Chapter 2865 Successive Incidents

The sky shook. The ambush had come so suddenly, so Lin Xun was caught completely off guard. Despite that, he wasn't exactly angry by this. In the Ten Directions Demon Realm, suffering from sneak attacks and ambushes was commonplace.

However, upon seeing Li Zhen being trapped, Lin Xun couldn't help but feel furious.

Boom!

Lin Xun unleashed his five dao bodies without hesitation, intending to rescue Li Zhen. Unfortunately, at that moment, Wen Qiaoshui smiled faintly and said, "Fellow Daoist Lin, your opponent is me."

As soon as his words rang out, from the surrounding area, massive golden stone pillars suddenly burst forth, sealing off the heavens and earth. Each pillar was covered in mysterious dao diagrams, depicting flowers, birds, insects, fish, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as the myriad phenomena of the universe and the laws of heaven and earth.

There were seventy-two stone pillars in total, and they formed a vast, austere forbidden formation, sealing off this entire space. This was the Heavenly Divine Forbidden Array!

The Wen Clan, one of the Eternal Divine Clans from the Ninth Heaven Domain, possessed a complete ninth grade Heaven Rank law that was imbued with a natural restriction formation power. Once activated, even a Transcendence Stage cultivator would be trapped, making escape extremely difficult!

Boom!

The formation shone as the stone pillars emanated golden light. It sealed the heavens and earth, and Lin Xun's five great dao bodies were instantly blocked off. Even with his full-strength attack, he only managed to cause a violent fluctuation but was unable to break through.

Seeing this, Lin Xun's face darkened. "It seems you've been planning this for a long time and are quite prepared."

Wen Qiaoshui smiled. "To deal with Fellow Daoist Lin, one must plan ahead and make thorough arrangements. Otherwise, I could have easily faced a setback."

He appeared calm and confident. However, the implication was that even a divine son-level figure like him had long carefully thought out this attack against Lin Xun. Only after thorough preparations could he orchestrate this sudden ambush.

Boom!

His five great dao bodies rushed forward, joining Lin Xun himself in an attack. He was intent on obtaining a swift victory and completely suppressing Wen Qiaoshui. However, who could have imagined that the person in question would explode with a bang, vanishing without a trace? Lin Xun's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Hahaha!" Outside the Heavenly Divine Forbidden Array, Wen Qiaoshui's laughter echoed. "Brother Lin, this is my Wen Clan’s supreme inheritance, Stealing the Heavens and Swapping the Sun. It's a mysterious art that was comprehended from a true Divine Rank law. Not to mention you, even those in the Eternal Realm would likely be deceived by it."

Lin Xun looked outside the Heavenly Divine Forbidden Array and saw Wen Qiaoshui, dressed in a blue garment, chatting and laughing calmly, with an air of confidence. On the other side was a heavily wounded Li Zhen, his body drenched in blood.

The four Buddha Masters wore solemn expressions as their bodies radiated Buddha light. They showed no mercy in their attack with each subsequent one being more ferocious and fierce than the last. Even though Li Zhen was doing his best, he could only barely hold on.

Seeing this, Lin Xun's dark eyes shone with terrifying murderous intent. "Since your target is me, then why are you still trying to embarrass an elder of my Origin Sect?"

"Brother Lin, don't worry. I won't kill him. After all, there's no grudge between us. However, from today on, I'm afraid Elder Li Zhen will have to stay with me for a while,” Wen Qiaoshui said with a smile.

"What are you going to do?" Lin Xun asked, his eyes growing colder.

"It's simple. The Heaven Demon Realm will soon open. I hope Fellow Daoist Lin can help me hold back some of my opponents while I fight for that greatest opportunity." Wen Qiaoshui then stated while waving his hand, "Everyone, rest a little. Don't let Elder Li Zhen get too seriously injured. If you do, Fellow Daoist Lin will probably hate me to the core."

Sure enough, the four Buddha Masters changed their fighting style, now aiming to trap rather than kill, so their attacks became more restrained. This gave Li Zhen a moment to breathe. However, he was already severely wounded and covered in blood. In such a situation, there was no chance for a comeback.

"Lin Xun, just give it your all. Don't worry about me!" Li Zhen shouted. He was ready to die!

"Elder Li Zhen, I will not let you die." Wen Qiaoshui stated calmly, "Any attempts at suicide would also not work."

With a flick of his sleeve, a shimmering white jade pagoda soared into the air, radiating countless ripples of dao light. In an instant, Li Zhen, already trapped, was now firmly imprisoned. The white jade pagoda hovered above his head, unleashing a power so strong that he couldn't even lift a finger!

"So, Fellow Daoist Lin, have you thought it through?" Wen Qiaoshui turned his gaze back to Lin Xun.

Lin Xun asked, "Threatening me with another person’s life? Is that the style of divine sons like you?"

Wen Qiaoshui shook his head. "If it were anyone else, I would have just killed them. There's no need for such elaborate preparations. But you, Fellow Daoist Lin, are different. Wang Juehuan and the others were so well prepared, yet in the end, you wiped them out. Cang Fufeng, a man with a violent and ruthless temperament, is one of the top divine sons in the Ninth Heaven Domain, yet he also suffered a great loss at your hands."

After a pause, he smiled. "So, I dare not underestimate you. After much deliberation, I realized the only one who could get you to restrain yourself is Elder Li Zhen, so I've resorted to this desperate measure."

"Why didn’t you try to target my senior brother Well Moon instead?" Lin Xun asked.

The look in Wen Qiaoshui's eyes became subtle. "I was originally planning to do the same, but if I did, Miss Shanhai wouldn't stand idly by. I admire her greatly, so I had to give up on that idea."

Lin Xun fell silent for a moment. Wen Qiaoshui was incredibly well-prepared. He knew Li Zhen was his weak spot. Capturing Li Zhen would allow him to coerce him. This was undoubtedly a brilliant move.

Looking at the current situation, it was obvious Wen Qiaoshui hadn't intended to fight him head-on as he had used both his clan’s mysterious art and a forbidden formation. His goal was simple: to force him into his own plans!

"Fellow Daoist Lin, this Earth Demon Realm is vast. Any attempts of you to stall is futile. As long as Elder Li Zhen is under my control, there will be no chance for you." Wen Qiaoshui said casually, but his brows were arched with confidence and arrogance.

Lin Xun suddenly laughed. "Is that so?"

Bang!

The Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron roared, slamming fiercely into a stone pillar that was shimmering with golden dao light.

"It's useless..." Seeing this, Wen Qiaoshui was about to say more, but he then forced himself to swallow it back down. His expression instantly changed.

Crack!

The massive golden stone pillar, towering to the sky, was smashed apart, and the power of the ninth grade Heaven Rank law covering it dissipated with it. This was precisely what caused Wen Qiaoshui's face to blanch.

The Heavenly Divine Forbidden Array was made from a ninth grade Heaven Rank law. It was incredibly powerful, with natural restraining dao runes embedded within it, so it was able to restrain even experts in the Transcendence Realm!

Despite that, Lin Xun had easily shattered a hole in it! Startled, Wen Qiaoshui displayed terrifying reflexes. His first action wasn't to stop the charging Lin Xun, but instead to turn and charge at Li Zhen, threatening his life.

Wen Qiaoshui was confident he could hold Li Zhen, already imprisoned by the pagoda, hostage and stage a comeback. However, at that moment, a cyan spear suddenly appeared out of nowhere, its tip thrusting forward with unmatched force.

Crack!

The white jade pagoda hovering above Li Zhen's head was shattered, smashed into smithereens. The cyan spearhead did not slow down one iota as it charged towards Wen Qiaoshui with a blinding glare of light.

This unexpected turn of events caused Wen Qiaoshui's expression to change drastically, and he cried out, "Miss Shanhai?!"

Bang!

He swung his Nine Desolates War Halberd to block the thrust, but although he managed to stop the spear, he was thrown back several steps with his entire body of qi surging. At the same time, Ji Shanhai appeared beside Li Zhen, grabbed him, and carried him away.

As for the four Buddha Masters who had been surrounding Li Zhen, when faced with this sudden turn of events, they only had time to dodge and watch helplessly as Ji Shanhai charged over like a swift horse, rescuing Li Zhen. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. From Lin Xun breaking through the array to Ji Shanhai rushing out to rescue Li Zhen, it happened almost simultaneously, incredibly fast.

This abrupt change completely smashed Wen Qiaoshui's plans, rendering all his efforts in vain. "Miss Shanhai, how could it be you?"

Wen Qiaoshui lost his composure as he became filled with surprise and doubt.

"Why couldn't it be me?" Ji Shanhai continued calmly, "By taking hostages to coerce others, you, Wen Qiaoshui, have brought shame upon your entire Wen Clan."

Boom!

In the distance, Lin Xun was already charging forward, not bothering to hide his murderous intent. Wen Qiaoshui had threatened Li Zhen's life, thus crossing his bottom line.

Lin Xun’s figure shone in a glittering manner, and the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron, emanating billions of rays of light, descended upon his target. With this blow, Wen Qiaoshui's figure once again dissipated like foam.

In the far distance, Wen Qiaoshui emerged, his face grim. He glanced at Lin Xun, then at Ji Shanhai, and sighed deeply.

"So, you two have long become allies. I never imagined that a person like Miss Shanhai would be mingling with the heir of Fangchun Mountain. If word of this spread back to the Ninth Heaven Domain, I wonder what the world would think. Well, since my plan has failed, I, Wen Qiaoshui, accept my defeat and shall depart."

His voice was still echoing in the air as he fled into the distance. He had left immediately, not even taking along the four Buddha Masters of the Zen Sect with him.

Lin Xun was about to give chase when Ji Shanhai stopped him, saying, "You can't catch up. That guy possesses the Wen Clan's mysterious art of Stealing the Heavens and Swapping the Sun. If he wants to escape, no one in the universe can possibly stop him."

Lin Xun frowned. "Is it truly impossible to restrain him?"

Ji Shanhai explained, "This art is imbued with the power of the Wen Clan's Divine Rank law, Void God’s Realm. Only those who have reached the Eternal Realm can discern his true form and see through his secret art. However, with Wen Qiaoshui's current level of skill, every time he uses it, his cultivation will suffer from a backlash. If he uses it too often, he will end up burning himself in the end. Therefore, he will not use it unless it is absolutely necessary."

Lin Xun finally understood. Then, he looked at the four Buddha Masters of the Zen Sect. Wen Qiaoshui had escaped on his own, but the four Buddha Masters could not do the same. It wasn't because they didn't want to, but instead because they couldn’t.

With both Lin Xun and Ji Shanhai present, they had no way to escape!

However, even at this point, the four Buddha Masters remained calm and solemn with not a trace of panic showing, which was a testament to their fortitude. Or perhaps it could be said that they were ready to fight to the death!

"Miss Shanhai, please help me keep an eye on Li Zhen. I'll take care of these four old bald men!" As he spoke, Lin Xun stepped forward, his eyes as cold and deep as an abyss.