Despairing, Chen Xiong already felt powerless to turn the tide and was waiting to meet his end. He never expected Lin Xuan to stop in his tracks at this moment.
He froze. Before he could reply, the two King Realm cultivators pursuing him reacted as though facing a formidable enemy. Their cold, fierce gazes swept toward Lin Xuan as they sternly ordered him away.
"Fellow Daoist, this is a private matter between our Spirit Firmament Sect and the Illusory Feather Sect. It has nothing to do with you. Please leave at once! Don't go looking for trouble!"
The warning and threat could not have been more obvious.
By announcing their affiliations, they were also telling Lin Xuan that if he wanted to meddle, he had better weigh his own strength first, lest he fail to intervene and throw away his life instead.
With those words spoken, the two of them believed Lin Xuan would have no choice but to withdraw.
The Illusory Feather Sect might not amount to much, but the Spirit Firmament Sect... it was one of the top three sects in the Heron Empire. Across the entire empire, few dared meddle in its affairs.
But...
Lin Xuan did not spare either of them another glance. He raised a finger and lightly tapped the void, and two streams of invisible Sword Qi shot out of it!
Blood spurted.
The two King Realm cultivators who had been clamoring about the Spirit Firmament Sect or whatever Illusory Feather Sect did not even have time to react or defend themselves. They died on the spot!
The swift, precise, ruthless Sword Qi struck, accompanied by Lin Xuan's indifferent voice, devoid of emotion and utterly domineering.
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
His words fell.
Two blood-covered heads rolled to the ground, their eyes still wide in death.
King Realm Second Layer-slain!
There was no room for argument, much less any strength to resist.
Having witnessed this firsthand, Chen Xiong stood rooted to the spot, dumb as a wooden chicken, his eyes filled with boundless shock.
So strong!
His presence was clearly little different from mine, yet he could instantly kill two King Realm Second Layer cultivators?
What kind of strength was this!
And he was so young. Since when had the Heron Empire possessed such a figure?
Those were two veteran King Realm cultivators who had hounded him for so long. Even after he had exhausted every trick, he could do nothing against them. They were by no means ordinary opponents.
"Th-thank you for saving my life, Senior. This junior is Chen Xiong, and I am willing to offer you everything I own..."
The strong commanded respect. Even though Lin Xuan looked exceptionally young, he was still a senior. Besides, he had saved Chen Xiong's life, so Chen Xiong addressed him as Senior with wholehearted conviction.
Overflowing with gratitude, he removed his Storage Bag, preparing to offer up every valuable he carried in thanks for saving his life. But Lin Xuan raised a hand and refused him.
"Are you from the Jade Balance Sword Palace?" Lin Xuan asked again.
Chen Xiong's possessions held no appeal for him. He had acted only because of those words: Jade Balance Sword Palace.
Chen Xiong immediately came to his senses and hurriedly nodded. "To answer your question, Senior, I am Chen Xiong, the second elder of the Jade Balance Sword Palace."
A glimmer of understanding came to him. Could this senior have old ties with our Jade Balance Sword Palace? Was that why he was willing to help?
If that was the case,
then I really had stumbled into tremendous luck...
Lin Xuan's lips slowly curled upward, his tone light.
"Then that settles it."
He was just about to say something when he suddenly sensed a disturbance in the air. Lin Xuan smiled at once.
"What perfect timing... do you know why I saved you?"
The latter half of Lin Xuan's words was directed at Chen Xiong.
Chen Xiong said, "Huh? Senior... please enlighten me..."
Just as his words fell, delight suddenly appeared on the face of Qu Youmeng, who was trailing not far behind.
"Master is awake!"
A beautiful figure in white appeared beside Qu Youmeng at that very moment. She was no longer a soul, but stood with her feet firmly on the ground, ethereal as an immortal, like a fairy descended to the mortal world, making others dare not look directly at her.
Heavenly Venerable Yunli... had successfully reconstructed her body!
The spirit pill had shaped her body, sparing her the hardship of cultivating anew. Human once more, Heavenly Venerable Yunli possessed a presence as deep as an abyss, unfathomable.
She could not help rejoicing, and her gaze toward Lin Xuan brimmed with gratitude.
Before Heavenly Venerable Yunli could express her joy at reconstructing her body, Lin Xuan raised a hand toward Chen Xiong and pointed at her.
He sounded faintly teasing, clearly enjoying this turn of events. "Since you're an elder of the Jade Balance Sword Palace, why aren't you bowing before your palace master?"