Chapter 322: Annihilation

"Heh heh heh!"

"The outside world only knows that when this Sacred Ancestor once dominated the Immortal Realm, I relied on the Hooked Jade Jin Guang Mirror."

"Although the Hooked Jade Jin Guang Mirror possesses tremendous power, the price one must pay is something the likes of you could never imagine?"

"Little do you know that this 'Nine Nether Bone Fire Sword' is this Sacred Ancestor's life-bound magical treasure."

Holding the bone sword, the White Bone True Person's aura surged explosively, radiating an unparalleled and domineering presence.

In an instant, the spiritual pressure in the great hall soared to rival that of a Nascent Soul expert! This caused Zhou Yu of the Li Li Huogong and Elder He Kang to turn pale with horror.

"This aura... surpasses that of a peak Jin Dan."

He Kang's face fluctuated between gloom and brightness, and retreat had already begun to form in his heart.

Because the top-grade magical treasure he had brought from the Li Li Huogong, the Golden Dawn Scorching Sun Pearl, was naturally adept at restraining ghostly entities, yet unexpectedly proved utterly ineffective against the White Bone True Person, a development he had never anticipated in a million years.

And the White Bone True Person gave them no time to react whatsoever.

Boom! He slashed the Nine Nether Bone Fire Sword in his hand toward He Kang! In that instant, the space of the entire great hall was sealed by some inexplicable power.

Countless white bone flames suddenly appeared in the air, pulling forth tens of thousands of threads.

It was as if the void itself had been sliced open by fiery sword qi.

An ancient blue talisman appeared in He Kang's hand, emitting spiritual fluctuations at the peak of the third tier; without a moment's hesitation, he slapped it onto his body.

The next moment, a blue barrier manifested around him.

Puchi!

"Ahhh!!!"

The barrier shattered, and blood sprayed everywhere.

An arm flew out, only to be frozen and devoured by white bone fire before falling into the White Bone True Person's mouth.

The White Bone True Person extended his tongue, licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, and wore an expression of extreme enjoyment.

He Kang's face was filled with terror; for that previous attack, he had consecutively unleashed several life-saving measures, yet still could not withstand a single strike from his opponent's sword.

"Junior Brother Zhou, this White Bone True Person is not right."

"Prepare to retreat; use those few people from the Southern Wilderness behind us to hold them off for a moment."

At this moment, He Kang finally understood the gap in strength between himself and this White Bone True Person before him.

He hurriedly sent a voice transmission to Zhou Yu in secret.

Zhou Yu also realized what was happening; he understood that Senior Brother He Kang meant to use Elder Qingxuan, Wei Wuya, and the others as human shields to buy time for their escape.

Seeing the scene that had just unfolded, Wei Wuya and Yunxi Laozu were utterly horrified.

They had not expected that even He Kang, with his cultivation at the peak of the Jin Dan realm, could not withstand a single sword strike from their opponent.

Just how terrifying was the White Bone True Person's strength! With so many Jin Dan experts present joining forces to besiege him, they still could not subdue him.

Upon receiving He Kang's voice transmission, Zhou Yu hesitated for a moment before shouting toward Elder Qingxuan and the others:

"Fellow Daoists, attack him together!"

Yunxi Laozu and the others assumed that the two envoys from the Li Li Huogong must still have some extraordinary trump card they had not yet used.

Receiving the opponent's command,

they immediately exerted all their strength, frantically pouring magic power into their respective magical treasures, preparing for a desperate last stand.

But just as the three of them attacked and reached the front of the White Bone True Person,

they saw the two from the Li Li Huogong shoot off in the opposite direction toward the hall's entrance!

Wei Wuya and the others had not expected the two envoys from the Li Li Huogong to act in such a manner.

Realizing they had been sold out, the three were instantly filled with shock and rage.

But the arrow was already on the string, and it was too late.

Just as Wei Wuya and the other two fell into despair, they saw the White Bone True Person's Nine Nether Bone Fire Sword bypass them and slash toward He Kang and his companion at the hall's entrance! Swish! Puchi!

A thread of white flame trailed through the space.

At the entrance of the great hall, the two disheveled figures from the Li Li Huogong were struck once again by the White Bone True Person's sword.

Outside the Taihu Ruins.

Jin Guang Laozu revealed his true form, displaying his full strength as he transformed into a giant black toad dozens of zhang in size.

A scarlet tongue shot out like lightning, rolling toward Qin Ming, while the air echoed with the sonic boom created by the long tongue.

As Qin Ming leaped aside to dodge, his gaze was sharp; he made a vague grasp with his five fingers, causing six Wooden Emperor Nails to appear, before pointing them at Jin Guang Laozu.

Six streaks of emerald green light vanished into the void.

Seeing this, Jin Guang Laozu's eyelid twitched, instantly feeling a sense of heart-pounding terror.

He knew Qin Ming must have unleashed some extraordinary magical treasure and dared not be arrogant, immediately condensing black armor over his skin.

Then, using his two powerful hind legs, he kicked off into mid-air to dodge the attack of the Wooden Emperor Nails.

Zila!

The Wooden Emperor Nails appeared eerily beside Jin Guang Laozu, with two of them piercing through his massive body at incredible speed in an instant.

At the site of the wounds, thick black smoke billowed out as if scorched by molten lava.

The aura on Jin Guang Laozu's body immediately plummeted, deflating like a punctured ball.

His cultivation realm actually dropped instantly to the mid-stage of the third tier.

"Solar Essence Flame!"

Jin Guang Laozu's eyes revealed horror, and he finally panicked.

He naturally recognized the attack attached to the Wooden Emperor Nails; after being struck by them, he clearly felt his cultivation and strength had been weakened.

It was the Solar Essence Flame, innately adept at restraining ghostly entities.

Qin Ming's gaze turned cold; he had no intention of lingering with his opponent.

Strike while the enemy is ill, take their life! Instantly, the qi and blood true force within him erupted completely, and behind him, a hundred-zhang-long illusory green flood dragon materialized.

Roar! The pair of vertical pupils of the illusious green poison flood dragon opened, fixed upon Leaf Ming Zhi, soared into the air, and pounced forward.

"Heavenly Demon Body Refining!"

"So it was you who killed the Green-Faced Poison Flood Dragon!"

Leaf Ming Zhi stared at the colossal shadow of the green flood dragon before him, his mental state collapsing, disbelief evident in his eyes.

Qin Ming sneered coldly, paying no heed whatsoever to its reaction.

He raised his green dragon claw and pressed downward into the void; instantly, tremendous force churned wind and clouds, causing even the void itself to twist and distort.

Leaf Ming Zhi, struck by the Wood Emperor Nail, was severely injured, his cultivation reduced by more than half; taking Qin Ming's dragon claw strike squarely, a huge hole was torn through his abdomen! His soul form instantly dimmed and faded.

"This Qin Xiao You, previously this old man was in the wrong, greatly offending you; would it not be better to end matters here?"

"My master has fully revived; if you present the precious mirror, there is still room for negotiation," Leaf Ming Zhi said urgently, his aura withered and weak.

This Leaf Ming Zhi, facing imminent death, still sought to bluff him with True Person White Bone; did he think Qin Ming so easily fooled?

Hearing this, Qin Ming revealed a hint of disdain, a flash of cold light passing through his eyes.

The dragon claw pressed downward into the void once more, seizing the head of the giant black toad.

Then he suddenly exerted force, crushing Leaf Ming Zhi's head until it exploded! Leaf Ming Zhi did not even have time to let out a scream before his soul form began to disintegrate.

Whoosh! From within the black mist, a strand of Leaf Ming Zhi's divine soul fled panic-stricken outward.

But just at that moment.

Ahead in the sky, a sheet of black mysterious light abruptly rose, sealing off the entire void.

"Where do you think you're running?"

Shi Tian Shu's figure slowly emerged from the air; holding a steel fork, he locked onto Leaf Ming Zhi's remnant soul, shot forth a beam of black light, and instantly annihilated it.

Thus, Leaf Ming Zhi was destroyed, both soul and form extinguished.

Shi Tian Shu collected the storage bag from Leaf Ming Zhi's body and also retrieved a pitch-black soul pill from within him.

With a slightly embarrassed expression, he approached Qin Ming, handed over the items in his hand, and said, "Uh, Master, that short dwarf managed to escape after all."

"That old rascal actually possessed a Great Teleportation Talisman and did not hesitate to damage his Jin Dan's core essence to activate it."

"However, even if he didn't die, he should be crippled."

Qin Ming took the items from his hand, then turned his gaze somewhat grave toward Taihu.

Among the characters mentioned above, except for Leaf Ming Zhi, none were of critical importance; what truly determined life and death for the Southern Wild Immortal Realm depended on what lay within the underground palace.

Yet, inexplicably, a sense of ominous foreboding arose in Qin Ming's heart.

(End of Chapter)