Batian Martial Soul

Chapter 14400 A Missed Attack Leads to a Thousand-Mile Escape
The white-robed man's soul was being devoured faster and faster, yet he still gritted his teeth and roared, "Don't even think about getting any information about the Heavenly Abyss Sanctuary from me!"

"Even if I die, the Holy Lord will never let you go!"

Upon hearing this, Ling Xiao slowly nodded, a hint of barely perceptible admiration flashing in his eyes: "You have backbone, I admire that."

"Unfortunately, you chose the wrong side."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his wrist, and a blinding black light burst forth from the God-Slaying Sword, causing subtle ripples to spread through the space around the sword.

The demonic eye at the hilt of the sword suddenly opened, and a jet-black ray of light shot out from its pupil, directly striking the soul of the white-robed man.

"Do not--!"

The piercing screams echoed in the sky, filled with endless despair and resentment.

Under the illumination of the black light, the white-robed man's soul dissipated at an accelerated rate. In just an instant, he was completely drawn by the light, transformed into a golden stream of light, and was completely devoured by the demonic eye of the God-Slaying Sword.

After devouring the soul, the demonic eye slowly closed with satisfaction, and the blackness of the God-Slaying Sword seemed to become even deeper, emanating an aura that was even more terrifying than before.

Ling Xiao raised his hand and put away the Bloodthirsty Blade and the God-Slaying Sword, his gaze falling on the white-robed man's remaining upper body clothing—where a palm-sized black storage ring hung.

He reached out and took off the ring, probing it with his divine sense. He was instantly shocked by what he saw inside: the ring had a huge interior space filled with all kinds of rare and precious natural treasures, including thousand-year-old ginseng that exuded a rich spiritual energy, gemstones that shimmered with seven-colored light, and various rare minerals and medicinal herbs.

Among these treasures, the most eye-catching is a palm-sized black token. The token is inscribed with the seven characters "Tianyuan Holy Temple Holy Priest" in gold lettering. The characters are vigorous and powerful, exuding an aura of majesty.

"It seems this person holds a high position within the Tianyuan Temple."

Ling Xiao muttered to himself, carefully putting away the storage ring, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

The fact that the Heavenly Abyss Holy Hall could send a powerful figure at the level of a Holy Priest to intercept and kill him shows that the Heavenly Abyss Holy Hall attaches far more importance to the Overlord Empire than he imagined.

Ling Xiao put the storage ring into his pocket, glanced at the scattered traces of battle around him, and after confirming that nothing was missed, he turned around and prepared to fly towards the Batian Empire.

The three-headed azure dragon phantom beneath his feet had long since vanished. At this moment, with a thought, a pale golden sword light condensed beneath his feet once more, forming a semi-transparent sword-shaped platform that supported his body as it hovered above the sea of ​​clouds, ready to speed away at any moment.

He took a deep breath, and the Cangyue energy and demon god blood in his body slowly calmed down. The fatigue after the fierce battle began to emerge, but he dared not relax in the slightest, after all, the threat from the Tianyuan Holy Temple had not yet been eliminated.

However, just as he took his third step and the sword-shaped platform was about to accelerate, a cold, sharp light suddenly shot out from the void without warning, aiming straight for his back!

This attack came too suddenly, faster than any other, and even Ling Xiao's proud spatial perception didn't give any warning, as if the cold light had appeared out of thin air.

The moment the cold light appeared, the surrounding sea of ​​clouds stopped flowing, the air became viscous, and time seemed to freeze at that moment, leaving only that cold light, gleaming with a deadly luster, magnifying continuously in his vision.

"Pfft——!"

The cold light pierced Ling Xiao's back with pinpoint accuracy, penetrating three-tenths of an inch into his flesh, and a sharp pain instantly spread throughout his body.

Ling Xiao was startled. Relying on his years of combat instincts, he instantly activated the spatial runes within his body. His figure suddenly became blurry, swaying a few times like a reflection in water, and reappeared a hundred feet away.

He staggered to steady himself, reaching down to touch his back. His hand was warm and sticky, his clothes already stained red with blood. A numbing sensation spread from the wound, along his veins, causing his arm to tremble slightly—clearly, the dagger used in the attack was coated with a deadly poison.

Ling Xiao suddenly looked up in the direction from which the attack had come, but there was no one there. Only a faint fragrance of lotus blossoms drifted slowly in the air. The fragrance was elegant, but it carried a faint and eerie aura, which was out of place with the bloody atmosphere of the battle around him.

But Ling Xiao already knew the answer in his heart. He knew exactly who it was—the mysterious female assassin who had tried to kill him three times!
Each time, he would strike during a moment of relaxation after a fierce battle, always using this unpredictable and sudden attack. If he missed, he would immediately flee thousands of miles away, never leaving any clues, as elusive as a ghost.

"People from Shadow Pavilion."

Ling Xiao raised his hand to wipe away the blood that had spilled from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gradually turning cold, like ice that had never melted.

At this moment, the demonic blood within his body surged and flowed through his meridians with scorching power, gradually expelling the deadly poison that had invaded his body. Black toxins seeped from the wounds and fell into the sea of ​​clouds, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.

At the same time, the wound on his back began to heal at a visible speed. The flesh kept wriggling, and soon only a shallow scar remained, no longer bleeding.

In the distance, a glimpse of a pale pink hem flashed through a gap in the clouds, like a lotus blooming in the darkness, disappearing in an instant without leaving any trace.

Ling Xiao did not rashly pursue, but slowly closed his eyes. Powerful soul energy emanated from his body, spreading out like a fine spider web, sweeping across every inch of space within a radius of ten thousand feet, probing every possible spatial fold, cloud gap, and even the slightest spatial fluctuation.

In the void, the fragrance of lotus flowers was still slowly wafting. He recognized it as the Shadow Pavilion assassin's unique "Nine-Turn Bewitching Incense." This fragrance could not only interfere with a martial artist's spiritual perception, making it difficult to investigate, but it could also distort the surrounding light, creating blind spots and facilitating the assassin's concealment.

However, even so, Ling Xiao's soul power still couldn't find any trace of it. Apart from the wisp of fragrance that was about to dissipate, the surrounding space was as calm as if the attack had never happened.

He slowly opened his eyes, a hint of seriousness flashing in them—this Shadow Pavilion assassin's stealth techniques were even more sophisticated than he had imagined.

"If the first strike fails, retreat a thousand miles away."

Ling Xiao stood above the sea of ​​clouds, gazing in the direction where the mysterious female assassin had disappeared. He murmured softly, a hint of barely perceptible admiration in his voice, but a cold, sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"As expected of the Shadow Pavilion, their methods of concealment and retreat are indeed well-deserved."

He knew very well that Shadow Pavilion, as the most mysterious assassin organization in the Silent Realm, had survived to this day amidst the clash of various forces because of its style of striking and retreating without lingering in battle. He just hadn't expected that this time the other party would target him.

After saying that, he stopped and turned to continue heading towards the Batian Empire.