Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

Inside the cave, Han Li had just finished collecting the pills and was about to take them to focus on his cultivation when a violent surge of spiritual energy suddenly came from outside the cave.

"Hmm?" He frowned, and his divine sense instantly spread out.

"What bad luck! Why did they have to choose to fight outside my cave!"

As the divine sense swept across the area, two figures locked in fierce combat clearly emerged.

He was about to withdraw his divine sense when he suddenly stopped, and one of the figures seemed somewhat familiar.

The man waved his hand and set up several trapping formations, locking his opponent tightly inside the golden sphere of light. He then commanded the flying beasts to transform into streaks of light and disappear into the distance.

Upon seeing the figure clearly, Han Li's pupils contracted slightly. "Ma Liang? What's he doing on Kui Xing Island?"

Han Li probed with his divine sense again, wanting to see the battle situation more clearly.

At this moment, the person trapped in the golden sphere of light unleashed a powerful burst of spiritual energy. With a deafening roar, he forcefully smashed a gap in the several trapping formations and burst out as a streak of black light.

As soon as he was freed, his divine sense spread out and instantly locked onto the direction Ma Liang had fled.

"Kid, you think you can get away?"

Wu Chou transformed into a streak of light and sped off in the direction Ma Liang had fled.

Han Li sensed that the two auras had completely disappeared into the sky before he moved and leaped out of the cave.

He gazed in the direction where Ma Liang and Wu Chou had fled, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not give chase.

"Ma Liang... how did he end up in the Chaotic Star Sea?"

The distance between Tiannan and the Chaotic Star Sea is unknown, and it would be extremely difficult for ordinary cultivators to cross it, unless he also knew about the existence of the ancient teleportation array.

He shook his head, dismissing the conjecture.

Although he had some interaction with Ma Liang, he knew very little about his background and purpose.

Now that the other party has suddenly appeared in the Chaotic Star Sea and made enemies with Core Formation cultivators, what secrets are hidden behind this?

Han Li pondered for a long time, "Forget it. My cultivation has not fully recovered yet, so it is not advisable for me to get involved in such disputes. Ma Liang is a mysterious and unpredictable person, so it is best to keep a respectful distance from him."

He returned to his cave and set up layers of restrictions again.

However, the doubt in my heart lingered for a long time.

……

Ma Liang, riding his level-four flying beast, had pushed its speed to the limit.

Although this demonic beast was known for its speed, it could never maintain a significant distance from the black monstrous beast behind it.

"You ugly wretch! Don't push your luck! If you really anger me, I'll have my master personally kill you on your Yin Island!"

Wu Chou immediately let out a strange, cackling laugh. "Boy, stop putting on airs! If your spirit beast had truly been a level-five demon beast, I might have believed you a little."

"But this is clearly a trick of illusion, a mere illusion created by unorthodox methods. How could it possibly fool my eyes?"

"If you know what's good for you, obediently reveal all your secrets, and I might even take pity on you and turn you into a living puppet to be at my beck and call!"

Ma Liang's expression suddenly changed drastically, and his anger flared up instantly. "Since you refuse to let me go, then I'll fight you to the death!"

As he finished speaking, he took out a long sword from his storage bag, its entire body shrouded in a chilling aura of Geng metal.

It was that ancient treasure, the Gengjin Spirit-Breaking Sword!

Ma Liang gripped the hilt of the Gengjin Poling Sword tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, while his heart was in turmoil.

He was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. To activate such a powerful ancient treasure would consume a great deal of spiritual energy. If he was not careful, he would damage his foundation and even endanger his life.

But now, at this critical juncture of life and death, he could not afford to hesitate for even a moment.

Ma Liang gritted his teeth, forcing out a drop of blood essence. A flash of light appeared at his fingertips, and the blood essence transformed into a thin crimson line that disappeared into the sword.

Immediately afterwards, he held nothing back, drawing up all the spiritual power in his dantian and continuously pouring it into the sword.

hum-

A clear and melodious sword cry resounded through the sky. The Gengjin Poling Sword suddenly burst forth with ten thousand feet of golden light. The golden light was so intense and dazzling that it was almost impossible for people to open their eyes. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped Ma Liang and the flying beasts beneath him in this golden light curtain.

Upon seeing the dazzling golden light ahead, Wu Chou felt a surge of emotion originating from the depths of his soul.

"Such powerful sword energy!"

His heart skipped a beat, and a wave of regret washed over him. "Kid! Stop! I'm not fighting anymore!"

"Haha! You're not going to fight anymore? Too late! Die!"

Ma Liang threw his head back and laughed wildly, his laughter filled with a ruthless, desperate spirit.

At this moment, he had unleashed the power of the Gengjin Poling Sword. His eyes were bloodshot, and with a wave of his hand, the flying sword, wrapped in dazzling golden light, tore through the air like a streak of light and shot towards Wu Chou behind him.

"not good!"

Wu Chou's pupils shrank suddenly as he felt a chilling killing intent rushing towards him. In a hurry, he used his magic weapon to block it in front of him.

"clang--!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing rang out, and the magical artifact shattered into dust!

However, even with this brief moment of blocking, Ma Liang's late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation level was insufficient to fully control the sword, causing its trajectory to deviate.

A flash of cold light, and with a "whoosh," blood spurted out, and Wu Chou's two legs were severed at the knees!

"ah--!"

Wu Chou let out a heart-wrenching scream. The backlash from the shattering of his natal magic weapon shook his soul violently. In addition, both of his legs were broken at the knees, and blood gushed out. The intense pain almost made him faint.

He clung to his last shred of clarity, and with a sweep of his divine sense, he saw the Gengjin Spirit-Breaking Sword return, carrying a chilling golden light, drawing an arc in the air, and shooting towards his back.

At this critical moment of life and death, Wu Chou dared not hesitate for a moment. He took out a completely black talisman from his pocket, poured spiritual power into it from his fingertips, and flung it in front of him!

"Buzz!"

The talisman exploded into a wisp of black smoke, and a dark crack appeared in the void in front of him.

Despite the excruciating pain, Wu Chou used his spiritual power to curl up his severed leg and scrambled toward the crevice in a disheveled state.

Almost the instant his first foot stepped into the crevice, the Gengjin Poling Sword arrived.

The next moment, a short, shrill scream came from the depths of the crevice, and then the blood-stained Gengjin Spirit-Breaking Sword pierced through the void and shot out again, hovering in front of Ma Liang.

The spatial rift rapidly contracted, and just before it completely closed, a malevolent and venomous voice echoed from the void:

"Boy... this feud... is now officially settled!"

Ma Liang, barely managing to stay upright, used the Gengjin Poling Sword to survey the surrounding area. Once he confirmed that there was no trace of Wu Chou, his tense mind suddenly relaxed.

"puff--"

A mouthful of bright red blood spurted from his mouth, splattering onto the wings of the flying beasts.

He could no longer care about anything else; with a flash of light at his fingertips, he put the Gengjin Poling Sword into his storage bag.

Then, using the last ounce of his spiritual power, he transmitted a command to the flying beast beneath him: "Fly at full speed to a distance!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Ma Liang's vision went black, and he could no longer hold on, collapsing onto the back of the bird.

……

Ma Liang was awakened by a deafening clang of metal.

He opened his eyes groggily, feeling a sharp, cracking pain in his meridians and his spiritual energy in his dantian nearly depleted. He was lying on a rock, the sea breeze carrying a salty, fishy smell.

"boom--!"

Another loud bang rang out, jolting Ma Liang awake completely.

He struggled to sit up and looked in the direction of the sound, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Jingzhe and the level four flying beast were fighting together against a strange cultivator dressed in black. The cultivator's spiritual power fluctuations were at the level of the early stage of Core Formation, and Jingzhe and the beast were in grave danger.

Ma Liang's heart sank, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the cultivator's face and figure were completely unfamiliar to him.

"Damn it!"

Ignoring the surging blood and qi within him, Ma Liang forced out his trembling hand and patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

Four beams of light suddenly appeared, and three level-three demonic beasts emerged in response, followed closely by a lithe level-four demonic beast.

"Go! Kill him!"