Seeing Lin Yun's current predicament, Fang Yu'er's heart filled with even more worry. As impressive as Lin Yun's performance had been before, this time, he was facing the strongest of the Crimson Ghost Sect, the Saintess herself. What's more, during the battle, Fang Yu'er had come to understand where the Saintess's true strength lay. When injured in combat, her fighting power was not only unaffected, it actually grew stronger.
No matter who the opponent, facing such a tenacious foe, it would be nearly impossible to gain any advantage. So, Fang Yu'er was now deeply worried about whether Lin Yun could handle this situation.
"If you die here, I'm afraid I'll have to pay the price along with you." Fang Yu'er's feelings were incredibly complex. On one hand, she didn't want Lin Yun to lose this fight. On the other, she understood that he held no advantage in this battle. Against an opponent like Luo Yunshang, no matter how hard he tried, it would ultimately be a waste of time.
With a series of deafening explosions, Lin Yun's entire body was blasted out of a cloud of dust. He crashed heavily to the ground, his impact creating a massive crater.
With Lin Yun so severely wounded, the morale of the Wangjing army was also affected, and it began to plummet. This was only natural. Before, Lin Yun had been invincible, relentlessly pressing Xun Zhesheng and Gan Botao and raising the army's spirits to a fever pitch, which had allowed them to rout the Crimson Ghost Sect's forces. Now that he was at a disadvantage, it would of course affect them.
But Lin Yun himself wasn't thinking about any of that. His entire mind was focused on the battle. For him to be struggling this much against Luo Yunshang at his current cultivation realm was proof enough of just how truly formidable her techniques were.
"You're not a complete fool. You didn't listen to those idiots and practice their techniques," Luo Yunshang said flatly, looking down at Lin Yun. She had been wondering why this man could withstand her attacks head-on without being defeated. Now, she understood. Unlike the other cultivators she had met, Lin Yun was not practicing the techniques currently in vogue in the cultivation world. On the contrary, he was walking an older path.
It was precisely for this reason that the current Lin Yun was qualified to fight her.
From Luo Yunshang's words, Lin Yun also realized a problem. It was highly likely that there was something wrong with the cultivation methods currently practiced throughout the cultivation world. And it was because of this that his own techniques allowed him to challenge those in higher realms. He had originally thought this situation was unique to the Flowing Cloud Sect. Now, it seemed a world-shaking secret was being hidden from the entire cultivation world.
But there was no time to think about that now.
As Lin Yun slowly got to his feet, Luo Yunshang attacked again.
Lin Yun let out a long sigh. "This… should be enough, right?"
After muttering this, he once again placed his hand on the White Tiger sword casket.
Luo Yunshang was taken aback. In the past, when her opponents had witnessed her ability, most of them would choose to give up. After all, there was no point in fighting a hopeless battle. She never thought Lin Yun would still have the courage to continue fighting.
"Ignorance is fearlessness," she said, striking again.
But this time, things did not go as easily as she had imagined.
A white light suddenly flared around Lin Yun's body. In the next moment, an invisible energy seemed to block her assault.
What's going on? Luo Yunshang cried out inwardly. The counter-attack had been too sudden. And it hadn't just blocked her attack. It had reflected it back with even greater force.
The instant that thought flashed through her mind, the Demon-Subduing Pestle in her hand emitted a crisp CRACK and shattered into countless fragments.
Everyone was dumbfounded. That was a Dharma-tier artifact. In any other sect, it would have been a treasure to be enshrined. Yet now, such a priceless artifact had been destroyed so easily.
Luo Yunshang, however, felt no pain for her lost artifact. She was more confused than anything. A moment ago, Lin Yun couldn't even block her attacks. What had just happened? She only felt some kind of energy surge from the boy's body, and then her own attack was completely nullified, and she was even severely wounded by his counter-attack.
Although it wasn't enough to take her out of the fight, it made her realize that this man still had the strength to battle.
At that moment, Lin Yun looked at her with a knowing smile. "You wanted to use this fight with me as an opportunity to break through. A pity for you that you won't have that chance this time."
Lin Yun took a deep breath. Even knowing that today's battle would not be easy, for him, it would be worth it to use all of his trump cards as long as he could defeat her. Otherwise, the surrounding hundreds of miles would be rendered barren.
Luo Yunshang's face grew even darker. This boy had seen right through to her bottom line.
She was just about to attack again, but she was surprised to feel a sharp, piercing pain erupt from within her body. This made her heart sink even further. It was a sensation she had never felt before. For some reason, even moving a muscle had now become incredibly difficult. Just now, Lin Yun hadn't just destroyed her Dharma-tier artifact; he had also completely disabled one of her arms.
Now left with only five arms, Luo Yunshang's power was naturally diminished.
But Lin Yun was capable of much more than just that. He didn't stop. With a great roar, he slammed his hand down on the White Tiger sword casket.
The next moment, an endless stream of flying swords shot out from within. They naturally converged behind Lin Yun. In the blink of an eye, a colossal, sky-spanning greatsword had formed.
With another roar from Lin Yun, the greatsword slashed down, unleashing a heavenly tidal wave of energy that shot directly towards Luo Yunshang.
Faced with such a powerful attack, even Luo Yunshang's expression turned grim. "Fine! Today, I will fight you to the very last moment!"
Faced with the surging tidal wave of sword Qi, the various Dharma-tier artifacts in Luo Yunshang's hands all began to emit their own different energy fluctuations.
On the ground, the soldiers of Wangjing and the disciples of the Crimson Ghost Sect all stopped what they were doing. They tilted their heads back, staring up at the two figures battling in the sky.
Only in this moment did these people truly understand how insignificant they were in the presence of true masters. They didn't have the right to even challenge them; they weren't even qualified to be ants.
And the two combatants in the sky were now pushing their powers to the absolute limit. Neither Lin Yun nor Luo Yunshang wanted to lose this fight.
And Luo Yunshang, in the midst of this battle, was being repeatedly shocked by just how terrifying Lin Yun was.
This man was pushing past his limits, again and again.