Chapter 40: The Dance of Death

The man was the first to act.

With a swift movement, he drew several vine talismans and activated them in the blink of an eye. At that very moment, the trees around him trembled, as if awakening from a deep slumber. The rustling of leaves filled the air, and then they appeared—thick, living vines that writhed like famished snakes, surging toward her to ensnare her.

Tang Chun Xi immediately reinforced her blazing aura. As soon as the vines touched her body, they were consumed by the intense heat and turned to ash in an instant. But that wasn't enough. The creepers kept emerging. As soon as one burned, another took its place, advancing relentlessly to restrict her movements.

She swung the Lunar Umbrella, slicing through several vines with one strike, yet more took their place. Her feet sank slightly into the ground, which was carpeted with roots and dry leaves, reducing her speed by at least 30%. The two enemies did not come any closer—they knew as well as she did the danger posed by those vines and preferred to keep their distance, waiting for her own attack to wear her down.

"They want to trap me here and slowly drain my energy," she thought coldly, her eyes gleaming with determination. If this was a battle of strategy, she wasn't going to fall behind.

With a rapid motion, she retrieved three fire talismans from her storage and flung them around. As soon as they hit the ground, they exploded in scarlet flames, creating a wave of intense heat. The surrounding vines burned in a curtain of fire, breaking the encirclement for a brief moment—just enough for her to move freely again.

But her relief was short-lived.

Taking advantage of the opening she created, the man hurled five water-jet talismans directly at her.

Tang Chun Xi frowned.

'Is that really what you're plotting?'

Immediately, she opened the Lunar Umbrella in front of her, coating its surface with a layer of earth aura. The water jets struck the umbrella forcefully but did not penetrate its defense. Small splashes flew aside, yet she remained unscathed. The attack itself wasn't lethal—she knew these talismans were mainly used for everyday tasks like bathing or minor emergencies. But the intent behind the attack was clear.

—"Sly,"— she murmured. If those jets hit her directly, her blazing aura would be severely weakened, leaving her vulnerable to subsequent strikes.

Tang Chun Xi exhaled a cold sigh. They were trying to wear her down, step by step, blow by blow.

Just as she began to leave the area of the vines, an overwhelming sense of danger struck her. Her gaze swept the space ahead—and there she was:

the woman, preparing a treacherous strike.

Her eyes burned with an insane fervor. The sword in her hand began to glow with uncontrollable intensity, trembling slightly. Tang Chun Xi had no doubt that the woman was channeling all of her aura into that strike. But what really caught her attention was something else.

As the cultivator prepared, her hands trembled ever so slightly. She had ingested some dubious, likely low-quality pills that replenished her aura chaotically. Tang Chun Xi noticed that the sword in the woman's hand seemed unsteady—and for a moment, she swore she saw cracks forming along the blade.

—"She's overexerting her own weapon," Tang Chun Xi thought.

But even so, she couldn't underestimate her. The threat behind that strike was real.

Tang Chun Xi readied herself to block the attack. However—

—the man attacked simultaneously.

This time, he spared nothing.

Five metallic-cutting talismans were activated at once, and in the next instant, dozens of circular blades of golden energy materialized in the air, surging in her direction. Unlike the previous ones, these blades were enveloped in a dense aura and emitted an intense glow—clear indicators of their superior quality.

The man's face contorted in a cruel, determined expression, and his complexion turned slightly pale—it was evident that the cost of activating so many talismans at once was high. He clearly didn't care about the cost. All he wanted now was to see her dead.

"Damn."

Tang Chun Xi felt the overwhelming pressure of both attacks closing in. She couldn't dodge them both; she had to make a decision.

"If I defend against the man's attack, I don't know how much the Lunar Umbrella can take... five high-quality talismans are equivalent to the force of five strikes from a 9th-level Body Tempering cultivator. But if I ignore the woman's attack…" Her instincts warned her that the woman's sword was on the verge of collapse, yet the strike was still incredibly lethal.

Her mind processed all possible solutions in the blink of an eye.

"High-quality talismans—you're not the only one who has them," she thought—after all, that was what she had inherited from her father.

Then, she acted.

Swift as lightning, she extracted several high-quality iron armor talismans from her storage and affixed them to both her body and the handle of the Lunar Umbrella. In the same instant, a metallic gray light enveloped her, creating an extra layer of defense.

Now that her resilience was reinforced, she made her choice. Tang Chun Xi completely disregarded the woman's strike and focused on the man's attack.

The male cultivator's gaze narrowed in surprise. He hadn't expected her to choose that path.

"Why does that bastard have so many talismans?! He must have stolen them from some talisman master!"

Tang Chun Xi smiled coldly as she observed the confusion and frustration on his face.

"Let's see how long you can withstand this."

The circular blades sliced through the air at high speed, surrounding her from every direction. But Tang Chun Xi spun the Lunar Umbrella in front of her while unleashing her [Phoenix Wings] to their fullest. With her metal-talisman-reinforced defense, she absorbed the impact of some attacks she couldn't dodge, while deftly evading others. Some attacks inevitably struck her body—with most of their power diminished by the talisman defense, though a portion still landed, causing injuries.

The blows were intense, each energy blade striking her defense with crushing force. The impacts reverberated through her arms, and with every shock her feet sank slightly into the ground, yet she remained steadfast. The earth around her was torn apart by the force of the strikes.

When the final attack hit her defense, Tang Chun Xi panted slightly.

But before she could catch her breath—

—the woman's attack finally arrived.

Tang Chun Xi moved at the last moment. The curved blade, enveloped in a chaotic aura, sliced through the space where she had just been. The sound that followed was a deafening crash. The woman's sword slammed into the ground with tremendous force, and at that very moment—it shattered completely.

The female cultivator's eyes widened.

— "What?!"

The excessive aura channeled into the blade had been too much for it to bear. The sword trembled violently, then exploded into pieces. The woman's face drained of all color.

Tang Chun Xi wasted no time, though now she panted from the exertion of her defense. Before the woman could recover, Tang Chun Xi charged like a bolt of lightning, her flaming blade whistling through the air. The cultivator barely had time to raise her arms before an intense pain shot through her left shoulder. A sharp scream echoed through the forest.

The man's eyes widened as he saw his partner staggering back, blood streaming from her shoulder wound. Tang Chun Xi turned to him, her eyes ablaze with fierce determination despite the fatigue etched on her face. A smile slowly spread across her lips.

— "Now it's your turn."