Sword Qi crisscrossed, its icy chill striking them head-on. Lin Qi gave a cold snort, and the Army-Slaying Axe swept up a savage flash of frost as it cleaved down at the woman surnamed Yun. Without dodging or evading, the woman merged herself into the azure sword light. Like a rainbow piercing straight at his heart, she met Lin Qi's blow head-on.
Nine dragon shadows slipped into the sword light. Nine layers of sword force crashed against the Army-Slaying Axe with a resounding clang.
Lin Qi's body trembled slightly. The golden-thread nanmu beneath his feet let out a thunderous crack, and the ancient tree—dozens of meters tall and thick enough that several men could scarcely encircle it—was ground into countless fragments by Sword Qi that sprayed in every direction. The ground vanished beneath Lin Qi's feet, and he fell downward in a sorry state. The nine layers of sword force surged into his body through the Army-Slaying Axe, shattering the battle qi within him, which was merely at the Heaven Rank, before rushing along his meridians from his palm to his arm, then piercing straight into his internal organs.
Because he cultivated the Profound Tiger Force and the Immovable Root Seal, Lin Qi's battle qi had weakened to its absolute limit. Even this meager Heaven Rank battle qi had only been painstakingly restored over recent days. These days, Lin Qi had been busy dealing with all sorts of matters and had no time to devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivation. His physical strength was growing ever more formidable, but his battle qi... was still pitifully weak.
Yet this woman in black possessed battle qi powerful to the extreme, at the very least at the peak of the Saint Master level. Using peak Saint Master battle qi to attack Lin Qi's upper