Ling Xiao only felt the world spinning around him. He didn't quite know when it happened, or how, but suddenly he was no longer in Ancestor Qi Mo's embrace.
Ancestor Qi Mo had ensured Ling Xiao the hypocrites of the Seven Grand Holy Lands would definitely save him so he need not be worried. And as expected, everything went according to Ancestor Qi Mo's predictions.
However, Ling Xiao wasn't aware that when his body was being pulled toward Li Xuanyi, Ancestor Qi Mo made a slight movement with his hand. The dagger coated with highly toxic poison flew straight toward Ling Xiao's heart!
"You vicious old monster!" The old man wearing green garments couldn't stay still any longer. His eyes were about to burst apart in anger. With a small movement, an enormous blue mark appeared behind Ling Xiao's back. The dagger that was about to deliver a fatal wound to Ling Xiao, crashed into the blue mark instead.
"Take this!" a red-haired old man said before undergoing rapid changes. In an instant, he transformed into a huge blue dragon that was tens of meters long. "Roaarrr!" He struck out toward Ancestor Qi Mo with his claw.
Ancestor Qi Mo didn't dodge, a sneer forming on his face. He gently tapped the claw, then moved his finger up. A greenish black smoke emerged, revealing themselves to be many roaring and snarling ghosts.
"King of Hell's Finger!" It was just a light touch, but everyone present was taken aback. The old man who had transformed into a dragon rapidly pulled back his claw.
"Be careful, Zhao Yang!" Enlightened Wu Jing exclaimed. After which a giant talisman flew out from his hand.
Ancestor Qi Mo's finger was about to pierce the huge dragon's claw, but what he struck wasn't the claw, it was Enlightened Wu Jing's talisman. The blue talisman dissipated into countless blue specks of light upon contact.
"Pft!" There was a sweet taste in Enlightened Wu Jing's throat as blood gushed out of his mouth.
Ling Xiao noticed that his current eyesight was exceptionally good. He could clearly see every single detail of the blood spurting out of Enlightened Wu Jing's mouth from tens of meters away. "I never would've thought this old bastard was so powerful! Perhaps I really can reign supreme over those guys once I receive his full inheritance!"
Ancestor Qi Mo's attack, which he made so casually yet was so overbearing, was deeply imprinted within Ling Xiao's mind. A strange sense of self-confidence slowly took root from the bottom of his heart and sprouted.
"Demon, you dare to harm others in the face of death. Just watch how we're going to kill you!" the Purple Jade Sect's matriarch exclaimed. She was a middle-aged woman clad in purple garments who behaved like she was menopausing. With a wave of her hand, her palm and the faintly discernible chain on her neck simultaneously shone with blue rays of light.
The blue light rapidly turned into a giant with two blue wings on its back. It was holding a greatsword in its hands as it hacked away in Ancestor Qi Mo's direction.
Li Xuanyi was carrying Ling Xiao in one arm as he drew a pentagram array in the air with the other. "Go!"
The dazzling blue array flew toward Ancestor Qi Mo. The others also released their techniques one after the other, simultaneously attacking Ancestor Qi Mo.
In a flash, various attacks were fluttering in the sky. The one at the heart of all these attacks laughed maniacally. "You want to kill me? The price will be steep!"
A chain emerged from Ancestor Qi Mo's chest an instant before the attacks from the seven powerhouses would strike him. Seven gems were strung together, emitting greenish black rays of light.
Suddenly, a dense layer of dark clouds covered the sky, blocking the sun's piercing light and turning Northern Jade City into a place of darkness.
A single thought ran through the minds of the seven when they saw this. He's going to self-destruct with the soul chain! Run! They turned tail and dashed away as fast as they could.
A loud rumble rang out and it seemed as though the sky itself had exploded, a pitch-black hole appearing in the darkness.
The next moment, Ancestor Qi Mo's body disappeared. Countless black traces of gas turned into black raindrops, flinging towards the Celestial Soul Masters from the Seven Grand Holy Lands stationed on the ground.
"Wow! That demonic soulforce is so powerful! Everyone, resist it with your soul chains!" Beams of yellow, azure, and green shot out from the gems looped around the tens of thousands of Celestial Soul Masters' chains, shooting into the sky above.
In but a moment, the tri-coloured beams converged and formed a protective layer, blocking the black raindrops from hitting them.
When the black raindrops fell on the tri-coloured protective light barrier, they dispersed like ink dripping in clear water.
"Aahhhhhh!" Hundreds of Celestial Soul Masters screamed in agony as they fell to the ground, their faces ghastly dark. It seemed as though their lives were flashing before their eyes.
At this moment, seven bright rays of blue light flew over from different directions and fused with the tri-coloured protective light barrier.
The seven powerhouses sent over incomparably powerful blue beams into the protective light barrier, forcing all the black raindrops out. Afterwards, the chains of the Celestial Soul Masters lost their brilliance as their owners' faces turned deathly pale.
Ling Xiao was a spectator toward all this as if he had been cut off from the outside world. Is this real? Am I dreaming?
Only a little while ago, he was selling medicine in the Floating Red Courtyard. Yet now, he was the spectator to a world-shaking battle between countless Celestial Soul Masters and a single Demonic Soul Master.
There were times when life was truly unpredictable. But Ancestor Qi Mo's valiance left a lasting imprint in Ling Xiao's mind that wouldn't be eradicated for years to come. This was because he was injured, yet faced his enemies with a straight back. Even if he were to perish on his own, he'd be dragging hundreds of Celestial Soul Masters along with him to the grave!
If he could cultivate to such a level and as long as he wasn't caught up in a hunt like this, who in the world could stand in his way?
All of a sudden, Ling Xiao felt that it wasn't a pipeline dream for him to complete the two tasks Ancestor Qi Mo had set out for him.
"Boy, remember those seven. Kill them." A weak voice that was almost inaudible drifted into Ling Xiao's ear.
Ling Xiao slowly raised his head and looked at the seven people who were currently being worshipped by the Celestial Soul Masters, basking themselves in the reverie. He closely observed each one of them.
Lu Xuanyi who wore blue robes was the master of Heavenly River City, while the elder in green garments was Enlightened Tian Jing from the Mysterious Sea Sect. The red-haired elder was the master of the Netherworldly Mansion whereas the sour-faced woman draped in purple was the matriarch of the Purple Jade Sect. The master of the Principal Intelligence Hall was Wang Zeyuan, a gloomy man with triangle-shaped pupils. Shen Nanfeng, a muscular man dressed in gray clothes with short sleeves was the master of the Sunken Wind Valley.
The last one was a woman clad in red with a ferocious-looking mask hiding her face. She was Yan Hanruo, master of the Crystal Sea Pavilion.
Ling Xiao naturally didn't know the specific identities and names of the respective individuals. He only knew he had to kill them. One by one, he engraved a picture of them in his mind.
There's no helping it. I don't hold a grudge against any of you. But if I don't fulfill my promise, I'm the one who's going to die.
If the seven powerhouses knew of the ant-like existence Ling Xiao plotting to kill them, they would burst out laughing. How could they possibly take such a proclamation seriously? But even so, the seven of them were flying towards Ling Xiao at this very moment, looking at him with strange expressions on their faces.
A chill arose in Ling Xiao's heart. "W-what are you guys going to do to me?"
Ling Xiao heard a humming sound, the intense pain of someone stabbing him in the head filling his very being. It felt quite similar to how he felt when he'd endured Ancestor Qi Mo's mental attack.
"Aahhhhhh!" An extremely exaggerated, blood-curdling screech left Ling Xiao's lips as he kneeled on the ground with both hands clasping his head.
Li Xuanyi opened his eyes and indifferently said, "Everyone, relax. He doesn't have a demonic soulforce in his Fundamental Heavenly Knowledge Archive."
So they didn't believe me and were probing around just now?! But why didn't that blue-robed guy mention my twin soul? Can he not see it?
But such matters were far out of the realm of Ling Xiao's comprehension. He didn't even know what having a twin soul entailed.
"But this boy's mental strength is pretty good, for him to not have turned into jello after enduring my attack," Li Xuanyi casually commented. He didn't seem to care that Ling Xiao could hear his every word. "Since he isn't with the demon and survived my mental attack, we can't just let him go. I already took care of the poison on his arm. Shen Nanfeng, since Northern Jade City is in your territory, take this boy into your Sunken Wind Walley as compensation for today's events."
A chill arose in Ling Xiao's heart. First Ancestor Qi Mo almost killed him and now this blue-robed guy almost turned him into a vegetable. If it wasn't for his unique constitution, he would've died twice today!
Ling Xiao felt the need to laugh at his own stupidity. Coming clean to these guys? Ridiculous! Every last hint of guilt he felt for the seven before him vanished like a fart in the wind. Even he understood this so-called compensation was only a facade, an attempt to fish for compliments!
These people! Do they really think my life is worthless? A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Ling Xiao's eyes, but nobody would notice an ant's ire.
An annoyed expression showed on Shen Nanfeng's face. Trying to save your face by throwing me under the bus, Li Xuanyi? I already have to take care of the aftermath here, now I also have to take care of some kid?!
Shen Nanfeng wasn't just going to take this burden from Li Xuanyi. He frowned and said, "Sunken Wind Valley disciples all need to have a celestial soulforce more powerful than that of a yellow ranked Celestial Soul Master. This boy is only an ordinary person. I'm not going to accept him. How about this. Since he is a resident of Northern Jade City and the Northern Jade Sect is under the jurisdiction of my Sunken Wind Valley, let this boy enter the Northern Jade Sect. Chen Qiantai, I'll leave this boy to you."
A man radiating with health and vigor sporting a short beard that split in half at the end came forward and respectfully greeted Shen Nanfeng. "Yes, Valley Master."
"Since Ancestor Qi Mo has perished, there's one less supporting pillar in the Seven Devils Cult. Let us return to our respective sects and prepare for battle. Let our plans of exterminating the demons get underway!"
The disciples of the Seven Grand Holy Lands were all fired up with bloodlust. They echoed Zhao Yang's voice as they howled in unison, "Exterminate the demons! Exterminate the demons!"
Li Xuanyi softly snorted, "How boring." After which he turned around and left with thousands of Heavenly River City disciples following close at his tail.
Zhao Yang's face turned red in embarrassment. Luckily, he had his red hair and robe to help him cover his flushed face. If not, he would've lost all his face right here and now.
Enlightened Wu Jing lightly patted Zhao Yang on the shoulder and consoled him. "It's not like you don't know his character. You just need to get used to it. Come, let's return to our own sects."
Ling Xiao didn't know what these Celestial Soul Masters were made of, but he knew they all disappeared without a trace in less than half a minute.
The very few people that stayed behind with that middle-aged man called Cheng Qiantai were standing before him. There was one amongst them who Ling Xiao recognised as the fattie from the Northern Jade Sect.
The fattie was called Xiao Zhang and acted with great arrogance when he showed himself in Northern Jade City. The only difference with him now was that he acted like a small kitten, obediently hiding behind Cheng Qiantai.
"Still not going to pay respects to your Master?" Cheng Qiantai didn't hide the loathsome expression on his face as he looked at Ling Xiao who was filthy from head to toe.
Even though Cheng Qiantai wasn't all too willing to accept this disciple, he had no choice in the matter since Shen Nanfeng himself had put his foot down. All he could do was to find an excuse to kick Ling Xiao out later on.
I've gotten two masters in a day. One is already dead. I wonder about the second, hehe… Ling Xiao bowed his head, his lips slightly upturned as a sinister laugh that was difficult to perceive formed on his face. He kowtowed in Cheng Qiantai's direction as he said, "Disciple Ling Xiao pays his respects to Master."