Chapter 89: Chapter 89: You Are Not a Holy Sect Disciple

"’This statue is... a Spiritual Object?’"

A turbulent, surging thrum pulsed within him, and Qi Yun’s breath quickened.

’This thrum... is it pointing to the Clear Wind Technique?’

Eyes narrowing, Qi Yun calmed himself and walked toward the statue of the bird-headed figure.

The closer he drew to the statue, the more intense the thrumming grew.

The number on the back of Qi Yun’s hand seemed to sense the source, and it began to glow brightly.

When he reached the foot of the statue, a brilliant ray of light suddenly shot from the number on the back of his hand and sank into the statue. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The next instant!

The statue trembled. Its downcast, gentle eyes, full of Compassion, seemed to turn slightly and gaze upon Qi Yun.

RUMBLE—

The void before Qi Yun suddenly wavered like the surface of a placid lake struck by a great stone, sending out concentric ripples. Immediately after, fist-sized orbs of light, each a different color, materialized from nothing. They arranged themselves neatly in the air, like an invisible catalog of treasures.

These orbs of light emanated distinct auras.

Some were a blazing crimson, within which a phantom Golden Crow seemed to circle and cry out. Others were a deep, mysterious blue, hinting at the formation of ice crystals and surging frigid tides. One was a lush, vibrant green, brimming with life as if it held a condensed forest. Another was a heavy, earthy yellow, as stable as a mountain. And another was a piercing, sharp gold, its edge practically palpable.

And one, an ethereal, faint cyan orb wreathed in air currents, resonated strongly with the Clear Wind Technique inside Qi Yun...

Each orb of light faintly manifested a unique Realm of the "Dao."

Beneath each orb, a different number was clearly displayed.

’Spirit Points... Spiritual Source...’ As his gaze swept over the multicolored orbs, Qi Yun subconsciously clenched his fists.

’This place really is a treasure trove!’

While carefully discerning the auras of the orbs, Qi Yun first glanced at the number on the back of his hand.

[2,733]

’Should I just pick the most expensive one... or wait and see if something better shows up...’

Just as Qi Yun hesitated, the three White Bone Skeleton skulls that had been circling protectively around him suddenly sensed extreme danger and let out sharp, urgent shrieks.

Without waiting for his command, they transformed into three streaks of white light and shot toward a shadow behind him!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK—

The ink-green dagger was impossibly sharp; its tip simply gave a light, fluid twist.

The three skulls, incomparably tough and comparable to refined steel, shattered in unison like fragile pottery! They exploded into countless specks of pale bone dust, scattering in all directions!

But that momentary delay was all he needed.

The vast quantity of Abyssal Iron Sand that had been lying in wait around Qi Yun erupted like a burst dam, a torrent of blackness.

It converged with a frenzy that surpassed any previous instance.

In the span of a breath, it wove itself layer by layer into a thick, impenetrable, pitch-black cocoon, sealing Qi Yun safely at its center.

A sharp PING!

The dagger, its momentum unbroken, struck the iron cocoon hard, sending up a shower of blinding sparks.

It sank more than halfway in but failed to pierce through.

Inside the cocoon, Qi Yun’s gaze was ice-cold. He stared at the half-buried dagger before him, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk.

"Heh..."

His one-handed Spell seal abruptly changed, and Qi Yun let out a low shout. "Explode!"

The pitch-black Abyssal Iron cocoon that had shielded him so securely erupted with a BOOM.

Innumerable grains of Iron Sand, each containing terrifying force, shot out like a volley from ten million powerful crossbows, forming a devastating metal storm that sprayed indiscriminately in all directions.

Each grain of Iron Sand held enough power to easily pierce Golden Stone, comparable to an all-out strike from a Qi Refining Fifth Layer Cultivator.

In an instant, it covered every inch of the surrounding space!

However, in the direction from which the dagger first attacked, the expected sight of the ambusher being riddled with holes never materialized.

Instead, that patch of void rippled violently, like the surface of disturbed water.

All the incoming Iron Sand seemed to strike nothing but empty air.

They passed through the ripples, failing to harm whatever lay beyond in the slightest.

"Hiding? Let’s see how long you can keep that up!" Qi Yun sneered and, without a moment’s hesitation, attacked with his full power.

A furious tempest!

A true, tempestuous storm of attacks!

Qi Yun wielded the Abyssal Iron Sand with ultimate mastery—fierce, sharp, versatile, and dense.

The assault was like a sudden squall, relentless, with almost no openings.

The pitch-black torrent of Iron Sand consumed the entire space, filling it with an aura of destruction.

The hidden ambusher clearly hadn’t expected Qi Yun’s counterattack to be so savage and unrelenting.

The strange ripples in the void flickered continuously, each time narrowly "slipping" past or "swallowing" the fatal blows.

But they began to appear with increasing frequency and over a smaller and smaller area.

Clearly, this profound Escape Technique consumed a great deal of True Qi and Heart and Spirit.

Under such a high-intensity, continuous barrage, it was becoming difficult to maintain the effect perfectly.

BAM—

As great fists of Iron Sand struck simultaneously from above, below, left, and right, the ripple in the void trembled violently.

A blurry figure in a tight-fitting black outfit was forced to stumble out from within!

Though a mask concealed the figure’s face, their exposed eyes were filled with horror and a trace of panic.

’Are the techniques of a Holy Sect Disciple this terrifying?’

"Go on, keep hiding..." A cold smirk graced Qi Yun’s lips. He slightly raised his right index finger, and a hundred pitch-black chains formed from the Abyssal Iron Sand shot toward the scoundrel with a great CLATTER.

"Myriad forms to nothingness fade, heaven’s mystery and earth’s foundations shake!

The empty void receives, the mind is lost in haze!

Decree!"

Seeing the pitch-black chains sweeping in from all sides like vicious flood dragons, the ambusher’s eyes flashed with a savage light. He rapidly chanted a Spell, his hands forming a profound seal, and then spat out a hazy, illusory cloud of mist that seemed both real and unreal.

As the mist swirled, the scoundrel’s figure vanished once more. The Iron Sand chains slammed into the ground with a thunderous CRASH!

’Oh, this again?’

Qi Yun sneered and tilted his head up slightly. His right hand moved in a series of rapid calculations, a faint, uncanny crimson glow twining around his fingertips.

"Found you!"

The next moment, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his calculating right hand shot out violently toward a patch of empty air to his left!

BOOM—

His hand, wreathed in the raging Nanming Demon Fire, plunged with perfect precision into the void, seized the scoundrel’s neck, and forcibly dragged him out from that strange emptiness.

"Nanming... Demon Fire... You’re only at the Qi Refining stage... How..." The voice was filled with disbelief. The scoundrel struggled in agony, his body burned and riddled with wounds.

Ignoring him completely, Qi Yun reached out and tore off the man’s mask, revealing a face he didn’t recognize.

Qi Yun’s gaze lingered on the face for a moment. His next words made the screaming scoundrel’s body jolt, a look of horror appearing in the man’s eyes against his will.

"You’re not a Holy Sect Disciple!

How did you get in?"

...