Liu Xing looked around. While he thought the barrier was indeed similar to the mysterious woman's—who at first was merely a statue from the Statue Summoning Technique, then an abomination—its quality was different. If her barrier was an ancient tree, then what Shen Ye was doing was like a sapling. Still, Liu Xing felt the hairs on his back raise as he felt the qi within the barrier.

  Across from him, white smoke billowed. A silhouette of Shen Ye appeared within it, becoming clearer and clearer until the smoke could no longer hide him. A paper talisman hung from his right arm, revealing a newly regenerated limb. His left hand was locked in the last hand sign he had formed, and his entire body was covered by wisps of fire, as if his body were leaking flames. His face was a mask of concentration, yet it also held hatred and contempt for Liu Xing.

  Liu Xing looked at Shen Ye, felt the qi around him, and could not help but ask. "What is this?" He gestured broadly. "Is this your high-grade technique?"

  Shen Ye snorted. His hair was rising, and between the strands were ribbons of red fire, as if some of his hair had turned to flame. "Do you expect me to answer that question?" Shen Ye asked. He released the hand sign, and his body began leaking even more fire.

  "Yes," Liu Xing said. His heart beat inside his ribs. He felt a profound danger from the strange yet familiar feeling all around him. "Who knows, perhaps you're in the mood to chit-chat."

  Liu Xing focused his attention on the eyes outside the barrier. He could still see and control them, including his gun, which he ordered to stay on the defensive. The barrier did not seem to cut his connection to the outside. He knew this barrier was locking him and Shen Ye inside, but he did not quite grasp what it was.

  Shen Ye, who also seemed intent on recovering his power, said, "I admit, you're more formidable than I thought. Last time, you were merely at the sixth stage of the Lock Opening realm, yet now, you are already at the Core Splitting realm. From what I can sense, you also have more than one core. It's miraculous, to say the least."

  "So, I'm not a mere nameless cultivator to you, then?" he asked. At that moment, he finally realized something strange about the area. The ambient qi trapped inside the barrier suddenly changed.

  Shen Ye snorted. "You're still a nameless cultivator to me. After all, you won't come out of my domain alive." Shen Ye gestured forward, and the fire leaking from him intensified, creating a shroud of orange fire so hot that the ground beneath him began to glow.

  "Domain, huh," Liu Xing said, licking his lips. He noted the word. Domain. Not a barrier. He felt the word was fitting for this technique. The ambient qi around him was burned away, and from its remains, ambient qi with a fire affinity replaced it. Not only that, he could feel that this new qi was Shen Ye's. It was as if Shen Ye had claimed everything inside the barrier as his own.

  Liu Xing realized the effect was similar to that of a Core Splitting realm cultivator, a key point of which was the ability to control qi outside one's body. He imagined there was a certain realm where one could fill an area with their qi. It seemed this domain worked like that.

  "If you're curious, it's not a Heaven Grade Technique," Shen Ye continued. He took a stance, and the fire emanating from him intensified further. The ground burned, the air turned scorching hot, and his eyes glowed with orange fire. "It's a grade higher. Only selected, talented people with enough resources could possibly use this. This is called a Celestial Grade Technique. My own unique domain. Within this, I am the Prince of Hell!"

  As he said that, Shen Ye kicked the ground, and the earth beneath him erupted.

  "Fast!" Liu Xing said. At that moment, Shen Ye arrived before him. His body was wreathed in fire, and he launched a fist, strong and fast, right toward Liu Xing's face.

  Liu Xing knew he could not dodge unscathed, so as he leaned to the side, he crossed his arms in front of his face. When Shen Ye's fist hit his crossed arms, it felt as if the bones inside his body were trembling, and the sheer heat from the punch made the skin on his arms melt. Liu Xing gritted his teeth as he tried to move. A moment later, he rolled to the side and kicked the ground, trying to create distance between himself and Shen Ye.

  As he looked back, Shen Ye rotated his body in the air, kicked off the barrier, and launched himself toward him. His face was contorted in rage, his eyes shining with the devilish glow of orange fire. In the air, he extended both hands toward Liu Xing, and from his glowing palms, akin to molten rock, he shot a beam of fire the size of a river.

  Realizing Shen Ye's domain was no joke, Liu Xing kicked the ground and launched himself into the air. There, he rotated his body and thrust his sword forward, sending a jet of water straight in Shen Ye's general direction.

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  Shen Ye swiped his raging fire toward the jet of water. While their meeting created an explosion of vapor, it was clear Liu Xing's water was like a single bucket trying to douse a forest fire.

  Liu Xing cut the jet of water and formed it into a circular saw around his sword. He summoned his shield, kicked off of it, and maneuvered left and right. Shen Ye's fire followed behind him, melting, scorching, and consuming the rock, earth, and trees within the domain. Realizing the raging river of fire could not catch him, Shen Ye switched to shooting thousands of small fireballs. Individually, they were not that strong. His sword and the lightning blade he conjured cut through them. However, there were so many of them that Liu Xing had to move in all directions to contend with the attacks.

  As Liu Xing moved between Shen Ye's attacks, his mind raced for a solution. One option was to summon his gun to his left hand. Using it, he could match the intensity of Shen Ye's attacks and create multiple fronts. However, doing so would leave Yu Yongrui free, and from his eyes outside the barrier, Liu Xing could see that Yu Heng was still not quite finished with his task. The second option was simple, he just needed to buy time.

  Shen Ye shouted as he launched himself toward Liu Xing, who summoned his turtle directly in Shen Ye's path. The moment it appeared, Shen Ye punched it, sending it rocketing forward. While Shen Ye didn't slam into it, it was enough of a distraction for Liu Xing to maneuver on the pockmarked ground, kick off it, and launch himself at Shen Ye from below. He slashed his sword upward, encircling it with a high-speed water chainsaw, and shouted, "Die!"

  Shen Ye rotated in the air, shouting as he launched an axe kick to meet the slash.

  When sword and foot met once more, Liu Xing thought there was no way that Shen Ye, a mere Lock Opening cultivator, had enough qi to use this technique. To maintain his current state, Shen Ye pulled qi from his surroundings to power all his attacks. However, Liu Xing doubted that Shen Ye could sustain a Celestial Grade Technique, which is higher than Heaven Grade, for long. A technique that temporarily increases one's power must come at a steep price. A Lock Opening cultivator would certainly pay dearly to match the power of a Core Splitting cultivator.

  The kick and the sword met for a brief moment, and the force pushed Liu Xing back.

  He pulled back his sword, summoned his shield, and moved to the side. At that moment, Shen Ye's kick created a crescent of fire that descended to the ground. When it landed, the ground exploded, sending dust and earth flying.

  "What are you?!" Shen Ye shouted as he extended both hands forward and shot a beam of fire so large it could swallow elephants.

  Seeing that, Liu Xing kicked his shield and descended, successfully dodging the attack.

  "This is my domain! How can your body resist my fire?!"

  "My body is simply strong," Liu Xing answered as he thrust his sword, a jet of water extending from it.

  Truthfully, Liu Xing's physical prowess was already at its maximum potential. He had consumed numerous body-strengthening pills, not to mention the treasures he currently used. Nevertheless, even with his Lightning Cloak Technique, Shen Ye could pressure him. Granted, Liu Xing was fighting two battles simultaneously while monitoring the situation outside. Nevertheless, Shen Ye's talent had to be top-notch, even at the Purple Moon Sect.

  Shen Ye growled and extended his hands. Instead of shooting fireballs, torrents of fire, or condensed fire, twelve swords made from fire appeared behind him like a peacock's tail, and each sword was as large as Shen Ye himself.

  "No matter," Shen Ye said under his breath. "You're indeed strong. However, you've only survived this long because I am still weak and have not yet reached my full potential. If I were a Core Splitting cultivator, you would have died by now."

  As he spoke, he pointed at Liu Xing, and the twelve swords of fire moved with blinding speed toward him. They spread out like a fan, and Liu Xing knew Shen Ye was capable of controlling them from afar.

  Liu Xing jumped into the air, the swords following him. He extended his sword, creating a jet of water, and whipped it at the sword ascending to strike him. The fiery sword met the jet of water head-on and succeeded in vaporizing it.

  "Quite strong," Liu Xing commented.

  As Liu Xing moved around, evading the swords Shen Ye controlled, he finally grasped what this domain was about.

  "It's like a consciousness," he muttered as he slashed at one sword with the water chainsaw circling his blade.

  He did not know the details. However, it seemed to involve exerting one's will over the surrounding area, as if trying to make the outside world resemble one's consciousness. If Shen Ye truly controlled everything inside the barrier, his attacks would be stronger and more potent, and he would have much greater control over the surrounding qi. This technique was akin to a temporary breakthrough. He suspected that Shen Ye's domain was incomplete because even though it was a Celestial Grade Technique, Shen Ye was only at the Lock Opening realm. The potency of this technique must scale with one's cultivation.

  Which meant that if he had his own domain, his power would skyrocket.

  Liu Xing descended, hit the ground, and kicked off of it to move toward Shen Ye.

  "This domain essentially claims the area as your own" he muttered. "To fight it, I need to exert my will to try to take control of the area around me."

  On paper, it was a good idea. So, Liu Xing sent qi to his gun, which sent its potent qi back to him again and again. Yu Yongrui was gaining the upper hand outside, and the gun was now focused on dodging. Still, Liu Xing did not stop. He accumulated a large amount of potent qi inside his body. When he thought he had enough, he projected his qi outward, trying to fill the air with it.

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  The Butterfly's Escape