The battle dragged on for nearly an hour.
Eight combatants, all at eighth or ninth-layer Martial Emperor level, created disturbances that spread for countless li. Light blazed across the sky, thunderous explosions never ceased, and vast waves of qi surged like an ocean, levelling mountains and flattening valleys.
During that time, Lin Xiao had stuffed a considerable number of pills into his mouth.
Relying solely on coordinated essence and spiritual attacks, rather than unleashing a single all-or-nothing trump card, even his formidable power could not defeat a ninth-layer Martial Emperor.
He could only remain undefeated, always at a disadvantage, his body now covered in numerous wounds.
Fortunately, his own strength was sufficient that his opponent could not easily finish him either.
On the other fronts, the hundred-zhang golden Buddha completely pinned Ji Yue down; in fact, she was the one fighting defensively and trying to escape.
Although the skeleton cavalry also fell slightly behind, their flawless and powerful coordination allowed them to fully tie down one ninth-layer Martial Emperor.
As for Monk Bu Dong, he truly grew stronger as the fight wore on. He had shifted from disadvantage to advantage, injuring the Ji family ninth-layer elder quite severely.
Still, even he had not managed to finish his opponent.
Seeing an hour pass without Bu Dong clearly overpowering the elder, Lin Xiao began seriously considering escape.
He was only half-step Martial Emperor and a high-grade sixth-rank spirit controller. His reserves were far shallower than a ninth-layer Martial Emperor’s. He was sustaining himself entirely on massive quantities of pills. If this continued, he would eventually run dry and fall into mortal danger.
“That’s enough!”
At that moment, Monk Bu Dong stopped attacking the white-haired Ji family elder. Instead, he suddenly spread his arms wide and laughed at the elder. “This humble monk will stand right here and let you hit me!”
“Courting death!”
The white-haired elder flew into a rage.
This monk kept growing stronger, putting the elder at a disadvantage, which was already hard to stomach.
Now the man spread his arms and taunted him openly. This was naked humiliation.
Swish!
A mighty sword beam, sharp enough to slice the void itself, slashed down at Monk Bu Dong with ferocious momentum.
To the white-haired elder’s utter shock, the monk truly stood motionless and let the strike land.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang out. The elder’s sword beam shattered completely, turning into rolling shockwaves that surged in all directions.
Yet amid those waves, the monk stood completely unmoved, not a single scratch on him.
The white-haired elder was both stunned and mortified. He, a dignified Ji family elder and ninth-layer Martial Emperor, could not injure a man who neither dodged nor blocked?
Where could he put his face?
What shocked him even more was that after this strike, a powerful aura suddenly burst from the monk. Buddhist light blazed for thousands of zhang, and matchless pressure enveloped heaven and earth.
“He broke through?”
Lin Xiao was startled.
Monk Bu Dong’s cultivation had actually advanced from eighth-layer to ninth-layer Martial Emperor. In terms of realm, he was now equal to his opponent.
Yet Bu Dong’s combat power had always been exceptional. At eighth-layer he could already fight ninth-layer opponents, and just before the breakthrough he had held the upper hand. Now that he had broken through, his strength would surely far surpass the elder.
Of course, perhaps because he was a Buddhist cultivator, Lin Xiao felt the aura on Bu Dong was rather strange.
The cultivation level seemed blurred and hard to pin down.
If not for the obvious breakthrough just now, Lin Xiao would have struggled to judge the monk’s exact realm.
“Hahaha! This humble monk has broken through. You’re finished!”
Monk Bu Dong let out an excited laugh, saliva practically dripping from the corner of his mouth. With a burst of movement, he shot towards the white-haired elder at extreme speed.
“Moving Battle Buddha Annihilation Seal!”
A vast golden palm of light formed as he charged, slamming down on the elder.
The white-haired elder hurriedly unleashed the Zhaotian Sword, yet he could not withstand it. The weakened palm struck him squarely, forcing a huge mouthful of blood from his lips and inflicting serious injury.
“Run!”
The white-haired elder shouted, then abruptly exploded with speed and fled towards the horizon.
Seeing this, the other elder and the youth unleashed powerful attacks before turning to escape as well.
Far away, Ji Yue felt deeply unwilling.
In the end, however, she could only abandon the idea of killing Lin Xiao and the monk here and now.
Her objective had failed once again.
Monk Bu Dong, who had been about to give chase, froze in surprise. Their fleeing ability exceeded his expectations.
There had already been some distance between them, and at that speed, even if he pushed himself to the limit, he could not catch up.
Without the hundred-zhang golden Buddha, the skeleton cavalry, and Lin Xiao holding the line, chasing alone would yield no benefit.
In the end, he could only watch the ducks that were already at his mouth fly away.
Naturally, Lin Xiao did not pursue either.
With his strength, he was already outmatched and had even considered fleeing himself. Since Bu Dong could not catch them, there was even less reason for him to try.
“Elders, we’ve come to assist!”
At that moment, two figures streaked from another part of the sky, sweeping forth with rolling ninth-layer Martial Emperor auras.
In that instant, the fleeing Ji Yue and her three companions all stopped in stunned disbelief far away in the void.
After clearly seeing the newcomers, the first white-haired elder who had shouted to run burst into loud laughter. “Hahaha!”
Immediately, the four turned back and charged once more towards Lin Xiao and Monk Bu Dong.
Lin Xiao’s brows knitted tightly. The two who had just arrived were actually ninth-layer Martial Emperors from Sheng Tian Men.
Sheng Tian Men’s ninth-layer Martial Emperors had been drawn here too! Even though Bu Dong had broken through, adding two more ninth-layer opponents meant they were hopelessly outmatched.
Moreover, the enemy would certainly target him as the breakthrough point.
“Run!”
Lin Xiao shouted instantly to Monk Bu Dong.
“Hmph, think you can escape? Not so easy!”
Of the two from Sheng Tian Men, one was a ninth-layer youth. His speed exploded, faster than anyone else present, shooting towards Lin Xiao like lightning.
“Such a huge commotion didn’t just attract you lot!”
At that moment, a woman’s voice rang out. An incomparably sharp sword beam, carrying rolling waves of icy intent, slashed across from the side, intercepting the Sheng Tian Men youth.
At the same time, three figures flew in from that direction.
Leading them was a woman of stunning, timeless beauty.
“Luo Qianqiu!”
The Sheng Tian Men youth who had been rushing towards Lin Xiao frowned deeply. He hurriedly unleashed an attack to block the terrifying sword beam. A heaven-shaking shockwave erupted, and his speed was drastically reduced.
