treasure, a cyan jade staff.
With the advantage of having one extra Dharma Treasure, the Ancestor of Su Family clearly held absolute dominance from the very start.
"If this is the extent of your ability, then you might as well leave your life in Jingguo Country today," the Ancestor of Su Family said after a period of combat, having grasped Liu Xi’s methods. His eyes turned cold, and he seriously engaged in the fight.
With a low shout, as he stimulated his spell, the Eight-Pronged Treasure Mace suddenly erupted with a turquoise brilliance, instantly condensing a thick blue lightning bolt aimed at Liu Xi.
This move was evidently beyond Liu Xi’s expectations, and he was too late to defend himself with his sword.
Experience tales at freewebnovel
However, as a Golden Core Stage cultivator, he still had a trick or two up his sleeve.
In that instant, though taken by surprise but not descending into chaos, Liu Xi revealed a brief flash of pain in his eyes as he summoned a shimmering cyan wooden shield in front of him with a wave of his sleeve.
The cyan wooden shield was not a Dharma Treasure, but its power far surpassed that of ordinary third-order artifacts.
As the blue lightning unleashed by the Ancestor of Su Family’s Dharma Treasure struck the cyan shield, the shield was shattered by the impact, but its power was greatly diminished and failed to truly harm Liu Xi.
"Oh, a defensive artifact made from Dharma Treasure Spirit Materials? Truly a waste of heaven’s gifts," the Ancestor of Su Family squinted his eyes, immediately recognizing the true nature of the cyan wooden shield.
Dharma Treasures could not be forged from ordinary materials. Every Spirit Material capable of serving as the main component for Dharma Treasure construction was an exceedingly rare and precious gem, seldom found in the world.
These Spirit Materials could naturally be used not only for Dharma Treasure forging but also for artifact creation.
Since only Golden Core Stage cultivators with sufficient Cultivation Level could forge and utilize Dharma Treasures,
some Artifact Refiners who had not yet reached the Golden Core Stage, upon obtaining such Spirit Materials, would sometimes, in a wasteful desire to create a powerful artifact to make a name for themselves, choose to use these exceptional materials to forge third-order artifacts.
Thusly crafted third-order artifacts, due to the inherent strength of their materials, are far more powerful than ordinary third-order artifacts, yet fall short of the power of true Dharma Treasures.
However, because of their solid nature, they can store a substantial amount of mana from Golden Core Stage cultivators. Sometimes, these third-order artifacts can indeed come into contact with Dharma Treasures.
Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.
Of course, that’s all they can do - merely come into contact.
Just as Liu Xi had recently done; in exchange for destroying his artifact, he forced it to unleash power far beyond its usual capabilities to fend off the Ancestor of Su Family’s deathblow.