"Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!"
The sounds of fragmentation and reconstitution echoed relentlessly. As Li Yunlin took hold of the long halberd that the Skyveil Hall had become, its unique starry-sky hue unexpectedly began to creep from the Skyveil Halberd itself, spreading bit by bit over Li Yunlin's form until his entire body shared the weapon's deep, starlit color!
His previously injured body instantly recovered. His aura surged, strengthening continuously – this was the power of the Nine Spirit Fire, Azure Mist Branch, and Tian Xing Tear, formerly contained within the Hall, now flowing into his very being. Beyond that, the Hall's originally robust outer shell seemed to fuse with his own form, rendering his entire body as incomparably hard and resilient as the artifact itself!
Power... An unimaginable level of power surged through him. Simply clenching his fist, he felt as though he now held Control over everything.
Furthermore, within a hundred-meter radius, all was utterly suppressed by the Skyveil Hall's power. Unless an opponent possessed sufficient strength to break through the combined oppressive force of the three integrated spirit objects, anyone caught within that range would find themselves completely immobilized!
"Yazhi... Yazhi, save me!"
The terrified shouts broke Li Yunlin's concentration. He glanced sideways at the Nangong family Elder – the same one who had recklessly charged him moments before, now frozen eighty meters away. What trace remained now of the man's earlier arrogance? All that was left was a distorted expression from his futile struggles, and eyes brimming with abject terror. Li Yunlin could even make out the fine blood vessels standing out in them.
"Her, save you?" Li Yunlin scoffed. "Perhaps you should look where she's gone."
Li Yunlin gave a slight lift of his left hand. The Nangong Elder immediately felt the immobilizing pressure ease just enough for him to rigidly twist his head around. He looked, only to see...
"That bitch!!!"
He roared, eyes practically splitting with rage. All that remained before him was a distant streak of light; Nangong Yazhi, employing some unknown Secret technique, had already vanished from the scene!
"Spare my life... Your Excellency, please spare me!" the Elder begged, his tone changing completely. "You witnessed it yourself! Nangong Yazhi attacked me! Now she has abandoned me! Whatever happens now, she and I are sworn enemies, irreconcilable until death! Besides, I can still be of use!"
Fear of imminent death truly ignites the instinct to survive. Where now was even a shred of the Nangong Elder's earlier reckless arrogance?
The Elder's mind raced. Paradoxically, as his panic subsided, he began to regain his composure, gazing steadily at Li Yunlin, whose skin now shimmered like the starry sky. In a low, measured voice, the Elder said, "I also know you won't be able to catch Nangong Yazhi. She's employing our Nangong bloodline's secret technique – the 'Sacred Gold Heavenly Evasion technique'. Once she escapes, she can transform into gold or silver, burying herself anywhere and appearing completely inanimate. She can remain dormant like that for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, her lifespan consumption slowed a hundredfold!"
Li Yunlin said nothing, but he had indeed witnessed Nangong Yazhi's escape. Her evasion technique was truly formidable. Even though integrating the Skyveil Hall had boosted his own strength considerably, he couldn't be certain of catching her.
When the Nangong Elder saw Li Yunlin appear to consider his words, a flicker of hope sparked in his eyes. "Your Excellency!" he quickly added, "I can locate her! Our blood connection runs deep! Just let me live, and I will do absolutely anything you command! Besides, Nangong Yazhi is treacherous and deceitful – surely you don't want someone like her plotting against you day and night? Even if you intend to kill me," the Elder declared vehemently, "I demand Nangong Yazhi dies first!"
But no sooner had the words left his mouth than his face turned the colour of dead ashes.
Li Yunlin looked perplexed. "Surely you don't believe," he asked the Elder, "that Nangong Yazhi can actually get away?"
"What..." The Elder's face turned the colour of dead ashes.
.....
Flee!
Nangong Yazhi fled, her expression grim. She could never have conceived that Li Yunlin possessed so many trump cards! His potential to face the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was astonishing enough, but even if he had successfully passed through the tribulation's tempering fires, she still would have considered him merely so-so. However, the moment the Skyveil Hall revealed its true nature as that fearsome weapon, she immediately abandoned any thought of further entanglement with Li Yunlin. She knew that even if she deployed every last one of her trump cards, she would be absolutely no match for him now.
Perhaps only Xu Dingsheng from Xu family; or Bai Heng from Red Star Fort (ranked 8th on the Nascent Divinity List); or the Wuwen Scholar of True Yang Faction (ranked 10th); or maybe the Mang Monk of Great Ming King Temple (ranked 19th) – perhaps only individuals of their caliber might possibly stand a chance against the Li Yunlin of this moment!
"I've only heard confirmed reports that Xu Dingsheng is inside this Tian Xing Abode," Nangong Yazhi thought as she fled. "Let's hope those other three from Eternal Sun Prefecture are present as well." Nangong Yazhi let out a long, shuddering breath. "Otherwise," she lamented, "forcing me to use a secret art restricted to once-a-century use, and costing my Nangong family two Nascent Soul experts... If only I suffer from this encounter, this immense grudge... my heart will never be settled!"
Yet scarcely had this lament passed through her mind when her expression shifted drastically. She had employed the 'Sacred Gold Heavenly Evasion Secret technique' and was already over 30 miles distant, well beyond the typical detection range of a Nascent Soul. Just as she prepared to burrow deep underground to conceal herself for a few months before plotting her revenge, something forced her to halt dead in mid-air!
From all eight directions, peculiar Spirit Tablets rose into the air – thirteen in total– forming a tight circle that securely trapped her within.
She recognized the tablets instantly. A common rumor outside held that Li family members only fought while carrying Spirit Tablets – a piece of widely known intelligence, often mocked by many in the Eternal Sun Prefecture. Yet, it was just as widely understood that the appearance of those Li family tablets signified one thing: the Li were prepared to fight to the death!
Simultaneously, numerous spirit artifacts materialized in the air around her, and – impossibly – even totems, items exclusively employed by the Wu Clan! Layer upon layer of spiritual arrays shimmered into existence; clearly, the opponent had been prepared for this long in advance.
There was truly no escape left for her!
"Li... Family!"
....
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