Way of Death

Within the small courtyard, Lin Xuan stood before the bamboo grove, quietly watching Little Marten, all of his aura completely withdrawn into his body.

Meanwhile, Little Marten hovered in the air with an exceptionally grave expression. At first, he had found it somewhat amusing that someone would actually pay him to get beaten up.

But now, Little Marten could no longer laugh, because this was truly not a job just anyone could take.

Just like now, standing opposite Lin Xuan and looking at him—Lin Xuan, who leaked not the slightest trace of aura and appeared no different from an ordinary person—Little Marten felt incomparably shocked.

After all, although anyone could conceal their aura, concealing it before someone stronger was no easy matter, especially when there was an enormous gap between their realms.

He possessed the imperial bloodline of the Sky Demon Marten, and in life had been an expert at the peak of the Death Profound Realm. Even with only his demon spirit remaining, Little Marten could easily see through an ordinary person's true strength at a glance.

Yet in Little Marten's eyes, the fellow before him truly felt like nothing more than an ordinary person. If Lin Xuan had not displayed his strength earlier, Little Marten would have sworn to it!

Only now did Little Marten finally understand Lin Xuan's reasoning. Perhaps, for a freak like him, those so-called geniuses of his generation simply could not give him even the slightest pressure. That was why he had called Little Marten here.

Sigh, damn it, it was all this mouth's fault. Once you take someone's money, you have to do their work; once you eat someone's food, you have to do their bidding. Now he could not back out even if he wanted to.

"Demon Spirit Sacrifice!"

Staring at Lin Xuan, who stood tall and elegant across from him and seemed faintly merged with the surrounding environment, Little Marten gave a low shout.

The next moment, Little Marten slowly opened his mouth wide. Then, the demon spirit of the Nether Profound Dragon that he had swallowed flew out once more.

A trace of heartache flashed through his eyes, but Little Marten's face was filled with solemnity as his little claws continuously danced through the air.

Strands of energy rapidly separated from that mass of demon spirit, one after another entering Little Marten's body. In the end, they transformed into streaks of purple-black light patterns that appeared upon Little Marten's right claw.

Looking at the demon spirit in the air, half of which had already been sacrificed, Little Marten ended the sacrifice with a pained expression and swallowed the remaining half back into his stomach.

Lin Xuan's gaze remained fixed on Little Marten. As he watched that rather mysterious sacrificial technique, a strange glint flashed through his eyes.

This method of sacrifice somewhat resembled the Extreme Realm Ascension practiced by certain cultivators. Of course, if Little Marten were sacrificing his own power, it would resemble it even more.

However, Lin Xuan also knew that such a thing inflicted tremendous harm upon its user. Especially in Little Marten's current state, with even his demon spirit damaged, one wrong move might wipe him out entirely.

Although Lin Xuan had not had the chance to witness a true sacrificial technique, he could still glimpse a little of it from this.

Lin Xuan's eyes slowly turned a luminous white as strands of special energy circulated within his body. Then, he clearly saw the paths along which the energy flowed inside Little Marten.

Sword Heart Illumination! Unless an extremely powerful expert deliberately concealed the energy fluctuations within their body, Lin Xuan could sense them all.

Under Lin Xuan's gaze, the special purple-gold demon patterns on Little Marten's right claw lit up considerably. The next instant, a domineering and razor-sharp aura erupted from Little Marten's body.

"Sky Demon Claw!"

Little Marten's figure transformed into a streak of purple-black light and shot toward Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, however, remained where he was without making the slightest move.

As that demonic and domineering claw drew nearer and nearer, Lin Xuan's expression remained utterly calm. Lin Dong, watching from the side, was so frightened that his heart leaped into his throat.

"Buzz!"

Yet just as Little Marten reached Lin Xuan, when that sharp demon claw was less than three inches from Lin Xuan's forehead, an invisible ripple formed an unseen barrier before him, completely blocking Little Marten's Sky Demon Claw.

"This is?"

After sensing that peculiar invisible ripple, Lin Dong's eyes widened instantly, and an incredulous look appeared on his face.

"Mental energy! An Advanced Spirit Rune Master!"

Lin Dong had never expected that besides having Origin Power at the Creation Realm, Lin Xuan's mental energy had also reached the realm of an Advanced Spirit Rune Master.

Compared to him, the little strength and accomplishments Lin Dong had gained seemed like children playing house.

In that instant, the small sense of accomplishment in Lin Dong's heart vanished completely.

After his claw landed, Little Marten saw that Lin Xuan had not forcefully shattered his attack, but instead chose to "hold up" that strike. He immediately pulled back and retreated.

"This guy is a real freak!"

After steadying himself on Lin Dong's shoulder, Little Marten could not help but speak. He had sacrificed half the demon spirit of a beast at the Great Accomplishment of Creation Realm. Even experts close to the Nirvana Realm would not dare receive such an attack this way.

In a one-on-one confrontation, shattering the opponent's attack head-on with one's own attack was, bluntly put, something any expert of the same level could do.

But to be like Lin Xuan, using gentle power to "hold it up" and allowing the energy within to slowly release itself—such a thing could only be done when one's strength vastly surpassed the other's.

At this moment, Lin Xuan's attention was completely focused on the demonic, domineering energy before him.

Lin Xuan had asked Little Marten to attack naturally so that he could experience the Way Little Marten cultivated. That was why he had chosen to receive this move with mental energy: so that he could perceive it clearly.

From that demonic energy, Lin Xuan could clearly feel the mental energy he had released being continuously eroded. Faintly, he could even detect an extremely subtle trace of Devouring Power, bit by bit gnawing away at his mental energy.

Moreover, from Little Marten's attack, Lin Xuan could sense an extremely faint trace of Qi of Death. Perhaps because he had lost his physical body and his demon spirit had yet to recover, that trace of Qi of Death was exceptionally weak.

Even so, it could not escape Lin Xuan's senses.

His eyes slowly closed as wisps of surging Sword Qi began to circle around his body, leaving behind many tiny sword marks upon the ground.

Seeing that Lin Xuan seemed to be comprehending something, Lin Dong and Little Marten silently withdrew from the small courtyard.

Perhaps stimulated by Lin Xuan, Lin Dong began to diligently enter seclusion in the time that followed.