202: Let you wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump

The setting sun dyed the mountains blood-red, and Liu Mingxuan, dressed in white, hovered in mid-air, his body enveloped in flames.

Three zhang away from him, Old Mo's figure flickered in the twilight, seven eerie blue bone-piercing needles weaving between his withered fingers.

"More than two months," Liu Mingxuan sneered. "You certainly made us wait long enough."

Mountain winds swept up withered leaves, and a hoarse chuckle escaped Old Mo's throat: "You little ones have reaped quite a harvest."

Immediately after, his eyes swept over the empty valley entrance behind the two of them. "Strange, why didn't that brat from Xuan Yin Valley come out with you?"

Hearing this, Liu Mingxuan frowned slightly: "Could it be that he perished inside?"

He scrutinized Lin Feng with a sharp gaze. "To be able to make the Young Lord of the Xuan Yin Sect stumble, Your Excellency is certainly full of surprises."

Old Mo gave a sinister sneer: "What a pity, what a pity. Even if you dealt with Li Feiyu, you won't be able to break this trap today."

He gently rubbed the bone-piercing needles with his fingers. "With the two of us joining forces against one Early Core Formation Cultivator and an extra burden at the Foundation Establishment Stage, no matter how you calculate it, this is a profitable deal."

Hearing this, Liu Mingxuan laughed heartily: "Old Mo speaks the truth. Fellow Daoist Lin, if you are sensible, you might as well hand over everything you obtained in the Secret Realm; perhaps you might still be left with an intact corpse."

The two sang in harmony, appearing relaxed, but in reality, they exchanged a secret glance.

Li Feiyu's disappearance did make them vigilant, but facing Lin Feng, who appeared to have expended much energy, and Fang Lingyao, who was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they were clearly confident of victory.

Liu Mingxuan made the first Move, pressing his fingers together and drawing a blazing talisman in the air.

The talisman transformed into three fire crows, which shrieked as they lunged toward Lin Feng.

At the same time, seven bone-piercing needles flew out from Old Mo's sleeves, silently sealing off all of Lin Feng's retreat paths.

Lin Feng didn't even Move his feet; the dou su sword gave a gentle vibration, and the tip of the sword scattered fine water droplets.

The water droplets wove into a net in the air. The fire crows collided with it, hissing and sizzling as they were instantly extinguished.

Those seven bone-piercing needles were like falling into a quagmire; after struggling twice in the water net, they vanished without a trace.

"Child's play," Lin Feng said in a flat tone.

A flash of anger crossed Liu Mingxuan's eyes; clearly, he hadn't expected Lin Feng's control over the water attribute to be so exquisite, easily neutralizing their probe.

"To be able to force me to use the crimson phoenix sky burning pearl, you have enough reason to be proud!" Liu Mingxuan formed a hand seal and pointed, summoning the crimson phoenix sky burning pearl.

The pearl soared into the air, its golden-red patterns swirling as it emitted a suffocating heatwave, causing the surrounding vegetation to wither and curl.

"Go!" Liu Mingxuan formed a seal and pointed, and the crimson phoenix sky burning pearl transformed into a golden-red stream of light, shooting straight at Lin Feng's face.

Wherever the pearl passed, the air was scorched and twisted, demonstrating the terrifying power that a Magic Treasure should possess.

At the same time, Old Mo spat out a mouthful of essence blood. The essence blood condensed into blood-colored skull runes, transforming into nine pitch-black strands of Evil Qi spirits, silently attacking Lin Feng's back.

Wherever the Evil Qi spirits passed, the air twisted, and even light seemed to be swallowed.

Facing the pincer attack from front and back, Lin Feng swung his long sword in an arc. As the blade vibrated, a sky full of mysterious black water droplets was scattered out.

"Xuanming Heavy Water Realm."

With Lin Feng as the center, a mysterious black water curtain slowly unfolded.

The crimson phoenix sky burning pearl slammed into the water curtain, its speed dropping sharply, but the light of the pearl only dimmed slightly as it continued to advance stubbornly.

And Old Mo's Evil Qi spirits had their speed greatly reduced within the heavy water barrier.

Liu Mingxuan's expression sank. He had originally thought that relying on a Magic Treasure like the crimson phoenix sky burning pearl would be enough to easily break through any defense. Seeing his Magic Treasure constrained now, he was both shocked and angry.

"Watch me break this tortoise shell of yours!" He exerted all his power to urge the crimson phoenix sky burning pearl. The phantom of the Phoenix inside the pearl flapped its wings and shrieked, its pure Yang true fire constantly vaporizing the heavy water.

Forming seals with both hands, he roared: "Phoenix Wings Soaring!"

The crimson phoenix sky burning pearl suddenly erupted with a blinding golden-red light.

Old Mo also changed his Move simultaneously. The nine Evil Qi spirits merged into one, transforming into an incredibly solid pitch-black long needle, piercing straight at the place where the water curtain fluctuated most violently.

"Vortex Shield."

Lin Feng's sword tip drew a perfect arc, and the heavy water in front of him formed a rapidly rotating vortex.

The pitch-black long needle slammed into the vortex. Not only did it fail to break through, but it was deflected, and some of the cold Death Qi was even rebounded back.

Old Mo let out a muffled groan, his sleeve torn open, a look of shock appearing on his face.

Liu Mingxuan let out a sharp cry. The crimson phoenix sky burning pearl traced an arcane trajectory in the air, and the Phoenix phantom inside the pearl completely detached from the pearl, transforming into a three-zhang fire Phoenix that swooped down.

This was his killer Move, "Phoenix Dancing in the Nine Heavens," with which he had once slain powerful enemies above his own level.

The fire Phoenix flapped its wings, bringing up a sky full of golden-red sparks, each spark exploding violently when it touched the heavy water barrier.

Old Mo also simultaneously urged all his Evil Qi, the Evil Qi spirits transforming into a sky full of black threads, wrapping toward Lin Feng from all directions.

Lin Feng moved his feet slightly, the dou su sword moving from bottom to top, slowly rising.

One Sea Quelling Stance caused the swooping fire Phoenix's movements to instantly deform, and cracks appeared on its gorgeous wings.

But Liu Mingxuan laughed out loud: "Is that all you've got? My crimson phoenix sky burning pearl was forged from the essence soul of the ancient true spirit Golden Flame Heavenly Phoenix; how could you possibly resist it!"

He frantically channeled his spiritual power. Although the fire Phoenix was constrained, it was still pressing down on Lin Feng bit by bit. He believed that as long as he persisted for another moment, he would definitely be able to break this troublesome heavy water barrier.

Old Mo was also secretly gathering strength, preparing to deliver a fatal blow when Lin Feng's energy was exhausted.

Both sides fell into a stalemate, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that Lin Feng, relying solely on the Moves of the dou su sword, could only barely maintain a non-losing position; defeat was just a matter of time.

Just at this critical moment, a faint glimmer flashed from Lin Feng's sleeve.

"To be able to force me to use the boundary-containing pearl, you have enough reason to be proud," Lin Feng said calmly, returning Liu Mingxuan's previous words exactly.

The boundary-containing pearl hovered silently over the battlefield.

"Hum—"

The smile on Liu Mingxuan's face instantly froze. He felt as if he were being crushed by a ten-thousand-zhang mountain, every bone in his body groaning under the unbearable weight.

He desperately channeled his spiritual power, wanting to stabilize his figure, but the previously agile crimson phoenix sky burning pearl was now as heavy as a mountain, and even maintaining its levitation became extremely difficult.

"This is impossible!" Liu Mingxuan roared.

This crimson phoenix sky burning pearl of his was a Sect treasure, possessing the power to burn the sky and boil the sea; how could it be suppressed by a mere gravity field to the point where its spiritual light dimmed?

There even came fear and wailing from the Phoenix essence soul inside the pearl.

On the other side, Old Mo was even more wretched. The Nine-Child Mother Evil Qi spirits he relied on for his fame, under the dual crushing pressure of the Sea Quelling Stance and the boundary-containing pearl, couldn't even struggle before shattering inch by inch, dissipating into wisps of black smoke.

He had cultivated this Evil Qi spirit technique for nearly a hundred years, believing he had long since refined this evil skill to a Transcendent level, enough to walk sideways within the Core Formation Stage.

But at this moment, the Evil Qi he had painstakingly cultivated all his life was like paper, vanishing into thin air without even touching the corner of his opponent's clothes.

This feeling of powerlessness from having his cultivation completely crushed caused a look of near-collapse to appear on his aged face for the first time.

Only now did the two truly understand how ridiculous their previous judgment of Lin Feng's strength had been.

They completely couldn't understand what kind of Magic Treasure had caused this sudden, terrifying gravity, let alone how to break it.

Lin Feng didn't give them any time to think. He dispersed the dou su sword and pointed his right hand to the sky. The sky above the valley suddenly darkened, and thick thunderclouds gathered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Electric snakes darted wildly within the clouds, emitting a dull rumble.