Chapter 43: Intent

Zhao Zhengyuan's axe collided with Ye Jingyun's flying sword, and to everyone's surprise, it was the flying sword that was sent flying!

This sight gave Chen Lin a massive shock.

He even felt an impulse to strike alongside them, but he immediately suppressed it.

Repelling Ye Jingyun was not the main issue; the real target was Yu Yuehai.

He had never witnessed a battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators, but from rumors, he could discern that Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement were on entirely different levels—a difference as vast as the gap between clouds and mud.

Otherwise, how could the five Foundation Establishment cultivators of the five great families suppress so many cultivators in Kaiyuan City?

Zhao Zhengyuan's strike not only shocked Chen Lin but left everyone else utterly terrified.

Ye Jingyun stared at her flying sword as it tumbled to the ground, feeling a momentary sense of trance, but she reacted quickly, waving her hand to recall the sword back to her grasp.

"You aren't just in the middle stage of Qi Refinement; you've been hiding quite deeply!"

Holding her flying sword horizontally in front of her, Ye Jingyun continued to stand guard before Yu Yuehai.

The Xia sisters also produced their magical tools, keeping a tight gaze on Zhao Zhengyuan.

Although the flying sword had been knocked away, it had nonetheless halted Zhao Zhengyuan's offensive. Yu Yuehai, however, acted as if nothing had happened; he continued to manipulate the formation plate, and the light sword within it grew increasingly solid.

Chen Lin's eyes flickered as he also drew his flying sword, standing behind and pointing it toward Zhao Zhengyuan.

At this moment, one's stance had to be firm.

"You bunch of idiots! Do you even know what he's doing?!"

Zhao Zhengyuan let out another hysterical scream, his aura rising steadily as he prepared to strike again.

But just then, Yu Yuehai finished condensing the light sword and turned his head.

"Tsk, I thought you were a man of depth, but I didn't expect you to be so pathetic."

Yu Yuehai extended a hand and shook his head in mockery.

As his voice fell, his hand gripped Zhao Zhengyuan's giant axe. Zhao Zhengyuan seemed to freeze in place, allowing Yu Yuehai to snatch the axe away. He then let out a miserable scream, clutching his head and wailing uncontrollably on the ground.

Chen Lin was beyond shocked.

He had completely failed to see how the opponent had made his move; he had only looked back for a split second, and Zhao Zhengyuan—who was clearly at the late stage of Qi Refinement—had been reduced to a defenseless infant.

Was this the power of the Foundation Establishment stage? It was too exaggerated!

Chen Lin silently warned himself that some of his previous plans might no longer be useful; if he wanted to escape this man, he would have to devise a new strategy.

At the same time, he felt fortunate that he hadn't acted recklessly.

Zhao Zhengyuan's wailing grew fainter, and soon he was foaming at the mouth and twitching uncontrollably.

The Xia sisters' faces turned pale, clearly shaken by Yu Yuehai's methods, while only Ye Jingyun stood there expressionless.

Yu Yuehai glanced at Zhao Zhengyuan and ignored him, instead pointing at the light sword on the formation plate. The light sword shot straight toward the sky!

The light sword moved with incredible speed, and its trajectory was aimed directly at the strange phantom.

Chen Lin couldn't help but turn pale with fright. Was this guy insane? He couldn't even outrun it, yet he chose to provoke it?

Was he simply not afraid enough of death?

The five massive beams of light in the city had formed light swords of immense power, yet they hadn't managed to do anything to the anomaly; this smaller version would likely only be a mere tickle.

But what was Yu Yuehai's goal? He shouldn't be ignorant of the power of the thing he had created!

Chen Lin was filled with doubt, and he wasn't the only one.

The Xia sisters also watched with uncertain and suspicious gazes, but they were wise enough to remain silent.

Yu Yuehai had always given the impression of being unpredictable and ruthless; if they provoked his displeasure and ended up like Zhao Zhengyuan, they would be looking for trouble.

Finally, it was Ye Jingyun who spoke.

"Senior Brother, we should leave this place quickly. Even if that anomaly is still in its transformation stage, it cannot be killed."

But Yu Yuehai did not respond. He stared expressionlessly at the strange phantom, then produced five large-sized spirit stones and shot them into the grooves of the formation plate.

The four of them looked at each other, unsure of what to do, and could only quietly watch his mysterious operations.

In that brief interval, the light sword had already flown beneath the strange phantom. The phantom was so massive that no aiming was necessary; it would have been difficult to miss.

Just as Chen Lin suspected, the light sword vanished into the strange phantom without causing a shred of damage. Instead, it served only to enrage the entity.

The previously calm phantom suddenly rotated, and a wave of arrogant, chilling aura descended abruptly.

The feeling was identical to the aura of a cultivator looking down with a cold sneer, but its intensity was thousands of times stronger.

Immediately, countless red lines shot out from the strange phantom, thicker and larger than before.

These red lines moved with extreme speed and precision. In the blink of an eye, the cultivators trailing behind were once again connected by the red lines, instantly being sucked dry into husks.

The streaks of light in the sky fell like dumplings being dropped into water, accompanied by a continuous stream of panicked screams.

Chen Lin and his group were no exception. Six red lines, as if possessing eyes, shot straight toward them, aiming for each person's head.

However, another light sword had already formed on Yu Yuehai's formation plate. With a wave of his hand, the light sword rose into the air and slashed down a brilliant, ribbon-like wave of sword qi, severing all six red lines.

"Go!"

Having done this, Yu Yuehai grabbed Zhao Zhengyuan and tossed him onto the flying ship. He stowed the formation plate and controlled the small vessel to dart forward, skimming just above the ground.

However, he was not moving fast this time; after flying for a while, he stopped again.

"Senior Brother, you aren't planning to seize the Exotic Spirit, are you?"

At this moment, Ye Jingyun suddenly spoke, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Yu Yuehai finally broke his silence, squeezing out a ferocious smile. "Correct. But whether there is an opportunity depends on whether those old fogies have the guts!"

With that, he once again activated the formation plate, threw it to the ground, and positioned the spirit stones, ready to condense a light sword at any moment.

Chen Lin was extremely curious about what the "Exotic Spirit" was, but he knew that if the man didn't want to say, asking would be useless.

In contrast, the Xia sisters seemed to know something; like Ye Jingyun, they showed expressions of horror.

Just then, Chen Lin noticed Ye Jingyun turn her gaze toward him. It was only a fleeting glance, but it contained a strange quality.

He wasn't sure if he was being too sensitive, but Chen Lin felt as though she had done it intentionally, though he had no way of guessing her meaning.

Nevertheless, he heightened his vigilance, looking for an opportunity to touch the storage bag at his waist containing the Thunderbolt Beads while Yu Yuehai was distracted.

Then, he checked the nameless sword qi within his body. Unfortunately, this sword qi had only just formed and had not yet been nurtured; he didn't know how much power it possessed.

As he was lost in thought, movement appeared in the sky once more.

Just as the red lines were raging, capturing and consuming the retreating cultivators, the massive Blue Family flying vessel in the sky suddenly let out a roar, and then condensed a light sword of its own.

This light sword was similar to the one Yu Yuehai had produced—a replica of the massive light pillars from the city—but it was much larger than Yu Yuehai's.

The light sword erupted with infinite radiance, making the night sky as bright as day.

Then, it slashed down!

Not only were the red lines rushing toward the giant vessel severed, but the red lines heading toward the surrounding cultivators were also annihilated. This gave the cultivators a new lease on life, and no longer daring to linger ostentatiously in the sky, they all dove toward the forests on the ground.

(End of Chapter)