Li Yuanba used the short-distance sprint secret technique "Fiery Sun Jade Body Technique," and his speed was noticeably faster than the nearby Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator.
The main reason was that the strength of this Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator was lacking; although he was at the realm of the Late-stage Golden Core, his combat power was far below that of Qi Jin, whom he knew.
The Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator kept retreating, throwing out talismans one after another, which formed various defensive and offensive spells in front of him.
Li Yuanba disregarded these spells, whether they were offensive or defensive, he broke through them with a casual stroke of his sword.
Unless it was an attack at the Great Elder Level, nothing could breach his Body Refinement defense, and his Body Refinement attack, combined with the Supreme Yang Sword Intent, still predominantly embraced the Sword Cultivator’s style in combat.
When he engaged in close combat, he used a rather unique close-combat Sword Cultivation style.
He was still using the "Sword Demon Secret Manual," a Sword Cultivation close combat technique, and its power was immensely formidable when combined with his Body Refinement strength in real combat.
Flames and frost exploded before him, and he moved through the bursts of spells.
His "Divine Vision" allowed him to clearly see the horror and despair in the eyes of the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator, who had never expected that his strongest secret, accumulated over many years and totaling ten Late-stage Golden Core Magic Talismans, would be utterly ineffective.
Even the impact on Li Yuanba’s speed was minimal, which was beyond his comprehension and left him unable to understand.
Breaking through spells was not easy; the power of a Late-stage Golden Core spell was immense, and using talismans to cast them required even a Great Elder to be cautious in response.
What the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator did not know was that, under the observation of Li Yuanba’s "Divine Vision," every talisman’s energy node was detected by him the instant it activated.
Although "Divine Vision" was reputed to be the least useful in combat compared to other Divine Skills, it still had some utility during fights.
The energy nodes of an activating talisman, while typically beyond the influence of any cultivator, even those possessing a divine skill like "Divine Vision," were different for Li Yuanba.
However, Li Yuanba was a Sword Cultivator; his Third Grade Sword Base accurately destroyed the energy nodes of each talisman at the moment of activation. His Supreme Yang Sword Intent penetrated into the spell’s energy nodes and disrupted the internal energy balance of the spells.
That is the nature of Sword Cultivators—to break all spells with a single sword strike. Even though Li Yuanba was using a close-combat style, he remained a Sword Cultivator.
In the eyes of the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator, Li Yuanba seemed like an ancient demon, and the explosions caused by the ten talismans appeared to enhance Li Yuanba’s attack with spectacular effects.
Under the despairing gaze of the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator, Li Yuanba closed the distance, and his Third Grade Sword Base, with unmatched force, sliced through the defensive artifact and broke through his defensive Spiritual Power.
With a scream, the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator lost his life.
Only then did Jiang Pu and the others catch up, but their help was not needed in the fight anymore.
On the battlefield, there was only one other Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator left, constantly on the defensive against attacks, negating the need for their intervention.
Li Yuanba sheathed his Third Grade Sword Base, focusing his mind entirely on controlling the Xingyi Sword.
The speed of the Xingyi Sword suddenly increased, causing the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator to fail in his parry, and under full control of the "Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique," all aspects of the Xingyi Sword’s power were significantly enhanced.
The Xingyi Sword bizarrely cut through the body of the Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator, and his Supreme Yang Sword Intent continually dissipated his defensive Spiritual Power.
Truthfully, the Xingyi Sword combined with the "Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique" and Supreme Yang Sword Intent was not as powerful as Li Yuanba’s Body Refinement prowess under the current circumstances.
But combat power isn’t considered that way; Li Yuanba’s Body Refinement power was built with Fourth Grade Body Refining resources and by using the Nascent Soul Ancestor’s cultivation resources on himself at the Golden Core Early Stage Peak.
The "Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique" was his foundation; merely relying on that single flying sword, he could suppress a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator at the Golden Core Early Stage Peak, which truly illustrated the terrifying aspect of a Sword Cultivator.
The Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator did not last long; it was merely a Five Breath Time before his defense was breached, and the Xingyi Sword ended his life.
"It’s the Spiritual Crane Sect, Endless Sect cultivators; why are they so crazed?" Jiang Pu stepped forward to examine the body and said to Li Yuanba in a grave voice.
Jiang Pu pointed to the marks on the corpse’s robe, which represented the two sects.
Li Yuanba thought for a moment; these were two mid-sized sects, neither of which he nor his true self, Li Shiming, had any contact with.
On the Beishu Continent, six major sects and various large forces are considered a tier on their own while the rest of the mid and small sects and forces are another tier, just slightly above Loose Cultivators, but far from significant enough for the major forces to take notice of.
Because mid and small sects lacked Nascent Soul Ancestors, no matter how much they struggled, a single Nascent Soul Ancestor could easily annihilate them.
Additionally, due to a disadvantage in resource distribution, it was very hard for any top-tier cultivators to emerge from these mid and small sects.
Just like the seven Golden Core cultivators Li Yuanba faced; if they were Golden Core cultivators from the middle and late stages from the six major sects, the fight would not have been so easy.
Whether it’s in terms of resources or Cultivation Techniques and Secret Techniques, the Spiritual Crane Sect and Endless Sect were a level below the six major sects, and this was also reflected in the combat power of their sect cultivators.