Cultivation starts from simplifying the exercises

"Senior sister, attack his shield at the Qian position!"

Just as Cao Feiyu turned around to block the enemy and her sword light struck Ke Muqing, Chen Fei's calm and clear voice resounded in Cao Feiyu's mind through divine thought transmission.

There was no panic, no rushing, only extremely calm judgment and instructions.

At this moment, deep within Chen Fei's eyes, a dark, profound light, seemingly capable of swallowing all light, was flowing at an unprecedented speed.

He had pushed the Undying True Light Mirror to its limit, and his gaze no longer focused solely on Ke Muqing's external form and movements. Instead, it pierced through the viscous black mist swirling around Ke Muqing's body and looked directly at the most essential energy core and its flow path within.

In Chen Fei's spiritual vision, Ke Muqing became a complex energy body composed of countless energy flows and nodes with varying brightness and speeds of circulation.

At its heart, a fiercely burning black flame is the core power source. Countless streams of energy, some thick and some thin, surge from this core, flowing along predetermined paths to its limbs and bones, supporting its enormous body and terrifying power.

Especially in its arms, the energy flow is most concentrated and violent, like a flood bursting its banks, surging endlessly.

However, its flow is not seamless. At certain points, there are subtle periodic stagnations and voids at certain nodes where the shield's energy converges. These are manifestations of its power control not being absolutely perfect, and are signs of its flaws.

Whether it was the previous array attack or the nine spirit-binding ropes just now, although Ke Muqing shattered them with brute force, during the contact and confrontation, the array forces also transmitted the subtle characteristics of Ke Muqing's power feedback back to Chen Fei's perception.

Just as Chen Fei said, this vengeful demon is not a true late-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator; it only reached this level through an outburst.

Therefore, in essence, the other party is still using the soul of a mid-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator to control the power of a late-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator. The consequence of doing so is that they cannot perfectly control the power of a late-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator.

If you can't control it perfectly, then there will be flaws.

Such a flaw would be impossible for an ordinary early-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator to detect. Cao Feiyu was in the mid-stage of the Tai Cang Realm, but she could not be considered a prodigy. In such a fleeting battle, she would also be unable to determine the flaw of this vengeful demon in a short time.

But Chen Fei is different. His vision has already reached the peak level of the Tai Cang Realm. What Chen Fei lacks is only basic strength.

If he were alone facing Ke Muqing at this moment, even if he could see the flaws, he would be powerless to exploit them. The most likely outcome would be for him to try to escape by relying on the power of Devouring Heaven and Forging God.

But things are different now. There is also Cao Feiyu, a true peak sword cultivator in the mid-stage of the Tai Cang Realm.

Chen Fei is the eye, accurately seizing opportunities and identifying weaknesses; Cao Feiyu is the sword, transforming strategy into a deadly attack. Working together, complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses, they can bridge the gap in their skill levels and turn the impossible into possible.

This is the fundamental reason why Chen Fei chose to stay instead of fleeing as Cao Feiyu suggested. He wasn't blindly going to his death, but rather making a choice based on a clear understanding of the strength of both sides.

Cao Feiyu had no doubts or hesitation about Chen Fei's judgment and instructions.

In the previous battle, Chen Fei had already proven his abilities with his precise spiritual sense and timely array interference. Now, in this desperate situation, she chose to unconditionally trust her junior brother's vision and judgment.

Almost the instant Chen Fei finished speaking, Cao Feiyu pushed the Heavenly Sword Technique within her body to an unprecedented limit.

The sword's clear sound suddenly turned high-pitched, like a dragon's roar. The sword intent, condensed to its extreme, was no longer the incomparably sharp silver light, but instead collapsed inward, transforming into an almost invisible line.

With a sense of cutting through illusion and pointing straight to the source, following the mysterious feeling guided by Chen Fei, it accurately stabbed the side of the shield, above the point where it connected with Ke Muqing's right arm.

Ke Muqing sensed the location of Cao Feiyu's attack and his brows furrowed subconsciously.

Although his mind was in turmoil and dominated by resentment, his fighting instincts remained. Cao Feiyu's sudden change of trajectory, aimed directly at the Qian position of his shield, set off alarm bells in his mind.

Ke Muqing instinctively wanted to adjust the angle of his shield to render Cao Feiyu's seemingly precise sword strike ineffective.

However, it's no longer possible.

His aura had already locked onto Chen Fei in the distance, his killing intent burning fiercely, thinking about how to crush that annoying array master as quickly as possible.

Although Ke Muqing didn't completely ignore Cao Feiyu, he had somewhat underestimated her after the previous battle. This momentary distraction and underestimation caused him to react a beat slower to Cao Feiyu's sudden sword attack.

Most importantly, to make precise adjustments to the angle of the shield and the flow of power in such a short time, one needs to have an almost superhuman control over one's own surging power.

This is precisely what Ke Muqing, who forcibly raised his realm by burning his origin, lacked most. His soul essence and understanding of power were still at the mid-stage of the Tai Cang Realm. His control over this power, which far exceeded his own realm, was more about following the inertia of violence.

Admittedly, under the overwhelming power, although crude, Cao Feiyu was indeed forced into a perilous situation by the terrifying power of the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm, and could only dodge and maneuver, never daring to confront him head-on.

But now, the situation has clearly changed.

"boom!"

Instead of the expected crisp, sharp sound of sword and shield clashing, there was a dull, heavy thud, like a giant hammer striking a leather drum.

The sound did not originate from an external collision, but rather from a sense of force violently vibrating within the closed structure.

Cao Feiyu's almost invisible sword tip seemed to touch not an indestructible shield, but a layer of unusually viscous demonic energy.

The sword tip pierced less than three inches into the layer of demonic energy before encountering tremendous resistance. However, the demonic intent condensed at the tip of Cao Feiyu's sword, like a red-hot iron piercing butter, forcefully penetrated the turbulent gap pointed out by Chen Fei.

"Buzz!"

A chaotic energy surge erupted from the point where the sword tip pierced the target.

The distorted, wailing faces of the vengeful spirits on the black shield seemed to be stimulated, letting out a shrill, silent roar. The viscous black mist flowing on the surface of the shield also momentarily froze and reversed its flow.

The violent shockwave spread outwards in a ring, scraping away a thick layer of earth. However, Cao Feiyu, who was at the eye of the storm, behaved quite differently than before.

Previously, when faced with Ke Muqing's shield attack, she could only use the force to fly back, and was even injured by the aftershock.

But at this moment, her somewhat frail body, in this head-on collision, remained firmly rooted to the spot like a rock.

His feet sank deep into the ground, all the way to his ankles, but his upper body did not lean back at all, and his longsword remained as steady as a rock, with the tip still firmly pressed against the Qian position of the shield.

Of course, it's not entirely stress-free.

Through the longsword, waves of chaotic, violent, and corrosive power continued to surge like a raging tide, impacting her arms, meridians, and even her soul.

Cao Feiyu's arm trembled slightly, her tiger's mouth split open again, blood staining the sword hilt. Her internal energy surged violently, and the protective sword energy within her flickered. But she caught it steadily.

For the first time, Cao Feiyu withstood the onslaught of this pseudo-late-stage vengeful demon in a direct confrontation.

Looking at Ke Muqing again, his massive body, shrouded in black mist, remained completely unmoved by Cao Feiyu's attack, like an unshakeable demonic mountain. However, upon closer inspection, it became clear that his condition was completely different from before.

Previously, whether he was swinging his shield to sweep or taking a sword strike head-on, he seemed to be handling it with ease, his power was integrated as one, and the force of the recoil was easily absorbed and dissolved by his powerful body and his vast demonic energy.

But at this moment, visible energy ripples, a mixture of pitch-black demonic energy and silver-white sword energy, swept across the shield like water, rapidly moving towards Ke Muqing's right arm holding the shield and even his entire body.

These energy ripples were not the aftershocks of Cao Feiyu's sword energy, but rather more like the violent and untamed power that Ke Muqing himself had infused into his shield.

"Chichichi..."

Wherever the energy ripples passed, the viscous black energy covering Ke Muqing's right arm churned violently. Beneath the black skin of her right arm, which resembled glass crystal, dark red patterns flickered rapidly, and even a slight, unstable tremor appeared.

The tremor spread rapidly from his arm to his shoulder, chest, and even his entire body.

The late-stage Tai Cang Realm power surging within Ke Muqing's body like a raging sea was suddenly disrupted by the chaotic ripples transmitted back from the shield, causing an unexpected stagnation in the flow of power.

The disorder and fluctuations in the power within his body were not enough to cause substantial damage to Ke Muqing's powerful demonic body. After all, his power level was what it was, and his foundation was profound.

However, this uncontrollable disorder originating from within made Ke Muqing's control over his own power go from barely managing to becoming even more strained.

Although these changes were subtle, the flames in Ke Muqing's eyes, which were burning with pitch-black flames, suddenly surged higher, and his originally ferocious and cruel expression became so gloomy that it was almost dripping with water.

He stared intently at Cao Feiyu, who was so close yet whose sword tip was still pressed against the shield, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the troublesome ant in the distance.

"Why don't you just die!"

A mental roar, a mixture of endless resentment, madness, and destructive desire, exploded like thunder in Cao Feiyu and Chen Fei's minds.

With a roar, Ke Muqing's massive body took a sudden step forward.

"Boom!"

This step was as heavy as a collapsing mountain, and the already ravaged ground exploded into a huge crater, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading wildly outwards.

The already violent aura emanating from its body seemed to expand and boil even more due to extreme anger. The viscous black mist rolled and roared like living things, forming twisted and wailing faces of vengeful spirits that appeared and disappeared on its surface.

Ke Muqing's right hand, with its five fingers like iron clamps, gripped the pitch-black, vengeful shield, forcefully tearing it away from its point of contact with Cao Feiyu's longsword, accompanied by a series of ear-piercing metallic scraping and the hissing sound of energy annihilation.

Then, with a sudden twist of his waist, Ke Muqing's entire body strength was released like a spring compressed to its limit, driving his right arm to sweep the incredibly heavy shield, like a door panel, towards Cao Feiyu, who was standing close by.

The shield hasn't arrived yet, but the momentum has already begun.

A terrifying force, heavier and more tyrannical than before, filled with destructive power, crashed against Cao Feiyu like an invisible tsunami.

This is not a physical impact, but a force and field formed by pure power and pressure.

The protective barrier around Cao Feiyu, formed from pure sword essence, flickered violently like a candle flame in a storm under the impact of this powerful force. Fine, spiderweb-like ripples even appeared on its surface, as if it could shatter at any moment.

Cao Feiyu's breath hitched. She could clearly see the hideous spikes on the edge of the shield rapidly magnifying before her eyes, and feel the overwhelming aura of death mixed with blood, decay, and violent demonic energy.

However, facing this terrifying blow that could flatten an entire surface, Cao Feiyu showed no fear whatsoever. At this critical moment between life and death, her mind became even clearer.

Just before Ke Muqing took a step and twisted her waist, preparing to sweep horizontally, Chen Fei's calm and collected voice resounded clearly in her mind once again. There were no unnecessary words, only a very clear direction: the Kun position.

In the distance, the deep black light in Chen Fei's eyes swirled even faster, almost transforming into two miniature black holes, allowing him to clearly see every subtle movement of Ke Muqing and every ripple of power fluctuation.

At the same time, the runes in the eyes of the puppet beside him flashed wildly again, and nine more chains of runes, shining with spiritual light, shot out from the ripples in the void around Ke Muqing's body from different directions, their targets still being his limb joints and vital parts of his torso.

The purpose of using a binding and disruptive formation like the Spirit Binding Rope, rather than a direct attack, is very clear: to disrupt Ke Muqing's attack rhythm, distract him, and deplete his already limited mental energy, thus creating a better opportunity for Cao Feiyu to attack.

"Boom!"

As expected, the nine newly appeared runic chains shattered and broke easily like fragile glass when they came into contact with the violent aftershocks of Ke Muqing wielding his shield.

However, the fact that it did not affect the movement does not mean that it had no impact at all.

In the extremely brief moment between the chain breaking and the body snapping, Ke Muqing's sweeping shield strike showed a barely perceptible stagnation and weakening in terms of power, speed, and even the stability of its trajectory.

More importantly, while the chains themselves could not truly restrain or harm Ke Muqing, their attacks targeted the very points where Ke Muqing's defenses were relatively weak due to the current disarray of his power.

So even though the rope wasn't strong enough, Ke Muqing had to spare some attention to stop it.

He couldn't completely ignore the chains, because their attacks were positioned too cleverly. He had to allocate some of his forces to preemptively shatter the areas targeted by the chains.

This undoubtedly further distracted him, disrupted the smoothness of his power flow, and weakened the power of his sweeping strike.

"clang!"

The deafening clang of metal clashing, mixed with the explosive sound of energy annihilation, echoed through the ancient ruins, the aftershocks lingering for a long time, causing countless dust particles to fall from the distant crumbling walls.

The moment the sword tip touched the shield, no sparks flew. Instead, ripples of energy, a mixture of silvery-white sword energy and dark demonic energy, spread rapidly like water ripples, distorting and blurring the air within dozens of miles of the two.

In this head-on collision, Cao Feiyu and Ke Muqing's massive bodies remained as immovable as two opposing mountain peaks amidst the violent clash of energy. The ground beneath their feet cracked and sank under the terrifying pressure, forming an ever-expanding crater.

However, Cao Feiyu, who was actually in the situation, had a completely different experience.

The last time she took a shield strike head-on, although she was able to stand firm, the recoil from the longsword was like a raging tidal wave, shaking her internal organs and making her protective sword energy tremble. She only managed to hold on by relying on her pure sword energy and her unwavering will.

This time, however, the overwhelming force transmitted through the sword, though still immense and terrifying, was much more scattered and no longer as concentrated as before. Instead, it carried a sense of restlessness and instability.

Cao Feiyu only needed to push the Heavenly Sword Technique to its limit and use her exquisite skills of deflecting and neutralizing force to guide the scattered and ethereal power into the ground beneath her feet with greater ease. Although she still felt immense pressure, she no longer felt the suffocating sensation of being crushed at any moment as before.

Although the pressure is only slightly reduced by one point, in a life-or-death showdown, that one point difference is worlds apart.

In contrast, the Vengeful Demon Ke Muqing, though his massive body did not retreat, showed even more obvious changes on his body surface.

The energy ripples that spread from the Qian position of the shield in the previous attack had not yet completely subsided, and this time the impact that exploded from the Kun position triggered a new round of even stronger energy disturbance.

Ripples of energy, like drops of boiling oil thrown into water, spread wildly and surged throughout his body, centered on the point where his shield connected to his right arm.

The protective black aura that was constantly churning and writhing on Ke Muqing's body was now like boiling water, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting, flickering unpredictably.

Beneath the black aura, on the dark, crystal-like body, the dark red demonic patterns that had been flowing steadily began to flicker and dim, and even showed signs of slight distortion and breakage at some joints and acupoints.

More importantly, the terrifying pressure emanating from Ke Muqing was thick and solid, like a substantial leaden cloud, weighing heavily on people's hearts.

Now, Ke Muqing's aura is beginning to show obvious signs of disorder. This disorder is not a sign of weakening power, but rather a precursor to power spiraling out of control. It is an outward manifestation of his internal balance being gradually disrupted, making it increasingly difficult to control.

The pressure eased slightly, and a glimmer of hope appeared in the battle.

Cao Feiyu's bright eyes, which had been slightly narrowed due to intense tension and the pressure of life and death, suddenly lit up, like a cold star breaking through the clouds, sharp and calm, and burning with a fierce fighting spirit.

"Clang!"

The longsword in the hand seemed to sense the change in its master's state of mind, emitting a clear and resonant tremor. The silver light flowing on the blade became more solid and pure, with faint, intricate rune phantoms flowing and disappearing within the sword light.

Cao Feiyu pushed the Heavenly Sword Technique to its limit, and also incorporated the remaining power of the sword formation that she had previously set up but which had been shattered by Ke Muqing's violent attack into the longsword she held as her natal sword.

In an instant, the longsword shone brightly, its sword intent soaring into the sky.

Instead of passively waiting for Ke Muqing to attack before looking for an opening to counterattack, Cao Feiyu took the initiative to strike.

His figure seemed to merge into the sword light, transforming into a dazzling silver lightning bolt. Following the directional sense transmitted by Chen Fei's divine sense, he once again pierced towards Ke Muqing's massive demonic body.

The person moves with the sword, the sword transforms into a fleeting glimpse of beauty. (End of Chapter)