"Spiritual Qi Overload!" Qin Xi murmured softly as he watched the scene unfold.
Though it wasn't a true spiritual qi overload, the principle was the same.
The Bow of the Vermilion Bird was a sentient magic treasure, possessing inherent spirituality. To wield it, one had to gain its recognition. The bow carried a potent Breath of the Vermilion Bird; to subdue it, one must first endure this divine power. Such a massive influx of Vermilion Bird's Breath pouring into Ling Yunhe's body would, if he couldn't withstand it, result in an outcome identical to spiritual qi overload.
Perfected One Yuan Mu rushed forward, with Perfected One Iron-Face close behind. Mo Tiange and the other two watched tensely.
Could Ling Yunhe endure such power? Would he succeed in taming the Bow of the Vermilion Bird, or would he be torn apart by the Vermilion Bird's Breath upon it? Logically, as a Core Formation cultivator, his body shouldn't be able to withstand such force. However, he cultivated the Ice-Fire Art, a technique specially prepared by the ancient great sect, the Ice Palace, for wielding the Bow of the Vermilion Bird. Who knew if this technique possessed some unique quality that could neutralize the power of the Vermilion Bird's Breath?
As the Vermilion Bird's Breath poured in, the icy mist surrounding Ling Yunhe grew increasingly faint, gradually devoured by raging flames. The expression on his face grew more agonized, his entire body slowly turning crimson, as if he had become a piece of red-hot iron. Even the flow of spiritual energy within his meridians became clearly visible.
Watching Ling Yunhe's meridians swell, nearly reaching their limit, while the divine power from the Bow of the Vermilion Bird continued to pour in, Perfected One Yuan Mu gritted his teeth and struck a palm against Ling Yunhe's back.
If things were left to develop, Ling Yunhe likely wouldn't escape the fate of death by overload. And since the Vermilion Bird's Breath had already begun pouring in, it couldn't be stopped. So, Perfected One Yuan Mu devised this method: to allow the excess Vermilion Bird's Breath within Ling Yunhe's body to find another outlet. That outlet was himself.
With Perfected One Yuan Mu sharing the burden, Ling Yunhe's agony lessened slightly. However, even for Perfected One Yuan Mu, facing the Vermilion Bird's Breath was no easy feat.
Sentient magic treasures like the Bow of the Vermilion Bird required high-level cultivators to wield them even in ancient times. The "high-level" of antiquity wasn't today's Nascent Soul stage, but the Body Unity stage, or even the Great Ascension stage! Compared to Body Unity or Great Ascension cultivators, Nascent Soul cultivators were mere juniors not worth mentioning. How could they withstand the power of the Vermilion Bird's Breath? If not for Ling Yunhe acting as a buffer in between, if he had tried to take it directly, the result would have been no different from Jing Xingzhi and Qin Xi.
Gradually, Perfected One Yuan Mu's face flushed red. His meridians and dantian also couldn't withstand such intense Vermilion Bird divine power.
Seeing this, Perfected One Iron-Face stepped forward as well.
"Senior Brother," Perfected One Yuan Mu said through gritted teeth, "preserve your strength!"
Perfected One Iron-Face's gaze flickered beneath his iron mask. He paused, but in the next moment, he suddenly lunged towards Mo Tiange!
With a sharp whistle, the Three Yang True Fire Sword shot out. Qin Xi blocked his path, shouting, "What are you trying to do?!"
Perfected One Iron-Face reacted extremely quickly. Failing to land his strike, light flashed in his hand, and a pitch-black long whip appeared. With a flick of his wrist, he lashed towards Mo Tiange once more.
Qin Xi grew furious. Earlier, Perfected One Yuan Mu had sworn an Inner Demon Oath, so they had trusted him. He never expected Perfected One Iron-Face, who had been silent like a shadow, to suddenly erupt and attack!
If it were only Perfected One Iron-Face alone, he and Jing Xingzhi joining forces wouldn't fear him. However, Perfected One Iron-Face was, after all, an old monster who had lived nearly two thousand years, with rich combat experience and ruthless methods. His sudden assault caught them off guard.
Qin Xi had no choice but to transform the Three Yang True Fire Sword's sword array into a massive sword, slashing down at Perfected One Iron-Face to block the whip's trajectory.
Fortunately, Jing Xingzhi's flying sword arrived as well. His reaction wasn't slow, though he was slightly farther away.
Seeing his attack neutralized by Qin Xi and with Jing Xingzhi's flying sword attacking from behind, Perfected One Iron-Face, caught between two fronts, didn't move his body. He merely shook his sleeve, releasing spiritual energy outward. A massive shield suddenly appeared behind him, protecting himself.
Then, enduring Jing Xingzhi's flying sword attack, he stubbornly continued his assault on Mo Tiange.
Qin Xi didn't understand what he was trying to do, but such actions from the other party had already infuriated him!
He unleashed Sword Transformation Without Form. Golden sword qi, enveloped by the Three Yang True Fire, split into two, then four, instantly multiplying into hundreds of sword qi strands that shot towards Perfected One Iron-Face.
This time, Perfected One Iron-Face finally couldn't endure head-on. Though his cultivation was high and his experience rich, among late-Nascent Soul cultivators, he wasn't considered top-tier in strength. Enduring Jing Xingzhi's attack head-on couldn't last too long, after all, as the ferocity of a sword cultivator's attack power wasn't comparable to ordinary cultivators.
Facing Qin Xi's attack, he chose to retreat.
Yet in the next moment, after evading the sword's edge, Perfected One Iron-Face suddenly erupted with an intense aura—using retreat to advance! A late-Nascent Soul cultivator, even if not specialized in combat, could be terrifying when fighting desperately without sparing ing spiritual power.
Perfected One Iron-Face lashed his whip, sending it whistling through the air towards Mo Tiange. Qin Xi, momentarily shaken by his aura, could only hastily command his sword qi to block in a rush—with a *shriek*, the sword qi and whip entangled, spiritual energies intertwining and clashing, momentarily deadlocked.
Perfected One Iron-Face seemed somewhat anxious. Paying no heed to Jing Xingzhi behind him, he erupted with his aura once more.
Seeing him act recklessly with violent spiritual energy fluctuations, Qin Xi, fearing Mo Tiange would be harmed, hurriedly pushed her aside and met the attack himself.
"Boom!" It was a direct collision of spiritual energy. The violent fluctuations even threw Mo Tiange to the side. Yet Ling Yunhe and Perfected One Yuan Mu before the altar nearby remained completely unaffected due to the Vermilion Bird's Breath.
Facing such a spiritual energy collision, though Qin Xi wasn't incapable of enduring it, he had no choice but to temporarily retreat from the brunt.
Perfected One Iron-Face flicked his sleeve, tossing out the small stones he had used in combat earlier once more. They transformed into massive boulders, pressing down upon him.
Qin Xi extended his arm, the Three Yang True Fire Sword transforming into sword radiance that clashed with the boulders.
In the next moment, his figure flickered. Employing teleportation, he arrived right before Ling Yunhe.
"Fellow Daoist Iron-Face!" he sternly shouted. "If you continue to act, I will exterminate your junior alongside you!"
Ling Yunhe was undergoing the trial of Vermilion Bird divine power, and Perfected One Yuan Mu's body was also filled with Vermilion Bird's Breath. Both were immobilized. Qin Xi now stood right beside them. It could be said their lives hung in his hands.
Perfected One Iron-Face halted. Regret flashed in his eyes. Using Ling Yunhe's life to threaten them—Jing Xingzhi had already done that earlier. Hateful that he had been too anxious just now, letting Qin Xi seize another opening.
Seeing Perfected One Iron-Face stop, Qin Xi glanced back at Mo Tiange. Seeing she had summoned all her defensive treasures and was standing far away, he felt relieved. At this distance, if Perfected One Iron-Face dared to act again, either he or Jing Xingzhi would have time to intervene.
"Fellow Daoist Iron-Face, what exactly is your intention? Fellow Daoist Yuan Mu has already sworn an Inner Demon Oath. Do you think you alone can exterminate us?"
Perfected One Iron-Face's gaze shifted, but he said nothing.
"Qin Shoujing, why be polite with him?" Jing Xingzhi, holding his flying sword, stepped forward while coldly stating, "No matter what he intends, since he made a move, shouldn't we seize the chance to eliminate him? We can't defeat two late-Nascent Soul cultivators, but are we afraid of just one?"
Jing Xingzhi possessed the typical sword cultivator temperament—excellent at seizing opportunities for a single, decisive strike. Currently, Perfected One Yuan Mu was immobilized, leaving only Perfected One Iron-Face. With their combined efforts, the chance of elimination was high. By then, even if Perfected One Yuan Mu broke free, he could do nothing against them, and they wouldn't need to compromise everywhere for the sake of survival!
But Qin Xi wasn't as ruthless as him. They had already reached an agreement earlier, and they hadn't taken advantage of others' peril. Why had Perfected One Iron-Face instead erupted and attacked? Moreover, his target was consistently Mo Tiange—it was too strange.
Perfected One Iron-Face half-turned his body, his low, raspy voice ringing out, "Hmph! Thinking you can exterminate this old man isn't that easy!" Having guarded the Nascent Soul stage for so many years, how could he not possess one or two life-preserving secret arts? Besides, even if they could kill his physical body, could they kill his Nascent Soul? Even besieged by two cultivators of the same late stage, a Nascent Soul wasn't so easily exterminated. However, his lifespan was nearing its end; even if his Nascent Soul escaped, it would be meaningless.
Thinking of this, the pair of eyes visible beneath the black iron mask dimmed slightly, casting a regretful glance towards Perfected One Yuan Mu and Ling Yunhe.
Having lived nearly two thousand years, his lifespan had reached its limit. The mere hundred-plus years remaining weren't enough for him to cultivate to late-stage perfection. Even if he obtained a God Transformation opportunity, he had no chance to advance to the God Transformation stage. This trip to the Guixu Sea was his final contribution, doing one last thing for his sect. Even perishing here would be worthwhile.
Yet, the current situation filled him with a sense of despair.
This junior fellow disciple, Yuan Mu, was much younger than him. Back when he was already a Nascent Soul cultivator, this junior had just barely entered the sect. Yet in just a few hundred years, he had become a great late-Nascent Soul cultivator on par with himself.
With nearly a thousand years of lifespan remaining, this exceptionally talented junior fellow disciple had a high chance of advancing to God Transformation. Coupled with this lad cultivating the Ice-Fire Art, descending to the underground palace to retrieve the Bow of the Vermilion Bird... this was the purpose of their journey: Junior Fellow Disciple Yuan Mu obtaining the God Transformation opportunity, and the Ling family youth taking the Bow of the Vermilion Bird. Hatefully, it now seemed difficult to achieve. If they couldn't neutralize the Vermilion Bird's Breath, both of them might perish here together. Any talk of God Transformation or the Bow of the Vermilion Bird would become empty illusions.
He sighed, not for his own meaningless sacrifice, but for the foundation of the Jiuyan Sect... Yet what happened next made him freeze: "This is..."
"Senior Brother!" Mo Tiange also cried out.
Qin Xi was momentarily stunned, suddenly sensing something abnormal. He looked down and widened his eyes in shock.
To threaten Perfected One Iron-Face, he had stood extremely close to Ling Yunhe. At this moment, the Vermilion Bird's Breath overflowing from Ling Yunhe and Perfected One Yuan Mu's bodies—their meridians and dantian could no longer contain it. With no outlet, the Vermilion Bird's Breath trapped within Ling Yunhe and Perfected One Yuan Mu actually seeped out, transforming into flames that coiled around his body.
Excruciating pain! That was his first sensation. It wasn't that he hadn't been injured before. During the hundred-plus years of his Core Formation stage, he had suffered injuries large and small countless times, with several instances causing his cultivation to plummet drastically, nearly costing him his life. Yet none had ever made him feel this soul-searing agony!
This was the power of the Vermilion Bird's Breath—Vermilion Bird divine power.
He suddenly understood Perfected One Iron-Face's earlier actions. He had wanted to seize Mo Tiange, to have Ling Yunhe transfer the remaining Vermilion Bird's Breath into her body, using her as an outlet! Unfortunately, failing with one strike, he had been unsuccessful.
Yet inadvertently, he himself had become such an outlet.
What to do? He tried to break free, but the Vermilion Bird's Breath firmly ensnared him, leaving him unable to move an inch. He felt the searing heat rapidly occupying his meridians, then flooding into his dantian, yet he was powerless to stop it.
Hearing the familiar cry, he looked towards Mo Tiange, seeing her rush over. Yet he couldn't even lift a hand, only managing to glance at Jing Xingzhi.
Stop her... he silently said.