348: Battle Child

["Don't celebrate too early," you paused and continued:]

["If we win, I will agree to your third condition, and I personally will be at your disposal, but you must release her."]

[After saying this, you pointed to Qin Yu beside you.]

[You said this as a last resort; you knew the other party wouldn't truly let you go, but as long as you could let your sister Qin Yu escape, it would be enough.]

[Hearing this, Qin Yu's cold expression tightened, and her brows furrowed: "No..."]

[You interrupted her directly: "Listen to me."]

[At the same time, you sent her a voice transmission: "I have my own way to escape!"]

[Despite receiving your reassuring transmission, Qin Yu's fists were clenched tight, the fire of anger in her heart seemingly ignited, and her teeth ground together audibly.]

[Liu Xuanyin obviously guessed your thoughts; he merely snorted coldly: "You don't think you can still escape, do you?"]

[He paused, his tone calm: "Since we already know of your existence, even if you hide in any corner of the Immortal Realm, we can find you."]

[Liu Xuanyin's words were very clear—there was a great expert skilled in tracking behind them, obviously referring to Venerable Tianming.]

[You just smiled faintly:]

["I understand, of course. I'm just asking—do you dare?"]

[Without waiting for the other party to answer, your laughter rose, each word like a nail:]

["If you're really unwilling, I won't bother fighting you."]

["Since it's death either way, I might as well self-detonate; I can still take a few of you down with me, so I won't lose out!"]

["When word gets out... Heh, the dignified Liu Clan Immortal Family doesn't even dare to accept a bet. Where will you put your face? You'll probably become the laughingstock of the entire Immortal Realm!"]

["And I guarantee—if I turn into flying ash, what you want will follow my Divine Soul into the void forever!"]

[After speaking, you prepared to self-detonate without hesitation—]

[With a thought, the air currents around you suddenly reversed, and your eyes emitted golden flames.]

[At the same time, your skin cracked inch by inch, and dazzling radiance burst from the cracks, as if countless light blades were about to break through your body.]

[The radiance grew brighter and more frantic—]

[It seemed that in the next moment, it would explode with world-shaking force.]

[The guards on the spirit boat were all pale with fright, falling into a commotion.]

[The power of a Soul Transformation Cultivator's self-detonation was unimaginable.]

[Even this Shattered Star Continent would likely be blown to pieces.]

[Liu Xuanyin also frowned slightly, feeling somewhat conflicted in his heart.]

[The Liu Clan's goal was only to retrieve the qingming mirror.]

[But they couldn't ignore Venerable Tianming's request—moreover, that item was specifically named by the Flame Emperor.]

[Additionally, they couldn't be certain if that item was actually on you.]

[As for using the Slave Contract Secret Method on you, while possible, there were two problems.]

[First, you were now in the Soul Transformation Stage, and your Primordial Spirit was already solid. Unless you didn't resist and opened your Sea of Consciousness, it would be hard to succeed in a short time—and that time was enough for you to self-detonate countless times.]

[Second, Venerable Yuqing was a Mahayana Cultivator and could easily see the Slave Contract mark.]

[In Liu Xuanyin's mind, the voice transmission of Venerable Tianming suddenly rang out: "Agree to him!"]

[Liu Xuanyin hurriedly waved his hand: "Fine, we agree to your terms!"]

[Hearing this, you immediately restrained the frantic energy in your body and returned to normal.]

["Since it's best of three, we'll follow the rules," you added, "and life or death is irrelevant!"]

[Your words were very clear, following the dueling rules of the cultivation world—in a match between those of the same rank, no one may intervene, and each is responsible for their own life or death.]

[This practice was commonly used between powers to resolve minor grudges and Karma.]

[Liu Xuanyin sneered, looked at one of the boys, and said calmly: "Third Elder, you go first!"]

[This boy was precisely the Third Elder in charge of the Qingming Hall.]

[Letting the Third Elder take the field was obviously because his cultivation was the same as Qin Yu's, both being in the Nascent Soul Stage.]

[Furthermore, as the Liu Clan's Third Elder, he had many trump cards. In Liu Xuanyin's eyes, dealing with a little girl was a guaranteed victory.]

[The boy had also long been impatient to act.]

[As soon as Liu Xuanyin finished speaking, the boy leaped down, landed on the ground, looked at Qin Yu contemptuously, and beckoned with his finger: "Little girl, come!"]

[Qin Yu stood with her spear held horizontally, the tip pointing straight at the boy, her tone carrying a hint of sickly timidness: "Oh, this... old gentleman, at your age, why bother fighting to the death?"]

["Heh, sharp-tongued girl, die!" The boy sneered and flicked out a glowing glazed bead.]

[The bead spun in the air and suddenly enlarged. Countless Yao Beasts roared as they surged out from it—wolves, tigers, leopards, eagles, and pythons—pouncing toward Qin Yu from all directions like a tide!]

[Qin Yu's eyes narrowed, and the Magic Treasure 'flowing cloud spear' in her hand danced into a silver curtain of light as she shouted:]

["Flowing Cloud Fall!"]

[In an instant,]

[Thousands of spear shadows fell like a meteor shower, each one precisely piercing the head of a Yao Beast.]

[The beast tide dissipated in patches within the silver light.]

[The boy's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure:]

["Retract!"]

[Before his voice faded, all the Yao Beasts along with their corpses were pulled back into the bead.]

[He also understood that he couldn't take down a Nascent Soul Cultivator with just that; he only wanted to test and exhaust her first.]

[Without giving Qin Yu a moment to breathe, another green light flew out from the boy's sleeve:]

["Go!"]

[The green light grew as it met the wind, turning into a green vine that wound and coiled like a living thing.]

[Qin Yu retreated rapidly, moving through the vine shadows like a flowing cloud, but she saw the green vine following her like a shadow, chasing closer and closer.]

[Her eyes flashed, and she suddenly took out a worn Daoist robe from her storage ring, injected a trace of spiritual power, and threw it toward the green vine.]

[The green vine instantly coiled around the robe, tightening layer by layer—]

[Taking advantage of this moment's delay, Qin Yu had already escaped ten zhang away.]

[Seeing this, the boy shouted coldly: "I'll see how many more times you can hide!"]

[With a wave of his hand, he sacrificed a small tower.]

[The tower grew as it met the wind, reaching a height of three zhang, with a murky yellow halo emitting from its base:]

["Suppress!"]

[The giant tower pressed down toward Qin Yu's head like a small mountain!]

[Just as the giant tower was about to envelop Qin Yu, she flipped her wrist, and a heavy hammer suddenly appeared in her palm.]

[The heavy hammer was pitch-black all over, its body carved with profound patterns, and its surface covered with intersecting spikes, each glinting with the cold light of frigid iron.]

[This hammer was primarily made of 'Profound Yin Sinking Iron', with 'Starfall Marrow Core' fused in as its spirit, and repeatedly forged eighty-one times in the True Fire of the Earth's Core to finally become a killing treasure—the hunyuan hammer.]

[When this 'hunyuan hammer' was finished, earth fire surged into the sky, the sound of the tool's resonance did not cease for three days, and the celestial phenomenon it triggered shot straight into the clouds.]

[Qin Yu exhaled and shouted, striking upward with the hammer:]

["Break!"]

[The hunyuan hammer was like a reverse meteor, striking the center of the tower's base dead-on.]

["Boom!"]

[A loud explosion rang out, and even the air vibrated.]

["Crack—"]

[Followed by a crisp sound of cracking.]

[The runes around the giant tower suddenly dimmed, and several cracks actually appeared on the tower's body as it was sent flying by the force of this hammer strike!]