I became the Open Source Saint Ancestor in the Cultivation World

After Shi Ce was restrained by the Fire Cloud Cone, Ma Ke made several hand seals, and the Crimson Flame Fan that had fallen behind him flew up to the sky above Shi Ce's head.

With the blessing of a spiritual light, the Crimson Flame Fan trembled and swung downwards, unleashing a torrent of fiery rain.

Shi Ce no longer had the strength to summon the Silver Mirror to deal with the situation, so he could only continue to pour spiritual power into the giant shield.

At this point, he realized that he had been tricked by the other party.

The opponent's true energy was not depleted at all; it was all an act, designed to lure him into constantly exhausting his own strength.

Once you've exhausted most of your inner energy, you'll naturally be unable to escape.

Having figured this out, Shi Ce suddenly burst into wild laughter: "Hahaha..."

He laughed at himself for being able to be fooled by such a trick after living for over 150 years.

He laughed at himself for being too arrogant, confident that he was the number one person in the entire secret realm, with no one able to match his strength or the power of his true energy. That's why he never doubted the opponent's not-so-sophisticated move, which led to his current predicament.

Now Ma Ke stopped pretending and quickly waved his hands in the air, outlining another fire net at an even faster speed.

Because his spells were all passed down from the insights of a mid-Nascent Soul sect leader, they were just easy to use, so there was no need for so many complicated incantations.

The reason I didn't reveal it in previous battles was because I didn't want to expose this important trump card of mine, and I was also worried that letting the opponent escape would cause unexpected trouble.

After all, he had observed the battles of those who had reached the peak of Qi Refining, including those from the Ziyang Sect, the Qimen Valley, and this obviously more powerful Giant Sword Sect. Their hand seals were all about the same speed, but they were all much more complicated than Sect Master Lu's.

This shows that simplifying spellcasting techniques is an extremely difficult task, and only those with a much higher level of understanding can do it relatively easily, because their comprehension of the rules of heaven and earth has reached several levels.

If someone at the Qi Refining stage manages to do this, people won't believe how talented you are. They'll probably suspect that a Foundation Establishment cultivator, or even a Golden Core cultivator, managed to sneak in through some means.

If several Nascent Soul cultivators join forces to thoroughly investigate, that would be troublesome.

Now that the enemy was destined to be unable to escape, Ma Ke was thinking of ending this arduous battle as soon as possible.

The fire net rushed down and instantly covered Shi Ce, who had no way to avoid it.

In this way, even if the other party still has the strength, they won't be able to break free and escape all at once.

"Tell me, how old are you this year?" Shi Ce asked calmly.

Ma Ke hesitated for a moment, then stopped panting and said in a deep voice, "Twenty-five years old."

"No way, you're lying to me!" Shi Ce suddenly became hysterical and roared.

How could someone who has lived for over 150 years and has perfected Qi cultivation for over 100 years accept losing to a young man who is only 25 years old?

Moreover, they lost completely, losing in both combat strength and the power of their inner energy.

Believe it or not, Ma Ke had no intention of saying more to him. Several beams of spiritual light struck the Fire Cloud Cone in succession, causing the Fire Cloud Cone to shine brightly and spin faster and faster.

In contrast, the giant shield became increasingly dim, as Shi Ce could no longer squeeze out spiritual energy to maintain it.

With a thud, the giant shield was smashed open, and the fiery cloud cone pierced through like a sharp arrow, instantly tearing a huge bloody hole in Shi Ce's chest.

The fire net above also descended in a sweeping motion.

Shi Ce seemed oblivious to the immense pain he was enduring, struggling to suppress his screams. With his last ounce of strength, he asked, "Have you... encountered... an opponent of the same level who is... more... powerful than me?"

Ma Ke shook his head and replied sincerely, "You are very strong, far surpassing any opponent I've encountered before. If it weren't for some luck, I probably would have retreated on my own, just like last time."

This is the truth, because four fellow disciples of the Ziyang Sect died one after another to replenish their true energy, thus giving them enough confidence to keep fighting until now.

Hearing Ma Ke say this, Shi Ce seemed somewhat relieved. At least he wasn't so incompetent; rather, he had encountered a formidable opponent, one that was rare in a century.

With a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Ma Ke reached out and grabbed the storage bag at his waist, then collected all the fallen magical artifacts and spoils of war from the Qimen Valley group, and burned all the corpses to ashes.

Having done all this, Ma Ke didn't linger at all and quickly left the place to hide in a secluded spot.

It can be said that he was quite lucky to win and kill his opponent this time.

Of course, this is also closely related to Ma Ke's acting skills and strategy.

With his true energy replenished, Ma Ke was confident that defeating his opponent would not be difficult, but killing him would probably not be so easy.

Because the opponent is very strong in both combat and defense, I can't kill him in a short time.

If the other party discovers the crisis too early, they can simply evacuate.

Given the opponent's strength, if he keeps trying to escape, it will be difficult for me to stop him, just as it is difficult for him to stop me if I want to escape.

Therefore, the only way is to deplete the opponent's true energy as quickly as possible.

But the other party isn't stupid; they can't wait until their true energy is almost depleted before escaping.

Thus, the time to test his acting skills arrived. Ma Ke successfully deceived his opponent by using anger and other tactics such as attacking as a form of retreat.

Of course, Ma Ke also knew that this was definitely related to the opponent's overconfidence. This could be seen from the fact that the opponent asked such a question even when he was about to die. He probably hadn't thought that he would lose to an opponent of the same level before.

If I were to tell him that I am only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, I wonder if he would find it even harder to die in peace.

In conclusion, we achieved final victory in this arduous battle.

Ma Ke also secretly reminded himself that he should never be overconfident and that he should know when to retreat.

After all, the path to immortality is long, and we must not let the pursuit of longevity turn into a shortened life.

Outside the secret realm, Xiong Kai, the Golden Core Pavilion Master who led the Giant Sword Pavilion, hurriedly approached Xiong Bi and solemnly reported, "Father, Shi Ce is dead."

"What? Shi Ce is dead?" Xiong Bi was somewhat incredulous, because he knew Shi Ce's strength all too well. Who could kill him in the secret realm? Even if they surrounded him, no one could stop Shi Ce from escaping if he wanted to.

Xiong Kai quickly explained, "News just came from inside the pavilion that Shi Ce's life lamp has gone out."

"Shi Ce died in less than ten days. It must be the work of the Ziyang Sect." Xiong Bi's face was very gloomy because Shi Ce was highly regarded and was the biggest reliance for the Giant Sword Pavilion to defend its title.

But unexpectedly, he died so soon.

Given Shi Ce's strength and intellect, the only one capable of doing this is probably the Ziyang Sect, which has recently become unusually mysterious.

Despite this conviction, Xiong Bi was willing to accept defeat, especially since the opposing sect leader had come in person. No matter how unwilling he was, he dared not go over to question him.