Although Huang Xiaolong transformed using the Asura Physique, activating the Wings of Demon and Phantom Shadow ability to move at a speed on par with a mid-Tenth Order warrior, he couldn't easily escape his pursuer. Lin Zhiren was a peak late-Tenth Order warrior with half a step into the Xiantian realm. He caught up to Huang Xiaolong in no time.
Advancing to within ten meters of Huang Xiaolong, killing intent erupted in Lin Zhiren's eyes and he quickly slashed out with his long sword.
"Go die!"
The light from the long sword mutated into a roaring flood dragon and attacked Huang Xiaolong's back.
Just as that sword attack was about to tear into Huang Xiaolong's back, Huang Xiaolong's silhouette disappeared from Lin Zhiren's view in an unforeseen manner.
The sword missed its target, hitting the reefs several hundred meters away. Pieces of coral shattered and were washed away by the current.
"He disappeared? How could he disappear?!" After a moment of shock, Lin Zhiren screamed in a rage. The sound waves rippled underwater violently, and Lin Zhiren scanned the surrounding area with bloodshot eyes, appearing similar to that of an injured beast.
At this time, the Elders of the Big Sword Sect caught up to Lin Zhiren.
"Sect Leader, that brat is over there!" Suddenly, one of the Elders yelled, pointing a finger in a direction towards their front.
Lin Zhiren quickly looked over and noticed Huang Xiaolong's figure one thousand meters away.
"Doggy Huang, let me see where you can run to!" Lin Zhiren howled as he tore through the water, once again in pursuit of Huang Xiaolong. The Elders and disciples of Big Sword Sect followed without delay, participating in the hunt.
In less than a minute, Lin Zhiren had traversed more than half the distance, but when he launched another attack, Huang Xiaolong's silhouette eerily disappeared a second time, appearing another thousand meters away from the previous spot.
The same sequence repeated more than a dozen times. Every time Lin Zhiren caught up to Huang Xiaolong and attacked, Huang Xiaolong disappeared mysteriously. Lin Zhiren nearly turned mad with exasperation, and his fury seemed to radiate outward endlessly underwater.
The Big Sword Sect Elders and disciples following the chase were even more annoyed and irritated.
An hour later during the long chase, many of the disciples were panting out of breath.
In the water, the consumption of battle qi was larger than on land.
Huang Xiaolong was concealed within a separate space, observing the Big Sword Sect disciples the entire time. Following that, with the Blades of Asura in hand, he instantly slit the throat of a Big Sword Sect disciple.
This Big Sword Sect disciple was merely at early Ninth Order. It never crossed his mind that Huang Xiaolong could be hiding next to him and would attack him suddenly. After a brief moment of negligence, his throat was slit.
Fresh blood seeped out, dyeing the waters around him a crimson color.
"Ninth Junior Brother!" Some of the Big Sword Sect disciples exclaimed in shock.
They were furious but their reaction was too late. Huang Xiaolong was already one thousand meters away.
Each time they stopped to catch their breath, Huang Xiaolong would launch an attack with the Blades of Asura.
As another half hour passed, six Big Sword Sect disciples met their deaths under Huang Xiaolong's blades.
Watching these Big Sword Sect disciples die one after another by Huang Xiaolong's hands, Lin Zhiren was jumping in anger as he roared like a vengeful lion. A manic light shone in his gaze. He wished to chop Huang Xiaolong into mincemeat!
These six were core disciples, important individuals of the Big Sword Sect whom the sect raised with great effort and resources. But now six of them were dead!
Lin Zhiren's heart was bleeding while thinking of the loss.
Another two hours passed.
Huang Xiaolong sat cross-legged in a cave hidden among reefs at the bottom of the Enlightenment Lake, triggering his Instant Recovery ability. Within seconds, all his depleted battle qi was completely restored.
He had successfully killed eight Big Sword Sect disciples and escaped Lin Zhiren's dogged pursuit.
Fortunately, that old fellow Yu Chen was not in that group. If he was, Huang Xiaolong would have met a miserable end. Before a Xiantian Second Order, even if he could conceal himself within a pocket space, he wouldn't be able to flee or hide from Yu Chen.
However, if this goes on, I will have no choice but to return to land in an hour or so! Huang Xiaolong was muttered to himself. From the time they entered the lake, more than two hours had passed. In another hour or so, Huang Xiaolong would need to return to the surface for air.
"I wonder how Fei Hou is faring."
In the past two hours, ignoring the Heavenly Treasure itself, not even a fart could be found. What irritated Huang Xiaolong the most was the lack of response from the Linglong Treasure Pagoda.
"Could it be that the Heavenly Treasure was already subdued by someone else?" Huang Xiaolong's brows creased into a furrow.
It was said that Heavenly Treasures placed in the top ten rankings could only be subdued by people who had a grade thirteen martial spirit and above. Perhaps…? A name appeared in Huang Xiaolong's mind – Duan Wuhen!
Only Duan Wuhen had the highest probability of possessing a martial spirit at grade thirteen and above.
Thinking of the possibility, Huang Xiaolong's heart sank.
If it was as he surmised, his plan of breaking through the Xiantian realm within three years' time would be forfeit. Thinking one step further, if Duan Wuhen really got his hands on the Enlightenment Lake Heavenly Treasure, he could enter the Duanren Institute after returning to Duanren Empire, then search for and subdue the fourth-ranked Absolute Soul Pearl. After refining it, that would be yet another Heavenly Treasure in his grasp!
If things happened as Huang Xiaolong speculated, it would be troublesome for him.
However, as he was thinking of the sequence of events, the Linglong Treasure Pagoda inside Huang Xiaolong's body shook once...
"En, this is?!" Huang Xiaolong almost jumped with joy. He quickly stood up and hurried in the direction he just sensed.
A short while later, Huang Xiaolong stopped at a certain spot. According to what he sensed earlier, it should be right around there.
Huang Xiaolong looked around carefully at the surroundings. In the end, his eyes fell upon a mountain not far away. He moved closer and then halted before the mountain wall.
The mountain was roughly twenty meters wide, and there were carvings etched into the wall's surface. Huang Xiaolong studied them one by one and was surprised to find that these carvings depicted scenes of an ancient war. In that war, the participants had strange physical characteristics, and there were even races with two, four, and even six wings fighting and killing.
Giving the carvings on the wall a once over, Huang Xiaolong's attention finally focused on a brilliant golden circle carved above the battle scenes.
No matter how he examined it, this roundish circle looked a bit strange and conspicuous to Huang Xiaolong.
When Huang Xiaolong's gaze fell onto the brilliant golden circle, the initially quiet carving of the circle that was etched into the mountain wall suddenly shook in all directions, and a terrifying fluctuation flooded out from it.
This type of unique fluctuation was vaguely similar to the Linglong Treasure Pagoda yet subtly different at the same time, and it was definitely more powerful and even more terrifying than the atmosphere coming from the Linglong Treasure Pagoda.
The Linglong Treasure Pagoda in Huang Xiaolong's body shook violently, and just like the last time, Huang Xiaolong's twin dragon martial spirits flew out without being called and pounced onto the golden circle.
The moment Huang Xiaolong's black and blue twin dragons flew towards the golden circle ring, all the experts in the Enlightenment Lake vicinity could see the brilliant light piercing from the lake below.
Some dozens of li away, joy emerged on Duan Wuhen's strict when face seeing the resplendent pillars of light. He flashed, speeding in Huang Xiaolong's direction at breakneck speed, leaving only blurred afterimages of himself as he tore through space.
Other than Duan Wuhen, Big Sword Sect's Yu Chen, the Martial Ning Family's Ning Wang, and the Xiantian experts of the Yuwai Kingdom… all of these experts were rushing towards Huang Xiaolong's direction.
Detecting the strong aura descending on him from all directions, Huang Xiaolong had an ugly expression on his face, pushing his battle qi to the max. The black and blue dragons entwined around the golden circle ring wanting to return to Huang Xiaolong's body, but the golden ring suddenly vibrated with a hum, releasing a mysterious energy that repelled the twin dragons.
At this point, Duan Wuhen was less than ten li away.
Huang Xiaolong already detected Duan Wuhen's impending arrival through the increasingly terrifying pressure he emitted and his aura and his nerves stretched tautly. If Duan Wuhen arrived first, Huang Xiaolong would surely die!
Should he flee now or hang on a little longer?!
If he left now, he could probably escape but would end up leaving the Heavenly Treasure behind. Duan Wuhen might not have time to chase after him but if he continued to refine the golden ring, Duan Wuhen might arrive during the process, or worse, just when he finished refining the treasure.
What to do?
What should he do?!!!
Huang Xiaolong was nervous, conflicted, and unwilling.
While Huang Xiaolong was busy contemplating, the twin dragons who were previously shaken off became angered and their heads tilted and roared as bright lights burst out from their bodies. The oppressive might of a Primordial Divine Dragon enchanted their bodies and once again, they entwined around the golden circle, causing the golden ring to emit strange cries and shine brightly as it struggled. However, this time it failed to shake off the twin dragons.
Both the black and blue dragons wound around it firmly and returned to Huang Xiaolong's body, dragging the golden ring along as a prisoner.
When the golden ring disappeared into Huang Xiaolong's body, the area around Huang Xiaolong darkened, revealing a black hole. An immense suction force exploded out from the black hole, swallowing Huang Xiaolong inside.
The black hole shrunk and vanished like it was never there.
Right when the black hole vanished, a silhouette shot towards it at breakneck speed − this new arrival was naturally Duan Wuhen!
Watching the black hole vanishing right before his eyes, an enormous suction force suddenly burst out of his palm. It seemed like it could absorb a part of Heaven and Earth, he nearly ripped Huang Xiaolong out from the black hole. A shocking pressure gushed out from the black hole at this time, cutting off Duan Wuhen's suction force and indirectly saving Huang Xiaolong's life.
Duan Wuhen staggered a step back from being rebuffed by the black hole. His face distorted due to outrage and he let out a roar at the top of his lungs. With an angry swing of his hands, the surrounding area's rocks, reefs, seaweed, fish, and everything else exploded into pieces.
"Damn!!"
"*****************!"
So close! So close!
Just one step! The Heavenly Treasure was taken by someone else and it disappeared right in front of his eyes!
Regardless of how well his demeanor and upbringing was, he could not help but spit out foul curses.
That was a Heavenly Treasure! He made every effort to plead with his Imperial Father to use the Saint level space-time artifact so that he could make it in time from the Duanren Empire, consuming more than a hundred thousand Spirit Dan. Thinking of the hundred thousand Spirit Dan that were wasted, Duan Wuhen could not contain his anger and disappointment. He did not even know what the Heavenly Treasure looked like.
At this time, a Sect Patriarch of a prominent sect in the Baolong Kingdom arrived on the scene and was shocked seeing Duan Wuhen's presence. As he concluded something, he walked up to Duan Wuhen in a flattering manner, saying: "Congratulations to his Imperial Highness Second Prince for acquiring the great treasure. Imperial Highness Second Prince's prestige will resound throughout the world!"
Yet Duan Wuhen turned around and glared at him, killing intent glinted and disappeared in his eyes too quickly before the Sect Patriarch could detect it. He faced Duan Wuhen with confusion on his face and it was then that Duan Wuhen's fist abruptly attacked. The fist punctured the unlucky Sect Patriarch's chest and exited through his back. Duan Wuhen's entire arm punctured through the hole.
The Sect Patriarch cast his vision downward, staring blankly at the huge hole in his chest, and a finger lifted to point at Duan Wuhen as his body washed away with the undercurrent. Up to the moment of his death, the Sect Patriarch didn't know why Duan Wuhen wanted to kill him.
Was it because he saw Duan Wuhen getting the Heavenly Treasure and so was killed to keep the secret?
How could the pitiful Sect Patriarch have any idea it was because his words of flattery were like rubbing salt on Duan Wuhen's wound?
Several more prominent sect leaders and family Patriarchs arrived on the scene. Seeing Duan Wuhen kill a prominent sect's Patriarch with just a punch, their hearts jumped with fright. Each person was filled with terror as they turned around to flee.
But Duan Wuhen's anger was not pacified. Seeing these flies trying to run, another fist struck out. This fist strike divided into several smaller fist prints targeting different individuals. Be it family Patriarch or Sect Leader, each had a fist penetrating through their chests.
"A bunch of lowly slaves!" Duan Wuhen snorted coldly while looking at the corpses. With a flash, he disappeared from the area.
Not long after Duan Wuhen left, Big Sword Sect's Yu Chen, the Martial Ning Family's Ning Wang, and the rest who arrived were aghast when they saw all of the scattered corpses.
Each person exchanged an astonished look with their companions.
They recognized these dead people. All of them were either Sect Leaders or Patriarch's of prominent families. Moreover, each of them were Xiantian realm experts. The only person capable of killing so many Xiantian realm experts at once while the rest were rushing over was: His Imperial Highness Second Prince, Duan Wuhen!
These people were killed by Duan Wuhen… did that mean the great treasure in Enlightenment Lake was taken away by him?!
Although none of them said it out loud, all of them were absolutely sure it was Duan Wuhen who acquired the treasure.
Even if there was an unwillingness in their hearts, this result was within their expectation. Thus, there was not much of lingering resentment. They turned around and left.
Meanwhile, after being pulled into the black hole, a glaring bright light flashed in Huang Xiaolong's eyes and he was brought to an ancient battlefield. This ancient battlefield looked like the one he saw carved into the mountain wall. Everything was the same. A bleak desolate era filled with death, slaughter, and savageness all fused together. This was the ancient battlefield before his eyes.
Huang Xiaolong activated his battle qi and focused on his surroundings as he cautiously and slowly stepped forward.
The sand beneath his feet was soft and grayish-yellow in color, and there were ruins and corpses surrounding him but he did not any see any corpses from the two, four, and six winged races.
As Huang Xiaolong moved forward, the golden ring in his body shook for a moment and a buzz resounded in his mind before some memories were added to his consciousness.
"God Binding Ring!"
From the flood of memories, Huang Xiaolong learned the name of this golden ring. It was called the God Binding Ring!
Huang Xiaolong stood still with his eyes closed, then opened them abruptly. Both palms struck forward and a ring-shaped palm print ripped through the air traveling several hundred meters, separating the airflow in front of him.
This was the heritage battle skill he received – God Binding Palm!
According to the memories, by reaching the pinnacle when cultivating this battle skill, one could bind heaven and earth, space, time, and even a God.
A real, true God!
"So powerful! It can actually bind a true God!" Huang Xiaolong was dumbfounded. Heaven and earth, space, and time were all invisible elements. If this God Binding Palm could constrain these intangible things, didn't that mean it could bind living beings as well?!
"I wonder where the God Binding Ring ranks in the Heavenly Treasure List? Duanren Institute's Absolute Soul Pearl sits at number four, and its heritage battle skill, Absolute Soul Finger, is said to be able to penetrate hell. I wonder which one is stronger?"
By triggering the God Binding Ring, one could enter this ancient battlefield? What is here and what is the purpose? Huang Xiaolong organized his thoughts.
Since he was brought there, a purpose must exist.
Could this place be used for practice?! A thought suddenly emerged in Huang Xiaolong's mind and he quickly sat down, running the Asura Tactics. Behind him hovered the black and blue twin dragons. The netherworld spiritual energy rained down like a waterfall from a void above, and Huang Xiaolong noticed that it did not disappear. Other than the netherworld spiritual energy, there was another foreign spiritual energy that came from the ancient battlefield before it was absorbed into his body.
"What spiritual energy is this?!" Huang Xiaolong was stunned.
Not only did this spiritual energy fuse smoothly with his nether battle qi when entering his body, but even the rate of netherworld battle qi conversion in his Qi Sea became several times faster!
The passage of time flowed by like a river.
Huang Xiaolong had spent several days practicing in this ancient battlefield and the speed in which his nether battle qi condensed was astonishing. Several days of practice in here was the equivalent of one month outside.
Huang Xiaolong was overjoyed. At this rate, in another two weeks' time he could advance to late-Ninth Order!
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