Chapter 38: When the Sword Comes, Who Among the Evil Spirits Dares to Speak Before I Do?

The gathered evildoers stared fixedly at the scene, their eyes nearly bursting with rage.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them—including Ming Tu, two at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and one at the peak of Qi Refining—had been instantly suppressed. For a moment, no one dared to act rashly.

Only Qu Ziyao, not feeling the expected arrival of pain, fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes. At a single glance, she was struck completely motionless, staring blankly at the person before her.

It was a face she had known for only a month, yet one she was intimately familiar with. It was the face she had longed for day and night.

Was it… a hallucination?

"Is it... a hallucination?" Qu Ziyao murmured. She thought it, and so she said it.

"It is not a hallucination." Xiao Lin gazed into her hazy eyes, speaking clearly, word by word.

Upon hearing this, Qu Ziyao smiled—no longer a smile of confusion, but a brilliant, radiant expression of profound relief. Yet, as she smiled, her eyes filled with mist, and two lines of clear tears slid down, carving distinct trails through the blood and dust on her cheeks.

"I... I..." Her lips parted, stammering several times before she finally said, "I won against you."

She did not want to show such vulnerability before Xiao Lin, but he had truly saved her. Her competitive nature had kept her restless for an entire month, making the word "thanks" impossible to utter. Thus, the myriad of thoughts in the young girl’s mind transformed into a simple, "I won against you."

Xiao Lin could not help but smile. "Hmm, I concede this time."

Even he had not expected Qu Ziyao to go to such lengths for Tang Qianxue and the others. He had assumed she would take them and flee, but she had chosen to stay behind to cover their retreat, sacrificing her own life just to give them a sliver of hope. Because of this, there had been a slight discrepancy in his plans, and he had arrived a step too late.

Qu Ziyao was not like him; she did not know the future and had no prior preparation. Her actions were entirely genuine, born of her own will. Xiao Lin admired her from the bottom of his heart.

A moment later, the spiritual energy within Qu Ziyao’s body began to surge violently. Both of them looked down at her dantian.

Qu Ziyao said calmly, "To drag them down with me, I had no choice but to destroy my Dao foundation. If I had known you were coming, I wouldn't have..."

As she finished, her calm tone inexplicably carried a hint of grievance. Once the Dao foundation was destroyed, she would be nothing more than a cripple for the rest of her life.

"Do you regret it?" Xiao Lin asked indifferently.

"Then don't destroy it."

To her surprise, he placed his palm against her lower abdomen. A surge of righteous energy flowed into her dantian, suppressing her crumbling Dao foundation.

Seeing this, the other evil cultivators finally moved. They were not foolish enough to wait for death; they had merely been waiting for the perfect opportunity. Now that Xiao Lin was distracted, it was the perfect time!

One man transformed his fingers into claws, his body becoming a ghostly shadow as he lunged at Xiao Lin’s heart. The evil cultivator whose head was still firmly pressed by Xiao Lin also suddenly erupted, his blood surging and transforming into a gaping maw as he bit toward Xiao Lin’s waist.

"Mere early Foundation Establishment ants, how arrogant!"

"Watch out!" Qu Ziyao cried out, preparing to swing her sword to block at least one of their attacks for Xiao Lin.

*Crack!*

"Ah—"

*Boom!*

Before Qu Ziyao’s voice had even faded, three sounds erupted. The attacker had come fast, but left even faster. Accompanied by the sound of the withered head of the man beside Xiao Lin and a shrill, miserable scream, the other attacker was sent crashing through several ancient trees and deep into the mountain.

The scene fell silent once more.

Xiao Lin ignored it all, silently withdrawing his hand. "Your Dao foundation is stabilized. However, you must not use spiritual energy for at least three months; you must rest and recover."

Qu Ziyao stared blankly at Xiao Lin, nodding subconsciously, her high ponytail swaying gently.

"Now, rest well."

Xiao Lin turned around and beckoned with his hand. The massive sword that had pinned Ming Tu to the ground was pulled free, shrinking in the air until it landed in his palm. Only then did Qu Ziyao realize it was Xiao Lin’s natal weapon, *Xian Mie*.

In its sword-wielding form, it should have been impossible to channel sword intent into it, making it no different from a common wooden sword. Yet, it had suppressed Ming Tu just like that?

The moment *Xian Mie* was withdrawn, Ming Tu seemed to be released from a seal. He did not retreat, instead charging directly toward Xiao Lin’s face. Even as a phantom, he looked hideously distorted and filled with infinite rage. His form grew fainter as all the myriad vengeful spirits within his body poured out, swearing to kill the sword cultivator who had humiliated him so thoroughly.

Ming Tu opened his mouth, and together with the countless vengeful spirits, let out a piercing, shrill scream! At that moment, even someone as conceited as Yin Huaizi used his spiritual sense to protect his entire body.

"Ah—"

Ming Tu froze, Qu Ziyao was stunned, Yin Huaizi was bewildered, and the onlookers were completely baffled. Everyone was lost.

The ear-splitting, soul-piercing ghostly wail they had imagined never rang out. It was as if this world had been swallowed of all sound.

Xiao Lin stood inches from Ming Tu, his eyes reflecting the most grotesque and distorted version of the spirit. Yet, he remained expressionless, his eyes lifting slightly, his voice as calm as water.

"When I, the sword-wielder, have not yet spoken, which evil spirit dares to make a sound?"

Before Xiao Lin could make another move, Ming Tu, as if he had seen a ghost, fled toward the sky. Terrified out of his wits, he muttered frantically, "Monster! Monster! Monster..."

Ming Tu finally realized the truth. Even a Golden Core expert could only crush him with a palm; it would be impossible to render his vengeful spirits completely silent. There was only one possibility. This person was the legendary Pure Yang Body, the bane of all evil!

He had to escape! The farther, the better... the faster, the better!

Xiao Lin watched Ming Tu retreat and spoke again: "I have spoken. Why are you still silent?"

"Ah—!!!"

The next instant, the shriek that should have vanished exploded in mid-air, the piercing cries and wails echoing through the heavens! Then, the phantom representing Ming Tu dissipated into nothingness, returning peace to the sky.

The evil cultivator Ming Tu died by his own path.

But this time, the other evil cultivators felt no shock. Instead, Ming Tu’s fate reminded them that if they couldn't win, they could run. Some even planned to seize the Sword Mountain disciples to use as leverage against Xiao Lin.

Qu Ziyao hurried to say, "Don't let them escape! The junior brothers and sisters haven't gone far!" Her voice was so urgent it became hoarse and cracked.

As her words fell, the sky darkened. Or rather, everything around them turned pitch black. A shade of absolute darkness spread from Xiao Lin as the center, instantly encompassing all the fleeing evil cultivators.

They were forced to stop in their tracks, for every inch of their bodies was sending out frantic warnings: to touch this black mist meant death!

In less than ten breaths, the roles of the lambs for the slaughter had shifted from Qu Ziyao to them. This group then profoundly demonstrated what it meant to be wicked and unscrupulous.

One person immediately knelt before Xiao Lin, bowing his head deeply. "Spare me, Sword Immortal! Spare me! I was only confused for a moment—I only killed a few dozen people. I have long since turned over a new leaf; I only hunt spiritual beasts to aid my cultivation now! I have never harmed another mortal or cultivator again!"

Hearing this, Xiao Lin looked at the group of evildoers and finally smiled, but his voice was as cold as a bottomless spring.

"Once an evil cultivator, always an evil cultivator."

"If there is a Yellow Springs in this world, go down and apologize to those you murdered."

When these words were spoken, the man realized Xiao Lin would never spare them and his face twisted into a snarl. "I don't believe an early Foundation Establishment cultivator has such strength! You must be using a Golden Core treasure to suppress us—let's see what other tricks you have!"

"Kill him!" the group roared, their fear of death unleashing unprecedented potential.

"I said..."

Xiao Lin extended a finger and, under the gaze of all the evil cultivators, let it fall gently toward the ground.

"Those whose cultivation is inferior to mine... shall die!"