CHAPTER 697: 697 ARE THERE ANY WHO ARE NOT AFRAID TO DIE?

The remaining guards of the Tao Family, both in number and quality, were far more formidable than those of the Lin Family. When they saw Tao Qi being overpowered by Chi Yan without any ability to fight back, two Peak of Spirit Vein Realm guards from the Tao Family automatically stepped in to fill the gap.

It seemed these Tao Family guards had recognized the identity of Lin Xuanhao, the legitimate son of the Lin Family. To ruin the Lin Family’s future right here, they all knew that killing Lin Xuanhao was the key.

Previously, whenever Lin Xuanhao went out, he would be accompanied by many guards, and in a place as crowded and complex as Yujiang City, it was impossible for the Tao Family to brazenly attempt an assassination.

Today was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity. If they could kill Lin Xuanhao in these desolate mountains and wild ridges, no one would be able to say anything afterwards. If so, the future of the Lin Family would probably no longer be able to contend with the Tao Family.

In the eyes of these two Tao Family guards, or rather, in the eyes of Lin Xuanting, Lin Xuanhao, who was at the Spirit Vein Realm Middle Stage, simply couldn’t withstand even one move from the two guards. Perhaps what was to follow would be his untimely death.

Even though standing next to Lin Xuanhao was a young man in plain clothes with a somewhat calm expression, no one considered such a young lad to be a great master capable of influencing the outcome of today’s battle.

"If you don’t want to die, just stand there and don’t move!"

Right when the two Tao Family guards charged forward in fury, a clear and cold voice suddenly entered their ears, indeed causing them to momentarily falter in their step.

However, when the two guards lifted their heads and saw that the speaker was the unimaginably young man in plain clothes, they both revealed a sneer, exchanged a glance, and then unexpectedly split up, one going left and one right, charging towards Yun Xiao and Lin Xuanhao.

"Truly, ignorance knows no fear!"

Seeing this, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but shake his head with a sigh, his strength at the Qi Seeking Realm Early Stage. Facing two cultivators at the Peak of Spirit Vein Realm was almost as trivial as dealing with ants to him.

Pfft!

A mere flicker from Yun Xiao, and then his right hand lightly patted one of the guards on the shoulder. Everyone observing the scene saw an utterly unbelievable sight.

A living person, who was just moments ago lively and kicking, suddenly erupted in a blaze of blood-red flames, and in just a few breaths, was burned into a pile of pitch-black ash.

If it weren’t for the traces of ash remaining on the ground, everyone would think they were hallucinating, as if there was never a person there to begin with.

The fire of the Blood Moon Jade is strong and domineering, especially against these low-rank cultivators; to Yun Xiao, this was no more difficult than flipping his hand.

"I told you not to move, but you wouldn’t listen!"

After turning that guard into ash with a light palm, Yun Xiao uttered a sigh, as if he had just done something trivial, and then his gaze shifted to the other guard who was attacking Lin Xuanhao.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Unlike the others, that guard didn’t even notice the fate of his companion and continued to furiously charge at Lin Xuanhao, dreaming of making great achievements.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

At that moment, just as the Tao Family guard was about to smash Lin Xuanhao’s head with his palm, his figure suddenly came to a halt. When he looked down, feeling something was amiss, he saw that from the soles of his feet, layers of ice flowers were spreading, dazzling and sinister.

"What... what’s this?"

A horrified question rose from the heart of this Tao Family guard, and then he thought no more, for the ice flowers spread quickly, freezing his entire body into a human-shaped ice sculpture.

Two consecutive interventions, one turned to ash and the other a sculpture of ice - such methods were indeed terrifying and formidable. At this moment, whether it was Lin Zhenjiang or Lin Xuanting Qiao Guinong, they all realized they had misjudged the situation.

They had originally thought he was just an ordinary young man, at most a practitioner close to Lin Xuanhao’s level of cultivation, but who knew that with one move, Yun Xiao would reveal such strength, overwhelming even two Tao Family guards at the Peak of Spirit Vein Realm with a single blow.

Those present were not fools. Someone who could dispatch a Peak of Spirit Vein Realm practitioner in one stroke must at least be at the Qi Seeking Realm level, and they might even be beyond the early stages of Qi Seeking Realm.

"This time, I really am blind with old age!"

Especially Lin Zhenjiang, the Family Head of the Lin Family, felt a pang of relief that Lin Xuanhao had survived, coupled with a hint of embarrassment. It seemed that previously, he, too, regarded Yun Xiao as an ordinary youth.

Who knew that with Yun Xiao’s intervention, the strength he displayed was much more formidable than the top young geniuses of both the Lin and Tao families. After all, neither Lin Xuanting nor Tao Liqian could achieve what had just occurred.

"How could this kid possibly be so powerful?"

Lin Xuanting’s heart was practically roaring. It was bad enough not to match up to Tao Liqian in Yujiang City, considering the latter was the Princely Heir of the Tao Family. But this Yun Xiao, who emerged from who knows where, had a strength far surpassing his own, which he found hard to accept.

No matter what, Yun Xiao’s forceful intervention at this moment twisted back the previously sure-loss situation for the Lin Family, and with Yun Xiao protecting Lin Xuanhao, Lin Zhenjiang no longer had worries from behind; it seemed as if even the atmosphere became a bit more serene at this moment.

With Yun Xiao’s intimidating display of skill, no Tao Family guard dared to approach Lin Xuanhao anymore, thinking that after witnessing the fate of those two, they didn’t dare to provoke this young but frighteningly ruthless god of death.

"Big Brother Yun Xiao, so you’re actually this powerful!"

As the person in question, this was the first time Lin Xuanhao witnessed Yun Xiao’s combat prowess, after all, the Pine Forest Poison Array was merely a testament to Yun Xiao’s extraordinary knowledge.

At this moment, Lin Xuanhao couldn’t help feeling relieved; thank goodness he hadn’t been too confrontational with big brother along the way. Otherwise, angering Big Brother Yun Xiao might have meant no chance to still be standing here talking.

"Just a few jumping clowns, not worth mentioning!"

Yun Xiao waved his hand dismissively. His actions were also a way to repay Lin Xuanhao for his lifesaving act and the past days of care. He did not wish to owe anyone too much, perhaps this was a kind of stubbornness within the Yun Family bloodline, just as it was with Yun Wei before.

"Big Brother Yun Xiao, could you... could you please take action to help those Lin Family guards?"

Lin Xuanhao turned his head, looking at those Lin Family guards being hard-pressed by the Tao Family guards, and finally couldn’t help but speak out to plead. As the young master of the Lin Family, with a kind nature, he couldn’t stand by and watch those Lin Family guards die unjustly.

"Alright."

Originally not wanting to meddle further, Yun Xiao saw Lin Xuanhao’s anxious expression and eventually nodded in agreement, after all, he had quite a favorable impression of him.

"Hey, those Tao Family guards, those who don’t want to die better back off, or don’t blame me for being merciless!"

Since he had made his decision, Yun Xiao did not hesitate and directly shouted out loud. His words were identical to what he had told the two Tao Family guards just before.

The shout echoed within the valley, allowing every person within the valley to hear it clearly. But in the next moment, a vicious look appeared on the face of one of the Tao Family guards.

"Don’t be afraid, everyone, with just him alone, can he possibly kill so many of us..."

This Tao Family guard who was not afraid of death shouted out, but before he could finish speaking, he saw the shabbily dressed young man lightly point a finger at him, then a swipe of blood-red color shot out rapidly, instantly entering the guard’s body.

Boom!

Right afterwards, to everyone’s horror, that guard didn’t even have a chance to scream before he was burnt to ashes in an instant, identical to the first guard who had died under Yun Xiao’s hands.

"Everyone..."

Another vicious-hearted guard spoke out, but this time he only managed to utter two words before he was shocked to see a layer of frost creeping up from the soles of his feet.

In just a few breaths, a crystal clear ice sculpture appeared in everyone’s sight and through the transparent ice, one could still see the terrified expression on the Tao Family guard’s face just before death.

"Any more who are not afraid of dying?"

Yun Xiao’s ten fingers kept moving rhythmically, with his right hand holding a blood-red flame between the fingers, and his left hand wrapped in a trace of ice cold Qi. His voice was light, yet contained an indescribable domineering aura.

If Yun Xiao was previously overlooked by anyone, then now, after killing four Tao Family guards in such a strange manner, no one dared to underestimate him any longer.

Because the Tao Family guards who dared to doubt Yun Xiao’s words hadn’t even finished speaking before they went to see King Yan. The two ice sculptures were one thing, but the other two Tao Family guards were reduced to nothingness.

If not for witnessing it with their own eyes, everyone would never believe that a young man who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen could possess such fearsome and terrifying methods. Was this still a human?

"Huff... Huff..."

At this moment, apart from a few special battles, only the heavy breathing of the Lin Family guards could be heard, those who had just been pressured by the Tao Family guards.

A few breaths ago, the Lin Family guards were being pushed to a complete disadvantage and even facing inevitable death under the pressure of the Tao Family guards.

But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the sheer action of one young man had deterred all the Tao Family guards from rash actions. This was the inevitable result of absolute power, on this Continent, strength was ultimately respected.

Especially after such an oppressive show of strange methods, none of the Tao Family guards believed they were stronger than the two guards at the Peak of Spirit Vein Realm; if they lacked the sense to see that, the fate of the four Tao Family guards served as the best warning.

For a time, the entire valley fell into an eerie silence.