Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Taking advantage of this gap, the fat and thin cultivators behind seized the opportunity and quickly activated the Twin Ice Gourds. A surge of dark blue cold energy burst forth, and countless ice spikes shot out, directly attacking Ma Sheng and Ma Jie.

Without even turning his head, Ma Jie reached out and threw out a magic shield made of vines, which transformed into a thick barrier behind the two of them.

Seeing this, Huang Yan no longer hesitated. He stomped his foot on the ground, raised his giant ruler high, and with the force of a mountain, slashed at Ma Sheng and Ma Jie again.

"Tsk! What a hassle!"

Zhang Li sighed inwardly as he watched the increasingly fierce battle ahead.

Of the five, only the fat and thin cultivators were somewhat inferior; the other three were not easy to deal with.

Now is definitely not the time to make a move.

Zhang Li roughly calculated the time and found that it was still sufficient, so he could linger a little longer.

Huang Yan's body was enveloped in a surge of earthy yellow spiritual light, and with each sweep of the giant ruler, every strike carried the power to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Each time the blue and green swords clashed with the giant ruler, a deafening roar resounded.

Although the combined attack technique of the Ma brothers, Ma Jie and Ma Sheng, was indeed exquisite, and they gained the upper hand in every collision, other Qi Refining stage cultivators would have been unable to withstand it long ago. However, when they encountered Huang Yan, who cultivated both body and magic, they met their nemesis and could hardly cause any substantial damage.

The fat and thin cultivators behind them continued to activate the ice gourd, and wave after wave of dark blue icy thorns bombarded the vine shield. Although they could not break through the defense for the time being, they were constantly consuming the mana of the two of them, which also caused the combined power of their two swords to weaken slightly.

"Brother, we can't keep dragging this on like this," Ma Jie said angrily.

"That's the only way..."

A ruthless glint flashed in Ma Sheng's eyes.

If they continue to be passively attacked, it won't be long before their magical power is completely exhausted. At that time, Huang Yan's giant ruler or the fat and thin cultivators' ice spikes could easily take their lives with a single blow.

The two brothers understood each other perfectly, so no further explanation was needed.

Ma Sheng bit his tongue hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence onto the blade of his cyan longsword. The crimson blood spread along the spine of the sword, and the cyan sword suddenly burst forth with a dazzling cyan light. Ma Jie followed suit, also spitting out a mouthful of blood essence, and the pale blue blade was covered with a layer of eerie blood glow.

After being activated by their essence and blood, the power of their combined attack technique instantly surged, and the power they displayed had already exceeded the limit of the Qi Refining stage.

Under normal circumstances, this combined attack technique is indeed powerful, but it is far from reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Only by activating it with essence blood can it briefly unleash such terrifying power that surpasses a higher realm.

However, this power comes at a heavy price, as it is activated by the essence of blood, which is too damaging to the cultivator's vital energy. Every time it is used, the cultivator will inevitably fall into a period of weakness.

This was supposed to be their trump card, but they were forced to use it prematurely. Even if they managed to escape, it was uncertain whether they would survive until the secret realm reopened.

But not now; for them, even surviving today is a luxury.

"kill!"

The two brothers, their eyes bloodshot, roared in unison. Instantly, their two azure swords intertwined and transformed into a massive azure sword three zhang long, slashing down at Huang Yan with a piercing whistling sound as it tore through the air.

Huang Yan's pupils contracted sharply. He sensed a fatal threat and dared not be careless in the slightest. He gripped the giant ruler tightly with both hands, pouring all his blood and magical power into it.

"Block it for me!"

"boom--!"

The azure giant sword and the earthen yellow giant ruler collided violently.

A deafening roar echoed through the mountains and forests, and a violent shockwave erupted from the two people, snapping all the surrounding trees in half.

Huang Yan felt an irresistible, terrifying force emanating from the giant ruler.

"Snap!"

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding cracking sound, the flesh and blood of Huang Yan's arms shattered inch by inch under the terrifying recoil force, and his tiger's mouth was even split open. His burly, mountain-like body was violently thrown backward by the huge impact, shooting out like a kite with a broken string.

"puff--!"

While still in mid-air, Huang Yan spat out a mouthful of blood, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. His face was ashen, and his breath had already weakened considerably.

"Walk!"

Ma Sheng roared in a deep voice.

The combined attack fueled by the essence and blood had just dissipated, and the devastating backlash had not yet fully engulfed his body. Now was the only chance to escape. If he waited until the backlash fully erupted, he would have no chance to flee.

The two brothers, understanding each other perfectly, needed no further words. They plunged into the deep, dense forest, their figures swiftly disappearing into the distance.

"Trying to run away!"

The thin cultivator snorted and was about to give chase, but he was stopped by the fat cultivator as soon as he made a move.

"Don't pursue a desperate enemy. If we push those two too far, we might end up like them. Let's deal with the matter at hand first."

As he spoke, the fat cultivator looked at Huang Yanshi, who was lying to the side with a weak breath, and a greedy glint flashed in his eyes.

He vividly remembered the terrifying power of Ma Sheng and Ma Jie's combined attack. If the two were to fight back to the death, he and the thin cultivator might not be able to withstand it safely. Compared to that, the dying Huang Yan and the nearby Dragon Blood Fruit Tree were the real opportunities.

"Big brother is right!" The skinny cultivator chuckled, a hint of undisguised greed and ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Huang, people die for wealth and birds die for food, so don't blame my brother and me for being ruthless."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two cultivators, one fat and one thin, activated the gourd magic artifact together, and the cold, dark blue light gathered again at the mouth of the gourd.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from the depths of the dense forest behind them.

"You two really are the type to use people when you need them and then discard them when you don't. You have absolutely no sense of chivalry."

"who!"

Upon hearing this, the fat and thin cultivators quickly turned around, only to see a crimson sword aura about ten feet long coming towards them.

The two were immediately terrified and hurriedly activated their gourd magical artifacts. Two streams of chilling air shot out from the gourd mouths, quickly intertwining in front of them and forming two thick ice walls.

Boom!

The crimson sword energy slammed into the ice wall.

The ice wall cracked instantly, and the biting cold ice met the heat wave from the sword energy, creating a large cloud of white mist.

"Snap—!"

The first ice wall shattered first, but the sword energy continued its momentum, breaking through the second ice wall and forcing the two to retreat repeatedly, leaving them in a very sorry state.

Zhang Li certainly wouldn't let this golden opportunity slip by. A slender yet incredibly swift red streak pierced through the misty air, heading straight for the fat cultivator's face.

Before he could regain his footing, the fat cultivator was unable to mount any effective defense and could only forcibly erect a layer of magical shield in front of him.

"Bang!"

The magical shield shattered the moment it came into contact with the crimson light, but the power of the Flowing Cloud Thorn remained undiminished.

next moment,

A crimson stream of light pierced straight through his body, accompanied by a bright red blossom of blood blooming on the fat cultivator's chest. The fat cultivator's body stiffened abruptly, his pupils dimmed rapidly, and his massive body fell heavily backward, lifeless.