Chapter Eighty-Five: Battling the Human Realm

Chapter 85: Battle Against a Human Rank Expert

“Hurry and leave this place,” Yi Tian suddenly said to the five members of the Samsara Battle Team, as well as Yi Zhen and the others.

He feared that the attack from the Sword Essence Treasure Talisman had not managed to annihilate the enemy. After all, their opponent was a human rank expert; at most, that lower-grade treasure talisman could only severely injure him. Slaying a human rank expert was an extraordinarily difficult task.

“No, we will fight alongside you, Captain!” Yi Shan was the first to object. For him, fleeing from battle was simply unbearable. Yi Feng, Yi Li, Yi Kuang, Yi Hong, and vice-leader Yi Zhen all wore determined expressions. None of them were willing to abandon Yi Tian and escape alone. Facing a human rank powerhouse, Yi Tian was surely doomed; they could not save themselves by sacrificing him to buy them a chance at escape.

A flash of emotion crossed Yi Tian’s eyes. Yet he was troubled. If you all refuse to leave, won’t my trump card be exposed? He couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated. He had intended to send them away, but in the eyes of Yi Feng and the others, he stood no chance against the enemy and was likely to die. They could not forsake Yi Tian.

At the same time, their own chances of escaping were slim; to prevent word of the Origin Vein Mine from leaking, they could not hide within the crevice. Human rank experts could walk on air—they would be chased down in no time.

A thunderous roar echoed through the valley. In the next instant, a battered figure shot up from the deep ravine below. The once-dignified man was now covered in wounds—marks slashed by sword qi, his body stained with blood, grievously injured. The treasure talisman’s sword strike had broken through his primal energy shield.

“I’ll have your lives!” His eyes blazed with a murderous intent more terrifying than ever before. As a powerful figure, long unchallenged in his domain, he had not been so humiliated in years—wounded by martial artists he regarded as mere ants. This was a disgrace that could only be washed away with their blood.

“Iron God Hand!” the man bellowed, striking toward Yi Tian and his companions. His palm blast, infused with boundless true essence, spanned twenty or thirty yards—enough to shatter a small mountain.

“Scatter!” Yi Tian and the others swiftly employed their Feather Flight technique or secret movement arts to evade. In the blink of an eye, they dodged the blow.

Boom! The mighty palm descended from the heavens, leaving a massive imprint on the ground. Cracks radiated outward, and the entire Peach Blossom Valley seemed to tremble.

Yi Zhen had never before witnessed such a terrifying attack.

“So this is the power of a human rank expert—unimaginable, utterly invincible!”

Had he not mastered the Feather Flight technique and been well prepared, he would have been unable to dodge that strike.

At this moment, Yi Tian produced the Dragon Roar Bow, nocking an arrow. The Solar Shooting Art surged at full force.

Thunder rumbled from the heavens.

A dreadful beam of light shot toward the dignified man in the sky like a bolt of lightning. The man’s face changed; this time, however, he was prepared. A long sword swept through the air, colliding with the arrow. With a metallic clang, the sword shuddered violently—the arrow’s terrifying force nearly pierced it, leaving a small notch.

Even so, the man was driven back more than ten yards by the overwhelming force. This was Yi Tian’s full-powered shot; though the enemy could block it, it was not easy.

Arrow after arrow tore through the void, streaking like rainbows at the dignified man. He slashed them apart one by one in dazzling explosions. Suspended in midair, the man could not stabilize himself; with each defense, the arrows’ power forced him back further.

Surprise flickered in the man’s heart. Yi Tian’s archery was formidable, posing a real threat. The destructive force was terrifying—even his pseudo-treasure sword, Autumn Radiance, began to show damage.

At the same time, Yi Zhen, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Li, and the others all launched their own attacks—arrows turned to streams of light, raining upon the man. Faced with such a volley, he dared not take it lightly; if any arrow struck his body, it would pierce right through.

A moment later, a radiant aura enveloped his form.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The arrows shattered instantly against his aura, breaking into countless fragments.

“The primal shield of a human rank!” Yi Zhen’s expression shifted.

This was the hallmark of a human rank expert—a primal shield condensed from true essence, immensely powerful and unbreakable, something even supreme spirit weapons could not breach.

As long as the shield held, the human rank expert was all but invincible; nothing could threaten him.

With his shield deployed, the man no longer bothered to block their arrows. He charged straight at them, the powerful shield shattering the incoming attacks as he closed in, intent on engaging them in close combat.

Danger loomed.

Yi Tian instantly employed his secret movement technique.

Whoosh!

In a flash, he appeared before the dignified man, the Golden Scale Sword blazing with searing true yang energy, slashing down with a thunderous strike.

Clang!

Yi Tian’s sword struck the shield, and a surge of terrifying force recoiled. Blood spurted from Yi Tian’s mouth. Yet the man was nearly forced to tear open his shield—the blow cleaved two-thirds of it, and the force hurled him backwards.

Finally, the man realized what had happened. Yi Tian’s sudden strike caught him off guard—he had taken it head-on. Fortunately, his shield had absorbed most of the blow; otherwise, he would have been gravely wounded—or even slain. The thought was almost laughable.

“Die!” The man now recognized Yi Tian as the greatest threat and had to eliminate him first. He launched a furious assault—waves of sword energy split the heavens, and massive hands of condensed true essence blotted out the sky, bombarding Yi Tian.

On the ground, Yi Tian dodged at lightning speed. The Feather Flight technique made him swift as an arrow, and his secret movement art allowed him to evade disaster time and again.

The clash between the dignified man and Yi Tian became a relentless chase and battle across the valley floor.

Yi Feng and the others could only watch. Their archery, though formidable, was useless against the man; they could only distract him and wear down his true essence.

Again and again, Yi Tian used his secret movement technique to evade attacks, counterstriking whenever possible. He keenly sensed the man’s shield growing weaker with every exchange. Yet to face him head-on would mean certain injury or death.

Repeated use of the secret movement technique rapidly depleted Yi Tian’s true energy. As a ninth-rank martial artist, he could not wield such a top-tier human rank secret art as effortlessly as a true human rank expert—each use cost him dearly.

After fifteen or sixteen uses, his dantian’s reserves were nearly exhausted.

“This can’t go on,” Yi Tian decided. He quietly prepared: as soon as his consciousness descended into the Star Mud avatar, he would transform into the Three-Headed Demon Hound and devour his foe.

But at that moment, another figure appeared above Peach Blossom Valley—a man in black, with sinister eyes, looking about fifty or sixty, exuding a chilling aura.

The dignified man, sensing the newcomer, instantly ceased his assault and looked upward.

Another human rank expert had arrived.

Yi Tian, Yi Zhen, Yi Feng, and the rest cursed their luck in secret. Misfortune had truly found them, drawing the attention of one human rank expert after another. If word of the Origin Vein Mine leaked, all of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom would be thrown into upheaval. Rival powers would battle fiercely, and the Yi clan, caught at the center, would be at risk of annihilation at any moment.