Chapter Eighty-One: The Slaying of Qin Feng

"In the cultivation world, the law of the jungle reigns. My cultivation is higher than yours, so naturally I have the right to decide your life and death," Qin Feng said. "At the beginning, I only intended to use you to set up the Four Symbols Formation. Now that the giant serpent spirit beast is dead, your usefulness has ended, and so has your time." As he spoke, he unleashed his spiritual power in a continuous stream, intensifying the pressure until the others could barely breathe.

At this moment, Yang Xiao grasped Qin Feng's intent. It turned out Qin Feng had only been using the other three from the start. He must have been a cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage all along, but had used some secret method to suppress his cultivation, which was why the others had mistaken him for being at their level. That misunderstanding had led to the present crisis.

Qin Feng was calculating, cunning, and ruthlessly vicious.

Yet now, even though the truth was plain to see, there was nothing any of them could do about it. Qin Feng was at the Qi Condensation stage, and apart from Yang Xiao, the other two were even less of a match. Zhuo Fan and Xia Yu drew their spiritual weapons to defend themselves, but ultimately, under Qin Feng's oppressive power, they coughed up blood and died.

Yang Xiao, though also suppressed, was in a much better state. His spiritual power was not weak to begin with, and on top of that, he had cultivated the Ninefold Golden Body, enabling him to withstand Qin Feng’s spiritual attacks. During this time, much of the spiritual power he had expended fighting the giant serpent was restored.

As soon as his strength returned, Yang Xiao threw a punch skyward, colliding with Qin Feng’s spiritual pressure. At the same time, his figure flickered, and he darted out of Qin Feng’s attack range.

"Your spiritual reserves are indeed impressive—almost on par with mine at the Qi Condensation stage. But it’s a shame your cultivation is still a bit lower. All your abilities are useless before me, so you might as well accept your fate," Qin Feng sneered. With that, an even more powerful wave of spiritual pressure surged from him, crashing toward Yang Xiao like a tidal wave. Once at the Qi Condensation stage, a cultivator could gather spiritual energy to attack, a feat unimaginable for those at the Spiritual Sense stage—a vast gulf between the two realms. With this advantage, Qin Feng was confident he could kill Yang Xiao.

With Zhuo Fan and Xia Yu dispatched, Qin Feng was free to focus all his attention on Yang Xiao. Earlier, his spiritual power had been divided into three streams to handle each opponent; now, having easily killed Zhuo Fan and Xia Yu, only Yang Xiao remained. Although Qin Feng was slightly surprised that Yang Xiao had survived, it was not beyond expectation—he had long realized Yang Xiao’s spiritual reserves were extraordinary, not someone who could be killed so easily.

Now, with only Yang Xiao left, Qin Feng concentrated all his attacks on him, convinced that Yang Xiao could not withstand the onslaught.

Indeed, as Qin Feng predicted, Yang Xiao struggled against the attacks. It was like a child facing off against an adult—no matter how strong the child, he could not overpower the adult. No matter how hard Yang Xiao fought back, his lower cultivation meant his attacks posed no threat to Qin Feng, who could unleash spiritual attacks from a distance. Without any other means at his disposal, Yang Xiao was inevitably heading toward defeat.

However, Yang Xiao had only been probing at first. Using his Ninefold Golden Body to withstand Qin Feng’s assault, he discovered that Qin Feng’s cultivation, even at the Qi Condensation stage, was not particularly high—comparable to Xing Lie from before. But Yang Xiao was no longer the same as he had been when fighting Xing Lie; his spiritual power was now no less than that of a junior cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage. Only the limits of his current realm prevented him from projecting his energy widely or condensing it into powerful streams.

Nevertheless, Yang Xiao had other methods. He swiftly drew the Dragon-Serpent Sword, and with a sweeping motion, shattered Qin Feng’s attack, seizing the moment to once again escape beyond his opponent’s range.

“So you possess a high-grade spiritual weapon? Not bad. It seems today’s haul will be considerable. Not only will I acquire the Mortal Shedding Elixir, but after killing you three, I’ll also claim your spiritual weapons—especially a high-grade one, which will be most useful to someone of my cultivation,” Qin Feng said with great satisfaction. With a pat to his storage pouch, he produced a wheel-shaped spiritual weapon—clearly another high-grade item.

“Immortal Wheel, go!” Qin Feng commanded, and the wheel shot toward Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao dared not be careless. Spiritual power surged around him, his Ninefold Golden Body fully unleashed. He met the Immortal Wheel head-on with a powerful punch. At the same time, his hand flicked, sending the Dragon-Serpent Sword flying toward Qin Feng.

Clashing with Qin Feng’s spiritual weapon cost Yang Xiao some ground—he was knocked back several yards by the Immortal Wheel, a result of the difference in their realms. A Qi Condensation cultivator wielding a spiritual weapon was no trivial matter; it was not something a Spiritual Sense cultivator could easily withstand. The fact that Yang Xiao survived the blow was already impressive, though he did suffer minor injuries.

Seeing Yang Xiao forced back by the Immortal Wheel, Qin Feng’s lips curled into a smile. He was confident that with his superior cultivation, he could completely suppress Yang Xiao.

When Yang Xiao’s flying sword came hurtling toward him, Qin Feng was unconcerned—the difference in their realms was clear, and a mere flying sword could hardly threaten him. However, as the sword drew near, it suddenly split into hundreds of spectral blades, enveloping him from all directions.

Startled, Qin Feng hastily gathered spiritual energy to defend himself.

“Sword Soul realm? Are you a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, one of the Five Sects and Three Clans?” For the first time, Qin Feng felt a flicker of unease. The name of the Heavenly Sword Sect was thunderous; it was the pinnacle of cultivation in the entire Yao Kingdom.

Originally a wandering cultivator, Qin Feng naturally felt some trepidation toward such a powerful sect. But worse was yet to come. The Dragon-Serpent Sword’s phantom blades grew ever more numerous, encircling him tightly. Although he used all his spiritual energy to resist, a weakness was exposed, and a sword phantom struck true.

As the sword phantom reached Qin Feng, it carved a deep gash into his flesh, making him cry out in pain. With this wound, his defense became riddled with vulnerabilities, and he could no longer focus on maintaining his spiritual defenses. The sword phantoms only multiplied, growing denser by the moment. Soon, under Qin Feng’s terrified gaze, his body was slashed repeatedly—some wounds even piercing deep into his organs and bones, utterly shattering his defenses.

Even in death, Qin Feng’s eyes were wide with fear. He had never imagined Yang Xiao’s mastery of the Sword Soul realm would be so formidable; perhaps even within the Heavenly Sword Sect, few could wield it to such effect.

Qin Feng’s end was one of his own making—he could never have foreseen Yang Xiao’s true strength.

With Qin Feng dead, Yang Xiao finally allowed himself to breathe easy. Though many unforeseen events had occurred, he was now the sole survivor, and everything in the area would belong to him alone.

After a brief rest, Yang Xiao began to take stock of his spoils—prizes won at risk of his life. It was fortunate that Qin Feng’s cultivation at the Qi Condensation stage was not particularly high; otherwise, victory would have been impossible, and even escape would have been out of reach. How could Yang Xiao not feel a surge of gratitude and relief?