Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin suddenly felt that there might be a possibility that Blood Snake was trying to lure Song Mingqin and Ye Bufan away, intending to return for something important.
This situation was also quite possible. Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin thought, why not just stay in the bar and catch them in a trap? If their guess was correct, it would be a stroke of luck.
So, the two hid in the dark corners of the bar and waited for a while.
As expected, after about five to six minutes, a person suddenly appeared in the bar. His cultivation level was the same as Song Mingqin's, at the half-step Core Formation realm.
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin exchanged glances, knowing they had hooked a big fish this time.
This person quickly entered the manager's office. He formed seals with his hands and finally struck the manager's desk with his palm. The desk instantly shattered, and a blood-red jade ruyi floated in mid-air.
"Such potent腥煞之气!" Ye Bufan exclaimed in surprise as he felt the腥煞之气 emanating from the blood ruyi.
At the same time, Ye Bufan also realized that this腥煞之气 should have some connection to the腥气 on Blood Snake.
"This blood ruyi, it wouldn't be for Blood Snake, would it?" Song Mingqin transmitted his voice, "Ye Bufan, you are Senior Lin Xiaoyao's disciple, with broad knowledge. Take a look, what exactly is that thing for?"
"It looks like it's for Blood Snake to cultivate," Ye Bufan replied. "Being able to lure us away and have a half-step Core Formation cultivator come to retrieve it shows its importance. Blood Snake should be confident of escaping from us, and even if it sustains some injuries, it can use this jade ruyi to heal."
"Makes sense. It seems this thing has some use for Blood Snake, so we definitely can't let him take it away." Song Mingqin said, forming a sword finger and shooting a beam of sword energy at the man.
The moment Song Mingqin attacked, the man felt a threat. He leaped up, somersaulted in mid-air, and casually tucked the blood ruyi into his chest, warily watching Song Mingqin.
"Why are you here?" The opponent was somewhat shocked to see Song Mingqin. Ye Bufan also emerged from the shadows, and the man felt immense pressure.
"You're about to say, shouldn't we be chasing Blood Snake?" Song Mingqin chuckled and said, "In our Kyushu land, there's an old saying: never pursue a cornered enemy. Moreover, your deliberate act of luring us away was clearly a ruse to draw the tiger from its mountain. So, we decided to return to the bar and catch you in a trap."
"It seems we underestimated the cultivators of your Kyushu land," the opponent sneered coldly. "The battle at the Sinkhole, we thought we could deplete a portion of your Foundation Establishment combat power. We didn't expect you to successfully deal with the Eight-Headed Serpent. The losses were not that significant. A pity."
"What is your name?" Song Mingqin looked at the opponent. "In my memory, among the cultivators of Sakura Island, I don't recall hearing your name."
"I am Ryūgen Jun'ichiro," the opponent's eyes narrowed into slits. "I recognize both of you. One is Song Mingqin, the Grand Elder of the Scarlet Sword Sect, and the other is Ye Bufan, a rising star of your Kyushu land. Our meticulously planned Sinkhole operation, it seems, was foiled by you two."
"Did your Sinkhole operation really fail?" Ye Bufan also smiled. "The Eight-Headed Serpent is hermaphroditic and can reproduce itself. Isn't Blood Snake also part of your plan?"
Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's expression changed. He looked at Ye Bufan, his tone instantly turning sinister.
"Young man, you know too much. This is not good for you," Ryūgen Jun'ichiro said.
"Hey, you need to get your situation straight. We are two against one now. Do you think you can escape from our hands?" Song Mingqin said.
Unexpectedly, Ryūgen Jun'ichiro merely glanced at Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin.
"You and I are both at the half-step Core Formation cultivation level. Ye Bufan is merely at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. You cannot kill me, nor can you keep me. If I want to leave, you cannot stop me," Ryūgen Jun'ichiro said confidently.
"Talking big without fear of sticking your tongue out," Song Mingqin warned. "In our Kyushu land, we have a saying: pride precedes a fall. You're a bit like that now."
"Words are useless. If you have the ability, come and kill me." Ryūgen Jun'ichiro said.
"Heh, this is the first time I've seen such an unreasonable request, actually asking us to kill him." Song Mingqin and Ryūgen Jun'ichiro moved at almost the same time.
Seeing this, Ye Bufan blocked Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's escape route.
"Bang—"
Song Mingqin and Ryūgen Jun'ichiro collided. They separated instantly, and Ryūgen Jun'ichiro flew towards Ye Bufan.
"Kid, with your late stage Foundation Establishment strength, you can't stop me." Ryūgen Jun'ichiro produced a long saber and swung it at Ye Bufan.
"We'll find out by trying."
Ye Bufan took a deep breath, releasing his sword domain. Endless sword qi transformed into a long sword and slashed down at Ryūgen Jun'ichiro.
"Bang—"
Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's saber strike collided with Ye Bufan's sword domain sword qi. He instantly fell to the floor and rolled several times to the side.
"The power of a domain!" Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's eyes were filled with disbelief. "You are only at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, why do you have a domain? No, that's not right, there are not just two of you, is there a third person?"
Ryūgen Jun'ichiro looked around warily, but soon, he thought of something else – a domain is possessed only by those above the Nascent Soul stage!
"This kid has a treasure on him!" Ryūgen Jun'ichiro looked at Ye Bufan, but Ye Bufan had already vanished from his original spot.
"Did your master not tell you not to get distracted when fighting others?" Ye Bufan appeared above Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's head, pointing his sword finger at Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's head.
Ryūgen Jun'ichiro raised his long saber and gathered his strength to block upwards – Silver Feather Tyrant Saber!
"Two Sleeves of Green Snakes!"
At this moment, Ye Bufan's sword was his sword finger. On the sword finger, two streams of sword qi intertwined, transforming into two green snakes, which were inching closer to devouring Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's saber energy.
"Bang—"
The floor beneath Ryūgen Jun'ichiro's feet shattered, even sinking half a meter downwards.
After a brief exchange, Ryūgen Jun'ichiro gripped his long saber tightly. A strange sound emanated from the saber, and it suddenly split into two. A hidden weapon flew out from his sleeve.
"Break!" A sword qi appeared out of thin air in front of Ye Bufan, changing the direction of the hidden weapon. It sliced through Ye Bufan's clothes and embedded itself into the nearby wall...