"AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
He Wenyan's scream was pure terror. All traces of his earlier composure vanished. Hatred, triumph – evaporated. Only bone-chilling dread remained.
Flying sword!!
It was a flying sword!!
It was like a street brawl where one side, confident in their numbers and strength, suddenly faces a machine gun. The feeling… was pure terror and despair!
He Wenyan realized he had underestimated his foe. That sword wasn't just a spirit artifact… it was a flying sword!!
A flying sword! A supreme treasure only Golden Core cultivators could possess and control! How could a mere Qi Refinement stage youth have one?! And most crucially… how could he command it?!
Impossibility screamed in his mind. But there was no time for thought. The sword's speed was terrifying. Desperate to avoid his companions' fate, he surged his true energy violently. A purple energy screen flared around him as he threw himself gracelessly to the right.
"SWISH!"
He dodged just in time. The sword grazed his cheek, severing locks of hair that drifted in the air. The purple energy screen he'd conjured? Utterly useless, offering no resistance.
He'd avoided death… for a moment. The danger wasn't over. The flying sword, after shooting past him ten meters, curved sharply in mid-air and shot back towards him from behind!
"NOOOO!!!"
He Wenyan roared like a cornered beast. His left hand flashed. A golden jade talisman appeared. Instantly, it blazed with brilliant light, forming a dense, tangible golden barrier around him.
—A spirit light defense treasure!
As the He family head, possessing such a treasure was expected. This shield, larger and more robust than Lin Feng's, clearly marked it as a treasure artifact grade.
But He Wenyan knew better than to rely solely on a mere mid-grade treasure artifact shield against a spirit artifact flying sword. Even as the shield formed, he was already dodging again, swinging his broadsword in a desperate parry.
"SCHLICK!"
A soft, chilling sound confirmed his fears. Even the mid-grade treasure artifact shield offered only the faintest, negligible resistance. The flying sword pierced it almost without slowing, then met his swinging blade!
"CLAAAAANG!! CRACK!"
The impact shrieked. Agony ripped through He Wenyan's palms as if they were tearing apart. The colossal recoil nearly wrenched the weapon from his grasp. Worse, the sharp sound of shattering metal rang clear!
The sword strike deflected the flying sword's path slightly. It whistled past He Wenyan's face again. Looking down at his broadsword, his blood ran cold… it was cleanly severed. He held only half a blade.
Shield shattered. Finest weapon destroyed. Though he'd dodged twice, despair flooded He Wenyan as he scrambled up from the dirt.
—Can't block it… Spirit artifact flying sword… I simply can't block it!!
Raising his head, his eyes locked onto Lin Feng ahead. Boundless hatred and madness surged within him. He discarded the broken blade. His hand flickered again. This time, a deep violet talisman pulsating with latent power appeared.
This was a peak-grade third-tier talisman. Its power equaled a full-force strike from a Golden Core late-stage cultivator. His ultimate trump card. A 'family heirloom' passed down for decades, never used. Now, cornered, He Wenyan had no choice but to unleash it, hoping to obliterate Lin Feng in a single blast.
Never had he imagined using this treasure against a Qi Refinement cultivator… especially under such impossible circumstances.
Gripping the talisman, he channeled all his surging true energy, ready to activate it. But at that precise moment, he saw Lin Feng across the field… raise his hand and point directly at him!!
"NO!!!"
His pupils contracted violently. His face turned ashen grey. In his frenzy, he tried to hurl the activated talisman.
But… he was too late!!
His reactions, dulled by shock, betrayed him. Or perhaps the flying sword was simply too fast. The momentary distraction of drawing the talisman created an opening. A silver streak tore through the air from his left with lightning speed. Before the talisman could unleash its fury, it flashed across his throat.
"Ghk… Gk…"
His movements froze instantly. His mouth opened, but no sound emerged. His right hand, clutching the talisman, hung uselessly halfway through its throw…
Time seemed to hang suspended for a second. Then, a thin red line appeared across He Wenyan's neck. His head tilted forward… slowly… then tumbled down onto his chest. A fountain of blood erupted, spraying like crimson rain…
Dead!!
The esteemed He family head, a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment expert… had been decapitated by a flying sword before he could unleash his final, desperate gamble.
…
The entire sequence lasted barely over ten seconds. From the flying sword's first lethal strike to He Wenyan's decapitation, mere moments had passed.
Even now, the three late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators finally snapped out of their daze. Seeing He Wenyan's headless corpse, their faces drained of all color.
"AAAAAHH!!!"
One reacted first, shrieking in abject terror. He spun around and fled!
"Flying sword!! It's a flying sword!! He's Golden Cor—"
Another seemed paralyzed by fear, forgetting to run. He pointed like he'd seen a demon, his voice shrill. But his cry died unfinished. Lin Feng's hand flicked. Sword light flashed. It circled the man's neck once. A head soared skyward.
"NO!!!"
The man beside the headless corpse was the one earlier wounded in the chest by the sword. His soul nearly fled his body. He scrambled backwards, crawling frantically. He hadn't even covered ten meters when the flying sword caught him from behind, piercing clean through his chest.
"Spare me… PLEASE!! AAAAGH—!"
The last one, who had fled first, had only managed a hundred meters. The flying sword showed no mercy to his pleas. It sliced through his throat without pause.
—Thus, all eight enemies lay dead.
"Zheng…!"
The flying sword, having annihilated all foes, still gleamed with pure silver light. Not a single drop of blood marred its surface. It emitted a sharp, almost eager hum as it circled once in the air and returned, hovering before Lin Feng.
"..."
Lin Feng stood frozen, caught in a profoundly strange state. His eyes, crimson and filled with primal killing intent moments before, slowly cleared. Awareness seemed to return. He stared blankly at the sword floating before him, seemingly bewildered.
"Sword Flight…"
He whispered the words, sounding almost disbelieving. He looked down at his own hands, clenching them tightly. An overwhelming surge of power churned within him, a sensation of boundless strength he'd never known. The source… was a mystery even to him.
"What… just happened?"
The events replayed vividly in his mind – including his own control of the sword as it slew each enemy. Yet, he couldn't comprehend how he'd possessed such immense power to wield it.
"Pop…"
As he stood dazed, a faint, internal sound echoed. Instantly, the surging power within him receded like a vanishing tide. A sensation of utter emptiness washed over him, as if his very soul had hemorrhaged. His mind felt struck by a massive hammer. He swayed violently, nearly collapsing.
"THUD!"
At that same moment, the hovering flying sword seemed to lose its power. It dropped limply to the ground beside his foot, embedding its tip in the earth.
Crushing exhaustion flooded every fiber of his being. It felt like he'd sprinted hundreds of miles without rest. Cold sweat drenched his robes instantly. He gasped for breath, shoulders heaving.
Lin Feng desperately wanted to sit and meditate, to recover. But he knew it wasn't safe yet. Scanning the gruesome scene, he fought through the fatigue. He retrieved the flying sword. Then, he pulled out a Chain Fireball Talisman.
One after another, fiery orbs shot from his hand. They struck their targets with deadly precision, igniting the nine corpses littering the ground – including Lu Cheng's.
The sickening sizzle of burning flesh filled the air, accompanied by the thick, acrid stink of charred remains. Within moments, only nine piles of ash remained.
Lin Feng moved swiftly across the battlefield. From each pile of ash, he retrieved a storage ring or artifact, not bothering to examine them before stowing them away.
With the grim task complete, he turned his gaze towards the direction of Qingyun City. Instead of heading back, he pivoted and strode purposefully into the shadowed depths of the nearby Seven Peaks Forest. Within a few flickering movements, he vanished completely into the gloom beneath the ancient trees…