"Where did the attack come from?
How could it be so powerful and accurate?
Could that Daoist surnamed Lei have quietly approached us?
But there was no sign at all!"
"Over there! There was a flash of lightning in the mountain forest," a Lin Clan cultivator uncertainly pointed towards a distant peak.
Hearing this, everyone turned to look, all momentarily stunned.
At such a distance, could a Middle Heaven talisman cultivator even reach this far?
The Lin Clan had encountered the Tianshi Mansion’s newly developed Flying Fire Talisman before. They had suffered losses from it during their initial encounters, gaining painful lessons in blood and fire. By now, they were no strangers to the talisman.
Its attack range was indeed superior to other talismans, effectively nullifying the range advantage of the Confucian archers and sometimes even surpassing them. However, its drawbacks included significant energy consumption and slower activation, making it difficult to use consecutively or rapidly in solo combat.
The distance to the peak that flashed just now was far too great.
Even a Fifth Heaven talisman cultivator or Confucian archer would find it nearly impossible to achieve this. Could it be a sneak attack by a sword cultivator from Shushan or a sniper from the Confucian archery lineage?
Even then, such a strike would require immense preparation and focus to achieve this level of power. It couldn't possibly be a cultivator from the Upper Heaven realm, right?
The Lin Clan members were bewildered.
The leader of the group, however, was experienced and quickly regained composure.
Their most threatening expert had been killed, while the enemy seemed to have an unknown and formidable expert among their ranks. It was no longer wise to continue the fight.
The Middle Heaven elder of the Lin Clan decisively ordered, "Retreat! Leave this place immediately!"
The Lin Clan members quickly calmed down, wasting no time as they withdrew from the area.
The leader hesitated slightly, stopping briefly by the fallen Lin Clan archer to examine the body. Swiftly collecting some traces, he avoided a detailed inspection, planning to study them later.
Even with his experience, he couldn't help but feel a chill as he observed the corpse. The massive wound on the front was horrifying, but the back was even worse—vertebrae and spinal column shattered and blown outward by a forceful internal explosion.
The remains were beyond recognition, charred and still smoldering with residual flames.
Were it not for the archer’s exceptional physique from the Confucian archery lineage, even maintaining a humanoid shape would have been impossible.
Talismanic flying swords were powerful, but they wouldn't cause such wounds.
The damage resembled the effects of a Blazing Arrow from the Confucian archery lineage, but that spell was loud and grandiose, like a blazing sun.
Yet the previous attack was only a faint flash of lightning...
The Lin Clan elder couldn't fathom it, but among the shattered rocks behind the corpse, he discovered a deformed metal pellet.
"This... is the culprit?" He was even more astonished.
Before he could ponder further, a sharp sense of foreboding washed over him, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Under the sunlight, two shadows stretched on the ground—one standing behind the other, seemingly raising something high.
The elder reacted immediately, his sword aura bursting forth as he turned with a loud shout, "You wretched ghost! How dare you!"
However, the figure behind him had already raised a short rod overhead. Even as the elder’s sword aura surged to defend, the rod came crashing down first.
The web of sword aura shattered in an instant.
The attacker was none other than Lei Jun.
Despite the elder’s life-bound Hao Ran Sword Barrier, a technique unique to the Lin Clan, capable of naturally warding off attacks without preparation, Lei Jun's short rod smashed through the elder’s sword, continuing downward to strike his head.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The elder’s body fell backward.
Lei Jun, now in the Middle Heaven realm, had reached the Fifth Heaven Dao Palace stage after refining his Yin-Yang Dual Qi. His techniques carried far greater power than those of cultivators at the same level.
If the elder had chosen to flee, he might have lasted longer. But engaging Lei Jun head-on only resulted in his swift defeat.
Lei Jun retrieved the severely deformed metallic pellet with a wave of his hand, murmuring, "Thanks for returning it."
This pellet, the Magnetic Sword Pellet, wasn’t Lei Jun’s second life-bound spell in the truest sense. That honor belonged to the Two-Element Magnetic Spell, a versatile technique he had developed based on the Yin-Yang Magnetic Force, enabling diverse applications.
The experiment had been a success. The spell’s power and range were satisfactory, though the energy cost was steep. Lei Jun chuckled bitterly, noting the need for further refinement.
After ensuring the elder was dealt with and tidying up the scene, Lei Jun returned to the Xianliu Palace. His allies, relieved by his safe return, quickly resumed their posts to guard the palace.
With the Lin Clan suffering yet another setback, their surviving members retreated with conflicting and vague reports, leaving their elders even more cautious.
For now, Lei Jun could enjoy a brief period of peace in the Xianliu Palace, all while the omen of a Supreme Good Fortune was set to unfold in the coming days.
Lei Jun continued his patrol, searching for the promised opportunity indicated by the omen. Eventually, his search led him to a collapsed valley, the result of a prior battle between his master Yuan Mobai and a Lin Clan elder. Within the valley, a mysterious energy pulsed beneath the surface, as though yearning to break free.
After meditating for some time, a vibrant surge of five-colored light erupted from the depths. Lei Jun recognized this as a rare treasure—the Great Five-Element Creation Qi. He carefully guided the energy, marveling at the immense potential it could unlock.