Chapter 652: Blocking the Knife with His Body

Yi Feng slashed horizontally with his saber, giving Ling Shu no time to think.

"Leave this woman to me!" he roared. "You all kill him!"

A martial artist in the midst of a breakthrough was undoubtedly the easiest to kill. Of course, even after his breakthrough, Jiang Fan would only be at the fifth level of Core Formation, still easy prey.

*Clang!* Saber energy crisscrossed, emitting a terrifying roar. Before the blade's edge even reached her, Ling Shu felt an intense stinging sensation on her exposed skin. She couldn't block this one strike! The many martial artists behind her certainly couldn't stop it either. Fleeing now still offered a glimmer of hope; staying meant certain death.

She bit her lip and made an astonishing move. She actually turned around, using her back to shield against the saber energy, protecting Jiang Fan with her body. The moment the great saber chopped down, an endless green spiritual light erupted from within her, forming a spherical barrier that enveloped both of them.

Yi Feng sneered, "In this day and age, are there still fools who'd risk their lives to protect others? If that's your wish, I'll grant it! Dragon-Slaying Soul-Severing Blade!" The power of the saber in his hand flared like oil fueling a raging fire, multiplying several times over. With a thunderous crash, it struck the barrier squarely. The green barrier flickered erratically, and dense cracks appeared on its surface. Powerful saber energy blasted through the cracks, mercilessly striking Ling Shu's slender back.

"Ah!" Ling Shu immediately groaned in pain. Several gruesome, flesh-rending wounds were carved into her beautiful, jade-like back. Blood gushed out like a spring, instantly staining her emerald-green dress crimson.

Jiang Fan stared unblinkingly at the girl before him, who had used her fragile body to shield him from a fatal blow. "You... why didn't you leave?" Jiang Fan's heart was shaken. Ling Shu could have easily abandoned him!

Ling Shu endured the excruciating pain. Green spiritual light surged from her trembling body, mending the crumbling barrier. Forcing a faint smile, she said with difficulty: "Brother fought with his life to save me. What's wrong with me saving Brother in return...?"

"Ah!" She let out a shriek. Yi Feng's initial strike had failed, so he unleashed another saber strike, even fiercer than the last. The barrier could no longer hold, shattering with a crash. The residual saber energy ruthlessly pierced through, striking Ling Shu's back. This single strike had almost completely pierced through Ling Shu's torso. Within the gruesome wound, stark white bones were visible to the naked eye, and her internal organs suffered fatal damage.

Ling Shu uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering Jiang Fan's face, chest, and long sleeves. Her slender, delicate body, like a frail, withered leaf, drifted heavily into Jiang Fan's embrace. The warm blood stunned Jiang Fan. He could no longer tell if Ling Shu's actions were genuine or feigned. She was clearly a cunning girl, full of schemes. She clearly desired the egg liquid in Jiang Fan's possession. Every gentle gesture she made was deliberately crafted. But what about now? Was this also deliberate?

"Brother... run..." Ling Shu's eyes weakly opened. Her consciousness was rapidly fading. Even so, her concern was still for Jiang Fan. This stirred Jiang Fan's heart.

"Ling Shu, Ling Shu! Don't sleep, don't sleep yet! Just wait a little longer! Wait for me..." Jiang Fan couldn't continue. Ling Shu's breath visibly weakened until it was almost imperceptible. The girl who had called him "Brother" upon their first meeting said goodbye with "Brother" in their final encounter.

"No!" Jiang Fan roared. Boundless self-reproach surged within him. He had actually allowed a girl to die for him! He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fierce killing intent: "I have no grudge against you! Why are you doing this? Why?!"

Yi Feng's heart chilled. Jiang Fan, covered in blood with hatred in his eyes, made him inexplicably uneasy. But it also intensified his desire to kill. Since it had come to this, it was a fight to the death! He sneered, "What are you roaring about? The weak deserve to be trampled! If I kill you, wouldn't it be easier for you to just let me? I even gave this foolish woman a chance to serve me, to live a life of luxury and endless cultivation resources. She insisted on blocking this saber herself, who can she blame?"

He paused. He noticed the spiritual energy cloud above Jiang Fan's head rapidly shrinking. The opponent's breakthrough was about to conclude. Yi Feng sneered, "I really don't know what that foolish woman was thinking! Even if you break through, you'll only be at the fifth level of Core Formation. What's the point of protecting your breakthrough like this?"

Jiang Fan's face was covered in blood. His eyes churned with boundless killing intent. The Golden Core within him operated at its peak. Rarely had he felt such an intense desire to kill someone. Yi Feng! He *must* die!!!

Under Jiang Fan's stare, a chill ran down Yi Feng's spine. His gaze hardened, and he shouted, "Attack! Kill him!" Eight disciples of the pavilion charged fiercely, launching deadly attacks at Jiang Fan from different directions.

From afar, Hai Mei, who was engaged in battle, saw this. Gritting her teeth, she formed hand seals. The shadow she cast on the ground strangely detached itself from her and swiftly sped towards Jiang Fan. Along the way, the shadow rapidly changed form. In an instant, it transformed into a being identical to Hai Mei herself! Even more bizarrely, it possessed the powerful cultivation of an eighth-level Core Formation expert! It flew past, swept its tail, and instantly pulverized a sixth-level Core Formation martial artist. Then, with a flick of its finger, terrifying cold energy surged like a tidal wave, forcing the other seven back. A sixth-level Core Formation martial artist who couldn't retreat in time was instantly turned into an ice sculpture.

Xi Feijue looked at Hai Mei, who was still fighting him, and then at the shadow Hai Mei. He was utterly shocked. "This... this is also a bloodline talent? But how can you have a second talent?" As far as he knew, even nobles among the demon race only possessed one bloodline talent. Only those who had broken through to the Demon Emperor realm, or the direct descendants of a Demon Emperor, would have a second talent.

"Too much nonsense!" Hai Mei scoffed, unleashing streams of ice. Compared to before, the power of the ice was significantly weaker. Xi Feijue immediately noticed this, and a glint appeared in his eyes as he sneered: "The Shadow Clone talent is indeed astonishing. But its drawback seems equally obvious. It splits a portion of the main body's strength!"

As his words fell, Xi Feijue erupted with an attack, decisively unleashing his hidden trump card. "Heaven-Earth Sleeve!" He pushed both palms forward simultaneously. His two seemingly ordinary sleeves strangely elongated, stretching across the sky, and heavily struck the unsuspecting Hai Mei. *Pffft!* The seemingly ethereal sleeves, when they struck, felt like massive boulders crashing into her. Even with Hai Mei's strength, she couldn't help but open her mouth and spurt out a stream of blood. Groaning miserably, she flew backward. As her main body suffered severe injury, the shadow clone of Hai Mei immediately dispersed, returning as a streak of shadow behind Hai Mei.

Xi Feijue snarled, "Kill that brat immediately! Today, none of them will escape!" With that, he moved to attack the injured Hai Mei.

But just at that moment, the last wisp of spiritual energy cloud above Jiang Fan's head was absorbed. A powerful fluctuation of a fifth-level Core Formation realm radiated from Jiang Fan's body. Hai Mei's eyes lit up. She sneered, "You're finished! I can't say for you, but as for your subordinates, none of them will leave here alive!!!"