Boom!
At that moment, Zi Mo rushed toward the swiftly approaching Cao Tianchao, clashing with a palm strike that made the void tremble.
“Swish!”
However, Lu Yuan also broke free from a mass of white tendrils in an instant, bursting out and charging toward Lin Xiao.
Cao Tianchao aimed to capture Lin Xiao alive, but Xu Zilan had no such intention. If not for concern about harming Zi Ling and Ling Hu, he would have simply struck Lin Xiao dead from afar.
Of course, he also wanted to kill Lin Xiao and seize his belongings. Killing Lin Xiao up close and taking his storage ring was a fine option.
Bang!
At this critical moment, the storage ring in Zi Mo’s hand suddenly shattered, and a torrent of black energy surged out, accompanied by a heaven-shaking aura that made the world quiver. In the rolling black mist, a graceful figure emerged, with bat-like iron wings extending from her back and a dark, gleaming spike appearing. The terrifying aura of a mid-sixth-rank spirit beast swept in all directions, accompanied by a sound like chanting scriptures, as if the heavens themselves were trembling.
In the surging black mist, this enchanting figure shot toward Lu Yuan, her terrifying palm colliding head-on with him.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted, with terrifying waves bursting forth. The enchanting figure blocked Lu Yuan.
“Mei Tianmo’s breakthrough succeeded!”
Lin Xiao’s heart leapt with joy. After two months in seclusion, Mei Tianmo had finally broken through at this critical moment, stopping Lu Yuan. Otherwise, Lin Xiao would have been in serious trouble.
“Chi!”
With Mei Tianmo and Zi Mo holding back the two ninth-level Martial Monarchs, Lin Xiao had already infused fifty azure spirit stones into the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings. Brilliant golden light burst from the wings, enveloping the three of them.
Then, the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings shuddered, carrying the trio like a beam of light, shooting forward through a gap in the mass of white tendrils.
“Everyone who entered the secret realm has been killed by me!”
At this moment, Lin Xiao shouted loudly. Since he was escaping, revealing the truth wouldn’t hurt—it might even rile up the three great families.
“What?” Lin Xiao’s words sent a shock through the onlookers.
They knew that those who didn’t emerge when the Yuan Spirit Pool Secret Realm closed had perished.
But for everyone except Lin Xiao’s trio to have fallen? They couldn’t believe it, assuming instead that something was wrong with the secret realm.
Yet Lin Xiao’s shout confirmed it. The Yuan Spirit Pool Secret Realm had occurred countless times, and there was never a case where those who didn’t emerge were still alive. The secret realm wasn’t prone to such issues.
And even if there was a problem, it wouldn’t result in only Lin Xiao’s trio emerging.
This meant that everyone else had indeed perished.
Recalling how Lin Xiao had nearly wiped out the entire Cao family in their fourth city, it was clear he had the ability to carry out such a massacre.
But what they couldn’t comprehend was how Lin Xiao, with his strength, could have killed everyone?
After all, the young fighters in the secret realm included top eighth-level Martial Venerable geniuses like Cao Youwei, Cao Xueqing, Lu Chao, and Xu Changkong.
Each was extraordinarily powerful, with strong life-preserving means, yet all had been killed by Lin Xiao?
Even if it was hard to understand, the fact remained that no one else had emerged from the secret realm.
If they didn’t come out when the realm closed, they were dead—completely, utterly dead.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
“Roar!”…
After a moment of stunned silence, furious roars erupted from the crowd.
Cao Tianchao and Lu Yuan, held back by their opponents, were so enraged they spat blood, overcome with fury.
“Lin Xiao, I’ll make you die in agony!!!”
A thunderous roar came from Cao Tianchao. With a flick of his hand, he hurled an object that shot out like a streak of azure light, chasing after Lin Xiao’s trio at the speed of a beam.
“Not good!” In an instant, Lin Xiao felt the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings slow down rapidly, and the azure light caught up to them in a blink.
Then, Lin Xiao felt a jolt as the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings were ripped from beneath their feet, sucked away by the azure light.
“Clang!”
A metallic clang rang out. Lin Xiao saw a blood-stained bronze basin appear in his sight, with the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings nowhere to be seen.
“What?” Lin Xiao, Ling Hu, and Zi Ling were dumbfounded. They had only flown a few dozen li, and the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings had been sucked into the bronze basin?
What kind of treasure was this bronze basin, capable of absorbing the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings in mid-flight?
He had used fifty azure spirit stones—a massive energy source that even a ninth-level Martial Monarch couldn’t catch up to.
Yet, with such immense energy and speed, the basin had overtaken and absorbed them, something Lin Xiao couldn’t fathom.
“Swish!”
In an instant, the bronze basin returned the way it came, shooting back toward Cao Tianchao like a beam of light.
“This is the Ancient Wind Treasure Basin, which absorbs all flying artifacts. Lin Xiao, no matter what, you won’t escape today!” Cao Tianchao’s thunderous shout rang out.
“Kill, kill him!”
Roars erupted from the tens of thousands of onlookers, and then half of them surged forward, a massive force charging toward Lin Xiao.
The young fighters they sent to the Yuan Spirit Pool Secret Realm were their factions’ elites, many with familial ties like fathers, sons, or grandsons. Hearing they were all killed by Lin Xiao, they could no longer hold back and erupted in fury.
Facing the overwhelming crowd charging forward, Lin Xiao regretted his words deeply. Why had he shouted that he killed everyone in the secret realm?
Now, without the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings, how could they escape such a force?
The charging crowd numbered over ten thousand, with more Martial Monarchs than the three great families combined!
He hadn’t imagined anything could absorb the Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings!
Had he known, he would never have shouted it out!
Shouting it felt good, and imagining the three great families spitting blood in rage was satisfying, but now he faced not only their wrath but also that of ten thousand experts.
Lin Xiao was utterly speechless at himself! He was practically courting death!
“Run quick, I can only trap mid-stage Martial Monarchs, not high-stage ones!”
At that moment, the Xutian Moon’s childish voice called out from afar.
“Run!”
Hearing this, Lin Xiao realized the Xutian Moon was still holding the line. He shouted to Ling Hu and Zi Ling, then activated his spiritual energy and primal energy to form wings, turning to flee.
Sure enough, as the ten thousand-plus experts charged through the area with the white tendrils, the Xutian Moon unleashed even more tendrils, instantly enveloping them all, silencing their battle cries.
“Swish!” “Swish!” “Swish!”…
But at that moment, six figures broke free from the tendrils, their eighth-level Martial Monarch auras surging as they chased Lin Xiao’s trio.
These six were clearly eighth-level Martial Monarchs from the three great families. The Xutian Moon’s tendrils could only hold them briefly.
Soon, even seventh-level Martial Monarchs would likely break free.
And among the ten thousand trapped experts, there were several high-stage Martial Monarchs who would probably break out soon. “This is bad!” Feeling the powerful auras rapidly approaching from behind, Lin Xiao’s brows furrowed tightly.
