A fierce battle had only just begun after a few exchanges.
Yin Wuque continuously retreated while pointing his finger from a distance at Hei Loulan.
Immortal Path killer move — Moon Fang Stab!
Clang.
In the next instant, a crisp sound rang out like a blade being drawn from its sheath. A translucent, pale-blue crescent moon blade suddenly erupted from the ground and slashed toward Hei Loulan.
Hei Loulan had been prepared all along and leaped into the air almost simultaneously, dodging the attack.
Yin Wuque's pupils contracted slightly. This strike was extremely swift — most ordinary Gu Immortals would struggle to evade it. Yet Hei Loulan had successfully dodged, which showed she possessed an extraordinarily keen detection-type killer move.
"This move of mine has only failed twice — against Tian Xiaxin and Zhouye Zi. The former is a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal with the ability of deduction, while the latter specializes in Time Path and possesses detection methods capable of glimpsing a few breaths into the future."
"Who would have thought that today I would fail once again against this mysterious female immortal. Although she cultivates the Strength Path, she absolutely cannot be underestimated!"
Several thoughts flashed through Yin Wuque's mind in rapid succession, and at the same time, his body continued to retreat.
Boom!
Hei Loulan surged forward with sudden force, her figure tearing through the air like a meteor. In just a few breaths, she had closed the distance to Yin Wuque!
Yin Wuque gritted his teeth and raised both hands overhead, unleashing a killer move — Moon Rise.
A sliver of moonlight surged from the crown of his head, then floated upward. Before it could reach any great height, Hei Loulan's fist had already arrived.
Bam!
A thunderous impact. Yin Wuque was sent flying like a rubber ball, hurled away by the sheer force of Hei Loulan's blow.
His slender body soared a considerable distance before crashing into the ground, where the enormous momentum dragged him another dozen or so steps, carving a trench in the earth along the way.
The moment he lifted his head, Hei Loulan's figure filled his vision once more — along with her fist!
Yin Wuque's heart lurched.
That previous punch, even with his defensive measures in place, had left him with no light injuries.
He had no intention of taking a second one.
"You fell for it!" Yin Wuque suddenly grinned and thrust five fingers toward Hei Loulan.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
In an instant, five translucent, pale-blue Moon Blades materialized out of thin air, converging from every direction toward the center — aiming straight for Hei Loulan.
A cold gleam flickered in Hei Loulan's eyes. She neither dodged nor retreated, simply continuing her fist's charge straight ahead.
Yin Wuque's smile froze instantly as he watched the fist grow larger and larger, until it finally smashed into his eye socket.
Boom!
Yin Wuque had been lying on the ground with his head tilted slightly upward. After taking this punch, his skull slammed backward into the deep crater beneath him with terrifying force.
The earth shuddered. Dirt and stone flew in every direction.
Watching from the sidelines, the Wooden Statue Lord Wu Guang and the Immortal of Sincerity Chen Cheng both felt their eyelids twitch. Just seeing the way Yin Wuque was being beaten made them feel the pain themselves.
That single blow had driven Yin Wuque straight underground, several zhang below the surface.
Dust billowed, but Hei Loulan did not press the attack. Instead, she swiftly retreated!
Clang, clang, clang…
A relentless, unending cascade of Moon Blades erupted like something possessed, continuously spawning and slashing toward Hei Loulan.
Hei Loulan wore an expression of calm as she dodged each one. Her movements were simple yet supremely agile — the vast majority of Moon Blades were evaded, and the few that made it through were shattered by the force of her two fists.
Yin Wuque's desperate, all-out assault had finally won him a moment to breathe.
He flew up out of the deep pit and hovered in the air.
He was now covered in dust and grime. One eye socket was cracked, the eyelid swollen and mottled with deep purple bruises. His vision through that single eye was extremely blurry, and even the faintest flicker of light sent a lingering tremor of fear through him.
"Those two punches almost put me down for good. That was terrifyingly close! Fortunately, the Moon Rise succeeded." Yin Wuque exhaled a turbid breath.
The lunar energy that had previously surged from the crown of his head had now taken shape, forming a waning crescent moon hanging high in the sky under the broad daylight.
The Moon Blade assault continued without cease. Hei Loulan dodged while simultaneously splitting her attention to study the crescent moon suspended in midair.
"Earlier, the Moon Blades could only erupt from the ground. But now they spawn out of thin air — is it because of that crescent moon?" Hei Loulan's thoughts raced.
Her ideas collided in her mind like sparks from flint: "But this level of enhancement alone isn't worth the enormous price Yin Wuque paid. He was willing to take two of my punches head-on just to get that crescent moon activated first."
Hei Loulan's mind was as cold and clear as ice.
She had pressed the attack earlier, and now she defended — her offense and retreat were perfectly ordered, moving freely between the two.
Yin Wuque continued to channel the crescent moon killer move.
More and more crescent blades manifested, the onslaught relentless and unending, yet Hei Loulan defended with perfect composure. At the same time, she used her fist force to bombard the distant crescent moon high above.
The crescent moon swayed under the barrage of fist energy, flickering like a mirage.
"The crescent moon is growing?" A sharp gleam flashed through Hei Loulan's eyes as she keenly noticed the new development.
"So that's how it is." Understanding dawned upon her.
She planted her foot and exploded forward, charging headlong through the slashing Moon Blades toward Yin Wuque.
Yin Wuque's heart skipped a beat: "This female immortal's combat awareness is far too powerful — she's seen through my entire fighting system!"
Yin Wuque had encountered a fortuitous opportunity in his youth, inheriting the legacy of an ancient and powerful Moon Path Gu Immortal. Because of this, he possessed a complete and stable fighting system.
The crescent moon hanging high in the sky enhanced all of Yin Wuque's Moon Path killer moves. At the same time, whenever his Moon Path killer moves were countered or broken, the shattered Moon Path Dao Marks would be absorbed by the crescent moon, gradually filling it out.
The crescent moon would slowly evolve into a half moon, and then into a full moon.
Once it reached the full moon state, Yin Wuque's offense, defense, and all other aspects would be boosted to their absolute peak.