Clang.
With a single sword stroke, An Jing slew the Blood Sea Demon God, then slowly sheathed his sword.
The dark crimson light along the blade receded, leaving not a speck of dust upon it.
Then he raised his hand. In his palm, several fragile motes of spiritual light were gathered and held aloft by a gentle force—the souls of Tianji Mountain disciples he had just stripped from the Blood Sea Ghost God's body.
"Thank you so much! Naturalist, your righteousness is beyond measure. We of Tianji Mountain are indebted to you from top to bottom!"
Only now did the True Person leading Tianji Mountain's party recover from his shock. He hurriedly flew forward and bowed deeply to An Jing, his voice full of the relief of surviving disaster and sincere gratitude. "Our equipment and Medicinal Pills were nearly exhausted in that battle, or destroyed by those Demonic Beasts. We have no way to offer a proper token of thanks, but once we leave the Zhaolin Realm..."
"We're partners. There's no need to be so formal."
An Jing merely shook his head slightly and gestured for the man to watch their surroundings. In a tone of rather grim humor, he said, "Besides, it's not time to relax yet—we may not even be able to leave the Zhaolin Realm. Talking about future compensation is far too soon."
"Huh?"
The leading True Person froze, following An Jing's gaze toward the surroundings. "You jest..."
"Shriek!"
At that very moment, the Golden-Winged Peng that had just arrived let out a piercing cry. With a beat of its wings, it dove downward. Jin Yanhua and You Ruhui stood upon its back, having long since gathered their strength.
In an instant, Five Weapons Thunder Spears of every color and shining spears of pure light fell one