Chapter 86: Breaking the Array, Slaying the Evil

Lin Xuan's voice was like ice beads falling onto a jade plate, echoing clearly above the silent valley, carrying an air of arrogance and coldness that looked down upon the world. Facing five late-stage Soul Formation experts, over twenty early-to-mid-stage Soul Formation cultivators, and a clearly extraordinary sealing array, he actually dared to call them "worthless curs"!

This arrogance left the ambushers, including Ghost Bone True Person and Zhao Song, stunned for a moment, before they erupted into sky-shaking laughter and killing intent.

"The brat is courting death!" The Youming Sect Elder holding the Soul-Summoning Banner was the most violent-tempered. With a sharp shout, he shook the banner in his hand. Instantly, yin winds howled, and countless ferocious ghosts and vengeful spirits surged out from the banner like a black tide, emitting ear-piercing shrieks as they swarmed toward Lin Xuan, covering the sky! These ghosts had been refined through secret arts; not only could they devour flesh and blood, but they could also defile magic treasures and erode the soul, possessing astonishing power.

At the same time, another Youming Sect Elder, wreathed in poisonous mist, also quietly made his move. He opened his mouth and spat out a formless, intangible, yet sweet and fishy-smelling toxic miasma. It spread silently, corroding the air; even the dark blue light curtain of the array emitted "hissing" sounds. Its target was Lin Xuan and the team behind him.

Ghost Bone True Person, along with Zhao Song and his companions, locked their energy firmly onto Leng Feng, Ye Chen, and the others, preventing them from offering aid. In their view, the combined strike of two late-stage Soul Formation Elders was enough to instantly cripple or even kill this ignorant brat!

"Fellow Daoist Lin, watch out!" Leng Feng shouted, the Demon-Suppressing Blade glowing with intense blood-red light as he prepared to intervene at all costs.

Ye Chen transformed into a bolt of lightning, his thunder sword intent erupting as he sought to cleave through the ghost tide.

However, Lin Xuan's movements were faster than theirs!

Facing the tide of ferocious ghosts and the formless toxic miasma—which would have sent an ordinary late-stage Soul Formation expert into a panic—he did not even use any magic treasure. He merely raised his right hand slightly, palm upward, as if cradling something invisible.

Inside his dantian, the Chaos Dao Seed, which had fused with the star core, vibrated slightly.

The next moment, with Lin Xuan as the center, the scene within a hundred-foot radius changed abruptly!

It was no longer the lush greenery of the Cangmang Mountains, nor the dark blue of the array's light curtain. It was as if it had instantly transformed into a corner of the cosmic starry sky! Countless tiny, cold, starlit points appeared out of thin air, like the stars of a summer night, yet carrying a stillness and chill that could freeze the soul. Even more, wisps of Netherworld energy, as if from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, intertwined and wound around those starlit points.

Star-Youming Light Domain—First Appearance!

This was not a simple spell, but a higher-level application of Lin Xuan's own power after fusing with the star core and comprehending the fragments of the "Zhou Tian Star Art." It was the initial manifestation of Dao rhyme, the embryonic form of a domain!

The surging tide of ferocious ghosts, upon entering this Star-Youming domain, felt as if they had fallen into an invisible quagmire, their speed dropping sharply. The moment the thick ghost energy and resentment on their bodies touched those cold starlit points, they acted like a nemesis, emitting "hissing" sounds as they rapidly dissolved and were purified! Those ferocious ghost faces revealed expressions of extreme terror, emitting silent wails before their forms collapsed, turning into pure yin energy that was quietly absorbed and assimilated by the Youming energy in the domain!

As for the formless toxic miasma, once it invaded the domain, it was directly frozen and decomposed by the absolute "Stillness" and "Sealing" Dao rhyme, ultimately turning into nothingness, failing to even come within ten feet of Lin Xuan!

With a mere gesture, the angry strike of two late-stage Soul Formation Elders vanished into smoke!

"What?!"

"This is impossible!"

The grimaces and killing intent on the faces of Ghost Bone True Person, Zhao Song, and the others froze instantly, replaced by boundless horror and disbelief! They simply doubted their own eyes! What kind of divine ability was this? A domain?! How could a Soul Formation cultivator possibly manifest a domain?! Even if it was just an embryonic form, it was enough to overturn their understanding!

Leng Feng, Ye Chen, and the others also stopped their rescue attempts, staring dumbfounded at that patch of Star-Youming void that seemed independent of the world, feeling the vastness and deathly stillness contained within, their hearts churning with turbulent waves.

"His strength... has improved again!" Ye Chen muttered to himself, his knuckles turning white from gripping his sword, but the fighting intent in his eyes burned to the extreme.

Just as everyone was stunned by this Star-Youming domain, Lin Xuan moved.

He pointed his fingers like a sword, aiming across the air at the Youming Sect Elder holding the Soul-Summoning Banner.

"Star-You... Finger!"

A finger-beam, condensed to the extreme, gray-colored, and seemingly compressed from countless miniature stars and Youming death energy, shot out silently. It ignored the distance of space, as if leaping, appearing directly before the Elder's brow!

The Elder was scared out of his wits, frantically urging the Soul-Summoning Banner to block in front of him, countless ghost shadows condensing into a shield.

However, it was useless!

The moment the finger-beam touched it, the ghost shield shattered like paper. The Soul-Summoning Banner, a magic treasure of extraordinary quality, let out a mournful cry, its spiritual light instantly dimming as countless cracks appeared upon it! The finger-beam's momentum remained undiminished, instantly piercing into his brow!

The Elder's body stiffened violently, his eyes bulging, the luster in his pupils rapidly dimming and extinguishing. The aura around his body flowed away rapidly like a deflated ball, and his entire person fell straight down from the sky. Before he even hit the ground, his life force had been severed; even his Soul Formation had failed to escape!

One finger, a late-stage Soul Formation expert, fallen!

Silence! A deathly silence!

Everyone was so terrified by this horrific scene that their livers and gallbladders were split!

"Your turn." Lin Xuan's gaze turned toward the Elder who had released the toxic miasma.

That Elder was so scared his soul flew away; the toxic mist around him surged violently, and his figure retreated rapidly, wanting to merge into the array.

"Seal."

Lin Xuan spat out a single word.

The power of the Star-Youming domain instantly contracted like an invisible giant hand, forcibly imprisoning the retreating Elder along with the toxic mist around him in mid-air! No matter how he struggled, no matter how his late-stage Soul Formation spiritual power erupted, he could not break free from the shackles containing the power of star suppression and Youming sealing!

Lin Xuan raised his hand again, this time not using a finger, but pressing down lightly with his palm.

"Stillness."

Within the domain, endless starlit points and Youming death energy seemed to have received a summons, frantically gathering and compressing toward the imprisoned Elder!

"No!! Brother Ghost Bone, save me!!" The Elder let out a desperate roar.

Ghost Bone True Person's eyes were splitting with rage; he wanted to rescue him, but Lin Xuan's cold gaze swept over, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, actually making him afraid to act rashly for a moment!

Under the gaze of countless horrified eyes, that late-stage Soul Formation toxic-miasma Elder, along with his protective toxic mist, was completely submerged and annihilated by the gathered Star-Youming power! No trace was left, as if he had never existed in this world.

The second late-stage Soul Formation expert, fallen!

From the moment Lin Xuan unfolded his domain to the consecutive instant-killing of two late-stage Soul Formation Elders, it had been but a few breaths of time!

This destructive, near-crushing terrifying strength completely shattered the psychological defenses of the ambushers. Those early-to-mid-stage Soul Formation cultivators maintaining the array were all pale-faced, trembling all over, almost unable to hold the array flags in their hands.

Zhao Song and his companions were even more scared out of their wits; the previous resentment and smugness had long been replaced by boundless fear. They finally understood what a terrifying existence they had provoked!

"Monster... he is a monster! Run!" Zhao Song screamed, no longer caring about anything else, turning to tear through the array and flee.

"Want to leave now? Too late."

Lin Xuan's cold voice was like a soul-reaping demon sound.

He no longer paid attention to the broken-hearted Ghost Bone True Person, his gaze locked onto Zhao Song and his companion. He held his hands in an empty embrace, and the Star-Youming domain expanded again, enveloping the two fleeing men.

"Star-You... Thunder Prison!"

He shouted in a low voice, actually integrating a trace of the thunder truth he had comprehended into this Star-Youming domain! Within the domain, between those cold starlit points, countless tiny, gray-colored, bizarre thunderbolts suddenly erupted! These thunderbolts not only possessed the violent destructive power of thunder but also contained the suppression of stars and the deathly stillness of the Youming!

This was exactly the new move he was attempting to fuse with what he had learned!

The gray thunderbolts were like countless poisonous snakes, instantly winding around Zhao Song and his companion!

"Ah!!"

Extremely shrill screams rang out.

The protective magic treasures of Zhao Song and his companion shattered like toys under the gray thunderbolts, their physical bodies instantly charred by electricity, and even as their Soul Formations just escaped, they were directly shattered by the thunderbolts containing the Stillness Dao rhyme, their forms and spirits destroyed!

In the blink of an eye, of the five late-stage Soul Formation experts, four were gone! Only the trembling Ghost Bone True Person remained!

Lin Xuan turned slowly, looking at the ashen-faced Ghost Bone True Person and those early-to-mid-stage Soul Formation cultivators who had already collapsed and were scattering to flee.

"The array, break it."

He said lightly, not even making a move, just a thought, and the power of the Star-Youming domain vibrated slightly, touching the dark blue array light curtain.

"Crack... Boom!"

The sealing array, having lost the confidence of its main maintainers and most of its nodes, shattered with a boom under the vibration of this domain containing higher-level law power, like fragile glass! It turned into dark blue light spots like fireflies in the sky and dissipated.

The sunlight spilled down again, but it could not illuminate the coldness and despair in the hearts of Ghost Bone True Person and the remaining ambushers.

Ghost Bone True Person looked at Lin Xuan, who was like a god or demon descended to the world, a "clucking" sound coming from his throat, finally turning into a roar full of unwillingness and fear. He burned his essence blood, turning into a nearly transparent ghost shadow, and fled toward the horizon at a speed far exceeding before, as if running for his life!

He didn't even dare to leave a single harsh word!

Lin Xuan did not pursue, just coldly watching the direction he fled. Do not pursue a desperate enemy; besides, he needed someone to bring back the news of today's battle, so the Youming Sect and the Zhao Clan could weigh things carefully!

His gaze swept over the remaining ambushers who were either slumped on the ground or stunned into wooden silence, but he did not finish them off. These ants were no longer worth worrying about.

The Star-Youming domain slowly retracted, and Lin Xuan's aura returned to calm, as if he were not the peerless fierce man who had just slain four late-stage Soul Formation experts.

He turned and looked at Leng Feng, Ye Chen, and the others behind him, who were still in a state of shock and speechlessness, smiling slightly, light and airy:

"The trouble is solved, let's go back."