The Prodigies War-Chapter 2757

Translator note: This chapter has no title.

The battle raged on. Furious, the Four Fiend Venerables unleashed their full strength, desperately resisting Lin Xun’s assault. For the moment, they managed to withstand him, and the clash only grew all the more violent.

Despite that, Lin Xun showed no fear and instead only delight. This was exactly the kind of battle he needed to force a breakthrough to the intermediate Heavenly Longevity Stage!

If he had wished to kill them outright, he would have already invoked the Time Stopping ability. As for the Gate of Exile and the Blade of Time, he had no intention of wasting such supreme powers on opponents like them. Why bring out a butcher’s blade to slaughter chickens?

In the distance, Feiyun’s heart surged with emotion. His thoughts drifted back seventeen thousand years. Back then, Fang Daoping had descended upon the Empty Hidden World alone like an invincible god of slaughter, killing without pause. Blood ran in rivers, heads rolled, and the terrified roars of immortals thundered ceaselessly across the heavens!

Now, Lin Xun, a mere deputy deacon, a youth who had only just stepped into the Immoral Stage, was standing alone against the siege of four venerables. His brilliance was no less dazzling than Fang Daoping’s back then!

Rumble!

In the frenzied, heart stirring battle, the blood-red spike in Venerable Goblin’s hand clashed again and again with the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron, until it could withstand no more and shattered into countless fragments.

Amidst the storm of debris, Venerable Goblin staggered, blood gushing from his seven orifices as he suffered devastating injuries. The other three were also battered again and again, and their situation grew increasingly desperate.

In stark contrast, Lin Xun was like a being from another world. His fighting spirit blazed like wildfire and his power surged like an abyss. He swept through the battlefield with unstoppable dominance, slaughtering without restraint, his brilliance eclipsing all others!

“Retreat!”

Suddenly, Venerable Demon let out a furious roar and made the decision to flee. Having survived countless bloody slaughters, how could they fail to see that another clash would only drive them deeper into despair and closer to death?

Since that was the case, why struggle in vain?! They were assassins. If the strike failed, retreat a thousand miles. If not for the importance of this assassination mission, they would never have lingered in battle until now.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

In a flash, the Four Fiend Venerables withdrew. When it came to stealth and escape, they had absolute confidence in their ability to leave safely. The essence of assassination lay in two words: strike and escape!

As masters of assassination, how could they not excel in this path? However, just as they were about to flee, Lin Xun unleashed the Time Stopping divine ability. In that instant, heaven and earth fell into absolute stillness.

The Four Fiend Venerables froze in place, like fish sealed in ice. It was in this fleeting moment that a dao sword roared forth from the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron, cleaving across the cosmos.

Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!

Four dull booms rang out almost simultaneously as the bodies of the Four Fiend Venerables were severed in half by that single sword strike. Blood poured down like crimson waterfalls, but the greatest terror was the sword dao force embedded in that slash. Under its violent onslaught, their essence, qi, and spirit were utterly pulverized, severing all possibility of survival!

From afar, bisected remains tumbled down from the void, but before they touched the earth, they crumbled into ashes, scattering across the sky. Four Fiend Venerables were slain with one sword strike!

Feiyun’s eyes went blank for a moment before shock and disbelief flooded through him inside and out. As a veteran assassin who had once defected from Empty Hidden World, he knew better than most that if the Four Fiend Venerables chose to flee, even a Nirvana Spirit Immortal would find it near impossible to stop them.

However, at this moment, not one of the four escaped. All of them perished within the Prison of Alaya! Feiyun’s heart trembled violently.

“Not bad. But within this boundary realm, you were trapped by your own trap.” Lin Xun put away the sword cauldron, his voice calm and soft.

The Prison of Alaya was a boundary realm steeped in terror. Unleashed upon an enemy, its power would be boundless, impossible to measure. However, to Lin Xun who wielded the nirvana law, it was nothing more than decoration.

Ironically, the Four Fiend Venerables had sealed their own doom by choosing to fight within this boundary realm. They had created an extra barrier to block their own retreat. Seizing this chance, Lin Xun struck and annihilated them in a single sweep.

Unmoved, he began to collect the spoils. However, what left him speechless was that the Four Fiend Venerables, renowned figures of Empty Hidden World, carried nothing more than a few immortal divine essence and not a single other treasure!

How miserably broke were they?

“Every time assassins of Empty Hidden World go out on a mission, they leave all valuables in their lair and travel light,” Feiyun explained quietly as he walked over.

Lin Xun’s expression eased with sudden understanding. However, this did not mean he gained nothing. The Prison of Alaya was forged from four law artifacts: a dao bell, a chime, a wheel and a ruyi. Each one imbued with a ninth grade Heaven Rank law power, together forming the very source of the Prison of Alaya’s power.

Unfortunately, these law powers were not the true origin essence of those laws. Without grasping and comprehending their profound mysteries, they could never be controlled. In short, while they were undeniable treasures, in the eyes of most they were no different from chicken ribs: tasteless to chew, yet a pity to throw away.

A thought struck Lin Xun. He handed the four law artifacts to Feiyun. “You’ve been dragged into this matter because of me. Take these as a token of thanks.”

Feiyun immediately shook his head and refused.

“If you don’t take them, then who else in this world, aside from those assassins of Empty Hidden World, could even make use of these treasures?” Without giving him the chance to refuse, Lin Xun forced the artifacts into his hands.

Emotions welled up in Feiyun’s chest, and he said with heartfelt gratitude. “My deepest thanks.”

Ever since defecting from Empty Hidden World, he had hidden away in Star Creek City, clinging to life like a fugitive, haunted by the fear that the experts of Empty Hidden World would come knocking at his door.

Now, to aid Lin Xun, he had resorted to using a secret communication art, which was no different from exposing his whereabouts. Though the Four Fiend Venerables had been slain, Empty Hidden World still had endless means to track him down.

In other words, from this day on, he could no longer remain in Star Creek City. He would have to flee far away. However, with the Prison of Alaya in his grasp, he now held a supreme trump card. Even if he wandered to distant lands and encountered dangers, he would have nothing to fear.

“Fellow Daoist, there is no need for such formality. If I have to deal with Empty Hidden World again, I may need to trouble you once more,” Lin Xun said, cupping his fists in salute.

Feiyun was taken aback. “Has vengeance not already been exacted?”

Lin Xun shook his head. “No. The Empty Hidden World must be eradicated from the world.”

The death of the Four Fiend Venerables would surely arouse the wrath of Empty Hidden World. For the time being, they might hold back, deterred by his identity as a successor of the Origin Sect and wouldn’t dare to make a move against him within the sect.

However, once he stepped beyond the sect’s protection, forces of Empty Hidden World could strike at any time. Lin Xun loathed this assassin force that came and went without a trace.

Of course, he knew all too well that to truly eradicate Empty Hidden World and leave no lingering dangers, he would have to overthrow the Jing Clan, an immortal giant of the Eighth Heaven Domain.

Otherwise, even if Empty Hidden World was annihilated, with the support of the Jing Clan, it was destined to rise again from the ashes.

“Eradicated from the world entirely...” Feiyun’s heart trembled at such ambition. Then, after a long silence, he said solemnly, “If you ever need me, take this jade talisman and come to Jade Statue City to find me.”

“Jade Statue City?”

“Yes. As the saying goes, a cunning hare prepares three burrows. This city is one of my escape routes.”

Lin Xun nodded with a smile. Not long after, he bid farewell and departed.

Two days later, Lin Xun appeared in Cold Moon City. On that familiar street, the entrance to the Cloud Guardian Workshop was shut tight, its walls layered with dust. It had clearly been abandoned for a long time.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Wandering through the empty courtyard, a faint chill stirred in his heart. More than a year ago, he and his senior sister Jun Huan had stayed here together, their days quiet, peaceful, and carefree.

Now, it was obvious since the day he entered the Origin Sect, his senior sister had never returned to this place. With a small shake of his head, Lin Xun entered a room and sat cross-legged.

The battle against the Four Fiend Venerables outside Star Creek City two days ago had both tempered and refined his cultivation, laying the foundation for him to break through to the Intermediate Heavenly Longevity Immortal Stage.

Taking out a jade bottle, he tipped several Sun Moon Immortal Pills into his mouth. His mind steadied, his spirit sharpened, and his cultivation began to surge. Nothing unexpected happened.

Three days later, the roar of the great dao surged through Lin Xun as his cultivation advanced smoothly into the Intermediate Heavenly Longevity Stage, as natural as water flowing into a channel.

As the tide of new power filled his body, Lin Xun felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Compared to the initial Heavenly Longevity Stage, his strength had more than doubled! The most direct proof of this was in his pill refinement. Before, he could refine at most three Sun Moon Immortal Pills a day. Now, he could refine seven. That equated to seven thousand pounds of immortal divine essence each day.

Even within the Origin Sect Ancestral Sect, where peerless geniuses and great figures gathered, not a single Intermediate Heavenly Longevity cultivator could match such a feat.

“Newfound strength requires new tempering...but the higher one climbs, the fewer worthy opponents there are...” Lin Xun murmured to himself.

At other stages of cultivation, he could wander to other major cities to test himself in contests and duels, sharpen his skills, exchange insights and even claim rewards for victory.

However, the Immortal Stage stood at the pinnacle of the world. In the Seventh Heaven Domain, such beings were already hailed as heaven-reaching authorities. The contests and duels held in those cities could not possibly match such a level.

Just imagine, a single clash between Immortal cultivators could shatter heaven and earth, raze mountains, and overturn rivers. What city could possibly withstand such devastation?

Just then, a strange sound from the courtyard snapped Lin Xun from his thoughts. His heart stirred coldly, and he rose without a sound. There, in the courtyard stood an ancient well, and sealed within it was the origin power of the boundless nearness law.

The Boundless Nearness Talismans carried by Jun Huan and the other successors of Fangchun Mountain were all forged from this law’s power. With such a talisman, no matter where one was within the Central Core Region, one could instantly teleport to the bottom of this well. At this moment, a blood-soaked figure crawled out from its depths.

“Those old baldies of the Zen Sect are so vicious. They nearly claimed my life. If not for the Boundless Nearness Talisman gifted by third senior sister, I fear I’d be relying on you all to avenge me in the future.”

His figure was battered and broken, hair in disarray, and skin and flesh had split open to reveal glistening bone beneath. It was a sight so gruesome it chilled the heart. Even so, he spoke with ease, even tinged with self-mockery. Despite his terrible state, his carefree, heroic and unrestrained bearing remained undiminished.

Soon after he emerged, another figure stepped out of the ancient well. It was a man with the bearing of a farmer, his skin dark and his features simple and rugged. He too bore grievous wounds, but he paid them no mind. Pulling a jade bottle from his sleeve, he handed it over with a muffled voice, “Medicine I refined. Use it to treat your injuries first. Xue Ya, you and twelfth junior brother share the same foul habit...you talk far too much.”

The mangled man accepted the bottle with a hearty laugh. “I can’t hold a candle to Senior Brother Shen Yan. His tongue never stops. Even Master can’t stand it.”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, the farmer-like man’s expression hardened. He turned sharply toward one of the rooms in the courtyard. At that very moment, Lin Xun pushed open the door and stepped out.