Duan Family.
“How is this possible?”
“Failed, failed again…”
After receiving the news, Yang Lan and Duan Tianya were deeply shaken.
This time, they had harboured hope again. Their Duan family’s Grand Elder, along with the experts from five major families and Lingjian Sect, had gone to the Zi family, intending to eliminate Lin Xiao completely.
Who could have expected such a result? The attempt to kill Lin Xiao failed again, and even the Duan family’s Grand Elder was injured, with heavy losses among their experts.
This made them feel as if they were collapsing once more.
The rest of the Duan family were now both furious and on high alert.
Lin Xiao and his group not only killed the top experts of the Yin, Luo, and Wen families on the spot but also went on to destroy the Luo family.
Such strength was not something a single family could resist.
The next target for Lin Xiao and his group could very well be the Duan family at any moment.
The Duan family’s experts urgently sought help from other forces, preparing various measures to defend against a potential attack from Lin Xiao and his group.
The Xing and Xiang families were in a similar state, with several major families tense and doing everything possible to deal with the crisis.
The Wen family suffered an even greater blow. Most of their main forces had perished at the Zi family, leaving the family with few top experts. If attacked again, they would face the same fate as the Luo family, with their main forces completely wiped out.
The Wen family had already started sending their geniuses into hiding, dispersing their main forces, preparing for the worst.
Apart from Lingjian Sect and the major families, the news of the six Martial Emperor families attacking the Zi family, the Yin, Luo, and Wen families being annihilated by Lin Xiao in a single strike, turning defeat into victory, and the destruction of the Luo family spread like wildfire across the entire region.
The whole region trembled again, almost boiling with excitement.
Lin Xiao’s name once again resounded throughout the region.
“No wonder he’s the Defiant Emperor genius, wiping out three major families with one move, such a record is simply terrifying.”
“But that was just relying on a single drop of Yellow Spring from the Evil Sect. What’s truly terrifying is the Burial Sect, one drop of Yellow Spring could kill thousands of elites from three major families. Who knows how much Yellow Spring the Burial Sect still has?”
“The Burial Sect has always been mysterious. I didn’t expect them to act so boldly this time. I’m afraid other top-tier sects will start to fear the Burial Sect and prepare to counter them.”
“I wonder what connection they have with Lin Xiao, and why the Burial Sect would help him.”
“It’s also possible that the Burial Sect wanted those families destroyed and used Lin Xiao’s hand to kill them.”
“Putting the Burial Sect aside, the battle at the Zi family had the Nine Heavens Sect and Spear Dragon Sect openly helping, even assisting in attacking the Yin family and destroying the Luo family. Clearly, they’re also sending a warning to others!”
“The six major families set up a scheme to seize the Substitute Holy Spirit Vein and eliminate the Defiant Emperor genius. It’s normal for the two major sects to intervene, after all, the dignity of top-tier sects cannot be violated.”
“The blood oath preventing Martial Emperors from acting hasn’t been in place for long, yet the thirty-six families are already in chaos, with top-tier sects getting involved. If this continues, who knows if the eight major sects will start fighting each other.”
“If the eight major sects start fighting, the entire Southeast Region will truly descend into chaos.”
…
All sorts of speculations and discussions filled the region, and with other families also clashing, the situation in the entire region became even more intense.
The Yin family’s affairs also sparked greater curiosity and fear.
The Burial Sect had revealed some of its cards, and people began to pay attention to this mysterious sect that rarely appeared in public.
Many were also looking forward to Lin Xiao leading his group to attack other families, expecting a spectacle.
Some forces without Martial Emperors were also stirring, some even starting to seize territories from the major families.
Others joined the camps of the warring families.
Amid the various voices from the outside world, Lin Xiao was immersed in cultivating the Immortal Skeleton Technique.
Of course, he was cultivating by crafting combat skeletons.
Combat skeletons first required inscribing various patterns, akin to human meridians, extremely complex.
Then, it involved infusing power, and finally, inscribing the “attack pattern diagrams” to trigger the combat methods.
Although Lin Xiao’s strength had grown, and he had some experience crafting combat skeletons, as he progressed in his cultivation, the patterns inscribed in the skeletons became more complex, the infused power stronger, and the attack pattern diagrams more numerous. As a result, crafting combat skeletons was still not fast.
Initially, it took him five days to craft one combat skeleton.
However, this combat skeleton’s strength had reached the equivalent of a Ninth-Grade Martial Lord.
After all, the power within the combat skeleton was infused using his Second-Grade Martial Lord realm, activating five bone patterns, equivalent to his own power.
The only difference was that the combat skeleton wasn’t as flexible as he was, and its “martial techniques” were fewer.
Moreover, the evil power within the combat skeleton was limited. Once depleted, it would lose its combat ability unless he replenished it.
If pitted against a Ninth-Grade Martial Lord, it would probably be exhausted after a single battle.
Of course, crafting a powerhouse equivalent to a Ninth-Grade Martial Lord in just five days would shock anyone who learned of it.
Even for a major family, cultivating a single Ninth-Grade Martial Lord would take decades or even a century.
Crafting one in five days was simply unimaginable.
After crafting another combat skeleton with the strength of a Ninth-Grade Martial Lord, Lin Xiao’s crafting speed gradually increased. In a month, he had crafted nine combat skeletons.
On the last morning of the month, Lin Xiao was crafting his final combat skeleton, already at the second step of infusing power into it.
At this point, Lin Xiao felt that a month of relentless cultivation had made the evil power within him even more formidable, and his chaotic dantian had been significantly impacted.
After all, during this month, whether inscribing patterns or attack pattern diagrams, he needed evil power.
The second step of infusing evil power into the combat skeleton required him to pour it in with full force.
Each skeleton was crafted with his utmost effort, leaving him feeling drained after completing one. Some even failed, requiring him to take pills to replenish his energy.
Only after recovering could he continue crafting the next one.
Moreover, focusing intensely on the Immortal Skeleton Technique’s annotations during crafting significantly advanced his mastery of the technique.
In a month, the sixth bone pattern in his spine was faintly taking shape.
However, the second step of this tenth combat skeleton was not yet complete, and Lin Xiao could feel that his power was nearly depleted.
Moreover, the pills he had for replenishment were also exhausted.
“Damn it!” Lin Xiao frowned. For this final skeleton, he had used the bones of a Half-Step Martial Emperor and inscribed extra patterns.
As a result, even after nearly exhausting all his evil power, he still hadn’t filled the patterns, unable to fully infuse it into the skeleton.
Now, with no pills to replenish, stopping halfway might lead to failure, causing the entire skeleton to be ruined.
Having worked so hard for days on a Ninth-Grade Martial Lord combat skeleton, Lin Xiao was extremely reluctant to let it be destroyed.
Moreover, with his power nearly exhausted, if the skeleton exploded, the resulting force might severely injure him.
“Break through to the sixth bone pattern!” Gritting his teeth, Lin Xiao made this decision.
Over the past month, while crafting skeletons, he had also comprehended the Immortal Skeleton Technique, deepening his understanding of its mysteries.
He had attempted to break through to the sixth bone pattern several times, though without success, he was close to forming it.
Now, to avoid destroying the skeleton before him, he had to try breaking through again.
After some time, when the last trace of power in Lin Xiao’s body was completely exhausted, the sixth bone pattern in his spine was finally broken through.
“Chi!” A powerful evil aura burst forth from the six bone patterns, permeating his body and spreading in all directions.
A mysterious, earth-shaking power surged within the six bone patterns, flowing through his meridians, pouring into the skeleton before him.
At the same time, his chaotic dantian was impacted by the power of the six bone patterns. Within the fully chaotic dantian, the distinction between clear and turbid became more pronounced, with even more terrifying power surging within, a formidable aura radiating from his dantian.
