A figure silently followed Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong into the forest, and with little effort, he spotted Chu Lin and the others of the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy resting within.
"Heh, so they really do have reinforcements. Unfortunately, none of them are leaving this place alive." The shadowy figure sneered coldly at the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy group who seemed to be in discussion, then directly transmitted the information and location back.
In Mu City, upon receiving the message, Fan Tong's eyes flickered with a chilling murderous intent. He immediately boarded a spirit vessel and departed the city with all of his experts.
Liu Bai quietly observed everything. Once he confirmed that the shadow had already passed the message back, he silently drew out his Moon Chasing Bow.
A golden arrow pierced through space itself, appearing behind the shadow's head in the blink of an eye. Throughout this process, not a trace of sound or Spiritual Energy fluctuation emerged.
When the sharp arrow pierced through his skull, the figure had not even realized what happened. In the next moment, his soul was annihilated by a mysterious force.
Ghost Arrow Art, Soul Seizure.
A single strike kill, leaving no ripples. Even Chu Lin and the others in the forest had not noticed a thing. They were still worrying whether their fishing plan had failed.
"Ding, congratulations to the player for killing one enemy at the late-Phase Of Heaven Fusion Realm. Over-level kill, double experience obtained, 14000 points. Spiritual Pulse Points, 1."
Liu Bai's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Looks like the experience this time is going to explode."
Having suppressed his cultivation for so long, this time was destined to bring him a massive eruption. A one-level leap gave double experience, a two-level leap tripled it, and at most five times experience.
If the experience points proved sufficient, Liu Bai was prepared to no longer suppress his cultivation.
After all, upon hearing the conditions from that Northern Sea Dragon, his heart had already been set on the most suitable cultivation method and the innate Five Spirits that it spoke of.
The reason he chose to directly slay that stalker was mainly out of fear that the fellow might linger too long in the forest and discover the anomaly within.
Although Liu Bai had buried the formation beneath the ground, he could not guarantee these people would not have other means to detect it. Otherwise, this carefully woven plan would be ruined.
A hundred miles was but a few minutes' journey for Fan Tong, who had a spirit vessel at his disposal. Therefore Liu Bai and the others did not have to wait long before they saw a streak of light speeding from afar.
"Not good, we have been discovered."
By the time Chu Lin realized the abnormality, the azure vessel was already suspended above the forest. A terrifying wave of Spiritual Energy burst forth from it as numerous figures descended upon them.
Under that immense pressure, even Wu Ting, who was at the Heavenly Transformation Realm, felt suffocated. As for Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong, they could only barely withstand it. Xu Huang and Su Xuan would have been rendered immobile if Chu Lin was not supporting them.
"Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy actually sent only you little things. You really do not know life from death."
"Attack immediately. Kill them all."
Fan Tong did not give Chu Lin and the others any chance to speak, issuing a direct kill order.
The reason was that he faintly sensed danger looming. Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy would never be foolish enough to send only this handful of people to provoke him. Very likely, this group was not the true main force, and perhaps the real powerhouses were already lurking in Mu City.
His suspicion was not unreasonable. The pressure from Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy was immense.
If not for Yu Yuan's coercion, he would never have wanted to provoke such an existence. After all, they were Dark Seeds of the Dragon Demon Palace, possessing their own public identities and estates.
Once such identities were exposed, it would mean losing everything, even their lives.
Following Fan Tong's command, the many Heaven Fusion Realm experts at his side struck simultaneously. Instantly, heaven and earth howled as violent Spiritual Energy swept out, tearing apart the forest.
"Hold them back." Chu Lin roared, then was the first to bring forth an ancient copper mirror, pouring all of his Spiritual Energy into it.
Buzz.
As power surged within, the copper mirror erupted in boundless light that cascaded downward like a curtain, forming a protective domain ten meters wide.
"Jie jie jie, hiding in a turtle shell, how naive." The experts from Mu City cackled as they struck. Beams of Spiritual Energy condensed into pillars like falling meteors, crashing heavily against the light curtain.
Pfft.
Just a single strike caused Chu Lin to spit a mouthful of blood.
"Oh, not bad. You actually managed to withstand a joint strike from us. That copper mirror must be a Peerless grade Spiritual Artifact. What a fine treasure."
A gaunt elder at the mid-Phase of Heaven Transformation Realm chuckled, greed filling his eyes as he stared at the copper mirror above Chu Lin.
"Everyone, channel your Spiritual Energy into the Xuantian Mirror immediately." Chu Lin barked, ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth.
Hearing this, the others wasted no time, pouring all of their Spiritual Energy into the copper mirror.
With that massive influx of power, the trembling mirror instantly stabilized, and the surrounding light curtain solidified several times stronger.
Yet Fan Tong and the others did not know that Chu Lin's full defense was not meant to withstand their strikes, but to serve another purpose entirely.
At the moment their furious attacks struck the Xuantian Mirror, Liu Bai, hidden in the dark, had already shifted his seals. A surge of Spiritual Energy shot into the ground, swiftly activating the hidden formation.
With the prior chaos, the activation caused no noticeable disturbance. By the time the array began operating, Fan Tong and the others were still oblivious. Beneath their feet, a trap capable of claiming their lives had already awakened.
"Divine Cauldron Refining the Heavens Array, rise." Liu Bai growled in his heart, his hand seals locking firmly.
Rumble.
A torrent of Spiritual Energy burst from the ground, enveloping a radius of ten thousand meters in the blink of an eye.
Amid the surging power, two thunderous dragon roars resounded. The endless Spiritual Energy condensed into two lifelike fire dragons that soared into the skies.
"Not good, a Array."
At last, the Mu City experts realized something was wrong. Seeing the twin blazing fire dragons coil in the sky, a destructive aura descended upon them.
"Damn it, we have been tricked." Fan Tong's face twisted with shock and fury. From those fire dragons, he felt a mortal danger rapidly converging.
"Break out. We must escape before the formation fully closes."
Without regard for his subordinates still attacking Chu Lin's group, Fan Tong flickered into his spirit vessel and immediately drove it toward the array's boundary.
With the vessel's grade as a Peerless Spiritual Artifact, it was not impossible to break through the array and escape alive.
But what he had miscalculated was the level of this formation.
Watching Fan Tong's desperate maneuver, Liu Bai only sneered coldly.
In their previous clash, Fan Tong had used this same method to flee swiftly, leaving him no chance to pursue.
That was precisely why Liu Bai had chosen the Divine Cauldron Refining the Heavens Array. Not only did it possess the might to refine heaven and earth, but it was also a formidable trap array.
"Divine Cauldron, coalesce."
Following Liu Bai's words, the two immense fire dragons entwined, their crimson flames spreading across the heavens. A colossal cauldron gradually took form, sealing the entire space within.
Seeing the solid cauldron wall materialize before him, Fan Tong clenched his teeth and rammed the spirit vessel into it.
Boom.
The collision reverberated with a muffled shock that shook everyone's hearts. A thousand-foot Spiritual Energy shockwave erupted, tearing cracks across the ground. The blazing inferno flooded the array, and most of the Mu City experts were instantly reduced to ash before they could react.
Inside the formation, Chu Lin and the others huddled within the sole unscorched zone, their faces pale with terror as they stared at the sea of fire.
Though untouched by the flames, the unbearable heat made them feel like skewers roasting over a furnace.
"So this is the power of a Fifth-Rank Spiritual Array." Li Xuantong murmured in a daze. "To think such a monster was by our side all along."
Under the might of such a spiritual array, not a single one of them would likely survive if Liu Bai truly chose to target them.
Hearing this, Chu Lin could only give a bitter smile.
Facing Liu Bai, let alone these freshmen, even as someone ranked fifth on the Heavenly Ranking, he felt a faint sense of insecurity.
How could such a monster even exist in this world…
Miserable screams echoed out from within the flames. They came from the mid-Phase Heavenly Transformation Realm elder.
Because his strength was formidable, he managed to withstand the searing burn of the array's flames for a short while. However, this did not bring him any hope of survival. On the contrary, it only prolonged his pain.
Although they did not witness the gruesome scene of someone being burned alive, just the sound of those short and wretched screams caused the disciples of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy to feel a trace of discomfort in their hearts.
Especially Su Xuan. Her delicate face had already turned pale.
"Endure it. In the future, you may encounter scenes far more bloody than this. If you fail to adapt when the time comes, then you will not be far from death." Chu Lin said calmly.
Slaughter was the true theme of this world. What they had to do now was to grow accustomed to it, adapt to it, and ultimately control it. Only those who mastered slaughter could survive better in this world.
At the same time, Fan Tong, who had previously charged headlong into disaster, finally recovered from the violent tremors.
Looking at the cauldron wall that bore not the slightest trace of damage, his face turned deathly pale.
"A Fifth-Rank Spiritual Array… it is actually a Fifth-Rank Spiritual Array! Could the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy have truly dispatched a Fifth-Rank Spiritual Array Master?!"
Such Spiritual Array Masters were considered high tier talents in any force and were always treated with the utmost care.
And yet, merely to deal with him, a late-phase Heavenly Transformation Realm cultivator, the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy had actually allowed such a Spiritual Array Master to make a move. Were they not afraid that if something went wrong, such a loss could never be made up for even if the entire Fan Family were sacrificed in compensation?
Besides, given the strength of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, there was no need to go to such lengths. If they wished to eradicate the Fan Family, a single Sovereign Realm expert would be more than enough to sweep through the entire Mu City.
Unfortunately, none of the questions in his heart would ever be answered.
Although the spiritual boat was a Peerless-Grade spiritual artifact, it was still a means of transportation and not a defensive artifact, so its durability was not strong.
Under the terrifying flames of the Divine Cauldron Heavens Refining Array, it was engulfed in moments. The scorching heat directly evaporated the water within his body, even drying out his blood. Not until the flames burned through the spiritual boat entirely did they finally consume Fan Tong's body, which had already become a dried corpse. Of all those who perished at Liu Bai's hands, Fan Tong's death was undoubtedly the most tragic.
"Ding. Congratulations to the player for killing an enemy at the late-Phase of the Heavenly Transformation Realm while surpassing a level. You have received five times the reward, one hundred and fifty thousand experience points, and one hundred Spiritual Pulse Points."
"He even possessed a Spiritual Pulse." Hearing the notification, Liu Bai revealed a faint smile. At the same time, the Divine Cauldron Heavens Refining Array began to gradually dissipate.
Even with Liu Bai's immense spiritual power, supporting a Fifth-Rank Spiritual Array for such a long period had been extremely taxing. Thus, at the moment the array was withdrawn, he swallowed several spiritual recovery pills in quick succession.
"We finally survived…" As the flames completely disappeared, Wu Ting exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat that drenched his forehead as he spoke.
Looking at their own skin, red like boiled shrimp, it was clear that they too had suffered greatly within the array just moments ago.
When their eyes fell upon the forest that once surrounded them, now reduced to nothing but a molten lake of lava save for the small patch beneath their feet, each of them shuddered inwardly. Gratitude welled up in their hearts.
"In the future, I would rather battle a late-Phase Heavenly Transformation Realm expert in close combat than ever go through such a scene again!" Wu Ting declared, one hand clutching his chest as the other pointed to the heavens in oath.
"Yes, same here."
"Me too!"
Clearly, everyone agreed wholeheartedly with his words.
After voicing their complaints, they quickly retreated from the magma lake. At the outer perimeter, they saw Liu Bai seated cross legged, quietly recovering his spiritual power.
Upon seeing this, Li Xuantong and the others immediately stepped forward to stand guard for the youth sitting there. Even Chu Lin swiftly arranged for his four team members to join him in monitoring the surroundings, wary of any hidden enemies waiting to cause trouble.
.....
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