Chapter 279: Lin Zixiao

Whoosh!

Lin Zixiao's figure instantly became a lingering afterimage, dodging the lethal strike of Shitian Shu.

"Huh?!"

"What kind of body technique is that?"

"He actually dodged the Great Master's attack."

Shitian Shu's form materialized in midair, gazing at the direction Lin Zixiao had fled, and exclaimed in surprise.

A flicker of pain crossed Lin Zixiao's stern face—he had barely escaped death from Shitian Shu's ambush.

But he recovered his wits.

No!

How could this spiritual pet speak human language?

"A third-rank demon king?"

At this thought, Lin Zixiao turned to Qin Ming, his eyes filled with deep wariness.

Yet as a demonic warlord,

even when at a disadvantage, Lin Zixiao showed no sign of fear or panic.

He swiftly pulled out an elixir and swallowed it, then chanted a spell to seal the wound on his abdomen.

A surge of demonic energy flowed forth, and the spot pierced by Shitian Shu's black thorns began healing at a visible rate.

Then Lin Zixiao drew forth a set of array chess pieces, waved his hand, and the surrounding black barrier shifted, encircling Qin Ming and Shitian Shu.

"Hmph! Trivial trickery!"

Shitian Shu spat out a jet of pitch-black light that struck the array's barrier.

Zizizizi! Lin Zixiao's confinement array dissolved like ice before Shitian Shu's bloodline innate ability, vanishing in moments.

"Cough! Qin Daoist, you've got some real skill."

Lin Zixiao staggered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

This was one of the rare times since he began cultivation that he'd been driven into utter desperation.

"Hmph! Same goes for you—back then, you chased me just as fiercely. Now we've just switched places."

Qin Ming sneered, silently communicating with Shitian Shu to prepare to eliminate the opponent.

Whoosh! Shitian Shu's form vanished again, slipping into the void.

Seeing this, Lin Zixiao's heart tightened—he knew the rat demon was about to launch another unpredictable strike.

Even as powerful as he was, he could not lock onto the rat demon's position.

It was as if it had vanished into thin air.

In an instant,

Lin Zixiao suddenly grinned, his gaze calm as he looked at Qin Ming.

Flash! Shitian Shu's eerie form reappeared within a zhang of Lin Zixiao's side.

Just as Shitian Shu was about to land the killing blow—

Boom! A violent black hurricane erupted around Lin Zixiao, forming a black sphere that engulfed him entirely.

Shitian Shu was blasted backward by the sudden surge.

It retreated dozens of zhang, halted its motion, shook its gray fur, and suffered no serious harm.

Yet it stared in confusion at the direction of the black sphere.

Lin Zixiao appeared to be activating some demonic secret technique.

"This human boy has some talent. In terms of innate gifts and fortune, he's only slightly inferior to the Master."

"Damn it! If I were at my peak, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble."

"I could kill him with a single fart."

Qin Ming also halted in midair. Seeing this bizarre scene, he immediately unleashed a spiritual sense comparable to a Golden Core beginner, probing into the black sphere.

But as soon as his spiritual sense touched the sphere, it was repelled. Qin Ming's eyes narrowed, and patterns of swirling runes surfaced in his irises—he activated the Breaking Spell Rebirth Eyes, and his spiritual sense surged into the interior.

Inside the black sphere,

Lin Zixiao's face darkened as he spoke to the air: "Old man, if you don't act now, I'm going to die in Qin Daoist's hands."

"Hehehe!"

"You finally came to your senses—good!"

"But with my current weakened state, I can only muster a fraction of a percent of my former power."

"It's normal you can't beat that kid."

"He still has two other second-rank late-stage spiritual pets not yet deployed—they're probably waiting for an opening."

A withered, arrogant voice echoed within Lin Zixiao's body.

"What?!"

"There are two more second-rank late-stage demon beasts?!"

"Qin Daoist is definitely hiding something."

Even the usually calm and composed Lin Zixiao was startled by this revelation.

"The cultivation world is vast, and strange fortunes are countless."

"It's not strange that this kid has had some lucky breaks. Aren't you the one who encountered me?"

"But what surprises me most is that the Qin Daoist you mentioned has actually cultivated the demonic clan's Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Scripture—if the Great Demon Sages of the demonic clans find out, they'll slaughter every human in existence, hehehe!"

"I haven't emerged in thousands of years, and now I meet such an interesting little fellow."

Upon hearing the name of the demonic clan's supreme scripture, Lin Zixiao's expression darkened and flickered uncertainly.

"I've observed the boy's blood qi—it's reached perfection. He's clearly on the verge of completing the third transformation of the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Scripture."

"With your current strength, you're no match for him."

"I'll take control of your body now—use the chance to escape."

"You swallowed that Five Elements Qi Spirit Peach—it's given me a trace of restored power."

"Once you've perfected the demonic arts I've taught you, you can come back and settle the score."

Hearing this, Lin Zixiao seemed skeptical. He gritted his teeth and said: "Old man, don't you dare play any tricks!"

"Hehehe! I'm tied to you by the same rope—our fates are one. Prosperity or ruin, we share it all."

"Relinquish your body now." Outside the black sphere,

Qin Ming had overheard everything inside.

He gasped in shock:

"Holy shit! Cheat code!"

"There's a grandpa living inside his body?!"

Qin Ming's face darkened slightly—he hadn't expected Lin Zixiao's fortune to be so great; a powerful spiritual entity had taken residence within him.

Moreover, the tone of that withered voice suggested it was no ordinary spirit.

"Probably some ten-thousand-year-old demonic elder… This is bad news."

"Indeed, to rise to the rank of demonic warlord, Lin Zixiao's fortune and destiny must be extraordinary."

"But I wonder—is the spirit residing in him the same one I encountered in the Yunze Great Wilds Ruins, or had it been there all along?"

"Fortunately, the spirit is weak—it seems to need a long time to recover."

"Lin Zixiao came to Fangcun Mountain Market likely to seek spiritual items to restore his internal spirit."

Qin Ming let out a breath of relief.

"That really scared me…"

"Good thing… good thing…"

Qin Ming immediately sent a mental message to Shitian Shu:

"Retreat immediately! Watch out for changes!"

Shitian Shu had been preparing to unleash its bloodline innate ability on the black sphere, but upon hearing Qin Ming's call, it instantly retreated to his side without hesitation.

At that moment,

Boom! The black hurricane ceased, and the central sphere exploded.

Inside, Lin Zixiao was drenched in demonic energy, wearing a sinister grin as his gaze locked onto Qin Ming.

He swiftly formed a strange hand seal.

His body writhed, spreading patches of black scales across his skin, growing sharp claws from his hands, and sprouting a pair of curved black horns atop his head.

His eyes turned completely crimson, and his form swelled rapidly—his demonic body grew to over ten zhang tall.

A pair of black fleshy wings erupted from his back, unleashing a torrent of demonic might.

Qin Ming stared at the creature, his alertness rising.

But—

The demonic form of Lin Zixiao showed no intention of continuing to fight Qin Ming.

The demon leapt into the air, stirred a gale, and vanished instantly, heading straight for the Qing Luo Demon Fire.

"Think you can reclaim it? Dream on."

Qin Ming's gaze sharpened, and every ounce of his blood qi and true Gang exploded forth!

Roar! A twenty-zhang-tall crimson four-armed demonic ape appeared, towering like a mountain, completely overshadowing Lin Zixiao's demonic form.

Crackling!

The demonic monkey, clad in precious armor, clenched its four fists and leapt upward, a massive crimson fist shadow crashing down like a meteor upon Lin Zi.

The demon's black claws were just about to grasp the Qing Luo Demon Fire, entangled by the Soul-Devouring Poison Flame.

Before him appeared Qin Ming's world-shattering fist shadow; he had no choice but to abandon the Demon Fire and slammed a punch toward the crimson demonic monkey.

BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! The earth-shaking collisions echoed across heaven and earth.

The crimson demonic monkey alternated its four arms in rapid strikes, literally blasting one of the demon's arms to pieces.

Seeing he was no match for Qin Ming, the demon cast one last longing glance at the Qing Luo Demon Fire, then swiftly activated a secret technique, dissolving into a black shadow that vanished instantly from this space.

Qin Ming extended his spiritual sense to scan—found the opponent had already fled fifty li away.

He glanced at the Soul-Devouring Poison Flame nearby, devouring the Qing Luo Demon Fire, pondered briefly, then narrowed his eyes: "Forget it. This demon's methods are too strange; if I chase further, I doubt I can kill it outright."

…

(End of Chapter)