At the critical moment, Lu Chen activated the flying sword in his hand, merging his body with the spiritual sword into a single entity, transforming into a streak of light that darted out, barely avoiding the tiger demon's claw.
The tiger demon's claw struck the ground, instantly plowing three long claw marks, each over a hundred meters long, into the earth. The surrounding maple trees fell once again.
When a person and a sword merge, it is the most powerful and fastest move for a sword cultivator who has yet to master flying swords.
Lu Chen's feet had just touched the ground when the tiger demon's long tail, like a broadsword, swept toward him.
However, this time Lu Chen did not dodge. Instead, he raised the corners of his mouth and let the tiger demon's tail sweep toward him.
Just as the tiger's tail was about to cut Lu Chen in half, a streak of sword light shot from a hundred meters away in the west of the maple forest, pinning the thick tiger tail to the ground with a single strike.
The enraged tiger demon opened its massive mouth and roared in the direction of the flying sword, a swirling gust of wind shooting out like a cannonball.
With a loud explosion, a huge gash was torn in the western part of the maple forest by the gust of wind spewed by the tiger demon. A figure, surrounded by swirling protective sword energy, was seen flying toward the tiger demon.
"Sure enough, it's you, Mo Jun!!!"
The tiger demon, with its tail pinned to the ground, roared angrily at the figure flying from the west and then spat out another gust of wind like a cannonball.
The swirling gust of wind, like a sharp blade, struck Mo Jun, causing him to pause and stop to defend himself.
"Monster, taste your grandpa's sword!"
At this moment, Lu Chen, who had been standing still, suddenly burst with a surge of energy. His body and sword energy merged once again, transforming into a streak of sword light, accompanied by over a hundred sword shadows, like a torrential rain, hurtling toward the tiger demon.
"Third Senior Brother has already mastered the Sudden Rain Form of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Technique?!"
Liu Zijin was visibly shocked.
Just as she spoke, the tiger demon suddenly opened its mouth and roared, followed by a surge of demonic energy forming a gust of wind in its mouth. With a "Boom," it shot out to meet the torrent of sword shadows.
In the deafening explosion, Liu Zijin was stunned to see that the torrent of sword shadows created by Lu Chen's sword were completely washed away by the gust of wind from the tiger demon, and Lu Chen himself was knocked flying backward.
"The strength of this tiger demon is not inferior to Third Senior Brother!"
Liu Zijin was incredulous.
Lin Buyu, standing beside her, frowned, her eyes showing a rare sign of caution.
But soon, her frown relaxed, and she raised her gaze to the eastern sky.
There, in a place no one had noticed, a figure descended silently like a leaf.
This figure was none other than the fairy Zi Yan, who had been hiding in the shadows.
The tiger demon, unaware, leaped up, trying to swallow Lu Chen in one bite.
Just as the distance between the tiger demon and Lu Chen was about a丈 (zhang, approximately 3.3 meters), the previously undetectable Zi Yan suddenly emitted a wave of energy like a blazing flame.
With a fierce cry, the blazing flame formed by Zi Yan's true energy gathered at her finger, which she pointed at the tiger demon.
In an instant, her finger turned red-hot, and powerful spiritual energy waves spread out.
The tiger demon, sensing the threat from above, could only roar in anger, unable to do anything else.
As the tiger demon roared, Zi Yan's red-hot finger struck its forehead.
The moment Zi Yan's finger touched the tiger demon's forehead, pure flames, like lava from a volcano, instantly enveloped the tiger demon and exploded outward.
The tiger demon fell to the ground, its body engulfed in raging flames, emitting a series of agonizing howls.
Even at this moment, Zi Yan did not let her guard down. While recovering her energy, she shouted to Mo Jun, who was flying toward them.
Mo Jun, hearing her, suddenly summoned the long sword embedded in the tiger demon's tail with a wave of his hand.
With a metallic hum, the sword named Unsharpened flew into Mo Jun's hand.
"Mountain Splitting Form!"
Holding the Unsharpened sword, Mo Jun, standing on a maple leaf, unleashed a powerful strike, severing the tiger demon's head with a single sword swing.
In an instant, the maple forest was filled with sword energy.
Mo Jun and the Unsharpened sword merged, transforming into a sword shadow over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) long, ruthlessly slicing through the tiger demon's head.
"Ha ha ha, you have fallen into my trap!"
But at this moment, the tiger demon, which had been howling in pain, suddenly lifted its head from the flames and burst into maniacal laughter.
As it spoke, a crystal-like pearl emerged from the tiger demon's mouth.
In an instant, all the flames around the tiger demon were drawn into the pearl, swirling around it like fire winds, fiercely colliding with Mo Jun and Zi Yan.
With a loud explosion, Mo Jun's sword energy shattered, and his body was cut by dozens of wounds from the fierce fire winds, even with his protective robe.
Zi Yan reacted immediately, transforming her finger into a palm and striking the demon pearl, using her palm force to stop it from advancing further.
Almost simultaneously, the tiger demon roared again, and the demon pearl began to release even more powerful gusts of wind.
In an instant, Mo Jun and Zi Yan were swept into a massive tornado, along with a large number of trees and rocks in the maple forest.
If Liu Zijin and Lin Buyu had been closer, they would have been swept in as well.
"Lin Buyu, you and Junior Sister Zijin go back to the sect and get help. This demon pearl cannot injure me, but it can trap me!"
Just as the two were about to rush to rescue Zi Yan and Mo Jun, Zi Yan's voice suddenly echoed in Lin Buyu and Liu Zijin's minds. This was clearly a mental transmission.
Liu Zijin was still hesitant, but Lin Buyu had already made up her mind, pulling Liu Zijin's hand and preparing to leap down from the tree.
"Junior Sister, save me!"
At this moment, a cry for help came from behind them.
Turning around, they saw Lu Chen, covered in injuries, being chased by the tiger demon, heading in their direction.
"How did he attract the tiger demon?"