Boom!
The black-clothed leader thrust out his palm, and instantly, a giant grinding disc formed from heaven and earth spiritual energy appeared above everyone’s heads. The disc spun slowly, erasing a portion of sword qi with each rotation. Seeing this, the other black-clothed men quickly retreated.
But Huang Yan didn’t retreat—instead, he charged at the grinding disc with his sword.
Crack!
His sword stabbed out repeatedly, striking at the disc’s weak points. With a series of shattering sounds, the terrifying disc was dismantled in just a few breaths.
Seeing this, the black-clothed leader’s pupils contracted slightly. He stared coldly at Huang Yan. "Who are you?"
He could sense that this green-robed woman was only late Soul-Split, but she’d easily broken his attack. True, he hadn’t used his full strength—barely half, in fact—but even so, this move should have been enough to suppress a mid-Fusion expert.
"I am the guardian of the Jade Maiden Sect. But you—our Jade Maiden Sect has no grievance with your group. Why attack us?" Huang Yan put on an angry face and demanded loudly.
The black-clothed leader burst out laughing. "Ha! Interesting. A mere third-rate sect has such a powerful guardian. Well, no matter what secrets you’re hiding, I’ll find out when I capture you!"
"Then come and try!"
Huang Yan raised his longsword, pointing it diagonally at his opponent, his expression completely fearless. Although he and his main body share the same mind—meaning their realms are linked, and any combat skill or realm breakthrough is mirrored—he’s been separated from the main body for two years, so their energy isn’t shared. That’s why he still has only zhenyuan (true essence) in his body, not immortal yuan force. If he did, he could cut down this late Fusion expert with a single stroke.
Hmph!
With a cold snort, the black-clothed leader reached out, and immediately, countless strands of zhenyuan filled the air, forming a dense true essence web that sealed the space and grabbed toward Huang Yan.
"Break!"
Huang Yan sneered and, with a flick of his wrist, unleashed a dazzling sword-light dozens of zhang long.
Splat!
The sword-light spun around, instantly shredding the true essence web. Then he stepped forward and swung his sword at the black-clothed leader.
Boom!
The massive sword-light slashed down like lightning, as if it could split the entire world.
The entire Jade Maiden Sect was left utterly shocked by the scene. They knew Senior Azure was powerful, but never imagined she was this strong.
"Senior Sister, what realm is Senior Azure really at?" a Cloud-generation Golden Core asked Abbess Yvonne.
"Unfathomable!" Abbess Yvonne shook her head, unable to judge.
Just as the sword-light was about to strike the black-clothed leader, he suddenly formed hand seals and punched out.
Boom!
Fist met sword-light in midair with a thunderous explosion. Instantly, the void collapsed, forming a gigantic black hole. Its powerful suction wildly dragged nearby rocks and trees inside, grinding them to dust.
Huang Yan and the black-clothed leader clashed rapidly inside the black hole.
Boom boom boom!
After a flurry of exchanges, the black hole expanded tenfold.
Suddenly—
Bang!
A figure was blasted out of the black hole, spraying blood with a loud gasp. A long, narrow wound ran across his chest, nearly splitting open his belly.
In a flash, a green-robed figure appeared at the far edge of the black hole, standing with sword in hand, looking down at the black-clothed leader with open contempt.
"Senior Azure has won!"
The Jade Maiden Sect disciples couldn’t help but cheer in delight.
After a year of sparring with Elder Gideon Skyreach, Ian Song’s swordsmanship had reached a terrifying level. So even without any divine arts or immortal techniques, Huang Yan could still defeat a late Fusion expert.
"Scram! If you dare attack again, I won’t let you off easy!"
The next moment, Huang Yan spat out these words at the black-clothed leader.
"Let’s go!"
The black-clothed leader didn’t hesitate. He waved his hand and led his men away at top speed.
It wasn’t that Huang Yan didn’t want to kill him—if he did, it might provoke even stronger Tribulation-realm experts. If those came, Huang Yan could escape, but the Jade Maiden Sect would be doomed.
Meanwhile, at the Dualis Order, the black-clothed attackers met almost no resistance. Within just half an hour, the entire sect was captured alive—no one escaped.
Jade Maiden Sect.
All the senior leaders gathered together.
"Senior Azure, who were those black-clothed attackers?" a Cloud-generation Golden Core elder asked.
"If I’m not mistaken, they were from the Prime One Church!" Huang Yan said in a deep voice, still in Azure’s form.
"Prime One Church?"
At that name, the Jade Maiden Sect’s senior leaders were stunned. In their eyes, Prime One Church was a colossal force. Why would such a power target them?
"Enough!" Huang Yan waved a hand. "If my calculations are right, Prime One Church will be back. You need to gather all disciples and leave immediately!"
"Senior Azure means we all have to leave?" Abbess Yvonne frowned slightly.
"I may have repelled them, but Prime One Church won’t let this go!" Huang Yan swept his gaze over the group, speaking slowly.
"Senior Azure, aren’t you strong enough to defeat them?" Lena Ling asked curiously.
"If it’s just a late Fusion expert, no problem. But if a Tribulation-realm master comes, I’m not confident," Huang Yan shook his head. No matter how skilled he was, his realm and energy meant he couldn’t match a Tribulation-realm master.
Yara Snow exclaimed, "A Tribulation-realm master? Senior Azure, do you mean Prime One Church would send one? But we’re just a small sect—why would they bother?"
"You don’t need to know the reason. The point is, if you want to survive, gather everyone now. I’ll lead you out!" Huang Yan’s voice turned hard—he couldn’t explain that it was his main body’s trouble that brought Prime One Church down on them.
"I grew up in the Jade Maiden Sect—it’s my home. Lana, Lena, you take everyone and go. I’ll stay behind to defend the sect," Abbess Yvonne said, her expression complicated.
"Senior Sister, I’ll stay with you!" a Cloud-generation Golden Core spoke up passionately.
"Me too! I’ll stay and face life and death with the Jade Maiden Sect!"
One after another, the others all insisted on staying.
Seeing this, Huang Yan was speechless. He scolded them harshly, "Fools! With your cultivation, you wouldn’t even be a mouthful for Prime One Church. What’s the point of staying? If the sect falls, as long as you survive, it can be rebuilt. If you die, then it’s truly destroyed!"
Abbess Yvonne nodded in agreement. "Senior Azure is right. You all leave with her—I’ll stay behind alone!"
"No, I want to stay too!"
Seeing the group of women start arguing again, Huang Yan’s face darkened. Even now, they were still squabbling.
With a flick of his finger, Huang Yan sent a strand of zhenyuan into Abbess Yvonne, sealing her cultivation. Then he said to a Cloud-generation disciple, "Take her—we’re leaving now!"