Yuan Ming urged his thoughts, using the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique within him to channel mana into Lei Yu, increasing its tunneling speed.

Mao Yi and the others could come out of Emperor Yan's Tomb at any moment. Unless he had lost his mind, he wouldn't engage Jiang Liu here.

However, before Lei Yu could continue to flap its wings and speed forward, a black lightning bolt suddenly appeared overhead, instantly exploding with a thunderclap.

Yuan Ming's heart skipped, and without any hesitation, he lifted his palm and struck upward.

In the next instant, a thick black lightning bolt descended from the sky, colliding with the Green Light Palm Seal cast by Yuan Ming.

Amidst the rumbling explosion, the Green Light Palm Seal disintegrated instantly.

The black lightning dissipated halfway, but the remaining electrical light continued to relentlessly strike at Yuan Ming and Lei Yu.

At the moment Yuan Ming raised his palm to block, Lei Yu had already activated the Thunder Escape Divine Ability once more, its form transforming into an electric light, taking Yuan Ming several kilometers away.

However, as soon as they reappeared, another bolt of lightning struck down.

Yuan Ming hurriedly responded in haste, and Lei Yu escaped again.

Yet, the subsequent escapes all ended the same way; the black lightning clung to them like a maggot on the bone, persistently locking on, making escape impossible.

Upon reappearing once more, Yuan Ming already held the Exterminating Immortal Sword tightly and swung it forward without looking.

The sharp Sword Qi split a bolt of lightning, the Sword Qi suddenly exploded, shattering the black lightning into pieces.

Yuan Ming stood on Lei Yu's back, gazing into the distance.

In the void directly ahead, a figure hung in the air—it was Jiang Liu. He spoke calmly, "The promised duel has yet to begin; Fellow Daoist Yuan cannot leave."

"Sorry, Master, his escape technique is more advanced than mine..." Lei Yu said apologetically.

"He is a Demon Cultivator of Peak Returning Void; his escape technique not only contains thunder attribute divine skills but also carries a hint of space divine power's True Intent. It's not surprising you can't outrun him. You should return to the Spiritual Beast Bag; you won't be able to help in the upcoming battle."

After speaking, Yuan Ming waved a hand, and Lei Yu was collected into the Spiritual Beast Bag. He then raised his sword towards Jiang Liu.

"That's more like it; allow me to show my humble skills." Upon seeing this, Jiang Liu smiled.

But before he finished his sentence, his entire body was already wrapped in an electric light, and with a "swish," he disappeared from his original spot.

In the next moment, a figure suddenly appeared before Yuan Ming, with fingers like a blade sweeping across towards Yuan Ming's neck.

On his hand blade, arcs of electricity leapt, converging into a black Light Sword, slashing towards him.

This hand blade strike had no flourish, its sole feature was speed—many times faster than Lei Yu's Thunder Strike.

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted sharply; he didn't have time to defend and could only instinctively lean back.

Immediately, his Protective Treasure Light was torn apart by the black Light Sword, a searing pain flared at his neck, followed by a numbing sensation that surged through his body, disrupting the operation of his mana within.

Yuan Ming let out a low shout, and the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill began to operate by itself. The powerful Blood Qi instantly activated, halting the black lightning's erosion, allowing him to regain control of his body in an instant.

He thrust the Exterminating Immortal Sword forward, dozens of Sword Qis shot out in eager succession, like a river of swords rolling towards Jiang Liu, but they struck nothing but air.

Jiang Liu's figure had already retreated smoothly at the instant of the sword's strike.

Yuan Ming, holding the sword in one hand, touched his throat with the other, finding a distinct charred, burn mark there, causing his furrowed brows to crease even further.

A hundred meters away, Jiang Liu watched intently, a smile on his lips as he said, "For a body cultivator, Fellow Daoist Yuan's speed is decent, but unfortunately, for me, it's still too slow, eh."

Yuan Ming paid no attention to his words, quietly releasing Divine Soul Power, and focused entirely on Jiang Liu.

The latter's eyes focused, and his body was suddenly entwined with lightning, his form abruptly disappearing.

Without any hesitation, Yuan Ming simultaneously released twelve soul crows, intending to form a Crow Formation and unleash a Crow Cry. However, several black electric lights lit up among the soul crows, scattering them apart before the formation could complete.

Yuan Ming felt his Divine Soul suffer a heavy blow, a sharp pain stabbing through his mind.

With immense willpower, he endured it and immediately urged the soul crows to launch the Crow Cry. Even if he couldn't form a formation, he aimed to suppress Jiang Liu with soul power.

Yet, by the time the black sound waves of the Crow Cry rose, the figure that had made the sudden attack had already retreated far beyond the Crow Cry's range.

"Heh, the methods of a Soul Cultivator are useless against me. Whatever tricks you have, feel free to use them!" Jiang Liu laughed.

Yuan Ming retracted the soul crows, his face extremely grave, quickly contemplating countermeasures.

This Jiang Liu's Thunder Escape Divine Ability was truly too fast, far surpassing Lei Yu. In terms of speed, he was the fastest person Yuan Ming had ever encountered; now he couldn't escape, nor could he land a hit, and even his proudest soul attacks couldn't touch the opponent—he was somewhat on the defensive.

The longer he delayed here, the greater the chances others would catch up, making escape even more impossible.

"Is this all you've got? In that case, it's my turn." Jiang Liu said with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of golden light appeared in his palm, revealing a golden gourd small hammer. The hammerhead was only slightly larger than an ordinary person's fist, and the hammer handle was as thick as a thumb, but the length of a forearm.

Yuan Ming sensed the astonishing spiritual power fluctuations on the small hammer and immediately raised his hand to wave.

A white and a red light flashed, and the Shura Blood Devouring Map and the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner unfolded behind him. Countless skulls surged out from the Shura Blood Devouring Map, filling the area for dozens of miles around, leaving no space to stand. This text was acquired from *.

These skeletons had been collected by Yuan Ming over the years with the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, gathered from the seabed, and stored within the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

Yuan Ming pinched a spell and activated the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, causing the spirit light on the banner to flicker as all the skeletons charged toward Jiang Liu.

"Trying to capture me with sheer numbers? Ridiculous!" Jiang Liu chuckled, a black electric light spiraling up from his body.

Jiang Liu's figure disappeared in an instant and reappeared just a few yards in front of Yuan Ming.

Black thunderbolts shot out from his body, tearing apart the skeletons within dozens of yards and clearing out a large space.

The golden gourd small hammer in Jiang Liu's hand shot forward, aimed to smash down on Yuan Ming's head.

Yet, as the hammer fell, there were already over a dozen skeletons standing in front of Yuan Ming, with more skeletons rushing in from other directions.

He wasn't matching Jiang Liu's speed; instead, he summoned nearby skeletons to protect himself at the moment Jiang Liu launched his attack, using a saturation defense to counter Jiang Liu's sudden assault.

With a "boom," there was a loud explosion.

The golden gourd small hammer burst out with dazzling golden light, pulverizing over a dozen blood slaves beneath itself to powder. The descending speed of the golden hammer did not diminish in the slightest, and the numerous nearby skeletons were rendered useless, failing to exert any effect.

A flash of yellow light glimmered above Yuan Ming's head, and Houtu Peak emerged, casting down tens of thousands of yellow lights, forming a yellow spherical light screen that enveloped him protectively.

The golden gourd small hammer struck Houtu Peak, producing a clanging sound.

Houtu Peak was slightly indented, and the yellow light screen trembled violently but did not break.

Jiang Liu showed a look of surprise, then pinched a spell, and the shape of the golden gourd small hammer changed, becoming sharp.

At this moment, the countless skeletons around suddenly exploded, turning into a sky full of bone powder, like gray-white dense smoke, covering the area for dozens of miles.

Jiang Liu was also engulfed by the bone powder smoke, his body suddenly felt heavy, as if trapped in a bog, with his every move greatly restricted, causing him great astonishment.

Not far away, Yuan Ming pressed one hand on the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, injecting waves of mana into it.

The bone powder around Jiang Liu surged, rapidly rotating around his body, forming a giant gray-white vortex.

Now that Yuan Ming's cultivation had reached the mid-stage of Returning Void, he could finally fully wield the power of the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, this spiritual treasure.

He performed a spell, and a blood-red light pillar shot out from the Shura Blood Devouring Map, joining the vortex.

Both spiritual treasures displayed their might simultaneously, disrupting the nature's spiritual energy over a hundred miles.

The restrictions on Jiang Liu became even greater; his expression turned serious, his body shimmering with Lei Guang, attempting to perform Thunder Escape to get away.

However, the gray-white vortex intensely disturbed the nature's spiritual energy, and any escape technique required utilizing nearby spiritual energy to be executed. Twice he tried to escape but failed, forced to fly outward using ordinary tunneling light instead.

Yuan Ming had gone through great lengths to lure Jiang Liu into his trap; he would not let him escape. He immediately activated the Soul Destroying Sword's curse, annihilation, and frenzy runes.

Jiang Liu's vision went black, his Six Senses were completely severed, and the flow of blood, mana, and soul power within him became chaotic. His internal organs churned violently, making him feel nauseated and wanting to vomit.

Yuan Ming gave Jiang Liu no chance to retaliate, raising his hand to pat the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, activating the Bone Control Divine Ability.

The bones within Jiang Liu's body suddenly trembled uncontrollably, shaking as if separating and trying to escape his flesh, making his entire body's mana quiver along with them.

Yuan Ming did not give him the slightest chance to resist. A flash of green light appeared in his hand, revealing the Exterminating Immortal Sword. The sword shot forth waves of violent Sword Qi, wielding the power of the Sword Trace Abyss within the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space.

A flash of ruthlessness glinted in his eyes, and he softly uttered the word "Go."

The Exterminating Immortal Sword thundered, releasing a violent Sword Qi that spanned across the heavens, as if piercing a hole in the sky, aiming straight at Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu's expression finally changed, performing a spell with one hand to invoke something.

A black shadow shot out from his body, wrapping around him like a cloak.

The violent Sword Qi shot through, engulfing everything, and Jiang Liu's figure vanished, seemingly torn apart by the Sword Qi and reduced to nothingness.

However, Yuan Ming's face showed no sign of joy; instead, he looked up into the distance in midair.

A black shadow emerged in the void dozens of miles away, from which Jiang Liu stepped out, his clothing unscathed, clearly having completely avoided the Exterminating Immortal Sword Qi's attack.

Jiang Liu gazed at Yuan Ming, and the mocking intent in his eyes was completely gone.

Only at this moment did he realize that the guy below was no simple opponent; with endless methods at his disposal, if he wasn't careful, he would be the one to suffer greatly.