Instant annihilation!!
Instant annihilation of two mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!!
Not only was An Xiyue utterly shocked on the spot, even Lin Feng himself felt a surge of excitement he could barely contain. He hadn't expected the two opponents to be so pathetically fragile. Facing the Blue Moon Spirit Sealing Art, their resistance was far less than Qin Huangtian had shown earlier. In that critical moment, their divine souls were almost completely bound, utterly incapable of the slightest resistance. That's why the Crimson Soul Flying Sword had so easily lopped off their heads.
The fact that their cultivation was weaker than Qin Huangtian's was one reason. Another was that the power of the Blue Moon Spirit Sealing Art Lin Feng unleashed this time was significantly greater than the last.
He had only just 'learned' it and had used it a mere twice. He wasn't even truly 'proficient' yet, and it already possessed such terrifying potency. Lin Feng could scarcely imagine the level of power he might wield once he had fully mastered this technique. Truly worthy of being a Heaven-grade art… unimaginably powerful.
With a thought, the blue crescent moon vanished. Lin Feng flicked his wrist, sending two fireballs flying – destroying the bodies and collecting the spoils was routine for him now. Having done this, he turned to An Xiyue, who still seemed dazed beside him. "Alright, let's go."
"Huh? Oh…" An Xiyue snapped back to reality, casting a fearful glance at the two piles of ash before quickly falling into step behind Lin Feng.
There was no longer any need for An Xiyue to painstakingly open an exit using the 'normal method'. Lin Feng channeled his true essence and casually swept his hand. The barrier before them trembled violently before being torn open, creating a jagged fissure. The two figures flashed through it, leaving the subterranean space behind.
"Hummm… Hummm… Hummm…"
Simultaneously, the grand formation barrier convulsed with even greater intensity. The 'sky' had dimmed, drained of light, crisscrossed by stark, clear cracks that spread like spiderwebs. It looked as if the slightest touch would shatter it completely.
…
Regardless of the chaos unfolding later on Blue Moon Island, the moment Lin Feng stepped through the barrier, he immediately activated his earth evasion art. He swiftly carried An Xiyue upwards, ascending rapidly through the rock and soil.
They smoothly avoided several groups of cultivators hurrying downwards. Before long, they emerged back onto solid ground… or rather, onto the sea floor. Switching to a water evasion art, they continued their journey.
They didn't retrace their original path. Instead, they chose a different direction, ascending diagonally towards the ocean's surface.
Even back on the sea floor, the tremors emanating from the depths below were still palpable. The disturbance was truly immense, explaining why so many cultivators had been drawn in. In the pitch-black depths, streaks of light from cultivators' evasion techniques now streaked everywhere, like moving stars strewn across the firmament.
"There are just too many…" Lin Feng thought, clicking his tongue internally. He felt a wave of relief at having left early. If these cultivators knew the true treasures of the Blue Moon Sect ruins had already been taken by me… and they all attacked together… even ten of me wouldn't be enough to survive.
Fortunately, they were now in the vast expanse of the open sea floor. Even if other cultivators spotted them, few would likely be suspicious. They encountered no more trouble-seeking fools. Soon, they left the central zone of the disturbance far behind.
…
"BOOOM!!!"
A thunderous explosion suddenly ripped through the water, jolting Lin Feng and An Xiyue. This impact didn't come from below; it came from ahead. They looked up, scanning the darkness, but saw nothing amiss directly before them. Several kilometers away stood a massive undersea mountain. The disturbance originated from behind it.
Lin Feng frowned slightly, considering whether to change direction. Suddenly, a streak of blue light shot towards them from the darkness ahead. It was a young male cultivator, his face etched with panic. He was at the ninth layer of Core Formation.
He kept glancing back over his shoulder, his eyes wide with terror. Only when he was a mere few dozen meters away did he finally notice Lin Feng and An Xiyue. He visibly jumped, then shouted urgently, "Fellow Daoists! Don't go that way! Divine Transformation stage Great Cultivators are fighting over there! Get as far away as you can!"
Surprisingly, the young man seemed genuinely concerned, offering this warning. Without waiting for a response, he shot past them, fleeing without a backward glance.
"Divine Transformation battle?" Lin Feng's eyebrow arched. He exchanged a glance with An Xiyue beside him. "Hmm... let's take this side then…"
This was definitely not the time to go looking for trouble or spectating. Knowing danger lay ahead, avoiding it was the obvious choice. They altered their course and continued. However, after traveling for another short while, Lin Feng abruptly halted, as if sensing something. He turned his head sharply, staring with astonishment towards the direction where the booming sounds continued to echo.
"This aura…" Lin Feng murmured, his eyes flashing with disbelief. "It's actually him?!"
"What is it?" An Xiyue asked, looking at Lin Feng in confusion. "Who is it?"
Lin Feng's expression grew serious. He stared intently towards the mountain, his brow furrowed. "If I'm not mistaken," he said gravely, "one of the people fighting over there is the man who was tailing us alongside Qin Huangtian earlier!!"
"What?!" An Xiyue's face paled slightly. "You mean the Divine Transformation cultivator who was dragged off by the Hundred-Legged Blood Octopus?!" She immediately focused, trying to sense the distant auras, but her cultivation was inferior to Lin Feng's. At this distance, the energies were too indistinct for her.
"It's him! I'm surprised that Hundred-Legged Blood Octopus didn't finish him off… he really has nine lives…" Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then suddenly declared, "Since we've run into him again, why not see what's going on? Maybe there's an opportunity to profit from their conflict…"
"Ah?" An Xiyue was startled again, hesitating. "But… that's a Divine Transformation cultivator…"
Knowing it's a Divine Transformation cultivator, and an enemy at that, shouldn't we flee? Instead, you want to go watch? This is way too bold…
Lin Feng offered a faint smile. "Don't worry. I won't take reckless risks. We'll just slip over quietly to take a look. If there's no opening, we'll slip away just as quietly. They're locked in combat; they won't easily detect us."
As he spoke, he had already retrieved the Concealing Cloak. An Xiyue hesitated for only a second before reluctantly following him…
…
Shrouded by the Concealing Cloak, even the light from their evasion techniques vanished completely. They moved silently and unseen towards the source of the battle. Before long, they landed atop the massive undersea mountain that blocked their view. Circling halfway around its bulk, they concealed themselves behind a large boulder. Finally, the scene of the battlefield unfolded before them.
Lin Feng's gaze instantly locked onto a figure radiating sharp, golden light, shielded within the illusory form of a massive golden alms bowl – the white-haired elder. It was indeed the man who had been with Qin Huangtian!
Opposite the Qin Ancestor stood a figure enveloped in shimmering, deep blue true essence battle armor. The armor completely concealed the figure's appearance, but the aura emanating from it was unmistakably at the seventh layer of Divine Transformation, matching the Qin Ancestor's. Behind this blue-armored figure stood two other cultivators, one at the early Nascent Soul stage, the other at mid-stage. Their auras were completely overshadowed by the Divine Transformation cultivator's presence, which was why Lin Feng hadn't sensed them earlier.
The Qin Ancestor's situation seemed precarious. He strained to maintain the golden alms bowl shield against the relentless, storm-like barrage of attacks from his three opponents. He wasn't launching any counterattacks at all. Even the golden shield itself teetered precariously, looking as if it could shatter at any moment.
"HAAAH!!!"
Suddenly, the water-attribute Divine Transformation cultivator roared. True essence erupted from them with several times its previous intensity! The true essence battle armor surrounding their body disintegrated instantly, revealing their true form: an elderly woman with a shock of bright blue hair! The dispersed blue light rapidly coalesced above her head, transforming in the blink of an eye into the form of a gigantic, ferocious dragon's head! With a thrust of her right hand, the blue dragon head roared forward!
"KRAKOOOM!!!"
In a deafening explosion, the blue dragon head shattered the golden alms bowl shield completely! Its momentum unchecked, the monstrous head lunged forward, its gaping maw aiming to swallow the now utterly defenseless Qin Ancestor!
Triumphant glee flashed in the eyes of the blue-haired old woman and the two Nascent Soul cultivators behind her. What they failed to notice, however, was the faint, sinister sneer that curled at the corner of the Qin Ancestor's mouth…