Chapter 385: 216, Song Knife dies
Within a few moments, the Lingxiao Sword had already flown nearly a thousand miles. Its escape speed was astonishing, not much inferior to that of a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord.
To think he severed his arm to save his life... Song Knife is even more ruthless than I thought.
Xu Xing witnessed this scene, secretly shocked, and genuinely admired his old rival, Song Knife. Being able to make the decisive decision to abandon his Physical Body and escape using his Dao Pill in a critical moment was something many cultivators could not do. Although, after cultivating a Dao Pill, the Physical Body is only a cultivator’s second life, abandoning it is equivalent to giving up any further progress on the path of cultivation. For mediocre people, this might be acceptable. But for a Pride of Heaven like Song Knife, the consequences of abandoning his Physical Body were unimaginable.
It seems I pushed him too hard.
Xu Xing shook his head, then with a leap, he arrived near Song Knife’s Physical Body, looking at the soulless shell. This shell was still alive; breathing and movement were unimpaired. Only the most critical component—the soul—was missing.
I can try the Five Ghosts Heavenly Spell. Song Knife severed his arm to save his life, and with my escape speed, I can’t catch up. I can only kill him with curse techniques!
Xu Xing glanced at the two Talisman Treasures still battling in mid-air but didn’t bother with them. He collected the Array Banner and Song Knife’s Physical Body, then quickly withdrew from the battlefield.
Although Song Knife abandoned his Physical Body to escape, he had left a part of his Divine Sense in the Lingxiao Sword Talisman Treasure, manipulating it to cover his retreat and buy some time. If Xu Xing withdrew his own Talisman Treasure, the Lingxiao Sword Talisman Treasure would have undoubtedly attacked Xu Xing himself without hesitation. Xu Xing, however, was not lacking for Talisman Treasures; abandoning this one was of no great consequence. Moreover, this Giant Sword Talisman was already severely damaged from its fight with the Lingxiao Sword Talisman Treasure. Even if recovered, it wouldn’t be of much use.
Compared to the gain or loss of a Talisman Treasure, withdrawing from the battlefield was far more critical. Although this sea area was uninhabited, Song Knife was the Chief of Flying Feather Immortal Palace. Since Xu Xing had cornered him, Song Knife would definitely seek reinforcements from his Sect.
「Shaoqing.」
On an island in the Outer Sea of the Wangchuan Sea, Xu Xing sat cross-legged on a cushion in a temporary Cave Mansion he had established. In front of him floated five fist-sized drops of fresh blood. Beneath the blood was a palm-sized, blood-colored puppet. The puppet’s appearance was identical to his own, only it was unclothed. It looked rather small and delicate. This fresh blood was no ordinary substance; it consisted of five drops of Life Essence Blood he had extracted from Song Knife’s "corpse."
Xu Xing formed a hand seal, thinking to himself, I’ve already informed the Hundred Treasures Pavilion of Burial Halberd Elder’s death through my Outer Chamber Elder Token. When Song Knife fled, he took both his and Burial Halberd Elder’s Storage Bags. This is clear proof. However, this move can only be a backup plan. I cannot place my hopes on the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, even if Burial Halberd Elder held a significant position within it.
Before turning against Song Knife, he had already discarded Nan Lu’s Storage Bag along the way, not daring to keep it on his person for long. The Mingquan Sect must have placed a tracking array technique on someone as important as Nan Lu, similar to the Purple Ribbon Gold Seal of the Flying Feather Immortal Palace.
Of course, he had naturally helped himself to some of the treasures in Nan Lu’s Storage Bag. A treasure like the Human Yuan Fruit was worth the risk.As for Burial Halberd Elder, his cultivation was at the Dao Pill Peak, while Song Knife was only at the Dao Pill Third Stage. It would take Song Knife a significant amount of time to break through the Magic Power imprint on Burial Halberd Elder’s Storage Bag. Moreover, Song Knife had fought a fierce battle before that, leaving his body’s Magic Power and Divine Sense severely depleted. Traveling with an "enemy" like me, Song Knife probably wouldn’t waste energy breaking the Magic Power imprint on Burial Halberd Elder’s Storage Bag. After all, Burial Halberd Elder’s identity wasn’t as sensitive as Nan Lu’s. He was more like a Freelance Cultivator. The Hundred Treasures Pavilion was merely the one who hired him; their relationship wasn’t close. If he was killed, and no one reported it, the authorities wouldn’t investigate. Therefore, according to my calculations, Song Knife hasn’t had time to discard Burial Halberd Elder’s Storage Bag yet.
However, with my notification, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, even if they don’t particularly care about Burial Halberd Elder, will have to provide an explanation for the sake of stability within the pavilion and hunt down Song Knife. And those sent to hunt Song Knife, upon seeing a Dao Lord-level Lingxiao Sword and the Storage Bags of two True Monarchs... whether they’d kill him and take the loot is another question. Such treasures stir the hearts of men! Even a Dao Lord would be tempted by such treasures.
One calculated step after another. Let’s see if these calculations can eliminate this rival today.
Xu Xing gritted his teeth. As his resolve solidified, his face suddenly flushed an unnatural red. He spat out a mouthful of Golden Blood, spraying it onto the blood-colored puppet.
Instantly, the blood-colored puppet seemed to come alive. It developed a physical body, like that of an infant, stretching its limbs in mid-air.
"Five Ghosts Heavenly Spell!"
"First Curse: I curse your Essence Blood to flow in reverse and misfortune to entangle you!"
The blood-colored puppet sat cross-legged in mid-air, its expression solemn and dignified, its lips moving slightly. It opened its mouth and swallowed one of the drops of Song Knife’s Essence Blood. An ominous aura instantly erupted from its body.
The Five Ghosts Heavenly Spell was a special curse technique Xu Xing had obtained from the Immortal Mushroom Sect in the Emperor Jin World. The unique aspect of this curse technique was that one didn’t need to become a Ghost Immortal to use it. It merely required a medium to cast the curse and kill the target.
During the battle with Song Knife, Song Knife had severed his own arm to survive, abandoning his Physical Body to flee. A major reason Xu Xing hadn’t pursued him was because of this very curse technique.