Toying with him
As the vast Spiritual Energy swept out wildly, Elder Zuo stared at Lin Ming with a slightly ferocious expression.
On his gaunt face, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his deep-set eyes gleamed with a sinister light, like an enraged vulture.
"I will make you suffer all kinds of torment. Then you will know that even death is a great luxury!"
He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a chilling venom that sent shivers down one's spine.
Clearly, Lin Ming had really angered him. He originally thought that letting Lin Ming die on his own was already a favor, after all, he had been in charge of punishment for hundreds of years, and those who fell into his hands had always been unable to die. Letting the target end his own life was already a mercy given when he was in a good mood.
But who would have thought that this foolish kid would be so tactless, even calling him a half-crippled piece of trash? How could he possibly swallow this insult?
"Is that so?"
However, facing the terrifying Spiritual Energy of Elder Zuo, which was enough to make even ordinary Tier 9 Peak cultivators tremble, Lin Ming grinned.
The smile came so naturally, like a sword sheathed in its sheath finally waiting to be drawn, carrying a long-awaited sense of exhilaration.
"Hehe, I've longed to fight an Earth Sovereign with my basic strength for a long time. I never thought I'd actually get my wish today."
Lin Ming spoke casually, but the amount of information contained within his words was astonishing.
Elder Zuo contracted slightly upon hearing this, but before he could think further, he saw Lin Ming smile at him, and then four kinds of spiritual light emanated from his body.
The moment those four kinds of spiritual light surged out of Lin Ming's body, it was as if four ferocious beasts that had been locked up for a long time had broken free of their cages at the same time.
Colorful Emperor Flame surged into a fiery cloud on his left shoulder, the tongues of fire licking the surrounding air and distorting the space around it.
The emerald green Bodhi aura condensed into the phantom of a miniature ancient tree on his right shoulder. As the tree's canopy spread out, it scattered countless emerald green Star Points, and each Star Points that landed on the ground gave rise to a fine patch of moss.
The power of the thick, earthy yellow soil gushed forth from the soles of his feet like a spring, spreading out like a steady river beneath his feet into a yellow halo several feet in diameter, within which the outlines of mountains and plains could be faintly seen undulating gently.
A deep blue, icy power rose from behind him, condensing into a phantom of ice crystal wings. These feather-like ice crystals fluttered gently in the air, freezing the surrounding moisture into tiny snowflakes that drifted down.
Four kinds of light bloomed simultaneously, intertwining and entwining with each other, like a rainbow growing out of his body, illuminating the entire hall with vibrant colors.
Before the Stone Door, even with Elder Zuo's composure, he was stunned when he saw the scene before him, and then his expression finally changed drastically for the first time.
His deep-set eyes suddenly widened, his pupils reflecting the four kinds of light, like a shattered ice mirror with cracks spreading outwards from the center.
"This is... the power of four kinds of spiritual objects?!" Elder Zuo stared in shock at the light emanating from Lin Ming, unable to help but gasp in astonishment.
His voice had a sharp, almost broken quality, like an erhu with a snapped string.
His gaunt face was drained of color, his lips trembled slightly, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "You... how could you possess the power of four different spiritual entities?!"
He shouted incredulously, his voice echoing through the hall, trembling with a sound he himself was unaware of.
Such a spiritual object possessing four different auras is probably extremely rare on the entire Sky Luo Continent, and even their Sacred Demon Palace doesn't have one.
As the overlord of the Southern Region, the Sacred Demon Palace possesses countless rare and precious treasures in its treasury. However, there are only one or two of those four types of spiritual treasures, which are locked away in the deepest secret chamber by the Palace Master as if they were his own eyes.
How could this mere Tier 9 Peak cultivator possess such power? And how could he have refined four of them simultaneously? How could he not be shocked?
"What? Surprised?" Lin Ming looked up at Elder Zuo, who was no longer as indifferent as before, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
The smile held a hint of teasing, as well as a playful undertone that seemed to say, "Weren't you being quite arrogant just now?"
Elder Zuo's expression shifted unpredictably, his gaunt face resembling a crumpled and unfolded piece of paper, sometimes turning pale, sometimes bluish, and sometimes turning a deep liver color.
After a moment, he let out a cold laugh, a laugh that carried a defiant air of deliberately regaining his ground, like a cat baring its teeth after its tail has been stepped on.
"You've got quite the luck, kid, to actually obtain four such powerful spiritual objects and even refine them into one. No wonder you're so bold. But you fool, do you really think that just by obtaining these spiritual objects, you can unleash their power?"
As he spoke the last few words, a new layer of contempt resurfaced in his tone, like an old craftsman looking at a novice wielding expensive tools.
"Is that so?" Lin Ming smiled slightly in response to Elder Zuo's words. The smile was neither strong nor weak, like the "you've fallen for my trap" expression on a chess player's face after their opponent has made a move.
Then Lin Ming slowly raised his hand.
Looking at the smile on Lin Ming's face, Elder Zuo's pupils suddenly contracted slightly, and he sensed a deep sense of unease deep in his heart.
The unease came without warning and without reason. He was clearly facing a mere Tier 9 Peak master, and he knew that even if he only had half his strength left, he could crush him with a flick of his wrist. Yet, the unease felt like a needle pricking the back of his neck, sending a chill down his spine.
His unease was revealed in the next instant.
Because he saw Lin Ming form an extremely complex hand seal in front of his chest, his ten fingers flying like a shapeless ball of light and shadow, each seal carrying a natural rhythm.
The Four Elements Origin Power surged from his body, condensing into four enormous Spirit Avatar behind him.
A colorful Emperor Flame Dragon burns in the south.
The fire dragon was formed entirely of colorful flames, with every scale clearly visible. Each scale was like a fireball compressed to its limit. Its whiskers floated in the air like two colorful lines of fire, its eyes were like two small, blazing suns, and its claws trod on a surging cloud of fire. Its entire body radiated a temperature high enough to melt everything.
Glacier Phoenix of azure glaciers spreads its wings in the north.
The Ice Phoenix was formed entirely of azure ice. As its wings spread, tiny ice crystals fell from the tips of its feathers. Its tail trailed like a flowing Bing He, and its eyes were like two dark blue, Cold Star. White, frigid air swirled around it, freezing the surrounding air into fine frost flowers.
The ancient, verdant Bodhi Ancient Tree stands tall in the east.
The ancient tree was formed entirely from the essence of verdant Wood Element. Its trunk was as thick as a pillar, its crown spread out like a canopy, and countless emerald vines hung from its branches. Each leaf was like a miniature piece of jade, exuding a warm and magnificent vitality.
Earth Spirit Turtle stands in the west.
The spirit turtle was formed entirely from the power of thick, yellowish-brown earth. Its shell was engraved with dense mountain and river patterns, each pattern resembling a miniature mountain range. Its head was held high, and its limbs were as thick as pillars. When it stepped on the ground, it caused the bricks and stones in that area to sink slightly.
The four Spirit Avatar simultaneously roared to the sky. The dragon's roar, the tortoise's cry, the tree's call, and the phoenix's cry intertwined, forming an ancient and magnificent melody that made the entire dilapidated hall tremble. The rubble on the dome fell in the sound waves, like a rain of pebbles.
A sudden chill ran from the Elder Zuo's feet straight to the top of his head.
The feeling was like a mouse suddenly seeing a snake hanging down from a tree branch overhead; the look of horror was finally impossible to hide on his face.
Because at this moment, he finally realized that this unassuming young man in front of him could actually unleash the power of these four spiritual objects!
Moreover, the pressure emanating from the four Spirit Avatar was far stronger than he had expected. The aura of each Spirit Avatar was like that of a Fierce Beasts that roamed a region in ancient times. The four of them together were like an invisible mountain pressing down on his shoulders, causing the circulation of Spiritual Energy around his body to stagnate slightly.
But how is that possible?! How could a Tier 9 Peak cultivator simultaneously wield the power of four different spiritual entities?
Each of those spiritual objects contained the fundamental Law of heaven and earth. For an ordinary cultivator, refining even one of them would be an incredible stroke of luck. Yet this kid actually refined four of them and activated them simultaneously to form a formation that was both offensive and defensive. This was completely beyond his comprehension.
Roar! Inside the dilapidated hall, the Four Spirits let out low growls and howls.
Their fighting spirit surged, and the surrounding space continued to collapse, spreading out dark spatial cracks.
The cracks spread outwards from beneath the four Spirit Avatar's feet, like a piece of cloth torn apart by a tremendous force. The Spatial Turbulence from the cracks was crushed into nothingness by the Spiritual Energy emanating from the Four Spirits.
This revealed the domineering and powerful fighting spirit. The Elder Zuo of the Sacred Demon Palace, who was standing in front of the Stone Door, was also looking at this scene with a shocked expression. His previous arrogant and indifferent attitude had been completely eliminated.
His gaunt face now showed only a kind of bewildered shock, like a hunter who had spent most of his life in the deep mountains Old Lin suddenly finding a giant beast he had never seen before standing in front of him.
Clearly, even now he still finds Dharma Form Lin Ming actually possesses the ability to unleash four different spiritual entities.
"How is this possible?!" Elder Zuo's hoarse voice trembled slightly.
The tremor came from deep within his throat, like the buzzing of a cracked gong being struck. The situation before him had changed far too quickly.
He originally thought he could easily deal with these ants, but in the blink of an eye, they possessed terrifying power that even he found chilling.
This disparity is like someone who has bet all their chips at a gambling table suddenly discovering that their opponent's hand is significantly larger. The shift from certainty to astonishment to unease leaves them speechless for a moment.