Chapter 1045: Blood Battle

At this moment, more than half of Venerable Xuanxing's soul had been pulled out by the phoenix.

Naturally, the Soul-Imprisoning Lock could now exert an effect far more potent than before.

In an instant, countless chains bound Venerable Xuanxing's soul, preventing him from successfully re-entering his body. A trace of panic spread in his eyes. Before his soul was completely pulled from his body, he hastily shouted again, "Soul-Slaying Blade!"

The large black blade rose again, slashing towards Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan, however, was already prepared.

"Little Qilin!"

A spatial ripple flashed from his embrace. The Little Qilin instantly appeared before the black blade, embraced it with its two small paws, and then, with another flash, carried the blade away from the battlefield.

Swoosh! The black blade struck empty air, hitting an uninhabited spot.

Venerable Xuanxing gasped, completely panicked, and urgently cried out, "Dao Leader, save me quickly!"

He didn't need to be reminded. The Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing had already sensed Venerable Xuanxing's predicament and had already made his move.

"To kill in front of this Dao Leader... you are not strong enough."

As his words fell, Jiang Fan felt an excruciating pain in his soul. The Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing's words contained an invisible soul attack! Jiang Fan felt as if his soul was being cleaved by hundreds of long swords; the intense pain made his vision black out, and he nearly fainted.

But with his last shred of consciousness, he decisively pulled out the Golden Buddha! Brilliant Buddha light shone all around, purifying everything and healing Jiang Fan's body. The severe pain in his soul instantly dissipated.

Venerable Xuanxing had just been freed from the Soul-Imprisoning Lock and was preparing to re-enter his body. Jiang Fan, now clear-headed, had a fierce look in his eyes: "Get out!" The Soul-Imprisoning Lock reappeared, completely binding him.

As Jiang Fan pushed his soul power to its limit, Venerable Xuanxing's soul was like a clam clinging tightly to a rock, being forcibly pulled away. Once pulled out, it would be unable to return to its original body. He would need to possess a new body and cultivate anew! His path of martial arts would effectively be ruined!

Venerable Xuanxing's soul body was quickly pulled out until only his feet remained in his physical body. He let out a terrified scream: "Dao Leader, save me quickly!" He had never imagined that the young man, whom he had casually intended to slay, would be so terrifying!

This scene unfolded too quickly. Even the Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing was caught off guard. How could he have expected a seemingly ordinary junior from the mainland to possess Abbot Puguang's protective Golden Buddha! He had no time to rescue, only enough time to bellow, "Stop!"

Jiang Fan's eyes were filled with murderous intent. They constantly threatened to kill him; did they now expect him to stop just because they told him to? Did they think he was easily manipulated? If they wanted to kill him, Mount Sanqing had to taste some pain first!

"Get out!" he roared, activating the Soul-Imprisoning Lock to its maximum.

Finally! With a soft 'pop', Venerable Xuanxing's soul was yanked out. The disembodied soul, under the Soul-Imprisoning Lock, was utterly powerless to resist. It was immediately trapped into a ball and flew into Jiang Fan's palm. Without a second thought, Jiang Fan struck it into the Nether Ghost Crystal for imprisonment.

He had no time to deal with it, as the Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing had already unleashed his attack in a furious rage! He forcefully flicked the whisk in his hand. Thousands of silk threads, imbued with the terrifying power of an eight-aperture soul, shot forth like countless long needles. They sought to pierce Jiang Fan's soul body full of holes!

Jiang Fan once again took out the Golden Buddha. It emitted radiant Buddha light, forming a colossal golden Buddha that shielded Jiang Fan behind it. However, the Golden Buddha could only withstand an attack from a seven-aperture Nascent Soul. The Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing's soul power had already reached the level of an eight-aperture Nascent Soul!

After obstructing for a moment, the colossal Buddha suddenly dissipated. The small Golden Buddha itself, having lost its last shred of Buddha power, was shattered into dust by the whisk's threads. But, thanks to the Golden Buddha's momentary obstruction, Jiang Fan had already used Cloud Shadow Evasion to escape.

The Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing, his eyes filled with murderous intent, searched for the lightning traces left by Jiang Fan, simultaneously ordering, "Xuan Ye! Slaughter everyone from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion! Leave no one alive!"

Venerable Xuan Ye's face was already contorted with murderous intent, his eyes radiating immense coldness. Clutching his whisk tightly, he violently swung it towards them. "You mere scoundrels, how dare you harm Venerable Xuanxing's Dao body from my Mount Sanqing? I will have you all buried with him..."

"Watch out!" Just then, the Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing caught a glimpse of Jiang Fan's trace. The lightning traces had, surprisingly, vanished behind Xuan Ye! He understood instantly: Jiang Fan wasn't trying to escape at all; he was aiming to kill Xuan Ye as well!

"What?" Xuan Ye's pupils constricted. Without thinking, he swung his whisk backward! His seemingly empty back was struck by the whisk! Seventy percent of the force was reflected back, hitting him and causing him to stagger. Furthermore, the opponent, even risking being hit by the whisk, seized the opportunity to strike him in the back. The void rippled for a moment, and Jiang Fan stumbled into view, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

In his hand, he clutched a talisman that was half consumed, and an emerald green flame lingered in the palm of his right hand. Seeing the talisman, the Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing's expression drastically changed: "Concealing Spirit Talisman? How could it be in your possession? Didn't Qingde and Elder Xiang say when they returned that this item had been stolen by Heiyue, disguised as a hellish beast? Were they lying? Why?"

Venerable Xuan Ye was furious and indignant, having been ambushed by a talisman from his own sect. He roared angrily, "Dao Leader, don't kill him yet! I want him to watch with his own eyes how his disciples die miserably! He will pay a bloody price for his actions!" With that, he raised his whisk again.

However, a searing pain suddenly erupted from his back. He casually activated his Nascent Soul power to shake it off. But the source of the pain did not leave his body; instead, the searing pain intensified and rapidly spread across his back. His back had actually burst into emerald green flames.

Jiang Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said coldly, "You'd better watch yourself die first!" He had gone as far as to use the precious Concealing Spirit Talisman; how could he give this person a chance? Of course, he would send a streak of Nether Ghostflame!

As his words fell, the Nether Ghostflame surged, instantly engulfing his entire back. The terrifying high temperature directly burned the flesh on his back into black ashes that scattered. Venerable Xuan Ye hastily slapped it with his whisk. To his surprise, not only did it fail to extinguish the flames, but this low-grade spiritual artifact whisk was actually melted!

Venerable Xuan Ye's expression changed to one of horror, and he urgently cried, "Dao Leader, save me!"

Whoosh! The Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing was also startled and immediately used the mid-grade spiritual artifact whisk in his hand to fiercely strike the raging flames. The whisk's threads, upon touching the Nether Ghostflame, also ignited, and the fire spread along the threads to engulf the entire whisk. The Dao Leader of Mount Sanqing was alarmed and decisively severed the silk threads, barely saving the mid-grade spiritual artifact.

Meanwhile, Venerable Xuan Ye's body rapidly ignited, turning him into a roaring fire human, emitting a tragic scream from his mouth. Before his body was completely burned to ashes, a roar filled with boundless malice came from within him.

"Jiang Fan! I swear to be your sworn enemy!"

With a whoosh, Venerable Xuan Ye's soul flew out of his body. Learning from Venerable Xuanxing's prior lesson, he immediately escaped into the void without hesitation, giving Jiang Fan no chance to imprison his soul. However, he underestimated the Soul-Imprisoning Lock. Jiang Fan was already prepared. While half of Venerable Xuan Ye's body had not yet escaped into the void, he activated the Soul-Imprisoning Lock! Countless chains covered his body. They forcibly pulled back the half of his body that had already phased into the void.

Venerable Xuan Ye was startled, and he yelled with a trembling voice, "Stop, stop at once..."