Chapter 89: The Slaying

"Kill!" Wang Hai stretched out his palm, unleashing a surge of blood energy that condensed into a massive claw, descending swiftly toward Yang Xiao.

Having reached the late stage of Qi Condensation, Wang Hai now possessed techniques to shape his spiritual energy at will—far more destructive than mere flows of energy. The spiritual force he released took the form of a spirit beast’s claw, striking down at Yang Xiao’s head.

“The techniques of someone at the late Qi Condensation stage are indeed far beyond my current strength,” Yang Xiao thought, “especially this Wang Hai—he must be at the peak of Qi Condensation. Outside the Thunder Plains, I’d have no chance against him. But here, I can borrow the power of the lightning—perhaps I can withstand his attacks.”

With this plan in mind, Yang Xiao threw a punch skyward. His strike sent a torrent of energy crashing into the descending claw. Bolstered by the surrounding lightning, Yang Xiao’s fist carried immense power, greatly amplifying its force.

With a thunderous boom, Yang Xiao’s energy clashed with Wang Hai’s giant claw, halting it midair. For a moment, the two forces were evenly matched—neither could overpower the other.

“How is this fellow’s technique so formidable?” Wang Hai was secretly shocked. He had thought defeating Yang Xiao would be a simple matter, yet now, seeing Yang Xiao command the surrounding lightning to fend off his attack, he found it hard to believe.

“So this fellow has some real skills to make it into the core area,” Wang Hai mused. “But the stronger he is, the more potent and abundant his life force must be. If my Bloodthirst Banner absorbs his essence, its power might increase significantly. In that case, I must kill him.”

Having made up his mind, Wang Hai produced the Bloodthirst Banner from his storage pouch—a crimson flag painted with a strange tiger, its wings like those of a bat. This unique spirit beast was, of course, Wang Hai’s carefully nurtured Bloodthirst Beast. To raise it, he had slain countless cultivators; only then could he refine the banner to its current state.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiao’s attacks, empowered by the gathered lightning, were becoming increasingly fierce, gradually shattering Wang Hai’s giant claw.

Seeing this, Wang Hai shouted, “Impressive! You’re no ordinary cultivator—few at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Condensation could break my Bloodthirst Claw. But now, behold the power of my Bloodthirst Banner. Let’s see if you can withstand this!”

With that, Wang Hai shook the Bloodthirst Banner. Waves of blood energy poured forth, coalescing into the shape of the bloodthirsty beast depicted on the flag. With a mighty roar, the beast charged at Yang Xiao.

Though made of blood energy, its aura and might surpassed any large spirit beast Yang Xiao had seen before, leaving him shaken.

“Cultivators at the late Qi Condensation stage are truly formidable,” Yang Xiao felt a chill in his heart. Escape was impossible; the beast’s speed far outstripped his own. Fortunately, the thunder talismans he had recently crafted might just hold the creature back for a while.

With a flick of his wrist, Yang Xiao threw several thunder talismans in succession. As they neared the bloodthirsty beast, they exploded one after another, blasting it apart.

“This fellow still has so many thunder talismans? He’s certainly a troublesome one,” Wang Hai muttered, then quickly formed a hand seal. The shattered bloodthirsty beast reformed, once again lunging at Yang Xiao. After all, it was condensed from spiritual energy; while Yang Xiao’s talismans were powerful, they could not truly destroy it. Still, the newly reconstituted beast was visibly weaker.

It attacked again, but Yang Xiao hurled more thunder talismans, blasting it to pieces once more. This time, however, the fragments transformed into dozens of miniature bloodthirsty beasts, swarming toward him.

Gritting his teeth, Yang Xiao unleashed nearly all the thunder talismans he had recently created, sending them hurtling toward the horde. Each explosion weakened the beasts further, their momentum faltering.

Wang Hai, now even more startled, hurriedly recalled the bloodthirsty beasts, which merged back into one and flew into the Bloodthirst Banner.

Seeing Yang Xiao’s seemingly endless supply of thunder talismans, Wang Hai realized he had to change tactics. The Bloodthirst Banner was not easily refined; he could not risk its destruction. If Yang Xiao still had talismans left, the banner might be ruined, and refining another would be a monumental task—one Wang Hai was unwilling to undertake.

“Impressive, boy. With so many treasures on you, it seems I’ll have to use my spiritual treasure to deal with you.” With that, Wang Hai retrieved a blood-red, gleaming pearl from his pouch—clearly a powerful artifact.

“Indeed, that is a spiritual treasure, and of no low grade,” Yang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. Since his rebirth, this was the first time he had actually seen such an item.

Spiritual treasures, also known as Shapeshifting Treasures, could transform into various forms at will—far more powerful than Wang Hai’s Bloodthirst Banner. Yang Xiao doubted even his thunder talismans would have much effect.

“So he possesses a spiritual treasure—his background must be extraordinary,” Yang Xiao speculated. Still, with things come to this point, retreat was no longer an option. No matter who his opponent was, Yang Xiao resolved to inflict a heavy blow first. He could not afford to leave himself any escape route; he had to face the danger head-on.

“This was a mid-tier spiritual treasure bestowed upon me by my master,” Wang Hai declared coldly. “After refining it, I named it the Blood Devouring Pearl. Though I haven’t spent much effort nurturing it, it is more than enough to deal with a mere minor cultivator like you. Consider it your good fortune to die beneath its power.”

Clearly, Wang Hai had not anticipated Yang Xiao would force him to such lengths, but with the Blood Devouring Pearl in hand, he was confident Yang Xiao had no means left to resist.