In mid-air, the Great Cave Master's face was pale, his fight against Ou Ji grew increasingly fierce. Roaring and bursting sounds occasionally echoed, shaking the vicinity for miles.

The Fire Falcon Spirit Beast that belonged to the Great Cave Master had been recalled at some point, and he was now controlling a white large net Magic Treasure and a purple long sword, the Bitter Wheel Sword, to cross hands with Ou Ji.

The Bitter Wheel Sword was clearly a rare Thunder Attribute Magic Treasure, with purple arcs of electricity coiling around its blade, demonstrating considerable power. In combination with the white large net, it continuously neutralized the Kui Water Divine Thunders while launching wave after wave of ferocious assaults at Ou Ji.

Ou Ji's black robe was severely damaged, and there was a scar on his face, indicating that he had sustained some injuries.

As one of the pinnacle experts of Biluo Cave, one of the Five Great Sects of the North Territory, the Great Cave Master was more than capable of handling a fight against another cultivator of equal rank.

Ou Ji dodged several strikes of thunder and lightning, his gaze seeming to sweep across the void near the Great Cave Master before abruptly shouting loudly and flicking his sleeve.

A large mass of black water clouds condensed once again, instantly transforming into a black water sphere half-a-zhang in diameter, with thick Kui Water Divine Thunders crawling over it and roaring as it surged directly towards the Great Cave Master.

The Great Cave Master's expression stiffened, and before the water sphere could approach, he maneuvered the white large net to cover it.

Thick streaks of lightning suddenly shot out from within the water sphere, forming a black lightning snake several zhang long that struck the white net.

The lightning snake had concentrated nearly all the power of the Kui Water Divine Thunders from the black water sphere, causing the white net to be forcefully blown away.

The black lightning snake twisted its body and turned into a streak of black electric light, charging straight for the Great Cave Master, and in an instant, it was only a few zhang away from him.

The Great Cave Master remained calm, opening his mouth to spit a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the Bitter Wheel Sword in his hand. Its glow surged, and amidst a crackling sound, its surface swirled with lightning as he thrust it forward.

"Crackle"

Dense, purple lightning bolts shot out from the sword, aiming at both the black lightning snake and Ou Ji behind it, with an astonishing speed.

Ou Ji faced the rapidly approaching purple lightning bolts without dodging or evading, simply letting a faint blue Light Shield appear around his body to protect his vitals. Meanwhile, his hands moved in front of him like turning wheels, quickly casting several Magic Formulas.

But the black lightning snake, regardless of the purple lightning striking its body, burst open right before it could disperse, and a black short cone suddenly shot out from its mouth, hurtling towards the Great Cave Master at a speed akin to lightning.

Simultaneously, Ou Ji's faint blue Light Shield also shattered under the bombardment of the purple lightning, and his body was shocked into flying backwards for more than a dozen zhang.

The Great Cave Master saw the black short cone rapidly approaching, less than a zhang away from him. He shot backward in mid-air while gesturing towards the white net.

The white net "whooshed" open, engulfing tens of zhang in front of him in an instant. Although the black short cone was fast, it was still caught by the white net.

The black short cone was like a fish trapped in the net, desperately struggling and darting in all directions, yet unable to escape the control of the white net.

The Great Cave Master quickly formed hand seals, and strands of white Spiritual Patterns permeated from the net into the short cone, rapidly covering its surface and causing the dark spirit light on the cone to dim quickly.

Not far away, Ou Ji, who had just steadied himself, gritted his teeth, formed a hand seal and pointed it outwards, shouting, "Explode!"

The Great Cave Master was startled by this action and hastily retreated backward, but it was already too late.

"Booming"

The dark light on the black short cone surged and exploded violently, with countless black filaments shooting out in all directions, instantly flooding the area within a dozen zhang.

A large cloud of black smoke arose from the center of the explosion, sweeping in all directions and causing a rapid drop in temperature, as black crystals formed in the air in a flash.

The Great Cave Master's figure shot out from the black smoke, his clothing on one side torn to shreds, covered in numerous puncture wounds, and a trail of blood also ran from the corner of his mouth.

"To think you would go as far as to self-destruct the Black Cold Cone and incur grave injuries, was it worth it?" the Great Cave Master steadied himself mid-air, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled.

"Out with the old, in with the new. Fellow Daoist Mao, give up now; there might still be room for negotiation if you surrender to us now," Ou Ji said slowly, his mouth also dripping with blood, the self-destruction of the Magic Treasure had also inflicted significant injuries on him.

The Great Cave Master's figure was slightly swaying, just as he was about to say something more, his expression suddenly changed.

Behind him, a Blood Shadow rose into the sky, which turned out to be Xue Zhan who had slipped away to strike back again.

Seeing this scene, the Great Cave Master chuckled bitterly in his heart.

"Great Elder, I did my best…"

…

Yuan Ming observed this scene through a soul crow from afar, his thoughts racing.

The Great Cave Master and Ou Ji had fought each other to the point of severe injury, and it looked like the Great Cave Master would soon be overwhelmed. The Second Cave Master had lost his fighting ability due to poisoning. This battle was indeed tragic, and the defeat of Biluo was inevitable. Yet, the so-called Pillar of Heaven, the Great Elder, still had not shown the slightest sign of action.

Yuan Ming emerged from his hiding place, not heading towards the sect's gate but instead sweeping to the west side. Since he couldn't find Xi Ying's trace, he might as well leave this trouble-ridden place first.

The defenses of Biluo Cave on both the east and west sides had been breached long ago. Although there were people from the Dawn Alliance stationed there, their numbers were small, making it a more suitable place to escape.

…

On the treetops near the square, a grey squirrel perched silently, gazing toward where the Great Cave Master had fallen, its eyes faintly shimmering with traces of green light.

In a secret chamber within the Biluo Cave on the back mountain, the green-robed youth was still absorbing Soul Power from the Soul Suppressing Kettle.

A blue ancient mirror was suspended in front of him, displaying the situation near the plaza. Biluo Cave disciples were scattered and fleeing, with fewer and fewer daring to resist.

"Brother Mao, you've tried your best, I truly apologize, I, Xi Ying, am ashamed," the youth sighed lightly, raising one hand.

"Still so much left! Time is not on my side, so be it, even if my cultivation suffers a loss, I'll deal with you first!" The green-robed youth, his face filled with reluctance, formed a hand seal and pointed.

A black light flashed across his brow, and the image of a tiger's head vanished, ceasing the absorption of Soul Power from inside the Soul Suppressing Kettle.

The green-robed youth clasped his hands together rapidly like turning a wheel, conjuring a black Array from the ground out of thin air, enveloping the Soul Suppressing Kettle.

"Sha Hao!" the youth suddenly stood up, walking out of the secret chamber and called out loudly.

A figure quickly walked over from outside; it was a cold-faced, pale young man in white.

This young man's aura was profound, revealing him also to be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"Master, what are your orders!" The person knelt down on one knee, respectfully asking.

"Guard the Cave Mansion, and let no one enter, especially near the secret chamber!" Without stopping, the green-robed youth continued to walk outside, speaking without looking back.

"Yes, disciple obeys!" The youth in white hurriedly complied.

The green-robed youth's body radiated a bright white light, transforming into a white streak shooting outward.

...

Near the midpoint of Fire Refining Peak, more than ten Biluo Cave disciples had retreated there. Relying on the treacherous terrain, they clashed with the pursuing members of the Dawn Alliance. Leading them was Wu Luo, a direct disciple of the Second Cave Master.

At this time, he was covered in wounds, his chest rising and falling erratically. He quickly affixed several talismans upon his body. As the green light flowed, the bleeding from his wounds stopped, and he continued to urge his Magic Artifact to charge ahead.

The Dawn Alliance outnumbered them, with more than twenty people. Led by a short and plump middle-aged Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they were like a surging tide. The Biluo Cave's side was clearly unable to hold, on the verge of being overwhelmed.

Just then, dozens of fist-sized blood-colored bats flew from nowhere, diving straight toward the battling factions.

"Where did these many bats come from?"

"What kind of fiends are these!"

Both the Dawn Alliance and Biluo Cave disciples were startled, quickly casting spells and summoning Magic Artifacts for protection.

However, those blood-colored bats seemed like spiritual body illusions; spells and Magic Artifacts could not stop them at all, as the Blood Bats easily penetrated them, entering the bodies of everyone present.

Those who had their bodies breached by the bats first became rigid in movement, blood light flickered in their eyes, and they started to behave deliriously, as if their souls had been stolen.

In the blink of an eye, except for Wu Luo and the plump middle-aged man, everyone engaged in the battle had been entered by the Blood Bats, standing motionless on the spot.

Seeing the tide turning against him, Wu Luo had already called forth a Green Bird to escape, but after a Blood Bat possessed the bird, it plummeted from midair. Wu Luo was unable to avoid it in time as a Blood Bat swooped directly towards him.

The plump middle-aged man seemed to have a stronger Divine Soul; after being swooped upon by a Blood Bat, he did not completely lose his senses, retaining a trace of lucidity in his eyes. Panic-stricken, he turned to flee down the mountain.

But just as he started running, several more Blood Bats emerged from nowhere in front of him. With no way to avoid them, he was swooped upon by two more Blood Bats and instantly lost consciousness, just like the other Qi Refinement Cultivators.

The situation had reversed in an instant.

The next moment, a group of thirty-odd people, who had just been locked in a life-or-death struggle, had their eyes surge with blood light and rushed mightily down the mountain. Along the way, they encountered several scattered members of the Dawn Alliance and immediately attacked without distinguishing between friend and foe, swiftly reaching the base of the peak.

Many members of the Dawn Alliance had gathered at the base of the mountain, and before they could even open their mouths to ask what was happening, both sides had already engaged in a chaotic battle.

A member of the Dawn swung his combat blade, striking a disciple of Biluo Cave in front of him.

Against all expectations, the low-level Biluo Cave disciple didn't dodge; with a "crack," several ribs in his chest were broken, but he managed to thrust the Magic Artifact in his hand into the throat of the Dawn member.

The Dawn member clutched his throat as he fell, blood gushing from his chest, while the Biluo Cave disciple seemed unbothered by his own condition, rushing towards the next target. It was only after taking a few steps that he collapsed limply to the ground from the severity of his wounds.

The others, whose eyes held a surge of blood light, were likewise fearless of death, ignorant to pain, and quickly routed the Dawn Alliance with significant losses.

In the distance, behind a large rock, a black-clothed Monk looked on with shock.

This person used a hat to cover most of his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed—it was Yuan Ming.

Those blood-colored bats bore fluctuating waves of Soul Power similar to his soul crows, except his soul crows could only possess the dead, while these Blood Bats could control the living, evidently a notch higher.

At the same time, not only on Fire Refining Peak but also in many other areas of Biluo Cave, a large number of Blood Bats emerged, entering the bodies of either Biluo Cave disciples or members of the Dawn Alliance, manipulating them to fight back.

The entire Biluo Cave had almost been seized by the Dawn Alliance, but now everyone was once again evading the attacks of the blood-colored bats, and the situation became chaotic once more.

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