In the gale, the two points of sword light in the air abruptly split into four. Before the Ice Rain Talismans could detonate, they pierced deep into the wards.
With just a slight rotation, following the flow of spiritual energy, all four talismans were rendered useless. They dissolved into wisps of icy air, scattering in all directions, freezing the surrounding raindrops solid.
The man in white had initially looked on with disdain, supremely confident. Only when the ice talismans were entirely shattered did a look of profound shock cross his face.
“You are a Xiantian Martial Master? No!”
He was not unfamiliar with such methods of breaking talismans. But such a feat should only be achievable by those at the level of a Xiantian Martial Master, or perhaps this person’s own mastery of talismans surpassed his by several magnitudes!
If the former, he could have been easily obliterated with a mere gesture. If the latter, it was even more absurd! How many talismanic arts could a martial artist whose Qi Refining technique had not even reached the Secret Martial Master realm possibly command? Even if this person practiced both spiritual and martial arts, it was absolutely impossible!
The next moment, a slender figure emerged from the swirl of white mist.
The effects of the Feng Qian and Ta Ying spirit talismans, having suffered the backlash from the ice, dissipated, revealing Zong Shou’s true form.
When his clear, handsome face registered in the eyes of the middle-aged man in white, his already astonished expression instantly faltered into a daze.
“This person... seems to be that Zong Shou? Is this a body double, or skillful disguise?”
With no time to ponder further, the middle-aged man in white swiftly formed a mudra with his left hand, while the peach-wood sword in his right sliced diagonally, subtly adhering to profound principles, severing both white taper candles.
“No matter your origin, I, Qi Xiao, will surely execute you here today! Ying Yi, She San, emerge now! Protect me!”
Two massive clouds of aura manifested in response to his call. They surged out from the sides, mingling with the smoke of the Soul Stabilizing Incense, solidifying into beast forms.
A kite hawk, its body easily reaching two zhang in size, soared skyward, spreading its enormous wings to swoop down from above.
Opposite it, a gigantic spectacled cobra raised its hood and hissed, blocking the path before the altar. Several pieces of Wind Armor coalesced around it, swirling protectively.
Zong Shou’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his movement did not pause in the least.
With a flick of his right hand, a pitch-black wooden jar flew from his sleeve into the air. Just as the kite hawk began its dive, this inconspicuous black jar exploded with a roar.
A burst of silver light erupted from within, and countless silver-white tentacles, like strands of tough iron rope, scattered outward. Then, like an octopus, they firmly bound and wrapped around the kite hawk.
On the ground, Zong Shou forcefully expelled a breath of stale air, forcing his thoughts into absolute calm and rationality, then accelerated once more!
Although the physical stamina of his Dual Meridian physique was at its absolute nadir, it possessed one advantage incomparable to others. Once the temporary coordination of the two circulating meridians was achieved, his burst power was unmatched in this world!
He hurled the Ta Ying sword forward with sudden force, slicing the air with a piercing shriek.
Then, with his empty left hand, in a flash faster than blinking, he inscribed another blood talisman onto the remaining Feng Qian sword.
“Armor Break!”
A faint, elusive cold glint immediately coursed along the tip of the Feng Qian sword’s blade. Zong Shou felt a violent, stabbing pain in his head, nearly all his remaining soul power being drained, threatening to render him unconscious on the spot.
He bit sharply down on his tongue, forcibly sustaining his focus. The murderous intent in Zong Shou’s eyes intensified to its peak.
The spectacled cobra across from him hesitated for a moment, then jerked its head aside, narrowly avoiding the Ta Ying sword tearing through the air.
But in the next instant, a burst of kinetic energy beneath Zong Shou’s feet exploded outward, propelling his body forward. His speed instantly increased by another half! Behind him, streaks of afterimages were clearly left trailing.
The tip of the Feng Qian sword flashed just once, piercing through the layers of Wind Armor at the most inconceivable angle, striking the cobra’s vital spot—its seven inches—and pinning it fast!
Seeing this, the man in white let out a sneer.
An ordinary spirit beast struck by this sword would instantly perish. However, the original form of this cobra was a Fourth-Tier Wind Serpent, reduced to the Second-Tier when fashioned into a soul beast. But from then on, this beast lost its physical body entirely, though it inherited some capabilities of a Fourth-Tier spirit beast.
Unless one reached the Secret Martial realm capable of damaging the spirit essence, ordinary martial techniques and blades could inflict no harm upon it!
This strike was indeed exquisitely precise. Even as a Spirit Master, he couldn't help but applaud.
It was just a pity that this fellow had chosen the wrong opponent. Perhaps in the next moment, he would be crushed by this Wind Serpent soul beast.
Shaking his head slightly, the middle-aged man in white turned his gaze with renewed interest toward the silver-white, slug-like creature in the distance. He was quite curious about whatever could entangle his soul beast.
Yet, only half a breath passed before his leisurely expression was replaced by sheer terror. His face turned deathly pale, devoid of any color.
The slender figure before him merely gave his sword a slight tremor, and the formidable Wind Serpent soul beast began to collapse and disintegrate, showing clear signs of dissipation!
Then, the entire serpent body transformed into a vortex of smoke, sucked into the tip of that Feng Qian sword.
“Devour Origin!”
Vast amounts of spiritual energy, fine essence, and the mighty soul power of a Fourth-Tier beast poured frantically into Zong Shou’s body. His sea of soul power was replenished, and his desiccated meridians once again surged with true qi.
But under Zong Shou’s control, all this soul power and inner energy exploded again, transforming into pure force that coursed through his limbs and bones.
The sword shadow flashed again; after a bizarre turn, a swift, electric streak of sword light, wavering unpredictably, stabbed toward the center of the altar.
Although the man in white was somewhat alarmed, his movements showed no panic; deep within his eyes, a flicker of madness now surfaced.
“You cannot kill me!”
He violently grasped a cyan thumb ring on his left hand and squeezed hard, instantly erecting a wall of aura before him.
Both wide sleeves puffed forward, and immediately hundreds of talismans flew out from their depths.
Just as he prepared to detonate them, a clear, childish yet utterly cold laugh sounded beside his ear.
“Armor Break, Die!”
A bright white light suddenly shone on the Feng Qian sword, and in the blink of an eye, several extremely small arcs of light were swung out. They forcibly shattered several talismans mid-air. Then, this ball of white light, along with the exploding bursts of flame and cold air, and those surges of spiritual energy, pierced directly through the protective aura wall!
The most direct and safest method to kill a Soul Master was to shatter their Sea of Consciousness!
The sword light flashed again. The man in white felt a slight stinging pain, like an ant bite, in the center of his brow. Immediately following, a bone-chilling cold swept over him.
It was the icy sensation of a cold blade deeply lodged past the brain marrow. The man in white’s eyes gradually lost focus.
But in his final moments, a mist of blood suddenly erupted from his mouth, spraying across Zong Shou’s face, instantly adding a touch of ferocity to the delicate, handsome features.
In the lifeless eyes of the middle-aged man in white, there was now only disbelief and bewilderment.
“No disguise, no illusion. You are Zong Shou, the Young Lord of Qiantian Mountain! No, the real Zong Shou was supposed to be a good-for-nothing, useless in both literature and martial arts. How could you be him? And you’ve only reached the second meridian of Fetal Breathing, with soul power only at the upper tier of Spirit Stabilization. Heh heh! I, Qi Xiao, am defeated by a child today—ridiculous, truly ridiculous! There exists such an anomaly in this world—”
PS: My ranking dropped again, crying! This month’s new book chart is too fierce; the great gods are as numerous as clouds. Pleading for support! C