Through the mountain forest, Yin Mingchen sped along like a hurricane, skimming over the treetops. Dead leaves were swept into the air by the currents around him before fluttering back down.
He suddenly halted, lightly touching down on a thin leaf with the tip of his foot. His body remained as steady as a rock, utterly motionless. Seeing this, the other Royal Clan members hurriedly stopped as well, drifting a short distance over the treetops before barely regaining their balance.
"Something's wrong." Yin Mingchen lowered his head and repeatedly rubbed the mission System Panel, his fingertips tightening slightly. His voice was low and muffled. "The mission target is above us."
In the mission section of the System Panel, a scarlet dot overlapped precisely with the green markers representing them, flickering with a cold gleam. And
Unlike the first Plot World, where they had needed the Brass Compass to slowly pinpoint their target, Wang Xuan had now been placed on the Waste Disposal Bureau guild's kill list. The mission System Panel could directly lock onto his location, saving them considerable trouble.
Everyone hurriedly looked down at their own System Panels, and their faces turned deathly pale.
They abruptly raised their heads toward the sky. All they saw were blue skies and white clouds, so clear that not even a bird's shadow could be seen. Where could there possibly be a person?
"Yin Mingchen, the mission System Panel can't be wrong." A Royal Clan member swallowed, his voice tight and his eyes full of panic. "Since he's been following us without making a move, why don't we simply lead him to rendezvous with the team?"
Yin Mingchen sneered, his tone carrying a hint of disdain. "I'm afraid that's exactly what he wants."
He paused, sweeping his gaze across the panicked crowd before him. His expression grew solemn. "Chu Lingtian died by his hand, so his peerless sword techniques must have been taken by him as well. With Xiantian Qi, Clone Demon Shadow, and that movement technique we know nothing about, no one in this Plot World can probably defeat him. Even if we outnumber him, his movement speed lets him attack or retreat at will. We can hardly stop him."
He looked up at the empty sky, his brow furrowing deeply. After pondering for a moment, he said, "For him to overlap with our position, he's either hiding underground—but that's impossible. It's more likely that he has cultivated Chu Lingtian's Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin to the point where he can transform his body into sword light, hiding among the clouds. I can think of no other possibility."
Even as he spoke, shock surged through him. He knew better than anyone what martial arts Chu Lingtian had chosen.
Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin was said to be the highest realm of swordsmanship, profound and unfathomable. With the Royal Clan's foundations, using absorbed True Qi to break through blocked acupoints was not difficult, but that was merely the beginning.
To truly master it required not only astonishing comprehension, but also extensive time spent cultivating. Chu Lingtian clearly lacked that patience, so when choosing martial arts, he had prioritized Sword Separating the World. Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin was only something he had picked up as a supplementary art.
"Then what do we do?" A Royal Clan member could not help roaring anxiously. "Only meeting up with the team is safe! If we split up, he'll pick us off one by one sooner or later!"
Yin Mingchen's brows were tightly knit. Forcing down the anxiety in his heart, he deliberately raised his voice and declared, "The main force is in Haining Prefecture, not far from here. We can only head there. Let's see whether he dares stop us from joining them!"
He appeared calm, but inwardly he had no confidence. He had deliberately said those words for Wang Xuan in the sky to hear, hoping to provoke him and make him let them travel safely to Haining Prefecture.
Chu Lingtian was dead, and the other party still had at least one God-Splitting Spike. If they were struck by it, even if they were not killed out of the Plot World, dealing with the Soul-Splitting agony caused by the God-Splitting Spike after returning to the Bureau and their clans would be troublesome enough.
All of them were Royal Clan members who had committed grave errors and been demoted here. Their clans might not be willing to expend resources to stabilize their souls and offset the damage inflicted by the God-Splitting Spike.
Competition within the Royal Clan had always been brutal. Even toward their own people, they had never shown mercy.
"So they're all in Haining Prefecture."
A voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz suddenly slipped into everyone's ears. It was as light as a feather, yet possessed terrifying penetration. Though not a single figure could be seen, every word was perfectly clear. The voice also carried a trace of mind-confusing power, like demonic sound pouring into their ears, stirring panic in their hearts and throwing their thoughts into disorder.
It was the Sound Transmission Soul-Searching Technique!
The Royal Clan members' expressions instantly changed. Such a minor method of confusing the mind could not shake their foundations. What truly terrified them was the boundless sword light suddenly pouring down from overhead. The sword light fell like rain, dense beyond measure, instantly shrouding the entire mountain forest.
"It's Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin! Watch out for the God-Splitting Spike!" Yin Mingchen bellowed sharply as his body shot into the air.
His right leg suddenly exerted force, and wind energy erupted with a boom. His robes snapped violently in the gale as the Wind God Leg Ultimate Art, Wind Sweeps the Tower Ruins, burst forth!
The Zhouliu Wind Energy within him activated the Wind Control Art, while his S-Rank Talent, Son of the Wind, amplified him at full power. In an instant, the currents of air between heaven and earth became frenzied. A massive tornado rose from the ground, sweeping dirt, rocks, and trees into the clouds.
The howling gale sounded like enraged ghosts roaring, forcibly erecting an impregnable wall of wind before them.
Countless sword-rains crashed into the tornado, and metallic ringing exploded without end!
Most of the sharp sword qi was shredded and dispersed by the raging wind, yet the sword light kept coming, as if it would never run out.
The other Royal Clan members had no time to think. They could only desperately activate their own martial arts to block the sword light descending from above while holding their positions firmly, terrified of being dragged into the center of the battle and dying for nothing.
"I didn't expect Yin Mingchen's Wind God Leg to be this powerful." While swinging his blade to block swords, one Royal Clan member muttered in amazement.
"I heard that before he was demoted to the Bureau, he had already comprehended Wind Without Form. His Wind God Leg was close to major completion long ago. Once he comprehends Cloud Without Constancy and unites wind and cloud, he'll be able to cultivate Mahayana Boundless!" another Royal Clan member said, his tone full of surprise.
"So that's how it is. We really misjudged him. He hid himself deeply. Poor Chu Lingtian—he always acted so arrogant and thought he was the strongest. If he weren't dead and saw this, he'd probably be utterly humiliated!"
"Not necessarily. Would Chu Lingtian not know Yin Mingchen's strength? I think he understood it well. Yin Mingchen's talent leans toward the wind attribute, so comprehending Wind Without Form was not difficult. But Cloud Without Constancy—who knows how long it will take him to comprehend that?"
Before their discussion had even ended, a sudden upheaval erupted at the center of the battle!
An incomparably brilliant sword light suddenly tore through the heavens. It was as thin as a slit at the horizon, yet it gathered every shred of sharpness from the endless sword-rain, carrying an unmatched, resolute force as it cleaved toward the wall of wind!
"Not good—it's Sword Separating the World!"
The cry was instantly swallowed by the gale. That sword light, which had broken past all limits, pierced into the heart of the hurricane in a single instant!
The wind energy around Yin Mingchen suddenly stalled, and his body stiffened violently in midair.
The enormous tornado that connected heaven and earth rapidly collapsed before their very eyes. The gale gradually subsided, while the trees, dirt, and rocks flung into the air crashed down with a clatter. Dust filled the sky, instantly obscuring the entire world.
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