The three Golden Core rogue cultivators fighting on the battlefield naturally noticed the anomaly. Even while fighting, they did not forget to shout orders for everyone to attack with full force.
These ruffians agreed loudly, and their actions indeed created a great commotion, but it was still all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
At this moment, the zombies controlled by the old sect leader had all been slain by Xiao Fei.
Since these ruffians no longer sought to fight him to the death, he could focus entirely on dealing with the old sect leader.
The old sect leader had been entangled with his hundred thousand Iron Fire Ants for a long time. No matter which direction he flew, a team of Iron Fire Ants was always waiting for him.
These Iron Fire Ants fought with utter disregard for their own lives, swarming onto him and biting ferociously, forming several layers around his body.
Every time he unleashed a powerful divine ability, it only managed to blast them away temporarily before they quickly regrouped.
However, he was, after all, a powerful Golden Core cultivator. He was stronger than any single ant, and he could easily kill an Iron Fire Ant.
In a short time, thousands of Iron Fire Ants had met their demise at his hands.
Yet, these Iron Fire Ants showed no sign of submission under his might.
Every time the old sect leader summoned his magical treasures, they would immediately be covered by Iron Fire Ants, which then fearlessly gnawed at his treasures.
He felt that by being entangled with this swarm of Iron Fire Ants, he could not effectively utilize his own formidable strength.
Just then, the Golden Core zombie beside Xiao Fei also lunged towards the old sect leader.
Upon seeing this, the old sect leader instead showed great joy, finally encountering a normal opponent.
On the other side, Zhu Yu had consecutively summoned several treasures to stabilize the situation. Seeing Xiao Fei display such might, he felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction.
He was now desperately eager to prove to the world that he, Zhu Yu, was not someone who relied solely on his looks.
With that, Zhu Yu gritted his teeth, formed a hand seal with his orchid-like fingers, and a beam of light shot out from his body.
As this sword appeared, Zhu Yu's complexion instantly turned pale, and his body swayed precariously. However, he still gritted his teeth, not daring to slacken his resolve.
After the white beam of light emerged from his body, it immediately transformed into a streak of white light and flew forward.
"Whoosh!"
The white light vanished in an instant, leaving only a fleeting white streak in the air before disappearing without a trace.
"You startled this old man! I thought you had some formidable technique, hahaha…"
True Man Xie Gu had been genuinely frightened when the white light shot towards him. Now that he was unharmed, he was relieved.
Just as True Man Xie Gu was congratulating himself and throwing his head back in laughter, his head, unbalanced, rolled off his neck and onto the ground, tumbling several times like a ball.
Only after the head rolled off did blood begin to spurt from his neck.
This was Zhu Yu's most powerful strike, achieved by gathering all his spiritual power and a significant amount of vital blood.
After unleashing this attack, he would remain in a weakened state for a considerable time.
However, he was content. After this battle, no one should think he relied on his looks anymore.
Having successfully slain True Man Xie Gu, Zhu Yu reached out, collected Xie Gu's corpse into his storage bag, and retreated behind True Man Guang Ling.
The spoils of war could be counted later; finding a safe place to recover his spiritual power was more important.
Xie Gu's death had a significant impact on everyone on the battlefield, instilling a sense of crisis in the remaining two Golden Core rogue cultivators.
Their seemingly assured victory in a sneak attack had turned out this way.
Especially the group of ruffians organized by the White Bone Sect, their fighting spirit had now completely vanished.
With Xie Gu dead, their only hope for the antidote now rested with Xiao Fei.
The Golden Core cultivator from the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Golden Core cultivator from the Joyful Union Sect exchanged a few words via telepathy and a glance.
Both simultaneously unleashed their strongest techniques towards the artifact refiner from the Dan Xin Sect.
One wielded a pitch-black bone claw, while the Joyful Union Sect's Golden Core cultivator's treasure was rather peculiar – a flower-patterned bedsheet.
The artifact refiner from the Dan Xin Sect, caught off guard, was covered by the bedsheet. Simultaneously, a pitch-black bone claw was poised to strike him, intending to rip a phantom figure from his body.
The artifact refiner from the Dan Xin Sect's soul was seized, and he perished, his path to cultivation ended.
From beginning to end, many participants never even knew his name, and he departed silently.
Just as the two rogue cultivators jointly killed the artifact refiner, Xiao Fei also unleashed his full power against the old sect leader.
Under his command, the Golden Core zombie's corpse qi surged, and a skull rose from its body, floating before him.
This was precisely the technique of that Golden Core rogue cultivator from years ago. After Xiao Fei refined him into a zombie, he had studied him for a long time before discovering this hidden function.
The skull floated in the air and unleashed a stream of demonic flames towards the sect leader ahead.
Wherever the demonic flames reached, everything within a hundred zhang was incinerated into ashes, including the Iron Fire Ants that had been tightly entangling the old sect leader. They too turned to ash.
As the flames dissipated, only the sect leader's body remained standing in place, his chest rising and falling slightly.
Seeing this, Xiao Fei quickly ordered the Golden Core zombie to unleash another torrent of demonic flames, followed by a third.
After expending three torrents of demonic flames, the Golden Core within the zombie became dim and lusterless.
At this point, the old sect leader's charred body remained motionless. It was unclear whether he was truly dead.
Just then, cracks began to appear on the old sect leader's desiccated body. The cracks gradually widened, and finally, the scorched outer skin fell away, revealing a form within.
However, this form was entirely different from a normal human. It stood only three feet tall, with a single horn on its head, and nine crimson eyes on its head that restlessly surveyed the crowd.
As Xiao Fei remained bewildered, trying to understand what this creature was.
Suddenly, a spiritual energy cage appeared in the air, trapping this strange creature.
"Demon?"
Simultaneously with the appearance of the cage, the two Nascent Soul ancestors from the Dan Xin Sect appeared, standing before Xiao Fei.
Ancestor Peng grabbed the spiritual energy cage, intending to collect it.
At the same time, a Nascent Soul rogue cultivator who had been secretly observing from the shadows also appeared on the battlefield.
"This matter is of great importance. I advise you two to hand this demon over to me, lest you invite disaster upon yourselves."
"Hmph, if I hand it over to you, you'll likely silence me."
The demon within the spiritual energy cage began to grow agitated, leaping and thrashing within the cage, emitting shrill cries.
Black demonic qi emanated from its body, rapidly corroding the spiritual energy cage.
Ancestor Peng, holding the demon with one hand, struck out with the other, sending a rope flying to bind the demon securely.
"Demons are the great enemy of the entire cultivation world. Do you, in the Ying Shan Kingdom, intend to harbor them?"
Ancestor Peng questioned.
Demons had a notorious reputation in the cultivation world, having caused several instances of widespread devastation, even more ruthless than rogue cultivators.
Therefore, regardless of whether they were righteous or evil, everyone in the cultivation world sought to eliminate them.
"You are slandering me! Hand the demon over to me!"
As the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Ying Shan Kingdom spoke, several more streaks of light appeared in the distance; these were other Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ying Shan Kingdom rushing towards them.
"Fine! Take it!"
Ancestor Peng, with no other choice, tossed the cage containing the demon to the other side.
The several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ying Shan Kingdom received this nine-eyed demon and immediately fled.
The crowd on the mountaintop, who had been engaged in fierce combat, now looked at each other, unsure of what had happened, and even less sure if they should continue fighting.
"Retreat!"
Ultimately, the remaining rogue cultivators lacked the courage to attack in the presence of Nascent Soul cultivators and eventually withdrew with their forces.
Only the rogue cultivators gathered by the White Bone Sect cast lingering glances at Xiao Fei as they departed, appearing reluctant to leave.
The battle, which had originally threatened the annihilation of a sect, ended in a confused manner due to Xiao Fei burning off the old sect leader's outer shell. Most of the participating cultivators remained in a state of bewilderment.