Chapter 265: Psychological Warfare

　　From the moment Night Spirit struck to its two rounds of fighting against Liang Qiu, then to Su Zimo’s closing in with multiple killing moves to kill Liang Qiu… while the entire process seemed slow upon narration, everything only took up two breaths of time.

　　The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

　　Meng Han looked at Liang Qiu who fell to the ground with widened eyes of disbelief.

　　A Golden Core had died in the hands of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

　　Everything had happened too quickly.

　　It was so fast that Meng Han could barely accept it.

　　What puzzled Meng Han even more was why his flying sword did not manage to penetrate Su Zimo’s palm.

　　The flying sword had clearly tore through Su Zimo’s flesh but why was it stuck all of a sudden, letting out the sound of metal clashing?

　　If not for that, Liang Qiu would not have died!

　　That was the truth.

　　Even though Su Zimo was both an immortal and demon cultivator and Night Spirit had extremely sharp claws, in terms of actual strength, neither of them could take Golden Cores head on.

　　Given another environment and situation, both Su Zimo and Night Spirit could only flee in a one-on-one situation.

　　However, there were too many factors affecting the outcome of a battle between cultivators.

　　Night Spirit had the most credit for them being able to kill a Golden Core.

　　If it had not attacked to destroy Liang Qiu’s protection talisman while drawing away most of his attention, Su Zimo would not have had the chance to close in.

　　Naturally, Liang Qiu’s greatest mistake was in underestimating Su Zimo’s spirit and determination!

　　It wasn’t just him; Meng Han had not expected that Su Zimo would dare retaliate against the assassination of two Golden Cores as well!

　　In just two breaths’ time, the situation had already turned upside down.

　　Liang Qiu was dead.

　　Meng Han was the only one left now.

　　Most importantly, he only had three breaths of time left.

　　At some point in time, a girl around 18 years old walked out from one of the rooms. Possessing exceptional beauty while wearing an elegant long dress, her withered hair was curled and rested behind her back.

　　A flying sword hovered in front of Nian Qi, trembling and emitting a bright glow.

　　There were four spirit patterns shining on it!

　　It was a supreme-grade flying sword!

　　Meng Han took a glance and his mouth cramped while his eyeballs nearly dropped out of his sockets.

　　As a Golden Core, he had lived for more than 400 years. Even now that he was approaching death, he had never used a supreme-grade flying sword in his life.

　　However, that girl was only a maidservant at early-stage Foundation Establishment and she had a supreme-grade flying sword of her own?

　　Suddenly, Meng Han recalled some of the recent rumors in the capital. Many cultivators said that the green-robed cultivator before him was the number one Weapon Refinement Master of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty and could even customize supreme-grade spirit weapons.

　　Prior to this, Meng Han scoffed and refused to believe the rumors.

　　He had lived for so long but he hadn’t heard of any Weapon Refinement Masters who would dare boast that they could customize supreme-grade spirit weapons.

　　But now, when he caught sight of the supreme-grade flying sword hovering before Nian Qi, Meng Han believed it.

　　If even a maidservant had a supreme-grade flying sword, how many supreme-grade spirit weapons did Mo Ling possess?

　　…

　　In the courtyard, Su Zimo, Night Spirit and Nian Qi stood in three different directions, facing off against Meng Han.

　　Normally, a little girl at early-stage Foundation Establishment should pose no threat to Meng Han.

　　However, the problem was with the supreme-grade flying sword that she was wielding!

　　While early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators clearly had insufficient strength, the killing power of the supreme-grade flying sword was way too great.

　　The two men and one beast had different methods – any single one of them would be insignificant individually.

　　However, all three of them had their own trump cards and could not be underestimated!

　　Nian Qi’s supreme-grade flying sword.

　　Night Spirit’s claws and its immensely strong physique.

　　As for Su Zimo, he was the one most unfathomable to Meng Han.

　　He possessed the agility and speed of demon beasts, a terrifying burst power, an intricate technique for melee combat as well as a keen sensitivity towards danger…

　　Against that Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Meng Han actually felt a sense of fear from the depths of his heart!

　　“Ah!”

　　Abandoning all unnecessary thoughts, Meng Han bellowed and struck all of a sudden.

　　He could not wait any longer!

　　This was his final gambit and chance to kill Su Zimo!

　　Pshew! Pshew!

　　Meng Han’s sleeves flapped as two flying swords shot out.

　　At the same time, he conjured a seal with his left hand, condensing a gigantic fiery disk that enveloped Night Spirit.

　　Meng Han’s attack was one versus three and he had individual strategies for them!

　　After witnessing Night Spirit’s speed, he knew that it would be difficult to block Night Spirit using flying swords unless his sword wielding technique was intricate enough.

　　Therefore, Meng Han chose to attack with a spirit art that had a wider area of effect!

　　The purpose of that spirit art was merely to slow Night Spirit down.

　　As for the other two extremely fast flying swords, one of them targeted Nian Qi while the other was aimed at Su Zimo.

　　Su Zimo’s eyes flickered. The moment Meng Han struck with his swords, Su Zimo’s figure shifted and moved swiftly close to the ground, arriving before the former in the blink of an eye.

　　Rising, Su Zimo took a deep breath and his chest puffed up. He knelt with one knee on the ground and raised both hands as if he was holding a peach in his palms while killing intent spewed from his eyes!

　　“You were tricked!”

　　Meng Han’s eyes lit up as he let out a sinister chuckle. Churning his Golden Core, his hands conjured seals and two long spears were formed, piercing viciously towards Su Zimo!

　　This was the moment he was waiting for!

　　A full-powered strike by a Golden Core as such was something that Su Zimo could not face head-on!

　　The moment Liang Qiu fell, Meng Han realized that even if he were to use all his might against Su Zimo, as long as the latter were to avoid at all cost, it would be difficult for him to kill the other party within three breaths.

　　Therefore, Meng Han chose to restrain Night Spirit first before attacking Su Zimo and Nian Qi at the same time!

　　The single sword posed no threat to Su Zimo.

　　However, it was enough to kill Nian Qi!

　　Not everyone had Su Zimo’s spirit perception and could dodge the flying sword of a Golden Core at Foundation Establishment realm.

　　Hence, if Su Zimo wanted to save Nian Qi, he would have to attack Meng Han with all his might!

　　This was the same scene as when Su Zimo killed Liang Qiu earlier on.

　　However, the difference was that Liang Qiu was unprepared.

　　But Meng Han was fully prepared!

　　Before the flying sword struck Nian Qi, it fell to the ground without Meng Han’s control.

　　That attack was merely a feint to lure Su Zimo forward.

　　Meng Han’s full attention was focused on Su Zimo right from the beginning!

　　Su Zimo was half-knelt on the ground while Meng Han stood upright, looking down at the former. The two of them were extremely close and it was almost face-to-face.

　　It seemed like Su Zimo’s ending was already decided.

　　Suddenly, Meng Han saw a trace of mockery in Su Zimo’s eyes.

　　“Kill!”

　　The next moment, Su Zimo opened his mouth and let out a deafening roar from deep in his throat!

　　A huge stream of air shot out like an arrow.

　　Totally unprepared, Meng Han’s body shook and he was slightly dazed. His hands paused for a moment but it was still thrusting down!

　　The moment Meng Han was momentarily dazed, Su Zimo had already exerted strength in both legs and fell to the ground while retreating back.

　　The entire process was fluid as water without any sense of sluggishness at all.

　　Su Zimo had rushed to the front while retreating even swifter without any delay at all!

　　Meng Han’s first attack was a feint.

　　However, Su Zimo’s Sanguine Ape Fruit Offering was also a feint!

　　The one that was tricked was not Su Zimo, but Meng Han.

　　Su Zimo realized that Meng Han would try to kill him but he could not ignore Nian Qi. That was why he made this move of advancing to retreat.

　　In this psychological warfare on the brink of death, Su Zimo was still the one that won in the end.