The youth who was currently bickering with Gong Xuance suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.
In the next moment, the halo where he and Gong Xuance were located began to vibrate violently.
“What tricks are you playing now?”
Gong Xuance asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
The youth’s expression shifted between dark and light.
He could feel that he had lost one of his Jade Void Grotto-Heavens, and even the pocket of space he and Gong Xuance occupied was slipping from his control.
Seeing the youth’s strange behavior, Gong Xuance was suddenly overjoyed.
‘Could it be that my Junior Brother has already broken through the seal?’
However, he did not expect that the first person to jump out would be Lin Ling.
Lin Ling had forcibly liberated two Jade Void Grotto-Heavens.
She immediately felt as if a mountain were pressing down on her.
She let out a muffled groan, feeling like the Great Sage suppressed under the Five-Fingered Mountain.
‘This is bad, this is bad, this is bad. I can’t shake it off.’
Lin Ling had no choice but to abandon one of the Jade Void Grotto-Heavens and continue unsealing the other.
Because she was forcibly competing with the youth for the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven, it was the equivalent of pitting her own Divine Sense against a powerful expert of the Manifesting Saint Realm.
The entire pressure of the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven bore down directly on her.
Gong Xuance watched as the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven stabilized once more, feeling somewhat confused.
The youth in front of him held his fingers in a sword-seal, constantly chanting incantations.
He seemed to be fighting someone for possession of something.
“I’m going to die!”
Lin Ling wailed.
Finally, she managed to pry the grotto-heaven open.
Drenched in sweat, she had no strength left and slumped to the ground.
The youth’s Divine Sense transformed into a pair of invisible hands, reaching out to reclaim the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven once again.
From within the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven in Lin Ling’s hands, a sword flew out.
The sword light pierced through the invisible palms made of Divine Sense.
Xiu Jiming flew out of the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven, wrapped his arm around Lin Ling’s waist to pick her up, and stood firm.
Deprived of the refinement of True Essence, the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
As the halo gradually dimmed, Lin Ling hurriedly broke free from Xiu Jiming’s grasp and rushed forward to check if the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven was damaged.
Fortunately, Xiu Jiming’s strike had only severed the Divine Sense left behind by the youth.
The youth’s physical body suddenly stood up and charged toward Lin Ling.
Xiu Jiming watched him approach silently before thrusting his sword toward the youth’s throat.
“In your dreams!”
The youth coldy snorted.
With a wave of his hands, several Jade Void Grotto-Heavens manifested to block his path.
Xiu Jiming’s expression remained unchanged as he said softly, “I have you to thank for letting me experiment with how strong I truly am while I was inside. Therefore…”
The momentum of Xiu Jiming’s thrust did not waver.
However, layers of transparent runes surfaced upon the blade.
The sword light easily pierced through the Jade Void Grotto-Heavens as if they were nothing more than layers of window paper.
“I will give you a proper sword strike,” Xiu Jiming whispered.
“This is a sword technique I comprehended after entering the Manifesting Saint Realm and witnessing my Dharma Image. It is a bit of a waste to use it against a monster like you who is neither human nor ghost, but still…”
Xiu Jiming tapped his finger lightly.
The sword light flashed by, severing the youth’s head.
“HEAVEN-BEARING CALAMITY SWORD.”
There were no flashy effects—only a single beam of sword light that punched through every defense the youth had prepared.
Lin Ling took the opportunity to refine one Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.
The Little Fox was incredibly excited, quickly manifesting the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven to inspect the treasure.
The youth’s headless corpse suddenly twitched.
To the shock of the two onlookers, a new head grew from the severed neck like an inflating balloon.
“That hurts.”
Once the youth recovered, he reached up to touch the knot of muscles on his neck that hadn’t quite finished healing.
He glared at Lin Ling and Xiu Jiming with a ferocious expression.
He stared coldly at Lin Ling and said, “Give it back!”
Seeing this, Lin Ling hurriedly hid the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven behind her back, wrapping her tail around it to keep it concealed.
Xiu Jiming stepped forward, shielding Lin Ling.
He looked back at her with a hint of helplessness and said, “Every single one of these guys is hard to kill.”
Lin Ling nodded frantically.
Like a child who had just received a favorite toy, she hugged the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven tightly and refused to let go.
Gong Xuance strolled leisurely out of the dissipating halo.
He didn’t look at Xiu Jiming or Lin Ling.
Instead, he stroked his chin and studied the youth from head to toe with a playful glint in his eyes.
“I finally know who you are.”
The youth’s head turned 180 degrees with a series of sickening cracks to face Gong Xuance.
“So it’s you.”
Gong Xuance suddenly smiled, though there was no warmth in it.
“It’s truly unexpected. To think that a mere servant boy could have his day of overturning the heavens. Isn’t that right, Liu Que?”
“Oh? I’m surprised you recognized me. However, I am no floor-sweeping servant. I am now the Lord of the Jade Void Purple Pole Heaven, Liu Que. Fellow Daoist Gong, I only call you ‘Fellow Daoist’ out of respect for your status as a senior of the Yinzong,” Liu Que sneered.
“Otherwise, you would be no different from the food locked away in the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.”
“Heh, don’t use that title so loosely. Does a creature like you, neither human nor ghost, deserve to call me ‘Fellow Daoist’?”
Gong Xuance mocked.
“Shallow!”
In the time it took to exchange those few sentences, Liu Que’s body had returned to normal, though he still wore the face of the previous youth.
At that moment, Liu Que realized that people were closing in from all sides, surrounding the area.
Judging by their uniforms, they were all members of the Xun Zhu Si.
There was no way Xiu Jiming would have come here with Gong Xuance without being prepared.
“Sigh. You gave up being a master of the Yinzong to become a dog of the Imperial Court.”
Liu Que looked at Gong Xuance with disdain.
Gong Xuance did not care in the slightest.
Xiu Jiming led Lin Ling back into the crowd, where the guards moved forward to protect her.
“Liu Que.”
Gong Xuance flashed his medallion and spoke seriously.
“I am patrolling on behalf of Heaven. You are a Xiemo who devours mortals and dissolves bodies to be reborn. You are an abomination tolerated by neither Heaven nor Dao. Today, I am taking you into custody!”
Xiu Jiming withdrew his gaze and turned to gently rub Lin Ling’s fox ears, which were still trembling slightly.
“He’s a good actor. He really looks like an old constable.”
Lin Ling ignored him.
She hugged the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven, her tail still bristling with a mix of nervousness and excitement as she focused entirely on studying the ring-like treasure in her hands.
Xiu Jiming signaled with his hand.
Upon seeing it, the guards of the Xun Zhu Si began to shout in unison, “HEAVENLY PATROL, DEMON SUPPRESSION! ZHUYOU EXORCISM!”
Several people hoisted the banners of the Xun Zhu Si, waving them through the night sky.
Streaks of golden light appeared in the darkness as numerous Cultivators at the True Self Realm and above took to the air, forming a complete blockade.
The previously desolate wasteland now echoed with the cries of the Xun Zhu Si Cultivators.
Lin Ling put away the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven and looked up.
She noticed that Liu Que remained composed, showing no signs of fear.
This piqued her curiosity.
She pulled the halo out again and manifested the Jade Void Grotto-Heaven.
Through the reflection of the treasure, Lin Ling saw that the body of the Liu Que before them was aging rapidly.
The wound from Xiu Jiming’s sword was still there; Liu Que was simply using his life force frantically to fill the void.
‘He’s in this state, yet he’s still confident he can escape?’
Lin Ling muttered to herself.
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