Return I

The others around them scattered in all directions.

When Yuan Jing-level cultivators clashed, the area affected would be extremely vast. Even if they controlled their power with utmost precision, all manner of issues could still cause the battle's force to leak out.

Once a single burst leaked, everything within at least a dozen miles would be affected.

The cultivators brought by Heavenly Above True Person understood this as well and promptly deployed their escape arts to flee.

Lin Xin had no Yuan Jing and could only watch helplessly as they left. If he had been a Yuan Jing cultivator, he could have unfurled his Yuan Jing and enveloped them all; no escape art would have been of any use.

But he merely possessed the ability to contend against Yuan Jing. He did not possess the true accompanying methods.

With a wave of his hand, Lin Xin sent Zhao Ke and the others onto a Red Sky Ship not far away.

He swept his gaze over Heavenly Above True Person. That platinum Yuan Jing was already about to cover his position.

"Let's begin."

He wasted no words and stamped his foot.

Bang!

With an explosion, Lin Xin vanished in an instant. Almost at the same moment, he appeared before Heavenly Above True Person.

Clang clang clang clang!!

In an instant, dozens of collisions rang out in succession. A burst of fire exploded between them, golden sparks scattering before rapidly transforming into runes that linked together and bound themselves toward Heavenly Above True Person.

Yet the chains were immediately stirred lightly by the platinum Yuan Jing and snapped apart on their own.

Lin Xin attacked with terrifying speed, so swift it was nearly indescribable. Blades poured down upon his opponent like raindrops, blotting out the sky. Every strike carried horrifying weight, easily reaching the strongest level of Seeking the Dao.

Heavenly Above True Person was no ordinary man either. Within his platinum Yuan Jing, he could weaken his opponent's power by thirty percent and enhance his own by thirty percent. With one rising and the other falling, coupled with the Yuan Jing's inherent laws that controlled all spiritual energy, power, and air to impede opponents, he actually managed to fight Lin Xin to a standstill for the moment.

The two platinum longswords were almost impossible to make out as they collided madly in the air. As they fought, both plummeted fiercely from the sky.

Boom!

Everything on the ground within ten meters of the two of them exploded automatically—soil, stone, ships, living creatures, all of it.

Suddenly, a residual wave of golden sword light spun out like a crescent moon and slashed viciously across a nearby cliff.

Crack!

The entire upper half of the cliff was severed in one stroke and slowly slid downward.

It happened to be sliding directly toward the two of them.

Neither paid it any mind. They shot upward at the same time.

With a thunderous crash, Heavenly Above True Person smashed through the cliff and burst from the flying rubble.

Lin Xin followed close behind, beckoning with one hand before pressing it down.

At once, a massive section of cliff dozens of meters in diameter smashed ruthlessly toward Heavenly Above True Person.

"Karma Arises Karma Dies Ruthless Sword." Heavenly Above True Person ran a hand across his sword blade.

His face-full of beard danced in the wind.

Screech!!

His hand swept to the sword tip, and he sent forth a platinum blade of light.

Once the blade flew out, it grew with the wind, becoming larger and longer.

Then, with a sharp hiss, the blade abruptly split apart, turning into dozens of scattered points of light that shot ruthlessly toward the cliff.

Screech screech screech!

In the blink of an eye, the cliff was cut into countless fragments and disintegrated naturally. All the points of light continued onward, shooting toward Lin Xin.

These points of light seemed to possess automatic tracking, rushing at Lin Xin from every direction like living creatures.

Each point was faintly no weaker than a sword strike personally unleashed by Heavenly Above True Person.

Clang!

A cluster of light points was fiercely cut apart by Lin Xin.

But at the same time, a sharp spiritual impact slammed into his mind, causing a flash of pain.

Immediately afterward, all the other light clusters swarmed toward him like bees.

Lin Xin tightened his grip on his sword.

Buzz!

In a single instant, he slashed out eighty-one consecutive strikes. A cage-like mass of red sword marks appeared around him at the same time.

The cage formed by those sword marks paused for an instant before exploding and scattering, canceling out the impact of every light point from all directions.

Having just dealt with those light points, Lin Xin looked up at his opponent. Heavenly Above True Person was chanting under his breath, and a broad-edged gigantic sword, thicker than a person, had appeared before him. Its blade slowly rotated upright. At its center was a black W-shaped pattern, while the faint radiance spilling from its edges seemed like countless fine feathers scattering apart. From afar, the sword blade appeared carved with innumerable delicate, intricate runes.

An immensely heavy sense of threat surged wildly from across the way. Clearly, the move Heavenly Above True Person had spent so long gathering was no ordinary technique.

"Since that's the case."

Lin Xin raised the Yin Luo Sword and gave it a light shake as well.

The platinum Yin Luo Sword immediately ignited. White-tinged flames surged into the sky and slowly wrapped Lin Xin within them.

"Yin Luo Myriad Manifestations, all lives rise and perish."

As the activation incantation rang out, the sword blade gave a tremendous buzz.

Bang!

The entire blade exploded directly into countless platinum points of light. After flying a short distance, they rapidly returned, wrapping around Lin Xin to form an enormous sphere of flame more than ten meters wide.

Screech!

A massive wing pierced out from the flaming sphere of light, formed from multicolored radiance like a peacock spreading its tail.

With a thunderous explosion, the white sphere completely dispersed. Within it, a gigantic three-headed monster unfolded its body.

A bird's heads, a lion's body, and a peacock's tail!

The enormous monster, dozens of meters across and entirely composed of platinum flames, floated in the air. It took a deep breath, then its three heads roared wildly at Heavenly Above True Person.

Eeeeee!!!

Like the cries of a weeping child, the enormous soundwave completely twisted even the air and space. The three platinum bird heads still burned with white flame, and the soundwave they roared out was unbearably grating and piercing.

The soundwave directly forced everything before it aside.

The air vanished. Between Lin Xin and Heavenly Above True Person, an ever so slightly blackened, distorted passage suddenly appeared.

It was a spatial passage torn and twisted by the soundwave.

The destructive soundwave battered Heavenly Above True Person and the Magic Sword before him, making them tremble fiercely as they resisted the terrifying sonic assault.

"This is...!!" Heavenly Above True Person had never expected that just as the battle began, his opponent would summon such a colossal monster.

"This is Three Yin Luo!?"

He abruptly recognized the gigantic monster's identity as well.

Three Yin Luo—a three-headed monstrous bird. Wherever it went, all things dried up and the earth cracked apart. It delighted in eating people and swallowing stones. It was one of the Ancient Demon Gods!

In such a short time, he simply could not imagine how Lin Xin had summoned an image manifestation of power at the level of an Ancient Demon God.

And even for an Ancient Demon God manifestation, he had never seen one so enormous. Even among cultivators of the Divine Dao, few could summon such a terrifying display of might, could they?

Yet he had also brought forth one of his three strongest Magic Swords. Spiritual energy overflowed from it to the point that it had to be released.

Faced with the Ancient Demon God manifestation, Heavenly Above True Person's expression remained unchanged. He pointed with one hand.

"Go!"

Clang!

The gigantic Magic Sword, wider than a person, shook violently. Then it actually softened at high speed, transforming into a platinum ribbon of light that spun as it shot toward Lin Xin.

The trail left by the platinum ribbon of light lingered for a long while, as though it had formed circles upon circles of spiraling carpets in the air.

Three Yin Luo's limbs ended in lion claws. It took several steps forward through the air, and its tail shook.

Screech screech screech screech!!

In an instant, its peacock-like tail feathers suddenly scattered and shot out. Like countless multicolored meteors, they soared into the heavens, then howled as they met the platinum ribbon of light below.

The platinum spiral ribbon and the countless multicolored meteors collided after no more than a breath.

Boom!!!

The space within dozens of miles tightened perceptibly. Wild winds raged as countless multicolored meteors, carrying peerlessly sharp auras, smashed ruthlessly against the platinum ribbon.

The multicolored meteors had completely lost their fiery aura. In its place was another kind of deep aura—evil, bizarre, and incomparably violent.

"Three Yin Luo... You can actually summon such an ancient fiendish god directly..."

After the explosion, the skies were clear. The clouds overhead had long since been blasted apart, and sunlight shone directly down like golden pillars, covering this area of dozens of miles. Farther away, the weather remained dark and cloudy.

Heavenly Above True Person gazed gravely at the enormous Three Yin Luo. The platinum ribbon and Three Yin Luo were locked in a stalemate, seemingly evenly matched.

But what alarmed him was Three Yin Luo's horrifying regenerative power. Its forelimb, which had just been blown off in the explosion, regrew in less than two breaths.

"Legend says Three Yin Luo can draw upon the blood flames of the abyss beneath the earth. I wonder whether yours can... Cough cough!!" His expression suddenly changed. He lowered his head sharply and looked at his chest.

At some unknown point, a bizarre, pitch-black flame had begun burning slowly there.

The flame was not large, merely the size of a fist. But the instant Heavenly Above True Person saw it, his eyes became filled with extreme horror.

"This is!!!???"

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the black fire set his entire body ablaze.

"Immeasurable True Immortal!! Cloud Light Ten Thousand Miles!!"

Heavenly Above True Person suddenly let out a tremendous roar. A ring of green light abruptly emerged around him and shook the black fire away. In utter disarray, he tore himself free and fled, transforming into a streak of white sword light as he shot backward.

That gigantic Magic Sword had no time to escape. Black fire erupted over its entire body as well. In a single instant, the whole Magic Sword melted into black liquid and dripped away.

Three Yin Luo's enormous body burst apart, transforming into countless points of light that vanished.

Lin Xin's uninjured body slowly emerged at the center.

"Without Yuan Jing, I ultimately still can't force an opponent to stay."

He sighed softly. He had now witnessed Three Yin Luo's power.

This was his first time using the Magic Sword to summon the image of the Ancient Demon God Three Yin Luo. Yet what surprised him was that this image did not seem to be merely an image. After the manifestation appeared, the nature of the formation flames he released completely changed.

They had entirely become another kind of terrifying aura—ancient, evil, and violent—as though he had truly summoned the incarnation of an ancient evil god.

Even he was somewhat unable to understand this fundamental change. When he had experimented before, such a thing had never happened.

By the end, Three Yin Luo had almost instinctively used that move where its tail feathers exploded into meteors filling the sky. Lin Xin had originally intended to charge in for close combat, yet without realizing it, it was as if he were being controlled. He felt that move was the strongest and released it.

The result proved exactly so.

The meteor fire rain was a feint; that black-fire ambush was the real attack. Even a veteran Yuan Jing cultivator like Heavenly Above True Person had been frightened into fleeing in a single stroke.