"Kid, you're smart," the cultivators from Sakura Island looked at Ye Bufan. "But your smarts end here."
"It's not that I'm smart, it's that your strategy is too inferior," Ye Bufan deliberately said with disdain to the cultivators from Sakura Island. "You try to copy the strategies of our Jiuzhou land, but you haven't learned them properly or thoroughly. This only shows how weak you are."
"Kid, I hope you can still speak to me so smugly later," the other party seemed very confident facing Ye Bufan.
"Oh really? You, I can't even remember how many people have said similar things to me," Ye Bufan replied.
Ye Bufan swept his spiritual energy over these people. They were generally at the Golden Core mid-stage or above. However, they were not flustered or afraid of Ye Bufan, who was at the Golden Core late-stage. This indicated they might have prepared something.
"Hmph! You're seeking death!" the other party shouted, and these people immediately moved.
"A formation?" Ye Bufan watched them constantly shifting positions and realized they were likely setting up a sword formation or something similar. Such formations, if sufficiently advanced, could enable combat above one's own level.
"Good eyes!" the people from Sakura Island immediately responded, their tone filled with pride.
Ye Bufan observed their positions. They were using a combination of Qimen Dunjia (Mysterious Gates and Heavenly Stems) to form an offensive array. Ye Bufan considered himself to have a decent understanding of Qimen Dunjia.
"Sword, come!" Ye Bufan roared. The Spirit Sacrifice Sword instantly shot out from his spatial jade pendant and landed in his hand.
"Attack!" The other party controlled the sword formation and attacked Ye Bufan. Ye Bufan calmly sent out the Spirit Sacrifice Sword, which charged into their sword formation. It descended from the sky, and sword energy spread out from the Spirit Sacrifice Sword, forming a massive shield. From a distance, it looked like a wave of energy.
Ye Bufan activated his Sword Domain, which instantly enveloped the cultivators from Sakura Island. Within the Sword Domain, Ye Bufan was the master.
"Kill!" The cultivators from Sakura Island shouted in unison and simultaneously unleashed their swords from afar. These swords immediately soared into the sky, transforming into a rain of swords.
The energy of the Spirit Sacrifice Sword collided with this sword rain. Ye Bufan noticed that their true qi seemed to have strengthened considerably under the enhancement of the formation.
"Two Sleeves of Green Snakes!" Ye Bufan roared, forming sword gestures with both hands. He leaped forward, and faintly visible behind him were two green snakes formed from sword energy.
The green snakes charged into the sword formation but were instantly shredded by the sword rain, turning into nothingness.
Ye Bufan looked at the sword formation formed by the cultivators of Sakura Island with disbelief. He hadn't expected their sword formation to be so powerful.
"Again!" Ye Bufan became interested. He mobilized all the true qi in his body, and lightning flickered and intertwined around him.
"Heh!"
The Spirit Sacrifice Sword spun wildly, eventually taking the shape of a dragon.
"Roar—"
"Sword Qi Dragon Roll!" The Spirit Sacrifice Sword charged into the sword formation, and then Ye Bufan followed suit.
"Rumble—"
Heavenly lightning descended, striking the cultivators within the sword formation. Several cultivators immediately fell. These cultivators from Sakura Island kept shifting.
The giant dragon made of sword qi opened its maw and took down several more. These people rearranged their sword formation again, and this time the formation was about one-fifth smaller than before.
"They're quite resilient."
Ye Bufan smiled slightly and ascended into the air. A sudden gust of wind swirled around him inexplicably. The cultivators from Sakura Island frowned, looking at Ye Bufan with a sense of foreboding.
"Spirit Sacrifice!"
Ye Bufan roared. The Spirit Sacrifice Sword appeared in his hand. At this moment, Ye Bufan felt like an emperor surveying his domain, which immediately put a great pressure on all the cultivators from Sakura Island present.
"Today, I'll test my sword on you," Ye Bufan's voice reached the ears of these cultivators from Sakura Island.
"Sword!"
Ye Bufan held the sword with both hands, and heavenly lightning descended, striking into the Spirit Sacrifice Sword.
"Break!"
The wind and clouds surged around him. Suddenly, dark clouds gathered. All the sword energy within the Sword Domain was devoured by Ye Bufan. The sword formation immediately encountered inexplicable resistance. The cultivators from Sakura Island found that when they tried to control the sword formation, all their swords seemed to become disobedient.
"Mountain!"
Ye Bufan roared again. The forest began to shake violently. The Spirit Sacrifice Sword let out a series of sword cries, and the birds and beasts in the forest scattered everywhere, becoming extremely restless.
"River!"
The Spirit Sacrifice Sword slashed down. For a moment, the sky darkened, and it seemed as if the entire sky had been split open by a line.
"Break for me!" Ye Bufan roared. Heavenly lightning continuously struck, and the momentum of the Spirit Sacrifice Sword was unstoppable. The sword formation of all the cultivators from Sakura Island was instantly shattered by Ye Bufan.
The continuous attacks of heavenly lightning caused the cultivators from Sakura Island to fall in droves. Ye Bufan exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling considerably more relaxed.
"Clap, clap, clap—"
At this moment, applause echoed from the sky. Ye Bufan looked up and saw a figure slowly descending from the heavens.
The figure was clad in armor, and his aura was also that of the Golden Core late-stage. Ye Bufan remained unfazed upon seeing him, instead smiling slightly.
"Living Yama," Ye Bufan said. "I didn't expect you to have broken through to the Golden Core late-stage."
Living Yama smiled slightly and said, "Speaking of which, I should thank you. If it weren't for your help in finding the Blood Snake, I wouldn't have been able to reach the Golden Core late-stage so quickly by relying on it."
"So, you have devoured all the true qi from the Blood Snake?" Ye Bufan narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected Living Yama to use such a forbidden technique for his cultivation.
Living Yama looked at Ye Bufan and said, "I've come here today to settle things with you."
"Settle things with me?" Ye Bufan looked at Living Yama in confusion. "We don't seem to have any grievances, do we?"
"No grievances, but you possess something I desire," Living Yama stated.
Living Yama looked at Ye Bufan. Ever since he was defeated by Ye Bufan in the Yan City forest last time, his Dao heart had been affected to a certain extent, which had led to some difficulties in his cultivation.
This time, Living Yama intended to use this opportunity to settle matters with Ye Bufan, both to obtain the Dragon Emperor Token and to resolve his inner demons.
Ye Bufan smiled slightly and said, "We can settle things. But you'll have to wait until I've dealt with these cultivators from Sakura Island first."
Upon hearing this, Living Yama disappeared from his spot. His figure darted among the cultivators from Sakura Island and then returned to Ye Bufan's front.
Behind Living Yama, a sea of corpses lay strewn about.