Chapter 64 Yield

Chapter 64 Yield

"Hm? Why is it him? Where is Lord Tie Tu?"

"Where is my family's Ancestor?"

"No, this must be a dream. He can't have dealt with all three of them by himself."

"That's right. He must have trapped them somewhere."

"The situation is grave. Everyone, we must join forces."

Quickly, the false Core Formation Cultivators and Foundation Establishment Cultivators came to a conclusion. They couldn't believe that three Core Formation Cultivators couldn't handle a single Core Formation Cultivator. In the world of cultivation, it was difficult to gauge the strength of cultivators of the same realm, as core essence density was a key factor. However, Shangguan Yi was different; his core essence was denser than normal, his techniques were extraordinary, and his cultivation technique, once successfully cast on an enemy, was extremely hard to counter.

Wisp! Wisp! Wisp!

Without wasting any breath, Shangguan Yi blinked his eyes several times, sending the flame wisps flying toward the group of Cultivators like fireflies.

Despite being protected by Xie Xie's technique, they didn't feel safe at all. The previous encounter had taught them a harsh lesson. As the flame wisps approached, they subconsciously began to retreat.

Xie Xie wore a grim expression. After finishing activating his technique, he had strengthened the defenses with array materials, raising their defensive capabilities to another level. Still, he didn't have much confidence, having seen how Tie Tu's Earth Wall had crumbled easily against these flame wisps.

"Everyone, don't hesitate to use your best techniques to stop them. We must buy time for Lord Tie Tu to return." As the only Core Formation Cultivator present, Xie Xie took the lead in encouraging everyone. As a Core Formation Cultivator, he could sense the absence of the two ancestors from the Tang and Yuan families. Despite the serpents separating them, he could still sense glimpses of the fight from outside.

With Xie Xie's encouragement, all the Cultivators nodded in unison, activating various techniques—flame balls, arrows, a sea of flames, water waves, wind waves, rains, small tornadoes, rocks, earth soils, sand rain... One by one, they flew out to confront the flame wisps.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

To their despair, all their techniques melted away before the flames like paper in fire. Clearly, the flame wisps were even more intense than the previous clashes.

"What?"

"How?"

"This..."

"This is even scarier than before!"

"How can we fight against this?!" 

Many Cultivators fell into despair and could only watch as the flame wisps approached them.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

At this moment, the flame wisps collided with the Metal Shield Formation Technique. The metal barrier turned red, but it still held, preventing the flames from passing through. The Cultivators inside felt the intense heat and feared that they might melt away at any moment.

Xie Xie, controlling the technique, wore a hard expression. Despite being able to maintain the defense for now, he sensed that the materials he used to strengthen the technique were melting away quickly.

"Everyone, this is a critical time. I urge you to use your artifacts to block the flames, even if it means destroying them. This is our only hope to defend against him," Xie Xie said urgently.

Hearing his words, the Cultivators hesitated for a moment before a Yuan Family Cultivator shouted, "Lord Xie is right. I'm willing to sacrifice my personal artifact, which has been with me for a hundred years, to defend against the flames."

A Tang Family Cultivator followed, "It's just an artifact. I'm willing."

With these two leading, everyone quickly agreed.

Shangguan Yi observed the scene briefly. Xie Xie's technique piqued his interest. He thought that if he had such a technique, he could develop it into other methods.

"Let me see who can last longer." With that, he blinked his eyes several times, and the flame wisps emerged and flew toward the group of Cultivators like fireflies.

Normally, the maximum number of flame wisps he could use in a real fight was around 100, due to the need to dodge and move. Even in his previous fight with Tie Tu and Yuan Family Ancestor, he could summon only about 90 wisps. 

However, at this moment, the non-stop blinking created more than 200 wisps, and it seemed like there was no end. One group of flame wisps after another flew toward the Metal Shield Formation. Despite the support of many artifacts, the metal barrier began to show signs of crumbling. One by one, the artifacts melted away—some in seconds, others lasting just a bit longer.

"My artifact!"

"My 100-year artifact!"

"My artifact that my father gave me! It's gone!"

The shouts of agony echoed from the Cultivators.

"How can we fight an enemy like this? It's like using eggs to clash with stones!"

"I want to give up!"

The morale of the Cultivators hit rock bottom.

Xie Xie, feeling helpless, also wanted to yield. He was unsure of how to handle a demonic Cultivator like Shangguan Yi. However, he secretly planned that once his technique was destroyed, he would have to make a crucial decision.

As expected, within less than a minute, the Cultivators no longer had sufficient artifacts, and the metal barrier shattered.

"It's over!"

Many Cultivators watched in despair as the flame wisps descended upon them.

"Argh!"

"Argh!"

"Help!"

"My hundred years of cultivation!"

"To think that I would end here!"

The area was filled with screams of despair.

As a Core Formation Cultivator and the owner of the technique, Xie Xie was the first to react. He separated from the group and managed to avoid the incoming flame wisps. However, he watched quietly from the side, not making any attempt to help.

Shangguan Yi, who was about to deal with Xie Xie, paused and cast a glance at him.

Sensing the glance, Xie Xie bowed deeply.

But Shangguan Yi didn't intend to let Xie Xie off easily. He sent a few flame wisps toward him.

Seeing this, Xie Xie gritted his teeth but didn't dodge. He stood there and let the flames hit him. As the flames ignited and started burning him, Xie Xie used his core essence to protect his body.

Not paying much attention to Xie Xie, Shangguan Yi began activating his cultivation technique to refine the false Core Formation Cultivators present. 

There were around 40 false Core Formation Cultivators, including the latest investigation team. At that moment, they were the spoils of Shangguan Yi.

In just a minute, Shangguan Yi managed to refine them all, keeping the white flame wisps. He then turned his gaze back to Xie Xie.

Shangguan Yi didn't press him further, so Xie Xie still managed to suppress the flames. However, he couldn't focus on dealing with other matters; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to defend against the flames.

Seeing this, Shangguan Yi decided not to deal with Xie Xie for the moment. Xie Xie felt relieved, knowing he had made the right choice. Without hesitation, he knelt down. The dignity of a Core Formation Cultivator, who others were willing to protect with their own lives, meant nothing to Xie Xie now. He didn't care about his pride and knelt before Shangguan Yi.

"Sir, I'm willing to yield," he said firmly.

Shangguan Yi looked at him but said nothing at first.

Xie Xie waited patiently, not interrupting.

After a long while, Shangguan Yi finally spoke, "Hand over all the techniques you have."

Hearing this, Xie Xie didn't hesitate. Despite struggling to deal with the flames, he split his attention to gather his thoughts and transferred them into three Information Pearls. This process took time, but he managed to complete it and sent the pearls to Shangguan Yi.

Shangguan Yi accepted them and examined them with his Divine Sense several times. Satisfied that there were no issues, he threw the information to his system.

The system absorbed the pearls quickly, recording all the details of the Metal Piercing Strike Technique, Metal Shield Formation Technique, and the Metal Dissolution Technique. With a single thought, all the information was integrated into Shangguan Yi's mind.

Nodding slightly, Shangguan Yi retracted his flames and signaled for Xie Xie to stand up. "Stand up. I want to ask you something."