As Lin Xiao and the other two stepped out of the hall, they saw four figures standing several hundred zhang ahead. One of them was very familiar to Lin Xiao.
It was the Ji family’s grand elder, Ji Zhen.
As for the other three, Lin Xiao had never seen them before.
Yet all three faintly exuded the pressure of Martial Saints, their auras immensely powerful.
Especially the black-haired elder in the centre. His age was probably no less than Ji Zhen’s, yet he gave the impression of a middle-aged man.
His eyebrows were thick, his eyes deep and calm. No emotion showed on his face.
Nevertheless, he carried an air of natural authority, commanding awe across the world, inspiring dread.
It went without saying that this man was the Ji family patriarch. Apart from the four, there was not a single soul around. The area was completely empty.
Clearly, everyone else had been swiftly evacuated.
Or, to avoid collateral damage, very few people had been left at the Ji family headquarters.
Some might even have entered the underground palace.
Lin Xiao gazed coldly at the four ahead. He removed the mask from his face, revealing a slightly handsome, mature countenance.
“Truly, heroes emerge young.”
At that moment, Ji Tian spoke calmly, his tone one of admiration.
“Walking into the net yourself. Lin Xiao, today you will not escape, even with wings.”
Ji Zhen roared in fury.
Lin Xiao had humiliated him too greatly. As the grand elder of the Ji family, repeatedly shamed, he could not wait for Lin Xiao to die.
Now, at last, the moment had come.
“Do you truly believe Ji Guang is a spy planted by Azure Dragon Gate?”
The Ji family’s southern elder also spoke. “We might as well tell you. Ji Guang was merely a false spy we placed in Azure Dragon Gate, all to lure you here.”
“How could the Ji family dungeon allow you to come and go freely?
We simply turned your scheme against you.”
The eastern elder chimed in agreement.
“Oh no. Have we fallen into a trap?”
Ling Hu whispered from the side.
Zi Ling frowned deeply too. She had known the Ji family patriarch would not be so simple.
Lin Xiao did not reply. He stared icily at the Ji patriarch floating in the void ahead. “Are you so certain you can stop me?”
“A trapping formation surrounds this place. You cannot escape.”
Ji Tian said calmly. With that, he activated a formation token in his hand. A faint barrier rose within a thousand zhang radius, enveloping the entire compound.
Lin Xiao’s expression remained unchanged. “You turned our scheme against us. But who says we did not do the same to you?”
Whoosh!
At that instant, a flying disc streaked across the sky at incredible speed, spinning as it sliced diagonally into the point where the formation barrier met the ground.
The barrier was directly cut. The disc spun deeper, severing the ground patterns that powered the formation.
Boom!
A loud explosion erupted. Soil burst upward. The trapping formation covering a thousand zhang instantly dissipated without trace.
Immediately after, three figures shot in from three directions, converging on Lin Xiao’s position.
These three were none other than Long Tutian, Huo Ruyan, and the demonic frog Qing Yan.
Their arrival startled Ji Zhen and the others.
They had expected Long Tutian, but who were the other two?
And what was that flying disc? How could it destroy a trapping formation outright?
This was a formation capable of holding Martial Saints. Ling Hu and Zi Ling were shocked too, for they could sense the terrifying pressure emanating from the newcomers.
All three were Martial Saints. Lin Xiao had not come alone after all.
With three Martial Saints appearing, plus Lin Xiao himself, the two sides were now equal in numbers.
“The Demonic Frog Clan?”
Seeing Qing Yan in his mottled robes, Ji Tian frowned slightly. His eyes grew sharper. “Your Demonic Frog Clan has always kept to yourselves, never interfering with other powers. Do you intend to meddle in our affairs?”
“I, Demonic Frog Qing Yan, speak only for myself. If I wish to intervene, I will. If you have the ability, kill me. The Demonic Frog Clan will not care one bit.”
Qing Yan replied domineeringly.
Ji Zhen and the others darkened.
When a Martial Saint acted, it represented an entire power. Even if he claimed to act alone.
The Demonic Frog Clan surely understood the implications. Yet they still came to assist. That meant they wished to involve themselves.
Ji Zhen was filled with confusion. When had Lin Xiao forged ties with a demonic saint from the Demonic Frog Clan?
One willing to offend the Ji family to fight?
And who was the girl beside them?
She did not seem like a spirit beast.
Yet at barely twenty, she possessed Martial Saint cultivation?
“Long Tutian, does Azure Dragon Gate also wish to interfere?”
The southern elder glared at Long Tutian and demanded coldly.
He had once been gravely wounded by Long Tutian and harboured deep hatred.
“Southern Elder exaggerates. Long Tutian and Lin Xiao are martial brothers. I must wade into these muddy waters. It has nothing to do with Azure Dragon Gate. Do not take offence.”
Long Tutian replied evenly.
Far different from the arrogant Long Tutian of old.
Yet this was merely in words.
The southern elder knew best that when Long Tutian fought, his strikes were ruthless.
“Do you believe the four of you can leave here safely?”
Ji Tian said calmly. Terrifying authority already surged from him. The aura of a third-level Martial Saint enveloped heaven and earth.
Clearly, Ji Tian was ready to act. Even with three arrivals and the formation destroyed, his expression barely changed.
Sensing that immense pressure, Lin Xiao could not help frowning.
A third-level Martial Saint was indeed fearsome, far beyond what one or two levels could match.
The higher the cultivation, the greater the gap between each realm.
Hiss!
At that moment, Lin Xiao summoned his battle skeleton. He immediately commanded it, while transmitting to Zi Ling and Ling Hu. “Leave first. Someone will meet you.”
With that, Lin Xiao charged forward. The battle skeleton swept up Zi Ling and Ling Hu, retreating explosively rearward.
Roar! From the start, Lin Xiao pushed his yuan energy to the limit. The blood dragon phenomenon emerged in the sky behind him. The entire firmament turned crimson, as though ancient pressure descended, enveloping heaven and earth.
“Shakelight!”
At the same time, he unleashed the Shakelight Sword Art. His body grew translucent. Dazzling radiance burst from the Shakelight Broken Sword.
Peerless sword light erupted, carrying power to annihilate all things. Like a vertical beam of world-ending light, it struck towards the four ahead.
Following that, the tri-coloured energy palm of Holy Hand Covers Heaven condensed and pursued the first strike.
Meanwhile, Long Tutian, Huo Ruyan, and the demonic frog all attacked.
A dragon roar resounded from Long Tutian. His body seemed to become a true dragon, true draconic qi erupting, suppressing heaven and earth.
His right fist swung fiercely. Golden fist light burst from it, illuminating the entire area.
The golden fist light solidified. The entire manifestation became a five-to-six-zhang thick long dragon. At the front, a dragon head formed, complete with horns.
Its body even sprouted scale-like patterns, utterly lifelike.
The whole fist manifestation seemed a living golden dragon, jaws wide, charging towards the four ahead.
Long Tutian’s strike was several times stronger than what Lin Xiao had seen the previous year.
One year ago, Long Tutian had easily repelled a first-level Martial Saint. Even the second-level Ji Zhen had needed the Ji family’s treasure to trap him.
If his strength had grown further, the power was truly unimaginable.
