Chapter 59: The White-Clad Immortal Slays Demons Under the Moonlight

An ominous wind seemed to rise, carrying a stern shout across all directions.

This sternness was evident both in Xiao Lin’s fierce roar and in the hollow bluster of the evil cultivators.

They had never imagined that, even without the Fallen Sword Immortal making a move against Xiao Lin, Xiao Lin would actually take the initiative to harbor murderous intent toward them.

How utterly preposterous!

Yet, in the very first moment, not a single one of them dared to launch a counterattack against Xiao Lin.

With the exceptions of Ming Tu and Yin Huaizi, they had all previously perished beneath this domain of Xiao Lin's, as if branded with the "mark of the weak."

Even though they had returned from the dead, stronger than before, facing Xiao Lin left them with less than a tenth of their original might; being able to muster even a fraction of it would be considered fortunate.

It was simply like fire meeting water, or a cat confronting a mouse... The terror and dread of Xiao Lin were deeply engraved into the depths of their souls, difficult to erase even by death itself!

"Xiao Lin has... gone mad!"

It was hard to imagine such words being uttered by evil cultivators when facing the righteous path.

Yet, this was indeed the reality.

The dark arts they had practiced during their lifetimes were all countered by Xiao Lin. After being transformed into pure entities of malicious intent by the Fallen Sword Immortal, they felt even more like flickering candles in the wind.

They emitted wails akin to ghosts and howls like wolves, exploding one by one from the weakest to the strongest!

A living hell—nothing less could describe it.

However, Xiao Lin’s expression only grew increasingly grave.

He could not purify them.

Even after unleashing the righteous energy of Asura, he was still unable to eradicate them all at once, which truly caught him somewhat off guard.

In a mere flash, Yin Huaizi and the others completely reassembled their physical forms.

While the black Qi shrouding them had indeed dimmed considerably, they were still standing right there alive and well, their expressions gradually turning ferocious and ghastly.

No matter how much they feared Xiao Lin, having died once had given them a surge of courage.

Even a cornered rabbit will bite!

Yet Xiao Lin ignored them entirely, fixing a deep gaze upon the Fallen Sword Immortal as he pronounced each word distinctly, "Infusing evil Qi to forge soul soldiers."

He had discovered the crux of the matter.

It was not that the damaging effect of the Asura righteous energy against evil Qi had diminished.

Rather, the evil Qi enveloping them was simply too dense, bearing little difference from that of the Fallen Sword Immortal himself back within the Sword-Sealing Box.

Consequently, there had been a surge in their cultivation levels.

Among the dozen or so individuals present, without a single exception, every last one of them had reached the Foundation Establishment realm!

Ming Tu, Yin Huaizi, and three others were even at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, while the remaining ten had leaped straight from the Qi Condensation stage to the mid and late stages of Foundation Establishment.

Although the origin of the Fallen Sword Immortal had been severed, destroying any hope of ever reaching the Core Formation realm in this lifetime, it did not mean he was incapable of infusing the excess evil Qi he had absorbed into others.

As long as the Fallen Sword Immortal was given enough time, he could entirely build an army of evil cultivators...

Evil cultivators and an army.

How obscure yet defying of the heavens were these two concepts when combined?

"These five days should be enough for you to elevate this entire group to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, right?" Xiao Lin’s gaze was sharp. "You spoke so eloquently of giving me time to summon reinforcements, but in truth, it is you who needed this period of time even more."

The Fallen Sword Immortal gave a noncommittal response, finally altering his attitude by a fraction, his eyes glowing with an eerie light. "Entering the lion's den alone and still daring to strike—this seat has truly underestimated you."

"However..."

"Could it be that you actually believe this seat wouldn't dare to kill you?"

At his command, Yin Huaizi and the others, harboring long-standing grievances, finally erupted. More than a dozen streams of evil Qi surged directly toward Xiao Lin, each utilizing their most familiar divine abilities and secret arts!

This time, it was no longer the somewhat laughable encirclement from before. The combined offensive of over a dozen Foundation Establishment practitioners—including five at the Great Perfection stage—was enough to force even an early-stage Core Formation cultivator to temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

Xiao Lin had a clear understanding of this.

The realm tiers in this world were far from being as strictly hierarchical as those in normal Xianxia worlds.

Perhaps the production team had originally set it up this way to grant cheat-like advantages to Li Changhe and his companions, and this setup, automatically perfected by the laws of this world, resulted in an ordinary early-stage Core Formation cultivator genuinely being susceptible to being slain in reverse by monstrous individuals at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

His own early-stage Foundation Establishment seemed all the more inadequate at this moment; even with the Asura righteous energy capable of subduing all evils, it would be difficult to withstand this onslaught!

Yet Xiao Lin showed not the slightest intention of dodging or defending.

The core of Shen Wuhai's *Sword Scripture of Oneness* emphasized that amidst all techniques in the world, I possess but a single sword.

Yet it was not limited to just this single stance.

Every strike involved only one sword.

However, not every sword needed to carry the confidence of breaking everything with a single strike; it could also embody...

The determination of mutual destruction!

At this moment, Xiao Lin seemed to ignore the outside world entirely, thrusting the sword Immortal Extinction in his hand straight toward the Fallen Sword Immortal.

This sword strike was a desperate gamble—a sword unleashed with no thought of self!

A flash of shock crossed the Fallen Sword Immortal's eyes.

This youth was so audaciously bold that he was genuinely betting on the fact that the Fallen Sword Immortal would not dare to kill him!

The Fallen Sword Immortal’s expression was as dark as water.

If he could, how he would have loved to resolve Xiao Lin right here and now?

But that would be entirely meaningless.

Even though he died, his Dao remained, and a new "Xiao Lin" would inevitably emerge on the righteous path in the future.

Because Xiao Lin had truly made people witness the possibility of verifying the "Dao of Righteousness"!

Only by crushing him in broad daylight—either destroying his righteous heart or crippling the foundation of his righteous path, and telling the world that this path leads to nowhere—would this Great Dao return to eternal silence.

Therefore, the Fallen Sword Immortal acted after all.

Running the risk of having his origin damaged once more, he obliterated the dozens of offensive strikes about to land on Xiao Lin, and then raised his hand to directly grab this sword strike from Xiao Lin!

"If you want to die, I will grant your wish five days from now!" the Fallen Sword Immortal said gloomily, casually flinging Xiao Lin away.

Buzz... Bang!

Xiao Lin’s body flew backward, violently crashing into his own domain. The Asura Soul-Slaying Domain emitted a series of buzzing sounds before shattering with a crisp crack in a deafening explosion!

Xiao Lin let out a muffled groan, hastily halting his backward momentum, and prepared to strike once more.

However, with the domain broken, it would be exceedingly difficult to trap the Fallen Sword Immortal and the others if they chose to leave. Just as they were about to transform into black Qi and vanish into the horizon, a streak of sword light arrived a step ahead.

Gu Jianyao, peerless in white!

Gu Jianyao had sensed the anomaly the very moment Xiao Lin made his move, leaping forward to rush over...

No, she had not yet arrived, but her sword had come first!

Man and sword as one, sword unleashed with no thought of self—

This was the true grace that Xiao Lin’s previous move ought to have possessed!

"Fine sword!" Xiao Lin shouted loudly.

Then he extended his right hand toward Gu Jianyao and clenched it fiercely!

Those righteous energies, which had seemed shattered like pieces of a mirror, instantly flowed and converged toward Gu Jianyao, targeting none other than the sword in her hand, parting song!

From beginning to end, Gu Jianyao’s sword strike did not exhibit the slightest stagnation or hesitation.

It was not because she was entirely selfless and devoid of self, forgetting everything in the outside world, but rather because she held absolute trust in Xiao Lin.

Parting Song was completely enveloped within the righteous energy, and the crowd—who had previously sneered at Gu Jianyao's sword strike—instantly changed their complexions.

"Scatter!"

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Xiao Lin’s cold voice echoed across the lake. The remaining Asura righteous energy was insufficient to form armor, but he had no need for armor either; instead, it condensed toward the Immortal Extinction in his hand as well.

The longsword, flashing with brilliant light under the moonlight, instantly restrained its radiance until it was dull. Immortal Extinction... no, this sword could perhaps be called "Demon Slaughter."

Immortal Extinction protects the mortal masses, while Demon Slaughter executes evil disciples!

The crowd had never witnessed a sword this fast, nor had they ever beheld such a terrifying intent to kill!

Beneath the night sky, two streaks of sword light—one white and one black—flashed by and vanished in an instant.

In the end, they had escaped.

Yet six figures tumbled down from the air, dissolving into black Qi and disappearing without a trace before they could even hit the lake's surface.

Ripples spread across the lake, returning to stillness the next moment.

The night remained that same night, and the lake remained that same lake.

Only half the shadows of the evil cultivators remained...