Though Miaochan had been wary of Song Lingfeng, she hadn't expected him to strike so quickly. Caught off guard, she barely had time to react. The white whisk in her hand was shattered into countless falling strands of white hair by the immense force of the giant hammer. She managed to quickly activate a defensive talisman—a Nascent Soul-tier Ice Wall Talisman. A massive, thick wall of ice suddenly appeared, standing between her and Song Lingfeng.
However, the giant hammer was unstoppable. Its might tore through the whisk, smashed through the ice wall, and then slammed into Miaochan's chest with brutal force.
Despite being a Nascent Soul cultivator in the later stages, and a Celestial Sound Zen Temple disciple at that, Miaochan had already exhausted most of her hidden cards. She had used many talismans earlier in the battle. The Ice Wall Talisman was the last one in her possession.
Miaochan coughed up a mouthful of blood, her chest caving in from the impact. Her body was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing over a hundred zhang away. Before she even hit the ground, two puppet beasts closed in, flanking her from both sides. In an instant, they severed Miaochan's slender neck with their sharp claws.
Song Lingfeng casually raised his hand, summoning the two puppet beasts back to his side. With a faint smile, he turned his gaze toward Shang Xingchen, Su Jue, and Dong Qi, the last remaining combatants.
The trio had not simply been standing idle during the chaos. They had used the brief moment of Miaochan's fall to try and recover their Spiritual Qi. However, Miaochan's death had been so swift that they could only recover a small fraction of their energy.
Song Lingfeng grinned, "You three, as devil cultivators, must be burdened with heavy karma. Don't think you can run. All of you will die here today!"
Su Jue of Heavenly Corpse Palace sneered, "Arrogant! Do you think you can kill the three of us alone? Do you have more puppets?"
Song Lingfeng laughed wildly, waving his hand. To everyone's surprise, two more Nascent Soul Early-Stage Puppet Beasts emerged, bringing his total to four.
The four puppet beasts quickly surrounded the trio from all directions. Su Jue's face darkened. He took a deep breath, "What if you have four puppet beasts? Your spiritual stones cannot possibly support their consumption for long!"
Song Lingfeng grinned, his hand diving into a storage bag. He pulled out a large handful of great spiritual stones, shaking them in front of the group. The sound of clashing stones echoed as they collided together.
Su Jue's face grew even darker. He was about to speak again when Shang Xingchen cut him off, "Shut up."
Dong Qi nodded, adding, "Better keep that crow's mouth closed."
Su Jue flushed with anger but was rendered speechless for a long moment.
Song Lingfeng burst into laughter, "What are you stalling for? You trying to use this moment to recover your Spiritual Qi? I see right through you—die!"
Dong Qi shook his head, growling low, then charged forward. Shang Xingchen and Su Jue followed closely behind.
The sound of magic treasures clashing and spells colliding echoed non-stop.
Shang Xingchen, Su Jue, and Dong Qi were all elite cultivators within the Nascent Soul realm. But despite their strength, Song Lingfeng's army of puppet beasts was simply overwhelming.
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From afar, Chu Xuan watched as several times Shang Xingchen narrowly avoided death, forced to deploy a few Golden Core-tier puppet beasts just to escape. As for Dong Qi and Su Jue, after dozens of exchanges, they had both sustained heavy injuries. Dong Qi's shoulders were shattered by Song Lingfeng's giant hammer, and both had deep claw marks from the puppet beasts.
Song Lingfeng seized an opportunity and struck Su Jue's chest with a single powerful blow, sending him flying over a hundred zhang. Su Jue vomited blood in mid-air, his body weakening.
Dong Qi was surrounded by three puppet beasts, unable to break free despite desperate struggles. His old wounds hadn't even healed before he accumulated new injuries.
Shang Xingchen wasn't faring any better. A puppet beast clawed through his abdomen, and he collapsed into a pool of his own blood.
Song Lingfeng laughed maniacally.
"Three Nascent Soul devils! Killing you all—just think of the merit I'll earn! I can't even imagine it!" He strode toward Shang Xingchen, who was closest to him.
However, just as Song Lingfeng was about to use his Spiritual Qi for another strike, he suddenly felt an unnatural stagnation in his Spiritual Qi. Even the speed of his thoughts seemed to slow down.
"What's happening...?" His expression turned to one of disbelief.
Shang Xingchen roared, "Chu Xuan, he's poisoned! If you don't act now, when will you?!"
Song Lingfeng froze in shock.
"There's a devil cultivator hiding?"
Dong Qi and Su Jue were equally stunned. They had been fighting for so long, yet there had been another cultivator watching from the sidelines, letting them duke it out?
At that moment, Song Lingfeng heard a soft sigh from behind him.
"I was going to wait a bit longer. Shang Xingchen, you really are something."
Shang Xingchen clutched his abdomen, forcing a smile. "If you don't show up now, I'm going to die. If I die, who will you discuss poison and toxin methods with?"
Song Lingfeng was incredibly startled, instinctively activating a talisman. A shield made of a water curtain immediately enveloped him.
However, the Sky-Tearing Cold Palm ignored the water shield entirely and slammed directly into his mind. Spirit sense secret arts could not be blocked by mere talisman-generated Spiritual Qi shields.
Song Lingfeng screamed in agony, retreating rapidly. Blood streamed from his nostrils. But, being an experienced expert, he quickly recovered, wiping his nose. A cold sneer appeared on his face.
"Competing with me in spirit power? In cases where the spirit strength is not vastly different, the level of the spirit technique determines everything. I practice the high-grade Nascent Soul spirit secret arts, Crimson Flame Heaven Blade and Crimson Flame Heaven Shield. What do you think you can use to fight me?"
Song Lingfeng's spirit energy rapidly condensed into a giant blade and shield—one for attack, one for defense—and he directed them toward Chu Xuan's Sky-Tearing Cold Palm.
However, as soon as they collided, he realized something was terribly wrong. With just one strike, the spirit shield cracked. With the second strike, the shield was riddled with cracks! As for the spirit blade, it couldn't even make a dent in Chu Xuan's spirit hand!
Song Lingfeng's heart sank in terror. He understood now. The difference in spirit strength between him and his opponent was staggering. That's why he had been outmatched so easily!
Chu Xuan casually remarked, "So this is your spirit technique? Quite strong. But don't use it in your next life."
With a low growl, Chu Xuan surged with spirit power. The Sky-Tearing Cold Palm grew even larger, and with a single crushing movement, Song Lingfeng's spirit blade and shield were obliterated!
Under the pressure, Song Lingfeng immediately began to bleed from all seven of his orifices. His mind felt as if it had been struck by a giant hammer. A thin, almost imperceptible thread, as delicate as a hair, swept across his neck, turning sharply. With a crisp snap. His head flew up into the air. The decapitated body dropped to the ground with a dull thud, lifeless.
Chu Xuan casually collected Song Lingfeng's body and then turned his attention to Shang Xingchen and the others. He walked toward Shang Xingchen with long, confident strides.
Dong Qi and Su Jue's hearts tightened. Was he going to attack?
However, Chu Xuan suddenly stopped halfway to Shang Xingchen. "Fellow Daoist Shang, I see your poison arts have improved again." He said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
Shang Xingchen slowly picked himself up. The wound on his abdomen had already healed. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking as if nothing had happened, and smiled.
"Thanks to frequent discussions on toxins and poisons with the sect master, how could I have achieved this level otherwise? The sect master's poison insects are also quite formidable. They nearly crawled into my wound just now."
Chu Xuan and Shang Xingchen locked eyes for a long time. After a while, both of them burst into laughter.