Chapter 34: Yellow Sand Ruler

“Fire Moon Sect, you bunch of scum, you really have patience—waiting here all day.” Qu Yi removed the Hidden Dust Formation and called out with a smile.
The seven members of Fire Moon Sect were stationed around, waiting. Hearing Qu Yi’s voice, they immediately flew over and blocked him at the entrance of the cave. Liu Ming from Xuan Yang Temple, seemingly on good terms with Fire Moon Sect, also stood beside them, looking pitifully at Qu Yi and his two companions.
“The three from Immortal Cloud Sect, you better hide! You’ve run out of spirit stones, right? You can’t hide anymore. Good. Hand over your aura-concealing formations and all your magical treasures, and I’ll spare your lives,” said Sun Huo, the leader of the seven Fire Moon Sect members, with a casual smile.
In the eyes of the Fire Moon Sect members, the three from Immortal Cloud Sect—two at the later stage of Foundation Establishment and one at the later stage of Qi Guidance—were no match for their five members at the later stage of Foundation Establishment, two at the middle stage, plus Liu Ming at the later stage of Foundation Establishment. They could do whatever they wanted to those three.
“Shut your filthy mouth! Do you think I’m an idiot? Even if I give you the formations and treasures, will you still let us go?” Qu Yi snapped angrily.
“You…!” Sun Huo was so angry he couldn’t speak for a moment.
He had thought he could easily defeat the three from Immortal Cloud Sect, but Qu Yi, who seemed the weakest on the surface, was actually so arrogant and despicable.
“What do you think you are? Just because you have a few people at the later stage of Foundation Establishment, does that mean you can easily defeat us three? You really choose to walk into hell instead of taking the path to heaven. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson so you know what it’s like to look down on others.” Qu Yi’s loud voice echoed through the area.
Gao Yang and Bai Xing, standing behind Qu Yi, listened to his outbursts and grew worried. They wondered if staying in the cave all day had driven Qu Yi crazy, making him so arrogant.
“Good, good. You’re bold and arrogant. You, a guy at the later stage of Qi Guidance, really don’t know what death is like. Today, I’ll let you experience it,” Sun Huo sneered in fury.
Qu Yi pursed his lips, glanced at the seven Fire Moon Sect members and Liu Ming, then smiled and said, “You scum of Fire Moon Sect, are you ready? I’m about to attack.”
“We still need to prepare…”
“Ah!” Liu Ming’s eyes widened in terror as he fell backward.
Before Sun Huo could finish speaking, Qu Yi unleashed his vital energy. A surge of golden energy rushed forth as his body flashed, and he appeared beside Liu Ming. His Green Python Sword pierced a bloody hole in Liu Ming’s chest.

This was the strategy Qu Yi had mentioned to Gao Yang and Bai Xing before emerging from the cave. Qu Yi would use his remarks to draw the attention of the people from the Fire Moon Sect, then launch a surprise attack on Liu Ming to eliminate this troublesome guy in advance. As soon as Qu Yi moved, Gao Yang and Bai Xing immediately summoned their magical weapons. Gao Yang, who practiced wood-elemental cultivation techniques, used a green Hanling Sword, a lower-grade magical weapon. Bai Xing, who practiced metal-elemental cultivation techniques, used a golden Minchen Sword, also a lower-grade magical weapon. The two sharp swords floated in front of Gao Yang and Bai Xing, ready to deal with any counterattacks from the seven members of the Fire Moon Sect at any time. At the later stage of the Foundation Establishment phase, with their spiritual cores fully formed, they could control swords with their spiritual energy to attack. “Brat, you actually launched a sneak attack!” Sun Huo shouted loudly, then, along with the other six members of the Fire Moon Sect, drew out their magical weapons and prepared to counterattack Qu Yi and his companions. After successfully launching the sneak attack with his sword, Qu Yi instantly turned to attack one of the two members in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. With his Green Python Sword, his spiritual energy surged, and a green python appeared in an instant. Just as the seven members of the Fire Moon Sect were about to counterattack with their magical weapons, they saw Qu Yi summon a five-meter-long green python—something even those in the later stage of Foundation Establishment couldn’t withstand head-on. The Green Python Sword was actually a high-grade magical weapon, one that could only be crafted by those in the later stage of the Golden Core phase. When Qu Yi activated it, he poured all his spiritual energy into it, summoning the python. If someone in the later stage of the Golden Core phase used it, the python could reach a length of a hundred meters. “This brat actually has a high-grade magical weapon! Let’s work together to stop him and take his sword!” Sun Huo immediately recognized the grade of the Green Python Sword and, filled with surprise, quickly shouted. The seven members of the Fire Moon Sect—five of them controlling swords with their spiritual energy—formed a star-shaped sword formation to confront the green python, aiming to tear it to pieces. The other two in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment simply held their swords, one emitting abundant metal-elemental energy and the other intense fire-elemental energy, both of which they directed at the approaching python. Qu Yi was only in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, and even with all his metal-elemental energy poured into his sword, it only reached the power level of those in the later stage of Foundation Establishment. How could such a sword withstand the combined attacks of the seven members of the Fire Moon Sect? Under the impact, the python was instantly shattered. However, Gao Yang and Bai Xing, who were watching from the side, seized this opportunity. Flying swords! Gao Yang and Bai Xing were also in the later stage of Foundation Establishment and could control swords with their spiritual energy. Seeing that the seven members of the Fire Moon Sect were focused on Qu Yi, they immediately rode their swords and attacked the two members in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. “Ah!” “Ah!” Two screams echoed as those two members collapsed to the ground, their bodies stained red with blood.

“Wang Qiang, Li Shuang!” The five cultivators at the later stage of the Foundation Establishment phase of the Fire Moon Sect shouted simultaneously, their eyes blazing with fury. Sun Huo was even more direct—he roared angrily, wielding his sword to launch a fierce attack at Qu Yi. The other four, seeing this, immediately used their swords to deal with Gao Yang and Bai Xing as well.

Qu Yi, facing Sun Huo’s solo attack, appeared solemn on the surface but was actually overjoyed inside. He had been able to slay monsters at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment just by being at the later stage of Qi Gathering, and now that he had reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment himself, he still couldn’t kill this guy at the later stage.

Ding! Ding!

The sharp swords flown by Sun Huo, infused with fire energy, were barely blocked by Qu Yi. With each exchange, a shrill sound resonated through the abyss. After several consecutive attacks, Sun Huo was greatly surprised—Qu Yi’s strength was far beyond that of someone at the later stage of Qi Gathering; he was likely already at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. Suddenly, he remembered the power displayed by Qu Yi’s Green Python and realized that Qu Yi must have been hiding his true strength, with his actual cultivation already at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Knowing Qu Yi’s true power, Sun Huo immediately retracted his sword, realizing that his flying sword was no match for Qu Yi. Flying swords excelled in agility and relied on their sharpness to kill opponents. But with Qu Yi at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, Sun Huo knew his sword could never pierce through him. Worse still, Qu Yi’s Green Python Sword was a top-tier magical weapon, while his own Starfire Sword was only a mid-tier one. He didn’t dare to engage the Green Python Sword head-on in any attack, or else his Starfire Sword would break instantly.

“You brat actually have the strength of someone at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment! How sneaky. Now, I’ll fight you up close and see if you can withstand my true energy at the later stage of Foundation Establishment,” Sun Huo sneered.

At this point, Sun Huo decided to kill Qu Yi by pouring all his true energy into a desperate fight.

Someone at the later stage of Foundation Establishment surely had more true energy than someone at the middle stage, and Qu Yi had already used several powerful moves earlier, so his true energy must be nearly depleted.

Yet, Sun Huo had no idea about Qu Yi’s uniqueness!

Seeing Sun Huo charge straight at him and the two engage in close combat, Qu Yi grew even happier.

Though he was happy inside, he couldn’t show it on his face. He pretended to struggle hard, blocking Sun Huo’s fierce attacks. With bursts of fierce fire, Qu Yi used gold energy to form a shield, barely holding off the attacks.

Sun Huo was overjoyed—he saw that Qu Yi seemed to be running out of true energy.

Ten meters, five meters, three meters—Sun Huo grew more and more excited as he pressed Qu Yi back step by step.

Suddenly, Qu Yi wore a strange smile on his face, and a yellow ruler appeared in his hand.

“Yellow Sand Waterfall!” Qu Yi shouted.

Just moments ago, Qu Yi’s vital energy was weak, but suddenly his entire body was filled with surging vital energy as he fully activated the top-grade magical tool, the Sand-Fall Ruler. This ruler had been given to Qu Yi by Kang Feng after winning it in the Misty Demon Mountains, and now it finally came in handy. Qu Yi instantly transformed all the wood, earth, and water vital energies in his liver, spleen, and kidneys into gold vital energy, then used it to fully power the Sand-Fall Ruler. Immediately, a 10-meter-wide waterfall of yellow sand began to pour down from above him, endlessly. Sun Huo didn’t have time to react and was instantly enveloped by the yellow sand waterfall, suffering from its pressure, attacks, and abrasion, unable to escape at all. There were two ways to give Sun Huo a chance: either the waterfall stopped or the other four members of the Fire Moon Sect came to rescue him. Sure enough, upon seeing Qu Yi have trapped Sun Huo, the four members immediately abandoned their attack on Gao Yang and Bai Xing and flew toward Qu Yi, intending to defeat him first and then rescue Sun Huo. But Qu Yi, who had just managed to trap Sun Huo, wasn’t going to give him a chance to survive. Qu Yi tapped his storage bag, and dozens of lower-grade spirit stones piled up beside him. He then rapidly practiced his cultivation technique, absorbing all the spirit stones in an instant, restoring most of his vital energy. With the Sand-Fall Ruler in his left hand and his vital energy still flowing through it, he held the Green Python Sword in his right hand, pointing at the four members of the Fire Moon Sect flying toward him. The Green Python Sword once again unleashed a five-meter-long green python, targeting the fastest of the four. As expected, the appearance of the python forced the four members of the Fire Moon Sect to stop and work together to fend it off. Gao Yang and Bai Xing seized the opportunity to take out the lower-grade spirit stones Qu Yi had given them and quickly absorbed them to restore their own vital energy. Then, together with Qu Yi, they launched their swords at the four members of the Fire Moon Sect. The battle once again reached a stalemate! “Ah!” A scream came from within the yellow sand waterfall, followed by immediate silence. Sun Huo’s vital energy had been completely drained by the yellow sand, and his body could no longer withstand its weight and impact, leading to his death. The remaining four members of the Fire Moon Sect, who were in the later stages of the Foundation Establishment phase, heard Sun Huo’s scream and realized he was dead. Now, with only four of them against three, they knew they not only couldn’t defeat Qu Yi and his companions but might also die along with Sun Huo if they continued fighting. “Let’s go!” The four were decisive and immediately flew away. Seeing them escape, Qu Yi couldn’t chase after them. He hadn’t yet formed a core spirit, so he couldn’t control swords to fly, and although his own physical speed was fast, it still couldn’t compare to that of flying swords.

However, before the four from the Fire Moon Sect could fly far, four screams were heard at the same time, and then the four fell from the sky, their bodies rapidly shriveling.