With a long sigh, Lin Yun felt a sense of helplessness in the face of the two obstinate elders. This matter was of considerable importance to him. He could not, under any circumstances, allow their goal to be achieved.
"You wish to die on this battlefield to prove a point," he said, his gaze becoming incredibly sharp as his killing intent domain expanded, the attacks from his three flying swords growing even more dense. "But if you die, many more people will die because of it."
Xun Zhesheng and Gan Botao naturally felt this change. The assault from the three flying swords, while ferocious, posed no substantial threat to them. The blades were aimed only at their weak points, never dealing a fatal blow. The two of them simply couldn't cope. At this rate, their defeat and capture were only a matter of time. Even if they wanted to change the situation, they had no opportunity.
From all appearances, Lin Yun already held victory in his grasp.
But at this very juncture, the situation took a dramatic turn.
A clap of thunder boomed across the sky, and a ball of fire came speeding towards them from the distance.
Lin Yun didn't dare to be careless. He brought his Firmament Sword back to defend, slashing the fireball in two.
However, the fireball did not dissipate. Instead, it exploded into a thousand points of starlight. Each point that landed on the ground instantly set off a violent explosion. The ones who suffered the most were, naturally, the Wangjing soldiers at Lin Yun's feet. A chorus of miserable screams and wails erupted in an instant, a testament to the brutal, incalculable toll of the battle.
Yet, Lin Yun showed no change in emotion.
On the way here, he had spoken with these soldiers from Wangjing. He had hoped they might change their allegiance, but he quickly confirmed that they were unwaveringly loyal to Prince Zuo Cheng. No matter what he said, he could not change their minds. The gap between them was as wide as the heavens and the earth. Since these men would always be loyal to Prince Zuo Cheng, they held no value for him. After all, they would eventually become his enemies.
So, no matter how many soldiers were lost here, it was no skin off his back.
The attacker was, as Lin Yun had feared, the Saintess.
Seeing Xun Zhesheng and Gan Botao on the verge of defeat, she could finally no longer sit still. She had originally thought this matter would be resolved smoothly. She never imagined that Lin Yun's intervention would cast a mysterious question mark over everything. With his strength, killing the two elders would have been effortless. This was one of the reasons she had sent them to fight in the first place—to use Lin Yun's hand to eliminate them, which would save her a great deal of internal trouble.
Xun Zhesheng and Gan Botao were, after all, old-timers in the Crimson Ghost Sect. Their strength might not be the greatest, but they still held the attention of many within the sect. To so easily send them to their deaths was not a wise choice. But in the current situation, the Saintess couldn't afford to make so many plans. Since Lin Yun was unwilling to kill these two, she had no choice but to act personally.
When Xun Zhesheng and Gan Botao saw the Saintess appear, their faces changed. "Your Holiness, why have you come?" they asked, both fully aware of the answer.
The Saintess just sneered. "Just a young junior. I thought that since you two were veterans of our Crimson Ghost Sect, dealing with this boy would be no problem at all. I never expected you to waste so much time on him. It seems, in the end, I was thinking too simply."
Her words were laced with disappointment.
The two old men's faces flushed with shame, but they offered no rebuttal. To them, however, there was clearly more to the story than that.
The Saintess couldn't be bothered to say any more to the two of them. Instead, she focused all of her attention on Lin Yun. Although her two subordinates had failed, it was inextricably linked to him. This man was far too troublesome.
"Since when could a sword cultivator be accompanied by a spirit pet?" the Saintess frowned.
Although she knew Lin Yun was now a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, she also knew that their current strength was not that great. And their chief disciple was not Lin Yun. What's more, how long had he been in the sect? How could he possibly be accompanied by a spirit pet of such power so quickly?
Faced with the Saintess's question, Lin Yun was quite arrogant. "It's only right that you don't know. There are many things in this world that you don't understand."
The face of the veiled Saintess hardened. For a long time, everyone she met, without exception, had been respectful and polite. Even her enemies didn't dare to show her the slightest disrespect. But from this boy, she felt an extremely strong sense of contempt. This kid truly did not take her seriously at all.
This filled Her Holiness with a profound rage.
"You're courting death!" she roared, and then she charged.
Xun Zhesheng and Gan Botao exchanged a glance, looking at each other in dismay. They had already been thoroughly beaten. If they were to join the fight now, it was unlikely to end well.
But in the instant that thought flickered through their minds, Lin Yun and the Saintess were already locked in a battle that could not be separated.
As expected of the Saintess of the Crimson Ghost Sect, she truly had some skill. To be able to fight Lin Yun to a standstill was no easy feat. All along, Lin Yun's strength had been formidable. Fighting opponents above his own realm was a matter of course for him. But this time, against this Saintess, he was surprised to find that he couldn't gain an easy advantage as he had before.
Don't be fooled by the fact that this woman's power didn't seem overwhelming. Her combat experience was incredibly rich, and more importantly, she was ruthless. This ruthlessness was not just directed at others; she was just as cruel to herself. The Saintess was even willing to suffer an injury just to land a heavy blow on Lin Yun.
At first, Lin Yun didn't think much of the fight. But gradually, he discovered that the situation was not what it seemed. As the number of wounds on the Saintess's body increased, her power was also gradually growing stronger.
Something's not right. There's a big problem with this woman, Lin Yun thought to himself. This was not a normal combat style.
He immediately focused his gaze on her, observing her seriously. Sure enough, this closer look allowed him to spot the problem. Her power was indeed increasing, but it was because of her own injuries.
In other words, this woman's cultivation technique increased her own strength based on the degree of damage she sustained. As long as she could endure it, the moment she was down to her last breath would be the moment she was at her strongest.
And facing such an opponent was truly, exceptionally troublesome.