Chapter Eighty-One: Die for Me

Boom!
Boom!
Mu Xue’s body was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
Is the gap to the Profound Core Realm truly insurmountable?
At this thought, a mouthful of blood burst from her lips, her delicate body soaked in crimson.
The purple-robed elder didn’t spare her a glance. With a swipe of his hand, a phantom force of spiritual energy manifested, seizing the two women who were about to flee and holding them tightly in his grasp.
At this critical moment—
A flash of sword light sliced through the air.
Accompanied by a thunderous shout:
“Old bastard, I’ll cut you down!”
The sudden turn startled the elder, but he dared not ignore the sharpness of that sword light. With a swift incantation, a shimmering barrier of light formed before him.
Crack!
The sword light struck the barrier, filling the air with cracking sounds as fissures appeared across the surface—yet it withstood the blow.
The sword light faded, and the barrier restored itself.
Though the attack hadn’t broken through, a shadow fell across the old man’s heart.
Anyone capable of unleashing such a sword light could not be ordinary.
Two figures leapt down from the sky—it was Lin Cheng and his companion, who had rushed here with all speed.
Seeing the two women still gripped tightly by the old man, their eyes instantly reddened with rage as they charged.
“Who gave you the guts to lay a hand on my Little Cui, you old dog!”
“Bastard, die!”
Sensing their auras, the purple-robed elder exhaled slowly, reassured.
So, the strongest among them was only at the Lesser Spirit Realm, and the other, whose whole body was swathed in fat, had barely reached the tenth level of True Qi.
Yet, he was not careless. That sword light had truly startled him.
He tossed the two women aside as if discarding rags. Forming a seal with his hands, pillars of earth-yellow light erupted from the ground, encircling Lin Cheng and his companion.
The Earthen Immortal Prison!
As another spell left the old man’s hands, Lin Cheng and his friend suddenly felt as though they’d been cut off from the world, dragged into a realm awash in yellow-brown light.
A sandstorm rose, carrying with it the faint wails of ghosts and wolves, sending a chill straight to their bones.
Creak!
Creak!
It sounded as if coffins were splitting open.
In the raging sands, the two could barely see their surroundings. Hearing the eerie noises, they pressed back to back, weapons drawn, bracing themselves for what was to come.
Chittering, gnashing sounds echoed all around—a terror born of the unknown filled their hearts.
“Hell with this! If you’ve got the guts, show yourself to your fat grandpa!”
Lin the Fat could endure no longer—he charged forth, wildly swinging his heavy staff into the swirling sands.

Bang!
No sooner had he dashed out than Lin the Fat was sent flying back.
Shriveled corpses began to emerge from the sands, steadily closing in on them.
“What the hell are these?”
Hearing the sounds of battle within, the purple-robed elder relaxed: Within my formation, at the hands of my corpse puppets, how could you hope to survive?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lin Cheng cleaved several corpses aside with his sword, but before he could catch his breath, the bodies lurched up again, relentless in their assault.
Again and again, exhaustion began to creep over him.
Lin the Fat was similarly pressed, barely fending off two corpses, his tattered clothes making his rotund frame all the more pathetic.
At least a dozen corpses surrounded them, each possessed of strength comparable to the Lesser Spirit Realm. Though devoid of spiritual energy and incapable of casting spells, they were nigh impossible to kill.
“Maniac, what do we do? They can’t be killed!” Lin the Fat cried anxiously.
Sweeping away the nearest corpses once more, Lin Cheng’s eyes narrowed. “They have no life force—must be puppets controlled by that old fiend. Even my Skypoint Sword can only wound them, not destroy them outright…”
Lin Hu groaned, “Are we really going to die at the hands of this old fossil, worn down by a bunch of corpses? Just thinking about it pisses me off…”
“We won’t die!”
There was no room for holding back any longer.
Azure Dragon Rising from the Waters!
A fierce sword force erupted, halting the corpses in their tracks.
Yellow sand filled the sky, and a whirlwind rose.
A white dragon surged from the earth, its form flickering amidst the raging sands.
Outside the formation—
The purple-robed elder’s heart clenched as he sensed the upheaval within, a sense of foreboding rising in his chest.
A dragon’s roar split the air.
Boom!!!
The corpse puppets inside exploded into fragments, incapable of reforming.
The domineering sword aura did not diminish but instead tore through the confines of the elder’s formation.
The pillars of yellow earth were riddled with cracks, a chorus of splitting sounds as they shattered apart.
The two figures tumbled out from within.
“Old bastard, your life is mine…”
Lin Cheng’s face was pale, more than half his spiritual power drained; yet he did not pause, his Skypoint Sword thrusting towards the elder.
The purple-robed elder, already wary of Lin Cheng’s strangeness, trembled inwardly at the sword aura unleashed within the formation. As Lin Cheng’s killing blow approached, a yellow gourd appeared in his palm; with a swift incantation, the gourd’s mouth aimed at Lin Cheng.
Lin Cheng, charging forward with his sword, suddenly felt an overwhelming force crash down, throwing him off balance and to the ground.
A weight like a mountain pressed upon him.
His face flushed, teeth clenched, but channeling the Sword Body of the Five Elements allowed him to barely withstand the crushing pressure.
A chill settled in his heart. He had believed that, after his breakthrough, he could stride unchallenged through the Spirit Realm, even the Profound Core Realm hadn’t seemed so daunting—yet today, he was repeatedly bested.

To cross a whole major realm and face an enemy—indeed, it was as hard as reaching for the heavens. For all his powerful techniques and supreme swordsmanship, now he was pinned, only able to resist.
“You little thief, I know not what secret art let you break my grand formation, but today, you—and all of you—will stay here forever…” As the purple-robed elder spoke, the gravity intensified, forcing Lin Cheng, who had barely struggled upright, back to the ground.
“To hell with you, old bastard…” Lin the Fat swung his heavy staff down furiously.
With a wave of his sleeve, the elder sent Lin Hu flying, crashing down before the three women.
Little Cui hurried to help Lin the Fat up; for a moment, none of them knew what to do.
A savage glint flashed in Lin Cheng’s eyes beneath the crushing weight—a surge of immense sword force burst from his body.
“Old fiend, did you really think I’m so easy to bully?”
With the last dregs of spiritual power in his core, he could unleash Azure Dragon Rising from the Waters one more time.
Die!
Behind him, a spectral azure dragon appeared, and the weight pressing upon him was instantly shattered.
As Lin Cheng slowly rose, the white dragon grew more solid, his own form fading into its head, raising a thunderous roar to the heavens!
Roar! Roar!
A wild wind swept forth, the waters of the lake twisting into a howling vortex, and the azure dragon surged like a beast from the Eastern Sea. Its unparalleled momentum and savage sword force locked onto the elder, riding the wave to strike!
Seeing this, terror flickered in the old man’s eyes—a sense of invincibility filled his heart with dread.
His robe billowed as the peak power of the Profound Core Realm exploded from him. The life-gourd in his hand blazed with light, and a giant figure in earthen-yellow armor, dozens of feet tall, materialized to cover him.
“Mountain God’s Wrath!” the elder thundered, and the statue’s enormous fist crashed forward.
Boom! Boom!
The two forces collided, sending shockwaves rolling out. The others behind them were flung away by the blast.
The statue’s arm faltered, then disintegrated into dust.
Yet Lin Cheng’s decisive strike had not prevailed; though the statue’s arm shattered instantly, the earthen armor withstood his sword’s might.
Locked in stalemate, Lin Cheng summoned his last reserves.
Break!
Dragon breath erupted, sword energy swirling—the cracks in the statue’s armor deepened.
With the very last of his spiritual power, he pressed the assault!
Crack! Crack!
The armor shattered explosively.
Seeing his armored giant about to crumble, the elder roared, channeling all his spiritual power into the statue.
The cracks on the verge of breaking slowly mended.
Relief flickered across the purple-robed old man’s face; freeing one hand, he struck at Lin Cheng from afar.
Exhausted, Lin Cheng felt a wave of helplessness—he was just one step short.
The azure dragon dissolved, and Lin Cheng was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
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