Chapter 110. Xu Wenyuan
The situation in Violet Log City was too dire to ignore.
Nor was the situation awaiting him.
Leaving Azure Willow City alone, Lin Xuan followed the main trade route leading toward Blue River City—the very road where the Xu Family’s "bandits" had been the most active over the past two weeks.
The journey was uneventful.
It did not take long before a familiar mountain came into view.
According to the Shadow Guards’ reports, this was where the Xu Family had established one of their temporary camps to intercept Lin Family caravans.
Lin Xuan descended from the sky, his white robes fluttering gently as his feet touched the ground.
Dozens of cultivators concealed among the rocks and trees immediately tensed.
Every gaze locked onto him.
Lin Xuan swept his eyes across the surroundings before smiling faintly.
"Greetings, people of the Xu Family. I’ve come here intending to—"
Before he could finish speaking, the ground beneath his feet erupted with countless crimson formation lines.
An enormous formation instantly enveloped the entire mountain.
At the same time, several more formations hidden beneath the earth awakened one after another.
A suffocating pressure descended upon the area.
Lin Xuan’s expression changed slightly.
He immediately felt nearly thirty percent of the spiritual energy within his body vanish, as though it had been forcefully suppressed by an invisible hand.
"A weakening formation..."
He murmured quietly.
The formation continuously weakened the flow of spiritual qi within his body, reducing the strength he could exert.
Around him, dozens of Xu Family cultivators emerged from hiding with tense expressions.
They knew exactly who the man standing before them was.
And they also knew, he had not come here with hostile intentions.
From behind the crowd, slow footsteps echoed across the mountain path.
Xu Wenyuan stepped forward and his eyes met Lin Xuan’s.
"Attack!"
Xu Wenyuan’s roar echoed across the mountain.
In an instant, dozens of figures burst forward.
Sword qi tore through the air.
Spears, sabers, and spiritual arts converged upon Lin Xuan from every direction, their attacks weaving into an inescapable net.
The weakening formation hummed louder, continuously suppressing the spiritual qi within his body.
Boom!
The first wave of attacks slammed into the barrier, producing deafening explosions that shook the mountain.
Dust billowed into the sky.
Before it could settle, another volley arrived.
Arrows infused with spiritual energy rained down from above while earth spikes erupted beneath his feet.
Flames surged from hidden formations, engulfing the area in a sea of crimson.
The mountain trembled violently.
Yet when the smoke dispersed, Lin Xuan remained standing exactly where he had been.
His calm expression contrasted sharply with the panic spreading through the Xu cultivators.
"Again!"
Xu Wenyuan shouted.
More than twenty Golden Core cultivators simultaneously poured their spiritual energy into another prepared formation.
The ground split apart and a colossal crimson chain burst from beneath the earth like a dragon awakening from its slumber, coiling toward Lin Xuan with astonishing speed.
The chain wrapped around his body as dozens of spiritual chains layered upon one another, binding his arms, legs, and torso.
At the same moment, eight elders leaped onto surrounding peaks and formed hand seals in perfect unison.
"Seal!"
A massive sealing array descended from the heavens.
The surrounding space distorted as an immense pressure crashed down upon Lin Xuan.
The Xu cultivators did not stop.
They attacked again and again, as if they feared that even the slightest hesitation would cost them everything.
Hidden among the trees, Xu Wenyuan clenched his fists until blood dripped from his palms.
Sword qi, flames, and countless spiritual techniques crashed toward Lin Xuan without pause.
Finally, Lin Xuan sigh.
"So this is your only answer."
With a gentle raise of his hand, the spiritual qi within the heavens suddenly stirred.
Although the weakening formation had suppressed nearly thirty percent of his strength, the remaining power of a Nascent Soul cultivator was still beyond what these Golden Core cultivators could withstand.
Lin Xuan casually waved his sleeve.
Boom!
An invisible wave swept across the battlefield.
The eight elders maintaining the sealing formation were struck first.
Their bodies were sent flying like broken kites.
"Pfft!"
Each of them spat out mouthfuls of blood.
Before they could even hit the ground, a crisp cracking sound echoed from within their bodies.
Crack!
Their dantians shattered simultaneously.
The spiritual qi they had cultivated for decades poured out uncontrollably.
"My... my cultivation..."
One elder stared blankly at his trembling hands before collapsing in despair.
The remaining Xu Family experts fared no better.
The shockwave swept through them mercilessly.
One after another, they were blasted hundreds of meters away.
Weapons slipped from their grasp as they crashed into trees and cliffs.
In a single exchange, every Golden Core elder had been crippled.
Lin Xuan slowly walked forward and he approached the only person still standing.
Xu Wenyuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and he looked once at the crippled elders lying across the battlefield.
"Nascent Soul..."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"You’ve hidden yourself really well."
Without another word, Xu Wenyuan ignited the true qi within his dantian.
His aura surged violently.
Veins bulged across his arms as blood seeped from the corners of his eyes.
He was burning away the very foundation of his cultivation.
His spiritual energy exploded upward at the cost of his own life.
The ground beneath his feet fractured.
With a furious roar, Xu Wenyuan gripped his sword tightly and charged straight at Lin Xuan.
There was no fear in his eyes only resolve.
Even if this strike became the last attack of his life, he would still swing his sword.
Xu Wenyuan’s aura erupted to its peak.
The ground beneath his feet shattered as he crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
His sword descended with all the power he could muster, carrying the last of his life force within its edge.
"Die!"
The blade whistled through the air.
Lin Xuan calmly raised his right hand and his fingers closed around the blade.
The sword froze in place.
No matter how Xu Wenyuan struggled, it refused to move another inch.
Xu Wenyuan looked up in disbelief.
Even after burning away his cultivation and staking his very life, the difference between them remained insurmountable.
Before he could react, Lin Xuan’s palm landed gently upon his abdomen and a dull shockwave spread outward.
Crack!
The sound of a dantian shattering echoed through the battlefield.
Xu Wenyuan’s body trembled violently.
The true qi he had desperately ignited escaped from his body like a flood through a broken dam.
His cultivation was gone.
The strength left his legs and he collapsed onto his knees, coughing violently.
"Urgh...!"
A mouthful of blood splashed onto the ground.
His already pale face became deathly white.
Lin Xuan quietly withdrew his hand.
He could tell with a single glance that Xu Wenyuan had burned too much of his life force.
Even without the shattered dantian, he would not survive.
Xu Wenyuan also understood it.
He looked at the unconscious elders scattered across the mountain before lowering his head.
Blood continuously dripped from the corner of his mouth.
After a long silence, he forced out a weak, trembling voice.
"Please spare the children."