However, although the man in black tried to escape, Yvonne Foster, who understood well the principle of eliminating all threats, absolutely refused to let him go so easily. Forcing his blade into the ground before him, Yvonne Foster formed hand seals with both hands and chanted a complex, arcane incantation. Instantly, a surge of primordial energy from heaven and earth rushed toward him.

“Heaven and earth without bounds, borrow the power of the universe! Thunder technique, Finger of Thunder Spell!”

A bolt of lightning shot through the sky, striking down the fleeing man in black from midair. Although he had already realized how tenacious the life force of a Golden Core-level cultivator could be, Yvonne Foster never expected that, even after suffering such a blow, this man in black could still stand up!

“Damn it, you brat, I really didn’t want to use this move. But you’ve forced my hand!” The man in black struggled to his feet. Unlike before, though he could barely stand, a nearly tangible aura of true energy now swirled around him, and a powerful pressure surged forth.

“Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique? Crap, I’m done for.” Yvonne Foster’s pupils contracted as he hastily retreated, blade in hand, his feet barely touching the ground, cursing inwardly. He had only ever heard of this near-suicidal technique. Legend had it that this spell could stimulate the true energy within the twelve meridians—normally used to sustain the body—causing one’s power to surge severalfold in an instant. But after using it, the caster would fall gravely ill and their cultivation would drop by a whole stage. Moreover, the effect was very short-lived. Still, even if it lasted only a moment, it would be enough for the man in black to kill him dozens of times over. Had he known his opponent had such a trump card, he never would have tried to wipe him out so thoroughly just now.

Seeing him try to run, the black-robed Daoist let out a sinister laugh. “Heh heh! You’re clever and quick-witted, but you can’t escape. Dark Art, Asura Soul-Binding Spell!” With a wave of his wide sleeve, over a dozen strands of black energy suddenly appeared in the air. Facing this A-level spell, Yvonne Foster was utterly defenseless as the black energy drilled into his body, freezing him in place, his eyes losing all light.

“You damn brat, I’ll give you credit—you actually managed to injure me this badly.” Seeing Yvonne Foster immobilized by his spell, the man in black showed no joy, only a hint of dejection. Though luck was on his side and the incomplete Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique had worked, saving his life, his cultivation would now fall below the Golden Core level—a huge loss by any measure.

Still, this kid seems to have some divine or demonic bloodline—maybe I can use it to recover a bit of my strength. Staggering over to Yvonne Foster and grabbing the youth’s shoulder, the man in black recalled the pain this boy had caused him, and hatred flared in his eyes. He opened his mouth, aiming to bite the youth’s pale neck. But at that moment, the person in his grasp turned into a wooden puppet doll in a puff of smoke.

“No! Impossible—this is the Puppet Doppelganger Technique! When did he—” The black-robed Daoist had no chance to think further.

“Kill!” A small, thin figure suddenly appeared behind him. After a flash of blade light like a full moon, a head was sent flying high, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Glancing at the corpse at his feet, Yvonne Foster wiped cold sweat from his brow, still shaken. He had thought it would be an easy fight, but hadn’t expected this guy to have such a hidden card. If he hadn’t happened to have a puppet doll on him, he might have died here today. But from this battle, it was clear that as long as the tactics were right, even a Golden Core expert wasn’t invincible.

At this moment, Yvonne Foster still didn’t realize just how lucky his victory was. Only when he reached the Condensation stage and understood the vast gap between Qi and Golden Core would he realize how perilous this fight had been. Normally, after reaching the Condensation stage, a cultivator would naturally form a layer of protective true energy on their body’s surface—the higher the cultivation, the stronger this shield. With the strength of that Golden Core expert, D-level spells shouldn’t have been able to harm him at all. It was only because his true energy was utterly depleted, his protective aura weakened to the extreme, that Yvonne Foster was able to exploit the opening. After learning this, Yvonne Foster broke out in a cold sweat all over again.

After calming himself a bit, Yvonne Foster began searching the Daoist’s corpse. As a Golden Core expert, this guy ought to have some good stuff on him. But to Yvonne Foster’s disappointment, the man was clearly a pauper. After searching for a long time, he finally fished out two black rings from the man’s inner pocket.

These were spatial rings—and of enormous capacity! Yvonne Foster’s spirits lifted, a gleam of joy flashing in his eyes. Just these two items alone made tonight’s battle worthwhile. After all, the materials for making spatial rings were extremely precious—even selling the entire Jiang family wouldn’t buy the lowest-capacity ring. His parents had only received two after joining the Demon-Slaying Squad, and those were just temporary, with less than a tenth the capacity of the ones in his hand.