Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 458: Chapter 275 Golden Core_2

This idea was extremely arrogant, as Golden Core Stage naturally suppresses Foundation Establishment Stage, just as Foundation Establishment Stage naturally suppresses the Qi Refinement Realm.

His arrogance was based on the Divine Skill “Step by Step Lotus,” which granted him much faster speed than his opponent in battle—allowing him to attack or retreat and stand invincible.

When Niu Ziru once again chased him with the mallet-shaped magical treasure, Li Yuanba and the white lotus at his feet disappeared together.

The flying sword in the air dared not get close to the mallet-shaped magical treasure. The quality difference between the two magic artifacts was too great. Even with Sword Intent, the Spirit-level flying sword would be destroyed upon contact with the mallet-shaped magical treasure.

So the flying sword avoided the mallet-shaped magical treasure from afar, circling around Niu Ziru like an eagle in the sky, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Niu Ziru’s Divine Thought detected a change in the aura around him, and as he was recalling the mallet-shaped magical treasure, Li Yuanba and a white lotus appeared behind him.

Li Yuanba’s Third Grade Sword Base transformed into a longsword brimming with Sword Intent and heavily slashed onto Niu Ziru.

Niu Ziru had fortified himself with a defensive spell—a seemingly thin layer of black mist that he had cultivated using many foul methods of the Devil Cultivator, creating a demonized defensive Secret Technique.

To cultivate this Demon Defense Secret Technique, he had killed no less than a thousand cultivators, using their spirit blood and souls.

This Demon Defense Secret Technique was extremely powerful, nearly equivalent to a normal defensive magic artifact in defensive power, and could also erode the opponent’s magic artifact with its sinister energy.

Of course, the more powerful the Demon Defense Secret Technique, the stronger the recoil, acting as a double-edged sword.

As for why Niu Ziru did not simply create a defensive magic artifact like a normal Golden Core cultivator and save all this trouble,

Although Ten Thousand Great Mountains were under the influence of the Demon Sect Senluo Sect, the Senluo Sect would pursue Niu Ziru if they knew he had used so many cultivators’ lives to cultivate his Secret Technique.

If such actions weren’t restrained, no amount of cultivators in the vast Ten Thousand Great Mountains would suffice for such expenditure.

Niu Ziru, too, wished to use a defensive magic artifact, but as an Independent Practitioner Golden Core, the mallet-shaped magical treasure he had was obtained through cunning and brutality.

If it had been any other Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator, that strike on Niu Ziru’s demonic defensive Secret Technique would not have harmed him but would have instead contaminated the Sword Cultivator’s weapon.

But after long-term cultivation of “Purple Qi Eastward,” Li Yuanba’s Sword Intent contained Supreme Yang Power, the nemesis of all Demon Cultivation Techniques.

When the Third Grade Sword Base struck Niu Ziru’s demonic defensive Secret Technique, it emitted a dazzling light, and countless struggling shadows appeared on the surface of the Secret Technique.

The shadows, as if plunging into a boundless sea of fire, represented the effect of the Supreme Yang Sword Intent contained within the Third Grade Sword Base.

The mallet-shaped magical treasure returned and struck at Li Yuanba, but by then, Li Yuanba had already vanished on the spot using “Step by Step Lotus,” reappearing over a hundred meters away.

A look of shock flashed in Niu Ziru’s eyes; Li Yuanba’s strike seemed to have not injured him, but it had erased one percent of his painstakingly cultivated Demon Defense Secret Technique.

He was certain that without the protection of the Demon Defense Secret Technique, that strange longsword in Li Yuanba’s hand, combined with his Sword Intent, would definitely have injured him.

This was incredibly hard to imagine—unless one was a half-step Golden Core cultivator, it was impossible for any Foundation Establishment cultivator to significantly affect a Golden Core cultivator, even if the latter just stood there without fighting back.

Yet Li Yuanba, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, made Niu Ziru feel threatened.

Niu Ziru no longer held back; he saw Li Yuanba as a formidable enemy.

He took out a talisman, a Golden Core Stage talisman, which was the ultimate attack method for someone like him, an independent cultivator.

Ordinary Golden Core spells could not hit the ghost-like Li Yuanba; one neededn’t even consider it. Only a large-scale Golden Core spell could be effective,

but with his cultivation level, he could not instantaneously deploy a large-area Golden Core spell and had to rely on a Golden Core Stage talisman.

Before activating the talisman, his heart slightly twitched with pain for the resources spent, hoping that Li Yuanba indeed possessed the set of resources rumored to be capable of producing a Golden Core, which could compensate for the consumption in this battle.

When Li Yuanba saw Niu Ziru take out the talisman, he continuously executed ‘Step by Step Lotus’. At the moment Niu Ziru activated the talisman, Li Yuanba retreated hundreds of meters within a breath’s time.

Once the talisman was activated, a gray fog rapidly expanded outward, coating everything it touched with a layer of deathly aura.

The remaining wild grass on the ground turned into withered leaves in the gray fog and quickly turned into powder, blending into the similarly gray-black soil.

Li Yuanba kept retreating as the gray fog pursued; it was only because the speed of ‘Step by Step Lotus’ was fast enough that he did not come into contact with the gray fog.

This gray fog covered an area with a radius of three hundred meters; indeed, the spell solidified in this talisman was the best method against enemies capable of high-speed movements.

When Niu Ziru realized that the talisman had not achieved the expected effect, he chickened out. He never had the pride typical of a Golden Core cultivator, especially when confronting a True Disciple of the Senluo Sect.

Even though he had accepted a task from Elder Yue of the Senluo Sect, he knew well that after the incident happened, Elder Yue would definitely not protect him.

In fact, if he failed to complete the task, Elder Yue wouldn’t let him off either.

But he had no other choice; unable to kill Li Yuanba, he chose to flee far away.

Otherwise, once Li Yuanba returned to his sect, without waiting for Elder Yue to come after him, the Senluo Sect would definitely not spare him, a Golden Core cultivator who dared to attempt an assassination of a True Disciple.

Then, Golden Core cultivators from the Senluo Sect would take on the task, and like Li Yuanba easily killing those at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they would easily consider his life as part of their reward.

Even his body would become material for Corpse Refining, and his spirit would be extracted as nourishment for Demon Cultivation Techniques.

Thinking of this, Niu Ziru’s figure fled in another direction.

Seeing him try to flee, Li Yuanba first thought that this Golden Core cultivator intended to spread the word about ‘Step by Step Lotus’, so Li Yuanba extinguished the white lotuses under his feet and his figure also vanished, reappearing in the direction chasing Niu Ziru.

“Cut!” A voice rang in Niu Ziru’s ears, but faster than the voice was the Third Grade Sword Base.

The Third Grade Sword Base slashed into Niu Ziru, Supreme Yang Sword Intent causing the struggling shadows on the Demon Defense Secret Technique to be burned again by the Supreme Yang Flame.

Niu Ziru was going insane; his battle with Li Yuanba had lasted for three two-hour periods.

Throughout these six hours, Li Yuanba’s figure appeared close by from time to time.

Despite all his efforts, he could not block even a single attack with his mallet-shaped magical treasure, because Li Yuanba’s appearances were utterly unpredictable.

Sometimes Li Yuanba would appear above his head, sometimes behind him, sometimes below his feet, appearing at random around Niu Ziru in every possible direction.

Each appearance included a strike from the longsword transmuted from the Third Grade Sword Base, imbued with Supreme Yang Sword Intent.

After each strike, he would immediately retreat without lingering, giving Niu Ziru no chance to retaliate.

Niu Ziru was like a sluggishly moving elephant, and Li Yuanba, like an ant that could only bite off very little each time—even so, these bites didn’t even qualify as wounds to the elephant.

But Li Yuanba’s relentless attacks kept on accumulating damage, causing Niu Ziru’s injuries to gradually worsen.

After six hours, Li Yuanba had attacked no less than a hundred times, causing Niu Ziru’s Demon Defense Secret Technique to become almost completely transparent, ready to disperse at any time.

Moreover, the Supreme Yang Sword Intent encapsulated in the Third Grade Sword Base, through numerous attacks, affected Niu Ziru’s body; the Spiritual Power within him, influenced by the Supreme Yang Sword Intent, operated with a faint stinging sensation.

If it weren’t for Niu Ziru being a Golden Core cultivator, facing such a counteracting Supreme Yang Sword Intent, his internal Spiritual Power would have long since collapsed.