Lin Feng was multitasking intensely: maintaining the White Tiger Soulrage Talisman while controlling the Strange Fire. His True Essence was being drained at an unimaginable rate. If not for the sip of Spirit Spring he'd taken earlier, continuously and rapidly restoring his energy reserves, he would have already been overwhelmed. Even so, the rate of recovery couldn't match the voracious consumption. The longer the stalemate dragged on, the more precarious his situation became.
A streak of cyan sword light tore through the air towards him. Gritting his teeth, Lin Feng once again activated the Luminous Jade Bracelet on his left wrist. The golden protective barrier flared into existence. "CLANG!" The attacking sword was forcefully deflected.
Simultaneously with blocking this strike, Lin Feng flicked his right hand once more. Something completely unknown to Loong Tengyu and his companion shot forth! Its target? Wei Wuyi, still trapped within the molten embrace of the Strange Fire on Lin Feng's right flank!!
Seeing Lin Feng unleash yet another unfamiliar beam of crimson light, both Loong Tengyu and the ink-robed elder paled dramatically. "Elder Wei, be careful!!" the ink-robed elder yelled instinctively. With a mental command, his flying sword, which had been poised to attack Lin Feng again, instantly changed course to intercept the speeding blood light, attempting a desperate rescue.
But the blood light was unnervingly swift. Combined with the mere ten meters separating Wei Wuyi and Lin Feng, the ink-robed elder's sword failed to catch it in time. Wei Wuyi, alerted by his companion's shout, swept his spiritual sense and saw the projectile hurtling towards him. Terror seized him. "HAAAGH!!" he roared, swinging his remaining arm to launch his flying sword, hoping to block the incoming threat.
"DING!! CRACK..."
An earsplitting clash echoed right before Wei Wuyi the next instant, immediately followed by the horrifying sound of shattering metal. Simultaneously, an excruciating pain, sharp as needles, lanced deep into his very soul. An agonized scream ripped from his throat, utterly beyond his control!
"ARRRGGHHH!!!" Wei Wuyi had suffered a spiritual backlash from the destruction of his bonded flying sword. The flow of his True Essence within his body instantly faltered, becoming sluggish. This split-second disruption proved lethal. In that critical moment, the luminous protective barrier surrounding him flickered violently, then collapsed with a soundless implosion. The waiting flames surged forward, engulfing him completely!
"SSS!!" But that wasn't all. The instant the Strange Fire consumed Wei Wuyi, the streak of blood light plunged into the inferno. A sickeningly soft sound followed – the unmistakable whisper of sharp metal piercing flesh. Wei Wuyi's frantic struggles and his piercing shriek cut off abruptly.
In the blink of an eye, Wei Wuyi's form vanished within the flames. Like dry, rotten wood, he was incinerated to ashes with terrifying ease…
This scene, witnessed from afar, sent fresh waves of paralyzing horror crashing over Loong Tengyu and the ink-robed elder. Before their minds could fully comprehend this fresh atrocity, Lin Feng gestured sharply. The blood light shot BACK out of the flames, arcing viciously towards the left, towards the dark green-robed elder lying on the ground – already incapacitated, perhaps even dead!
Another soft "SHHHICK!" pierced the air. Under the horrified gazes of Loong Tengyu and the ink-robed elder, the body of the green-robed elder seemed to age a century in a single heartbeat. It shriveled rapidly, transforming into a shrunken, desiccated corpse! A closer look revealed the cause: a dark crimson dagger protruded squarely from its chest!
The Bloodthirsty Blade!!
This was Lin Feng's final trump card, utterly unknown to his remaining enemies. He hadn't yet tested it in combat, unsure of its exact potency. But the results were far from disappointing. The blade had shattered Wei Wuyi's flying sword – its primary obstacle – and his subsequent demise was inevitable. To further empower the voracious weapon, Lin Feng had mercilessly fed it the fresh blood of the already fallen green-robed elder.
The Bloodthirsty Blade lifted itself from the drained corpse, hovering in the air. It pulsed with an eerie, bloody radiance. Within Lin Feng's spiritual sense, he could almost hear its excited, predatory hum. A cold light flashed in his eyes. He pointed his right hand decisively forward. The blade shot towards Loong Tengyu and the remaining elder like crimson lightning!!
"Block it!!"
Seeing the Bloodthirsty Blade hurtle towards them, Loong Tengyu's face contorted in panic. "BLOCK IT!!" he shrieked hysterically at the ink-robed elder beside him, his composure cracking. Terror threatened to overwhelm him. Yet, the spectral White Tiger Soul still relentlessly battered against the transparent barrier shielding him. Maintaining the Soul Protection Talisman required his full concentration; he couldn't divert his focus.
The ink-robed elder, however, needed no prompting. Already consumed by terror, he frantically summoned his flying sword back. This time he was faster; the sword intercepted the blade midway.
"DING!!"
A sharp, metallic ring echoed as the Bloodthirsty Blade and the elder's sword vibrated violently, rebounding away from each other. Undeterred, the crimson dagger instantly reoriented and lunged forward again. The elder's sword strained to intercept it once more.
"DIE... JUST DIE ALREADY!!"
Lin Feng's eyes bulged, his expression twisting into something almost demonic. A surge of inexplicable, savage fury boiled up from the depths of his being. With a guttural roar, his True Essence erupted explosively within him, surging outward with unprecedented ferocity!
"HUM..." The instant Lin Feng's True Essence exploded, the Bloodthirsty Blade shuddered violently along its entire length. Its bloody glow intensified tenfold! A wave of bone-chilling, metallic bloodlust radiated outwards, saturating the air!
"CLANG!!!" Though the clash happened faster than thought, the outcome was starkly different. This time, the overwhelming crimson radiance smashed through the cyan sword light like a battering ram! Unstoppable, it hurtled straight towards the ink-robed elder!
"PFFT!!" The moment his sword light shattered, the ink-robed elder's eyes flew wide open. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his gaze filled with boundless terror. Words failed him. Acting purely on primal instinct, he desperately activated his luminous protective treasure.
"WHOOSH... SHHHKKT!!"
A golden barrier shimmered into existence around him. But before the ink-robed elder's terrified heart could even register a flicker of relief, despair crashed over him. He watched, helpless, as the relentless blood light pierced through his luminous barrier like it was paper and buried itself deep in his chest!!
"Sec... t..." Confusion flitted across the elder's face. He looked down dumbly at the gaping hole in his chest, then lifted his eyes towards Loong Tengyu beside him. His lips moved, but only two syllables escaped before the skin on his face rapidly shriveled and sagged. The light in his eyes extinguished completely. Within two breaths, he was nothing but a dried husk. His body crumpled limply to the ground.
"NOOO!!!!"
Witnessing this final horror pushed Loong Tengyu over the edge into utter madness. "NOOO!!!" he screamed, his voice raw with terror and despair, his eyes wide and bloodshot. The Bloodthirsty Blade's sudden, overwhelming burst of power had been utterly unexpected. He had assumed the ink-robed elder could hold it off, buying him precious seconds to devise a countermeasure. He had just begun to frantically think... when the crimson flash struck. And then... his last companion was gone.
In mere moments, three comrades had fallen. Each death shockingly abrupt, violently final. This catastrophic cascade of events deviated wildly from Loong Tengyu's meticulously laid plans. Even as a Ninth Level Golden Core powerhouse, he was completely unprepared for this nightmare. Calm judgment deserted him entirely.
"ROOOARRR!!!"
Precisely as Loong Tengyu descended into shocked paralysis, an earth-shattering tiger's roar ripped through the air. It jolted him back to terrifying reality. He whipped his head back towards the front, and what he saw filled his eyes with absolute, unreserved despair.
—The Soul Protection Talisman was just that: a talisman. Its power was finite in duration. In Loong Tengyu's original strategy, its protective window was more than enough time to deal with Lin Feng. But all his expectations had crumbled into dust. And now... the talisman's time was finally up...