The God-Sealing Lock had been sealed and was temporarily unusable. The Lesser Sealing Talisman was limited in power and couldn't keep the God-Sealing Lock sealed for long—at most ten minutes.
But the longer this dragged on, the greater the pressure on Xu Yang. Hu Xinrong and his companion could turn the tables at any moment. Thinking this, Ling Feng grew anxious and quickly resolved to end the fight fast.
Ling Feng slapped his Qiankun Bag and took out a Mystic Gold Sword Talisman. He swiftly activated it, and brilliant golden light burst from the talisman, locking onto Zhao Man.
Zhao Man had used the Lesser Sealing Talisman to seal the God-Sealing Lock and had just breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a powerful aura lock onto her. Her expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly looked up at Ling Feng.
She immediately saw a small golden sword floating before Ling Feng, radiating a powerful, fierce aura. Its tip pointed straight at her. Panic surged through Zhao Man, and she hurriedly retreated, while a yellow shield appeared before her.
Seeing Zhao Man's movements, Ling Feng gave a disdainful sneer and shouted, "True Form-Manifestation Sword, go!" At his shout, the Mystic Gold Sword Talisman blazed with light and vanished with a whoosh.
Zhao Man was horrified. She immediately became alert and poured all the Gang Qi in her body into the shield before her. Suddenly, she was aghast to discover that she had been immobilized, unable to move at all. Before she could react, a huge purple sword burst out of the ground beneath her and thrust upward.
Unable to move, Zhao Man could only use her spiritual sense to maneuver the shield in front of the purple sword's tip. With a thunderous crash, the shield couldn't withstand the tremendous force and shattered into pieces. Zhao Man's spiritual sense was hit by the backlash, and she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
After smashing through the shield, the purple sword didn't pause for an instant. It continued toward Zhao Man. She tried to maneuver her other Dharma Artifacts to block it, but each was shattered in turn. At last, the purple sword pierced her through the chest, and she fell to the ground, dead and despairing.
The purple sword had been formed from the Mystic Gold Sword Talisman. This sword technique was the True Form-Manifestation Sword Ling Feng had mentioned, a secret art that only Golden Core Realm cultivators could practice. Its power was unmatched, and Zhao Man had no way to withstand it.
Seeing Zhao Man dead, Ling Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He flew to the God-Sealing Lock and directed his Flying Sword to strike the golden chains formed by the Lesser Sealing Talisman. At the same time, he made the God-Sealing Lock struggle. With both efforts combined, the golden chains were cut one after another, and the talisman's sealing power rapidly weakened. A moment later, all the chains had been severed, and the God-Sealing Lock was working again.
Ling Feng then controlled the God-Sealing Lock and sent it swiftly toward the battlefield where Xu Yang and Hu Xinrong were fighting. Xu Yang was in a terrible situation. His Talisman Treasure, the Samadhi Ring, was held off by the Black Small Banner, and he was no match for Hu Xinrong in close combat. Hu Xinrong had beaten him into a sorry state. Fortunately, Hu Xinrong feared the power of Samadhi True Fire and didn't dare face him head-on, which had allowed Xu Yang to hold out until now.
Just as Xu Yang was about to reach his limit, Ling Feng hurried onto the scene. Seeing Xu Yang in trouble, he immediately sent the God-Sealing Lock flying toward Hu Xinrong. Hu Xinrong was shocked to see Ling Feng appear and thought, This is bad! He had just started to retreat when a beam of light from the God-Sealing Lock enveloped him.
Hu Xinrong's spiritual sense was immediately sealed inside his body, cutting off his connection to the Black Small Banner. Without his control, the banner's power plummeted, and it could no longer withstand the attack of Samadhi True Fire. A wave of the flames engulfed it, and it crackled as it burned.
Xu Yang was overjoyed. He hurriedly controlled the Samadhi Ring to attack Hu Xinrong. The ring released wave after wave of Samadhi True Fire, which formed a huge fire dragon that charged toward him.
Hu Xinrong's single misstep immediately put him at a disadvantage. When he saw the fire dragon formed from Samadhi True Fire charging at him, his expression changed drastically. He hurried around inside the beam of light, dodging the dragon's attacks while pounding the beam with both fists, trying to break through the God-Sealing Lock's light and escape.
Seeing this, Ling Feng hurriedly poured the Gang Qi in his body into the God-Sealing Lock to strengthen the beam's defenses. At the same time, Xu Yang's expression hardened. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the Samadhi Ring. Empowered by Xu Yang's blood essence, the ring's power surged, and it released another wave of Samadhi True Fire, which formed a huge fire dragon.
The two fire dragons charged into the beam of light and wound around Hu Xinrong like two dragons fighting over a pearl. With Ling Feng reinforcing it to the utmost, the beam's defenses had grown far stronger. Hu Xinrong couldn't possibly break through and escape in such a short time, and with the two fire dragons constantly attacking him, he could only flee around inside the beam.
Seeing this, Hu Xinrong finally gave in and begged Xu Yang and Ling Feng for mercy. But the two weren't moved in the slightest and continued attacking with all their strength. Hu Xinrong's face filled with panic. In a moment of carelessness, the two fire dragons coiled around him.
The Samadhi True Fire was scorching hot, and it immediately burned Hu Xinrong, making him scream again and again. Yet the Asura Yin Evil Technique he practiced was no ordinary art; he wasn't burned to death at once. Xu Yang was deeply astonished. Only after a full three minutes of burning was Hu Xinrong reduced to ashes, his soul scattered.
With Hu Xinrong's death, the Samadhi Ring gave a sharp crack and vanished into red specks of light in midair. Its Talisman Treasure's power had been exhausted, and the Samadhi Ring had dissipated on its own. Xu Yang felt a pang of heartache. Six hundred Spirit Stones had just gone up in smoke—what a painful loss. Still, they had killed all their enemies and saved their own lives, so in the end it hadn't been a bad trade.
Seeing Hu Xinrong defeated, Ling Feng finally let the heart he'd been holding drop back into his chest. He walked over to Xu Yang, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You did well, Fellow Daoist Xu. We worked together seamlessly in this fight."
Then Ling Feng said solemnly, "As for your losses, Fellow Daoist Xu, I think Big Brother Qin will compensate you sufficiently. Besides, we completed our objective and obtained quite a few treasures, so it wasn't a bad deal!"
Xu Yang thought it over, then smiled at Ling Feng. "I was being too petty. Just those two Foundation Establishment Pills alone have already satisfied me."
At this, Xu Yang glanced around and continued, "Hu Xinrong and the other two are dead. Let's search the battlefield, then go take a look at the other side hall!"
Ling Feng nodded. "All right. Let's split up and search quickly, then go check out the other side hall. After that, we'll leave this place. Big Brother Qin must have attacked Huang Ting outside by now. I wonder how things are going?"
"Senior Qin's cultivation is a level above Huang Ting's, so I doubt anything unexpected will happen. Let's search the battlefield first."
Xu Yang then leaped into the middle of the scene and searched around. Ling Feng could only set aside his worries and help Xu Yang search the battlefield. The two moved quickly and soon finished. Then they split the items between them, each putting his share in his Qiankun Bag.
Next, the two entered the other side hall, which turned out to be an herb garden where spirit herbs and medicines had been planted. There were very few spirit herbs in the garden. Xu Yang searched all around and found only four or five medicinal herbs, while Ling Feng fared even worse, finding just one or two.
None of these medicinal herbs were particularly rare; they could all be bought with Spirit Stones. Xu Yang didn't know how to make pills, so they were of no use to him. He could only sell them to a shop in exchange for Spirit Stones.
Deep in the herb garden, there was also a Teleportation Array. With their limited knowledge, Xu Yang and Ling Feng could only tell that it was extremely profound and could transport people to a very distant place. They had no idea where. Xu Yang guessed it might lead to Yong Province, since the female cultivator had returned from there.
After inspecting this side hall, Xu Yang and Ling Feng went to the pill-refining side hall. The two studied the furnace in its center, only to discover helplessly that their cultivation was too low to open it and take out the pills inside. As for refining the furnace, it was a spirit treasure, and they weren't qualified to do that. Xu Yang then tried to put the furnace away, but it didn't budge and couldn't be taken in at all.
In the end, Xu Yang could only give up and stop coveting the furnace. The two searched carefully once more, but found no other treasures. Only then did they head toward the stone door of the main hall.
At the stone door, Ling Feng took out the Lunar Bracelet and pressed it against the door. The stone door immediately rumbled upward. The two stepped through and retraced their route. With the Lunar Bracelet in hand, the Restrictions along the way no longer attacked them, and they reached the teleportation platform without hindrance.
Worried about Qin Shuang's safety, Ling Feng wasted no time. He raised a hand and sent a stream of Gang Qi into the center of the platform. A beam of black light burst from it, enveloped Xu Yang and Ling Feng, and vanished with them.
On the cliff outside, the air churned violently. Xu Yang and Ling Feng fell out of it and landed atop the towering precipice. Then the two released their Dharma Artifacts and warily looked down the cliff. They saw Qin Shuang rising on his Flying Sword and coming toward them.
Seeing this, Xu Yang immediately relaxed. It seemed Qin Shuang had won his battle with Huang Ting. Otherwise, Huang Ting would have been the one to greet them with an attack.
Qin Shuang reached the top of the cliff and looked at Xu Yang and Ling Feng expectantly, about to ask a question. Ling Feng spoke first, smiling at Qin Shuang. "We did it. We completed the mission and have fulfilled our duty!"
Qin Shuang's face lit up with joy. He hurriedly said to the two, "Good, excellent! But we should leave this place as quickly as possible. Whatever we need to discuss, we can talk about it once we're back at our own cave abode."
As soon as Qin Shuang finished speaking, he took out a Flying Boat and enlarged it. Xu Yang immediately nodded in agreement. It was always best to be cautious, and Qin Shuang's idea suited him perfectly. He said nothing more and promptly leaped aboard. Ling Feng followed him without another word.
Qin Shuang then piloted the Flying Boat into the sky at top speed, heading for the border between the two countries. The Flying Boat raced along like a gale. A day later, they returned to the camp outside the border battlefield. The three stepped off the Flying Boat and headed straight for the cave-abode area at the camp's center, soon arriving outside Qin Shuang's cave abode.
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