Ink-Clad Creator

Li Xian made a sweeping motion with his right hand, and three invisible sword energies shot out from the sky!

The Shaoshang Sword, powerful and vigorous, aimed directly at the black-clad man guarding Elder Xiao; the Shangyang Sword, agile and nimble, shot towards Han Yunyang's side; the Zhongchong Sword, domineering and fierce, pierced straight at the one with the knife to Xiao Lingshan's neck—the very same person who had previously attempted to commit an act of misconduct.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Three muffled thuds exploded almost simultaneously!

What's even more incredible is that the three crimson lasers arrived almost simultaneously with the sword energy—the combined fire of Batman, the Dark Knight, and Superman in mid-air was terrifyingly precise.

Before the three men in black could even scream, blood gushed from their chests at the same time, and they fell straight to the ground.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Er Ya's fuselage opened fully, and hundreds of alloy steel needles as thin as cow hair poured down like a torrential rain, covering the entire field!

The needles are too small, too fast, and too dense!

The man in black hurriedly swung his knife to block, and a series of crisp "clanging" sounds rang out, but some people were still hit by needles and screamed in pain—the needles were obviously coated with something, and the hit people's muscles twitched instantly.

"Conserve your energy! Target the vitals!" Li shouted as he charged toward Xiao Lingshan.

Er Ya had already flown to the tree, and a high-frequency vibrating blade popped out from under her fuselage, severing the rope with a "buzz".

Xiao Lingshan slid down softly.

Li Xian strode forward and reached out to help—but what he touched was a warm, smooth surface.

He looked down and saw that the girl's outer garment had been torn in half during the struggle, leaving her almost completely naked. Her exposed shoulders and back were dazzlingly white in the morning light.

"You...put me down!" Xiao Lingshan's cheeks were flushed red, whether from shame or anger, it was hard to tell. "I can walk by myself! I need to go save Father and Brother Yunyang first!"

Li Xian awkwardly let go, then tore off his still-intact outer robe and wrapped it around her: "Er Ya! Take care of Miss Xiao! I'm going to rescue my father-in-law!"

"Here it comes~"

Er Ya deftly cut the ropes binding Elder Xiao and Han Yunyang. Li Xian, supporting one of them with each hand, staggered back into the bushes.

"Young Master Li!" Superman's voice was unusually urgent. "Energy alert! 18% remaining! The enemy still has six full-strength fighters!"

Li looked back first.

The remaining six men in black had formed a circle back to back, their curved blades pointing outwards, and were slowly rotating. They were all wounded to varying degrees, but their eyes were fierce like wolves; they were clearly prepared to fight to the death.

Even more bizarrely, the three drones representing Superman, Batman, and the Dark Knight were slowly retreating—not as a tactical retreat, but with their rotor speeds noticeably decreasing and their flight paths becoming erratic!

"Our energy is almost depleted..." Li Xian's heart sank. "Retreat! Everyone retreat to the bushes!"

The group scrambled back into the depths of the bushes.

Xiao Lingshan glanced at Daya, who was still bound like a dumpling in the haystack, and paused for a moment before squatting down to untie the ropes—the Wood Sect's "Entangling Spirit Hand" was something only she could untie.

"Miss Xiao," Daya's muffled voice came from inside the ropes, tinged with a hint of grievance, "Should I thank you, or should I hold a grudge?"

Xiao Lingshan's fingers trembled, and she whispered, "I'm sorry... I was... too scared at the time."

The knot came undone instantly.

Da Ya broke free of her restraints with a "whoosh," spun three times in the air, and finally hovered in front of Xiao Lingshan, saying sweetly, "For Young Master Li's sake, I'll let it go this time~ But if you tie me up again next time..."

It deliberately dragged out the tone, and the indicator light on the belly of the aircraft flashed ambiguously.

"There won't be a next time." Xiao Lingshan turned her face away, her ears slightly red.

"Alright!" Li Xian interrupted the bizarre reconciliation scene and looked at Elder Xiao. "Elder, these men in black only seem to have second-rate martial arts skills. You should be in excellent condition after taking 'Stardust,' so how did you suffer such a crushing defeat?"

Elder Xiao blushed and coughed twice: "I'm ashamed... At first, we did have the upper hand and killed or wounded seven or eight of them. But later... they used evil magic."

"Evil magic?"

"Yes," Han Yunyang continued, his voice still tinged with lingering fear. "The four of them suddenly slit their wrists and bled, the blood splattering onto their blades, and then... their speed and strength increased more than threefold! Their swordsmanship also became unpredictable and bizarre; we couldn't stop them at all!"

As they were talking, Xiao Lingshan suddenly exclaimed, "Look! They're going to use that evil magic again!"

Everyone looked through the grass.

In the center of the open space, the remaining ten men in black—including the six who were still capable of fighting and the four who were less seriously injured—were kneeling in a circle.

A man walked to the center of the circle with a knife, and with a flash of light, he actually cut his own wrist!

Blood gushed out like a fountain, but instead of dripping, it eerily floated in the air, transforming into ten blood streaks that precisely sprayed onto each of the men in black!

Blood stained his black clothes, and the blade gleamed with blood.

Under the clear blue sky, this scene was so eerie that it sent chills down one's spine.

"Only four people used this evil magic just now," Xiao Lingshan's voice tightened, "Now ten people... the power is probably..."

"Then run!" Han Yunyang struggled to stand up, but his legs were too weak.

"Run?" Daya swayed in the air. "I'd like to see if their evil magic is more powerful, or our high technology is!"

Xiao Lingshan suddenly turned to look at Li Xian, a faint smile appearing on her lips: "Yes, don't we also have a 'demon' here? Perfect, let's fight poison with poison."

"Ling Shan!" Elder Xiao hurriedly scolded.

Li Xian paid no attention. His eyes were fixed on the men in black—after the blood sacrifice was completed, the ten men suddenly stood up in unison, their movements stiff as puppets, their legs straight, toes touching the ground, and they began to hop forward.

One jump covers a distance of over ten feet.

The ground trembled slightly with each jump.

"Holy crap..." Li Xian's eyes widened. "Isn't this a zombie?! A Hong Kong movie come to life?!"

He glanced back at the crowd, took a deep breath, and strode out of the bushes.

"Those who are cowardly, retreat. Drones—prepare for round two."

"Energy remaining: Batman 15%, Dark Knight 16%, Superman 17%." Superman calmly reported, "Retreat recommended, seek recharging opportunities."

"Charge?" Li Xian smiled wryly. "Where am I supposed to find a power bank for you guys right now?"

He said that, but his feet didn't stop. He walked to the edge of the open space and stood ten feet away from the black-clad "zombie" that was leaping towards him.

The five fingers of the right hand are slightly spread.

"This time, all five swords will be unleashed simultaneously."

Shaoshang, Shangyang, Zhongchong, Guanchong, Shaochong—five fingers correspond to five swords, and five sword energies of different colors tear through the air, heading straight for the five men in black in the front row!

Almost simultaneously, three drones took off, and the laser emitters lit up again!

Faced with the attack, the five men in black in the front row neither dodged nor evaded, but instead let out a low, inhuman roar in unison: "Ha—!"

Five curved swords were raised simultaneously, the undried bloodstains on the blades writhing eerily in the sunlight, transforming into five scarlet blade beams that met the sword energy!

"boom--!!!"

The sword energy and the blade's aura collided, creating a visible shockwave! The grass was torn away, and dust flew everywhere!

Amidst the chaos, the blades of the five men in black in the back row arrived in succession, precisely blocking the subsequent barrage of lasers!

"Jingle bells—!"

The steel needles shot out by Daya and Erya were all deflected by the scarlet blade curtain, without even a spark flying.

"Shoot in the eyes!" Li shouted.

Laser turned around, trying to slip through the gaps in the blade curtain—but the ten people coordinated too well. The moment the front row swung their blades to block, the back row would inevitably fill in. The blade light was continuous like a blood tide, and they really managed to leave no gaps!

"This..." Han Yunyang stared in disbelief from behind, "Those ten people... how come they look like one person?"

Elder Xiao's expression was grave: "It's not that they resemble one person—they've truly linked the auras of ten people into one through that evil magic. Now they share perception, power, and even...thoughts."

Li Xian also discovered the problem.

His Six Meridian Divine Sword remained as powerful as ever, each sword strike forcing his opponent to parry with all their might. But the problem was—his opponent was completely unfazed by the drain on their energy!

That layer of crimson blades seemed to flow as if it were alive. With each collision, the blades would dim slightly, but the next second, a wisp of blood energy would emerge from the black-clad man to replenish it.

And what about Li Xian's side?

"Energy remaining: Batman 12%...11%...10%..." Superman's reports became more and more frequent.

The drone is running out of power.

He wasn't in much better shape himself. The Six Meridian Divine Sword technique was extremely taxing on internal energy. Although he had just consumed half a grain of "Stardust," such high-intensity output would only allow him to last for about half a cup of tea's time at most.

What's even more terrifying is that Li Xian can clearly sense that the opponent's "momentum" is constantly increasing!

Like the rising tide.

When the first wave hits, it can still withstand it.

For the second wave, you have to take a half step back.

The third wave, the fourth wave... one wave higher than the last!

"This can't go on..." Li Xian's forehead was covered in sweat, his brain working at a rapid pace.

You can't win by brute force.

We can't afford to waste time.

Run? With the jumping speed of these "zombies," they couldn't possibly escape with the injured Elder Xiao and Han Yunyang in tow.

unless……

Suddenly, he thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

"Miss Xiao!" Li shouted without turning around, "Where's your little pine tree?!"

In the grass, Xiao Lingshan was startled and subconsciously pressed her hand to her chest—the small pine tree was right next to her skin, warm and slightly moist.

"It's...with me."

"Lend it to me!" Li Xian's voice was urgent. "I won't lend it to you for nothing! I'll trade you 'Stardust'! Both of them are yours!"

Xiao Lingshan bit her lip.

She knew the value of the little pine tree. She also knew how important those two grains of "stardust" were to her father and Yunyang.

But looking at the boy ahead, single-handedly facing ten demons, his back already swaying...

She didn't hesitate any longer.

"then!"

Emerald green light pierced the morning sky.

Li Xian reached out and caught it—in his palm, the small pine tree was emitting a soft, vibrant glow.

Almost simultaneously, deep within my mind, a long-dormant "channel" suddenly... flickered very faintly.

Like a pebble thrown into a bottomless ancient well.

[Energy...Resonance...Detection...]

Fragments of information flashed by in an instant.

Li Xian's pupils suddenly contracted.

He seems to... know what to do.