Lin Ge had finally looked up. And now, he was staring directly at Xin Jizi—not speaking, just watching, a glint in his eyes that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Xin Jizi's guard shot up another level. He let out a sharp, beastlike screech and threw his fingers into a tight seal. The Heartflame around his body spun wildly—eight full turns—and then engulfed him completely, hiding his face and form inside a raging inferno.
Behind that wall of fire, Xin Jizi's hands came together, rubbing in a specific motion. And slowly, a pearl of the same color as the Heartflame appeared in his palm.
His inner flame surged into it instantly. In the blink of an eye, the fire surrounding his body vanished—every last trace of it sucked into the orb. That small Soulfire Pearl now burned like a miniature sun, radiant and searing, too bright to even look at directly.
This Soulfire Pearl was a rare treasure from the Tongxuan Realm, able to store massive fire energy and make it easier to control.
As soon as it emerged, the air cooled noticeably—except around the pearl itself, where the flames boiled even more fiercely, its aura growing with every passing second.
By now, Minglan had caught his breath and looked like he was ready for another round. But Lin Ge shook his head slowly. "Let me," he said. "You go help the others and protect the disciples."
Minglan knew he wasn't winning this fight anyway, so he didn't argue. With a nod, he mounted his sword and flew off toward the chaos, leaving the battlefield to someone who could actually turn the tide.
Lin Ge turned his head slightly, a faint frown between his brows. "Xin Jizi, are you really still thinking of fighting this out?"
Xin Jizi let the Soulfire Pearl orbit his body, lips curled in a cold sneer. "I know you're headed to the Water Mirror Gathering. I never planned to make things difficult. But you swallowed the Demon Flood Dragon Pearls and refuse to return them. What choice do I have?"
Lin Ge's sneer was colder still. "Swallowed? My Mingxin Sword Sect slayed the evil dragon and righteous earned merit for the realm. What's it to your Heartless Sect? Did you contribute a single sword stroke? Or was that evil beast raised by your sect, hmm? Otherwise, how does 'swallowed' make any sense?"
Before Xin Jizi could speak, Lin Ge went on, tone even and sharp: "Just now, you claimed my disciple destroyed your pearls… But I saw him tuck them into his robe without so much as touching them again. Where's the destruction in that?" A pause. "Though there is one matter you might find... enlightening."
Xin Jizi stayed silent, but the Soulfire Pearl quickened its spin around him.
Lin Ge smiled faintly. "My disciple, not long ago, was favored by a certain elder and received a treasure. He now wears it over his chest… You might've heard of it—an elite protective item known as the Jade Bixie. Said to neutralize all poisons, dispel all evils. Ring any bells?"
"Damn it!"
Xin Jizi's expression twisted—his face a mottled mess of blue and pale white. He let out a furious roar, and the Soulfire Pearl suddenly dimmed, concentrating into a thin beam of blazing light, no thicker than a pinky, that shot like a sword straight toward Lin Ge's chest.
Lin Ge sighed, raised a single hand, and drew a line through the air. Sword qi rippled from his fingers, exploding through the void with crackling bursts. The beam was deflected, veering off into the darkness—no one could tell where it landed.
Lin Ge shook his head slightly. "As I thought. When we killed the demon dragon that day, I was already wondering—how did a beast with only a few centuries of cultivation end up forming three pearls? Now it all makes sense. So the Heartless Sect was behind it all along."
"I suppose those pearls were implanted before the Forty-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, weren't they? That would explain the muted demonic aura. Who knows how many innocents it slaughtered to accumulate enough malice for them to form!"
"You lot, to dodge Heaven's retribution, hid the pearls inside a monster—then let it loose to wreak havoc and soak up resentment. Then, once the time was right, you'd kill the beast and extract the pearls. That way, not only would you avoid heavenly punishment—you might even earn merit for ridding the world of an evil. Cunning. Very cunning."
Xin Jizi's face twisted further. Lin Ge had struck a nerve.
He knew the mission had already failed. But to slink back empty-handed—how was he supposed to face the sect leader?
Lin Ge added, casually, "Too bad. Those pearls came to us first. And ever since my disciple tucked them against his chest with the Jade Bixie, they've been constantly purified. It's only been two days, but most of the malice must already be burned off. What use are they to you now, huh? Just a pile of junk."
Lin Ge wasn't wrong. Of the three Demon Flood Dragon Pearls, two were indeed artificially implanted—a secret effort to avoid the Forty-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. It was a grand undertaking, personally executed by Qiwu Daoren, the Heartless Sect's leader, using an incredibly powerful technique.
The plan had been to let the pearls incubate inside the dragon for a century or two. Once the malice was ripe, they'd extract them and use them for cultivation.
But no one expected the dragon to grow so arrogant, provoking the Mingxin Sword Sect's experts.
At the time, there had been Heartless Sect disciples nearby, stationed to keep watch. But once Lin Ge and his companions appeared, those guards knew better than to show themselves. Interfering meant death. All they could do was frantically send sword transmissions back to the mountain, begging for aid.
Xin Jizi was the one sent.
They'd done their homework, memorized every detail about Lin Ge's group, even planned every contingency.
And still—everything had gone wrong.
First, that damn Demon Flood Dragon Pearls—they'd been counting on them, but the vicious aura they had built up was mostly gone! Xin Jizi had felt something was off earlier but thought maybe it was just distance messing with the signal. Only when he got close did he realize the pearl had lost most of its power. Even if they managed to retrieve it, it wouldn't be worth much anymore!
Then there was that brat carrying the pearls—weak cultivation, sure, but slipperier than a mudfish. The two who ambushed him were both quite formidable experts among third-generation disciples from Heartless Sect, but the brat still managed to slip away right under their noses. Worse, he used the chaos to pass the pearl off to someone else!
And then came Lin Ge.
Ever since that whole "Phoenix-Slaying" mess a hundred years ago, everyone in the Tongxuan Realm thought Lin Ge had fallen from grace—his cultivation regressing instead of progressing, the once-famous "Heaven's Heart Sword" genius now just another has-been wasting away on a mountain.
But standing in front of him now, Xin Jizi realized just how wrong those rumors had been.
Back then, when Lin Ge had fought him with the immortal sword Dying Water, every move had been brilliant—open, righteous, and overwhelming. Xin Jizi lost that duel fair and square, and couldn't even complain about it.
But the man standing before him now… was something else entirely.
He had none of the elegance or righteousness of the Lin Ge from back then—facing him now, Xin Jizi felt a cold wave wash over his heart, which had already been clouded with Qi. This feeling was no less unsettling than facing any infamous demon from the demonic sects."
Had it not been for Mingxin Sword Sect's notoriously strict rules, he might've suspected Lin Ge had fallen to the demonic path—that he had joined some demonic sect!
Carefully, Xin Jizi guided the Soulfire Pearl, not daring to make any reckless moves. He extended a thread of his qi through the pearl to probe Lin Ge's aura.
But Lin Ge would have none of it.
A flash of sword qi—snap!—and the probing thread was severed.
His sword energy within his body was elusive, faint but impossibly deep. Xin Jizi frowned hard—he couldn't get a read on it, much less find a way to counter.
Just then—Lin Ge moved.
With a sudden burst, Lin Ge shot out like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, transforming into a faint shadow that slanted across the sky.
Before Xin Jizi could even react, Lin Ge was already hovering ten feet above his head. His body spun once—and from that spin erupted thirty-six layers of interwoven sword qi, whirling like the maw of a beast, gnashing down with a deafening hum.
Xin Jizi hadn't expected him to use such a strange technique from the start. Caught off guard, he let out a sharp cry. The Soulfire Pearl rolled upward, splitting into dozens of thin, blazing strands that wove together into a fiery net. It met the descending sword light mid-air.
The clash of fire strands and sword qi made a sound like taut rope snapping under strain.
Lin Ge's figure, light as smoke, was already rebounding upward as the force of the sword qi diffused. Meanwhile, Xin Jizi felt himself yanked violently by that spiraling force. He was dragged across the ground, spinning a dozen full turns before managing to stabilize himself.
But Lin Ge gave him no breathing room.
In the sky, Lin Ge raised a hand, fingers plucking the air like zither strings. A crisp zheng-zheng echoed through the sky—and the very fabric of the void shuddered, as if someone had grabbed a corner of the sky and shaken it like a blanket. The resulting shockwave rippled toward Xin Jizi.
"Ten Thousand Miles with the Flow!"
Xin Jizi cried out in alarm—this was one of Mingxin Sword Sect's legendary sword arts. If he took it head-on, he might be torn to pieces on the spot by the highly vibrating sword Qi."
Teeth clenched, Xin Jizi dared not hold back anymore.
The Soulfire Pearl emitted a sharp po, and its surrounding flames suddenly bloomed, growing to the size of an infant's skull. It spun rapidly, letting out a deep hum. One after another, rings of flame burst from the orb like expanding ripples in a pond.
In mere moments, 108 layers of flame had surged outward, forming a blazing shield above his head—just in time to intercept the crashing wave of sword qi.
Riiiip! it sounded like fine silk being shredded.
Xin Jizi knew things had gone sideways. His wiry body vanished in a blur, darting low along the ground. He'd only managed to flee a few paces before the protective fire wall burst apart, scattering embers raining down like shooting stars.
Seeing this, Xin Jizi nearly vomited blood from rage.
Who the hell said Lin Ge's cultivation had regressed?
Even a century ago, Xin Jizi could at least hold his own against him for half an hour—losing by a move or two, not a landslide like this!
This time, from the moment the fight began, he hadn't even found an opening to strike back. The relentless pressure made it clear—they were no longer on the same level at all.
That realization crushed whatever fighting spirit he had left.
And looking off to the side, the broader battle was going just as poorly. His sect's disciples were being beaten bloody, fleeing in droves. They wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
Gritting his teeth, Xin Jizi let out a piercing whistle—the signal to retreat.
Across the field, the Heartless Sect disciples didn't hesitate for a second; it was like a pardon from death itself. They fought while backing away, scattering in every direction like birds.