“Sss!”
Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Jian Wuqu’s body began to petrify at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to turn into a stone statue, his entire body frozen stiff, before plummeting downward.
“What?”
The onlookers’ eyes widened, their faces showing disbelief.
Jian Wuqu, not only struck, but his entire body petrified?
What kind of eerie technique was this?
“Swish!”
Amid the crowd’s shock, Lin Xiao moved, charging toward Jian Wuqu.
At the same time, spiritual energy surged in his mind, rapidly brewing the Heaven-Devouring Technique.
“Crack!”
As Jian Wuqu fell, his body suddenly emitted a cracking sound.
The petrified surface of Jian Wuqu began to fracture, blood seeping out. An aura, growing from faint to strong, radiated powerfully from his body.
Clearly, the petrification power couldn’t fully turn Jian Wuqu to stone.
Lin Xiao had anticipated this.
After refining the Heavy Mountain Strange Rock, his petrification power had reached the level of his Third Stage Martial Venerable energy, achieving the second step of the Heaven-Sealing Stone Hand, capable of petrifying others.
If used head-on, it wouldn’t have much effect, but smashing directly onto Jian Wuqu’s body could indeed petrify him.
However, with Jian Wuqu’s strength, complete petrification was impossible, only enough to severely wound him to the point of being unable to fight back.
Thus, after petrifying Jian Wuqu, Lin Xiao immediately rushed forward, rapidly preparing the Heaven-Devouring Technique, ready to strike.
This was the perfect moment to attack Jian Wuqu.
“Sss!” The instant Jian Wuqu broke free from his petrified state, a dark cyan vortex formed in front of him. Terrifying devouring and burning forces surged forth, dimming the void and causing the surrounding temperature to spike. Jian Wuqu’s newly restored fleshly body was completely sucked into the dark cyan vortex.
In that moment, everyone was dumbfounded again.
Having just escaped that bizarre attack, Jian Wuqu was now caught in another powerful assault. The vortex made everyone’s hearts tremble.
“That’s, spiritual energy! Spiritual energy with devouring and burning powers!”
At that moment, Zi Gong’s shocked voice rang out.
Spiritual energy, the source of heaven and earth’s power, a treasure coveted by countless spiritual controllers.
No one expected Lin Xiao to possess spiritual energy.
This meant Lin Xiao was a spiritual controller, one with spiritual energy.
Everyone was stunned again. This underestimated kid was also a powerful spiritual controller?
Even Zi Jinchen and others, who knew Lin Xiao’s background, were equally shocked.
They knew Lin Xiao was not only a Fourth Stage Martial Venerable but also a mid-tier Fifth Grade spiritual controller, wielding two martial intents, a mid-tier Earth phenomenon, and thunder power.
But they didn’t know he possessed spiritual energy.
“This kid is truly heaven-defying!” Zi Jinchen and the others thought in shock.
“Ah!!!” At that moment, Jian Wuqu’s roar echoed from within the dark cyan vortex. In no time, the vortex, with its devouring and burning powers, was dispersed by a surge of energy.
In that instant, Lin Xiao, gripping a broken sword, slashed heavily at Jian Wuqu’s bloodied body, which had just reappeared in the void.
Everyone’s hearts tightened. Lin Xiao’s grasp of battle timing was terrifyingly precise, his methods ruthlessly efficient, leaving Jian Wuqu no chance.
At this point, everyone’s view of Lin Xiao began to shift. This guy was no brute from the deep mountains, but a battle-hardened, ruthless young man.
Otherwise, he couldn’t seize opportunities so accurately, striking with such lethal precision.
Subconsciously, everyone felt Jian Wuqu might fall to this kid, unable to unleash his full strength.
However, Jian Wuqu was Jian Wudi’s younger brother, the direct disciple of Lingjian Sect’s Fifth Elder. If he fell here, the consequences would be massive.
At the same time, everyone wondered why, even at this point, Jian Wuqu’s master, Zhang Tianze, hadn’t intervened?
Were the elders of Lingjian Sect truly so upright, refusing to interfere?
Clang!
As these thoughts flashed through the crowd’s minds, a piercing metallic clash rang out. Lin Xiao’s body was sent flying back.
Lin Xiao was shocked. He hadn’t expected Jian Wuqu to be so cunning and quick. As Jian Wuqu dispersed the devouring vortex, he had already drawn his sword and struck.
The immense force sent Lin Xiao flying, his hands numb from the impact.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have chosen close combat. Striking from a distance with the Nine Heavens Thunder Dragon spiritual energy and sword aura would’ve surely injured Jian Wuqu further, likely crippling him.
But this was also a matter of battle timing.
If he had chosen a ranged attack, Jian Wuqu’s powerful sword strike wouldn’t have been as effective, and it would’ve been countered by the energy blast.
Still, Lin Xiao couldn’t help but marvel. Jian Wuqu was indeed formidable, not only breaking free from petrification but also dispelling the devouring vortex.
A ranged attack wouldn’t have killed or crippled Jian Wuqu either.
In close combat, Jian Wuqu hadn’t anticipated or reacted fast enough. A direct slash would’ve cut him in half, killing him instantly, no matter how strong he was.
But once Jian Wuqu reacted, the attack lost its effect.
This strike was a miscalculation on Lin Xiao’s part.
The onlookers were equally stunned, thinking to themselves that if they were in Jian Wuqu’s place, they wouldn’t have anticipated Lin Xiao’s follow-up attack.
Without immediate defenses, the consequences would’ve been dire.
They likely would’ve been cleaved in two by Lin Xiao.
They also realized why Zhang Tianze hadn’t intervened. Jian Wuqu was already this powerful, with such acute crisis awareness, that his master didn’t need to lose face by stepping in.
“You’re courting death!”
A cold voice came from Jian Wuqu.
At this moment, Jian Wuqu was bloodied, looking like a man drenched in blood. In his hand was a long sword.
The sword, stained red with his own blood, dripped onto the ground.
A powerful aura radiated from Jian Wuqu.
Moreover, his sword seemed to emanate its own aura, an even more terrifying force blending with Jian Wuqu’s own.
Standing there, Jian Wuqu suddenly exuded immense pressure. “Sword aura, he’s comprehended sword aura!” Lin Xiao exclaimed, his expression turning grave.
