Damn it! I still underestimated this Ling Xiao!
Lord Zhan was inwardly shocked.
At that moment, a beam of light shot from the flurry of sword shadows.
The light formed a line, imbued with terrifying true essence power.
Wind Phenomenon, Flying Snow!
Pfft!
The fearsome sword qi pierced Lord Zhan’s throat, leaving a small bloodied hole, then his entire body was engulfed in a chilling cold and tearing pain.
His body began to crack inch by inch, a horrifying sight.
Crack!
As the shell fell away, Lord Zhan’s true form was revealed.
Blood-red skin, a face like indigo, as if painted with cinnabar, three eyes wide open, clearly far from human.
“So, a demon general under the Plague Demon King, looks like your strength hasn’t recovered as expected.”
A piece of information flashed through Ling Xiao’s mind. From the General’s Mansion in White Cloud Province, White Cloud Temple, the Governor’s Mansion, and the Moonlight Pavilion in the outer sect, he had gathered much knowledge about this world.
These things required no comprehension, only memorization.
Thus, he knew the Plague Demon King, under the True Demon Emperor, had seventy-two demon generals, once immensely powerful, but many were killed or injured in the battle against the twelve sects of the Human Sacred Dynasty.
Even if revived now, their strength was likely far from what it once was.
This man was probably one of those demon generals.
“Kid, you went to all this trouble just to force out my true form, let’s see what else you’ve got!”
He was furious.
He had encountered many disciples from various sects on missions, even peak Third-Level Mortal Realm warriors, but none had ever forced out his true form.
Yet this mere Half-Step Master made him reveal it, and once damaged, his true form wouldn’t recover quickly.
“Hmm, I’ve got plenty more, want to try?”
Ling Xiao smiled. So far, he hadn’t used his true strength.
Not even the Nine Demon Techniques, let alone his human-dragon or ancient golden dragon forms.
As he spoke, a glacial phantom appeared behind him.
It was one of the components of his Mountain River Martial Soul.
This was Ling Xiao’s first time using the Mountain River Martial Soul in combat, but with a strong opponent, he didn’t dare be careless.
“Glacier Martial Soul? That’s rare!”
The demon general frowned, realizing Ling Xiao hadn’t used his martial soul in battle until now.
With the martial soul unleashed, Ling Xiao’s aura surged.
“Let’s see how much tougher this body is compared to that shell!”
Glacier Power, Ice Heart, Wind Phenomenon, Condense Water!
A terrifying combined technique.
The Glacier Power of the Mountain River Martial Soul, its fourth move “Ice Heart,” paired with the Wind Phenomenon.
Executed with the third move, “Condense Water.”
Instantly, the basement’s air froze, an overwhelming chill spreading.
Where the wind blew, everything turned to frost.
Even Wanyan Jun and the others, healing nearby, were forced to channel true essence to resist the cold, cursing under their breath.
The demon general, taking the brunt, fared worse.
“Not good!”
The demon general used Lord Zhan’s body because his true form was still weak, while the borrowed shell, specially refined, was much tougher.
Seeing Ling Xiao’s powerful attack, his first thought wasn’t to fight but to flee.
Yet even in escape, he left behind an arm, frozen solid and shattering into pieces on the ground.
“He escaped?”
Ling Xiao retracted his martial soul phantom and Ice Dragon Sword, the basement’s chill dissipating, leaving only the three frost-covered seniors, but no trace of the demon general.
“Ling Xiao, you bastard, can’t you think of us? Are you trying to freeze us to death?”
Wanyan Jun’s injuries had mostly healed, though his strength would take time to recover.
The blood-red skull pattern on the ground had vanished with the demon general, lifting the oppressive evil energy.
He, Chen Zui, and Shangguan Lei could finally move freely.
Though he cursed, Wanyan Jun was inwardly shocked; Ling Xiao’s strike was no less powerful than his own.
What was going on?
Was this guy really an outer disciple?
Just a Half-Step Master?
“Senior Brother, enough, if not for Ling Xiao today, we’d all be dead.”
Shangguan Lei couldn’t help but speak.
His mindset was subtly shifting.
From Wanyan Jun and Chen Zui abandoning him, to plotting his death to gain the demon general’s trust, to Ling Xiao saving all three of them.
His goodwill toward the two plummeted, while his regard for Ling Xiao soared.
“Heh, you’re right.”
Wanyan Jun smiled, scheming something, then turned to Ling Xiao, “Junior Brother Ling, how should we split the loot in this basement?”
Despite the battle, the basement’s contents were protected by array stones, undamaged.
Low-grade spirit stones, martial arts manuals below gold grade, common elixirs, gold and silver, ordinary weapons and armor.
To sect disciples, only the spirit stones were useful.
But for secular martial artists, this was a true treasure trove.
Wanyan Jun was already planning to take some back for his family.
But as he spoke, Ling Xiao waved his hand, and everything in the basement vanished, all taken by him.
Wanyan Jun and Chen Zui’s faces darkened.
“Ling Xiao, what are you doing?”
“What? Hmph, I drove off the demon general, I saved you three, what right do you have to share in this?”
With that, he ignored them.
Wanyan Jun and Chen Zui’s eyes burned with killing intent, but they restrained their anger. Only Ling Xiao understood arrays, and to escape the basement, they needed him to break the array stone on the outer stone door, so they wouldn’t act now.
“Heh, our mistake, Junior Brother Ling is right, it’s all yours, all yours! So, shall we return to the sect now?”
Wanyan Jun asked with a smile.
“The demon general vanished mysteriously, and this basement has a ‘Plague Bone Array,’ there’s something suspicious. I’ve investigated, and directly below this basement is a larger demon lair, likely where the demon general’s master, the ‘Plague Demon King,’ resides.”
Ling Xiao had no intention of returning to the sect yet, analyzing aloud.
