2218 Sacrifice Liu Ping was shocked and released a divine power hurriedly to defend. However, that greater divine power could not withstand a single blow from the shifting willow branches and was shattered with ease! Suddenly! Liu Ping’s vision blurred and a figure entered his line of sight. Before he could see who it was, he felt a tremendous force send him flying and he fell to the ground not far away. Liu Ping stood up quickly and looked over instinctively when he realized that his body was fine. Su Zimo stood where he was initially and was already entangled by the dozens of spiked and blood-colored willow branches! Earlier on, Su Zimo was the one who attacked in time and pushed Liu Ping back, saving his life. “Junior Brother Su!” Liu Ping exclaimed and was about to step forward, prepared to attack. Pang! Pang! Pang! Su Zimo shuddered and the dozens of willow branches on his body broke, letting out the sound of a bowstring snapping. “Don’t come over!” Su Zimo hollered without turning back. This willow tree was unlike other plants. It even dared to attack him, let alone Liu Ping who was behind him. Liu Ping stopped in his tracks hurriedly. When he chased after Su Zimo earlier on, he gradually guessed that the reason why the plants in this space suddenly became non-offensive might be because of Su Zimo! Now that he saw that, he no longer had any doubts. “Junior Brother Su, be careful. I’ll wait for you at the teleportation formation.” Liu Ping knew that he would not be of much help even if he went forward. Instead, he would distract Su Zimo. “There’s no need. Leave your name on the Earth Ranking stele first. I’ll rush over in a while,” Su Zimo replied casually without turning back. Right now, he had yet to see the cultivators of the Great Jin Immortal Kingdom and Flying Immortal Sect join forces. If he was not wrong, those two factions were most likely at Level 5. If they saw Liu Ping traveling with him, Liu Ping might be implicated instead. Liu Ping pondered for a moment and said, “That’s good too. Thank you, Junior Brother Su. If I hadn’t met you, I would have died in Level 4. See you at the ranking battle.” He bowed to Su Zimo before turning to leave. After arriving at the teleportation formation, he ascended. After arriving on Level 5, Liu Ping felt his body sink, as though he had gained countless pounds. His every move became much slower and more difficult. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮 “Is this Level 5?” Liu Ping murmured softly and looked at the howling sand in the surroundings. Invigorated, he headed forward. After a long time, Liu Ping finally caught sight of a tall stele on the horizon ahead—it was the legendary Earth Ranking stele! Liu Ping took out his badge and looked at the ranking—58th. “Haha!” He was delighted. To think that not only would he be able to leave his name on the Earth Ranking stele in this elimination round, his ranking would not be too low either! “I wonder who else from the academy is here,” Liu Ping pondered as he strode forward quickly. “If I’m not wrong, Senior Brother Ye and Junior Sister Scarlet Rainbow will definitely be ahead of me. Senior Brother Liu and Senior Brother Wang should be around the same as me.” He was getting closer and closer to the Earth Ranking stele. Before long, Liu Ping could already see dozens of cultivators scattered beneath the Earth Ranking stele. Among them were fellow sect mates of Heaven and Earth Academy! Ye Fei and Princess Scarlet Rainbow were among them! “Senior Brother Ye, you guys are so fast!” Liu Ping waved his arm and greeted from afar. Everyone from Heaven and Earth Academy was still in a lotus position. They did not get up and merely widened their eyes without replying. Although Liu Ping was puzzled, he did not think too much about it. He was about to carve his name on the Earth Ranking stele and was a little emotional as he smiled. “Senior Brother Ye, you guys didn’t expect me to arrive here so quickly, right?” “Actually, I nearly died in Level 4! Thankfully, I met Junior Brother Su and he brought me all the way here. That was how I surpassed everyone and arrived here.” “Junior Brother Su is still at Level 4. He’s about to arrive.” When he heard that, Ye Fei’s expression changed and a resolute look flashed through his eyes! This was the opportunity he had been waiting for! “Ah!” Suddenly, Ye Fei stood up and let out a long roar, as though countless shackles had broken. His black hair turned grayish-white rapidly and danced as his face aged rapidly! However, his eyes shone with a resolute gaze! In the square. The crowd was astonished! ... Under normal circumstances, there was no way Ye Fei could break free from Immortal Tai Hua’s power. At that moment, Ye Fei’s condition was truly terrifying! “Lifespan Sacrifice Art!” The elders of Heaven and Earth Academy exclaimed in shock. Many cultivators present were astounded when they heard that. This secret skill came from Heaven and Earth Academy and was extremely famous in the Divine Firmament Immortal Domain of the Nine Firmament Immortal Domain and even the entire Heavenly World. There were only three levels to the secret skill. At Level 1, once released, one would lose 100,000 years of lifespan instantly. However, they would obtain an immense burst of power within a short period of time! Ye Fei was not old and was around 40,000 years old. However, the lifespan of an Earth Immortal was only 200,000 years. After releasing that secret skill, it meant that Ye Fei had instantly turned from his peak age into his twilight years! ... This would have a huge impact on his future! Once one entered their twilight years, their blood qi and mental state would deteriorate and there would be many dangers if they wanted to break through a major cultivation realm. What Ye Fei did was equivalent to abandoning his future in order to break free from the seal left behind by Immortal Tai Hua! It was not only in the square. Everyone in front of the Earth Ranking stele was stunned for a moment and could not react. Nobody expected Ye Fei who was initially sealed to suddenly break free! “Junior Brother Liu, hurry and retreat!” Ye Fei’s eyes widened in anger as he hollered, “Tai Hua and the others set up a trap here. Tell Junior Brother Su not to ascend!” Because Liu Ping was traveling with Su Zimo, he was the only one who could help Su Zimo avoid this calamity. In Ye Fei’s heart, he was the number one of the outer sect and the senior brother of Su Zimo and the others. He should do his best to protect his fellow sect mates in the academy. He should give up everything to protect the dignity of the academy! The Great Jin Immortal Kingdom and Flying Immortal Sect tried their best to join forces to kill Junior Brother Su—he could not stop them with his strength alone. All he could do was remind Su Zimo to let the Great Jin Immortal Kingdom and Flying Immortal Sect’s plan go to waste! “You have a death wish!” Immortal Tai Hua’s expression darkened as he suddenly bounced up from the ground. Instantly, he arrived before Ye Fei and extended his palm. A gigantic rune condensed and enveloped down once more! The power that Ye Fei exchanged for releasing the Lifespan Sacrifice Art was already used to break free from the seal on his body. Right now, he could not defend against Immortal Tai Hua at all. Grabbing Ye Fei by the throat, Immortal Tai Hua asked coldly with a murderous expression, “Do you really think that I won’t dare to kill you?” “Pfft!” Ye Fei’s gaze was ferocious but he could not channel his Essence Spirit and blood qi. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood towards Immortal Tai Hua’s face! Caught off guard, Immortal Tai Hua turned his head hurriedly but could not dodge all of them as blood splattered on his face. Immortal Tai Hua was expressionless as blood flowed down his face slowly, making his face look extremely terrifying! “You call… yourself an… i-immortal? You… shameless p-piece of… bullsh*t…” Ye Fei’s face turned purple as he cursed with difficulty. Pfft! Immortal Tai Hua exerted strength in his palm and crushed Ye Fei’s throat. A tremendous power surged into his consciousness and shattered his Essence Spirit. Ye Fei’s head was torn apart, revealing a shocking hole of blood!