The Prodigies War

The mighty beings of the Xun Department were all startled.

Boom!

In an instant, terrifying auras erupted from their bodies and divine treasures were summoned as they surged forward at full speed toward the distant fog. Their reaction was astonishingly swift. After all, they were Greater Boundless Realm existences who had roamed the Dark Zone for countless years. How could they be compared to ordinary cultivators?

Unfortunately, something moved even faster than they did. A streak of sword intent shot into the sky! Like a divine radiance tearing through the heavens, it appeared abruptly within the fog-shrouded world, carrying a majesty that seemed capable of suppressing all creation.

Boom!

The Xun Department experts felt though an invisible blade had cleaved straight through their hearts. Agony exploded within their minds, their consciousness trembled violently, and their vision went black.

How could wounds inflicted upon the state of mind be compared to ordinary dao injuries? They staggered in place, their qi thrown into chaos, and were unable to suppress cries of pain.

“This is bad!”

“Call for reinforcement—!”

Before the final word had fully left their lips, Xia Zhi moved. Her white bone spear flashed, thrusting five times in the span of a single breath.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five figures fell at once. Their bodies crumpled like paper and disintegrated into drifting ash that scattered through the air. Their flesh was destroyed and their dao extinguished. The lone survivor was seized by Xia Zhi in one swift motion, bound and utterly immobilized.

Boom!

Only then did the vast sword intent that had surged skyward gradually fade away. Lin Xun stepped forward, glanced at the captive In Xia Zhi’s grasp, and smiled faintly. “These fellows truly couldn’t keep their composure.”

“They likely never imagined we would strike back so suddenly,” Xia Zhi replied calmly, handing the man over to him.

The unconscious man wore a python-patterned robe and was clearly the leader of the group. Lin Xun had no interest in waking him for questioning. He directly activated his secret art and began a soul search.

In moments, torrents of fragmented memories surged into Lin Xun’s mind. Only then did he grasp the full picture. These mighty beings all belonged to the Xun Department, one of the Nine Departments of Alpha Origin. They had acted under the orders of Kuhe, the Heavenly Mandate Dao Lord of the Xun Department.

Within this Dark Zone, there were fifty-seven Heavenly Mandate Apostles from the Xun Department, led by an white-robed old elder called Tushan Leng. In addition, there were various other pieces of miscellaneous information.

The most valuable discovery, without question, was that, through the soul search, Lin Xun had obtained a geomantic map of the Dark Zone! With this map in hand, he would no longer wander blindly through this fog-shrouded world.

At the same time, he finally grasped the true purpose behind the earlier ambush. Those six Heavenly Mandate Apostles had intended to lure him and Xia Zhi toward a forbidden place known as the Dark Spring.

Near that ominous land, a Mist Spirit King stood guard. Their scheme was simple: to kill with a borrowed blade.

Having learned all this, Lin Xun was not in the least surprised.

From the moment he had entered the Mortal Transformation Zone, Heavenly Mandate Apostles of the Kun Department had already sought his life. Now, encountering an ambush from the Xun Department within the Dark Zone was hardly surprising.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he reached a decision and departed into the distance with Xia Zhi.

......

Sky Fiend Mountain.

“If we calculate the timing...if they succeeded, Lin Xun and that woman should have been lured near the Dark Spring by now,” Youjiang said quietly, his fiery robe faintly aglow beneath the mist.

Dozens of mighty experts from the Xun Department stood behind him, their auras tightly restrained. Within the fog-shrouded Sky Fiend Mountain, they were almost impossible to detect.

“Has any message returned?” Tushan Leng asked, his white brows knitting faintly.

“Not yet.” Youjiang shook his head.

“Whether the operation succeeded or failed, they would have reported back by now.” Tushan Leng’s expression darkened. “And yet we’ve heard nothing...”

His gaze sharpened. “I’m afraid something has gone wrong.”

Youjiang’s heart skipped. “You think they’ve encountered trouble?”

“Trouble would be the lesser concern,” Tushan Leng replied gravely. “What worries me is that Lin Xun may already be on his way here.”

After a brief silence, he made his decision. “We cannot wait any longer. We depart for the Dark Spring at once!”

Without another word, he turned and moved, vanishing into the fog. Youjiang hesitated for a moment. Though he felt Tushan Leng was perhaps overly cautious, he gave the order and led the others in pursuit.

“Leave traces as we go. I want Lin Xun to know we are heading toward the Dark Spring.” Tushan Leng’s voice sounded.

“Understood.” Youjiang nodded. Moments later, they were swallowed by the thick gray haze.

Half an hour later, Lin Xun and Xia Zhi arrived at Sky Fiend Mountain.

“They’re cautious,” Lin Xun remarked calmly. He had already surveyed the surroundings and confirmed that the enemy had withdrawn before their arrival.

“Do we pursue?” Xia Zhi asked.

“We pursue,” Lin Xun replied without hesitation.

Although the Dark Zone was shrouded in dense fog, he now held a map of this place. He was no longer navigating blindly as he had at the beginning.

“This way.”

It wasn’t long before Lin Xun detected the traces Tushan Leng and the others had left behind. They were far too obvious, and it was clearly deliberate.

As Lin Xun followed the trail, he soon understood that Tushan Leng and the others were heading toward the Dark Spring. That alone was enough to reveal several things.

First, the enemy was exceedingly cautious. They dared not confront him head-on. This likely meant they had already learned something of his true strength. Second, the Dark Spring was known as an ominous and forbidden land within this world. The enemy intended to use that cursed place as a weapon against him.

However, the clearer their intentions became, the more intrigued Lin Xun felt. From the memories he had extracted during the soul search, he knew that the Dark Spring was extraordinarily strange. Throughout countless years, not even Tushan Leng and the other Heavenly Mandate Apostles of the Xun Department had dared to investigate it rashly.

So what exactly was hidden within that forbidden place? Surely it was not merely a Mist Spirit King.

“Once we’ve dealt with them...we’ll make a trip to the Dark Spring ourselves...” Lin Xun murmured inwardly.

Four hours later, Lin Xun slowed his pace. A thousand miles ahead lay the forbidden region where the Dark Spring was said to reside. From this point onward, the traces left by the enemy abruptly vanished. It was almost certain that in this fog-shrouded world, the road ahead would be fraught with ambushes and deadly assaults.

To Lin Xun’s surprise, as he and Xia Zhi drew closer to the Dark Spring, no danger arose along the way.

“Why is there no trace of the enemy?” Xia Zhi finally asked aloud.

By now, Lin Xun had fully grasped the situation. “Their aim is to force me into a confrontation with the Mist Spirit King. Before that happens, they won’t show themselves.”

Just as he finished, a cold laugh suddenly rang out. “Lin Xun...you should never have come!”

The voice reverberated through the fog. The moment the cold laughter faded, hundreds of dangerous auras erupted within the surrounding fog, converging at once upon Lin Xun and Xia Zhi.

Lin Xun’s eyes narrowed. He clenched his fist and struck the air. Boom!

The surrounding mist shattered and dispersed in an instant, as though swept clean by a raging storm. Then, within Lin Xun and Xia Zhi’s field of vision, countless mist spirits surged forth from every direction, dense and overwhelming, like a black tide crashing in.

It was not the Mist Spirit King, but the formation before them was even more terrifying. Every single mist spirit radiated an aura no weaker than that of a Greater Boundless Realm cultivator!

Yet, Lin Xun and Xia Zhi grew calmer at the sight. They exchanged a glance. Then they moved.

Boom!

Lin Xun’s towering figure suddenly soared into the sky. In that moment, he resembled a vast abyss swallowing the firmament. Boundless divine radiance erupted from him, tearing apart the mist in all directions, illuminating heaven and earth.

He struck with a single punch. The heavens wailed. The void caved inward, as though unable to endure the might contained within that blow.

The charging mist spirits had barely drawn near when they were swept up in the Immeasurable force of his fist. It crushed through them like dead leaves before a storm, leaving them no strength even to struggle.

At the same time, Xia Zhi moved. Her graceful figure strode through the air, her white bone spear sweeping in an arc. In an instant, a torrent of temporal power poured forth, like a celestial river cascading from beyond the heavens.

Wherever it passed, time distorted and space twisted. The mist spirits caught within it seemed dragged into a vortex of fractured space-time, utterly imprisoned. Then, as Lin Xun and Xia Zhi joined forces, the mist spirits rushing toward them became like moths plunging to flame. Wave after wave was suppressed and seized.

Within moments, every single mist spirit had been wiped out.

“This...”

In the distance, atop a low hill, Tushan Leng and the Heavenly Mandate Apostles of the Xun Department stood rooted in place. Having witnessed everything, color drained from their faces and a chill crept into their limbs.

Even Tushan Leng’s aged face turned grave. Too strong! Far stronger than they had anticipated.

Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that this man and woman, who had entered the Mortal Transformation Zone less than a year ago, could wield such heaven-defying power.

From afar, Lin Xun’s voice rang out, “Many thanks! It would be impolite of me to refuse such generous gifts.”

His gaze had already shifted toward Tushan Leng and the others. With the fog temporarily dispersed, Tushan Leng and his group could no longer conceal themselves.

“Damn it!”

Youjiang’s face turned ashen. Those hundreds of mist spirits had been subdued and released by them to besiege Lin Xun and Xia Zhi. Who could have imagined that they would be rounded up like mere livestock, captured and suppressed one by one?

“Retreat!”

Tushan Leng’s pupils contracted sharply as he saw Lin Xun and Xia Zhi turning toward them.

He dared not hesitate. Unfortunately, at that very moment...Boom!

A boundless, violent, ice-cold aura suddenly erupted from the distant depths of the Dark Zone. It spread outward like the awakening of an ancient sovereign who had slumbered for countless ages. The pressure of it alone caused Tushan Leng and the others to stiffen where they stood. Even Lin Xun and Xia Zhi halted mid-charge, their hearts tightening.

In the far distance, as the remaining mist collapsed and dispersed, a colossal figure tens of thousands of feet tall was revealed. Primal chaos surged around its body like black waterfall, dark and violent, and its might crushed the surrounding void. From afar, it resembled a primordial god emerging from chaos itself.

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