Chapter 52 The Mighty Body

Lin Yue stared at the leader's right hand. When the man spoke just now, a wisp of extremely faint "Qinglan Sword Qi" had inadvertently leaked from his sleeve—that was a basic sword move only practiced by Inner Sect Disciples of the Qingyun Sect. The trajectory of the Sword Qi flow was exactly the same as what Ren Yanran had demonstrated before.

"Since Your Excellency is a Rogue Cultivator," Lin Yue's lips curled into a cold sneer, the golden light of the prajna divine armor growing even brighter, "how do you know the Qingyun Sect's Qinglan Sword Qi? Could it be that you are an Inner Sect Disciple in disguise, trying to steal the treasures of my East Mountain Medicine Garden?"

The black-robed man froze, clearly not expecting to be exposed.

He abruptly tore off his ghost mask, revealing a handsome yet sinister face—sword-like eyebrows slanting into his temples and a high-bridged nose, but the malice in his eyes ruined the face's gentle appearance. It was exactly the Inner Sect Disciple Ye Yang that Ren Yanran had mentioned!

"Since you've seen through me, there's no need to pretend anymore." Ye Yang's spiritual power surged, and a light-brown Foundation Establishment pressure flooded toward the two like a tide. The spiritual mist on both sides of the mountain path was pushed back by the pressure. "Lin Yue, you stole Zhao Dezhu's East Mountain Medicine Garden and injured Yanran, causing her to lose face. Did you really think no one could deal with you? I am a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator; I can crush a Qi Refining ant like you with a single finger!"

From the spiritual mist behind him, Ren Yanran slowly stepped out, her face full of triumph: "Lin Yue, aren't you very good at fighting? Senior Brother Ye is at the Foundation Establishment Stage. No matter how hard your broken divine armor is, it won't hold up against Foundation Establishment Sword Gang! Today, I'll make you return everything you stole from me, with interest!"

Ye Yang raised his hand and condensed a wisp of pale-gold Sword Gang. The blade glinted with a cold light, pointing directly at the center of Lin Yue's brows: "I'll give you one last chance—kneel and beg for mercy, and perhaps I'll leave your corpse intact."

Lin Yue didn't speak, only moving to shield Ling Wei behind him.

The prajna divine armor emitted a steady golden glow under the Foundation Establishment pressure. The mark on his chest resonated with the spiritual power in his Dantian, and it actually began to quietly absorb the power of the surrounding Spiritual Vein—this was a hidden function of the divine armor he had just discovered: the more powerful the attack it encountered, the more pure the spiritual power it fed back.

"It seems you're looking for death." Killing intent surged in Ye Yang's eyes as he slashed out the Sword Gang. It carried a sharp whistle that tore through the air, and the ground of the mountain path was carved with a deep trench by the Sword Gang's aftershock, sending gravel flying.

Ling Wei was about to activate a Formation when she saw Lin Yue move forward to meet the attack without dodging.

Bang!

The Sword Gang struck the prajna divine armor but failed to cause the slightest damage. Instead, it was instantly absorbed by the golden light and transformed into wisps of pale-gold spiritual power, flowing through the divine armor into Lin Yue's Dantian.

Not only was he unhurt, but he felt the spiritual power within his body become more solid. The subtle damage to his Meridians from his previous fight with Xuan Chenzi was actually being quietly repaired by this spiritual power.

"This... impossible!" Ye Yang's pupils constricted. He had never seen a Magic Treasure capable of absorbing a Foundation Establishment attack. "What is the origin of that broken armor of yours?"

Lin Yue flexed his wrists as the power of the Wanjun Overlord Body surged through him: "You aren't qualified to know."

Ling Wei took the opportunity to back away two steps, her fingertips tracing Formation runes in her palm—the foundations of the Zhou Tian Star Array had already been quietly buried by her on both sides of the mountain path, waiting for the right moment to be instantly activated.

Looking at Ye Yang's shocked expression, a faint smile appeared on her lips: "Senior Brother Ye, did you think you could do whatever you wanted just because you're at the Foundation Establishment Stage? Today, I'll let you witness what it means to be 'bested by a superior power'."

Ye Yang's shock lasted only a moment before being replaced by fury.

As an Inner Sect Disciple, his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation made him like a celestial being in the eyes of Outer Sect Disciples. Now, having his killing move blocked by a Qi Refining Cultivator using a piece of "broken armor" was an absolute humiliation!

"You think you can win against me with a single Magic Treasure?" Ye Yang's spiritual power surged once more, the light-brown spiritual light mixing with Qinglan Sword Qi as his hands quickly formed seals. "Foundation Establishment Technique—Thick Earth Art: Mountain Suppression!"

The ground suddenly shook violently. Several zhang-high azure gold stones protruded from the rock walls on both sides of the path like miniature mountain peaks. Carrying majestic earth-attribute spiritual power, they ground toward Lin Yue and Ling Wei.

This was a high-level technique that only Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators could perform. The spiritual runes on the azure gold stones flickered, and even the air was compressed into stagnation. The Formation Ling Wei was about to activate was actually suppressed by this pressure, making its spiritual power flow sluggish.

"Senior Brother, be careful!" Ling Wei warned urgently, her fingertips condensing a wisp of pale-blue spiritual power to forcibly activate the Formation bases buried underground. Several Low-Grade Spirit Stones instantly lit up, and pale-blue Formation runes spread along the Spiritual Vein, but they could only barely block one azure gold stone. The others continued to smash toward Lin Yue.

Lin Yue's gaze narrowed as the golden light of the prajna divine armor exploded. He leaped up, the Wanjun Overlord Body erupting with full force. His right fist, condensed with Heaven-Burning Sword Intent, slammed hard into the foremost azure gold stone.

The fist wind carried a sharp glow that could incinerate everything. The moment it collided with the azure gold stone, the hard stone was smashed until it cracked with a spider-web pattern!

Crack!

Amidst the roar of the shattering azure gold stone, Lin Yue used the force to leap back and land beside Ling Wei.

Just as he stood firm, he saw Ye Yang's two lackeys take the chance to pounce—the Cultivator with the flail swung it with a whistling wind, aiming straight for Ling Wei's back; the one carrying the iron staff swept it toward Lin Yue's knees, clearly intending to cripple him.

As the flail smashed toward Ling Wei's back with an air-tearing whistle, Lin Yue stepped sideways to block her.

His left shoulder dipped slightly, and the prajna divine armor instantly lit up with brilliant golden light. The mark on his chest boomed in resonance with his Dantian's spiritual power—the pale-gold spiritual power he had just absorbed from Ye Yang's Sword Gang was still flowing through his Meridians, and now it all flooded into his right hand.

Clang!

His fingers clamped onto the iron ring of the flail like iron pincers, and the strength of the Wanjun Overlord Body suddenly erupted! The immense force transmitted through his fingertips made Lin Yue's wrist tremble slightly, but he didn't retreat a single step. Instead, he pulled forward, following the flail's momentum.

The Cultivator holding the flail had intended to use the momentum to send Ling Wei flying, but he hadn't expected Lin Yue's strength to be so terrifying. He was yanked forward, stumbling, with a lingering cruel grin still on his face.

"Break for me!"

Lin Yue gave a low shout and exerted sudden force with his right hand. With a crisp "crack," the thumb-thick iron ring was crushed flat by his grip. The chain links shattered into fragments, and flying iron filings grazed the Cultivator's cheek, leaving several bloody gashes.

Before the opponent could react, Lin Yue condensed a wisp of Green Fire Sword Intent in his left hand and struck the Cultivator's chest.

The palm strike seemed gentle, but it was actually wrapped in Ten Thousand Jun Force and Heaven-Burning Sword Intent. The Cultivator's protective spiritual light shattered like paper, and his breastbone made a distinct "collapsing" sound. He was sent flying like a broken kite, slamming heavily into the rock wall beside the path. The bloody foam he coughed up was mixed with fine bone fragments, and after a couple of struggles, he fell silent.

On the other side, the Cultivator carrying the iron staff saw his companion killed in an instant. Instead of retreating, he grinned and accelerated, the iron staff sweeping toward Lin Yue's knees with a wind-breaking whistle. He calculated that Lin Yue had just finished dealing with the flail and his old strength was spent while new strength had yet to rise; this strike would surely cripple the opponent.

However, Lin Yue acted as if he had eyes in the back of his head, his left foot slamming hard against the ground.

The golden light of the prajna divine armor seeped into the earth and stone through his sole, and the bluestone slabs of the mountain path instantly cracked into a spider-web pattern. He used the momentum to vault half a foot into the air, perfectly avoiding the sweep of the iron staff.

Bang!

The iron staff struck empty air, vibrating the ground and sending gravel flying. The Cultivator wanted to pull the staff back for another sweep, but Lin Yue had already turned in mid-air, his right foot kicking the middle of the iron staff with Ten Thousand Jun Force.

Zheng—Crack!

The iron staff, forged from fine iron, was actually kicked into a ninety-degree bend, with iron filings falling away. The hand holding the staff was shaken until the tiger's mouth split open, blood flowing freely. Before he could let go, Lin Yue's right fist, carrying Heaven-Burning Sword Intent, smashed into his face.

As the fist wind passed, the Cultivator's nose bridge instantly collapsed, and his teeth sprayed out along with blood.

He didn't even manage a full scream; he was like a sandbag hit by a heavy hammer, flying sideways and slamming into the azure gold stone Ye Yang had just summoned. After a dull "thud," he slumped to the ground, his knees bent at a bizarre angle—his leg bones were clearly completely shattered.

In just two breaths, one of the two Foundation Establishment lackeys was dead and the other was crippled. The mountain path fell into an instant, deathly silence, save for the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the spiritual mist.