Killing the Xiantian Dog Demon

As Shen Lin pulled out his longsword and flicked away the bloodstains, another person in night-blooming attire emerged from the house.

Zijing, holding the Thousand Pines Diagram, trembled slightly.

She had originally intended to retrieve the item from the Wu Family's treasury without a sound.

However, she hadn't found the Thousand Pines Diagram there, so she had no choice but to have a chat with the Wu Family patriarch.

She learned that three days prior, Huang Xiaotian, the third boss of the Black Wind Stronghold, who had come down the mountain, had taken a liking to the painting.

And now, she finally possessed the ancestral secret technique she had yearned for.

"Found it?"

Zijing nodded. Without bothering to converse with Shen Lin, she took out a small bottle from her bosom and poured its contents onto the Thousand Pines Diagram.

The content on the diagram instantly changed, the twisted pine trees spreading out to reveal small characters.

Just as Zijing was about to study the content closely, she was interrupted by a furious roar.

"Second brother!!!"

Huang Xiaotian clumsily pushed away the stones on top of him. Seeing the figure collapsing before Shen Lin, he cried out in grief, "You deserve to die!!!"

He dropped the ghost-head saber in his hand, his body hair standing on end like steel needles.

An unsettling aura began to spread.

Zijing's expression changed. She quickly put away the Thousand Pines Diagram and shouted at Shen Lin, "This is bad! He's trying to break through!!!"

Huang Xiaotian had already opened six meridians and was on the verge of breaking through to the Xiantian realm.

However, being ambitious, he wanted to go further on his cultivation path and had thus not broken through, attempting to open one more meridian.

But now, watching his two younger brothers die by Shen Lin's hand, he chose to break through in his rage.

When Sun Zhi had revealed Shen Lin's intel, he had been somewhat dismissive.

He thought the other man's words were exaggerated.

Given Shen Lin's age, even with high talent, what resources could he possibly have in a place like Qiulin County?

At most, he would have opened three meridians.

But after just one exchange, Huang Xiaotian realized he was terribly mistaken.

The profound Qi and Blood Force within Shen Lin was something he couldn't resist.

Sun Zhi's assessment was even conservative.

Shen Lin wasn't at the sixth level of meridian opening; he had at least opened eight meridians.

Although battles in the Opening Meridians Realm weren't solely determined by who opened more meridians, it also depended on whose martial arts were more refined and whose weapons were sharper.

But the exquisite nature of Shen Lin's sword strike just now made Huang Xiaotian realize that even if they were in the same realm, he likely wouldn't be able to win.

Therefore, he only had one choice left.

Breakthrough to Xiantian!

Strange energies began to flow from the heavens and earth towards Huang Xiaotian, causing his body to gradually transform.

His claws and fangs became more ferocious, and the fat on his body slowly receded, turning into hard muscle.

However, it was clear that Shen Lin and Zijing would not allow him to break through peacefully.

The next moment, two sword glows flashed.

Shen Lin's and Zijing's attacks arrived almost simultaneously.

But Huang Xiaotian was already prepared, raising his thick, yellow-haired arms in front of him.

Squelch!

Zijing's soft sword, after simply piercing through the opponent's fur, lost its momentum, and the blade bent.

Shen Lin's attack was slightly better, his precious sword directly piercing the opponent's defense and deeply embedding itself in the flesh and blood.

But even so, it couldn't directly pierce his arms.

Huang Xiaotian slowly raised his head, revealing a ferocious dog-like face, and let out low growls.

He could already feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth entering his meridians. In a short while, he would break through to Xiantian and generate protective Qi.

At that time, these two before him would only be able to await their slaughter.

Zijing's face was now panicked, the joy of retrieving the Thousand Pines Diagram completely gone.

Indeed, both she and Shen Lin could also go all out and attempt to break through to Xiantian.

But with the opponent breaking through first, they were already a step behind.

Even if they started breaking through to Xiantian now, they couldn't finish before him.

At that point, they wouldn't have the dog demon's robust physique to withstand the attack and would directly perish in its maw.

But just as Zijing looked towards Shen Lin, preparing to take a gamble, she found that Shen Lin was no longer in his original position.

Not only she, but Huang Xiaotian also noticed this.

Shadow Severing Step activated, Shen Lin suddenly appeared behind Huang Xiaotian.

Before, neither the Demon Cultivator nor the Martial Artist in the Opening Meridians Realm had been able to see through Shen Lin's Shadow Severing Step.

But at this moment, Huang Xiaotian suddenly turned his head strangely, his gaze meeting Shen Lin's.

Nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he had already begun transforming into a Xiantian body.

"In a fit of rage, resorting to futile efforts?"

Huang Xiaotian was completely unfazed by Shen Lin, who was already pressed against him from behind.

This was because the only treasure sword capable of breaking his defense was tightly clamped by his arm muscles, completely unable to be drawn out.

This guy has lost his mind, not even trying to pull out his sword, planning to attack with his bare hands?

Watching Shen Lin bring his fingers together, forming a sword finger and thrusting forward, Huang Xiaotian let out a wry chuckle.

A mere human, attempting to attack with his physical body, how laughable!

He didn't dodge at all, even crouching down to headbutt the opponent directly.

With a cruel smile on his lips, he seemed to already envision the next scene: him snapping the opponent's fingers with his forehead, then seizing and biting off the opponent's arm.

However, this scene would never be seen by him again in this lifetime.

A faint green light suddenly emanated from Shen Lin's sword finger. The slender fingertip silently pierced through Huang Xiaotian's hard skull, half of the hand sinking in.

Boom!

A sudden roar erupted on the spot.

The uncontrolled spiritual energy of heaven and earth spread in all directions, and the violent fluctuations directly blew Zijing's emaciated body away.

After finally controlling her body and landing steadily, Zijing immediately looked up.

When the dust settled, Zijing finally understood the scene in the arena.

Shen Lin slowly withdrew his right hand, a look of disgust on his face, and shook his hand.

Meanwhile, Huang Xiaotian maintained his previous cruel smile, standing motionless like a piece of wood, no longer moving at all.

[Killed the Enlightenment Dog Demon... Newly entered Xiantian, lifespan 500 years, remaining lifespan 440 years, absorption complete.]