"The two of us came to see you, so we were planning to stay at your cave abode for a few days even if you hadn't offered," Daoist Qing Ping replied with a smile.

Han Li also nodded in agreement after a brief moment of contemplation.

Xiao Ming was quite pleased to hear this, and he looked around at the city guards that had already begun to gather from all directions, then said, "Alright, then it's decided; let's go to the nearest arena first. I'll get the disciples of our sect to take care of everything else here."

Daoist Qing Ping and Mistress Wan Hua naturally had no objections to this, and Han Li followed them toward a certain part of the city after briefly communicating to Patriarch Hua Shi and Zhu Guo'er through voice transmission.

Zhu Guo'er and Patriarch Hua Shi exchanged a glance before silently departing, quickly vanishing into a nearby street.

Around an hour later, Xiao Ming and Mistress Wan Hua were facing each other from afar in mid-air within a white light barrier that was situated in a massive ring-shaped building.

Meanwhile, Han Li and Daoist Qing Ping were looking on calmly from the spectator stands outside the light barrier.

Moments later, Xiao Ming declared that he was unleashing his first attack, following which he opened his mouth to release a streak of crimson light, which instantly transformed into a massive white bone blade.

There were several silver rings embedded into the front tip of the blade, and they were clanging incessantly as they swayed in the wind.

Xiao Ming grabbed ahold of the bade before swinging it viciously through the air, hurling it directly toward his opponent.

As soon as the bone blade left his grasp, countless crimson runes appeared on its surface. It covered a distance of several thousand feet in the blink of an eye, reaching Mistress Wan Hua in a flash.

"Hmph, is that all you've got?" Mistress Wan Hua harrumphed coldly as she put on a disdainful display, but she didn't dare to allow any complacency to set in as she swept a hand upward like lightning.

An antiquated-looking black wooden hairpin was pulled out of thin air before being slashed toward the bone blade from afar.

A clear ringing sound rang out, and a burst of black flames erupted out of the pointed tip of the hairpin, then wound itself around the bone blade before radiating dazzling light.

The black flames only revolved several times around the bone blade before the latter was forced to a halt, then began to gradually melt away.

Xiao Ming wasn't surprised at all to see this, and he declared, "This is my second attack."

He then pointed a finger at the bone blade, close to half of which had already melted away, and the silver rings embedded onto its surface shuddered slightly before flying out of the black flames, having been completely unaffected.

In the next instant, the silver rings vanished on the spot, and Mistress Wan Hua's expression suddenly changed drastically as she twisted around before rising up into the air as a streak of azure light.

Spatial fluctuations erupted from the spot where she had been standing before, and several silver rings of light emerged before shrinking toward the center.

However, they naturally missed their target due to the pre-emptive measures taken by Mistress Wan Hua.

Xiao Ming remained unfazed by this as he continued to chant an incantation while pointing incessantly at the rings of light.

Countless arcs of silver lightning erupted from the smooth surfaces of the rings amid a rumbling boom, then surged directly toward Mistress Wan Hua.

Mistress Wan Hua's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this, and she swept her wooden hairpin downward several times in succession, releasing more bursts of black flames.

However, the black flames were unable to do anything aside from slow down the rings of light slightly.

Mistress Wan Hua flashing through the air over and over again, but the rings of light were also capable of instantaneous teleportation and were chasing her in hot pursuit.

After evading a few more times, an impatient look finally appeared on Mistress Wan Hua's face.

"Do you really think these rings can suppress my devilish flames? Let me show you the true power of my Bone Eroding Devilish Flames!"

As soon as her voice trailed off, she hurled her wooden hairpin through the air before expelling a ball of energy onto it out of her mouth. At the same time, a giant black lion projection that was over 100 feet tall appeared behind her amid a flash of black light.

The lion's body was covered in scorching black flames, and it was giving off an astonishing aura.

Right at this moment, the wooden hairpin suddenly transformed into a short black sword.

The sword was only around half a foot in length, but it was giving off incredible heat that was threatening to set even the nearby space alight.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the rings of light reappeared above Mistress Wan Hua before converging viciously toward her again.

The giant black lion let loose a low roar as it raised its head to expel a black fiery cloud out of its mouth, keeping the rings of light at bay. Meanwhile, Mistress Wan Hua cast an incantation seal into the short sword, and it flew into the black lion's mouth as a streak of black light.

A cold smile then appeared on her face as she rapidly flicked a string of incantation seals through the air, and the black flames around the lion's body swelled drastically as it opened its mouth to expel a burst of black light. 

The black light was none other than the short sword, but its surface was now riddled with peculiar flame-shaped spirit patterns.

The short sword pierced through the fiery cloud as a streak of light that was over 100 feet in length, then flashed right past the rings of light.

Several dull thumps rang out, and the rings of light were all slashed apart before disintegrating into specks of spiritual light.

As opposed to being alarmed to see this, a hint of elation flashed through Xiao Ming's eyes instead. "Impressive! That must be your signature treasure, the Qilin Slaying Devilish Sword. As expected, it truly is a fearsome weapon; even my Mount Tai Rings were unable to withstand it. However, I'm going to be using some of my true power in this final attack, so take care, Fellow Daoist." He then suddenly slammed a palm viciously into his own dantian.

A dull thump rang out as countless streaks of crimson Qi surged out of his body, instantly forming a dense cloud of mist that completely inundated him.

Mistress Wan Hua's heart jolted slightly upon seeing this, and a serious look appeared on her face as she injected even more power into her black lion projection, further bolstering its aura and increasing its size by around a third.

A sharp screech suddenly rang out from within the crimson mist, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, as if some type of giant creature were about to emerge.

The mist then completely parted to reveal a mountainous toad.

The toad was over 1,000 feet tall with a glossy crimson body, and there were several head-sized bulges on its back. 

There were also nine shimmering golden demonic eyes on its head that were flashing with an unsettling light.

"That's a Nine-eyed Blood Toad! I didn't think you would truly refine the true blood of this true spirit being," Mistress Wan Hua exclaimed as her expression darkened significantly.

Daoist Qing Ping's expression also changed slightly upon hearing this.

In contrast, Han Li's eyes abruptly lit up, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

He had naturally heard of the Nine-eyed Blood Toad, and some of its true blood was even occasionally sold in some large auctions. However, in contrast with the blood of other true spirit beings, which would always attract fierce bidding from high-grade beings, this blood was rarely sought after, and there were even instances where it had gone unsold.

This was because the blood of the Nine-eyed Blood Toad was extremely poisonous, and even the majority of Grand Ascension Stage beings wouldn't be able to handle the backlash from the poison within the blood during the refinement process. As for beings of lower cultivation bases, they would instantly perish upon even the slightest contact with this true blood.

Thus, with so many other types of true spirit blood to choose from, there were naturally very few Grand Ascension Stage beings interested in the blood of this creature.

As such, it was very remarkable that this Xiao Ming had dared to take this risk and had actually succeeded in refining this true blood.

"This is the first time I've ever used this form in battle, so you'll be the first person to experience its power, Fellow Daoist Wan Hua." Xiao Ming's cold voice rang out, following which the giant toad suddenly opened its mouth before something shot out at an incredible speed.

Mistress Wan Hua immediately gave a muffled groan as shuddered violently before stumbling back a few steps, seemingly having just been struck by some type of powerful object.

Around 10 feet in front of her, there was a head-sized ball of golden flesh viciously striking a vibrant green wooden shield.

Behind this ball of flesh was a crimson pillar of flesh that was around as thick as a human wrist with countless bulging veins on its surface.

This was the NIne-eyed Blood Toad's tongue, and it had struck Mistress Wan Hua before she had even managed to catch sight of it.

If it weren't for the fact that she had summoned the wooden shield as a prophylactic measure, she would've most likely been unable to withstand that attack.

Even as things currently were, she had clearly been forced onto the back foot.

Mistress Wan Hua let loose an enraged cry as the giant black lion behind her opened its mouth to release a streak of black light that hurtled directly toward the toad's tongue.

However, right at this moment, the thick toad's tongue abruptly vanished on the spot.

At the same time, the Nine-eyed Blood Toad that was situated several thousand feet away suddenly sprang up using its hind limbs, then also disappeared into thin air.

Mistress Wan Hua was a seasoned combatant at this point in her cultivation journey, and she immediately knew that she was in trouble.

Her expression changed drastically as she twisted around to flee, but it was already too late.

A loud rumbling boom suddenly rang out up above, and the Nine-eyed Blood Toad suddenly reappeared above her.

As soon as it emerged, it reached out with a massive palm, conjuring up a crimson halo with a diameter of around 100 feet that came crashing down viciously from above.

Even before the halo had completely descended, the space around Mistress Wan Hua tightened, and she felt her own body become extremely heavy, following which countless rumbling booms rang out.

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