The Life-Locking Needle was not only undetectable but also swift as lightning.
A piercing scream suddenly rang out. A warrior with slower movements had a red dot appear on his forehead.
A poisonous needle had pierced through from the back of his head to his forehead, completely penetrating his skull.
He wailed in agony, struggling, as Tang Jiu’s cold smile watched him gradually lose his life.
At that moment, those fleeing suddenly realised that Tang Jiu had begun his attack, and they had become his targets.
Thus, a more frantic escape began.
However, it was futile. Their desperate flight only elicited Tang Jiu’s disdainful smile.
Screams!
Screams!
…
The cries of agony continued, each death more gruesome than the last.
One after another, those warriors had no chance to resist, completely toyed with by Tang Jiu.
In truth, if they had banded together to fight back earlier, Tang Jiu would not have succeeded so easily.
It was precisely because they were afraid that they ended up in such a wretched state.
Finally, someone came to their senses, using a return scroll to vanish in a flash of white light.
Being eliminated was better than dying here.
“Still trying to escape?”
Tang Jiu’s brows furrowed slightly. Those he intended to kill could not escape so easily.
A strange shadow appeared behind him, a monstrous figure with a thousand hands.
Then, Tang Jiu thrust his hands forward, and the countless hand shadows of the monster followed suit.
A fierce wind surged.
The Life-Locking Needles moved even faster!
The remaining people did not even have a chance to use their secret scrolls before they died horribly on the spot.
“Hahaha, that’s more like it! How could I, Tang Jiu, let those I want to kill escape?”
“Tang Jiu, you’ll die a miserable death! I curse you to be torn to pieces!”
One of the poisoned victims, still alive, showed remarkable resilience.
“Is that so?”
Tang Jiu smirked coldly, preparing to deliver a final blow, but the man finally slumped, lifeless.
…
Amid the ruins, obstructions made flying impossible, and even movement techniques were slowed.
Ling Xiao’s speed was greatly reduced.
But that was fine. Searching for treasures too quickly might cause him to miss something.
Hmm?
Ling Xiao suddenly pointed, and a qi sword shot through the air, piercing a ferocious beast hiding behind a wall, ready to ambush him.
“I didn’t expect these beasts to become so cunning, learning to hide and ambush. I need to be more careful.”
Ling Xiao took a deep breath.
If he had been slightly distracted just now, he might have been successfully ambushed.
Though the beast wasn’t particularly strong, being caught off guard would still be unpleasant.
Taking the beast’s core, he pressed forward.
In the ruins of the True Demon Empire, there were many hidden or broken doors.
There were also numerous still-functioning arrays and mechanisms.
Others might rely on luck, but Ling Xiao, knowledgeable in such matters, navigated with ease.
“Who would have thought that this murky pond is actually a hidden door?”
After walking a while, Ling Xiao discovered a hidden door deep in the pond, formed entirely by an array. Passing through it might lead to a completely different world.
Though it seemed dangerous, Ling Xiao trusted his instincts and the judgment of his Mountain River Martial Soul.
He jumped in without hesitation.
At that moment, a tremendous pulling force sucked him in, as if he had entered a tornado.
Thud!
Ling Xiao steadied himself during the wild descent, landing on the ground.
Indeed, it was a different world.
Looking around, he saw a tornado-like passage above. Anyone who found this place would likely be sucked in directly.
What lay inside was anyone’s guess.
On the ground were several skeletons, long dead.
There were fresh footprints on the floor.
Seeing this, anyone could tell others had already entered, and not just one.
The passage should have been dark, but light-gathering and light-absorbing arrays made it brightly lit.
Following the passage, Ling Xiao walked on.
Huh?
After walking about a hundred metres, his Yin-Yang Moth, released to scout the surroundings, detected a powerful presence behind him.
The Yin-Yang Moth was more efficient than a True Essence Orb, conserving energy while providing clearer detection, so Ling Xiao had gradually phased out the orb in favour of the moth.
It offered full coverage with no blind spots and was nearly undetectable by enemies.
The last time they were pursued by a Yin-Yang Moth, if he hadn’t caught it out of curiosity, they might not have realised they were being tracked.
He quickened his pace, as the person behind him was formidable.
Likely a half-step Heavenly Venerable with seventy or eighty percent power.
Now was not the time to confront such a person.
Ling Xiao entered the True Demon Forbidden Land to seek opportunities to improve his cultivation and strength, not to fight recklessly. Unless absolutely necessary, he avoided conflict.
But after some distance, he found people blocking the way ahead.
And there were more of them!
Mostly from the Heavenly King Sect, Jade Water Divine Palace, and Mysterious Fire Sect, with some from the Gu King Sect, Tang Sect, and Poison King Sect, but none from the Moonlight Sect or Divine Sword Sect.
The absence of Moonlight Sect members relieved him, as these groups were now engaged in fierce combat.
Their strength was considerable, and most Moonlight Sect warriors were too weak to survive such a fight.
“You’re all courting death, daring to provoke our Heavenly King Sect! Don’t you know we’re among the top-ranked of the twelve sects?”
“Stop acting tough. Our Mysterious Fire Sect is no worse than your Heavenly King Sect. Besides, this is the True Demon Forbidden Land, not your sect’s territory. Who’s afraid of who?”
“Heh, our Jade Water Divine Palace fears no one. Even if the Heavenly King Sect provokes us, they’ll die!”
“Fine, since no one’s backing down, let’s fight. The survivors can enter last.”
Boom!
The battle grew more ferocious, the entire chamber shaking, with dust and debris falling from above.
Ling Xiao cursed inwardly at their foolishness. They hadn’t even seen the treasure yet, and they were already killing each other.
But he had no interest in dealing with them. He stepped forward, intending to slip through first, leaving these people to the terrifying figure behind.
However, reality was somewhat absurd.
The warriors, locked in combat, stopped as soon as they saw Ling Xiao, all turning to stare at him.
“Carry on. I’m just passing through!”
Ling Xiao smiled, saying he wasn’t Li Youdao or Tang Jiu and had no interest in killing unrelated people.
