65: Killing with a borrowed knife, killing Jindan

Boom—!

The Profound Yin Divine Claw descended without any suspense.

Lin Gou's body, before it even had time to feel pain, was instantly annihilated and evaporated by the extreme Yin cold power.

Even the rocks beneath his feet turned into nothingness.

He died completely.

Ding! You have been successfully killed by Golden Core cultivator Zhao Wuji!

Death Method Assessment: A+ Class · Borrowed Knife to Kill!

Comment: A textbook-like setup, a carefully directed trap. You transformed the enemy's rage into a knife in your hand, precisely stabbing another fierce beast. Seeking death is also a wise man's gamble!

Reward settlement...

Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the core insights of the Golden Core-level Cultivation Technique "Profound Yin Strategy"! A torrent of unfamiliar cultivation memories instantly flooded your Divine Soul!

Congratulations, Host! You have obtained a special trait: Grand Yin Affinity! Your resistance and control over Yin cold energy have undergone a qualitative leap!

Congratulations, Host! You have obtained high-quality Soul Energy +100!

At the exact moment Lin Gou's consciousness completely vanished.

“Roar—!!!”

A beast's roar, containing endless fury and brutality, erupted from the peak of Thunder Light Peak, the sound waves transforming into visible shockwaves that swept in all directions!

The sleeping Thunder Light Lion was completely awakened.

No, it was completely enraged!

The aftershock of Zhao Wuji's Profound Yin Divine Claw accurately shattered the ten-thousand-year-old Thunderstrike Stone at the entrance of its Immortal Cave, its most beloved stone for sharpening its claws!

This was a provocation!

A relentless provocation, brought right to its doorstep!

Golden lightning tore through the sky.

The next moment, the Thunder Light Lion's mountain-like colossal body, enveloped in world-destroying thunderous might, powerfully appeared before Zhao Wuji.

Its beast eyes, burning with silver-white thunder-fire, locked onto the human Cultivator before it, who exuded an aura it intensely loathed.

Zhao Wuji looked at the Golden Core Yao Beast in front of him, then glanced at the deep pit he had created on the ground.

That little beast was finally dead.

But in his heart, there was no joy.

Instead, there was volcanic rage and humiliation.

He had been tricked!

The other party had deliberately died here!

The purpose was to enrage this beast and use it as a borrowed knife to kill!

“Get lost!”

Zhao Wuji roared at the Thunder Light Lion.

His response was a destructive lightning pillar, thick as a water bucket, capable of piercing mountains!

Rumble—!

Golden Core-level powers violently collided.

Violent lightning and cold black Qi furiously tore and annihilated each other, and the entire valley trembled violently under this terrifying power.

Zhao Wuji was shaken, his blood and Qi surging, and his body retreated rapidly.

He and the Thunder Light Lion instantly engaged in battle... At the same time.

At the other end of the Secret Realm, within the safe anchor point behind the waterfall.

Lin Gou's figure solidified out of thin air in the faint light.

“Hoo…”

He let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and carefully savored the cultivation method of the "Profound Yin Strategy" that had appeared in his mind, as well as the unprecedented affinity his body now had for Yin cold Qi.

It was as if all those cold energies had become breathable air.

He made a huge profit.

This death was definitely not a loss!

He did not rush to act but sat cross-legged, rapidly digesting the gains from this experience.

Half an incense stick later, Lin Gou opened his eyes again.

His gaze was deeper and colder than before, and his demeanor became even more reserved.

He walked to the entrance of the Immortal Cave and looked towards Thunder Light Peak from afar.

Over there, earth-shattering energy fluctuations were still ongoing, thunder and roars intertwining into a destructive symphony.

Lin Gou's lips curled into a cold arc.

“Fight, the fiercer the better.”

“Preferably… both suffer heavy losses.”

He did not linger, turning to stealthily head towards the second planned location.

The place where a Sword Cultivator had passed away, marked as “Great Danger” on the Sect map.

That dilapidated, yet capable of annihilating a Golden Core, ultimate killing array!

Half an hour later.

Before a desolate, sword-shaped stone forest.

Lin Gou's figure quietly appeared.

Every stone here pointed straight to the sky like a sharp sword, and a faint, sharp Qi permeated the air, pricking the skin with a subtle pain.

On the ground, ancient sword marks crisscrossed, forming a chessboard of death.

“This is it.”

Lin Gou's eyes were solemn as he began to meticulously survey the outer perimeter of the stone forest, like the calmest hunter.

He was not just looking for a place where he could die the most tragically and receive the highest rewards.

He was also looking for a fatal stage that would allow Zhao Wuji to step in unprepared and activate the core of the entire killing array!

...The battle on Thunder Light Peak had reached a fever pitch.

Zhao Wuji's robes were tattered, blood hung from the corner of his mouth, and he was in a sorry state.

The Thunder Light Lion opposite him was also covered in blood, its aura weak.

Both suffered heavy losses!

Zhao Wuji was filled with suppressed rage.

However, what made his Dao Heart almost collapse was that he could feel... that aura belonging to Lin Gou, which he hated to the bone!

It had appeared again!

Just nearby!

That little beast was alive again!!!

This absurd reality, which overturned his hundreds of years of cultivation knowledge, caused him more pain and madness than any of his injuries!

“Beast, get lost!”

Zhao Wuji forced back the Thunder Light Lion with a palm strike, no longer caring about the Yao Beast, and transformed into a hysterical black light, madly chasing after that aura!

He swore that this time, he would extract that little bastard's Divine Soul and burn it with Profound Yin True Fire for ten thousand years!

Seeing its enemy trying to escape, the Thunder Light Lion let out an unwilling roar, and likewise, dragging its heavily injured body, pursued relentlessly!

Thus, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded in this Secret Realm.

Lin Gou was “running for his life” in front.

Zhao Wuji was madly chasing behind him.

The Thunder Light Lion, with its body glowing with lightning, was in hot pursuit at the very end.

Lin Gou pushed his speed to the limit, yet always maintained a subtle distance from Zhao Wuji.

A distance that made the opponent feel they could catch him in the next second, but always just barely missed.

Finally, that deadly stone forest appeared at the end of their vision.

“Little beast, let's see where else you can run!”

Zhao Wuji saw the dead end ahead and let out a cruel, sinister laugh.

Lin Gou looked back, forcing out a perfectly timed expression of terror and despair.

Like a trapped beast driven to a dead end, he gritted his teeth and charged straight into that deadly stone forest!

“Seeking death!”

Zhao Wuji sneered and followed without hesitation.

Hum—

The moment Lin Gou stepped into the stone forest, the entire desolate stone forest came alive!

Billions of invisible, sharp Sword Qi appeared out of thin air from all directions, madly twisting and annihilating towards Lin Gou!

Chichichi!

Lin Gou's body, before it even had time to scream, was instantly cut into a sky full of blood mist.

He died a hundred times more tragically than the last time!

However, at the very last moment before he was annihilated.

He used the last of his Divine Soul power to fiercely throw a bead, already held in his hand and flashing with lightning, towards Zhao Wuji, who was chasing him from behind!

Lightning Guiding Bead!

The bead drew a perfect arc in the air.

And at this moment, the Thunder Light Lion, close behind, unleashed its strongest attack, accumulated for a long time and staking its life on it!

A destructive lightning spear, condensed into substance, as if it could pierce heaven and earth, shot out from its mouth, aimed directly at Zhao Wuji!

Zhao Wuji was about to block it.

That tiny Lightning Guiding Bead just happened to fly in front of him.

Boom!

The bead exploded, and a peculiar pulling force instantly acted upon that destructive lightning spear!

The trajectory of the lightning spear shifted by an almost imperceptible amount.

At the same time, Zhao Wuji's right foot happened to step on an extremely concealed sword mark on the ground, carved with ancient runes.

That was the core trigger point of the entire ancient killing array… calculated by Lin Gou with his life!

Boom—!!!

In the sky, the destructive lightning spear descended with a roar!

On the ground, the ultimate sword array, dormant for a thousand years, completely detonated!

Two completely different, yet equally destructive powers, collided violently, centered on Zhao Wuji's body!

A white light pillar, blinding to the extreme, swallowed everything, piercing through the Secret Realm clouds, making the entire world lose its color.

After a long time, the light dissipated.

In its place, only a gigantic, bottomless pit with edges as smooth as a mirror remained.

At the bottom of the pit, Zhao Wuji was like a broken rag, covered in blood, his Golden Core riddled with cracks, his aura extremely weak.

Not far away, the Thunder Light Lion's massive body was pierced by countless Sword Qi, also left with only its last breath.

Silence reigned.

Just then.

A clear, cold sword light swiftly approached from the horizon, quietly hovering above the giant pit.

Li Hanyue, holding a long sword, her face like frost, looked down at the apocalyptic scene below, her beautiful eyes filled with unspeakable shock.

Golden Core Elder… Golden Core Yao Beast… What exactly happened here?

Her gaze subconsciously swept around.

Then, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Just at the edge of the giant pit, behind a collapsed boulder.

A familiar figure walked out slowly with calm steps.

His Qingyun Sect Disciple robes were spotless.

His expression was indifferent and composed, like a traveler who had just finished a stroll and happened to pass by.

It was him.

The guy who picked up the demonic lotus in the Molten Cave and pretended to be timid in front of her.

Lin Gou.

He appeared again.

After another earth-shattering destruction, he appeared, completely unharmed.