Wu Tao, whose qi and blood were already depleted, leaving his complexion extremely pale and unfit for prolonged combat, now found himself at a disadvantage.
He held the Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Saber in his left hand and the Heaven Profound Grand Seal Ring in his right, constantly scanning his surroundings with vigilance.
He was now completely surrounded by an all-encompassing snow that blotted out the sun, leaving no room to escape.
The air was filled with a biting, bone-chilling cold.
It seemed he would not be able to break free without forcefully carving a path.
Thinking thus, Wu Tao patted his storage bag and took out several low-grade Five Elements talismans, numbering seventy to eighty.
He then cast them all in every direction at once.
Fireballs, ice cones, lightning bolts, water beams, earth swords, and golden hooks flew like a barrage.
"You're dreaming!"
Lu Shaolin's low, sinister voice rang out.
The sheer number of talismans Wu Tao possessed was an unexpected surprise to him.
After all, even low-grade talismans required a significant amount of spirit stones to acquire.
Few cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage possessed such wealth.
Wu Tao formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation.
Behind Lu Shaolin, the illusory image of the ancient divine beast, the Flood Dragon, opened its maw and spat out dozens of blue beams, each as thick as a bowl, shooting directly towards Wu Tao's previous position.
"Damn it!"
Wu Tao, who had just managed to clear a path, didn't have a moment to breathe before...
Dozens of colossal blue pillars of light streaked towards him.
While driving the Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Saber to fend off the incessant blue beams, Wu Tao broke out in a cold sweat, his mind racing to devise a countermeasure.
By now, Wu Tao had consumed over a dozen qi and blood replenishing pills, beginning to restore his depleted vitality.
This constant drain on his energy was truly taking a toll on his body!
Meanwhile, Lu Shaolin, seeing this, felt a slight surge of joy.
This cultivator from the Taiyi Immortal Sect, though not high in cultivation, only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, wielded some rather peculiar magical artifacts.
Without resorting to his trump cards, it would still take some effort to deal with this fellow.
And seeing how impressive his magical artifacts appeared, the thought of adding a few more exquisite items to his collection after this battle brought a hint of smugness to his heart.
"This cannot go on," a bone-chilling murderous intent flashed in Wu Tao's eyes.
With this thought, he promptly retrieved the Seven-Poison Peacock Gall from his storage bag and gave it a gentle tap.
With a dull thud, a burst of colorful smoke, shimmering with seven hues, erupted from the Seven-Poison Peacock Gall, rapidly enveloping the surroundings.
The Seven-Colored Poisonous Giant Peacock, formed from several deadly poisons, let out a proud cry.
The poisonous mist drifted, formless yet substantial, traceless yet tangible. Droplets of poison fell onto the sea, hissing and smoking upon contact.
A cry, like that of a bird or a phoenix's song, suddenly echoed through the heavens, as if a phoenix danced in the nine heavens, exuding immense power.
The Seven-Colored Poisonous Giant Peacock struck with the speed of thunder, instantly corroding and breaking through the protective barrier released by the Spiritually Resonant Jade Tooth Pendant.
"Damn it!"
Lu Shaolin shouted, a mixture of shock and anger in his voice.
In the next instant, Lu Shaolin, having been struck, bore a faint bluish-black hue on his face, appearing deeply poisoned.
In truth, Lu Shaolin had been careless, not expecting the person he had cornered to possess such a rare and potent poisonous artifact.
It was his own fault; had he not been overconfident, he would not have allowed his opponent the time to activate such a weapon, even if it were rare and poisonous.
However, the probability of a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage possessing such a rare poisonous artifact was indeed small, leading to his oversight.
But even with this rare poisonous artifact, how could he, a peerless prodigy of the Cold Water True Spirit Sect, be poisoned to death? He himself carried several medicinal elixirs for healing and detoxification.
Wu Tao, who had been keeping a close watch, felt a surge of joy at this sight.
Lu Shaolin consumed several medicinal elixirs in quick succession, forcefully suppressing the poison within his body for the time being.
He then let out a few sinister laughs, preparing to settle the score. The illusory image of the ancient divine beast, the Flood Dragon, beside him pulsed with renewed vigor, and he was about to make his move when...
...Wu Tao, having already made an extremely decisive move, commanded the Flying Dragon Ship and retreated at lightning speed.
In an instant, he transformed into a black speck and vanished into the distance.
Lu Shaolin, left standing at the original spot, let out several enraged roars that pierced the sky.
With these earth-shattering roars, the ice and snow power surrounding him surged violently, rapidly filling the sky and giving the impression of obscuring the sun and moon.
Lu Shaolin clearly hadn't expected Wu Tao, who had appeared to be fighting to the death moments ago, to flee as swiftly as a rabbit.
Had he known this, he wouldn't have held back his strength from the beginning, playing with him like a cat with a mouse.
Lu Shaolin stood in place, sneering, "Run, let's see where you can run. In this chaotic battlefield, an injured cultivator is undoubtedly a plump sheep in the eyes of others. Do you think you can survive that easily?"
As the words fell, across from Lu Shaolin, five disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect at the Foundation Establishment stage, who had joined forces, appeared.
"Seeking death!"
The extremely cold power of heaven and earth, sinister and peculiar, froze all things. Especially in Lu Shaolin's hands, it was virtually invincible, sweeping aside all opponents.
"Seal!"
The ice and snow swirled, like dancing sprites, densely filling the surroundings.
Containing the power of ice at a thousand degrees below zero, it restrained the figures of the five individuals before him.
Wary of this terrifying power, the five dared not make any rash moves.
"Annihilate!"
A furious roar erupted from Lu Shaolin's mouth. In his rage, he retrieved the ancient remnant treasure, the Eight-Sided Profound Ice Annihilation Mirror, from his storage bag.
This ancient remnant treasure, the Eight-Sided Profound Ice Annihilation Mirror, was Lu Shaolin's trump card.
In an instant, countless ice and snow particles gradually condensed, forming one ice sword after another.
"Azure firmament's jade, moon's reflection on water, cold as winter."
...
"A killing intent arises, and the cold ice immortal sword suddenly appears!"
The sky-filled ice and snow particles dispersed, layer upon layer, gathering onto those ice swords, trailing perfect arcs, ripples of silver light, and undulating waves.
After considerable effort, Lu Shaolin finally managed to cleave these five individuals into countless pieces, reducing them to dust and ashes.
...
On the other side, after escaping for three to four li with the Flying Dragon Ship, Wu Tao suddenly felt a saber shadow strike towards him, and a voice called out, "Where do you think you're going? Stay here, boy!"
Wu Tao's escape was interrupted; someone had intercepted him midway.
As Wu Tao's divine sense probed outwards, it was immediately blocked by an even more formidable divine sense.
Wu Tao's heart chilled instantly as he realized he was facing a cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
Not far from this cultivator, another cultivator at the late-Foundation Establishment stage watched Wu Tao with an expressionless face.
Wu Tao lamented his misfortune.
These two cultivators had clearly mistaken the injured Wu Tao for a plump sheep.
The two from the Cold Water True Spirit Sect attacked with practiced coordination. Every move was laced with killing intent and was astonishingly swift, aiming directly for Wu Tao's vital points.
One saber, one hook, one axe, one halberd, crystalline and gleaming with cold light, danced in the air under the control of the two, creating whistling sounds.
...
Wu Tao's expression was grave. Severely injured, he was not suited for prolonged combat.
Wu Tao activated the Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Saber and engaged the two cultivators. Waves of saber energy, like the ceaseless surge of the ocean, rolled out one after another.
After three to four exchanges, the two Cold Water True Spirit Sect cultivators had gained a stable advantage. However, after seven to eight exchanges, Wu Tao had still not been killed.
Seizing an opportunity, Wu Tao let out a strange cry and flung dozens of talismans, which transformed into dozens of sealing, restraining, and chaotic spells, blocking the path of the two Cold Water True Spirit Sect cultivators.
In the next moment, Wu Tao slapped a mid-grade Teleportation Talisman onto himself, transforming into a white streak of light and fleeing towards the southeast.
...
The two cultivators, having missed the opportunity to "slaughter the sheep," became agitated and said fiercely, "Damn it, what a cunning brat! Does he only know how to run?"
...