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

No sooner had the two left than a figure in gray robes emerged from the mist and landed at the site of the fierce battle. The newcomer was a pale-faced, effeminate middle-aged cultivator. His gaze swept over the five still-warm corpses on the ground, and a strong killing intent surged in his eyes.

"Anyone who dares to kill me is asking for death."

Before the words were even finished, the gray-robed figure had already transformed into a blur, following the residual magical energy fluctuations in the air as he chased into the depths of the miasma, his speed far surpassing that of Zhang Li and the other two.

As the miasma surged and rolled, Zhang Li, having pushed his movement technique to its limit, was also rapidly drawing upon the pure spiritual energy from the mid-grade spirit stones to replenish his depleted mana.

After two fierce battles, neither of them suffered any serious injuries, but their magical power was greatly depleted. In particular, Zhang Li had used two sword techniques in succession, and now his magical power in his dantian was only about 40% of what it was at its peak.

Lu Ran followed closely behind, her aura also fluctuating. Although her consumption was not as great as Zhang Li's, she should only have about half of her mana left.

The two fled at full speed, the wind whistling past their ears, but the aura of magical power behind them continued to press closer, and the distance between them was rapidly closing.

Lu Ran said in a deep voice, "We were already planning to wait for them to tire themselves out, but their cultivation and condition are both excellent. We simply can't shake them off like this!"

Zhang Li naturally understood the reasoning behind it.

The opponent was at the peak of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment, and was in a completely victorious state. In contrast, the two of them were weak and could not withstand a prolonged stalemate.

If they try to escape separately, they will be outnumbered and outmatched. Only by fighting with all their might can they have a better chance of survival.

Thinking of this, Zhang Li's eyes hardened, his footsteps suddenly stopped, and he turned to face the thick fog behind him.

"Since we can't escape, we won't. We'll focus on restoring our magical power."

Upon hearing this, a resolute glint flashed in Lu Ran's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, she stopped right after Zhang Li, took out a pill to restore her mana, and quickly recovered the mana she had consumed.

A moment later, the gray-robed cultivator burst out of the gray mist, his figure landing ten feet away from the two.

The gray-robed cultivator's narrow eyes were fixed on the two people in front of him. A sinister smirk appeared on his lips, and his aura was released without restraint, forcing the surging miasma around him back several feet.

"Run! Why did you stop running?"

Before he could finish speaking, the gray-robed cultivator suddenly flicked his sleeve, and several dark blue beams of light shot out, aiming straight for the two men's vital points.

"Go all out and finish this quickly."

Zhang Li activated the Heart-to-Heart Pendant to transmit his voice.

As he spoke, he swung the Burning Cloud Sword in his hand, and two crimson sword energies met the Youmang that was attacking him.

Clang!

The sword energy and the ghostly light collided violently, exploding with a piercing explosion, and both the ghostly blue light and the crimson sword energy were annihilated.

Lu Ran moved swiftly, skillfully dodging the remaining streaks of ghostly light. With a flash of spiritual light in her hand, several talismans flew out and exploded in mid-air, with flames sweeping towards the gray-robed cultivator.

The gray-robed cultivator remained expressionless, gave a cold snort, and with a flash of spiritual light at his waist, a black banner fell into his hand. With a gentle wave, he summoned waves of black giants that rushed towards the raging flames.

The surging flames were instantly extinguished by the giant black wave upon encountering it, and continued to rush towards the two.

Zhang Li formed hand seals, and cyan flames rose in front of him, transforming into scorching waves of fire that swept towards him from all directions.

The black giant wave was instantly incinerated by the cyan flames, which then continued to sweep towards the gray-robed cultivator without diminishing their intensity.

Lu Ran, standing beside him, also seized the opportunity, her hands bursting with spiritual light, and two purple lightning bolts exploded, striking down head-on.

The gray-robed cultivator's expression finally became more serious. His banners shook rapidly, and a large amount of black water surged out in front of him again, weaving into a thick water curtain that blocked his way.

Sizzle—The azure flames crashed into the water curtain, violently evaporating and creating a sky full of white mist. Purple lightning followed closely behind, striking the water curtain and causing it to tremble continuously, with ripples spreading across its surface.

However, the black water was extremely resilient; the water curtain merely dented and deformed, but never completely collapsed.

"He's got some skills."

The gray-robed cultivator gave a low, cold shout, continuously pouring his magic power into the banner. Suddenly, several thin water arrows split off from the water curtain, piercing through the swirling miasma and shooting back towards Zhang Li and Lu Ran!

Dozens of jet-black water arrows tore through the miasma, moving so fast that they were just afterimages, and struck the vital points of the two men.

Zhang Li flicked his wrist, swung the Burning Cloud Sword horizontally, layers of blazing flames swirling around the blade as it swept across the opponent's face.

The muffled clanging sounds continued as the water arrows that rushed towards him collided with the flames and were instantly scorched into steam. However, two or three of them still managed to bypass the fire net and attack him from behind.

Lu Ran took a step forward, his figure darting sideways to dodge the water arrows in front of him. At the same time, he raised his hand and threw out several spirit talismans. Amidst the roar of flames, the water arrows that were shot towards the two of them behind them were shattered on the spot.

Taking advantage of the brief stalemate, the gray-robed cultivator's eyes flashed with killing intent. He pressed the banner down hard, and a large amount of black water swirled and gathered in mid-air, transforming into a giant black water python more than ten feet long. Its fangs were exposed, and it roared as it pounced on the two of them.

"Join forces to defeat it!" Zhang Li transmitted his voice through the Heart-to-Heart Pendant. The flames on the Burning Cloud Sword surged, and with a wave of his hand, a crescent-shaped sword aura more than ten feet wide shot out and slashed straight at the head of the Black Water Python.

Lu Ran understood immediately and didn't hesitate. With a turn of her golden magic sword, more than a dozen golden sword energies instantly appeared beside her. With a flick of the sword tip, all the golden sword energies shot out and slammed into the python's body.

The crimson crescent sword energy and more than a dozen golden sword beams crashed into the body of the black water python almost simultaneously. The black liquid poured down like a torrential rain, sizzling and smoking in the swamp, corroding large areas of charred pits. However, it did not completely dissipate. Instead, it used the explosive recoil to sweep its tail across, carrying the remaining dark blue magic power, and lashed out at Zhang Li's waist and abdomen.

Zhang Li quickly activated the Ink Cloud Pendant at his waist. A flash of dark light transformed into a thin protective shield around his body.

"Bang!"

The protective shield formed by the ink cloud pendant vibrated violently. Although it did not break, the residual force of the impact still penetrated into his body through the shield. Zhang Li's body swayed slightly, and his blood and qi churned slightly, but fortunately he was not injured.

Upon seeing this, Lu Ran immediately rushed to the rescue. With a flick of his wrist, a small yellow bell flew out from his sleeve, its light swirling around it. It grew to about ten feet in size as the wind blew, and the bell's mouth was aimed at the gray-robed cultivator.

Om-!

The deep, resonant sound of the bell spread out, and the invisible sound waves struck the gray-robed cultivator directly, penetrating the outer black water barrier and attacking his soul. The gray-robed cultivator felt dizzy and his mind was in turmoil. The magic power that was activating the banner immediately fluctuated significantly, and the black water that had gathered in front of him began to show signs of dissipation.

"A great opportunity!"

Zhang Li suppressed his surging blood and qi, and poured his magic power into the Burning Cloud Sword without reservation.

The next moment, the Burning Cloud Sword shot out, transforming into a thin stream of light that hurtled towards the black-robed cultivator.

Just when the two were certain that this attack would defeat the gray-robed cultivator, a white bone pendant he wore close to his body was activated in response, erecting a pale white barrier in front of the gray-robed cultivator.