Emei Sect was still unaware of the existence of the Nanming Leaving Fire Sword and the four treasures hidden by Ai Zhenzi. Otherwise, they would've just taken it to compete in a swordfight with the Wutai Sect. With the Nanming Leaving Fire Sword, Qi Shuming wouldn't have had to endure the hardships of refining the Golden Fierce Fire Sword in the East Sea. He could've just passed it on to his disciples when the time came for them to use it.

They always waited for the right opportunity to arise. Only then would they calculate the future of their disciples and discover that they would obtain these treasures in certain places. If they had known beforehand, they would've still needed a certain catalyst.

Shi Feiyang silently took the treasures and when he came out, Deng Bagu was already fighting with Wei Tu. She wasn't good with words to begin with, barely holding her own in a forced conversation with Wei Tu.

Wei Tu was deluded by his wild thoughts, believing that he could trick Deng Bagu into the Immortal Mansion. He thought that with time spent together day in and day out, and as the saying goes, 'a persistent suitor will win the maid,' he—being quite the catch himself—having survived desperate situations to find his immortal fate, possessing such a sizeable family fortune, and having cultivated to such a high Dao Level, not to mention refining several of his proud Magical Treasures. Given enough time, she would naturally come to see his good qualities. In the future, they could pursue Dual Cultivation as Dao companions, soaring together, and make a name for themselves among the group of immortals—a tale of immortals to be talked about.

Since he harbored these thoughts, his words revealed a greasy undertone. The more Deng Bagu spoke with him, the more uncomfortable she felt, eventually becoming nauseous. Unable to bear it any longer, she finally unsheathed her Flying Sword and said, "Either I end you, or you leave immediately!"

Wei Tu saw her Flying Sword and still harbored a sliver of hope, "Since ancient times, the golden mean has been valued. As the saying goes, 'take the middle path of the three main roads,' is there not..."

"No!" Deng Bagu was absolutely fed up, pointed her hand, and released the Flying Sword.

Wei Tu used his Flying Sword for defense, originally intending to only parry without attacking, to let the beauty feel his kindness. Little did he know, Deng Bagu's swordsmanship had once matched the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor. Her sword light was fierce and powerful, impossible for him to withstand. In just a moment, his Flying Sword began to dim.

In desperation, he released his self-refined Black Spirit Divine Fire, throwing it out and instantly turning into a thick smoke and dark clouds that encircled Deng Bagu in the middle. His tone changed, "Although you are beautiful, your pride is excessive. I spoke amicably earlier out of respect for you, but since you do not recognize the good will, do not blame me for being unreasonable. Now that you are surrounded by my Divine Flames, a single thought from me could reduce you to ashes. The only way is to surrender obediently and follow me back to the mountain for Dual Cultivation; only then will you have a chance to live..."

Deng Bagu was furious to the point of gnashing her teeth and sneered, "Your minor Dao Level dares to show off in front of me!"

Wei Tu's Black Spirit Yin Fire was refined from the Earth Evil Qi from the earth's core, and the previous master of Shaqing Immortal Mansion also belonged to a heterodox sect with Demon Path teachings. This Demon Cloud, upon encountering those unaware of its nature, summoned their Flying Sword Magical Treasures to either attempt to break through it or defend against it. But with just a slight touch, it would explode into thousands of dark crimson fire and blood light streams, sticky and thick, capable of burning a person's soul. Once wrapped around someone, it would refine them until nothing was left—a technique of exceptional ruthlessness.

But Deng Bagu came from a heterodox background with Demon Path heritage herself, possessing the true Demon Cult Great Technique from the Western Demon Cult. She recognized the nature of the Black Spirit Fire at a glance and released a sky full of Black Flames. Her Black Flame was also a kind of Demon Fire, combined with some Daoist methods. Previously, using it against Shi Feiyang, he had collected it from afar and returned it to her, commenting on the strengths and weaknesses of the treasure. He instructed her on how to carefully use it against certain types of opponents in the future and what hidden dangers to watch for during sacrificial refinement. Deng Bagu was deeply impressed.

This time, as she released the Black Flames into the dark clouds, Wei Tu initially couldn't help but laugh, thinking that no matter what she did, the mere touch of the dark clouds would cause an explosion, and even if he stopped the technique in time, she would still sustain severe injuries. Then, he would take her back to the Immortal Mansion and make her submit more easily.

However, what happened next nearly made him pop his eyes out. The specks of Black Flame fell silently into the dark clouds, merging into them like drops of flame on solid butter. The clouds began to burn holes that kept expanding, and within a few breaths, they were riddled with holes.

Wei Tu watched in anger as his dark clouds, which had been his fuel for the Black Flames, were quickly being absorbed and taken away by her. His bald head pulsed with veins as he roared, making a talisman with his hands and waving his sleeves. He gathered the remaining tatters of dark clouds to form a thick black wall of clouds in front of them, then surged it forward like a tidal wave.

Deng Bagu couldn't help but let out a sneer. With a wave of her hands, the Black Flames encountered the dark clouds, and after she bolstered them with a stream of True Qi, they burst into violent flames.

The thick dark clouds enveloped by the black fire, Wei Tu also bit his tongue and spat out a stream of Essence Blood, intending to turn the clouds into Red Flames and Blood Light. He cast the spell several times, but the clouds didn't respond, igniting into a massive black volcano. As the fire burned intensely, its size shrank.

"Damn wench, you've gone too far!" Wei Tu couldn't prevent his years of hard work in refining the Black Spirit Yin Fire from being forcefully taken from him, nearly grinding his teeth to dust. He unleashed his Flying Sword to slash at Deng Bagu while secretly sending out Yin Thunder, hidden within the sword light.

This Yin Thunder could be released and retracted at will; in a blink, it turned the area within ten miles into a mountain of Thunder Fire, with countless thunderbolts exploding simultaneously, vanishing and reemerging endlessly!

Deng Bagu had not managed to completely retrieve the Black Spirit Yin Fire when she found herself trapped amidst endless Thunder Fire. Fortunately, with her profound Daoist prowess and expertise in the lesser-known spells, she quickly activated her Flying Sword for protection and also launched the Earth Penetrating Divine Needle, shooting a straight beam of blue light forward that cleaved through the most ferocious surge of thunder tides coming straight at her, narrowly avoiding a calamity.

Surrounded by the sea of thunder, with earsplitting thunderclaps exploding from all directions, Deng Bagu broke into a cold sweat. She knew that ordinary methods could not counteract such Yin Thunder, and only the Innate Wood and Earth True Qi from the hands of the Island Master duo of the Shang Family from Earth Wood Island in the North Sea could break it.

She had just joined her master's tutelage, and this was the first task entrusted to her. If she couldn't even handle this properly, she would indeed feel guilty for not living up to her master's kindness in bestowing beads and teachings on her. In a moment of determination, she took advantage of the Earth Penetrating Divine Needle to pave the way, combining her body and sword to swiftly traverse through the storm of thunder and flames.

Yin Thunder was the treasure of Wen Tu's mountain stronghold that he was most proud of. He thought that releasing it would surely defeat Deng Bagu with a single strike, capturing her once she was wounded. To his disbelief, not only was Deng Bagu unharmed, but she was also able to move freely within it.

Earlier, Wen Tu, not wanting to blast the beauty into ashes, had restrained the power he put forth. Now he breathed out True Qi continuously, using his own effort to increase the might of the Yin Thunder. The explosions within the sea of thunder became more frequent and intense, contracting inward in an attempt to trap Deng Bagu. But the Earth Penetrating Divine Needle had its unique uses no matter how concentrated and violently the Yin Thunder exploded. Whenever struck by the blue light, it immediately dispersed, creating a huge hole about ten feet in diameter.

The standoff dragged on for some time, and Deng Bagu had started harboring murderous intentions, attempting to locate Wen Tu and slay him with a single sword strike. Wen Tu, on the other hand, had also abandoned his desires, determined to blast Deng Bagu into ashes. Both parties escalated their efforts relentlessly.

At that moment, the thunderstorm and fire sea covering an area of five to six miles inexplicably seemed to be lifted by some unseen force and flew upward uncontrollably, out of Wen Tu's grasp.

Wen Tu was startled and quickly realized that the adversary was aiming to send those thunder fires up to the Nine Heavens Cloud, using the Gang Wind to grind them away.

His Thunder Fire, forged from Earth Evil, feared the Heavenly Gang the most. Once it met the Gang Wind, his bit of mana couldn't withstand the Heavenly might and would dissipate in an instant.

Wen Tu hastened to enact a spell to make the thunder clouds fall back down, but inexplicably, they did not respond to his mana and continued to rise.

Frustrated to the point of his forehead turning red, he bit his tongue and sprayed Essence Energy. In the end, he almost bit off half his tongue, desperately spitting Essence Blood and stamping his feet while casting spells with all his might. Finally, he managed to stop the thunder clouds midair, then slowly made them descend. He was overjoyed and just began to breathe a sigh of relief when the thunder clouds started to rise again, this time even faster than before.

Wen Tu was both angry and anxious, spitting out blood and then leaping into the air, plunging into the storm, resonating his Essence Energy with that of the Divine Thunder. Risking a shortening of his lifespan by ten years, he forcibly reverted the thunder and fire back into Thunder Pearls and retrieved them into his hands.

Holding the Thunder Pearls, Wen Tu took a deep breath, but upon returning to search for Deng Bagu, she was nowhere to be found.

"The fight isn't over—where did that wretched woman run off to? She clearly had the upper hand, it doesn't make sense for her to retreat just like that."

Wen Tu searched everywhere for her but to no avail. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh, thinking she might have used a diversion tactic. He rushed back to the valley. The triple-layered defense Array of the Immortal Mansion had not been touched or triggered. He searched the front and back caves and every stone chamber, but still, there were no signs of anyone having entered.

"Could it be that my Divine Thunder's momentum scared that wretched woman, who then tried to send the Thunder Fire to the sky to be ground clean by the Gang Wind, and in the ensuing struggle, I forcibly retrieved the Thunder Pearls? She didn't anticipate that my treasure could be retracted, and releasing it again would certainly kill her, which scared her off?"

Full of puzzlement, Wen Tu speculated for a long time, but this reason seemed to be the most consistent with the situation.

"Hmph! Deng Bagu, that despicable wench! I can't rest until I avenge the taking of my Black Spirit Divine Fire. Once I refine a few more of the most powerful Magical Treasures from the Daoist books, I will leave the mountain to find you and capture you—then you and I will Dual Cultivate!"

Thinking back on how Deng Bagu wore all black, complemented by her snow-white skin, sparkling eyes, white teeth, and a demeanor with a hint of ferocity, Wen Tu felt an unbearable heat building within him.

"What a pity, letting her get away!"

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