Hong Lin, caged, started. "The Undying Phoenix has arrived. Has Father come too?" Hong Lin couldn't help but scan the sky in all directions, yet he couldn't locate his father anywhere.
"No!" the black-robed figure shrieked, unwilling to concede.
Under the immense pressure exerted by the Undying Phoenix, 'Xiao Qing,' the surrounding potent Fire Elemental energy even immobilized the black-robed man. "Peng!" A blast of fiery crimson energy struck the black-robed man squarely in the abdomen. His face instantly turned deathly pale; he knew he was finished. His Dantian had been utterly destroyed.
"Yooo~~~" The Undying Phoenix, 'Xiao Qing,' delicately grasped the crippled black-robed man with its talons, then turned its gaze toward Hong Lin.
Xiao Qing opened its sharp beak.
Whoosh!
A sharp, purple streak of light effortlessly severed the shackles on Hong Lin's wrists and the iron chains on her feet.
Hong Lin, regaining her freedom, immediately stood up. Just then, the little white bird fluttered onto her shoulder.
"Xiao Bai, thank you." Hong Lin gently stroked the white bird. She finally understood the painstaking efforts of her father, Teng Qingshan... He had deliberately kept the special nature of these two little birds a secret from her and her brother, unwilling to let them become too reckless relying on the protection of innate spirit beasts. This way, when true danger arose, the birds could serve as a decisive surprise.
In truth, the little bird had wanted to save Hong Lin from the very beginning.
However, under the Undying Phoenix's command, it dared not act. The Undying Phoenix had intended to reel in a bigger fish, but when the black-robed man tried to ruin Hong Lin's appearance, the Phoenix could tolerate it no longer and immediately ordered the white bird to strike.
"Fan Anran!"
Hong Lin looked down at Fan Anran, now dead inside the iron cage. At this moment, she didn't know whether to feel hatred or sorrow. No matter what, Fan Anran was dead; whom could she possibly hate?
"Everything was fake, all of it fake."
"Vows of eternal love, all of it false."
A thousand conflicting emotions surged through Hong Lin's heart in an instant.
"Yooo~~~" The Undying Phoenix cried out, urging her on.
Hong Lin snapped back to reality, instantly leaping onto the Undying Phoenix's back.
Whoosh!
With a powerful beat of its wings, the Undying Phoenix 'Xiao Qing' bore Hong Lin, its talons gripping the ruined innate-level black-robed man, and sped toward Yangzhou.
"At this hour, Teng Qingshan must have already set out."
High up in the heavens, the mysterious man in the golden mask sat cross-legged upon a black, avian spirit beast. This beast was entirely black, somewhat resembling a crow, yet colossal in size with blood-red eyes.
"Teng Qingshan, by the time you reach Yanzhou and return disappointed, you will discover that your Xingyi Sect is utterly ruined! Countless masters dead or injured, and even your Xingyi Sect secret manuals will be scattered across the world." The golden-masked man understood perfectly: once the vital secret manuals of the Xingyi Sect were dispersed, the world would no longer have only one Inner Strength martial arts sect. At that point, the Xingyi Sect would never again attract so many Inner Strength cultivators to gather.
"Nineteen years of arduous training, wiped out in a single day! When you are driven to madness, your daughter will be returned to you. You will find that she has been horribly disfigured, leaving you mentally shattered and lost in foolishness," the golden-masked man sneered. "Sect ruined, daughter broken—I wonder what Teng Qingshan will become."
"You must suspect this maneuver is merely a distraction, a lure?"
"Even if he suspects it, he will have no choice but to save his daughter." The golden-masked man knew this well.
With that, the golden-masked man let out a sharp cry.
Swish!
The avian spirit beast carried the golden-masked man and rapidly flew toward the Great Yan Mountain. In mere moments, it traversed over a thousand li, soaring above the Great Yan Mountain. This Void Realm avian spirit beast did not slow down; instead, it flew past at an altitude of about twenty to thirty li above the mountain, continuing northwest for five or six hundred li before finally halting.
"Haha, just as I thought!"
"Within this Great Yan Mountain, there are only three Void Realm auras."
"If I'm not mistaken, those are the Golden Dragon Turtle and the Demon Dragon Zi Xi. The one remaining within the Xingyi Sect must be the 'Six-Legged Saber Mantis.'" The golden-masked man allowed a grin to spread across his face. "Teng Qingshan and the Undying Phoenix are truly absent—haha... With the peak strength of 'Hei Wu' in the Void Realm, it fears the Six-Legged Saber Mantis not in a one-on-one fight."
"Perhaps in short-range bursts, Hei Wu cannot match the Saber Mantis's rapid shifting. However, in a straight-line dash, Hei Wu is second only to the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon."
"Teng Qingshan and the Undying Phoenix are gone—half the job is already done!"
"Teng Qingshan, nineteen years! Nineteen years of comfort! You deserve retribution now!!! I will make you suffer and regret for the rest of your life!!!" The golden-masked man's voice carried a deep chill.
...
Within the Great Yan Mountain territory, at the Xingyi Sect.
"Shimu, did you sense two Void Realm auras passing overhead just now?" Yang Dong asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, the Saber Mantis sensed them." Li Jun's brows were etched with a thread of worry. "If it were just an ordinary Void Realm expert passing by, it wouldn't be strange. But... today is different. At this time, two Void Realm presences passed overhead. I feel uneasy! If two Void Realm beings attack, it will truly be troublesome."
"Perhaps they were just passing Void Realm experts," Yang Dong comforted. "Shimu, with Master and the Saber Mantis working together, everything will be fine."
Li Jun nodded slightly. She was confident in Teng Qingshan, but she worried that the residual shockwaves of the battle might severely damage the Xingyi Sect.
In this worried waiting, Li Jun felt every moment drag like a year. Beside her, the Six-Legged Saber Mantis lay motionless, eyes closed in silence.
And deep underground...
Teng Qingshan also sat with his eyes closed, waiting quietly.
Before long...
A powerful aura rushed down from a distance at an astonishing speed. The moment this aura invaded the domain sensed by the Six-Legged Saber Mantis, especially detecting the clear hostility, the Saber Mantis, which had been lying inert with its eyes closed, vanished instantly from its spot and shot into the high sky. Simultaneously, an angry roar echoed throughout the entire Great Yan Mountain.
"Roar~~~" The roar was earth-shattering, and under the Saber Mantis's control, it transmitted directly underground.
Deep within the earth.
Teng Qingshan, who had been sitting with closed eyes, sensed the vibrations caused by the sound and opened his eyes instantly.
"Boom!" His entire body shot upward. Breaking through the rock layers and surging past the underground magma, Teng Qingshan shot out to the surface at maximum speed!
**
"Hmm?"
The instant Teng Qingshan burst to the surface, he witnessed a scene that made his heart plummet. A completely black avian spirit beast was locked in fierce combat with the Six-Legged Saber Mantis in mid-air. Occasionally, the avian beast deliberately sent out gusts of fierce wind, battering the Xingyi Sect palaces below. A cacophony of "Rumble, rumble~~" sounded as numerous residences and halls collapsed, forcing disciples to flee in panic.
Fortunately, the Six-Legged Saber Mantis managed to hold onto the black avian beast by relying on its rapid, small-scale evasive maneuvers, preventing the bird from causing wholesale destruction.
However—
The Six-Legged Saber Mantis bore visible damage; its green blood stood out starkly against its body.
"Bad! The Saber Mantis is at a disadvantage."
"Vile beast!" Teng Qingshan roared, rushing forward rapidly.
Upon seeing Teng Qingshan approach and sensing his powerful soul presence, this 'Hei Wu' Void Realm avian spirit beast dared not delay and immediately retreated rapidly.
"Roar~~" The Six-Legged Saber Mantis also let out a cry of excited relief.
Teng Qingshan leaped directly onto the Saber Mantis's back. The Saber Mantis’s two pairs of wings vibrated violently, instantly generating several afterimages, making it impossible for the Hei Wu Void Realm beast to avoid them... The Saber Mantis made no attempt to chase the 'Hei Wu' beast; instead, it employed the simplest and most effective strategy—
One. Once within close proximity, it clung tightly; the 'Hei Wu' spirit beast's agility was absolutely inferior to the Saber Mantis's up close.
Two. If they separated, the Saber Mantis would position itself directly beneath the black beast! If the black beast wanted to attack the Xingyi Sect, it had to dive down. The Saber Mantis could intercept it perfectly! After all, in terms of instantaneous burst power, the Saber Mantis was also supreme.
"Yooo~~~" The avian spirit beast let out a pained screech.
"Vile beast, prepare to die." Teng Qingshan roared, stepping onto the Saber Mantis, his Reincarnation Spear instantly whirling to life.
"Shadow Follower!"
Instantly, a ferocious storm of spear shadows engulfed the avian Void Realm beast.
"Clang!" This avian beast called 'Hei Wu' met the force with its talons against Teng Qingshan's Reincarnation Spear in a direct collision.
Upon engaging, the Hei Wu knew things were amiss and tried to ascend.
But the Six-Legged Saber Mantis wrapped around it again, and simultaneously, Teng Qingshan's terrifying Reincarnation Spear followed.
"Five Elements Poison Dragon Drill!" A ruthless glint flashed in Teng Qingshan's eyes.
The red tassels on the Reincarnation Spear whipped wildly. For a moment, the 'Hei Wu' avian spirit beast could not dodge in time and could only block with its talons.
"Clang!"
The power of this single thrust far exceeded the avian beast's estimation.
"Puchi!" Teng Qingshan’s spear grazed the talons and pierced one of Hei Wu's wings.
"Yooo~~~"
A sharp, agonizing cry erupted. This Hei Wu avian spirit beast ignored everything else. The wound on its injured right wing sealed instantly, and it frantically tried to flee far away.
"Escape is impossible." Teng Qingshan stood on the Saber Mantis, his eyes flashing with cold light. The Six-Legged Saber Mantis also pursued with crazed ferocity. If the Hei Wu beast could have escaped initially due to its speed advantage, its injured wing now hampered its velocity, placing it at a disadvantage.
...
Inside the Xingyi Sect, which had been thrown into chaos by the distant, powerful gusts of wind unleashed by the Hei Wu Void Realm beast, Li Jun, Yang Dong, Teng Shou, and others all looked up at the sky.
The battle between Void Realm experts was swift, like lightning flashing between stones. In the blink of an eye, Teng Qingshan and the Six-Legged Saber Mantis had rapidly chased after the entirely black avian spirit beast.
"We won," Yang Dong managed a slight smile.
"Yes," Li Jun also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Look!" Teng Shou exclaimed in surprise.
From the distant forests of the Great Yan Mountain, a colossal phantom suddenly shot out—this phantom intercepted Teng Qingshan and the Six-Legged Saber Mantis directly from the side.
...
"Hmm?" Teng Qingshan looked at the Demon Dragon 'Zi Xi,' coiled and winding in the air before him, feeling a mixture of shock, anger, and bewilderment. Because of the delay caused by Zi Xi's obstruction, the injured Void Realm avian beast had already fled beyond their domain, making further pursuit impossible.
"Roar~~" The Six-Legged Saber Mantis let out a low, dissatisfied growl.
"Brother Zi Xi, what is the meaning of this?" Teng Qingshan found himself at a loss for how to question the Demon Dragon. He and Zi Xi shared a rather good personal relationship. Why was it blocking him?
"Aww~~ Roar, roar~~" The winding Demon Dragon let out deep roars. The Six-Legged Saber Mantis, which understood the sound, turned its head toward Teng Qingshan with a look of slight confusion.
"What is going on?" Teng Qingshan became even more perplexed.
"Hmm?"
Confused, Teng Qingshan suddenly sensed a familiar aura. He turned his head and saw a fiery red light rapidly approaching—it was none other than the Undying Phoenix. On the Phoenix's back sat Hong Lin, looking rather dishevelled, tears now filling her eyes.
"Father!" Hong Lin's voice carried from a distance.