Chapter 578: Counter-kill

A foul wind rushed into their faces. The ghost-masked person's *Qi* was like a volcanic eruption, his entire body surging with crimson *Gang Qi* as he quickly drew the blade at his waist.

"Boom..."

It was merely the blade leaving its sheath, yet it sounded like a thunderclap erupting from within, the noise deafening, seemingly shaking the heavens and earth.

"Die!"

A fierce light flickered in Song Shixian's eyes, his killing intent breaking through his body, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet.

Amidst the rumbling, he poured his *Gang Qi* into the Green Water Blade as if it were worthless, a sharp and terrifying *Qi* covering the sky and earth, sweeping in all directions.

Within a radius of a hundred *zhang*, birds flew off in terror, insects ceased their chirping, and grass and trees snapped silently, as if slashed by an invisible blade.

"Boom!"

A terrifying blade light, like a heavenly river falling from the firmament, smashed toward Xu Yang and Gao Lin with the momentum to crush all things.

The terrifying and sharp blade *Qi*—Xu Yang did not doubt for a moment that it could easily slaughter him. Even though the blade *Qi* was still over a dozen *zhang* away, he felt a horrific sensation of his entire body wanting to split apart; his scalp tingled, his hair stood on end, as if a great mountain were pressing down upon him, capable of easily crushing him into a meat patty.

"Damn it, this is a spiritual weapon! Junior Brother Xu, run!" Gao Lin shrieked, his soul terrified out of his body.

A spiritual weapon!

To think there was actually a beast wielding a spiritual weapon here specifically to kill them. What virtue or ability did they have to warrant the deployment of a spiritual weapon to kill them?

Facing such a weapon of a Heavenly Origin expert, if one lacked a weapon of the same level to resist, one was basically left only to be beaten, with not the slightest power to fight back. If one were lucky, one might escape with their life.

He had not expected that after burning over a decade of his lifespan just a few days ago to escape from a Heavenly Origin expert, he would encounter a spiritual weapon ambush today. It was as if the heavens were determined to finish him off.

The terrifying blade *Qi* boomed down from above his head. His body felt as if it were being pressed by a thousand-jin boulder, and his soles had already sunk an inch into the ground under the terrifying invisible pressure.

"A spiritual weapon?" Xu Yang's gaze was icy. To think it was something like a spiritual weapon; no wonder it felt so terrifying to him.

"Rumble..."

His fresh blood surged like a dragon, and his robust golden *Gang Qi* rumbled into motion.

Xu Yang's long hair flew, his robes billowed, and specks of gold quickly emerged on his body, covering him entirely in an instant.

Diamond Body Technique!

He activated this body-protecting divine art at the first opportunity. The golden *Gang Qi* erupted from his pores like a volcano, shielding his body.

"Boom!"

The invisible *Qi* clashed, and the surrounding earth shook and cracked. Xu Yang felt his body lighten; the mountain-like pressure was blasted back by his powerful *Qi*, no longer affecting his mind.

"Ah..." Gao Lin's eyes were splitting, his *Gang Qi* surging.

Already injured, he had not the slightest strength to move at this moment and could only watch helplessly as the terrifying blade *Qi* descended.

"Bang!"

The next moment, a long spear swept across his body, sending him flying.

Xu Yang also soared into the sky, avoiding this blade that seemed to split the heavens and earth.

"Boom!"

The earth trembled. Amidst the sky-high dust, a crack over a dozen *zhang* long was torn open by the blade *Qi*. Rocks flew through the air, dust billowed, and grass and trees were ground into powder with a *puchi* sound.

"Who are you?" Gao Lin's heart was filled with horror, cold sweat pouring down his back.

If not for the critical moment when Xu Yang blasted him away, even with his inner armor on, he would likely be dead by now.

With such terrifying power, no inner armor would be of any use; his internal organs would be shaken into meat paste in an instant.

The opponent was acting sneakily, clearly someone who could not show his face.

"Shoo!" As he spoke, he slashed out a blade *Qi*.

The crescent-shaped blade *Qi* tore through the air, bringing with it a sharp whistle. Song Shixian said nothing, waving the Green Water Blade in his hand casually, and the blade *Qi* Gao Lin had slashed out was shattered, posing not the slightest threat.

He ignored Gao Lin, his *Gang Qi* surging. While still in mid-air, he slashed a second blade at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang's face was flushed!

At the critical moment, he had saved Gao Lin, but he was still affected by the blade intent. Even with his robust body, he could not ignore the blade *Qi* unleashed by a spiritual weapon.

Facing this second blade, he dared not be negligent. While bracing his body-protecting *Gang Qi*, he shifted his body rapidly.

The massive blade light slashed into the earth before him. The terrifying aftermath spread and swept out. He used the long spear in his hand like a great staff, sweeping out to shatter the aftermath rushing toward him, and another crack over a dozen *zhang* long appeared on the ground.

"Junior Brother Xu, don't resist head-on, run!" Gao Lin in the distance dared not approach and could only shout to remind Xu Yang.

If Xu Yang had a spiritual weapon in his hand, he could naturally suppress and kill the ghost-masked person easily, but he did not. He could only avoid the edge of the spiritual weapon, with no room to fight back at all.

"Good!"

Xu Yang tapped his toes on the ground and flew backward, not daring to expose his back to the opponent.

He had already realized that the person before him had come specifically to kill him; Gao Lin had merely been caught in the crossfire. The opponent radiated intense killing intent, his gaze as if he wanted to skin Xu Yang alive.

"Liu Qingyuan or the Song family?"

Among those who wanted to kill him, besides the Blood Lotus Sect, only the Song family and Liu Qingyuan had the capability to bring out a spiritual weapon.

It could not be the Blood Lotus Sect; Lu Tianchen had already made his move, and it was impossible for Gao Lin to be wielding a spiritual weapon here to kill him. Although Liu Qingyuan wanted to kill him, the people he sent would not harbor such hatred toward him. Therefore, the person before him was from the Song family.

Elder Huoyun truly stuck to his bottom line; saying he would watch the Heavenly Origin experts meant he really only watched the Heavenly Origin experts, and he truly ignored the experts from the Song family who came wielding spiritual weapons.

Of course, Elder Huoyun probably did not know about this matter either. With so many people in the Song family, he could at most keep an eye on the Heavenly Origin expert Song Yushao; he could not possibly watch everyone. He was only a Heavenly Origin expert, not a god.

"Beast, die for this old man!" Song Shixian had not expected that two blades had failed to truly injure Xu Yang, and his killing intent surged.

He tapped his toes on the ground, the mud cracking, and his figure flew from his spot like an arrow from a bow, speeding across the ground toward Xu Yang, kicking up dust along the way.

The Green Water Blade hummed, *Gang Qi* poured in, and Song Shixian slashed another blade at Xu Yang in front.

The sharp blade *Qi* swept out, shattering mountain rocks, grass, and trees, the earth rumbling.

Xu Yang's face was solemn. With such momentum, he feared few Marrow Cleansing martial artists could resist it, aside from Heavenly Origin experts.

Even if he had cultivated the Marrow Cleansing Realm to perfection, he was likely still lacking somewhat.

"If my Immovable King Body were not at perfection, I don't know if I could resist a spiritual weapon head-on!"

His body soared into the sky, the sharp blade *Qi* brushing past his body, nearly shattering his body-protecting *Gang Qi*.

"Boom!"

Xu Yang's gaze was cold. In mid-air, his muscles and bones rumbled, the veins on his arms bulging. The two-meter-long spear tore through the air with a sharp whistle, piercing toward Song Shixian.

"A dying struggle, that's all. Today you will surely die!" Song Shixian's voice was icy.

He had long sensed Xu Yang's *Qi* and knew that Xu Yang's cultivation had already broken through to Marrow Cleansing Major Success. Such a cultivation speed caused the killing intent in his heart to soar even higher.

With such talent, if Xu Yang did not die, not to mention the second Dragon Ascension being a certainty, but in the future, breaking through to Heavenly Origin and annihilating his Song family would not be a difficult task.

Because the talent Xu Yang displayed was far more stunning than that of his Song family ancestor, Song Yushao.

The spiritual weapon in his hand slashed out. With a loud *bang*, the half-spiritual weapon grade long spear was directly slashed into fragments, which shot off in all directions.

Song Shixian took a large step forward, only to discover that while he was busy slashing the spear to pieces, Xu Yang had already rushed into the mountain forest.

"You cannot escape!" Song Shixian roared, his voice rolling like thunder.

A blade *Qi* boomed in the direction Xu Yang had disappeared, and his figure followed, disappearing from his spot and chasing into the forest.

Gao Lin watched all this with unease, not knowing how to handle it.

With his cultivation, chasing after them would only be a dead end, and returning to the Profound Heaven Sect to seek help would be too late, as returning from here to the Profound Heaven Sect would require several more hours of frantic running.

"Boom!"

Another blade *Qi* slashed down beside Xu Yang. The overflowing force impacted his body-protecting *Gang Qi*, causing his blood and *Qi* to churn.

His gaze was cold, and he picked up the second long spear.

This person was biting onto him like a mad dog. He had also been provoked into a true rage and intended to find an opportunity to kill this person.

"Bang!"

He flicked the long spear against the ground, and a boulder the size of a millstone boomed toward Song Shixian.

The spiritual weapon swept across, and the boulder turned into powder with a *boom*.

The next moment, Song Shixian's pupils contracted violently; amidst the sky-filling stone dust, a cold star suddenly appeared, tearing through the air and sweeping aside the smoke and dust to strike at the center of his brow.

Under the golden spear radiance, he felt as if the center of his brow were about to split open.

"How bold!" he could not help but roar.

He had not expected that under such circumstances, Xu Yang would actually begin a counterattack; engaging him in battle was simply courting death.

"Boom!"

Simultaneously with a great shout, the spiritual weapon in his hand transformed into a streak of deep blue light, precisely hacking down onto the tip of the spear.