“Celestial Phenomenon of Wind, Flying Snow!”
The dazzling sword gleam was cold and sinister, yet incredibly swift, almost like a beam of icy white light!
The reason for using Flying Snow was to leave the opponent no chance to react.
Though Flying Snow lacked the power of an Ice Storm, it excelled in speed.
Crack!
The ground was directly split open by the sword’s energy, charging towards Ming Tian.
“Damn it, how is this guy so powerful!”
Ming Tian couldn’t comprehend it. He had gone so far as to forsake his human identity to forcibly grow stronger, yet in the end, he was still so miserably suppressed by Ling Xiao.
Using the Demon Fox Claw, he desperately burrowed into the ground, attempting to dodge Ling Xiao’s strike.
However, Ling Xiao’s attack contained the Celestial Phenomenon of Wind, imbued with powerful tearing force and incredible speed, leaving Ming Tian with no escape.
“I’ll fight to the end!”
Knowing he couldn’t evade Ling Xiao’s pursuit, Ming Tian decided to go all out and retrieved a treasure he had obtained from Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign.
This item was meant to be used only in the most desperate moments, but he hadn’t expected to need it now.
With resolve, Ming Tian took the treasure from his storage ring.
It was a transparent cubic crystal.
The crystal was barely a foot in length, width, and height, yet it gave off the weighty impression of a mountain.
Ming Tian frantically poured a large amount of true essence into the cubic crystal, and soon his entire body was enveloped within it.
The crystal expanded to accommodate Ming Tian’s whole body, appearing transparent like glass but incredibly tough.
Ling Xiao thrust two probing sword strikes, yet the sword energy didn’t leave a single scratch on the crystal.
“A defensive treasure? Quite rare!”
Ling Xiao stopped wasting true essence and closely observed Ming Tian, curious to see what he was planning.
“Is this a near-immortal-grade artifact?”
Ling Xiao noticed Ming Tian wasn’t looking at him but was instead shoving handfuls of high-grade true essence pills into his mouth, clearly trying to recover quickly.
Using his Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul to analyse the cubic crystal, Ling Xiao judged it to be stronger than a rare-grade artifact but not quite an immortal-grade one.
That old Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign really spared no expense for his disciple, even gifting Ming Tian such a treasure.
“Ling Xiao, how about we make a deal?”
Ming Tian looked at Ling Xiao and said, “I’ll return the two Longevity Fruits to you, but you can’t attack me anymore!”
After fusing with the beast, he had become far more pragmatic.
He knew he was only clinging to survival with this near-immortal-grade artifact and was no match for Ling Xiao.
The artifact required constant infusion of true essence, and he didn’t have nearly as many high-grade true essence pills as Ling Xiao. He simply couldn’t afford to keep this up.
After weighing his options, he decided to give up the two Longevity Fruits. The trial was still ongoing, and who knew what other treasures might appear later?
It wasn’t worth getting eliminated over two Longevity Fruits.
“Are you serious?”
Though Ling Xiao wanted to eliminate Ming Tian and see him ousted, he faced a dilemma.
This near-immortal-grade artifact wasn’t something he could break quickly. If he kept wasting time here, it might delay the trial.
Since that was the case, securing the two Longevity Fruits would suffice. There would be plenty of chances to eliminate Ming Tian later, so it didn’t have to be now.
“Absolutely serious!”
Ming Tian said.
“I can agree not to attack you here, but elsewhere, that’s not guaranteed.”
Ling Xiao said calmly.
“No problem!”
Ming Tian had already decided to steer clear of Ling Xiao after leaving this place.
He didn’t believe Ling Xiao would waste time chasing him down.
With that, he threw the two Longevity Fruits out.
After carefully inspecting them and confirming it wasn’t a trap, Ling Xiao stored the two Longevity Fruits in his Mountains and Rivers World.
“So, Junior Brother Ling, the items are correct, right?”
Though Ming Tian was anxious and worried inside, he remained calm on the surface. “You probably understand the situation, Junior Brother Ling. I’m no match for you, but you can’t break through this cubic crystal’s defence either. Since you’ve got what you wanted, shouldn’t you leave now?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not the type to go back on my word like you lot!”
Ling Xiao couldn’t be bothered with Ming Tian.
His reason for attacking Ming Tian was solely to reclaim the two Longevity Fruits.
If he kept attacking Ming Tian now and pushed him to desperation, who knew what crazy thing he might do?
A fight to the death was best avoided.
Ling Xiao was certain Ming Tian still had some tricks up his sleeve.
With that in mind, he left the herb garden.
The garden was now practically scorched earth, with nothing left worth taking.
Seeing Ling Xiao leave, Ming Tian let out a long sigh of relief.
Watching Ling Xiao’s retreating figure, his expression flickered with uncertainty.
“This Ling Xiao is indeed clever. If he’d stubbornly insisted on taking my life, I’d have had no choice but to use a move that would take us both out. At worst, we’d both be eliminated!”
He still had that much confidence.
“Yu Ling, let’s go!”
After leaving the herb garden, Ling Xiao didn’t linger.
He had five Longevity Fruits on him, and the others were wary of him due to the terrifying strength he’d shown in defeating Ming Tian.
But if too much time passed, that might not hold.
Greed could drive people to madness.
Just then, the Stone Giant, having finished its rest, began chasing them again. With no time to think, everyone followed.
However, the eyes of Tantai Lingzi, Shen Tianlin, Bai Feifei, Wu Yang, and Qin Wu gleamed with sinister intent.
They would keep watching Ling Xiao. The moment he showed a weakness, they would use every ounce of their strength to eliminate, or even kill, him!
Yet Ling Xiao was well aware of their intentions.
In fact, he was also looking for an opportunity. He wouldn’t passively let himself be targeted. The moment he got a chance, he would take them all out.
One by one, if need be.
After they all left, Ming Tian emerged from the herb garden and trailed behind the group.
He didn’t dare get too close to Ling Xiao.
Though Bai Feifei and the others were around, and Ling Xiao might not dare target him directly, who knew what that madman was capable of? He had to stay extremely cautious.
Thus, Ling Xiao and the others were chased by the Stone Giant.
Ming Tian followed from a distance. Along the way, perhaps because the first stage was nearing its end, they didn’t encounter any more treasures.
Ling Xiao’s battle with Ming Tian had taken a toll, so he moved intermittently. Before the next special situation arose, he needed to ensure his true essence was fully restored, so he’d be prepared for anything.
“Look, what’s that!”
Suddenly, a cry of shock broke out from the silent group hurrying along.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice.
A glint of excitement flashed in Ling Xiao’s eyes!
Finally, it had appeared. This must be the final opportunity of the first stage.
