"Boom!"
Amid a deafening rush through the air, everyone saw that beam of golden sunlight pierce straight through the black lotus.
It was like a slender skewer running through the center of the black lotus.
At the sight, an Azure Profound Sect disciple watching from the bridge said in horror:
"Th-that couldn't be a demon seed, could it?"
"What... what on earth is going on?"
It was not just Yu Lan.
A mass of killing intent resembling black fog had also appeared on Liang Zhu, who was being held in Lin Buyu's arms.
Having dealt with the Nine Abysses many times, Xu Taiping recognized at once that this killing intent had formed from demonic qi.
"Sizzle..."
Without any hesitation, Xu Taiping gathered thunderflame in his palm. Once it covered his hand, he abruptly reached for the mass of killing intent spreading from Liang Zhu's body.
"Screee!..."
Amid a piercing, eerie shriek, the mass of killing intent suddenly turned into a ghostly face in Xu Taiping's palm.
Although this scene was extremely similar to what had happened to Yu Lan, the ghostly face in Xu Taiping's grasp was clearly weaker than the one that had flown out of Yu Lan.
"Scree, scree!"
The ghostly face struggled to escape, but the destructive power of the thunderflame on Xu Taiping's hand was far too strong. The more it struggled, the faster it burned.
At the sight, Lin Buyu, who had also been about to act, once again had eyes as still as an ancient well.
Then she spoke in a voice devoid of emotion:
"It seems the earlier rumors were true."
Xu Taiping looked curiously at Lin Buyu and asked:
"What rumors?"
Although Xu Taiping had sensed something unusual about Yu Lan and Liang Zhu before this trial, he had been puzzled