The Living Yama's lips were slightly tinged with blood as he looked at Ye Bufan, his expression unusually grim.
"You can also mobilize the energy of the Dragon Emperor Token?" The Living Yama's eyes still held a trace of confusion. "But why is the energy you mobilized so much stronger?"
Ye Bufan was not stupid and would never tell the Living Yama that he had two Dragon Emperor Tokens on him. He simply smiled and said, "Because the Dragon Emperor Token has already recognized its master."
With that said, Ye Bufan vanished from his original spot. Using the Taiyi Divine Sect's ring, he teleported through space and, almost instantly, appeared beside the Living Yama, unleashing a palm strike.
The Living Yama reacted swiftly, but he still took a blow to the shoulder. Fortunately, he wore black armor that absorbed a significant portion of the force, allowing him to escape unharmed.
"Impossible! The Dragon Emperor Token was left behind by the Ancestral Dragon of ancient times. How could it so easily recognize a master?" The Living Yama's face was filled with disbelief. He then left an afterimage in his original spot.
Ye Bufan sensed killing intent surging towards him from all directions. With a shift of his mind, he once again activated the Taiyi Divine Sect's inheritance ring and disappeared from his original position. The Living Yama's strike landed, and he was completely bewildered. He had clearly locked onto Ye Bufan moments ago, so how had Ye Bufan vanished from under his nose?
"I'm here!" Ye Bufan's voice echoed again. A giant sword descended from the sky. The Living Yama, caught off guard, managed to block it, but was sent plummeting rapidly into the space below.
"Hiss!"
The Living Yama's armor suddenly vibrated, enveloping him completely. With a crisp "clang," the giant sword vanished. The Broken Sword, Mengran, then appeared and lunged towards the Living Yama's armor.
Ye Bufan greatly enjoyed this feeling, marveling at the power of the Tribulation Crossing stage. According to the information in his mind, the entire sect had been transformed into a portable space hidden within a ring, a feat achieved by a Tribulation Crossing stage expert during the last moments of their life, taking hundreds of years.
As long as he was within this space, and his opponent's strength was not too far beyond his own, Ye Bufan was practically invincible within this realm.
From the Living Yama's armor, eight tentacles extended like an octopus. Ye Bufan initially thought this was the Living Yama preparing to counterattack, but unexpectedly, the tentacles whipped through the air, flinging the Living Yama away and successfully evading the Broken Sword's attack.
"Crack—"
The black armor shifted its form, and the Living Yama transformed into a war god. A dense aura of battle instantly bolstered his strength.
"This armor is quite peculiar," Bai Zizhen remarked from afar, observing Ye Bufan and the Living Yama's battle.
"I thought it was ordinary armor, but I didn't expect it to change into different forms," Song Mingqin said. "It seems this is one of the Living Yama's trump cards."
"There have always been rumors that the Living Yama has ventured through many secret realms, acquiring numerous magical artifacts and cultivation techniques, which is why the Earth Fiend Hall possesses such strength today. Especially the spells of the Black and White Fiends and the Ox-Head Horse-Face Ascetics, most of which originated from secret realms," Qu Fei commented. "It seems this is true."
"Ye Bufan, I'll give you one more chance. Hand over the Dragon Emperor Token, and I'll spare your life," the Living Yama said, looking down at Ye Bufan like a killing god.
Ye Bufan waved his hand dismissively and replied, "That same sentence is what I intend to say to you."
"You court death!" The Living Yama charged at Ye Bufan, and Ye Bufan likewise charged towards him.
Simultaneously, Ye Bufan activated his Sword Domain. As the Living Yama entered Ye Bufan's Sword Domain, Ye Bufan smiled slightly. The Living Yama's heart tightened as he sensed something was amiss.
Sword Qi from all around continuously transformed into flying swords, relentlessly attacking the Living Yama.
"You... this is... a domain!" The Living Yama was greatly shocked. "You are only at the Core Formation stage, how can you possess a domain! You must have obtained an inheritance, which is why you have a domain. Hand over the inheritance quickly."
Upon hearing the Living Yama's words, Ye Bufan couldn't help but roll his eyes. He usually considered the Living Yama to be intelligent, but unexpectedly, his mind seemed to be absent now.
"Living Yama, let me tell you something. Ye Bufan comprehended the Sword Domain when he was at the Foundation Establishment stage. Does that make you angry?" Song Mingqin, seeing that the situation between Ye Bufan and the Living Yama was not clear, flew back while they were fighting.
The Living Yama glared back at Song Mingqin with a grim expression, then formed hand seals and struck towards Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan remained vigilant, conjuring a sword aura to shield himself.
"Break!" The momentum of the sword aura suddenly intensified. Within the Sword Domain, every inch of spiritual energy could be transformed into Ye Bufan's sword Qi. The sword aura grew larger and larger, eventually colliding with the Living Yama.
"Boom—"
The energies clashed and exploded, drawing the attention of everyone on the main peak. Ye Bufan and the Living Yama stopped in mid-air, gasping for breath.
"This brat, he just broke through to the Core Formation stage, how can he be so strong?" The Living Yama panted. "No, something is not right. Even if this brat didn't get an inheritance, he must have obtained some supreme treasure or elixir."
Ye Bufan looked at the Living Yama, a fighting spirit rising within him. Having just reached the Core Formation stage, he was eager to test his current strength.
The Living Yama looked at Ye Bufan, thinking that with Song Mingqin present and unlikely to gain any advantage from Ye Bufan, it was not a good time to continue.
"Ye Bufan, you can hold onto the Dragon Emperor Token for me for now. I will come to collect it myself at a later date." With that, the Living Yama, to everyone's surprise, departed from the main peak.
"This..."
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin exchanged glances, both surprised that the Living Yama had given up so easily.
"This Living Yama is cunning and deceitful, you should be very careful," Song Mingqin advised. "He already knows you have the Dragon Emperor Token, and with your cultivation breakthrough, he believes you have obtained some kind of inheritance. He will definitely come back for you."
Ye Bufan nodded emphatically. He had successfully entered the Core Formation stage, and facing the Living Yama, combined with his trump cards, he might not be able to kill the Living Yama, but he could at least hold his own against him.
Meanwhile, Bai Zizhen led the cultivators from the cultivation families in driving out and attacking the people from Cherry Blossom Island, who were eventually forced to retreat from the main peak.
"Now that the Cherry Blossom Island people are gone, how should these spirit stones be divided?" Huangfu Zheng, as the leader among the later cultivation families, asked the other families and sects present.
Ye Bufan glanced around and noticed that besides the Tianyuan Sect, Guangming Palace, Chijian Sect, and Badao Gate, there were also sect leaders he didn't recognize.
"Those are the later sects," Song Mingqin explained.
"Then naturally, they should be divided equally based on the number of families and sects present," Bai Zizhen said.