But no one paid any attention to Yu Xiaogang's shouting. Just as everyone was watching the Lingtian Sword with rapt attention,
a talisman affixed above the Lingtian Sword suddenly burst into dazzling white light.
The moment Baihuaxiang saw the white light, her expression froze. She stared fixedly at it as though facing a formidable enemy, but did not dare make a move.
"Alas..." A long-drawn sigh came from within the white light.
Su Mingyue was taken aback when she heard the sigh. It was not unfamiliar; on the contrary, it was exceedingly familiar.
"A person? There's actually someone on the sword!" The people of Douluo Continent were all stunned when they heard the sigh.
"I was still a step too late." The white light gradually gathered into human form, revealing a vigorous, white-haired middle-aged man in a green robe.
The middle-aged man did not release the slightest trace of his presence, yet merely standing there, he seemed to give Ye Lingtian and Su Mingyue an endless sense of security.
"Sect Master." Ye Lingtian was supporting Su Mingyue and naturally could not bow, so he could only address him aloud.
When Baihuaxiang heard Ye Lingtian's words, her already sinking heart finally died.
The person who had appeared within the white light was none other than the sect master of the Primordial Sect, the Early Spirit Transformation great cultivator-Daoist Qingxu.
"It's actually the sect master of the Primordial Sect!" In an instant, the leaders of all the major factions rose to their feet. First, it was out of respect; second, they also wanted a close look at just what manner of person this Primordial Sect Master was.
"Tch, he's just an ordinary person. He doesn't have the slightest imposing presence," Yu Xiaogang could not help remarking when he saw how unremarkable Daoist Qingxu looked.
But in the next second, Gu Rong roundly scolded him.
"What the hell do you know? With an existence like that, the calmer his presence is, to the point that you can't even perceive it, the more terrifying he is."
"That means his control over his presence has reached its peak, the realm of returning to simplicity and truth. That is true power!" As Gu Rong spoke, he looked in awe at the middle-aged man in the sky screen.
Yu Xiaogang's expression immediately turned ugly at Gu Rong's scolding. He was just about to say something when his attention was drawn back to the sky screen.
Daoist Qingxu nodded to the two of them. His expression did not change in the slightest when he saw their condition.
"Mm, you've done very well. Leave the rest to me, your sect master." His tone was calm, and not a trace of anger could be seen in his profound eyes, only a deathly stillness like stagnant water.
But anyone who knew Daoist Qingxu would have known, upon seeing this, that he was truly angry.
Daoist Qingxu looked calmly at Baihuaxiang, as though looking at a dead woman.
Under Daoist Qingxu's gaze alone, Baihuaxiang's whole body trembled with fear, even though she was the one standing higher up.
But in her eyes, Daoist Qingxu's figure was impossibly enormous, like a giant who blotted out the sky and sun, looking down on her from above.
She admitted it: she had panicked. She had never imagined that Ye Lingtian would be carrying Daoist Qingxu's External Avatar Talisman.
This kind of avatar talisman was exceedingly precious. Not only could it contain a fragment of a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator's soul, it could also give that soul fragment the ability to fight.
Although it possessed only a tenth of the original's strength, that was still a tenth of a Spirit Transformation cultivator's strength.
In cultivation, each level was a separate heaven, all the more so at her level. A difference of a single realm meant that several cultivators of the same realm had to join forces just to barely defeat one higher-realm cultivator.
Even then, they could not prevent their opponent from leaving. And between Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation, the gap was even more like an impassable heavenly chasm.
Even a hundred Late Nascent Soul cultivators might not be able to defeat a single Early Spirit Transformation cultivator.
If this world did not suppress Spirit Transformation cultivators, forcing them to expend a considerable amount of their origin every time they acted, Daoist Qingxu would have flown over long ago.
You should have said earlier that you had Daoist Qingxu's External Avatar Talisman on you! If I'd known, I wouldn't have attacked you.
And you too, Daoist Qingxu! He's only a Golden Core cultivator, yet you gave him such a precious External Avatar Talisman. Is your Primordial Sect really so wealthy?
After hesitating for quite a while, Baihuaxiang finally spoke to Daoist Qingxu tentatively. "Primordial Sect Master, I was only playing around with the juniors just now. Do you believe me?"
At those words, Yu Xiaogang, who had originally been in utter awe of Baihuaxiang, froze and stared in disbelief at the cautious Baihuaxiang on the sky screen.
The others were just as surprised. Was this still the Hundred Flowers Demon Saint who had been so high and mighty just now? Why was she acting like a coward now?
Seeing no reaction from Daoist Qingxu, Baihuaxiang gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and grabbed Tang San before fleeing into the distance.
What stood here was only a soul fragment with a mere tenth of his strength. She refused to believe Daoist Qingxu could really catch her.
When Ye Lingtian had been at the end of his rope earlier, the great formation around them had already been undone. If Baihuaxiang did not flee now, she really would be courting death.
Daoist Qingxu merely glanced at her. In the next second, his figure vanished before Ye Lingtian and Su Mingyue.
"You injured a true disciple of my sect, and you still want to escape?" Lord Qingxu appeared in front of Baihuaxiang in an instant and froze her in midair with a single look.
This was a Spirit Transformation cultivator. Even as a mere soul fragment, his every movement wielded the power of heaven and earth. Baihuaxiang could not resist at all.
"Y-you can't kill me. If I die, my children will avenge me." Struggling, Baihuaxiang began trying to persuade Daoist Qingxu.
Crack! Daoist Qingxu showed no sign of being moved, and Baihuaxiang's body began to twist, making repeated sounds of flesh breaking apart.
"Ah!" Baihuaxiang screamed and spoke hurriedly. "M-my daughter is about to become Demon Venerable Wanhai's wife. If you kill me, Demon Venerable Wanhai will act on my behalf!"
Demon Venerable Wanhai was the ruler of the East Sea's demon race. His true form was that of a dragon, and his cultivation, like Daoist Qingxu's, was at Early Spirit Transformation.
A trace of surprise flashed through Daoist Qingxu's eyes when he heard this, but he was not puzzled. After all, Demon Venerable Wanhai was a dragon, and dragons were lustful by nature. If he did not have a thousand wives, he had at least eight hundred.
What surprised him was that Baihuaxiang had somehow become connected to Demon Venerable Wanhai. The distance between them was a hundred and eight thousand li.
And wasn't there a Demon Venerable Heishan in the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons? Baihuaxiang had sought out Demon Venerable Wanhai instead of Demon Venerable Heishan. It seemed she could no longer get by in the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons.
After putting his thoughts in order, Daoist Qingxu looked coldly at Baihuaxiang. "Are you finished?"
Leaving aside whether Demon Venerable Wanhai, with so many wives, would come looking for trouble with him over a flower demon, he would not fear him even if he did come.
They were both Spirit Transformation cultivators. Who was afraid of whom?
"You!" Seeing that Daoist Qingxu still had no intention of stopping, Baihuaxiang was full of disbelief.
"Then die." Daoist Qingxu glanced at his increasingly insubstantial body and frowned slightly, then spoke to Baihuaxiang in a flat voice.
Boom! With a muffled bang, Baihuaxiang's body abruptly exploded in midair.