Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 348 220: Killing Blow_2

The wound was not the issue; it was the Sword Intent within it. The Sword Intent from the Sword Cultivator was affecting his injury, and he needed to use his own Spiritual Power to force out the Sword Intent.

But how could Li Yuanba possibly allow him to expel the Sword Intent? His sword light shot towards him once again.

Jue Yuan Buddha shouted loudly, and the Copper Bell emitted a glow, enveloping his body within.

He was completely relying on the Copper Bellʼs defense, seemingly preparing to force out the Sword Intent within his body before making a plan.

How could Li Yuanba let go of such an opportunity? Between the flashes of sword light, the Sword Intent turned into threads, forming sword threads that wandered over the Copper Bell, constantly attacking the spirit imprint inside the bell.

He believed that no matter how firm a spirit imprint was, it could be worn down with a sufficient number of Sword Intent attacks.

Now he was competing with Jue Yuan Buddha to see whether he could erase the spirit imprint of the Copper Bell first, or if Jue Yuan Buddha would expel the Sword Intent from his body first.

The two were about one hundred and fifty meters apart, having fallen into a standoff.

The Copper Bell completely shielded Jue Yuan Buddha, and its ability to isolate Spiritual Thoughts meant that Li Yuanba could not sense the situation inside.

In fact, Jue Yuan Buddha was not healing his wounds. He was very clear that without using some tactics, he simply could not kill Li Yuanba.

Yes, even now, Jue Yuan Buddha still had absolute confidence in defeating Li Yuanba. He had always intended to kill Li Yuanba here, not just defeat him.

The more outstanding Li Yuanba performed, the more Jue Yuan Buddha was determined to kill him.

If such a terrifying combat talent were left unchecked to grow, it would become a major trouble for the Righteous Path.

Just like Elder Jian of the Senluo Sect, who became a significant threat in the Golden Core Stage.

Jue Yuan Buddha had a far-sighted vision, and his status as a True Disciple gave him a strong sense of the bigger picture.

Just like how Qianye Temple had initiated the battle among Foundation Establishment Cultivators deliberately, it had a scheme in place. Once the plot succeeded, it would cause the Senluo Sect to suffer tremendous losses at the Foundation Establishment Cultivator level.

A Senluo Sect lacking an entire generation of Foundation Establishment Cultivators would surely see its strength greatly reduced in the following decades, unable to cultivate a large number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators to compensate for the losses for another forty or fifty years.

The plan to eliminate a generation of the Senluo Sectʼs Foundation Establishment Cultivators was known only to a very few True Disciples within Qianye Temple.

Jue Yuan Buddha used a Secret Technique to suppress the injury on his body, having spotted Li Yuanbaʼs weakness.

Since the start of the battle, Li Yuanba had been continually retreating, attempting to increase the distance of the fight through this tactic.

This was normal; including Elder Jian, all Sword Cultivators would not get close to their enemy but instead attack from a certain distance with flying swords, using Sword Intent to kill the enemy.

Nowadays, Sword Cultivators use flying swords, not handheld swords. When in close quarters, the power of flying swords is greatly diminished.

Therefore, Jue Yuan Buddha did not heal his wounds but merely suppressed them while immediately activating a Secret Technique.

He wanted to use the Secret Technique to instantaneously appear beside Li Yuanba, one hundred and fifty meters away, but it required some time to prepare. For this, he was even ready to risk his only Spiritual Artifact, the Copper Bell.

The reason Jue Yuan Buddha could make the Copper Bell, his sole Spiritual Artifact, impervious to Sword Intent was that, since becoming Buddha, he had been continuously deepening his connection with the Copper Bell via Secret Techniques, enabling a stronger resistance to Sword Intent.

The Copper Bell was a versatile Spiritual Artifact, capable of both offense and defense. Because of this, Jue Yuan Buddha only needed this one Spiritual Artifact for all his purposes.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths; the sword light outside was attacking the bell fiercely with Sword Intent threads, and Jue Yuan Buddha could feel his connection to the Copper Bell weakening.

No matter how much he enhanced the resistance to Sword Intent, it was impossible to completely ignore Sword Intent.

Sword Cultivators live by their offense. If there was a way to resist a Sword Cultivatorʼs Sword Intent, the Cultivation World wouldnʼt acknowledge Sword Cultivators as the foremost in attack.

”The time is enough!” Jue Yuan Buddha sensed the speed of the reduction of the spirit imprint inside the Copper Bell and thought to himself.

Li Yuanba was also astonished; he had never expected that there truly existed a Spiritual Artifact capable of withstanding so many rounds of attacks from Sword Intent.

If the opponent had been at the Golden Core Stage and used a magical treasure, it would have made sense for his Sword Intent to be ineffective, but the other party was merely a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Buddha, and yet a single Spiritual Artifact was able to resist his numerous attacks.

Considering Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs movement speed, with such defense, coupled with that speed, he was almost naturally invincible.

However, through the flying sword, he sensed that the bronze bell wouldnʼt last much longer; his sword light struck the bell like raindrops.

Sitting within the bronze bell, Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs eyes suddenly widened, a lotus-like light seeming to appear in them.

He abandoned control of the bronze bell, the next distance he moved would prevent him from taking the bell with him.

Behind Li Yuanba, a white lotus flower appeared without any warning, and at the same moment, Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs figure disappeared from within the bronze bell and reappeared above the white lotus.

Jue Yuan Buddha had long prepared his Secret Technique, his hand morphing into a golden palm print that struck towards Li Yuanbaʼs back.

This method of attack was something that Jue Yuan Buddha had mastered; many Devil Cultivators had been killed on the spot by this technique.

He was confident that without the use of Spiritual Artifacts, relying on this Secret Technique alone, he could kill Li Yuanba.

But the instant the golden palm print headed for Li Yuanbaʼs back, Li Yuanba moved as if he had long anticipated the attack, sidestepping a moment earlier.

Li Yuanba had set a trap from the start; after clashing, he understood that normal means wouldnʼt kill Jue Yuan Buddha.

Even if he summoned Jiang Chen, Jue Yuan Buddha could use his unimaginable movement Secret Technique to escape far away.

Thus, he exhibited the combat power expected of a qualified Sword Cultivator, continually using speed to widen the gap, avoiding close combat with Jue Yuan Buddha just as any regular Sword Cultivator would.

He was waiting for Jue Yuan Buddha to come into close range. The ʼSword Demon Secret Manual,ʼ although not an overly powerful Cultivation Technique, was definitely top-tier in close combat before reaching the Golden Core Stage.

The ʼSword Demon Secret Manualʼ is the legacy of another school of Sword Cultivators. Though not comprehensive, the Cultivation Techniques before the Golden Core Stage are complete, able to bring out the combat strength that a close combat Sword Cultivator should have at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Jue Yuan Buddha might have impressive Body Refinement achievements and also cultivated close combat Secret Techniques.

But even if Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs close combat Secret Technique was of the same level as Li Yuanbaʼs ʼSword Demon Secret Manual,ʼ Li Yuanba had the advantage of planning ahead. In close combat, even a slight mistake could lead to an entirely different outcome.

Dodging Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs golden palm print and turning around, Li Yuanba thrust his hand out in a sword-holding gesture; a Third Grade Sword Base formed in his hand as he did so.

With Li Yuanbaʼs accomplished Body Refinement, he had pushed the quality of the Third Grade Sword Base to the pinnacle of Spiritual Artifacts, surpassing all others.

This was determined by the quality of the Third Grade Metal. After all, the ʼSword Demon Secret Manualʼ was intended to cultivate a Golden Core Stage magical treasure longsword.

The reason he used a thrust was because itʼs the fastest attack in close combat, and also because he was simply too close to Jue Yuan Buddha.

Between two points, the straight line is the shortest; he had long been brewing this strike, so his attack was almost instantaneous.

Jue Yuan Buddha never expected that Li Yuanba had been concealing his close combat ability during their fight, reaching the combat power of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Having just used consecutive Secret Techniques and caught by surprise, he wasnʼt able to dodge in time; he could only hope his Body Refinement skills could block the blow.

The Third Grade Sword Base, carrying Li Yuanbaʼs Sword Intent, transformed into a beam of light and pierced Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs brow. To prevent Jue Yuan Buddha from counterattacking in his death throes, Li Yuanba released the sword handle and quickly retreated after delivering the thrust.

The Third Grade Sword Base slowly dissipated into energy, returning to his body after fading away.

A hole, through which the other side could be seen, remained in Jue Yuan Buddhaʼs forehead; he sat down cross-legged on the ground, expression neither sad nor joyful, as the breath of life disappeared from him.

Li Yuanba looked at Jue Yuan Buddha, who resembled a Buddha statue, and shook his head. Such an enemy was truly terrifying; had he not calculated from the start, he might no longer have been able to keep the secret of Jiang Chen.