"Is that acceptable now?" Huo Yanluo spoke.
The reason Huo Yanluo chose this moment was because Ye Bufan had just finished fighting the sword array of the Sakura Island cultivators. Ye Bufan's physical strength had significantly decreased, making it the opportune moment to seize the Dragon Emperor Token.
Ye Bufan nodded, then vanished from his spot. Huo Yanluo followed suit, disappearing instantly.
In the mid-air of the forest, fierce clashes could be heard intermittently. In the distance, Hei Bai Shuang Sha and Niu Ma Toutuo watched the confrontation between Ye Bufan and Huo Yanluo with considerable worry.
"The Boss just broke through, and he's immediately seeking out Ye Bufan. Isn't that a bit risky?" Bai Wushuang remarked. "After all, Ye Bufan has been in the late stage of Core Formation for a while. He has an advantage in terms of stage stability."
"What are you afraid of? Ye Bufan consumed a lot of stamina and Zhenqi fighting the Sakura Island cultivators just now. I think the Boss will have no difficulty facing Ye Bufan," Niu Toutuo stated.
"Speculating here is useless. We should just watch. If the Boss is in danger, we need to act quickly," Hei Wuyan told the others. "At this critical juncture, the Boss cannot afford to get hurt."
"These past few days, the shackles have been loosening more and more. The spiritual energy has become incredibly dense, almost like a geyser, making cultivation much faster than before. I feel like the bottleneck I've been stuck at for so many years might break through soon," Bai Wushuang said.
"Once the shackles disappear, those who have been stagnant at their bottlenecks will inevitably break through. By then, the number of cultivators entering the Core Formation stage in the Nine Provinces will likely be substantial," Hei Wuyan commented.
"Great chaos is imminent," Ma Toutuo declared. "This is seen as a benefit, but it will inevitably lead to turmoil."
"Bang—" A resounding crash echoed from afar. Ye Bufan and Huo Yanluo were sent flying backward. Ye Bufan held the Ling Ji Sword, while Huo Yanluo wielded a long whip.
Huo Yanluo pressed his advantage. Before Ye Bufan could react, he attacked again. From behind him, the long whip suddenly multiplied into numerous strands, making Huo Yanluo resemble an octopus with many tentacles.
Ye Bufan took a deep breath and swung the Ling Ji Sword down. Many of Huo Yanluo's whip strands were severed.
Huo Yanluo was shocked. He hadn't expected Ye Bufan's sword to be so sharp. His whip was a Earth-grade magical artifact, and it shouldn't have been so vulnerable.
Ye Bufan was panting. Huo Yanluo's stamina far surpassed his own at the moment, making it difficult for Ye Bufan to cope. He could only absorb energy from spirit stones in the brief intervals to restore his stamina.
Huo Yanluo noticed this and began to shorten the pauses between his attacks, aiming to continuously deplete Ye Bufan's stamina until he could subdue him.
"Two Sleeves of Green Serpents!"
Ye Bufan held the Xuanwu Sword in one hand and the Ling Ji Sword in the other. The two swords vibrated, their frequencies astonishingly unified. Through this resonance, sword qi manifested as an energy.
"Huh—"
Ye Bufan looked at the two swords with surprise. It was extremely difficult for two swords to achieve such precise frequency resonance. Yet, here, the Xuanwu and Ling Ji vibrated identically, and the energy generated by their mutual resonance gave Ye Bufan hope.
"Go!"
Ye Bufan flicked his hand, and the two swords shot out. Their sword qi transformed into two green serpents, and the resonant energy in the middle fused.
Unexpectedly, the two swords merged instantly. Ye Bufan himself was taken aback. The two green serpent sword qi also combined into a single green serpent.
From the mouth of the green serpent, the resonant energy was unleashed—both sword qi and a sword move—striking Huo Yanluo heavily.
Huo Yanluo flew back in disbelief. Ye Bufan seized the opportunity and, with his Chongxu Thunder Art, summoned a bolt of heavenly lightning that slammed down onto Huo Yanluo.
"Rumble—"
Huo Yanluo was blasted into the ground, creating a deep pit in the heart of the forest.
"Boss!" Hei Bai Shuang Sha and Niu Ma Toutuo rushed forward simultaneously. Huo Yanluo had vanished into the pit.
Seeing this, Ye Bufan disappeared. Huo Yanluo reappeared where Ye Bufan had been, while Ye Bufan materialized above Huo Yanluo.
Ye Bufan activated his Sword Domain. Huo Yanluo immediately felt as if he were being enveloped by something.
"Take this sword!" Ye Bufan swung his sword finger down. The Ling Ji Sword and the Xuanwu Sword arrived in swift succession. The sword qi that burst from his sword finger combined with the two swords. Three consecutive waves of attack saw the sword qi within the Sword Domain converge on Huo Yanluo.
"Boom!"
Huo Yanluo attempted to counter, but he hadn't expected the sword qi to appear out of thin air from every direction and space.
The sword qi gathered before Huo Yanluo and exploded. Simultaneously, the Xuanwu Sword left a mark on Huo Yanluo's chest armor.
The Ling Ji Sword followed suit. After the remnant sword fused with meteor iron, its sharpness reached unprecedented levels.
With a single downward slash, the armor on Huo Yanluo's chest was split open. Huo Yanluo's eyes widened.
"Condense!"
Ye Bufan used both hands to control the Sword Domain, contracting it around Huo Yanluo. Huo Yanluo took a deep breath. As Ye Bufan closed in, a massive surge of energy erupted from within Huo Yanluo, flying towards Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan was caught off guard and was sent flying backward by the impact. Huo Yanluo broke free from the Sword Domain and slammed heavily onto Ye Bufan's chest.
The violent collision caused Ye Bufan to spit out a mouthful of blood. Huo Yanluo grabbed Ye Bufan by the neck.
"You lost. Give me the Dragon Emperor Token," Huo Yanluo said, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. But he didn't care now; he only wanted Ye Bufan's two Dragon Emperor Tokens.
"Is that so?"
Ye Bufan's Zhenqi was completely depleted at this moment, but he still had a trump card!
"Roar—"
A dragon's roar suddenly emanated from Ye Bufan's body, followed by a golden dragon surging out. It was an illusion, but the surrounding energy directly propelled Huo Yanluo's body.
From afar, it appeared as if the golden dragon's head had knocked Huo Yanluo flying.
Ye Bufan channeled the energy of the Dragon Emperor Token. Huo Yanluo spat out another mouthful of blood. The Ling Ji Sword and the Xuanwu Sword respectively stopped in front of Ye Bufan.
"Roar—"
The golden dragon roared at Huo Yanluo again. Huo Yanluo felt his internal organs twisting.
Ye Bufan controlled the Dragon Emperor Token's energy and slammed it heavily onto Huo Yanluo...