Chapter 31: Counterattack in a Desperate Situation? I

The several black bone spikes that branched out, carrying shrill ghostly wails and death energy that eroded life force, instantly sealed off all of Lin Xuan's paths of retreat! A casual strike from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator was a fatal, absolute kill for an ordinary first-stage Golden Core cultivator!

Zhao Lie’s eyes were splitting with rage, but he had been struck by the shockwave and could not reach in time to rescue him. The other team members were still behind and had no time to react at all.

A cruel and indifferent smile had already appeared on Elder Youwang’s face, as if he had already seen this little bug who dared to spy on their secrets being pierced through the heart by the bone spikes and turned into nourishment for the blood core.

However, facing this unavoidable, absolute kill, a flash of ruthlessness and decisiveness crossed Lin Xuan’s eyes!

"Damn it, forcing me to use a cheat, are you?!"

As his thoughts raced, he made the fastest judgment! He absolutely could not withstand it head-on; the Profound Turtle Shield might block one or two spikes, but it definitely could not block them all! Under such confined space and the lock-on of the bone spikes, "Shrinking Ground to an Inch" was also difficult to fully execute!

The only path to survival was to counterattack with an attack, disrupting the opponent's rhythm and creating a sliver of opportunity!

"System! Use the Golden Light Evil-Breaking Sword Talisman! Target, that old ghost Youwang!"

[Ding! The one-time use sword talisman "Golden Light Evil-Breaking Sword" has been activated!]

Hum—!

A vast and majestic pure Yang sword intent, specifically meant to counter evil spirits, suddenly erupted from the jade talisman in Lin Xuan’s hand! The blinding golden light instantly illuminated the dim cave, dispersing the pervasive netherworld death energy by quite a bit!

A golden sword aura, condensed into substance and containing an indestructible will, rose into the sky from the jade talisman like the light of dawn tearing through the darkness! Carrying awe-inspiring righteousness and the determination to destroy all evil, it ignored the incoming bone spikes and struck directly at the astonished Elder Youwang!

The power of this sword strike had reached the level of a late-stage Golden Core! Moreover, its pure Yang evil-breaking attribute had an innate restraint against Youwang, who cultivated netherworld techniques!

"What?! A late-stage Golden Core sword talisman?!" The cruel smile on Elder Youwang’s face froze instantly, replaced by a look of horror! He never expected that this kid, who appeared to be only at the first stage of Golden Core, actually hid such a terrifying trump card!

In his haste, he could no longer care about attacking Lin Xuan; the death energy around his body surged wildly, condensing in front of him into a thick Ten Thousand Ghost Shield engraved with countless painful ghostly faces!

"Rumble—!!"

The golden sword aura and the Ten Thousand Ghost Shield collided fiercely! The pure Yang sword Qi and the netherworld death energy clashed intensely, emitting a deafening roar! The entire cave shook violently, and gravel fell with a rustling sound!

The golden light and black energy intertwined and annihilated each other, and the terrifying energy shockwave produced spread in all directions!

Under this shockwave, the trajectories of the bone spikes shooting toward Lin Xuan were instantly deflected, their power greatly reduced!

"Profound Turtle Shield, open!"

Lin Xuan took the opportunity to deploy the Profound Turtle Shield he had prepared long ago! The ancient turtle shell shield instantly enlarged, emitting a thick, earthy-yellow halo that firmly protected him behind it.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The weakened bone spikes struck the Profound Turtle Shield, emitting dull thuds; although they caused the halo to ripple violently, they ultimately failed to break the defense!

At the same time, at the center of the energy shock.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, the Ten Thousand Ghost Shield condensed by Elder Youwang ultimately could not hold up against the specifically countering Golden Light Evil-Breaking sword aura; cracks appeared on its surface, and it finally shattered with a boom!

Although the sword aura was mostly neutralized, the remaining power still pierced through and slashed fiercely against Elder Youwang’s protective death energy!

"Puff!"

Elder Youwang’s body shook violently, he let out a muffled groan and staggered back several steps; the black robe on his chest was torn, revealing a shallow, charred sword mark, and a trace of dark golden blood seeped out! He had actually been injured!

Although it was only a minor injury, being forced to this point by a junior at the first stage of Golden Core was simply a supreme humiliation!

Taking advantage of this precious gap where the golden light shone, the energy was chaotic, and Elder Youwang was repelled, Lin Xuan grabbed the injured Zhao Lie and roared hoarsely at the stunned team members behind him:

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!!"

The voice was like a thunderclap, waking everyone up!

"Go!" Zhao Lie also forced himself to gather his strength and, coordinating with Lin Xuan, retreated violently!

The members of the Third Squad finally reacted, turned around without hesitation, and fled for their lives along the path they had come!

"Want to leave?! Stay here for me!" Elder Youwang steadied his figure; seeing the cooked duck about to fly away, he was so angry that his three corpse gods were jumping; the death energy around his body surged as if boiling, and he was about to strike again!

However, the remaining pure Yang sword Qi from the Golden Light Evil-Breaking sword talisman was still rampaging inside his body, interfering with his spiritual power circulation, making this strike half a beat slow!

It was this half-beat that decided life and death!

Lin Xuan and Zhao Lie had already retreated into the passage, joined the other team members, and increased their speed to the limit, rushing toward the cave entrance without looking back!

"Trash! A bunch of trash! Stop them!" Elder Youwang roared at the Netherworld Sect disciples who were also stunned by the power of the sword talisman.

Those disciples then woke up as if from a dream, one after another deploying magic treasures and releasing death energy spells, attempting to block them.

But how could attacks made in haste stop a Golden Core cultivator determined to escape? The members of the Third Squad each used their own methods, either blocking or dodging, their speed not slowing down in the slightest!

"Netherworld Soul-Locking Chain!" Deacon You reacted the fastest; a pitch-black chain flew out from his sleeve, winding toward the last team member like a venomous snake!

That team member felt the crisis behind him, and his face turned deathly pale!

Just at this critical moment—

"Still at it?!"

A fierce look flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes, and he turned his head abruptly; in his hand, he had somehow produced another bead the size of a dragon’s eye, entirely crimson red, with lightning dancing on its surface—a Thunder-Fire Bead (obtained previously from a treasure hunt, a one-time use wide-range attack magic treasure)!

He used all his strength to throw the Thunder-Fire Bead backward!

"Explode!"

Boom—!!!

The Thunder-Fire Bead exploded violently in the middle of the passage! Violent thunder and scorching flames instantly filled the entire passage! Like a giant thunder-fire dragon, it roared and rushed toward the pursuing Netherworld Sect members!

"Careful!"

Deacon You’s face changed drastically; he hurriedly retracted the Soul-Locking Chain and, together with the other disciples, went all out to defend against this sudden thunder-fire attack!

Although the power of this Thunder-Fire Bead was not enough to seriously injure them, the rampaging lightning and flames successfully blocked their vision and their pace of pursuit!

Taking advantage of this precious obstruction, the last member of the Third Squad also successfully rushed out of the attack range.

When the thunder and fire dissipated and the Netherworld Sect members rushed out of the passage, Lin Xuan and the others had already disappeared into the intricate and complex terrain of the Ghost Soul Ravine.

"Ah—!! Scoundrels! Scoundrels!!" Elder Youwang looked at the empty cave entrance, feeling the burning pain in his chest and the pure Yang sword Qi remaining in his body, and let out a roar of extreme anger! The sound echoed in the Ghost Soul Ravine, startling countless birds.

He had actually suffered such a big loss at the hands of a kid at the first stage of Golden Core! Not only did he let the other party escape unscathed, but he himself was injured, and even the Blood Refining Array was almost interfered with!

"Investigate! Investigate for me! Who exactly is that kid who used the sword talisman?! I want to extract his soul and refine his spirit, so he will never be reincarnated!" Elder Youwang’s voice was filled with endless resentment.

……

At this time, the fleeing Third Squad did not dare to stop to catch their breath until they were completely far away from the Ghost Soul Ravine and confirmed there were no pursuers behind them.

Everyone was still shaken, their faces pale, and many of them were injured, with massive consumption of spiritual power.

Zhao Lie leaned against a tree, clutching his chest, and looked at Lin Xuan, who also had somewhat disordered breathing but eyes that remained clear, with an extremely complex expression.

He took a deep breath and, toward Lin Xuan, solemnly cupped his hands in a salute: "Fellow Daoist Mu Xuan, if not for you turning the tide today, we would all likely have fallen there! This life-saving grace, Zhao Lie will never forget!"

The other team members also looked at Lin Xuan one after another, their eyes filled with gratitude and lingering fear. They knew very well that in the situation just now, without that earth-shattering sword strike from Lin Xuan and the subsequent Thunder-Fire Bead to cover their retreat, they would absolutely not have been able to escape.

"Captain Zhao is too kind; we are in the same boat, it was my duty." Lin Xuan waved his hand, his face revealing a timely trace of "exhaustion" and "heartache," "It’s a pity for my life-saving sword talisman and Thunder-Fire Bead……"

Hearing this, everyone was even more moved. A sword talisman of that power was worth a fortune; he used it just like that to save everyone. This sentiment was too heavy!

[Ding! Detected extreme gratitude and admiration from Zhao Lie and the members of the Third Squad, emotion points +8888!]

[Ding! Detected extreme rage and resentment from Elder Youwang, emotion points +6666!]

[Ding! Achievement "Survival in a Desperate Situation" reached! Reward obtained: Slacking Points!]

Listening to the system’s prompt, the "heartache" Lin Xuan felt because of consuming his trump cards dissipated quite a bit. Slacking points could be earned again, and trump cards could be found again, but gaining the gratitude and trust of an elite squad, as well as figuring out the Netherworld Sect’s conspiracy—this wave… was not a loss!

"Fellow Daoist Mu, rest assured, you have made a great contribution in this mission. After we return, I will definitely report the truth to the superiors and request a reward for you! The dynasty will also definitely compensate you for your losses!" Zhao Lie promised solemnly.

Lin Xuan nodded and said nothing more. His gaze looked toward the direction of the Ghost Soul Ravine, his eyes deep.

Netherworld Blood Refining Array, Netherworld Blood Core, guiding sacred object……

The Netherworld Sect is plotting something huge!

This matter must be made known to the camp’s high-level officials as soon as possible!

"Captain Zhao, we must return to the camp immediately and report the situation here!"

"Correct! There is no time to lose, let’s go!"

After resting for a moment, the Third Squad, carrying the relief of surviving a disaster and the crucial intelligence, rushed toward the direction of the temporary camp.

And a greater storm targeting the Netherworld Sect’s conspiracy was about to be set off in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range.

(End of Chapter 31)