However, Lin Xun did not retreat.

His black eyes were fixed on Baqi in the distance. In them was a determination of utter insanity.

“Yezi, get back in the case,” said Lin Xun softly.

Yezi, however, shook his head and refused, showing the same extreme determination.

For a sword spirit…there was no such thing as retreat.

It wasn’t like death was something to be feared!

Lin Xun was stunned, and then he laughed out loud, “Well, forget it then. Today, us brothers shall fight this old beast to the death!”

Brothers?

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Even in this perilous situation, the form of address held such an indescribable power that Yezi couldn't help but smile.

It was a big smile.

He was really happy. It turned out that Lin Xun regarded him as a brother!

Meanwhile, Baqi also laughed, seeing that Lin Xun and Yezi were at the end of their rope. His expression was disdainful, frosty, and murderous.

The heavy flesh wound he had suffered earlier had already been repaired as his blood and qi tumbled around him, but the internal injuries were unable to recover in such a short time.

However, that no longer mattered.

Even if he had been dying, he would still have absolute confidence that he could squash these two ants who didn't know how high heaven was!

“Little fellow, that year, I took away your Origin Aeth Artery and gave it to Yun Qingbai. Today, I will take both your spirit and soul and refine you into a puppet. It will be a fate worse than death for all eternity!”

As his cold and hoarse voice resounded, Baqi had already made his move without further delay.

Behind him, a blood-colored light wheel emerged. Within it reflected the figure of a mountainous ferocious beast with eight gigantic heads whose roars shattered the void beyond.

When the eight tails swayed, the whole world was stirred into disorder!

The heavy restrictive arrays on Exquisite Cloud Mountain were directly reduced to clouds of ash. The three region lords were scared out of their wits and immediately scrambled to retreat. 𐍂ãƝ𝖔ꞖÊS

Even so, they still felt an incomparable fear that nearly suffocated them.

In his rage, Great Emperor Baqi resembled a supreme devil who was walking out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, shrouding this side of heaven and earth in great terror!

Boom!

With a wave of Baqi's sleeve, a snake tail as thick as a mountain ridge swept out. Like a divine whip in the hand of a god, it shattered the void and whipped away even the yin and yang.

A wisp of breath from an eight-realm Emperor could already flatten mountains, let alone an attack like this. The snake tail was terrifying to the extreme.

Lin Xun didn't evade…because it was impossible to do so.

Yezi didn't evade either. He knew very well that Lin Xun, who was only a third realm supreme quasi-Emperor, would die under the mere pressure of this strike, not to mention blocking it.

Therefore, he could not dodge. He remained there, calm and resolute.

Matchless and crazy sword energy was accumulating within him, as if he was burning himself to fuel it.

However, coming even faster than Yezi's strike was an eye-piercing divine arrow. It looked like it came tearing through the fabric time and space, emitting an extremely savage aura.

The world dimmed under this arrow!

Yezi was stunned, and his eyes bloomed with a strange light.

It’s that fellow!

Back then, before they had come to the Underworld, it had been this same arrow that had pierced through the stars in the boundless universe and utterly crushed a fourth realm Emperor.

It was a stunning sight.

However, the arrow slashing across the sky right now was even more ferocious!

In this same instant, the lag once again took place. Time stood still, and everything fell silent for a split second.

The snake tail was frozen mid-slash. Only the arrow still whistled on as it cut through the painting-like world.

BOOM!

Baqi in the extreme distance, whose aura was overwhelming the heavens, abruptly exploded. His blood rained down and dyed the area red.

The earth-shattering roar also disrupted the static frame.

The instant that happened, Demon Emperor Wind Slaughter and the other two region lords saw Great Emperor Baqi being blown up by the arrow. Each of them gawked so hard their eyeballs almost fell out, and they screamed in shock.

“How is this possible?!” Their minds went blank.

They had already found it incomprehensible when Great Emperor Baqi’s stomach had almost been cut open.

Now, in another blink of the eye, he had been killed on the spot by an arrow!

The gory and unbelievable scene almost made them go crazy.

The powerful, terrifying Great Emperor Baqi, an eighth-realm Emperor, the Hand of Darkness was feared by countless beings…

How could it be possible that he…had just died like this!?

Yezi's eyes glazed over as he looked at the figure at Lin Xun’s side, who looked like a gray-haired teenager. He stood in the air with the No-Nonsense Bow in his hand. The aura he emanated was feral and overbearing.

However, Yezi keenly perceived that the arrow strike had consumed him greatly, as could be seen from his face that was pale to the point it was almost transparent.

When Yezi turned to Lin Xun, he was even more taken aback.

At this moment, Lin Xun’s black hair had long since turned into the color of snow, as if he had aged centuries all of a sudden. His breathing was weak, and his eyes were lightless.

“Lin Xun, you…” Yezi's heart trembled.

“I’m fine,” uttered Lin Xun hoarsely. Casting Time Stopping twice in a row had burned up his entire cultivation, causing him to suffer a certain degree of backlash.

“He's still not dead,” said Wuque suddenly with an unsightly expression.

Lin Xun and Yezi were dumbstruck, and they looked up in unison.

There, in the far horizon, they saw rolling blood mist spread and tumble noiselessly. It seemed to be alive, constantly converging and writhing.

In the end, it formed into a colossal beast whose body was like a mountain range that stretched across the sky and earth and covered in scarlet, ice-cold scales.

It had eight heads, each as big as a house and demonstrating a different emotion: ferocity, evil, greed, violence, rage, desire to kill, madness…

At the back of the beast, eight snake tails were held high like sky-piercing whips. When they meandered, a blood-red haze was diffused and caused the air around to collapse.

This was the original form of Great Emperor Baqi!

RUMBLE!

The region quaked as the color of blood spread like waves. Great Emperor Baqi in his beast form roared, and the area of ten-thousand-mile radius around him was plunged into turmoil. Even the sky dome was crumbling. Infinite chaotic currents and murderous aura overshadowed the sun and moon, turning the world upside down.

It was truly a horrifying scene!

The three region lords quivered like leaves in the air, filled with both joy and fear.

It was a pleasant surprise to them that Great Emperor Baqi was still alive, while the might currently spreading from Baqi scared the souls out of their bodies.

Lin Xun, Yezi, and Wuque all looked grave as their mood sank to the bottom. Even they couldn't have imagined how terrifying Great Emperor Baqi could be.

The deadliest problem was that…all three of them were running out of strength!

“Little scum, whatever other trump cards do you have? You might as well use them all together now!” chorused the eight heads of Great Emperor Baqi, stirring up the clouds with endless cold killing intent.

He had indeed been completely enraged.

Having been heavily wounded twice in a short time despite being an eighth realm Emperor was something he still refused to believe, and he viewed it as utter shame!

“If I possessed my peak battle prowess, how could I be despised like this by such an ugly worm?” lamented Wuque.

Yezi looked calm. “If I had my past strength, then why would I even need you to deal with such a worm? It's useless to talk about this now.”

Wuque shrugged. “Then to the death we will fight. What do you say about teaming up with me and cleaving a path to life for our little master?”

Yezi didn't think twice. “Although I don't like your arrogance, I can agree to this proposal of yours.”

Wuque couldn't help but grin.

Right at this moment, Lin Xun opened his mouth to speak, “Risking your lives? Fine, but only if we’ll do it together. You guys will attack together while I give you another split second of a key opportunity!”

His tone was calm, but his eyes flashed with mad determination and hatred.

This time, he would fight to the end even if he had to use up his own life!

Wuque’s and Yezi’s expressions sank drastically. Lin Xun’s hair was already as white as snow, and his breathing was almost lifeless. If he risked his life again…

Then his dao foundation might suffer an irreparable trauma!

“A split second of a key opportunity?” Great Emperor Baqi shook his eight gigantic heads, his aura horrifying. “Is that your new natural power?”

If one talked about the one who was most knowledgeable about Lin Xun's natural talent, then it was undoubtedly Baqi.

The horror of Grand Abyss Heaven Devourer had been demonstrated vividly by Yun Qingbai.

Now, Baqi vaguely guessed something from Lin Xun’s words, but he just didn't dare to be certain.

It was because the answer would involve the mysteries of time, which would just be too inconceivable. Even he was unable to believe that such a power would appear on a supreme quasi-Emperor.

However, he already had plans to dissect Lin Xun after suppressing him to see what kind of astonishing mysteries were hiding in Lin Xun's new natural talent!

Ignoring Baqi, Lin Xun took a deep breath and said unquestionably, “Attack.”

Wuque and Yezi glanced at each other and decided against dissuading him.

Boom!

Great Emperor Baqi took the opportunity and attacked first. His immense figure oppressed the void around as he pounced toward Lin Xun’s trio at an incredible speed.

“Third time’s a charm, so do you really think that I’ll let myself be troubled by your same old trick again? Go to hell!” shouted Baqi.

He had obviously learned his lesson, which could be seen from his all-out attack that unleashed hundreds of different skills in an instant!

Each skill presented a different dao power but was the same in its limitless ferocity. Together, they densely raged forward like a storm, blotting out heaven and earth.

The region was wholly engulfed!

In this way, even if the momentary lag happened again, he would still be in a position where he would win.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun, Yezi, and Wuque were about to act.

At that instant, however, an utterly indifferent voice rang out, “Why are you risking your lives on a mere little reptile?”

The question was so sharp that it stabbed at one’s heart like a blade. Lin Xun, Wuque, and Yezi all stiffened.

A figure automatically surfaced in Lin Xun’s mind. In the endless, suffocating darkness, he sat in boredom. A thumb-thick chain, with obscure law power pulsed along it, was wrapped around his throat, feet, legs, back…

When he opened his eyes, a pair of great suns were revealed and burned through the darkness. Yet, they were also peerlessly sharp like a blade that could split the nine heavens!

It was him.

It was the weapon spirit of the Broken Blade!