The crowd quickly turned their heads toward the sound, spotting a flash of green on the grass dozens of meters away. "The Green-Robed Bandit!" The four words burst out, and Zhan Qiong glared at the green figure with a vicious expression, his eyes seemingly spitting fire.

"Is that the one who killed Zhan Song?" a Spirit God Hall expert frowned. "Yes, it is him!" Zhan Qiong gritted his teeth.

"..." For a moment, everyone except the six figures seated cross-legged in the void—Zhan Qiong and the other ten—were exchanging furtive glances. Even the Heaven Spirit experts gathered around the Spirit Sealing Stele were quite surprised.

Although sensory awareness was completely useless in this Spirit Sealing Marsh, their eyesight remained incredibly sharp. With so many eyes constantly monitoring their surroundings, not a single person had detected how the man in green had appeared.

"Big Brother, I arrived a little earlier and was bored, so I was just playing with them," Black Hawk swooped down, his bead-like eyes full of fawning smiles. "Say no more, let's go!" The green-robed man leaped up, soaring over ten meters into the air before landing gracefully on Black Hawk's back.

"Zhan Qiong, Huo Tong, Zhu Shan, Ye Hong!" Just then, an elder from the Spirit God Hall, his hair and beard snow-white, suddenly called out four names in rapid succession: "Kill them!" "Yes!" Zhan Qiong and the other three figures shot into the air without hesitation, hurtling towards the man and the eagle several dozen meters away. Sensing the movement behind him, the green-robed man turned his head to look back.

As the four rapidly approaching figures drew near, a look of mockery seemed to appear in his eyes, followed by an emotionless syllable bursting forth in the air: "Die!" In the next instant, everyone watched in shock as, almost simultaneously with the word 'Die' leaving the green-robed man's lips, the green grass in the swamp beneath him withered and died with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, before surging toward Zhan Qiong and the other three like a thunderbolt. The next moment, the four figures speeding forward froze abruptly in mid-air, horror dawning on their faces.

"Ah! What's happening..." "My life is draining away!" "How can this be?" "What did he do?" Four cries erupted at once.

The onlookers focused their gaze and gasped again. In the time it took to blink, Zhan Qiong and the other three Heaven Spirit experts appeared to have aged several years instantly.

Their black hair had turned mottled white, their faces gained new lines, and their gazes seemed somewhat clouded. By then, the green-robed man, riding Black Hawk, had ascended high into the sky, quickly shrinking into a black dot until he vanished without a trace.

The four of them forgot about pursuit, unconcealed terror plastered on their faces. The crowd near the stele, seeing Zhan Qiong and the others, then looking at the patch of desolate yellow covering dozens of meters in the distance, were all dumbstruck.

That simple word, "Die," spoken by the green-robed man had completely severed the vitality of the grass in that area, even siphoning off a significant portion of the four Heaven Spirit experts' life force. What kind of spirit art was this?

The people racked their brains, trying to recall any powerhouse on the Heaven Spirit Continent possessing such an ability, but they found none. Who exactly was he?

Gu Changgong stood with his hands behind his back on the steps, staring vacantly in the direction the green-robed man had fled. His expression was deeply puzzled.

For some inexplicable reason, the figure and the eyes of that green-robed man felt strangely familiar, and this sensation was intensely strong. "I must have seen him somewhere before; I know him very well," Gu Changgong frantically searched his memory for any Spirit Masters he knew, eliminating familiar Heaven Spirit Masters one by one, before focusing his attention on the Insight Spirit Masters he recognized, especially those of considerable strength.

"Nie Kong?" After a long pause, a figure flashed in his mind, overlapping with the green-robed man’s image. Gu Changgong’s heart trembled, and he gasped in surprise.

It couldn’t possibly be that boy; how had his strength reached this level? But...

perhaps it wasn't impossible. Absorbing life force—wasn’t that the boy’s specialty?

"Brother Gu, what are you thinking about?" a handsome middle-aged man standing beside him asked with a smile. "Nothing much, I was just wondering what technique that person used to frighten Zhan Qiong and the others so badly," Gu Changgong quickly shook his head.

"Indeed, it was utterly bizarre!" "..." Not far away, a thin elder seated on the steps frowned deeper and deeper, his gaze flickering uncertainly. "The ones who killed many of my clan's Heaven Spirit Masters must be the Dragon Spirit Race, but the main culprit is that Nie Kong.

I heard he also keeps a powerful Black Hawk, and the hawk appearing now is a ninth-rank spirit beast. Is this a coincidence, or..." ...

On a low peak several miles distant. "You Hun, here are two 'Spirit Returning Jade Tablets.' Take these and reach the 'Flower Butterfly Secret Realm' as fast as you can.

One is for you, and one is for Hua Mei. Use them immediately after leaving the Secret Realm area, and you will instantly return inside the Spirit Talisman of the 'Spirit Sealing Marsh.' Do you understand?" "Understood!" "You Hun, if you handle this matter successfully, not only will I grant you immense rewards, but I will also lift the restrictions placed upon you in three years!" "Really?" "Never spoke a truer word!" "Heh heh, Big Brother, Little Brother guarantees you'll be satisfied!" "..." You Hun Eagle King opened its beak, swallowing the two jade pieces Nie Kong presented.

Then, spreading its wings, it vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye. Nie Kong let out a slow breath, a knot of worry tightening in his chest.

The location where one appeared after leaving the Spirit Mansion was never fixed; it was always random within a hundred meters of the Spirit Sealing Stele. Upon appearing, Nie Kong had spotted a few acquaintances among the Heaven Spirit experts: Gu Changgong, the Palace Master of Medicine Heart Hall from Spirit Control City; Yang Tian, the Palace Master of Purple Thunder Hall; Hou Tu, the Palace Master of Mountain Soul Hall; and Yuan Xunyu, the Great Elder of the Ink Snow Sect.

However, Nie Kong had also sensed a cold, sinister aura—that must belong to the Snake Spirit Race. Furthermore, Nie Kong hadn't expected You Hun Eagle King to go provocatively flying over there.

The moment it showed itself, that Snake Spirit Race expert would inevitably suspect a connection between Nie Kong and the Green-Robed Bandit. If the Snake Spirit Race reported this news to the Spirit God Hall, Nie Kong would be in deep trouble.

He wasn't afraid for himself; Spirit Control City and the Yin Ruins were powerful, requiring no worry. But the Nie Family of Ji Yang was comparatively weaker.

If the Spirit God Hall and the Snake Spirit Race couldn't find him, they might well target the Nie Family for their vented anger. This was the Spirit Sealing Marsh.

The Snake Spirit Race member couldn't use sensory awareness here, so he surely hadn't relayed information about You Hun Eagle King back to the Myriad Snake Immortal Nest yet. Moreover, looking at the situation at the center of the marsh, he wouldn't leak the news to the Spirit God Hall without verifying it first.

Might as well go all the way! Although this still wouldn't guarantee secrecy, it might at least make the Snake Spirit Race suspicious for a while, slightly delaying the time of exposure.

A deep murderous intent flashed in Nie Kong's eyes. With a movement, he shot toward the center of the marsh like a streak of green light.

Just then, a tall, fiery red figure suddenly materialized out of thin air not far from the Spirit Sealing Stele, gliding forward with a graceful bearing. ...

...RO