“Kill him!”
Roaring shouts erupted as the twenty or thirty people in the Yuan Pool, except for Ling Hu, surged forward like ferocious lions and beasts, charging to attack Lin Xiao.
The hundreds of Martial Venerables on the outskirts also exploded with rage, unable to resist rushing forward.
To their shock, the hundreds or thousands of spirit beasts no longer blocked them. Instead, as if encountering something terrifying, they suddenly scattered in all directions in a panic.
This left the crowd stunned in place. What was happening?
“Boom! Sss! Sss!”
By then, Lin Xiao had already plunged into the Spirit Pool, his entire body diving into the water. The barrage of attacks aimed at him dissipated upon hitting the pool’s outer barrier.
Though the Yuan Pool had vanished, along with its mysterious force, the Spirit Pool remained, still surrounded by its enigmatic energy, blocking the crowd’s attacks.
As the group reached the area above the Spirit Pool, they were all halted. The Spirit Pool was even more mysterious than the Yuan Pool, and only Spirit Controllers could enter.
“Surround him, don’t let him escape!”
Lu Chao bellowed loudly.
He had planned to refine the Yuan Pool to break through and build his lord’s foundation, but Lin Xiao had drained it entirely, nearly making him explode with rage.
Cao Youwei, and the yet-to-be-revealed Xu Changkong, were also seething, practically spitting blood in anger.
Everyone present was furious. Not only the twenty or thirty from the Yuan Pool who now surrounded the Spirit Pool, but also the hundreds from the outskirts rushed over, leaving only the ignored Ling Hu standing awkwardly in place.
“Truly impressive!” Ling Hu sighed, utterly speechless. He couldn’t fathom what had happened, but with Lin Xiao draining the entire Yuan Pool, his share was gone too.
Yet, he harboured no resentment toward Lin Xiao. Deep down, he was even happy for him.
Draining the entire Yuan Pool must bring immense benefits.
The expressions on everyone’s faces were quite a sight.
But, anticipating what might come next, Ling Hu’s brows furrowed, and he immediately shot forward.
“Sss! Sss!”
As expected, in just a short while, before the Spirit Controllers from the outskirts, now unblocked by spirit beasts, could enter the Spirit Pool, it too began to drop rapidly, just like the Yuan Pool, until it hit bottom.
In the final moment, everyone saw a massive wave of Spirit Pool liquid surge into Lin Xiao’s body.
Zi Ling, who had been immersed in the Spirit Pool, watched as it vanished entirely into Lin Xiao’s body. She stood dazed, staring at him in shock.
Her eyes widened dramatically.
“Don’t just stare, get ready to run!”
Lin Xiao said to Zi Ling. In truth, he felt like cursing. He hadn’t expected the Spirit Pool to be drained by the Heavenly Eye as well.
The Yuan Pool could have helped him break through one cultivation realm, and the Spirit Pool might have pushed his spirit power up a level. Now, both were gone, and he faced the wrath of hundreds or thousands of Martial Venerables.
He was utterly frustrated!
At that moment, something even more exasperating happened. As he prepared to leap upward, the Heavenly Eye suddenly released a torrent of Yuan Pool energy, flooding into his dantian.
Simultaneously, a surge of Spirit Pool energy coursed through his meridians, rushing into his mind.
“Not good, it’s forcing a breakthrough now!”
Lin Xiao exclaimed in alarm. The Yuan and Spirit energy were beyond his control, flooding into his dantian and mind.
Clearly, he was being forced to refine the Yuan and Spirit Pool energy spilling from the Heavenly Eye. He couldn’t tell if this was the Heavenly Eye’s feedback or an overflow from overabsorption.
But breaking through now was far from ideal.
“Defensive Compass!”
Zi Ling reacted swiftly, tossing a compass into the air. A dazzling golden light burst from it.
This was her defensive treasure, a gift from her Martial Emperor great-grandfather.
She had planned to use it when Lin Xiao emerged, but now she had no choice but to activate it.
Otherwise, Lin Xiao would be blasted to pieces before escaping.
“I’ll help you!”
Ling Hu, who had sped over from the crowd, reached the area above the Spirit Pool. The compass’s radiant golden light enveloped him just in time.
“Kill!”
The surrounding crowd snapped back to reality, unleashing terrifying attacks. A sea of energy crashed against the golden light of the compass.
Resounding clashes echoed as the crowd’s attacks sank like stones into the sea, dissipated by the golden light.
But the power of hundreds or thousands of Martial Venerables, like a force to destroy heaven and earth, surged relentlessly, striking the compass’s golden light with blazing intensity.
The mountain beneath Lin Xiao and the others crumbled, but the compass’s golden light enveloped their position, shielding them entirely.
“Lin Xiao, focus on breaking through. Ling Hu, help me channel energy into the compass!”
Zi Ling shouted, soaring to the compass’s underside, her head pressed against it, pouring her fifth-grade intermediate spirit power into it.
The compass was a powerful defensive treasure. Once activated, it could withstand strong attacks, but it required continuous energy to maintain.
The stronger the energy, the more formidable the defence.
Hearing this, Ling Hu shot upward, pressing a hand against the compass’s underside, channelling his robust energy into it.
The compass’s light stabilised, its dazzling golden glow like an impregnable fortress, unyielding against the attacks of hundreds or thousands of Martial Venerables.
Following Zi Ling’s words, Lin Xiao quickly closed his eyes, fully focusing on refining.
In his current state, he couldn’t fight. Only by breaking through could he manage the flood of Yuan and Spirit Pool energy into his dantian and mind.
Cultivating both Yuan and Spirit forces simultaneously was far more challenging, but in this situation, Lin Xiao had no choice. No matter how difficult, he had to refine both.
He didn’t want to waste the Heavenly Eye’s “gift.”
“They can’t hold out for long, kill them!”
Cao Youwei, losing all composure, roared furiously.
The Cao family’s core martial technique was unleashed, a dazzling fist aura carrying the force to tear space, striking the golden light.
Lu Chao followed suit, his unmatched power bursting forth. His heavy axe swung, forming an axe-like energy that slammed into the compass’s golden light. Even the usually discreet Xu Changkong couldn’t hold back. His Void Blade Technique was unleashed, a blinding blade aura like the sun erupting from his sword, its flames leaping as it illuminated the heavens, as if shattering the void itself.
The golden blade aura carried immense power.
Its emergence stunned the surroundings, surpassing even Xu Shijie’s attacks, causing Lu Chao and Cao Youwei to glance sideways. “He’s Xu Changkong?” Staring at the seemingly ordinary twenty-three or twenty-four-year-old youth, both were shocked.
