Cultivation begins with earning spirit stones

Chapter 24 Green Scale Python

Xiong Ye's face was terribly gloomy.

The veins on his hand, which gripped the broadsword, bulged, and his gaze was fixed on the figure that emerged from the mist.

Dressed in a blue robe and black brocade, holding a long sword, he moved with composure.

Just like when he stepped into the trap, it was as if the fierce battle that had just taken place was nothing more than a leisurely stroll for him.

"A disciple of the Grand Master, indeed living up to his reputation."

Xiong Ye squeezed out these words through gritted teeth, his voice low and filled with suppressed anger and a hint of apprehension that even he himself was unwilling to admit.

"However, you will still die here today."

Zhang Lin didn't reply, looking at him calmly, as if he were looking at a dying man.

That look ignited a fire of anger within Xiong Ye.

He had roamed Black Wind Mountain for five or six years; when had anyone ever looked at him like that?

"Let's go together."

With a roar, Xiong Ye pushed off with his feet, his burly body charging towards Zhang Lin like a moving mountain.

He raised the broadsword high above his head, and the blade shone with a burst of spiritual light. With a single slash, the sword energy shot out like a bolt of lightning, leaving a cold streak over ten feet long in the air.

At the same moment, the remaining four people also made their move.

The man hiding in the pile of rocks formed hand seals, his true energy surging around him, and seven or eight golden blades condensed in front of him, shooting towards Zhang Lin.

First-order Five Elements Technique: Golden Blade Technique.

The person lying on the top of the rock muttered incantations while pressing his hands to the ground.

The soil beneath Zhang Lin's feet suddenly softened, and seven or eight vines, each as thick as a thumb, sprouted and wrapped around his legs.

First-order Five Elements Technique: Wood and Vine Technique.

Two other people stood to the left and right, one activating a flying sword magic weapon and the other throwing out two fireball talismans to block Zhang Lin's escape routes.

The four worked together seamlessly, combining close and long-range attacks, and unleashing a variety of spells, magical artifacts, and talismans, clearly demonstrating that they had practiced this combined attack technique extensively.

Zhang Lin stood still, motionless.

He made a hand seal with his left hand, and activated the Wind Wall to protect his body at full power.

An invisible current of air gathered around him, forming a high-speed rotating wind barrier.

The golden blade pierced the wind wall, only to be shattered by the violent airflow, scattering and clanging across the ground.

The fireball exploded against the wind wall, scattering flames, but it could not break through the wind wall's barrier and could only burn futilely on the outside.

The flying sword pierced the wind wall, its blade trembled violently, its speed decreased sharply, and finally, its power was exhausted, and it was bounced away by the wind wall.

As for the wooden vines under his feet, they were shredded by the airflow at the bottom of the wind wall before they could even wrap around Zhang Lin's calves, turning into countless fragments.

One against four, defensive techniques, one method to break through.

This is the overwhelming power of third-order spells over first-order spells.

The difference in rank is like an insurmountable chasm.

Master Xiong's knife has arrived.

The broadsword, imbued with the full force of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, slashed fiercely against the wind wall with a rainbow-like aura.

boom!

A dull thud resounded, sending shockwaves scattering and kicking up pine needles and pebbles from the ground.

The wind wall trembled violently, its surface rippling like a lake where a giant rock had been thrown in.

But it didn't break.

Xiong Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.

Even the rogue cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining six months ago couldn't withstand his strike head-on. His protective true qi was cleaved through, and his armor was also ripped open.

But this Danxia Sect disciple in front of me blocked it with just a wind barrier?

Before he could recover from his shock, Zhang Lin made his move.

He channeled his inner energy into the iron sword with his right hand and unleashed a three-foot-long sword aura at the person on the left who was wielding a flying sword. Within the sword aura was also a hidden, invisible wind blade.

At the same time, his left hand loosely clenched, and a ball of dark blue flame appeared in his palm—the Heaven-Burning Flame.

The flame was only the size of a fist, yet it exuded a chilling aura.

Zhang Lin casually flicked his wrist, and the Heavenly Flame transformed into a streak of blue light, flying towards the person who had thrown the talisman on the right.

Having witnessed the terrifying sight of flames engulfing the black pine, the man was terrified and desperately channeled his inner energy to condense a water shield in front of him.

First-tier Five Elements Spell: Water Shield Spell.

Water can extinguish fire; this is common knowledge in the spiritual practice world.

But the next moment, common sense was overturned.

The eerie blue flames touched the water shield but did not extinguish; instead, they expanded as if they had encountered boiling oil.

The water elemental energy within the water shield became fuel for the Heavenly Flame. The flames flowed upstream along the water shield, engulfing the entire shield in the blink of an eye. Then, with undiminished momentum, they rushed towards the man's face.

"No--"

The man let out a piercing scream as he was engulfed by the blazing flames.

The flames burned silently, not in an explosion, not in charring, but in a process of engulfing.

Clothes, flesh, bones—everything touched by the flames turned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

When the flames subsided, all that remained where the man had stood was a patch of grayish-white embers and an eerie, lingering heat in the air.

One strike, and he was dead.

At the same time, under the cover of the sword energy emanating from the iron sword, the wind blade severed the head of the person on the left.

Two out of four were removed.

Xiong Ye's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

He had never seen such a battle of wits.

It wasn't a clash of spells, a battle of magical artifacts, or a back-and-forth struggle.

It was not a crushing defeat.

A complete and utter crushing defeat.

From the breaking of the trapping formation to the killing of the formation master, and then to the deaths of two subordinates, it took no more than twenty breaths.

Of the seven men who had formed an ambush, only three remain.

He, the fifth brother wielding a crossbow, and the sixth brother hiding in the pile of rocks, unleashing his Golden Blade Technique.

The other party, however, was completely unharmed.

"You...you are not a disciple of the Danxia Sect."

Xiong Ye's voice was hoarse, with a tremor he himself didn't even realize.

"It's impossible for a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining in the Danxia Sect to have this kind of combat power."

Zhang Lin did not answer.

A ball of blazing flame appeared in his left palm, its dark blue light dancing and casting shifting shadows on his face.

"Master Xiong, most of your men are dead."

Zhang Lin's voice was calm, as if he were stating a fact.

"What other trump cards do you have? If you don't use them now, you'll never have another chance."

Xiong Ye's expression changed repeatedly.

Suddenly, he looked up and let out a long howl.

The whistling sound was mournful and sharp, penetrating the pine forest and echoing through the mountains.

Zhang Lin frowned slightly. Deep within the black pine forest, something was awakening.

A violent and ferocious aura, carrying a heavy stench of blood, rose from the depths of the mountain, like a ferocious beast that had been imprisoned for a long time finally breaking free of its shackles.

The ground began to tremble.

Gravel rolled down the hillside, and pine needles rustled down.

The soil beneath Zhang Lin's feet suddenly bulged up, as if something was emerging from the ground.

He lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his figure floated back several feet.

The next moment, the spot where he had just been standing exploded.

A huge head emerged from the soil.

It had a triangular head, fist-sized vertical pupils, and a three-foot-long, blood-red tongue that protruded from its mouth.

It was a python.

A blue-scaled python, as thick as a water bucket and over five zhang long.

Its body is covered with palm-sized bluish-black scales, each scale gleaming with a faint spiritual light, and intricate patterns are faintly visible.

Those are naturally formed defensive runes, even more exquisite than magical artifacts crafted by cultivators.

Level 2 monster, Azure Scale Python.

It is equivalent to the late stage of Qi Refining in a cultivator, but the physique, strength, and vitality of a demon beast far surpass those of a cultivator of the same level.

More importantly, there are faint dark gold patterns flowing on the scales of this blue-scaled python.

That's a sign that you're about to break through to level three.

This is a demon beast that has reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.