26: Overwhelming speed, outmaneuvering even the strongest opponent!

Rotting Bone Forest, living up to its name.

Towering ancient trees had long since withered, their branches twisted like ghostly claws, covered in grey-green moss and slimy fungi. The air was thick with a suffocating stench of decay, mixed with bone-chilling cold.

Lin Jingyu’s burly figure stood at the edge of this desolate woodland.

His potent Yang-attribute Qi and blood were completely at odds with this ominous, deathly place, yet they carried an overbearing and unmatched pressure.

His appearance, and the undisguised, almost provocative surge of Qi and blood, instantly shattered the silence of the Rotting Bone Forest!

“Awoo—! Roar—!”

Piercing wolf howls, mixed with the roars of other unknown demonic creatures, exploded from all directions like water droplets hitting boiling oil! Deep within the Rotting Bone Forest, countless eerie green, crimson, and pale white lights flickered like will-o'-the-wisps!

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

The sounds of rushing air were sharp and piercing!

Dozens of shadowy figures, each distinct and exuding potent Demonic Qi, darted out like arrows from behind withered trees, from beneath piles of decaying leaves, and even from dead branches suspended in mid-air!

They had only one target—the human who dared to trespass into their territory, emitting an aura that instinctively repulsed and terrified them!

Leading the charge were still more than a dozen Blood Claw Demonic Wolves of the Meridian Opening Realm, their fangs dripping saliva, their sharp claws gleaming with a cold light.

Following closely were several larger “Rotting Bone Skeletons,” their bodies covered in pale white bone armor, and their eye sockets burning with eerie green Soul flames. They wielded rusty bone sabers and bone spears, exuding chilling Death Qi!

Further away, several “Corrosive Bone Snakes” moved with extreme speed, slithering close to the ground like shadows, spitting out foul, poisonous mist!

A chaotic dance of demons! Evil Qi surged to the heavens! This desolate place instantly transformed into a hunting ground for demonic creatures!

Facing this encirclement, which could instantly turn an ordinary Peak Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist into withered bones, Lin Jingyu showed no fear. Instead, his eyes burned with fierce Battle Intent!

A cold, murderous arc formed at the corner of his mouth.

“Resources, delivered right to my doorstep!”

He moved!

No longer in a stance of brute force! Phantom Step—activated!

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

Three solid, lingering afterimages instantly appeared in his original spot! The three afterimages had different postures—one charging forward, one moving sideways, one retreating—all lifelike, with Qi identical to his true body!

Meanwhile, Lin Jingyu’s true body, like a phantom blending into the night, darted through the almost imperceptible gaps in the pouncing attacks of the three Blood Claw Demonic Wolves charging from the front, moving at a speed far exceeding all the demonic creatures!

The gust of wind he created even ruffled the manes on the demonic wolves’ necks!

“Rip!”

“Rip!”

The sharp claws of the three demonic wolves fiercely tore through the foremost “charging” afterimage! The afterimage rippled like water and dissipated!

“Roar?!” A hint of bewilderment flashed in the demonic wolves’ blood-red eyes. The imbalance from their missed attack caused their movements to falter!

In this flash of lightning!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull thudding sounds, like drums, exploded beside the demonic wolves!

Lin Jingyu’s true body appeared on their side as if teleporting, unleashing both fists!

His iron fists, wreathed in dark golden Qi and blood, struck with pinpoint accuracy at the temples of two demonic wolves and the kidney area of another!

Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones shattering was clear and piercing! The three demonic wolves didn't even have time to shriek before their massive bodies flew horizontally like broken sacks, crashing into and snapping several withered tree trunks, dying on the spot!

“Ding! Killed a Meridian Opening Realm Seventh Level Demonic Wolf! evolution points +70!”

“Ding! Killed a Meridian Opening Realm Sixth Level Demonic Wolf! evolution points +60!”

“Ding! Killed a Meridian Opening Realm Seventh Level Demonic Wolf! evolution points +70!”

Having struck successfully, Lin Jingyu did not stop!

“Roar!” A Rotting Bone Skeleton swung a massive bone staff, bringing it down with a mournful whistling sound! Eerie green Soul fire flickered wildly in its hollow eye sockets!

Swish!

Lin Jingyu’s figure blurred again! A “retreating” afterimage remained in his original spot!

Boom!

The heavy bone staff smashed fiercely into the afterimage, creating a large pit in the ground filled with decaying leaves and withered bones! Dust billowed!

Meanwhile, Lin Jingyu’s true body had appeared like a ghost to the left of the Rotting Bone Skeleton! Sky-Piercing Finger power condensed!

Hiss!

A concentrated silver glow, like lightning, instantly pierced through the Rotting Bone Skeleton’s head where its Soul fire burned!

Puff!

The Soul fire extinguished! The Rotting Bone Skeleton’s massive skeletal frame collapsed with a crash, as if losing its support!

“Ding! Killed a Bone Forging Realm First Level (Pseudo) Rotting Bone Skeleton! evolution points +180!”

“Hiss hiss!” Two Corrosive Bone Snakes slithered forward like shadows, spitting out foul poisonous mist that enveloped Lin Jingyu’s lower body!

Swish! Swish!

Lin Jingyu’s Phantom Step changed again!

His figure spun rapidly like a top!

Two rapidly spinning afterimages were left in his original spot!

The poisonous mist instantly engulfed and corroded the afterimages!

Meanwhile, his true body had leaped high into the air, like a great roc spreading its wings, and stomped down with an aerial kick!

Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength erupted!

Boom!

Like a giant elephant stomping the earth!

One Corrosive Bone Snake below didn't even have time to react; its head, along with half its body, was crushed to a pulp! The other Corrosive Bone Snake was sent flying by the violent gust of wind!

“Ding! Killed a Meridian Opening Realm Eighth Level Corrosive Bone Snake! evolution points +80!”

“Ding! Killed a Meridian Opening Realm Ninth Level Corrosive Bone Snake! evolution points +90!”

Ghostly! Elegant! Deadly!

Lin Jingyu was like the God of Death dancing gracefully among the demonic creatures!

The afterimages he left perfectly confused the demonic creatures’ judgment, while his true body, like an invisible bolt of lightning, appeared each time accompanied by a precise and furious fatal blow!

The demonic creatures’ encirclement seemed clumsy and laughable before him! Nine out of ten of their attacks landed on empty air, and the occasional ones that did connect were easily blocked by Indestructible Vajra Divine Art, sparking a few tiny flames!

Bang! Crack!

A punch shattered a skeleton’s skull!

Hiss!

A finger-beam pierced a Demonic Wolf’s heart!

A whip kick snapped a Corrosive Bone Snake’s vital spot!

“Ding!...”

Cold notification sounds relentlessly flooded the screen! The evolution points soared like a wild horse unbridled... Lin Jingyu was like a tireless killing machine, unleashing a bloody storm among the demonic creatures! Wherever he passed, withered bones shattered, and demonic corpses lay strewn about!

“Trash! A bunch of trash!”

A harsh, ear-piercing roar, like metal grinding, filled with savagery and fury, exploded like thunder deep within the Rotting Bone Forest!

Accompanying this roar, a terrifying and heavy pressure, far surpassing any previous demonic creature, descended with a crash!

Rumble! Rumble!

Heavy footsteps, like muffled thunder, shook the withered bones on the ground, making them rattle! Giant withered trees blocking the path were easily smashed and shattered like straw!

A colossal creature parted the thick miasma and appeared in Lin Jingyu’s line of sight!

It stood nearly four meters tall, its physique as massive as a mountain! Its entire body was covered in thick, dark green scales, like bronze poured, with hideous bone spurs growing at its joints.

Its head resembled an enlarged lizard, with interlocking fangs, and a pair of vertical pupils burning with molten crimson fury!

Most terrifying was its back, where a pair of huge bone wings, formed from stark white bones, grew! Although the bone wings were broken and incapable of flight, they added to its ferocity!

In its hand, it dragged a massive bone blade the size of a door panel, wreathed in dense black Corpse Evil Qi!

With every step, deep, cracked footprints were left on the ground!

“Warning! High-energy demonic creature detected! Target: Corpse Demon General Rakshasa (Peak Tendon Changing Realm Third Level)! Threat Level: High!” The System notification sounded with a strong warning!

Corpse Demon General Rakshasa’s molten vertical pupils locked onto Lin Jingyu. The terrifying pressure, like a tangible mountain, crushed down, making the remaining demonic creatures around tremble and cower back.

“Human! How dare you!” Rakshasa’s voice was like two rusty metals grinding, carrying bone-chilling killing intent, “How dare you slaughter my servants and disturb my master’s plan! You seek death!”

It slowly raised its massive bone blade, pointing it at Lin Jingyu. Dense black Corpse Evil Qi condensed and churned on the blade’s edge, emitting an unsettling aura of corrosion and destruction!

Facing this terrifying demonic creature, far beyond his own Realm, Lin Jingyu showed no signs of retreat. Instead, even fiercer Battle Intent erupted from him!

The Qi and blood of his Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art surged and roared within his body like molten lava!

The power of his Bone Forging Realm Third Level, instead of being suppressed by the pressure of a Peak Tendon Changing Realm, was stimulated to become even more condensed and violent!

“Tendon Changing Realm?” Lin Jingyu slowly stretched his neck, emitting a soft “crack” sound. A nearly wild grin spread across his lips, “Perfect! I’ll test the limits of my new movement technique on you!”

“Arrogant ant! Be turned to withered bones by this General!” Corpse Demon General Rakshasa was completely enraged by Lin Jingyu’s attitude!

It took a sudden step forward, and the ground exploded with a roar!

The massive bone blade tore through the air, carrying a piercing, ghostly shriek and a thick, ink-black Corpse Evil Saber Qi, like a giant axe splitting heaven and earth, it chopped down directly at Lin Jingyu!

Before the Saber Qi even arrived, the terrifying pressure and corrosive Corpse Evil aura had instantly turned the decaying leaves on the ground around Lin Jingyu into black water!

This strike was fast! Ruthless! Powerful! Far surpassing all previous demonic creatures! The saber momentum enveloped a ten-zhang radius, sealing off all space for evasion!

The terrifying power of a Peak Tendon Changing Realm was fully displayed!

“Good timing!”

Lin Jingyu’s eyes flashed with sharp light! Facing this unavoidable, terrifying strike, he did not meet it head-on. Instead, he pushed his Phantom Step to its absolute limit!

“Phantom Nine Transformations!”

He silently roared in his heart! Qi and blood surged wildly through the peculiar Meridian nodes in his legs!

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!... In an instant, nine incredibly solid afterimages, their Qi and postures identical to his true body, suddenly scattered in all directions from Lin Jingyu’s original standing position, like a blooming lotus!

The nine afterimages performed different actions: some raised their arms to block, some dodged sideways, some retreated rapidly... making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake!

Corpse Demon General Rakshasa’s molten vertical pupils suddenly constricted! Its confident strike, which had locked onto its target’s Soul, instantly lost its target!

Each of the nine afterimages emitted the same Qi and blood aura; it simply couldn't distinguish the real from the fake in an instant!

Rumble—!!!

The massive bone blade struck down fiercely! The violent Corpse Evil Saber Qi ploughed a deep trench across the ground within a ten-zhang radius!

Decaying leaves, withered bones, and several low-level demonic creatures that couldn't dodge in time were instantly reduced to dust!

Three of the “blocking” and “dodging” afterimages were swept by the residual Saber Qi, shattering and dissipating like bubbles!

Meanwhile, Lin Jingyu’s true body, using this momentary confusion, had appeared like a ghost in the blind spot beneath Corpse Demon General Rakshasa’s massive bone wing!

His speed was so immense that only a faint, dissipating streak of light remained in his original position!

“Sky-Piercing Finger! Armor Shatter!”

Lin Jingyu pointed his fingers like a sword!

The terrifying finger power of Major Achievement Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art was entirely condensed at his fingertip, and even a trace of Indestructible Vajra Divine Art’s evil-dispelling golden light was incorporated!

A supremely condensed silver glow, wreathed in dark golden threads, shot out like a venomous dragon leaving its lair, piercing fiercely towards the relatively weaker joint of Corpse Demon General Rakshasa’s rib scales, at a speed beyond visual perception!

This finger strike was cunningly timed! Unmatched in speed! It condensed Lin Jingyu’s entire explosive power!

“Roar!” Corpse Demon General Rakshasa felt the fatal threat from its ribs and let out a roar of shock and fury!

Its massive body twisted sharply, attempting to block with its bone wing, while the dark green scales on its body instantly glowed with dense black Corpse Evil light, forming a solid defense!

However, it was too late! The speed advantage provided by Phantom Step allowed Lin Jingyu to seize the fleeting opening after its move!

Hiss—!!!

Like a red-hot steel needle piercing tough leather!

The condensed Sky-Piercing Finger glow fiercely stabbed into that hastily gathered black Corpse Evil light!

Puff!

The black light violently fluctuated, lasting less than half a breath before being pierced through!

The finger glow, its momentum undiminished, accurately struck the connecting seam between two thick scales!

Clang! Thud!

First, the crisp sound of metal clashing, followed by a dull thud of something piercing flesh!

The tough dark green scales were forcibly torn open, creating a finger-sized hole! Dark green demonic blood, exuding a strong stench of decay, instantly spurted out!

“Awooo—!!!” Corpse Demon General Rakshasa let out an earth-shattering roar of pain and fury!

The searing pain in its ribs caused its massive body to suddenly stumble!

Its molten vertical pupils were instantly filled with savage killing intent and disbelief!

It, the dignified Corpse Demon General of Peak Tendon Changing Realm, was actually injured by a Bone Forging Realm Third Level human ant!

And it was being toyed with like a monkey!

“ant! This General will tear you to shreds! I will rip out your Soul and use it to light a sky lamp!” Rakshasa went completely mad!

It suddenly turned, wildly swinging its massive bone blade, stirring up a sky-full of foul Corpse Evil Saber Qi, like a black storm, completely engulfing the surrounding space!

It no longer aimed for a lock-on, but launched indiscriminate, violent attacks!

The terrifying power of a Peak Tendon Changing Realm was unleashed without reservation, aiming to utterly destroy this area along with that hateful human... Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wherever the Saber Qi passed, giant withered trees shattered like paper! The ground was ploughed with bottomless trenches! Violent energy turbulence swept in all directions!

Facing this world-destroying, indiscriminate attack, Lin Jingyu’s eyes were as calm as ice! He pushed his Phantom Step to an unprecedented Peak!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

His figure rapidly weaved through the gaps in the sky-full of Saber Qi! Each flicker left several solid afterimages!

His true body was like a phantom walking on the edge of death, sometimes appearing at the edge of the Saber Qi storm, sometimes narrowly passing through the gap between two Saber Qis, sometimes creating an afterimage to confuse at the instant the Saber Qi reached him, while his true body had already appeared in another direction!

He no longer sought to attack, but dedicated all his focus to evasion and observation!

Under the pressure of life and death, Phantom Step was relentlessly pushed and refined!

Each extreme dodge deepened his understanding of this movement technique, making its application more exquisite and fluid!

“Ding! Phantom Step experience +50! Proficiency increased!”

“Ding! Phantom Step experience +60! Afterimage duration extended!”

“Ding! Phantom Step experience +70! Direction change speed increased!”

...Cold notification sounds continuously rang out amidst the roaring Saber Qi!

Lin Jingyu was like a small boat in a violent storm, seemingly on the verge of capsizing at any moment, yet always dancing gracefully within the destructive storm, relying on his ghostly speed and exquisite phantoms!

Corpse Demon General Rakshasa’s roars grew more violent, its attacks more frantic, yet it consistently failed to truly capture that elusive, dark golden phantom!

This dominance of speed and playful evasion made the Peak Tendon Changing Realm Corpse Demon General like a furious yet helpless trapped beast, being toyed with in the palm of a hand!

Lin Jingyu’s eyes gleamed with cold light; he was waiting, waiting for a fatal opportunity!

At the same time, the Yin Corpse Sect token in his embrace vibrated with increasing frequency, stimulated by the dense Corpse Evil Qi erupting from Corpse Demon General Rakshasa...