Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Moreover, if the artifact's grade was high enough, it would absorb most of the refined energy, growing stronger and stronger over time!

'I have to get it!' Ling Xiao thought to himself.

If he was thinking this, how could the others not be? It was absurd. Who wouldn't want a treasure that could instantly devour a Middle-Tier Sword Emperor? Even if they didn't know what it was made of or why it possessed such an outrageous ability, no one doubted it was a good thing. Acquiring it would be an even greater boon to a family than having a Sword Venerable!

A Sword Venerable was an overt source of power, but this net... this was a Top-Grade Treasure perfect for ambushes!

Even the three young people from the great clans had a strange gleam in their flickering eyes as they pondered how to make the Qin Family give up the item. It would be incredibly difficult. The Qin Family had just lost a Sword Emperor Powerhouse on their own home turf; no one would believe they would be willing to part with such a treasure after that.

Sure enough, Qin Zhaoran's face was a mask of grief. His voice trembled as he choked out, "Seventh Grand-Uncle, how could you be gone just like that? This... this can't be real!"

Qin Feng and the other Qin Family Sword Emperors also wore sorrowful expressions. It was all too sudden. No one could have imagined that a giant net would possess such terrifying power. It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on their earlier excitement.

"How do we retrieve it? I want to see with my own eyes what this thing is, to have so viciously murdered my Seventh Grand-Uncle!" Qin Zhaoran said in a choked, low voice.

The crowd exchanged glances. The Qin Family Sword Emperor whose hand had been drained a moment ago walked over, holding up his mangled, bloody palm. "Zhaoran," he said, his voice trembling slightly, "that thing can't be touched! It's untouchable! Look at my hand... I only brushed against it, and it ended up like this..."

Qin Zhaoran's expression darkened. 'The more untouchable it is, the more we have to take it!' he thought. 'If such a powerful treasure falls into someone else's hands and they use it against our Qin Family, what a mockery that would be!'

However, these Sword Emperors were all elites of the Qin Family and his elders, so he couldn't berate them. He patiently explained, "This thing is too vicious. To prevent it from harming anyone else, we must take it with us. We can even destroy it later! Better than leaving it to plague the world!" As he spoke, Qin Zhaoran turned to look at the other groups. How could they not know what he was truly thinking? Yet, at that moment, not a single person spoke up.

A Qin Family Sword Emperor took a longsword from his Space Ring and cautiously approached the giant net. Just as his sword was about to touch it, the net shot upward with a WHOOSH, as if someone had yanked it from high above! The already-skittish Sword Emperor jumped back in fright, retreating more than ten meters to rejoin the crowd. Immediately after, a torrent of bestial roars echoed from all directions!

The sounds were low and powerful, like deep, guttural growls. Ling Xiao's expression changed. 'Of course,' he thought. 'Where there's great treasure, there's great danger. What kind of madman would seal so many Puppet Magical Beasts here!'

'Just getting one already caused my strength to advance by leaps and bounds. If I could get a few more, wouldn't the Late Golden Core Stage be just around the corner?'

Ling Xiao quickly dismissed the impractical idea. His eyes locked onto the giant net's position. The Golden Core within him began to steadily emit True Essence, forming a protective layer around his body that also enveloped the two women with him.

"We must all work together! Otherwise, none of us are getting out of here alive!" Qin Zhaoran shouted.

Immediately after he spoke, the members of the Western Li Family suddenly attacked. Their target... was not the countless Puppet Magical Beasts closing in from all sides, but the Dragon Valley Gou Family standing nearby!