Chapter Sixty-Four: Xing Lie’s Death

“Senior Sister Ling, please step aside,” Yang Xiao said to Ling Yunmei. He then stepped forward, placing himself between her and Xing Lie, directly facing the formidable figure.

Naturally, Xing Lie launched another attack at Yang Xiao, a massive wave of fire surging toward him. But Yang Xiao had anticipated this. He drew forth the Fire Serpent Talisman he’d acquired earlier. This talisman had been crafted by a practitioner at the Condensation stage, and its power was considerable—enough to completely neutralize Xing Lie’s assault. Their attacks collided and vanished into a wisp of smoke.

Yet Yang Xiao couldn’t afford to hesitate; he knew he couldn’t simply wait for Xing Lie to strike again. He had to act preemptively, and he was fully prepared. Just days ago, he had made yet another breakthrough in the Ninefold Golden Body technique. Now, not only could he defend, he could also employ it offensively. Though the technique was primarily defensive, it did harbor a few offensive maneuvers.

The “Golden Body Prison” was one such rare offensive move. Once unleashed, it could trap the opponent within a golden cage, leaving them utterly powerless and at his mercy.

As Xing Lie moved in, Yang Xiao swiftly invoked the Golden Body Prison, instantly sealing Xing Lie within its confines.

Master Lingfeng remained trapped within the formation Xing Lie had invoked, but now, Xing Lie himself was ensnared in Yang Xiao’s golden prison. However, there was a stark difference between the two imprisonments. While Master Lingfeng’s movements were not truly hindered within the formation, Xing Lie found his actions severely restricted, his spiritual power greatly suppressed.

Xing Lie was shocked to find himself trapped in a golden cage, and even more startled to realize his spellcasting abilities were drastically curtailed. Such a strange and powerful binding technique was exceedingly rare.

But Xing Lie was at a much higher cultivation level than Yang Xiao and was not one to sit and wait for death. No matter how formidable the Golden Body Prison was, the gulf in their cultivation realms could not be bridged. Struggling with all his might, he managed to shake the prison, and its binding power on him lessened.

Seeing this, Xing Lie was delighted. He gathered his remaining spiritual power and struck at the prison with all his might. With a thunderous crash, the Golden Body Prison shattered, and he broke free.

However, no sooner had Xing Lie escaped than he found himself beneath a dense rain of sword images descending from the sky—the Soul Domain of the Dragon-Serpent Sword, unleashed by Yang Xiao. The sheer power of this sword technique was rarely seen in the world.

Xing Lie let out a miserable scream. Though he managed to deflect some of the sword images, he could not fend off all of them. In the end, several blades struck him down, and he perished.

In truth, Xing Lie had only himself to blame for underestimating his opponent. He’d assumed that no matter how skilled Yang Xiao was, he was merely at the Spirit Sense stage. Even after expending so much of his spiritual power earlier, he believed he had more than enough left to finish Yang Xiao off. Ironically, it was this overexertion that left him unable to withstand Yang Xiao’s final attack, resulting in his own demise.

Of course, Yang Xiao did not escape unscathed. The shattering of the Golden Body Prison left him wounded, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. But he had managed to hold out and ultimately defeat Xing Lie.

“Junior Brother Yang, did you really just kill Xing Lie?” Ling Yunmei was still unable to believe it. Ordinarily, a Spirit Sense cultivator could never slay a practitioner at the Condensation stage, yet Yang Xiao had accomplished the impossible.

“It was merely a matter of catching Xing Lie while he was drained of spiritual power, and taking advantage of his momentary carelessness. If he had realized sooner, the outcome might have been very different,” Yang Xiao replied, wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve and exhaling deeply.

“In any case, we’ve won. Come, let’s check on Master,” he said, heading toward the formation where Master Lingfeng was imprisoned, Ling Yunmei following close behind.

Master Lingfeng’s condition was not encouraging. Despite many attempts, he was unable to break the formation and could not find a way out.

“Master, are you all right?” Yang Xiao asked.

“I’m fine, Yang Xiao. That technique you used earlier was truly impressive—you actually managed to kill Xing Lie. I’m astonished. Unfortunately, trapped as I was, I couldn’t help you. It’s a blessing you both survived,” replied Master Lingfeng.

“I came by that technique during a fortuitous encounter while journeying outside. It is indeed powerful, but if you hadn’t already fought with Xing Lie and drained him, I never could have slain him so easily,” Yang Xiao said, shifting credit to his master.

Master Lingfeng nodded and said no more on the matter, continuing, “Xing Lie’s formation is indeed extraordinary, but it wasn’t his own creation. This building itself contains the formation—Xing Lie merely activated it. Breaking it will be extremely difficult. Still, it’s not impossible. I fear, however, that I’ll have to do as Xing Lie did—sacrifice a great deal of spiritual power and cultivation to escape.”

“Yang Xiao, Yunmei, stand back while I attempt to break the formation,” Master Lingfeng instructed.

Yang Xiao and Ling Yunmei obediently retreated to a safe distance.

Master Lingfeng gathered his spiritual power. Suddenly, a giant phantom appeared behind him. At first, it was still, but at his resounding shout, it began to swell rapidly, finally exploding with a tremendous force. Using the shockwave, Master Lingfeng broke free of the formation.

“Master has truly harmed his cultivation this time. He had to destroy his Giant Spirit Art to unleash such force,” Yang Xiao murmured, shaking his head. Such a method was extremely damaging to the body. Worse, the Giant Spirit Art he had cultivated for so long was now gone, and relearning it would be nearly impossible.

That Master Lingfeng would destroy his own technique to escape was truly astonishing. Yet, there was no other way—these formations were built by ancient cultivators, their power far beyond what modern practitioners could break. Master Lingfeng’s act was one of burning his bridges.

“Don’t be surprised, both of you. My Giant Spirit Art was incomplete anyway; letting it self-destruct is no great loss. Besides, my life is nearing its end. I couldn’t afford to waste more time trapped here—better to end it quickly,” Master Lingfeng said, dismissing their concern.

“Uncle-Master, are you all right?” Ling Yunmei asked anxiously.

“I’m fine, just severely depleted. I’ll need to rest for some days to recover. I’ll meditate here—why don’t you two search the area and see if you can find an exit? As Xing Lie said, the way out is completely sealed; only the Wild Clan knows how to leave. Escaping won’t be easy,” Master Lingfeng said, closing his eyes to rest while instructing Yang Xiao and Ling Yunmei to search for an exit.