207: Xu Miaoyin

"Xuanming Heavy Water Realm!"

Hum! With Lin Feng at the center, a mysterious black water curtain unfolded, each heavy droplet seemingly containing a force of ten thousand jun.

Xu Miaoyin's agile white silk ribbon plunged into the water curtain, its speed dropping sharply. Fine ice crystals even began to condense on its surface, and its fierce offensive was greatly slowed.

"Hmm?" Xu Miaoyin's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she was inwardly startled. With this white silk ribbon and her Cultivation Technique, the Protective Aura of a Magic Treasure belonging to an ordinary Early Core Formation Cultivator would shatter upon contact. She had not expected the opponent's heavy water barrier to be so bizarre, appearing specifically designed to restrain such agile and swift attacks.

With a thought, she activated her Cultivation Technique, stirring the emotional thread of "Anger" to try and impact Lin Feng's state of mind. At the same time, she pointed her fingers, and a white cold light, condensed from seventy percent of her own mystic ice true essence, shot out from her body. Its power was even greater than the white silk; like an ice spear piercing the air, it struck directly at the core of the water curtain, intending to break the barrier with a single point of attack.

"Sea Quelling Stance!" Lin Feng did not dodge or evade. The dou su sword moved from bottom to top, seemingly lifting slowly. This sword strike contained the force of ten thousand jun.

Under the impact of this sudden sword strike, the condensed cold light's trajectory shifted, its radiance dimmed. It struck the Xuanming Heavy Water Realm, stirring only a ripple before dissipating without a trace.

Xu Miaoyin was even more shaken. Even a Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivator would not dare to take that cold light finger strike head-on. How could this person easily neutralize it with such a bizarre sword stance that changed its direction?

She let out a sharp cry, her figure drifting forward like a ghost. She pushed the Jueqing Valley movement technique, Phantom Steps, to its limit, manifesting several afterimages. Her palms flew, striking out dozens of mystic ice palm shadows. Each palm shadow contained enough freezing palm power to instantly freeze a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, shrouding Lin Feng from all directions.

"Vortex Shield!" Lin Feng traced a circle with his sword tip, and the heavy water in front of him instantly formed a rapidly rotating whirlpool.

The dense mystic ice palm power was mostly deflected, absorbed, and neutralized by the whirlpool, but the full-force attack of a Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivator was no small matter. Some of the palm force still penetrated his defense, shaking his blood Qi slightly, but that was all.

"My turn!" A sharp glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes, and the xingxiu sword suddenly appeared in his right hand.

"Phoenix Wing Soaring!"

An incredibly condensed, lifelike Phoenix phantom flew out from the sword tip with a long cry, carrying the fiery might to burn the eight wastes, lunging straight at Xu Miaoyin.

Xu Miaoyin's expression changed slightly; this fiery Sword Qi clearly made her feel threatened. Her slender fingers flicked repeatedly, condensing three thick mystic ice crystal walls in front of her.

The fire Phoenix collided with the ice walls, emitting a loud hissing sound as ice and fire intertwined, and mist rose in clouds.

Although she barely blocked this attack, the scorching aura still made her blood Qi fluctuate, and her protective cold Qi dimmed somewhat.

Before she could catch her breath, Lin Feng followed his sword, his body turning into a dazzling stream of light. His speed was at its limit, and the tip of the xingxiu sword condensed a point of highly compressed flame, thrusting straight at Xu Miaoyin's face.

This was the "Meteor Chasing the Moon" killing move; this sword strike pushed speed and penetration to the limit.

Xu Miaoyin's expression finally changed; this speed far exceeded her expectations. She struck out with both hands, and a defensive Magic Treasure, an ice crystal shield, appeared in front of her.

"Clang!" With a harsh, crisp sound, the ice shield vibrated violently. She herself was shaken by this immense force, her blood Qi surging, and she retreated half a step.

Lin Feng did not let up. Borrowing the force, he leaped high into the air. The xingxiu sword drew upon the fire spiritual power in the air, descending like a falling meteor, bringing with it a terrifying impact force and explosive flaming Sword Qi as it crashed down.

Xu Miaoyin let out a sharp cry. The terrifying might of the falling meteor rushed toward her. With no more reservations, she fully activated her Cultivation Technique. Blinding white light bloomed from her body, condensing into a light shield that firmly protected her. This was the Jueqing Valley life-saving secret technique, "World Purifying Lotus".

Boom! A huge explosion echoed in the valley, dust filled the air, and gravel splattered.

When the dust settled slightly, Xu Miaoyin was seen standing in place, looking slightly disheveled. The originally pure and flawless Lotus light shield had shattered, dissipating into specks of spiritual light.

A few strands of her hair bun were shaken loose, her face was pale, and her chest heaved slightly; clearly, blocking that last blow was not easy.

She looked at Lin Feng, who was surrounded by his two swords not far away. Her gaze was filled with unbelievable shock, and a trace of… horror that even she herself had not noticed.

"This… how is this possible?!"

She was at the Mid-stage Core Formation stage, possessing the true teachings of Jueqing Valley. Whether it was the Soul Shocking Thorn, the mystic ice Palm, or her Lifebound Treasure, were any of them not powerful means capable of easily crushing those of the same rank or even challenging those of a higher rank?

Yet, in the fierce battle just now, she had exhausted all her methods, but not only had she failed to quickly take down her opponent, she had instead been forced into a flurry by his bizarre sword technique, which intertwined water and fire, hardness and softness. In the end, she had even been forced to use her Jueqing Valley life-saving secret technique to barely block that earth-shattering blow.

The person before her was clearly just an Early Core Formation Cultivator.

In Xu Miaoyin's mind, her experiences fighting other Early Core Formation Cultivators in the Sect, and even some fellow disciples at the Mid-stage Core Formation stage, flashed by rapidly.

Those people, under her fierce and bizarre offensive, often could not last long before losing their composure or being defeated.

Yet this green-robed Cultivator before her not only had a resilient Divine Sense, unaffected by her Seven Emotions Severing Self Technique secret method, but his mastery of the dual swords, his seasoned combat awareness, and the fierce power of his sword moves were simply shocking.

The defensive sword stance, containing the power of heavy water, was as steady as a mountain; the attacking sword moves, bursting with blazing flames, were as violent as a volcanic eruption.

The transition between offense and defense was natural and seamless; without decades or even centuries of life-and-death combat, it was absolutely impossible to possess such terrifying combat power.

For how many years… had she not encountered such a difficult, such a dangerous opponent? The last time she felt so powerless was when facing her Senior Sister, the Sect Head, who had long since reached the Late Stage Core Formation.

Yet this person was truly only at the Early Core Formation Stage! Where on earth did this monster come from?!

Lin Feng stood with his two swords circling before him. Although his aura fluctuated slightly due to the previous outburst, his eyes remained sharp, and the Sword Intent around him was held in check but not released; clearly, he still had the strength to fight.

Xu Miaoyin looked at his calm, unruffled face, and for the first time, a strong sense of apprehension arose in her heart, along with an indescribable sense of humiliation.

The prey she had originally thought would be easy to capture was actually a fierce tiger capable of turning on the hunter.

But she had to obtain that high-quality soul condensing jade.

The "Seven Emotions Severing Self Technique" she cultivated emphasized stripping the seven emotions inherent in all people—joy, anger, worry, thought, sorrow, fear, and surprise—from one's own Divine Soul and temporarily storing them in external objects, in order to seek a clear Dao Heart, facilitating cultivation and Breakthroughs.

Objects in the world that could perfectly carry such intangible and formless emotional threads were few and far between; only one type of treasure was most suitable, and that was the soul condensing jade.

This jade naturally nourished the Divine Soul and had a unique affinity and sealing effect on emotional power. The higher the quality, the stronger and purer the emotional threads it could contain.

Although this technique progressed quickly, it had a major hurdle: among the seven emotions, love and desire were the hardest to sever. This most intense, most instinctive emotion, once it sprouted, was difficult to completely strip away and control.

Xu Miaoyin had initially mastered the other six emotions, but for this most critical emotion of love and desire, she had never been able to fully control it.

This not only hindered her from advancing to the Late Stage Core Formation but was also a huge hidden danger for her future path of the Dao.

Only by finding a piece of soul condensing jade of extremely high quality and abundant spirituality could it serve as a stable container, helping her contain and refine this most stubborn emotional thread, thereby achieving a Breakthrough in one go.

For this, she would spare no cost.

No matter how strong this Early Core Formation Cultivator before her was, he could never make her give up.

"You forced me!" Xu Miaoyin gritted her silver teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes.

Her hands quickly formed seals, and the aura around her body suddenly became illusory.