Though an immortal-grade treasure enhanced with an array is far stronger than a standard one, it still falls short of a divine-grade treasure.
Ling Xiao’s body, in terms of defensive strength, had reached the level of a divine-grade treasure. How could he fear an attack from a mere immortal-grade weapon? Beyond the head steward’s cultivation, nothing about him surpassed Ling Xiao. How could he pose a threat?
“You’ll die whether you want to or not!” The head steward’s blade moved faster, forcing Ling Xiao to retreat.
“Is that so? I let you have two moves, and you think you’re something special?”
*Shadow Cone!*
As Ling Xiao retreated, he thrust his sword, sending an invisible Shadow Cone slicing through the air. The head steward didn’t notice anything amiss until it was within a meter of him.
“Phoenix Feather Armor!” In a panic, he activated his life-saving treasure, an immortal-grade armor enhanced with an array.
*Bang!* The Shadow Cone struck the armor, fully blocked, but the impact sent the head steward flying over ten meters.
“Kid, that’s how you killed those slave bosses, isn’t it? Sneaky! If I weren’t wearing this Phoenix Feather Armor, you might’ve hurt me,” the head steward said, shaken but alive, no longer daring to close in. Instead, he channelled all his Heavenly Essence into his blade, aiming to kill Ling Xiao from a distance.
“Phoenix Feather Annihilation!”
With a roar, his blade energy surged with earth-shattering force, causing nearby warriors to scatter, fearing the attack’s fallout.
*Light-Shadow Divine Cone!*
Ling Xiao sneered, his Golden Crow Sword flashing black and white, forming a terrifying light cone that pierced the void, shattering the head steward’s attack. Unrelenting, it blasted a hole through his body, exploding afterward. Though not obliterated like Earthfire Heavenly Lord, the head steward’s mangled corpse was beyond revival.
Sheathing his sword, Ling Xiao sneered and shouted, “Listen up! The crystal factory’s head steward is dead by my hand. No need to fear. Destroy the factory and escape!”
“Kill!”
“Kill, kill, kill!”
His words massively boosted morale. The head steward was the factory’s strongest warrior. With him gone, who could challenge Ling Xiao? As morale shifted, so did the battle’s tide.
Leng Mei, Meng Tong, and Xin finished their opponents and returned to Ling Xiao’s side.
“Meng Tong, lead your men and follow me. Xin, you come too. Stay loyal, and I’ll overlook your past,” Ling Xiao said.
Having killed the head steward and with Leng Mei’s group defeating the other Five Elements Heaven warriors, the factory’s battle was nearly over, left to the slaves. Next, Ling Xiao aimed to find Pixiu Island’s Heavenly Essence Crystal stash. Leaving without a hefty haul would be a waste.
“I’ll follow you loyally, Master!” Xin pledged.
“Words are cheap. Actions matter. Time will tell. Don’t make me deal with you, or it’ll be ugly for us both,” Ling Xiao said, glancing at Xin before leaping forward.
He headed to the administrators’ quarters, certain the crystals were there. With his World Eye, finding things was his forte. Moments later, he located the storage.
“There should be plenty!”
With a palm strike, relying solely on physical strength, he blasted open the heavy iron door, its array already broken by him. Brute force sufficed now.
As the door burst open, light poured out. The room held a massive, neatly stacked pile of Heavenly Essence Crystals, clearly labelled.
“We got just over ten thousand crystals from the slave bosses, maybe twenty thousand with the head steward’s. But here? Over two hundred thousand! No wonder Pixiu Island’s ruthless,” Leng Mei said, stunned by the quantity.
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. “Ruthless or not, it’s ours now.”
With a wave, he swept all the crystals into his Mountain River World. With over two hundred thousand low-grade Heavenly Essence Crystals, he could cultivate for a while back at the Divine Phoenix Empire’s capital, perhaps catching up to the Ten Phoenix Sons.
“All cleaned out. That’ll hurt Pixiu Island for a while. Let’s go!”
Having secured the crystals, Ling Xiao achieved his goal and prepared to leave. He wasn’t worried about Qin Huo. As a Ten Directions Heaven warrior, few on Pixiu Island would dare provoke him. He’d contact Qin Huo later.
Suddenly, the crystal factory shook violently. A golden light appeared at its center, forming a human shape: a young man in his thirties or forties, wearing a golden crown and python robe. Despite his youth compared to most warriors, his majestic aura forced many fighting slaves to kneel.
“Young Island Master!”
“Spare us, Young Island Master!”
“We didn’t mean to rebel. We were misled. We’ll never do it again, please forgive us!”
“Fools, daring to revolt! If I don’t punish you severely, how can I face Pixiu Island’s fallen disciples?” the figure roared, its terrifying aura spreading, leaving slaves trembling.
“Playing tricks with a mere soul projection, daring to act grand?”
Ling Xiao appeared before the light figure, sneering. “Forget a soul projection. Even if your Young Island Master were here, what could he do to me?”
“You wretch, stealing our crystals and destroying our factory! You’ll regret this!” the figure bellowed.
“You reminded me. This vile place should be gone for good!”
Ling Xiao sneered, beginning to gather Heavenly Essence.
