Desperate Struggle

The Star-Bewildering Mist Formation surrounding the island shattered completely under the pressure of Li Yan's aura. The gray mist dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The lake water churned violently, and Star Soul Fish leaped out of the water from time to time.

Li Yan seemed oblivious to the strange changes in the lake. He stood with his hands behind his back, his red robes snapping in the wind. He looked at Lin Ye as if he were a turtle in a jar—trapped, unable to fly away, and left to be slaughtered at his mercy.

"What's the matter, little loach? Scared silly?" Li Yan sneered. "My patience is limited. Hand over the legacy within three breaths. Once those three breaths pass, I will do it myself, and by then, you'll find it difficult even to die."

Lin Ye's fingers, gripping his sword, turned slightly white as his thoughts raced frantically.

Escape? Surrounded by the lake on all sides, with the Star Soul Fish tide surging and unknown horrors lurking beneath, there was simply nowhere to go.

Fight? With less than twenty percent of his True Qi remaining and injuries on his body, his chances of winning against Li Yan, who was several realms higher, were slim, and he had to constantly guard against the murderous intent from the bottom of the lake.

As for offering the treasure to beg for mercy? That was not even worth considering. Given Li Yan's personality, even if he handed over the inheritance, he would not be left alive.

Three breaths were too short; he didn't even have time to recover a sliver of True Qi, let alone digest the inheritance or set up a contingency plan.

What to do?

Lin Ye's gaze swept over the items scattered on the ground: jade bottles, ores, and the remnant formation scrolls left behind by Daoist Xinghe...

A flash of inspiration exploded in his mind.

He looked at the fist-sized Meteorite Crystal. This was a top-tier energy source for formations!

"Three!"

Murderous intent surged in Li Yan's eyes, and his figure suddenly vanished. The next moment, he appeared right in front of Lin Ye, his crimson fist smashing out with a roar that distorted even the space around it.

"Red Sun Burning Mountain!"

Li Yan had used seventy percent of his power in this punch, enough to blast a typical True Qi Realm third-layer cultivator to death. He intended to crush Lin Ye on the spot with absolute power.

"Now!"

He lunged forward, his left hand darting out to grab the Meteorite Crystal from the ground. His right hand's two fingers pressed hard against a damaged rune on the edge of the altar!

"Hum!"

The long-dormant runes around the altar suddenly lit up, erupting with blinding, brilliant starlight!

The starlight intertwined, space twisted, and a chaotic force field instantly formed, enveloping them both.

"What?" Li Yan's expression changed drastically. His unstoppable punch entered the field, the crimson fist-light being constantly torn and deflected until it finally grazed Lin Ye's ear and slammed into the black rock behind him.

"Boom!"

The giant rock shattered, and debris flew in all directions.

"You're courting death!" Li Yan was both shocked and furious, not expecting Lin Ye to have such a trick up his sleeve. His Red Sun Force erupted, attempting to forcibly shatter the starlight field.

"Pfft!"

The opportunity had arrived.

Lin Ye suddenly raised his hand, throwing a paper packet he had prepared, along with several other sundries, toward the lake surface, while simultaneously flicking a spark from his fingertip.

The paper packet ignited in mid-air.

"You idiot! Has your brain rotted..." Li Yan started to laugh, but the smile froze on his face before it could fully form.

The lake surface exploded!

The Star Soul Fish, having caught the scent of the mixture of Meteorite Crystal and Soul-Bewildering Incense, went completely berserk. They transformed into a tide of death that blotted out the sky and sun, lunging toward them!

"This bastard! He's trying to lure the disaster onto me!" Li Yan's eyes were bloodshot.

He wanted to run, but the fish tide had sealed off all his paths of retreat. What made his heart sink even further was that the Hua Yuan Realm aura from the bottom of the lake was drawing closer due to this commotion!

"Red Sun Body Protection!"

Li Yan roared, his True Qi exploding to form a flame barrier. The Star Soul Fish that lunged at him were instantly burned to nothingness, but the school of fish kept coming in waves, each impact consuming his True Qi.

A wisp of smoke seeped in, making him dizzy and slowing his reactions by half a beat.

"Slash!"

A Star Soul Fish seized the opportunity, broke through the fire barrier, and tore a chunk of flesh from his left arm!

Blood sprayed, the wound felt icy and bone-chilling, and a mental shock pierced directly into his sea of consciousness.

"Damn it!" Li Yan was shocked and enraged. To think that he, a proud genius of Chiyan Peak, was being driven into such a pathetic state by an ant!

"I will make you suffer the pain of having your soul burned and your spirit refined!" He looked as if he had gone mad, slaughtering the fish while his eyes remained locked on Lin Ye.

But Lin Ye no longer cared about him.

The moment he lured the fish tide away, he knew he had bought himself a chance to breathe.

He took out all the Qi Recovery Pills he had and swallowed them in one gulp, running the Qingyun Art and the Star-Drawing Art at full capacity to guide the medicinal power into True Qi.

The multiple streams of medicinal power collided within his body; the Qingyun Art and the Star-Drawing Art had vastly different paths, and forcing them to be cultivated together easily led to Qi deviation, but he had no choice.

"Pfft!" A mouthful of blood sprayed out.

The battle between Li Yan and the fish tide had reached a fever pitch.

The fish tide was endless, the flame barrier around him constantly shrinking, his wounds multiplying, and his breathing fluctuating violently. The pressure of the Hua Yuan Realm from the bottom of the lake was also drawing ever closer.

"I can't drag this out!" Li Yan gritted his teeth, ignoring the fish tide, and braced himself against the attacks, transforming into a streak of crimson fire as he charged straight for the altar.

"Go to hell!"

Li Yan's ferocious face was inches away, his five fingers curled into claws, reaching straight for Lin Ye's crown.

Lin Ye opened his eyes and gripped the Star-Shattering Sword, pouring every ounce of his True Qi into the blade!

He thrust forward!

There were no fancy techniques or variations.

There was only the determination to press forward, a life-or-death struggle.

"Hum—clang—"

The sword speed was pushed to the extreme, like a falling star!

"Ssh—"

A soft sound pierced the eardrums.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

The smile on Li Yan's face stiffened, replaced by sheer horror.

"No!"

The sword light cut through everything like a hot knife through butter, piercing through his palm and exiting his right shoulder, spraying blood and bone fragments!

"Ah—ah—"

A shrill scream erupted. Li Yan's entire right arm was run through by the sword, and the sword energy rampaged wildly, eroding his meridians and Dantian, causing his cultivation to plummet on the spot!

"Bang!"

Lin Ye was sent flying by the recoil, slamming heavily into the ground, spitting out another mouthful of blood as his True Qi was completely drained.

"My hand! My cultivation!!" Li Yan stumbled backward, blood gushing from his left shoulder like a fountain.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss—"

The Star Soul Fish swarm instantly went mad again, swarming toward the severely wounded and weakened Li Yan to devour him!

"Get away! I am a direct disciple candidate of Chiyan Peak! My master is..."

His terrified, desperate howling was instantly drowned out by the sound of tearing flesh.

In just two or three breaths.

On the edge of Lake Heart Island, all that remained was a twitching corpse being frantically devoured by the Star Soul Fish, along with a faint, resentful roar in the air:

"Lin Ye... even as a ghost, I will..."

The voice stopped abruptly.

The prodigy of Chiyan Peak, Li Yan of the fifth level of the True Qi Realm, died without a complete corpse.

In the center of the altar, Lin Ye leaned against the bones, supporting himself with his sword, watching the scene coldly.

He felt no pity, only the relief of surviving a disaster and a craving for power.

If not for the inheritance, if not for the Star-Shattering Sword, and if not for that desperate final gamble, he would be the one dead right now.

"Hoo..." He gasped heavily, his entire body wracked with pain.

But he dared not relax in the slightest.

Although Li Yan was dead, the Star Soul Fish tide had not dispersed. Having tasted flesh and blood, their aura became increasingly violent, and their scarlet eyes turned in unison toward Lin Ye on the altar.

A death crisis had already arrived.

Beneath the lake surface, that terrifying existence of the Hua Yuan Realm had been completely awakened by the energy fluctuations and the scent of blood, locking onto him firmly.

"Glug, glug..."

The ink-blue lake water formed a pitch-black vortex centered on the heart of the lake.

With the fish tide in front and a giant beast behind.

The true desperate situation had only just begun.

"It seems that if I want to take this inheritance, I won't be able to do it without paying the price of my life..."