Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-180

The sun was scorching hot, and not a single cloud was in the sky.

Before the entrance of the Artifact Trading Convention, more than 10 foundational cultivators began to chase down Ling Xian, leaving the city commander behind. The commander’s facial expression was bleak, very much opposite of the normally composed man he was.

"He managed to injure me with the first move he made."

Staring into the direction of which Ling Xian ran off to, his eyes shone with complexity. There was a trace of indisposition and a hint of disappointment.

That blood he spat out did not dye his white robe, nor did it tint his chest. However, it contaminated his resolve.

As a foundational cultivator who has reached the peak of his training, he has always lived with much self-confidence. Though he never achieved a Qi level of 10 before he broke through to the foundational stage, the years of hard training he endured made him think that he was almost as capable as a foundational Heaven’s Favorite.

It was at this moment that he realized how big a gap there truly was between him and a Heaven’s Favorite. There was no way for him to make up the differences in their natural talent with training.

His training was a level higher than Ling Xian, yet he was wounded after one hit. This result says a lot about their abilities already.

"Phew… what a powerful youth. He is undefeatable unless the opponent is a Heaven’s Favorite too," the commander of the City of Yun Xiao exclaimed with a deep sigh. He was highly frustrated, but very quickly, he reorganized his emotions, set off a firework signal, and ran after Ling Xian.

"No matter how astonishing your talent is, you still must die."

…..

At the center of the city stood a spatial portal. To activate it and get to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, the cultivator simply needs to step inside and feed it with spiritual stones.

Ling Xian’s hand clutched onto the Halberd of the Divine Warrior, and his back supported the Winged Blitz. Holding onto Lin Qing Yi’s waist, he was aiming to fly to that area.

Behind him, 13 foundational cultivators were zoning in closely, their murderous intent locked onto Ling Xian.

Reality was that they were scared of Ling Xian after the rebuttal just now. However, as guards, they had to follow commands and fight with all their might. If they fail their commands, they would be killed anyway by the commander. It was better to die in Ling Xian’s hands because if they die on the battle field, the commander would take care of their families.

"You can’t get away. Die!"

A man in purple shouted. The long spear in his hand emitted a thousand rays of lights that pierced towards Ling Xian!

"You are not strong enough to stop me."

Ling Xian remained collected. Swinging the halberd, his horrifying grandeur scattered around, knocking out many guards. To Lin Qing Yi, who was still in his arms, he said, "When we get there, quickly enter the portal. Don’t look back. Okay?"

"But…"

Lin Qing Yi’s brows locked together and was about to argue more when Ling Xian harshly interrupted, "There are no ‘buts’. You have to go. If we go in together, these people will try to attack the portal. When that happens, it will cause space turbulence, and neither of us will be able to escape. You have to go in by yourself while I defend outside. It’s our only chance of surviving."

"I…"

Lin Qing Yi clenched her teeth and finally said, "Okay, but you have to promise me to stay alive."

"Stop worrying. Before getting my hand on the Wood of the Warming Soul, I will not die. We will meet again in the capital of this dynasty," Ling Xian smiled with his teeth. That confident and warming smile bedazzled Lin Qing Yi a little. She felt more assured.

"As long as you stay safe, I will be safe as well."

Ling Xian looked longingly at the beauty in his arms before his wings fluttered violently and he turned into a streak of light. The high speed of his movement made his pursuers’ eyes widen in shock.

Luckily for the subordinates, the portal has already been surrounded with people of the prefecture, the entrance of the city was heavily guarded as well. Therefore, they no longer had to worry about Ling Xian escaping.

When Ling Xian arrived at the portal, his heart fell.

There, seven foundational cultivators circled the giant light pillar. As heavy as the Tai Mountains, their energy was overpowering.

"Dammit, the enemies have set up an ambush." Lin Qing Yi’s expression drooped.

Ling Xian frowned as he slowly descended. Glancing at the seven foundational cultivators before him, and the pursuers that were after him, he couldn’t help it but to bitterly laugh. "Wolves are before us and tigers are after us. Seems like I need to battle with my life."

"Haha, young man, the commander has predicted that you would try to get away with the portal. There is nowhere to run now!" a man in black guffawed with his head held up high in the sky. His voice was full of ecstasy.

The others too, exposed a relaxed smile. From their eyes, Ling Xian was now a fish in the net. There were no roads above him if he goes up and no doors below him if he flies down.

Whoosh!

A piercing noise welcomed the arrival of the commander. Dressed in his white robe, his temperament was extraordinary.

Behind him, the subordinates of Deputy Chang An and Deputy Xiao Yao turned up as well. One by one, they landed from midair and murderous intent washed over the area.

Around the portal, seven foundational cultivators waited patiently as their heroic demeanor seeped through their bodies. Their energy connected with the 14 cultivators on the opposite side and merged into an array, similar to a magnetic field. They completely enveloped Ling Xian, giving him no chance to escape.

Right now, the Sun was hanging high in the sky, draping down warm light.

Yet, the road was utterly silent with no intention of getting rowdy like it would on a regular day. The cold killer instinct produced by the different forces made the citizens shudder.

"My god, 21 foundational cultivators. What earth-shattering event happened that’s making all these authoritative figures gather here?"

"Look at that guy! The youth in black looks familiar. He looks like the one who tried to kill the Third Prince a few days ago!"

"Right! I saw the wanted warrant for him yesterday. He looks exactly like this guy before us!"

"No wonder. He is definitely dead. 21 foundational cultivators making their moves on him. This group of people can easily massacre an entire city!"

The crowd who was watching them turned boisterous. Nobody thought highly of Ling Xian, and all of them believed that he would for sure be killed.

21 foundational cultivators!

Such power was terrifying enough to raid this city!

Counting the four guards that were just killed, there were 25 foundational cultivators in total against Ling Xian. One has to admit that this could be considered honorable.

To kill Ling Xian, three forces from three different parties convened their most trusted subordinates. This meant that these different forces felt like they could only successfully kill Ling Xian by sending out these many foundational guards!

"This is… a battle array?"

Perceiving the connected energy fields between the three forces, Ling Xian’ frowned, eyes full of shock.

"Not bad eye sight. This is a battle array created by the Zhou dynasty," the commander stated matter-of-factly with no emotions other than pride on his face. "Since you know this is a battle array, then you should know how dangerous it is. This array, even if it weren’t made by 21 foundational cultivators but made by meditational cultivators, is enough to trap you."

"I see. This array allows everyone to connect their spiritual energy and unleash abnormally strong capabilities. With 21 foundational cultivators being a part of this, killing an ordinary foundational cultivator shouldn’t be hard," Ling Xian nodded. His lips curved up as he made this unbelievably arrogant statement.

"Pity that I am no ordinary foundational cultivator. This array, is not good enough to trap me."

The commander’s face darkened right away. "You’re welcomed to try."

"As you wish."

Ling Xian stepped forward one step, his black hair scuffled in the wind, his stance extremely presumptuous and insolent!

In the next moment, Yin and Yang energies swarmed around and nine different colored heavenly light cascaded out of him. This was the ultimate performance of the Eyes of Execution!

The Sword of Extinction, the Armor of Royal Spirit, the Halberd of the Divine Warrior, and the Winged Blitz, four supreme qualities of the Inner Eyes were revealed, peerless and unsurpassable!

The situation has turned urgent. Ling Xian’s only goal was to get Lin Qing Yi into the spatial portal and didn’t want to waste any time with these people. He wanted to take care of everything in lightning speed!

"The air has turned grim. The Inner Eyes sure is unrivaled."

The commander’s face was stiff. Forming a hand seal while standing in the center of the battle array, he tightly knitted the 21 cultivators’ spiritual energy together, causing an outbreak of unparalleled divinity. Instantly, the sky darkened, the wind blew, clouds converged and the ground shook!

The atmosphere turned imposing!

The collusion of the 21 cultivators was devastating to any foundational cultivator, as it indicated, without a doubt, the end of their lives!

"Move, now!"

After an abrupt order, the commander stayed where he was while the other 20 foundational cultivators unleashed their techniques all at once, roaring towards Ling Xian. It was like a tidal wave that was as tall as the sky and wide as a forest!

"Kill!"

Ling Xian’s left hand held onto the sword while his right hand gripped onto the halberd. The armor wrapped around his body, and his wings were extended. Like the God of War, like an Immortal, the monstrous divinity he expressed was enough to suppress any opponent!

Bang!

The Armor of the Royal Spirit spilled out a borderless amount of light that shielded him from the array’s attacks. Ling Xian did not stagger back even half a step. He swung his Halberd of the Divine Warrior in a full circle in an attempt to destroy all that was in sight!

However, the battle array was just as stubborn. Though the halberd was cruel and violent, it was met with heavy resistance. A cultivator in black has originally given up in the face of the Eyes of Execution, however, due to the battle array, he felt a new surge of energy run through him, allowing him to defend himself against its attack.

This was the advantage of a battle array. Having connected everyone’s spiritual energy, during times of desperation, everyone can borrow each other’s Qi!

"Haha, the battle array is without a flaw. You should give up quietly!" A man in purple bellowed.

"The battle array sure is powerful. But it cannot win against me."

Ling Xian’s face was ice cold as he faced the pack of guards. His Sword of Extinction was incomparably sharp and his Halberd of the Divine Warrior was matchlessly destructive. The two weapons supported each other and readied themselves for a disastrous battle!

"Get the f*ck out of my way!"

Ling Xian screamed. The black halberd erupted with a horrifying gush of wind that made the heavens shake. With a "boom", everyone before him backed away.

Just then, he zigzagged left and right like a ghost, planning to make his first kill the Commander of the city.

After all, the battle array was tyrannical and unpredictable. Though it wasn’t enough to defeat Ling Xian, he had no way to take control of the situation. The only way to get through this was to break the array so he could fully kill these guards ruthlessly like he would slaughter farm pigs.

"Stop him!"

The man in purple saw through Ling Xian’s intentions and hurriedly dashed before Ling Xian. The sword the man held was boiling with thick killing desire and was looking to slice Ling Xian’s throat!

"You’re seeking death!"

Ling Xian’s eyes turned cold. The Sword of Extinction was incomparably sharp as blood-red colored the air. In an instant, the man’s long sword was broken into pieces by the Sword of Extinction and Ling Xian pierced straight through his heart!

"Though the array is powerful, it is not undefeatable. It cannot revive you or grant you the chance to live again."

Ling Xian pulled out the Sword of Extinction and immediately, blood sprayed out of the man. The man’s eyes widened and unwillingly collapsed.

"Commander of the City of Yun Xiao, accept your death!"

The Winged Blitz quivered, sending a fierce wind in the direction of the guards, forcing them to back down. In the next second, he was already standing before the commander with the Halberd of the Divine Warrior raised above his head! An immeasurable amount of heavenly light bloomed as he slashed downwards!

He has fully demonstrated his unrivaled and superior capability!