Chapter 128: Strife

Lin Tian stepped forward to steady Lin Ling, who was on the verge of collapsing, and began to berate Feng Wei.

"Lin Tian, don't be so arrogant here. Do not think that just because you have reached the middle stage of Condensing Qi that you can stand against me. Back when your cultivation level was low, weren't you always obedient and submissive to me?" Feng Wei said, furious.

Feng Wei's words seemed to stir some unpleasant memories for Lin Tian, causing him to frown slightly. It appeared that he had indeed yielded to Feng Wei when his own cultivation was lower.

However, Lin Tian quickly turned his attention back to Lin Ling. Upon discovering that her injuries were not particularly grave, he finally let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Sister Lin Ling, what exactly happened?"

"I came to the market to purchase some forging materials, but I unexpectedly ran into Feng Wei. These were materials I had already bought, yet he insisted on snatching them from me. Naturally, I refused to yield, and both sides ended up clashing. Feng Wei’s strikes this time were exceptionally ruthless, as if he intended to take my life. My cultivation is lower than his, so I could only struggle to hold on. Fortunately, you arrived, Brother Lin Tian; otherwise, I fear I would not have been able to return to the family today," Lin Ling explained in detail.

"So that's how it is. I knew this Feng Wei must be bullying our family’s disciples again. Now that I have run into it, I will certainly not stand idly by." As Lin Tian spoke, he gently pushed Lin Ling behind him, positioned himself in front of her, and faced Feng Wei directly.

"Feng Wei, you have repeatedly bullied our family’s disciples. Since I have encountered you today, I will not stand by. Let me see what you are capable of." With these words, Lin Tian drew a large blade from his storage pouch and slashed toward Feng Wei. Before the blade reached him, a massive razor-sharp edge condensed from true energy descended directly upon Feng Wei’s head.

"Lin Tian, your courage has certainly grown. Very well, I shall deal with you as well today. Let’s see if anyone in your family dares to be arrogant in front of me again!" Feng Wei shouted, also drawing a pair of curved hooks from his storage pouch. The hooks were pitch-black and gleaming, clearly a formidable magical treasure. As Feng Wei flicked them in front of him, they crossed into a cross shape, which rapidly condensed into a cross-shaped wave of true energy. This energy was quite different from ordinary true energy; it was pitch-black, resembling demonic energy. The black cross-shaped energy expanded rapidly and collided head-on with Lin Tian’s blade energy.

The moment the two energies clashed, a thunderous sound erupted, resembling the clashing of metal. As the massive sound rang out, both energies were significantly depleted, but since both treasures were immensely powerful, the lost energy was quickly replenished, leaving the two in a stalemate.

Seeing this, Feng Wei gave a cold, mocking smile. He tapped his storage pouch again, producing a gourd-shaped treasure. He recited an incantation, and the gourd opened automatically. From within it flew a pitch-black tiger, its body covered in a thick layer of scales. It let out a long roar that caused the surrounding air to hum, leaving those nearby feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"This is the soul of an Abyss Demon Tiger! This is Feng Shen’s Soul-Capturing Gourd—how did this treasure end up in your hands?" Lin Tian exclaimed in shock upon seeing the gourd and the tiger soul emerging from it.

"Haha, Lin Tian, let’s see how arrogant you are now! I will use this Abyss Demon Tiger to greet you properly. If you kneel and beg for mercy now, I might let you go; otherwise, you will end up a cripple just like this little girl," Feng Wei sneered.

"Is it really the Abyss Demon Tiger?" Lin Ling, standing behind Lin Tian, was also struck with horror.

"This Abyss Demon Tiger isn't an ordinary spirit beast, is it? It looks quite extraordinary," Yang Xiao remarked as he approached Lin Ling.

"The Abyss Demon Tiger is indeed an incredibly powerful intermediate spirit beast. Even as an adult, it can become an elite among its kind. There are only a few of them in our Linlang Blessed Land, and they are not easy to capture—only cultivators at the Heaven-Circulation Realm could possibly subdue one. It seems this one was captured by that Heaven-Circulation Realm cultivator from the Feng family, who then sealed its soul into the Soul-Capturing Gourd. This gourd is a potent treasure in our Linlang Blessed Land; it can store the souls of spirit beasts and stimulate their latent potential. Through long-term nourishment, these souls are just as powerful as the beasts themselves, and over time, their power can even grow. However, this treasure has always been with another young Feng disciple, Feng Shen. How did it end up in Feng Wei’s hands?" Lin Ling explained to Yang Xiao, tilting her head.

"I see. It appears Feng Wei came prepared. Brother Lin Tian is likely to suffer a setback today," Yang Xiao sighed.

Indeed, Lin Tian was clearly losing ground. Though he brought out two defensive treasures to resist, they were already crumbling under the relentless assault of the Abyss Demon Tiger.

"Lin Tian, let’s see how much longer you can hold on! Now, prepare to meet your end," Feng Wei snarled. He tapped the Soul-Capturing Gourd, and a surge of black gas flew out, merging into the body of the Abyss Demon Tiger. The beast seemed to have consumed a tonic; its power surged, instantly shattering Lin Tian’s two defensive treasures, and it pounced toward him.

Lin Tian was terrified, unable to mount a defense in time.

Just then, Yang Xiao made his move. A dragon of lightning charged toward the Abyss Demon Tiger, saving Lin Tian from below. The lightning dragon roared, emitting ear-splitting cracks of thunder. Simultaneously, with a flick of his wrist, Yang Xiao unleashed the Dragon-Snake Sword, sending several sword auras raining down on Feng Wei.

Feng Wei was seized by panic. The situation, which had been in his absolute favor, had instantly reversed. He retreated hurriedly, throwing up multiple defenses before him.

However, Feng Wei’s defenses were no match for Yang Xiao’s sword aura. In the blink of an eye, Yang Xiao tore through all his defenses. While he continued to assault Feng Wei with sword aura, a massive hand made of true energy reached out and grabbed for the Soul-Capturing Gourd in front of Feng Wei.

In his panic, Feng Wei could only focus on desperately fending off the sword aura. Through a moment of negligence, the Soul-Capturing Gourd was snatched away by Yang Xiao’s true energy hand.

Yang Xiao felt a surge of joy and retracted the hand.

With the Soul-Capturing Gourd no longer under Feng Wei’s control, the power of the Abyss Demon Tiger plummeted. It was quickly overwhelmed by the lightning dragon and dove back into the gourd, refusing to emerge again.

Yang Xiao withdrew the lightning dragon and intended to secure the Soul-Capturing Gourd, but suddenly, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Another hand of true energy intercepted Yang Xiao’s, and a young man’s voice roared in anger: "You have quite the nerve to try and take my Soul-Capturing Gourd, but I doubt you have the skill to do it!"

As the young man’s voice echoed, two figures appeared like ghosts before Yang Xiao. They must have been hiding among the onlookers, which was why Yang Xiao had not noticed them earlier.

The man who spoke had a crooked mouth and squinted eyes, looking quite sinister. It was clearly the master of the Soul-Capturing Gourd—Feng Shen, whom Lin Ling had mentioned.

Yang Xiao immediately deduced the newcomer's identity.