"You're quite bold, daring to face our entire squad alone. It seems we need to teach you a lesson." Jiu Tong Zhen Xian was initially taken aback by Zhang Fan's sudden move, but then he let out a mocking laugh and formed a battle formation with his eight teammates to confront him.
After cultivating the Immortal Nascent Soul, cultivators at the Soul Transformation stage are very difficult to kill unless there is a vast disparity in strength.
Just like Pu Ji Zhen Xian, although he was only a five-star general, it took two six-star generals from the Jiu Ya Starfield leading a team, lying in ambush for several months, to heavily injure Pu Ji Zhen Xian's squad through a surprise attack. It took a lot of time to erase the Nascent Souls of his team members, but Pu Ji Zhen Xian still managed to escape in the end.
Therefore, even though their Jiu Ya Starfield had two teams present, giving them an absolute numerical advantage, Jiu Tong Zhen Xian never thought they could capture Zhang Fan's squad.
Firstly, Pu Ji Zhen Xian's strength was formidable; he could retreat unharmed even when facing their entire squad alone.
Secondly, the speed Zhang Fan displayed when competing for the Devouring Flame Fire Essence Stone was terrifying, and the power of his Great Dao domain was enough to crush them. Even if they suppressed space, Zhang Fan could still use his exceptional speed to retreat with ease.
Another reason was that the emergence of treasures would alert cultivators throughout the Fire Element World. Their three squads were the closest, which is why they arrived so quickly. As time passed, other teams from Jiu Ya Starfield and Zi Xiao Starfield would also arrive, further diminishing their chances.
However, although Jiu Tong Zhen Xian knew in his heart that their two squads could not deal with Pu Ji Zhen Xian's group, they could still teach them a lesson. Speed did not necessarily equate to strength. If Pu Ji Zhen Xian's group chose to retreat, so be it. Since they dared to charge forward, Jiu Tong Zhen Xian naturally intended to make them suffer.
*Boom!*
A member of Jiu Tong Zhen Xian's squad conjured a fireball with both hands. Fueled by the continuous flow of magical power from the other teammates, the fireball rapidly condensed, becoming extraordinarily fierce and violent. It resembled a scorching star as it hurtled towards Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan formed a hand seal with his left hand, activating the rules of his Thunder Sword Dao, and casually unleashed a Heavenly Lightning strike. It collided with the fireball, exploding into nothingness, causing the suppressed space to tremble faintly. His speed did not diminish as he rapidly closed in on Jiu Tong Zhen Xian's team, covering the distance in a few breaths.
"Slash!"
Zhang Fan wielded his blood-red longsword and slashed at Jiu Tong, who stood at the forefront.
A strange light flickered in Jiu Tong's pair of green eyes. He clenched his fists, and a layer of dark black scales rapidly spread from his palms, completely covering both of his arms.
Facing Zhang Fan's sharp sword energy, Jiu Tong was unafraid. He engaged Zhang Fan in close combat with his bare hands.
Zhang Fan moved like thunder, his sword light surging like waves, layer upon layer, engulfing Jiu Tong completely. Jiu Tong held his arms in front of him, his black scales incredibly tough, blocking Zhang Fan's attacks one by one. Although his blood and qi churned within him, Jiu Tong remained unharmed.
"A new soldier in the Starry Sky Battlefield?" Jiu Tong glanced at Zhang Fan indifferently and continued, "To possess six-star general strength upon entering the Starry Sky Battlefield, no wonder you're so arrogant. However, with the defense of the combined battle formation, you can't possibly injure me. It's merely a waste of effort."
The opposing forces were constantly collecting information on each other's soldiers. But with Zhang Fan's strength, Jiu Tong had not obtained any information about this human sword cultivator, thus concluding that he had only recently joined the Starry Sky Battlefield.
"Is that so?" Zhang Fan smiled coldly. Jiu Tong's physical strength was indeed formidable. A portion of his attacks were absorbed and distributed by his eight teammates, with less than fifty percent of the true damage reaching him, making it easy for Jiu Tong to withstand.
Although the combined battle formations used by Zi Xiao Starfield and Jiu Ya Starfield had slight differences, their power was comparable, both capable of consolidating strength and distributing damage.
They were simple and practical, but their weaknesses were also obvious. Jiu Tong could withstand his damage, but his teammates might not be able to.
Jiu Tong's team was not weak. Besides him, there was another Nascent Soul stage cultivator with the strength of a four-star general. The remaining seven teammates were all in the Nascent Soul stage.
As long as Zhang Fan's attacks were strong enough, regardless of how he converted the power, those Nascent Soul stage cultivators would surely not be able to endure it.
In the void tens of thousands of miles away, Pu Ji Zhen Xian, leading Nan Zun and others, was locked in combat with Xiao Bai Zhen Xian's squad. Despite being outnumbered, Pu Ji Zhen Xian's high cultivation level and leadership allowed him to maintain a steady advantage.
"Pu Ji Zhen Xian truly is a top-tier existence among five-star generals. To suppress us with only four Nascent Soul stage cultivators is remarkable. However, your teammate seems to be faltering; he can't break through Jiu Tong Zhen Xian's defense and is merely wasting time." Although suppressed, Xiao Bai Zhen Xian appeared relaxed. This battle might not favor them, but they would certainly not suffer any losses.
"That's not necessarily true," Pu Ji Zhen Xian replied. He had always been uncertain about Zhang Fan's strength, but since Zhang Fan had chosen to act, it meant he had a certain degree of confidence. His task was to stall Xiao Bai Zhen Xian's squad and ensure Zhang Fan was not interfered with.
"Try this divine ability of mine!"
Zhang Fan also knew that time could not be wasted indefinitely. The more teams that arrived, the harder it would be to kill the opponent. Therefore, after a brief period of probing, he stopped holding back and directly unleashed the most ferocious divine ability from the Ten Absolute Heavenly God Record.
"Horn of Heaven Splitting!"
As the image of the Ripping Heaven Rhinoceros within his body was activated, a massive phantom of the Ripping Heaven Rhinoceros rapidly condensed above Zhang Fan's head. Its dazzling, sharp horn pierced the heavens, and the suppressed space before it was like wallpaper, effortlessly torn apart with a gentle tremor.
"Go!"
Zhang Fan clasped his hands together, his body like a drawn bow. As he pushed his hands forward, the phantom of the Ripping Heaven Rhinoceros stomped on the void, charging towards Jiu Tong Zhen Xian and the others.
At this moment, space became extremely chaotic, with large areas shattering and countless spatial rifts filling the void. Yet, Jiu Tong and the others felt as if the space around them had frozen, making it difficult to even move, let alone tear through the void.
Jiu Tong Zhen Xian felt an immense threat from the charging phantom of the Ripping Heaven Rhinoceros. His hair stood on end, and his blood felt as if it were about to solidify.
As a cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage, he naturally recognized the origin of this ferocious beast phantom. While shocked, he developed a trace of apprehension towards Zhang Fan.