Seeing Lin Tong dispatch over thirty Green-robed Cultists with a single, casual gesture, Luo Xiu's eyes widened. Only then did he realize that this little brother of his was even stronger than he had imagined.

Lin Tong turned back to Luo Xiu, the corners of his mouth curving into a self-satisfied, almost boastful smile.

"This is a Taoist Art I created years ago, called the Soul Burst Technique."

"What do you think, Brother?"

Luo Xiu's face darkened, and he refused to comment.

"Stop showing off. Let's get this over with; we don't have much time."

At that moment, Luo Xiu's head felt dizzy, and the world seemed to spin around him. He knew it was a symptom of severe Divine Sense depletion. The stronger the target revived by "Elysian Nether Earth," the more Divine Sense it consumed. Furthermore, maintaining the Body of the Dark Land also required a continuous drain on his Divine Sense.

Lin Tong didn't delay. With a sudden flash, he flew straight toward Xia Chan. He understood the principle of capturing the leader to defeat the army. Even though he was strong enough to remain undefeated against the experts of the Holy Boi Religion, his Body of the Dark Land had an extremely limited duration. He had to end this quickly. As long as Xia Chan was subdued, the others wouldn't dare to make a move.

Seeing Lin Tong go straight for Xia Chan, Fei Xiao and Xue Xiao grew anxious. They pushed their speed to the absolute limit, rushing recklessly toward her.

"Hah! Mere ants dare to block my path!"

Lin Tong scoffed disdainfully. He landed with a thud, kicking Xue Xiao away before punching Fei Xiao back. In the next instant, he flashed in front of Xia Chan and seized her by the throat.

"Miss!" Fei Xiao struggled to his feet, glaring at Lin Tong with eyes full of hatred.

"You bastard! Come at me if you've got guts! What kind of skill is there in bullying a woman?!"

Lin Tong lifted Xia Chan as if she weighed nothing, ignoring Fei Xiao completely. Don't bully women? Should I let a woman bully me instead? What nonsense.

Unexpectedly, Yang Zhilu's light laughter came from the side.

"A life for a life. Seems like a fair trade."

Hearing this, Lin Tong's heart skipped a beat. He whirled around to see that Yang Zhilu had somehow gotten behind Luo Xiu and now had him by the throat. Not far away, Dou Dou glared at Yang Zhilu, her cheeks puffed out as she cursed nonstop.

"You old hag, you cheat!"

Just a moment ago, Dou Dou and Yang Zhilu had been evenly matched. But Yang Zhilu had deliberately lost a step to her, using the opening to slip away and capture Luo Xiu.

Hearing Dou Dou call her an "old hag," veins bulged on Yang Zhilu's forehead. Her grip on Luo Xiu's neck tightened, as if she was about to snap it.

Seeing this, Dou Dou panicked. She waved her small hands frantically and changed her tune. "No, no, no! You're a little fairy, a beautiful little fairy, not an old hag!"

Yang Zhilu let out a cold snort and ignored Dou Dou. She turned to Lin Tong, who was still holding Xia Chan, and asked, "So, what's it going to be?"

Lin Tong's expression turned grim. Luo Xiu was his only hope; trading him for a mere Xia Chan was out of the question.

"I release her, you release him."

Yang Zhilu met his gaze and smiled. "That would be best."

The next moment, the air seemed to freeze.

They released their hostages at the same instant and vanished.

Lin Tong reappeared beside Luo Xiu, just as Yang Zhilu reappeared beside Xia Chan.

Luo Xiu rubbed his throat, coughing. He could barely keep his eyes open as he said weakly, "Sorry, I became a burden... I actually sensed she was coming for me, but she was too fast. I couldn't dodge."

Lin Tong shook his head gently. "Brother, this is your first time using Elysian Nether Earth, and on me, no less. Your Divine Sense isn't strong enough to sustain it."

Luo Xiu gave a bitter smile. "I was reckless."

Just then, Lin Tong's brows furrowed as he looked down at his own body, which was beginning to crack. This is bad.

Seeing the fissures spreading across Lin Tong's Body of the Dark Land, Luo Xiu's heart grew heavy. Lin Tong was incredibly powerful, but unfortunately, Luo Xiu couldn't sustain the technique for long.

Luo Xiu said in a low voice, "Once your Body of the Dark Land fades, we'll be completely at their mercy."

Lin Tong suggested, "Should we retreat to the Land of Lawlessness and hide out for a while?"

Luo Xiu shook his head. "My Divine Sense is completely drained. I can't open the portal with my left eye."

Hearing this, Lin Tong took a deep breath, his tone becoming grave. "Before the Body of the Dark Land ends, I will use my strongest attack and try to kill one of them. As for the remaining two, Dou Dou and the Little Queen should be able to handle them."

Luo Xiu said no more. He trembled all over, clenching his teeth as he fought to stay conscious, trying to maintain Lin Tong's Body of the Dark Land for even a moment longer.

"Just hold on!"

With those words, Lin Tong's figure vanished, reappearing dozens of meters in the air.

"Chain Prison Soul Extermination!"

The next moment, a godlike voice echoed through the Void. As a terrifying power erupted from him, dozens of sinister black chains burst forth from his body, shooting toward the ground in all directions at astonishing speed.

"This is bad, retreat!" Xue Xiao yelled, instantly abandoning any thought of fighting back. He grabbed Xia Chan and began to run. Facing the ultimate technique of the King of the Spirit Realm, all he could feel was the terror of death, as if he had been marked by the Death God himself.

The chains radiated out from Lin Tong, forming a massive cage in the sky that descended to the ground. Trapped within, Xue Xiao and his companions lost all sense of direction, as if caught in an inescapable maze. All they could see was a dense black fog. Protecting Xia Chan, Xue Xiao could only rely on instinct to dodge the chains flying wildly through the mist.

"AHHH—!"

Suddenly, a piercing scream came from behind them.

Xia Chan spun around and was horrified to see Fei Xiao's body impaled by several chains. One had pierced his forehead and exited through his lower back, nailing him firmly to the ground. After a moment, the sinister chains slowly withdrew from his body, dragging his soul out with them.

Fei Xiao turned his head with great difficulty, his gaze both gentle and urgent as he looked at Xia Chan.

"Quickly, Miss! You have to go..."

"No... NO!" Xia Chan's beautiful eyes trembled. She ran heedlessly toward Fei Xiao, but Xue Xiao caught up and held her back.

"Miss, calm down! Don't go over there!"

BOOM!

At that moment, a withered corpse fell from the sky, landing right in front of Xia Chan. She looked closely and realized it was the body of the Green-robed Cultist from earlier.

Lin Tong's Body of the Dark Land had ended.

The eerie black chains vanished, and the clearing returned to normal.

Looking at Fei Xiao's corpse, Xia Chan's reddened eyes filled with an extreme, burning hatred.

"Fei Xiao... I will avenge you!" she squeezed the words out through her teeth, then lifted her eyes to glare at Luo Xiu.

Meanwhile, Luo Xiu let out a long sigh of relief. Lin Tong certainly works fast, he thought. Right at the very last second, he had actually managed to kill one of them.

Lin Tong's voice suddenly echoed in Luo Xiu's mind. His soul had already returned to the Soul Imprisonment Mark. Actually, I wanted to kill that Yang Zhilu. I've disliked her for a long time, but she's too fast. Catching her would have taken time, so I had to choose the slower fatty.

By the way, Brother, I also brought the fatty's soul back with me. I'll have Tuof and the Four Spirit Generals 'train' him properly later.

Hearing this, Luo Xiu chuckled. He then looked at Xia Chan and tossed the Jade Disk to her.

Xia Chan caught it, her voice cold. "What is the meaning of this? You think giving this to me means I won't seek revenge?"

"You think too highly of yourself," Luo Xiu scoffed. "I just figured that if this fight continues, neither of us stands to gain anything. We'd both just end up dead here. Besides, I don't want to waste any more time on you. So I'm giving you this half of the Jade Disk. Take it and get lost."

Hearing this, Xue Xiao moved to Xia Chan's side and whispered, "Miss, we have what we came for. Let's retreat for now. He's right. If we keep fighting, we could both be destroyed here. As for Fei Xiao's revenge, we can get it later."

Xia Chan stared at Luo Xiu, her expression dark. After a moment of silence, she suddenly turned and walked away.

"Let's go!"

...

「A moment later.」

After Xia Chan and Xue Xiao's figures had completely vanished into the forest, Luo Xiu closed his eyes and collapsed.

"Chen Shuisheng!"

Dou Dou flashed to his side to support him.

Leaning on Dou Dou's petite frame, Luo Xiu said weakly, "I... I'm at my limit... We have to go, now... before they turn back for a surprise attack..."

Dou Dou and Chi Sha exchanged a look. Without another word, they took to the sky, carrying Luo Xiu with them.

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