Chapter 1649: Sunny Road to the Emperor Stage

It was only a leaf yet was able to seal two terrifying quasi-Emperors and put their fate at the mercy of another person, not leaving them any room to struggle.

Just how terrifying was this?

An idea suddenly surfaced in Old Practitioner Qiu’s mind.

Emperor-grade artifact!

This seemingly insignificant ice leaf must be an Emperor-grade artifact, otherwise, how can it possibly seal such powerful existences?

Killing intent surged in Old Practitioner Qiu’s eyes as he looked at Lin Xun.

Since I’ve already offended this brat completely, I have to get rid of him, or else he’ll bring me endless trouble in the future.

Since that’s the case, today is the best opportunity to exterminate him once and for all, and most importantly…

I can seize the ice leaf, which is probably an Emperor-grade artifact!

At the same time, Ling Xiaozi, Shun Ji, Madam Mu, and the others all sensed how extraordinary the leaf was.

Therefore, they knew the situation wasn’t good when they saw Old Practitioner Qiu’s expression!

The two terrifying creatures had been sealed, and even if they were released again, how could they still work in Lin Xun’s favor after what had just happened?

Swish!

Not waiting for the crowd to react, Old Practitioner Qiu teleported, appeared before Lin Xun like a ghost, and thrust his palm out.

His speed was shockingly fast!

In the next moment, however, he let out a miserable scream as his extended right hand was chopped off by a splendid sword qi.

That sword qi had an astounding demonic feeling to it, and the sharpness of the blade was overwhelming.

If Old Practitioner Qiu hadn’t dodged quickly enough and teleported away, the sword qi would have been able to kill him!

“There’s more!?” Old Practitioner Qiu’s face changed drastically. His hair was disheveled and his expression horrified.

The bronze ant had left him riddled with injuries, and now, his right hand was cut off. Although it healed in a flash, he was still suffering as the sword qi’s energy kept penetrating his flesh.

What made his heart palpitate the most was that a demonic flower had appeared in front of Lin Xun.

The mysterious creature was fiery red from its head to its roots. Its petals were beautifully crystalline, and the rain of light that it dispensed turned into billions of sword qi.

This was none other than the Thousand Feather Sword Flower, an ancient species birthed and raised by mother nature. This specific one had become well-known in as early as the ancient era, and was currently only one opportunity away from entering the Emperor stage. Its strength was extremely terrifying.

Back in the Mulberry Woodland, Zhao Yuanji had said that this Thousand Feather Sword Flower was one of the most powerful beings in there and must not be messed with!

The moment the flower appeared, its divine might swept across the entire field, causing Shun Ji’s group to be speechless.

There was actually really more!

And judging by its aura, the demonic flower was even stronger than the Vigorous Bronze Ant and the jade green flood dragon!

The fact that this horrifying creature was also sealed by that little ice leaf was nothing short of an absolute shock.

“Since you saw the performance of that ant and that long worm just now, you know what you need to do, right?” said Lin Xun, breaking the silence.

His gaze was extremely cold. Initially, he had had no intention to kill Old Practitioner Qiu, but now, he could no longer tolerate having this old thing remaining on the face of the earth!

“I’m not stupid like them!” replied the Thousand Feather Sword Flower, its voice clanging like swords.

Then, in an instant, its aura poured down like a mountain and locked onto the distant Old Practitioner Qiu.

“Underworld Son, run!” Old Practitioner Qiu’s face changed drastically. Without any hesitation, he turned around and fled.

Since there was no time to drag Underworld Son to escape with him, that was all he could do.

Boom!

As a quasi-Emperor, Old Practitioner Qiu had long since familiarized himself with the laws of space. And with his strength, very few in the Great Emperor Pass could stop him when he ran with all his might.

But this time, it did not go as expected!

A petal had soundlessly drifted down on Old Practitioner Qiu’s front path. It was soft, delicate, and felt eerily hard to grasp.

In this instant, Old Practitioner Qiu’s pupils violently dilated as he was scared witless. He froze in the midst of teleportation.

Buzz~

The petal then quietly withered, but hundreds of millions of misty sword qi emerged in its spot and drowned out the whole world.

From afar, they looked like a hanging galaxy of sword qi descending from beyond the heavens!

“NOOO!”

Old Practitioner Qiu could no longer be seen amidst the ocean of sword qi, but his mournful, terrified, and unwilling scream resounded through the region.

Shun Ji, Ling Xiaozi, and Madam Mu all broke out in a cold sweat, their hands and feet freezing.

This scene was too freaky!

Old Practitioner Qiu was no ordinary quasi-Emperor; his battle prowess was in the top ten of the Great Emperor Pass.

But now, he was drowning in an ocean of sword qi like a leaf in the sea. Then, in a flash, he was dead.

Not to mention struggling, he hadn’t been able to even resist one bit!

While Shun Ji’s group wasn’t sympathizing with him, they were still so shocked that their hearts and minds trembled.

How can that demonic sword flower be so terrifying?

Could it be…

Could it be a half-step Emperor?

Lin Xun, on the other hand, had no time to marvel. The second that Old Practitioner Qiu had attempted to flee, he had already locked his energy onto Underworld Son and launched attacks.

But it once again went beyond his expectation as Underworld Son somehow managed to vaporize into blood-red wisps of smoke and dissolved into thin air.

As powerful as Lin Xun was, he couldn’t blast apart the wisps of smoke and thus could only watch as Underworld Son disappeared before his eyes.

“Lin Xun, I will be back!”

These were the words that Underworld Son left behind before leaving. His voice was frosty and carried bone-deep hatred and rage.

Lin Xun’s expression flickered dimly.

It undoubtedly seemed unbelievable that a quasi-Emperor like Old Practitioner Qiu had been killed, while a supreme Saint like Underworld Son had escaped unharmed.

However, after in-depth consideration, Lin Xun could guess that Underworld Son had been able to escape thanks to the Spirit Refining Kettle!

Only that kind of boundlessly divine treasure could possess such unimaginable power.

“Treasure Delivery Boy, I look forward to the next time we meet…” Lin Xun smiled and didn’t think any more about it.

He then turned to Shun Ji, Madam Mu, Ling Xiaozi, and the host of other old monsters, and was met with the strange looks on their faces, as well as the shock that was hard to hide.

They were staring at him like he was a monster.

Yes, a monster!

In the Nine Palaces Go Game, Lin Xun had hidden his killing move outside the game, which had earned him the admiration of even Ling Xiaozi, the reputed number one dao rune founder of the Great Emperor Pass. The latter had even admitted that he couldn’t do better than Lin Xun.

It had then become apparent to these old experts that Lin Xun was a freakish genius who could make and shake history with his achievement in runes, and that his future was destined to be limitless.

However, after his duel with Underworld Son, they had realized that their knowledge of him had been one-sided. Not only was Lin Xun exceptional in the art of runes, but his combat strength was also heaven-defying!

At the Supreme True Saint Stage, he had been able to create his own art and steadily overpowered Underworld Son. Even in the long history of the huge Ancient Wasteland Domain, how many cultivators could reach his level?

From that time on, these old monsters had started seeing Lin Xun in a new light.

Therefore, when they had learned that Old Practitioner Qiu and Underworld Son had come to retaliate, they hadn’t hesitated one bit to stand up for Lin Xun!

But to their astonishment, there had been no need for them to intervene at all. Lin Xun alone had settled this crisis!

And the means he had used had greatly shaken them!

Beating Ling Xiaozi as a rune founder, suppressing Underworld Son – a supreme True Saint – in cultivation power, and on top of that, having a host of terrifying creatures to fight at his behest…

One person had all of this, so who could remain calm?

The entire Sun Pass was silent!

The old monsters who had been watching from the shadows were all quiet. Their hearts stirred and tumbled, unable to calm down for a long time.

The death of Old Practitioner Qiu, in particular, was too stimulating a shock!

That was a quasi-Emperor who had been stationed at the Great Emperor Pass for who knew how long, and during his lifetime, numerous enemies had died at his hands.

But just like that, a quasi-Emperor with outstanding achievements in battle had been killed!

Was it Lin Xun’s fault?

Far from.

Old Practitioner Qiu had come to help a junior take revenge with an unreasonable and overbearing attitude. He hadn’t taken a junior like Lin Xun seriously at all.

If someone was at fault, then it was definitely Old Practitioner Qiu.

However, at the thought that a character like Old Practitioner Qiu had died like that, the crowd could not help but sigh with some pity.

“Little friend, you need not be wary of me. I’m not like those idiots, otherwise, I wouldn’t have listened to your order and killed that small thing.” The Thousand Feather Sword Flower swayed.

Its body was as red as the sunset sky, with a misty and magnificent luster, and its voice clanged like a sword chant. However, its manner toward Lin Xun seemed quite gentle.

“Small thing?” Lin Xun’s gaze became strange. Old Practitioner Qiu had been a very powerful quasi-Emperor, but he was only a ‘small thing’ to the Thousand Feather Sword Flower…

The Thousand Feather Sword Flower’s voice exuded undisguised disdain, “A hundred thousand years ago in the ancient era, this one had already reached quasi-Emperorhood before hibernating in the Mulberry Woodland for the infinite years that followed. What this one lacks is but an opportunity to enter the Emperor stage. How can that small thing compare to this one?”

After a pause, it laughed, “Of course, you can just pass it off as I’m boasting, but taking into consideration our ages alone, the ancestor of that small thing might have yet to be born as early as I was.”

Hearing this, Shun Ji, Ling Xiaozi, and the others perspired in awkwardness.

They were regarded as old monsters by the current world, but in front of a ‘living fossil’ like the Thousand Feather Sword Flower, they were indeed a bunch of juniors.

Although everyone was at the quasi-Emperor stage, the gap between the depths of their dao comprehension and their strength was like that between the sky and the ground. They simply couldn’t be compared.

Let alone this Thousand Feather Sword Flower, the bronze ant and the flood dragon earlier were already terrifying in their eyes!

“Little friend, I now finally understand why the golden cicada wanted us to come here.”

Suddenly, the Thousand Feather Sword Flower’s voice gave off a hint of something different, a rare exhilaration even.

“This vast and ancient battlefield has left behind many, many marks belonging to True Emperor experts, each equal to a supreme fortune for those like me!”

At the end of the sentence, the Thousand Feather Sword Flower seemed to enter a trance.

“How laughable that the bronze ant and flood dragon still resent the golden cicada so intensely. Those fools have no idea that he was pointing us toward a sunny road to the Emperor stage!”