Ritual Interrupted

Lin Qin took a deep breath, adjusting his state to its peak. He glanced at Aileen, who was focused on preparing her magic beside him, then locked his gaze once more on the leader holding the skull scepter at the center of the altar.

He could wait no longer!

Lin Qin pushed off the ground with explosive force, his entire body launching from his hiding spot like a cannonball, aiming straight for the center of the altar! While still in mid-air, he clenched his right fist, and a fist intent as heavy as a mountain and as condensed as steel instantly locked onto the leader!

"Thick Earth Fist!"

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a beam of earth-yellow fist energy, condensed to the extreme, crossing a hundred meters in an instant like a teleportation to strike at the leader's face! Wherever the fist energy passed, space warped slightly, carrying an aura of absolute suppression!

This sudden attack caught all three Saint Realm powerhouses on the altar off guard!

"Presumptuous!" The leader reacted with lightning speed, slamming his skull scepter into the ground. A pitch-black energy shield instantly manifested before him, covered in countless wailing spirits attempting to block Lin Qin's fist energy.

"BOOM!!"

The fist energy collided violently with the energy shield! The expected massive explosion did not occur; instead, the condensed fist energy seemed to contain the weight of the entire earth, forcing the spirit shield to cave inward with a sickening, unbearable creaking sound! The leader's expression shifted as the immense force pushed him sliding back several meters before he could barely steady himself!

"A Saint Realm powerhouse?! Who are you?!" The leader was both shocked and furious, staring fixedly at Lin Qin, who had landed not far in front of him. He had not expected a Saint Realm expert to infiltrate this place so silently, nor to strike with such ferocity!

The other two Saint Realm experts, the Necromancer and the Shadow Assassin, reacted instantly as well.

"Kill him!" The Necromancer's gaunt fingers danced rapidly as he chanted an obscure incantation. The ground around the altar cracked open instantly, and dozens of pale, skeletal hands burst from the earth, clawing at Lin Qin's legs! Simultaneously, several black bone spears radiating a scent of decay condensed in the air, whistling toward Lin Qin with shrill shrieks!

Meanwhile, the Shadow Assassin vanished like a ghost. The next instant, a cold killing intent struck from the shadow behind Lin Qin, and a poisoned, pitch-black dagger silently stabbed toward his heart!

Facing the siege of three Saint Realm experts, Lin Qin's expression remained unchanged. His footwork shifted as if he had merged with the earth, and the clawing bone hands were shattered by an invisible force the moment they neared him. Without even looking back, he threw a backhand punch, striking the incoming dagger with pinpoint precision!

"CLANG!"

The collision of fist and dagger rang out like metal striking metal! The Shadow Assassin felt an irresistible force surge from the blade, his entire arm going numb instantly, and the dagger nearly flew from his grasp! Terrified, he used the momentum to vanish back into the shadows.

As for the incoming black bone spears, Lin Qin simply opened his mouth and spat out a single word:

"Shatter!"

A sound wave infused with his Saint Realm will and the Laws of Earth spread out like a physical force. Those black bone spears, despite their formidable power, snapped inch by inch in mid-air, turning into dust!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Lin Qin fought one against three, not only failing to fall behind but, relying on his incredibly solid foundation and precise control of power, he had subtly seized the initiative!

His goal was to create chaos and draw all attention to himself!

Just as the battle erupted on the altar, Aileen, hidden in the shadows, made her move. Taking advantage of everyone's focus being drawn to Lin Qin, she silently released the magic she had been preparing.

Several strands of blue water, thin as hair and nearly transparent, moved like living things along the ground, avoiding the patrolling guards and striking precisely at the critical bone pillars on the edge of the altar. These streams contained Aileen's highly concentrated and finely controlled water magic. Instead of attacking the surface of the pillars, they acted like parasites, infiltrating the minute gaps where energy flowed through the pillars!

"Sizzle..."

A faint, almost inaudible sound of corrosion came from within the bone pillars. The rune nodes maintaining the soul vortex and energy transmission began to fluctuate unstably under the internal erosion of the water magic, causing the energy flow to become sluggish and chaotic!

The gray soul vortex above the altar shook violently, its rotation speed slowing abruptly, and the wailing sounds it emitted became sharper and more chaotic! The entire energy field of the altar was affected, becoming unstable!

"What is happening?!" The leader, currently locked in combat with Lin Qin, noticed the abnormality on the altar immediately. He whipped his head around, just in time to see the ghostly green flame atop one of the bone pillars flicker violently before extinguishing with a "puff!"

"Someone is sabotaging the altar!" The leader roared in shock and fury, "Catch the saboteur!"

A portion of the guards and the Necromancer immediately turned their eyes toward the bone pillars, attempting to locate Aileen.

"Your opponent is me," Lin Qin said coldly, his offensive suddenly intensifying! Holding nothing back, he threw both fists, sending waves of condensed earth-yellow fist energy crashing toward the three Saint Realm experts like a torrential storm, binding them tightly and giving them no chance to escape!

"Thick Earth Domain, activate!"

With Lin Qin as the center, a domain force as heavy as a mountain erupted outward! The three dark Saint Realm experts within the range felt their bodies sink, their movements becoming sluggish as if they had fallen into a quagmire! Even the Shadow Assassin, hidden in the shadows, was forced to reveal a blurry silhouette!

Taking this opportunity, Aileen acted with even greater boldness. She constantly changed her position, her fine streams of water acting like precise surgical scalpels as they continued to destroy the energy nodes of the other bone pillars. Two more pillars' flames extinguished in succession, and the soul vortex above the altar became thinner and more unstable, as if it might collapse at any moment!

"Bastard!" The leader's eyes were bloodshot. If the ritual were interrupted, not only would their efforts be in vain, but they would also have to suffer the backlash of the ritual! He swung his skull scepter frantically, summoning more powerful dark creatures and curse magic, attempting to break through Lin Qin's blockade.

But Lin Qin's defense was like a wall of copper and iron. His fist techniques were steady and heavy, each strike infused with the power of the earth, blocking and neutralizing every one of the enemy's attacks. Although he had yet to use his "Thick Earth Seal," he was firmly suppressing three powerhouses of the same rank using only his domain and basic fist techniques!

On Aileen's side, she had successfully destroyed more than half of the critical bone pillars. The altar's energy circuits were completely disordered, and the soul vortex above let out a massive, mournful cry of release before collapsing with a boom! The soul fragments trapped within turned into specks of fluorescent light, gradually returning to the heavens and earth.

The ritual had been forcibly interrupted!

Below the altar, the sacrifices, who had been kneeling with hollow eyes, seemed to lose some form of support and collapsed to the ground. Though still weak, a faint glimmer of life began to return to their eyes.

"It worked!" Aileen felt a surge of joy.

However, the moment the ritual was interrupted, a sudden change occurred!

At the center of the altar, the black gem atop the leader's skull scepter suddenly erupted with blinding black light! An evil aura, far more profound and ancient than before, surged out from the gem!

"Foolish insects! You have ruined the Master's great undertaking!" The leader's voice became hoarse and eerie, as if possessed by another consciousness. "But the ritual has not completely failed... let your souls be the final sacrifice offered to the Master!"

He raised his scepter, and a beam of darkness, condensed into a physical form, shot from the black gem. Its target was not Lin Qin, but Aileen, who had just revealed herself and was momentarily relaxed from the success of sabotaging the ritual!

The speed of this dark beam was impossibly fast, and the evil power contained within it made even Lin Qin feel a sense of dread!

"Aileen! Look out!" Lin Qin's expression changed drastically; it was too late to save her! The dark beam had already reached Aileen!

Aileen watched the incoming dark beam radiating the aura of death, her pupils constricting sharply. Her mind went blank, and she was unable to even cast the most basic defensive magic!

At the critical moment, a figure of earth-yellow light appeared before Aileen with speed beyond the limit!

It was Lin Qin! At the final second, he sacrificed a massive amount of his Saint Realm essence, forcibly breaking through the spatial distance to stand between Aileen and the dark beam with his own body!

"Squelch!"

A condensed beam of darkness slammed solidly into Lin Qin's back!

"Lin Qin!!" Aileen let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Lin Qin's body shuddered violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, yet he remained standing firmly in place, keeping Aileen securely shielded behind him. The clothing on his back instantly turned to ash, revealing skin that shimmered with an earthy yellow glow but was now covered in fine cracks. The corrosive power contained within that dark beam was frantically ravaging his Saint Realm body and soul!

"Hmph! Overestimating yourself!" The possessed host sneered, raising the scepter once again.

However, Lin Qin slowly lifted his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and fixed his gaze with icy coldness. He stared at the host and said, word by word:

"You have angered me."