In the end times, many children bring more blessings. I pick up a goddess every day.

Liu Yang and Su Qingyao held their breath, watching the Wang family cultivator's figure disappear behind the gates of the Li family's stronghold... Then, the gates of the Li family's stronghold slowly closed, and the surrounding air seemed to tense up. They could vaguely sense the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from within the stronghold—clearly, Li Hong and the people of Black Wind Valley had prepared an ambush, waiting only for the right moment to strike...

"Master, they've gone in. What should we do next?" Su Qingyao asked in a low voice, her palms slightly sweaty... This was her first major battle after breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, and her opponents were the ruthless rogue cultivators of Black Wind Valley. It was inevitable that she would feel a little nervous...

Liu Yang patted her shoulder, reassuring her, "Don't panic, we'll proceed according to plan... Li Hong will definitely stall Wang Kun first, and only when he deems the time ripe will he give the order to act... We just need to wait patiently for now. Once we hear the sounds of battle coming from the camp, we'll rush in immediately, first dealing with the Black Wind Valley rogue cultivators on the periphery, and then supporting the Wang family's cultivators..."

Su Qingyao nodded, took a deep breath, and concentrated her ice-type spiritual power in her palm—tiny ice crystals condensed at her fingertips, ready to launch an attack at any moment...

Time ticked by, but there was still no movement from the Li family's stronghold... Liu Yang was puzzled. Normally, Li Hong should have made his move as soon as he saw Wang Kun, so why was there no movement? Could it be that the plan had been leaked?

Just as he was pondering, the gates of the Li family's stronghold suddenly opened again, and Wang Kun led the Wang family cultivators out, his expression calm, as if nothing had happened... Liu Yang was startled and was about to get up when he saw Wang Kun wink in his direction as he passed through the dense forest, while simultaneously tapping the token at his waist three times...

Liu Yang instantly understood—this was the signal Wang Kun had agreed upon, meaning that Li Hong hadn't acted immediately, possibly waiting for more Black Wind Valley rogue cultivators, or perhaps there was some other conspiracy...

After the Wang family cultivators left, the gates of the Li family's residence closed again... Liu Yang frowned, his vigilance growing even stronger: "Li Hong didn't make a move, there's definitely something wrong... We need to get closer and see what's going on inside..."

The two cautiously approached the Li family's encampment, hiding behind a thicket of bushes only three hundred feet away... Liu Yang circulated his Yin-Yang spiritual power, probing the encampment with his spiritual sense—his spiritual sense penetrated the wall, and he vaguely saw Li Hongzheng standing with the leader of Black Wind Valley in the square in front of the main hall, seemingly arguing about something...

"...Didn't you say fifty people would be enough? Why are we waiting now?" Li Hong's voice was tinged with impatience...

The Black Wind leader's voice was hoarse: "Li Hong, what do you know! Liu Yang was able to kill Zhao Qian, so he must be quite strong. Moreover, the Wang family has twenty cultivators, and our fifty people might not be able to win... I have already sent someone to inform Black Wind Valley to send another thirty people. We can wait until everyone arrives by noon before we make our move!"

"We have to wait again?" Li Hong's voice was even more dissatisfied. "What if Wang Kun becomes suspicious, or Liu Yang runs away before we know it?"

"Don't worry, I've already increased manpower around Qingyang City. Even if Liu Yang wants to escape, he won't be able to..." the Black Wind leader sneered. "Besides, Wang Kun is still in the dark. He thinks you really want to discuss dividing the Zhao family's territory with him, so he won't suspect anything..."

Hearing their conversation, Liu Yang felt a chill run down his spine—Black Wind Valley was sending another thirty men, and if they all arrived, the situation would be extremely unfavorable for them... He had to find a way to break the deadlock before noon...

"Black Wind Valley will send another thirty people; they should arrive by noon..." Liu Yang whispered to Su Qingyao. "We can't wait any longer; we must act ahead of schedule and disrupt their plans..."

Su Qingyao said with some worry, "But Wang Kun has already left. If we act now, we'll be fighting alone and we're no match for them..."

"Not necessarily..." A decisive glint flashed in Liu Yang's eyes. "Li Hong and the Black Wind leader have a conflict over waiting for reinforcements. We can use this to create chaos... Moreover, the cultivators of the Li family and the rogue cultivators of Black Wind Valley are not of one mind. As long as we kill the Black Wind leader first, the rogue cultivators of Black Wind Valley will be leaderless and will definitely panic. At that time, the cultivators of the Li family will also be affected..."

This was a risky plan, but it was the only way at the moment... Su Qingyao knew that there was no time to lose, so she nodded and said, "Okay! I'll do as Master says!"

Liu Yang took a deep breath, gripping the Yin-Yang Sword in his hand. Ice and fire elemental energies flowed within the blade, shimmering with red and white light… “You wait here. I’m going to assassinate the Black Wind leader… Once I make my move, you release your ice elemental energy to attack the Black Wind Valley rogue cultivators on the outer perimeter, drawing their attention…”

"Master, I'll go with you!" Su Qingyao quickly said, "One more person means one more source of strength..."

Liu Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, but you must be careful. The Black Wind leader's cultivation is at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. You are no match for him; you can only assist me from the sidelines..."

Without further delay, the two channeled their spiritual energy, completely concealing their presence, and approached the Li family's encampment like two shadows... Outside the encampment, scattered cultivators from Black Wind Valley stood chatting idly under the walls, completely unaware of the approaching danger...

Liu Yang and Su Qingyao circled around to the back of the camp, where only two rogue cultivators from Black Wind Valley were patrolling... Liu Yang's eyes turned cold, and a wisp of pale golden Yin-Yang spiritual energy condensed at his fingertips, shooting out like a sharp arrow, instantly piercing the dantian of the two rogue cultivators... The two rogue cultivators didn't even have time to utter a sound before collapsing to the ground, lifeless...

Taking advantage of the situation, the two climbed over the wall and hid behind a rockery... In the square, Li Hong and the Black Wind leader were still arguing, surrounded by twenty rogue cultivators from Black Wind Valley and ten cultivators from the Li family. The rest were likely lying in ambush on the outskirts of the camp...

"Now!" Liu Yang shouted, leaping off the artificial hill, his Yin-Yang Sword thrusting towards the Black Wind leader's back—the ice and fire spiritual energy on the sword surged, forming a red and white sword aura, moving with lightning speed...

Sensing the danger behind him, the Black Wind leader's expression changed drastically. He quickly turned around, conjuring a giant black axe in his hand, and slashed at the sword energy... With a loud clang, the sword energy collided with the giant axe, and the resulting shockwave forced the surrounding cultivators to retreat...

"Liu Yang! You dare to deliver yourself to my doorstep!" Li Hong's eyes flashed with wild joy when he saw Liu Yang, and he shouted sharply, "Everyone, listen to my order! Capture Liu Yang! A reward of one hundred high-grade spirit stones will be given!"

The cultivators in the plaza reacted instantly, surrounding Liu Yang... Seeing this, Su Qingyao immediately released her ice-type spiritual power—countless ice crystals rose from the ground, shooting towards the scattered cultivators of Black Wind Valley on the outer edge. At the same time, she condensed a huge ice shield behind Liu Yang, blocking the attacks of several Li family cultivators...

"Qingyao, be careful!" Liu Yang shouted, swinging his Yin-Yang Sword again, unleashing a sword aura of interwoven ice and fire towards the approaching cultivators... The sword aura was extremely powerful, instantly cleaving two mid-Foundation Establishment stage Black Wind Valley rogue cultivators into severe injuries, who collapsed to the ground groaning in agony...

The Black Wind leader steadied himself, glaring at Liu Yang with murderous intent in his eyes: "Boy, you killed my men! Today I will tear you to pieces!" With that, he raised his giant axe and charged towards Liu Yang—the axe radiated dense black spiritual energy, accompanied by a whistling wind, clearly indicating he was using his full strength...

Liu Yang dared not be careless. He activated the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Unity Technique," channeling all the Yin-Yang spiritual power within his dantian into the Yin-Yang Sword... The sword erupted with a dazzling pale golden light, and simultaneously, a wisp of flame and a piece of ice crystal condensed at the sword tip. The two forces intertwined, forming a sword aura containing terrifying power...

"Ice and fire unite, the sword shatters all laws!" Liu Yang roared, slashing the Yin-Yang Sword towards the Black Wind leader... The sword energy collided with the giant axe once more. This time, the sword energy was unstoppable, instantly cleaving through the black spiritual energy on the giant axe and slashing towards the Black Wind leader's chest...

The Black Wind leader's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected Liu Yang's sword energy to be so domineering. In his haste, he could only dodge to the side, but he was still a step too slow—the pale golden sword energy grazed his left shoulder, instantly tearing his black clothes and leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound from which blood gushed out...

"Ah!" The Black Wind leader roared in agony, slamming his giant axe into the ground. Black spiritual energy spread across the ground, transforming into countless sharp spikes that pierced towards Liu Yang's feet... This was the Black Wind Valley's signature technique, "Black Wind Spikes," capable of instantly sealing off an opponent's movement. Combined with the ferocious attack of the giant axe, it had claimed the lives of many cultivators...

Liu Yang's eyes narrowed. He lightly touched the ground with his toes, his figure drifting backward several feet like a willow catkin, dodging the energy spikes. At the same time, he condensed three strands of Yin-Yang spiritual energy at his fingertips, shooting them like homing arrows towards the Black Wind leader's wound... The spiritual energy entered his body, instantly causing a disturbance in the spiritual energy at the wound. The Black Wind leader felt the spiritual energy within his body surging like boiling water, and he could no longer hold onto his giant axe. With a "clang," the giant axe fell to the ground...

"Leader!" Upon seeing this, the surrounding Black Wind Valley rogue cultivators rushed towards Liu Yang, trying to rescue their leader... Su Qingyao immediately stood in front of Liu Yang, her hands forming a hand seal. Ice-type spiritual energy condensed into a massive ice wall in front of her, while countless ice spikes also formed on the ice wall, shooting towards the rogue cultivators...

"Don't even think about getting past!" Su Qingyao shouted coldly, and ice spikes rained down like a storm, forcing the rogue cultivators to retreat one after another... After breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, her control over ice-type spiritual power became increasingly precise. Not only was her ice shield more solid, but the power of her ice spikes also increased several times over, making it impossible for ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators to withstand...

Standing to the side, Li Hong watched the situation spiral out of control, his heart filled with shock and anger... He had originally thought the Black Wind leader would easily suppress Liu Yang, but unexpectedly, in just a few rounds, the Black Wind leader was at a disadvantage, even suffering serious injuries... What worried him even more was that Liu Yang's strength far exceeded the rumors—the spiritual power that fused ice and fire elements was even more powerful than that of an ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivator...

"What are you all standing there for! Attack together and kill Liu Yang!" Li Hong shouted sharply, simultaneously channeling his spiritual power to conjure a cyan longsword in his hand, which he thrust towards Liu Yang's back... He knew that if Liu Yang killed the Black Wind leader, the rogue cultivators of Black Wind Valley would be thrown into chaos, and his plan would be completely ruined...

Liu Yang sensed the killing intent behind him, but didn't turn around—he knew Su Qingyao would shield him from the others. At this moment, he had only one goal: to kill the Black Wind leader and completely disrupt the enemy's formation... He leaped in front of the Black Wind leader, raising the Yin-Yang Sword high. The ice and fire spiritual energy at the sword's tip surged, forming a sword shadow several meters long...

"Die!" Liu Yang's voice was icy, and his sword shadow descended like a god descending from heaven... The Black Wind leader's eyes were filled with fear. He tried to circulate his spiritual power to defend himself, but found that his spiritual power had already been disrupted by the Yin-Yang spiritual power and could not be gathered at all... He could only watch helplessly as the sword shadow fell, his heart filled with regret—if he had known that Liu Yang was so powerful, he would never have coveted those five hundred high-grade spirit stones, and he would never have agreed to Li Hong's request...

"Thud!" The sword flashed, cleaving the Black Wind leader's body in two, his blood staining the bluestone bricks of the plaza... In his dying moments, he only saw a flicker of fear in Li Hong's eyes, and the panicked faces of the Black Wind Valley's rogue cultivators...

"The...the leader is dead!" a rogue cultivator from Black Wind Valley cried out in a trembling voice, his voice filled with fear... The rogue cultivators of Black Wind Valley had come for the spirit stones, and now that their leader was dead, they were leaderless and had no will to fight. They all began to consider retreating...

"What's the panic!" Li Hong shouted sharply upon seeing this. "Kill Liu Yang, and I'll add another two hundred high-grade spirit stones! Whoever kills him will get a hundred spirit stones!" The hefty reward indeed caused greed to gleam in the eyes of some rogue cultivators, who once again surrounded Liu Yang...

Liu Yang sneered, swinging his Yin-Yang Sword once more. A sword aura swept across, instantly severely injuring three rogue cultivators at the forefront... "You think you can get the reward money?" His voice, carrying the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator, echoed like thunder across the plaza, causing those rogue cultivators who harbored any hope to instantly halt in their tracks...

Just then, the gate of the Li family's residence was suddenly kicked open, and Wang Kun led twenty Wang family cultivators in, their blue robes particularly conspicuous in the sunlight... "Li Hong! You colluded with the rogue cultivators of Black Wind Valley, plotting treacherous schemes! Today, my Wang family will rid Qingyang City of this scourge!" Wang Kun's voice boomed, and he slammed the alchemy furnace in his hand onto the ground. Countless pale red fire talismans flew out of the furnace, shooting towards the Li family cultivators...