Just as an overwhelming sense of danger crept into Xuan Yi's heart, Lu Qing appeared before him once again.
Xuan Yi’s pupils constricted in an instant.
This time, Lu Qing’s aura had multiplied several times over, and his speed had soared as well.
Even with his cultivation at the pinnacle of the Precelestial Realm, Xuan Yi couldn’t keep up with Lu Qing's movement technique.
“You bald old fool, prepare to die!”
Lu Qing’s gaze was ice-cold.
In his hand, his blade vanished in an instant.
The sheer speed of his strike was so extreme that it created an optical illusion.
When Lu Qing’s blade finally reappeared in his hand and became visible to everyone, Xuan Yi’s eyes widened, filled with terror.
The next moment, a fissure appeared, running from the center of Xuan Yi's golden body down through the massive golden Buddha shadow behind him, splitting him entirely in half.
His body separated slowly into two halves, drifting apart.
His consciousness faded into darkness bit by bit.
At the same time, a loud boom resounded behind him.
The colossal stone Buddha, which had been carved into the cliffside, also split into two.
A massive blade mark, stretching a hundred meters, appeared on the cliff.
It was the blade energy from Lu Qing’s strike, cutting through the cliff and slicing the stone Buddha in two as well.
One strike, three Buddhas felled!
Xuan Yi, the golden Buddha shadow, and the stone Buddha on the cliff.
The terrifying power of Lu Qing’s blade stunned everyone, leaving them speechless and overwhelmed with shock.
Even the few red-robed monks who had been cut at the waist were so struck by the sight that they momentarily forgot the searing pain.
They stared at the massive hundred-meter blade scar on the cliffside in a daze, hardly daring to believe what they saw before them was real.
It wasn’t until a golden glow slowly emerged from Xuan Yi's corpse that the monks snapped out of their stupor.
They cried out in grief and fury.
One of the monks shouted, “Quickly, we must not let him take the Diamond Garment!”
But it was too late. As soon as the golden light appeared, Lu Qing sensed the aura within and knew it was a treasure within Xuan Yi's body.
Without waiting to examine it, he stepped forward and took hold of the golden light.
The instant Lu Qing’s hand touched the golden glow, a booming voice echoed from within.
“Who dares covet the treasures of Xuankong Mountain?!”
Within the golden light lay a powerful soul force, which quickly coalesced into a soul impact, aiming directly at the acupoint between Lu Qing’s brows, attempting to destroy his will.
Lu Qing wasn’t fazed by the sudden soul attack.
Just as the soul impact was about to invade his brow acupoint, a flash of light erupted from his body.
A phantom image of a garment appeared, blocking the soul force instantly.
Although the soul force within the golden glow was formidable, it failed to affect him and was entirely extinguished by the Celestial Garment of Merit.
At that moment, as the Celestial Garment of Merit eliminated the soul force, a sense of foreboding emerged in Lu Qing’s heart.
He looked up sharply toward the depths of the Ling Mountain Range.
He felt a terrifying aura emanating from deep within the mountains, moving rapidly in his direction.
“Foundation Establishment Realm! And not an ordinary one at that!”
In an instant, Lu Qing understood that the newcomer was no mere cultivator but a powerful Foundation Establishment practitioner.
After a brief moment of thought, he tossed the golden glow into the Heaven and Earth One Qi Bag.
He sent a quick transmission, “Xiao Li, let’s go!”
With that, he moved, darting away with impressive speed.
But before leaving, he unleashed several strikes of blade energy, targeting the red-robed monks on the ground who, though severed at the waist, were still alive.
Lu Qing’s mastery of the blade was unparalleled, and the monks, already gravely injured, had no chance to evade.
One after another, they were struck in the head by his blade energy, dying instantly.
Having dealt with the red-robed monks, Lu Qing’s figure disappeared into the dense forest.
The ominous presence from deep within the mountains seemed to sense something and immediately accelerated, rushing in his direction.
The artisans on the cliffside, watching Lu Qing leave, were about to breathe a sigh of relief.
But in the next instant, their bodies froze in fear.
A terrifying presence descended from the sky, landing at the base of the cliff.
It was an elderly monk in a simple gray robe, his face weathered like old wood, and his long, braided eyebrows hung down to his shoulders.
The gray-robed elder stood at the cliff's base, a trace of sorrow in his eyes as he looked upon Xuan Yi’s corpse and those of the others.
But the sorrow quickly turned into cold rage.
He looked up at the artisans on the cliffside, a murderous aura rising from him.
“Where did the demon who killed Xuan Yi and the others escape to?”
The artisan, under the elder’s cold gaze, felt his limbs turn to ice, his heart trembling uncontrollably.
But he dared not remain silent. Trembling, he raised his arm and pointed toward the forest.
“Reporting... to the master, that... that person fled in that direction…”
Before he could finish speaking, the gray-robed elder vanished from where he stood, chasing toward the forest.
“Ah Qing, why are we running? Xiao Li can take him on!”
On the other side of the forest, Lu Qing moved swiftly, supported by a talisman, as he made his rapid retreat.
Nestled in his arms, Xiao Li seemed puzzled.
The presence rushing out from the depths of the mountain was formidable, but Xiao Li felt that she and Lu Qing might not be overpowered.
“We’re not running; it’s a strategic retreat.”
Lu Qing explained with a smile, “We were too close to the entrance of Xuankong Mountain’s hidden realm.”
“If we fought here, reinforcements could arrive to aid him at any moment.”
Also, as a Precelestial cultivator, Xuan Yi had a magical artifact-level treasure as protection.
That aura from the hidden realm most certainly wielded powerful artifacts too.
Though Lu Qing possessed spiritual weapons, he had no intention of fighting a Foundation Establishment cultivator so close to Xuankong Mountain’s hidden realm.
If he couldn’t take them down quickly and ended up entangled, more Foundation Establishment practitioners could arrive.
Even with his spiritual weapon, that would be a fight he couldn’t walk away from.
So, to play it safe, it was better to withdraw for now.
At the very least, they needed to retreat to a safe distance.
Only then could he truly take on a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As he felt the terrifying presence rushing towards them from behind, Lu Qing’s face broke into a smile...