Nine Yin Ice Soul Net

The great net exuded eerie Sha Qi. In an instant, it swelled to cover the entire hall, and its icy chill made both Lin Baichuan and Qin Qing shudder involuntarily. Liang Youtian fared even worse, trembling all over before collapsing limply onto the floor.

"Not good! This is the high-grade spirit artifact, the Nine Yin Ice Soul Net. It was forged by fusing Nine Yin Baleful Qi with ice soul silkworm thread, then soaking it in corpse-spring water underground for seven times seven, forty-nine days before refining it with a special secret art. Its power is immense. Not only can it corrode the flesh, it can also damage one's mind and will. It's exceptionally vicious..."

Qin Qing's expression changed drastically. With a clenched jaw, she let out a low roar as her longsword left its sheath, blazing with raging flames as it slashed toward the eerie emerald net descending from above.

Clang, clang... Crackle...

Her longsword swept through the air and struck the great net, producing a crackling sound as though blazing fire were frying oil. Yet after only one exchange, the flames on Qin Qing's spirit sword abruptly dimmed, and the sword was violently sent flying back.

"Pfft..."

Qin Qing spat blood, her face turning deathly pale in an instant.

"Hahahaha... Bitch, your spirit sword is at most mid-grade, yet you dream of breaking my Nine Yin Ice Soul Net? That's nothing but a fool's dream. Today, both of you will die..."

Ying Que laughed wildly, his face growing ever more savage.

Clang!

At that moment, Lin Baichuan suddenly moved. His saber left its sheath, and he slashed out fiercely. Saber Intent erupted, towering like a majestic mountain and surging like savage waves, hacking brutally into the falling net.

Clang...

Saber and net collided, scattering sparks in all directions as if metal had struck metal. A powerful force swept outward, and the great net was forcibly halted in midair. Lin Baichuan, however, was shaken backward again and again by that immense force, as though a thousand-ton weight were bearing down upon him.

Each step he took stomped a deep crater into the hard floor. The tremendous force instantly shattered the stone beneath his feet into countless cracks, forming a hideous and terrifying spiderweb.

Lin Baichuan gasped for breath, his entire body numb, especially his arms, which felt as though they had lost all sensation. The recoil had been too powerful—even with his current physical strength, he could barely withstand it. His expression darkened as he cursed inwardly, Damn it, are high-grade spirit artifacts really this powerful? This is utterly ridiculous! Am I really going to die here...?

After pausing briefly in the air, the emerald net immediately came crashing down even faster. Dense, sinister Sha Qi churned and transformed into a strange fog with terrifying corrosive power. Anything touched by the fog—whether furniture or metal—was instantly corroded.

Hiss, hiss...

Shrill sounds of corrosion rang continuously through the hall, making one's scalp tingle.

"Vajra Talisman, heed my command..."

Suddenly, just before the great net descended, Qin Qing pulled out a talisman.

With a flick of her hand, the talisman flew out and burst into flames without fire, releasing a strand of golden light that enveloped both her and Lin Baichuan.

Boom!

The next moment, the great net crashed down with a bang, immediately trapping the two of them. The terrifying fog madly eroded the golden barrier surrounding them, producing hissing sounds. Under the net's corrosion, the golden light gradually began to turn translucent.

"A Vajra Talisman. As expected of a Young Miss from the prefectural city—she has quite a few life-saving treasures on her. But... the Vajra Talisman's power is limited. Let's see how long you can hold out." Ying Que's expression grew increasingly cold as he stared at the golden barrier around them.

His eyes were crimson as he stared fixedly at Lin Baichuan and Qin Qing like a venomous snake, as though he wanted to swallow them whole and tear them limb from limb.

Qin Qing gritted her teeth, her expression exceedingly grim.

Just as Ying Que had said, the Vajra Talisman's energy was limited. It would not last long. She glanced at Lin Baichuan and said in a deep voice, "The Vajra Talisman won't hold for long. We'll risk everything and fight our way out..."

"How long can it last?" Lin Baichuan asked in a low voice.

"At most, the time it takes an incense stick to burn!"

Qin Qing said gravely, "Perhaps even less. This Nine Yin Ice Soul Net is too powerful—it restrains the Vajra Talisman severely."

"That's enough!"

Lin Baichuan's expression hardened. After saying this in a low voice, he immediately opened the Attribute Panel within his sea of consciousness.

Name: Lin Baichuan

Identity: Demon Suppression Division Junior Demon Slayer

Cultivation: Ninth Rank

Cultivation Art: Golden Bell Shield (Sixth Layer, 100%+)

Martial Skill: Seven Kill Saber Art (Mastery Beyond Perfection)

Intent: Saber Intent (2%+)

Merit: 1120

...

His Saber Intent had risen by 1%, and his Merit had actually reached 1120 points. This was the harvest from slaying the Blood Demon, the Mountain Fiend, and those several hundred walking corpses.

After swiftly scanning the Attribute Panel, Lin Baichuan unhesitatingly tapped the plus sign behind the Golden Bell Shield.

At once, a full 1000 points of Merit vanished, and the Golden Bell Shield rose from the sixth layer to the seventh. Then Lin Baichuan poured all his remaining Merit into Saber Intent.

Boom...

For a moment, Lin Baichuan felt his mind and will instantly dragged into another world. In that world, he became a martial artist and painstakingly cultivated the Golden Bell Shield and Seven Kill Saber Art for a hundred years.

He forcefully raised the Golden Bell Shield, originally only at the third layer, all the way to the seventh layer.

At the same time, he elevated the Seven Kill Saber Art to the realm of Mastery Beyond Perfection, successfully comprehended Saber Intent, and raised it in one breath to the Minor Accomplishment realm.

Upon reaching the seventh layer of the Golden Bell Shield, Lin Baichuan's body finally broke through its limits. His internal force flowed beyond his body, tempering his flesh into Bronze Skin—impervious to blades and spears, untouched by water and fire.

His physical strength surged by three thousand jin, reaching thirteen thousand jin. With the eruption of internal force, the Seven Kill Saber Art at Mastery Beyond Perfection, and Saber Intent at Minor Accomplishment, the power of a single slash could exceed ten times his physical strength.

"Hoo..."

He let out a breath of stale air. Half an incense stick later, Lin Baichuan's consciousness returned. The experience and achievements of a hundred years of bitter cultivation in another world instantly descended upon him, elevating his entire being to the utmost extreme.

Lin Baichuan could clearly feel a vast inner force circulating through his body, carrying a keen, blade-like edge. As the skin all over his body swelled and rippled, a faint gleam flashed across it, like yellow brass. Yet the sight vanished in an instant. Lin Baichuan's aura immediately withdrew inward, and his skin returned to normal.

After exhaling that breath of stale air, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Seven Kill Saber Art: Jade Light Breaks Moon!"

With a thunderous roar, his saber had already left its sheath, slashing out with heaven-shaking Saber Intent. In an instant, a ringing clang resounded as the golden light protecting him and Qin Qing was effortlessly torn apart.

Then, the saber light flashed and cleaved viciously into the Nine Yin Ice Soul Net that was sweeping in to envelop them.

Bang!

The long saber trembled, its Saber Intent fierce. The force of this strike reached at least one hundred and thirty thousand jin—what terrifying might! The Nine Yin Ice Soul Net shuddered at once before being violently sent flying back.

Lin Baichuan stepped forward. He drove his minor-achievement Saber Intent to its limit, swept out his battle saber, and viciously hacked toward Ying Que, who had yet to fully recover his senses.

How ferocious was the force of over a hundred thousand jin? It split the air apart by sheer force, accompanied by a shocking sonic boom. Faint flames flared up—the result of the saber moving so quickly that its friction against the air ignited fire.

The terrifying sonic-boom currents swept over him. Ying Que's face changed drastically, and he instinctively tried to retreat and evade Lin Baichuan's astonishing strike.

But at that very moment, Lin Baichuan's minor-achievement Saber Intent erupted, shaking his mind.

Ying Que's pupils abruptly widened. His thoughts and spirit jolted, as though a mountain had come crashing down upon his mind. His entire body trembled, and he instinctively froze in place. In that instant, with a pfft, Lin Baichuan's battle saber swept through his body.

Like cutting through tofu, it severed him cleanly in two at the waist.