“Swoosh!” Just as Elder Zhou’s sword was about to strike from behind, a vortex spanning dozens of feet suddenly formed, appearing out of nowhere in front of Elder Zhou.
The vortex was filled with energies of devouring, incineration, and thunder attributes. The surrounding space instantly darkened, faintly shimmering with thunderous light. The terrifying special energy seemed to distort and burn the space to ashes, as if thunder was about to erupt. The surrounding air nearly boiled, the temperature soaring, and the entire space flickered between light and dark.
“What!” Elder Zhou was utterly shocked. For this ambush, he was absolutely certain he could kill Lin Xiao.
He never imagined that, under such circumstances, Lin Xiao could still conjure such a peculiar vortex in time.
The energy within this vortex was terrifying enough to threaten the life of a Martial Emperor.
At his current speed, there was no way he could stop or change direction.
His vision darkened, and his entire body plunged straight into the black, cyan, and blue devouring vortex.
“Bang!”
In that instant, the devouring vortex, struck by the immense impact of Elder Zhou and the Sky Control Boat, seemed about to explode but ultimately held, emitting a fierce, resounding clash.
Originally, Elder Zhou’s speed was incredibly fast, almost enough to pierce Lin Xiao’s body in an instant.
However, with the obstruction of this energy vortex, Elder Zhou’s speed slowed dramatically.
As he emerged from the vortex of three energy attributes, the Sky Control Boat beneath his feet had been completely incinerated.
Elder Zhou’s entire body had turned into a bloodied figure.
This bloodied figure had shrunk significantly, yet he still maintained his original sword-holding stance, thrusting forward.
Taking advantage of Elder Zhou’s slowed momentum, Lin Xiao turned around. His right fist, tightly clenched, suddenly unleashed an explosive aura. With a punch, the air seemed to detonate. Following the momentum of his turn, Lin Xiao dodged Elder Zhou’s sword, letting it miss his side, and smashed his fist heavily into Elder Zhou’s chest.
Bang!
Another spray of blood burst forth. Lin Xiao’s fist plunged through Elder Zhou’s chest, piercing out from his back, pinning Elder Zhou firmly in front of him.
“You, you!” Duan Huang was so shocked he could barely speak.
After an hour of exhausting Lin Xiao, and after injuring him with the enhanced power from the Seventh Grade Initial Yuan Enhancing Pill, Duan Huang was certain Lin Xiao could not survive Elder Zhou’s ambush.
Yet now, it wasn’t Lin Xiao who died, but Elder Zhou!
Under normal circumstances, Lin Xiao should not have been able to react.
There could only be one possibility: it wasn’t Elder Zhou who had plotted against Lin Xiao, but Lin Xiao who had long set a trap, luring Elder Zhou into a deadly scheme!
But Duan Huang knew Lin Xiao’s strength: a Fifth Stage Martial Lord, capable only of contending with a Second Stage Martial Emperor. After unleashing so many powerful moves, his Dantian energy should be nearly depleted.
Moreover, under Duan Huang’s enhanced Second Stage Martial Emperor power, Lin Xiao was bound to be injured. How could he still have the ability to scheme against Elder Zhou?
Duan Huang was both shocked and baffled.
On the other side, Ming Luo, who was dodging and retreating under the Purple Corpse Puppet’s relentless attacks, was equally stunned by the scene.
Lin Xiao, with his fist piercing through the bloodied figure, also showed a trace of surprise on his face.
Elder Zhou of the Ling Sword Sect was exactly whom Lin Xiao had planned for. When Elder Zhou left, Lin Xiao had noticed the undisguised, urgent killing intent in his eyes.
Even if he left, he would likely return.
After all, unaware that Lin Xiao’s spiritual and Yuan forces had broken through, Elder Zhou would assume Lin Xiao and Duan Huang’s battle would leave both severely weakened.
He would also think of taking advantage of the situation, secretly returning.
Lin Xiao posed a far greater threat to the Ling Sword Sect than Duan Huang or Ming Luo, and with their enmity, Lin Xiao was certain that if Elder Zhou returned and saw an opportunity, he would choose to attack him first.
Thus, Lin Xiao had never revealed his true strength, pretending his Yuan force was nearly exhausted and that he was no match for Duan Huang, deliberately exposing a major flaw.
This lured Elder Zhou to act, and when he was unprepared, Lin Xiao struck him down.
Otherwise, if Lin Xiao had used his full strength early on and defeated Duan Huang, Elder Zhou would likely have fled in fear.
Of course, Elder Zhou was part of the Righteous Alliance. For the sake of the bigger picture, Lin Xiao could have spared him temporarily.
But Elder Zhou’s revealed killing intent and hatred prompted Lin Xiao to make this decision.
Moreover, it was only a guess. If Elder Zhou hadn’t come to assassinate him, all would have been well. Since he did, it confirmed Lin Xiao should not hold back.
What surprised Lin Xiao was that, before his fist pierced Elder Zhou’s body, it seemed Elder Zhou’s life force had already dissipated, his body charred beyond recognition.
This meant that with his current Sixth Grade High-Level spiritual force, the Heaven Devouring Technique, fused with three spiritual energies, was enough to kill a First Stage Martial Emperor upon impact.
He hadn’t expected the fused spiritual energy attack to be so powerful.
Subsequently, Lin Xiao took Elder Zhou’s storage ring and stored his body within it.
If Elder Zhou’s face still had flesh, his corpse would likely show an expression of dying with unresolved grievances.
After finishing, Lin Xiao turned around, casting his gaze toward Duan Huang. A cold smile appeared on his lips as he said, “The fish has taken the bait. Now, it’s your turn!”
With that, an overwhelming Sixth Stage Martial Lord aura erupted from Lin Xiao, his momentum surging dramatically.
“Your cultivation has actually broken through to the Sixth Stage Martial Lord! Your previous battles were all a facade?” Duan Huang’s face was filled with utter shock.
He could hardly believe how quickly Lin Xiao’s cultivation had advanced. Just over a month ago, hadn’t he only broken through to the Second Stage Martial Lord?
In just over a month, he had advanced another stage?
Moreover, if Lin Xiao’s previous battles were a pretense, didn’t that mean Lin Xiao had been effortlessly handling his attacks?
If a Fifth Stage Martial Lord could kill a First Stage Martial Emperor, then at the Sixth Stage, with his most powerful trump cards, could he threaten Duan Huang?
“Exactly. Now, prepare to die!”
Lin Xiao charged forward, once again drawing the Yao Guang Broken Sword. His entire body shot toward Duan Huang.
Although the Heaven Devouring Technique was powerful, it was driven by spiritual energy, and Duan Huang had not yet realized Lin Xiao possessed the combat strength of a Martial Emperor through his spiritual force.
In close combat, he might be able to outmaneuver and kill Duan Huang in one strike.
However, Duan Huang seemed intimidated by Lin Xiao. Before Lin Xiao could close within a few hundred feet, a dazzling light burst from Duan Huang’s fist. An overwhelmingly powerful fist light, like a rolling river, surged toward Lin Xiao with unstoppable momentum.
