Wang Xiaoqiang stepped out of the Taiyi Sect, and with a thought, a hundred Spiritual Springs flew from within his body, combining with another hundred outside to form the Spirit Spring Flying Boat. It lifted his body into the air, and following Wang Xiaoqiang's will, headed towards the Eastern Horizon.

The sky was turning dark, with the glow of the setting sun filling the heavens.

Lying on the Flying Boat, Wang Xiaoqiang admired the sunset for a moment before checking the number of Amulets that the True Person of Taiyi had given him. To his surprise and delight, there were more amulets than he had reported for his family members. However, it was just one extra, and just as Wang Xiaoqiang was pondering to whom he should give the surplus amulet, suddenly, the Spirit Spring Flying Boat made a series of clanging sounds as if sharp objects were striking it. Although the Flying Boat remained unscathed, it still caused a rocking motion.

Wang Xiaoqiang felt a slight shock in his heart as he hadn't activated his Divine Sense, thus he was unaware of his surroundings. He immediately stood up from the boat and looked around to see two people riding Flying Swords and another manipulating the sky, forming a triangular ambush as they surrounded him.

Seeing this scenario, Wang Xiaoqiang's heart sank, realizing these people must be the Crown Prince Faction that Ling Qiyan had mentioned, who had received the information and came to assassinate him. Now, trapped by the three of them and wishing to break free, he would have to slay them. He didn't know the strength of his opponents and could only judge from the vibrating intensity of the 28 Spiritual Springs within him. At that moment, he noticed that when facing the two sword-riders, the vibration of the Spiritual Springs inside him was not significant, which, from experience, suggested their cultivation was still in the Foundation Establishment Stage—evident from their sword riding rather than sky manipulation.

But when facing the person on the horizon, the vibration of the Spiritual Springs was even stronger than when he faced Lin Jinghong at the Immortal Gathering Tower, indicating that this person's cultivation was higher than Lin Jinghong's, perhaps at the Mid Golden Core Stage.

This person was none other than the leader of the Crown Prince Faction, Jiangg Yulong. As Wang Xiaoqiang was secretly assessing Jiangg Yulong's cultivation, Jiangg Yulong was also using his Divine Sense to check on Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation. When he discovered that Wang Xiaoqiang was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he was quite astonished and doubtful. According to Lin Jinghong, Wang Xiaoqiang was at the Early Golden Core Stage; how could he have reverted to the early stage of Foundation Establishment in just an afternoon? He had no way of knowing that Wang Xiaoqiang currently had only 28 Spiritual Springs within his body, corresponding exactly to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Hmm? Not only is this man at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but there is also no hint of Qi sensory around him. Such a person either has reached the Divinity Transformation, with a realm quite open and profound, or he is truly worthless... However, it's obviously not the latter, for a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage cannot manipulate the sky—and moreover, the way this man manipulates it is rather peculiar, laying flat in the air. Could it be that he relies on some magic treasure... But why can't I see this treasure, nor can my Divine Sense capture it?" pondered Jiangg Yulong to himself. As confusion grew within him, he then spoke. He decided to converse with his adversary to probe his cultivation level. Although far away, his voice conveyed through True Qi, booming loud like a gong... "Wang Xiaoqiang, do you know what place lies below us?"

Wang Xiaoqiang glanced downward and of course, he knew—as Ye Qingcheng had informed him before—it was the Gate of Hell.

"I know, it's the Gate of Hell. What do you want with it?" Wang Xiaoqiang replied with Metal Element Spiritual Energy, his voice ringing out with a metallic clang, vibrating the eardrum.

"The Gate of Hell, haha, don't you find this ironic? You took Lin Jinghong's woman from our Crown Prince Faction and injured him. Today, I'll send you to hell..."

"Who's going to hell is not yet certain!" Wang Xiaoqiang retorted from afar, sneering.

"Hmph, you're just at the early stage of Foundation Establishment... With such cultivation, you're nothing but trash in front of me, I could squash you in minutes, yet you dare to boast..."

"Why so much nonsense, if you've got the guts, bring it on!" Wang Xiaoqiang sneered.

"Ji Ning, go kill him, let's see if he keeps talking then!"

Jiang Yulong, who became the boss of the Crown Prince Faction, relied not only on his cultivation base but also on a more rational mind and a steadier temperament than most. He noticed something odd about Wang Xiaoqiang, so he didn't dare to act rashly. Now he let the hot-headed Ji Ning go and test Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base.

Ji Ning was indeed impulsive, he could hardly contain himself anymore. In his opinion, Wang Xiaoqiang was merely at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, far from the level of cultivation Lin Jinghong had mentioned. Being in the late stage of Foundation Establishment himself, he believed he could eliminate Wang Xiaoqiang within three moves, so there was no need for idle talk. After receiving the order from his boss, he drove his flying sword forward to slay Wang Xiaoqiang.

You could see Ji Ning riding his flying sword, charging ferociously towards Wang Xiaoqiang, raising his right hand towards him during the assault. Instantly, a spray of light, fine and dense, with a silver glow, rained down upon Wang Xiaoqiang.

The spell cast by Ji Ning was the Metal Attribute "Silver Light Rain," which when released, would create a large net of light rain to envelope the opponent. It was quite flexible in use, suitable for frontal assaults as well as surprise attacks. In fact, the "ding ding dang dang" sounds on the Spirit Spring Flying Boat earlier were caused by Ji Ning's Silver Light Rain. If it wasn't for the Spiritual Spring on the boat dissolving the light rain, by now, Wang Xiaoqiang would likely be pierced by the light rain, turning into a silver hedgehog.

Seeing the opponent rushing towards him and throwing out dense points of light, Wang Xiaoqiang did not dare to take it lightly. With a thought, the Spirit Spring Flying Boat beneath his feet burst apart, turning into 200 Five Elements Spirit Springs. These 200 Spirit Springs were then redistributed, with only two remaining beneath Wang Xiaoqiang's feet, holding up his body. One hundred were set up around him for defense, while the remaining 126 were absorbed into his body for offense.

As the silver light rain formed a fan shape to envelop Wang Xiaoqiang, the 100 Spirit Springs outside his body formed a five-color Spiritual Qi Shield. With a flash, the colors merged into a fiery red hue.

The next moment.

The Silver Light Rain struck the fiery red Spiritual Energy Shield, causing a sharp "ding ding dang dang" sound. The light rain, fine as needles and dense as a downpour, vanished upon touching the red shield, as if snowflakes encountering fire.

"What, early Golden Core stage? Did his cultivation base soar from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the early Golden Core stage in the blink of an eye...?" Jiang Yulong, with his thoughtful mindset, was shocked to his core when his Divine Sense detected the surge in Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base. Little did he know that Wang Xiaoqiang had added another 100 Spirit Springs inside his body.

"Why did my Silver Light Rain disappear?!" Engaged in battle, Ji Ning naturally did not notice the change in Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base. Watching his spell, Silver Light Rain, hit Wang Xiaoqiang and suddenly vanish upon contact was also shocking to him. He had no idea that Wang Xiaoqiang's internal hundred Spirit Springs had formed a Spiritual Qi Shield with the Fire Element Spiritual Energy as the main component. Fire overcomes Metal, and with an explosive release of the Fire Element Spiritual Energy, his Metal Element spell, Silver Light Rain, was completely incinerated.

Ji Ning couldn't believe it, but his figure didn't stop. He continued to pounce towards Wang Xiaoqiang, and with another raise of his hand, he released an even larger burst of light rain, dense and sprawling, looming over Wang Xiaoqiang from above. It was as thick as raindrops, leaving no time for escape.

Wang Xiaoqiang's gaze became intense, and his pupils contracted as a fiery red Spiritual Energy Shield moved above his head. In a flash, it transformed into a Spiritual Energy Umbrella, a fiery red one, that completely shielded Wang Xiaoqiang.

Clang clang clang!

Amidst the sharp ringing, the silver light rain struck the red Spiritual Energy Umbrella, but quickly dissipated.

Aaah~~

Ji Ning was shocked. The attack he had just unleashed, the silver light rain, he had pushed to its extreme, yet unexpectedly, it still hadn't inflicted any harm on his opponent. He hadn't even touched the opponent's body before it vanished into thin air. Unbeknownst to him, during the assault, he had unwittingly entered within a five-meter radius of Wang Xiaoqiang.

"Ji Ning, be careful!"

Jiang Yulong, having realized Wang Xiaoqiang's Golden Core cultivation, and seeing Ji Ning's silver light rain pose no threat to Wang Xiaoqiang, immediately shouted a warning.

But it was already too late.

A cold smirk curled on Wang Xiaoqiang's lips as he slashed a Spiritual Energy Sword toward Ji Ning.

This Spiritual Energy Sword, large as a washbasin, was extremely swift and powerful as it charged toward Ji Ning.

The key point was that only Wang Xiaoqiang could see this Spiritual Energy Sword. So, when it was about three feet away from Ji Ning, he finally sensed the danger. By the time he wanted to dodge, it was too late.

Pi!

The Spiritual Energy Sword slashed Ji Ning's right arm, and with a swoosh, it severed the entire limb.

Blood rain scattered!

The blood-soaked Ji Ning, along with his severed arm, fell from his Flying Sword.

"Ji Ning!" Yinn Xuege cried out in agony and lunged at Wang Xiaoqiang.

"Xuege, let's attack together!" Jiang Yulong did not seem to care much about Ji Ning's life or death; what mattered more was whether they could kill Wang Xiaoqiang.

Wang Xiaoqiang had summoned such a massive Spiritual Energy Sword to try to kill with one strike and avoid a group assault. Although his inner Spiritual Qi was ample and on par with the Nascent Soul stage, he lacked experience in facing enemies. If the three attacked together, he feared he wouldn't be able to cope. Though this attack didn't take the opponent's life, it did leave him severely wounded and dying, rendering him unable to continue the fight.

Yinn Xuege apparently had a good relationship with Ji Ning. After shouting, he didn't lunge at Wang Xiaoqiang; instead, he controlled his sword to descend to save Ji Ning.

"Kill that brat first!" Jiang Yulong stopped him halfway, with a roaring command that halted Yinn Xuege.

His shout drew Yinn Xuege's attention back to Wang Xiaoqiang.

Yinn Xuege glared fiercely at Wang Xiaoqiang, wishing he could tear him apart, "Brat, you killed my brother. I'll flay your skin!"

Yinn Xuege roared in fury and charged at Wang Xiaoqiang on his sword.

Jiang Yulong followed closely behind. The leader had none of the usual leader's demeanor, acting more like an underling at this moment.

Seeing the two of them attack together, Wang Xiaoqiang dared not be careless. With a thought, he floated backward a full ten feet, supported by two Spiritual Springs under his feet.

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang drifting back, Yinn Xuege thought Wang Xiaoqiang was afraid and threw caution to the wind in his rush. He brought his hands together before him, then apart, and immediately his inner Spiritual Power surged, transforming into two black giant wolves that howled skyward and, with bared fangs and claws, lunged at Wang Xiaoqiang. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to vote for it and give your monthly support at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

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