An epic battle unfolded between Gu Qinghe and Ming Hui, the kind of clash that stood at the peak of the Core Formation stage.

In terms of raw power, Ming Hui clearly had the advantage with his Golden Core cultivation. However, in flexibility and technique, Gu Qinghe held the upper hand.

Explosions of spiritual qi erupted in the sky. The speed of their fight was astonishing, leaving Ling Jia and the others completely amazed.

"He can match a Golden Core," Ling Jia said.

Each collision of qi created powerful gusts of wind that swept across the area. Ling Jia and the others gasped in shock, but it did not have a significant effect on them.

Ming Hui was pushed far back, and Gu Qinghe experienced the same.

His hand still gripped the Golden Sky Energy Sword tightly, showing no fear.

"Impressive! Your strength should already be equal to a Golden Core," Ming Hui said. "No wonder Lin Ruyu lost to you!"

Gu Qinghe narrowed his eyes, gripping his sword tightly and swinging it diagonally.

A golden slash surged forward with dominant qi momentum.

Ming Hui did not stay idle. He acted quickly, forming hand seals and directly blocking the power of the golden sword slash head-on.

BLAST!

A massive explosion erupted, unleashing fierce winds along with a force that made the sky rumble.

Gu Qinghe extended his hand, forming a golden qi barrier to block the surge of qi energy.

However, that attack clearly could not kill Ming Hui right away.

"Ugh!"

"An artifact weapon really lives up to its name," Ming Hui complained.

The smoke gradually faded and disappeared. Gu Qinghe’s attention remained fixed straight ahead.

Ming Hui was injured. His sect robe was damaged, and his face was full of bruises. Even so, he was still standing.

Inside his body, Gu Qinghe clearly felt the surge of golden qi from overusing the Golden Sky Energy Sword.

If I continue this fight, both of us will end up severely injured.

"Let’s see if your artifact can still be used against this power of mine!"

Ming Hui formed hand seals, and a massive black and white rune appeared behind him. Gu Qinghe immediately narrowed his eyes, sensing that the power of this technique was stronger.

An Earth-grade technique?

I have no other choice but to face it with a similar technique!

Gu Qinghe stored the Golden Sky Energy Sword. Both of his hands quickly formed complex hand seals, summoning a golden rune behind his back.

Ming Hui was startled. The technique Gu Qinghe used was not a simple technique, nor was it a sect technique.

The rune was golden, and its qi momentum was just as strong as Ming Hui’s technique.

Seeing Gu Qinghe’s unexpected ability made Ming Hui narrow his eyes in curiosity.

"I don’t know where you learned that technique, but you’re just a Peak Core Formation brat!"

"You have no chance of beating me, Qinghe!" Ming Hui shouted.

The man thrust both hands forward, summoning two massive dragons of different colors, black and white.

Gu Qinghe smiled faintly and looked forward again at Ming Hui.

"You will die by my hand, Senior!"

Golden qi light appeared at the tip of his finger. His hand moved forward in a piercing motion.

From the golden rune, a massive golden finger attack shot forward. Ming Hui narrowed his eyes.

Ming Hui’s twin dragons crashed into Gu Qinghe’s golden finger strike. A surge of power erupted, and a massive qi explosion blew everything in the surrounding area away.

Gu Qinghe realized that Ming Hui’s Yin-Yang dragons were indeed stronger. His other hand rose, touching his forehead and releasing the essence of his primordial soul blood.

Even though his primordial soul would be damaged if used too intensely, Gu Qinghe was forced to use it.

If I don’t win this fight, I will die.

The primordial soul blood essence entered his finger attack. The qi momentum increased, and the aura of the attack rose several times over.

"What is happening?" Ming Hui asked.

Slowly, the power of Gu Qinghe’s finger strike increased drastically. With a forward attack, he unleashed his full strength to destroy Ming Hui’s Yin-Yang dragons.

One of Ming Hui’s dragons shattered, followed by the other. His entire attack was overwhelmed by Gu Qinghe’s enhanced finger strike.

The finger attack continued forward, shooting powerfully toward Ming Hui. His eyes widened.

"What?!"

BOOM!

A massive explosion shook the area, shocking everyone as black and gold smoke rose high into the sky.

The cultivators above also felt the impact, heard the explosion, and saw the smoke rising.

COUGH!

Gu Qinghe fell to one knee on his flying sword, coughing up blood into his hand.

That was the real consequence of the increased power from the primordial soul blood essence. However, the result would have been far worse if Gu Qinghe had lost the battle earlier.

"Senior?" Ling Jia and the others called out, clearly panicked.

"I’m fine," Gu Qinghe said, wiping the blood from his mouth.

From within the smoke, Ming Hui fell in a severely injured state. Gu Qinghe felt impressed.

He really has extraordinary physical endurance.

Gu Qinghe quickly flew downward, summoning the Golden Sky Energy Sword again and chasing after Ming Hui, who could no longer do anything.

He swung his sword sideways, unleashing another golden slash attack.

Ming Hui slowly opened his eyes, looking at the sky where Gu Qinghe chased him and the golden slash aimed at him.

He had no strength left to defeat Gu Qinghe. Ming Hui could only smile faintly as he looked ahead.

"You’ve grown stronger... beyond me, Junior Gu," Ming Hui said softly.

"I will not show mercy," Gu Qinghe replied.

From the direction of the mountain, a woman shouted loudly when she saw Gu Qinghe about to kill Ming Hui.

"WAIT! DON’T KILL HIM!"

BOOM!

Her arrival was too late. A golden explosion occurred as the slash struck Ming Hui. The man was now completely dead, and Gu Qinghe took the opportunity to seize his bag of holding.

"SENIOR MING HUI!" the woman shouted, focusing her gaze on the man who killed him.

"You?! Do you realize who you are making an enemy of?!" she shouted.

Gu Qinghe gave a faint smile, turning around and looking straight at Li Xiaoman.

"It’s been a while, Li Xiaoman," Gu Qinghe said.

Li Xiaoman was shocked, her eyes widening. "Qinghe?!"