Chapter 327: Instant Death (First)

The Threefold Stab had barely enough time to touch the dagger when the additional effect of the Fire-tipped Spear activated!

A blast of elemental fire and dust blew through the area as the Fire-tipped Spear rendered the dagger into dust. Like a ragdoll, Lü Yuan was tossed away from the explosion with a mangled and charred chest.

Fortunately, fire-type soul cultivators like him had a degree of resistance to fire-based attacks. Furthermore, he was lucky enough to jump back at the final moment to offset the power from the explosion.

If not for those two factors, he would’ve died a fiery death despite being a mid-stage Soul Ancestor.

Resistant or not, the damage was still severe enough for blood to spray out of his mouth. Glassy-eyed, Lü Yuan tried his best to stabilize himself. He gathered elemental fire in his chest to protect himself from any more damage.

He raised his head to glare at Bai Yunfei, but what he saw caused his face to drop several shades of color—

Right in front of him was the Fire-tipped Spear; three of them, in fact!!

The +12 effect of the Fire-tipped Spear, the Doppelganger!!

The Bai Yunfei on the very right clenched the spear tightly, and with a short thrust, it moved to strike Lü Yuan’s throat!

Fury flooded Lü Yuan’s eyes. Completely disregarding the wound on his chest, his left hand flew up to grab at the shaft of the spear,bringing its owner to a stop!

“This one isn’t the fake!!” Lü Yuan’s eyes lit up with joy. Soulforce began to burst from his body along with a tremendous flow of elemental fire. Turning into a blaze, the elemental fire surrounded his right hand. He extended his fingers so that his hand took on a knife shape. His entire right arm felt as though it was a single sword that was on fire.

“Die!!” Lü Yuan howled as he stabbed at Bai Yunfei’s chest with his arm.

“Tzzk!”

His arm streaked across Bai Yunfei’s chest, eliciting a spark of joy in Lü Yuan’s eye.

“Eh?”

Though he could clearly see that his arm had gone through his enemy’s chest, he didn’t feel as though there was any ‘substance’ behind the attack.

It didn’t even feel like he stabbed through a person!

“But how…?” Startled, Lü Yuan’s eyes widened in shock. His pupils were straining so hard to understand the sight in front of him that it seemed as though they’d break away from his eyes.

While he was in his stupor, one of the other doppelgangers was already poised to strike in between his eyebrows!

Even more inconceivable was the fact that despite the spear being a definite death should it hit… it disappeared into thin air as soon as it touched his skin!

Without any sign or warning, both spear and owner had disappeared!

While that was happening, Lü Yuan felt his hand grow lighter all of a sudden. The spear he had been holding onto was gone along with the ‘Bai Yunfei’ he had just stabbed through the chest.

“But… what...?”

No matter how much he tried, Lü Yuan simply couldn’t understand nor comprehend the sight in front of him.

He could clearly feel blood from the cut the spear he had grabbed had made. There was also a small trickle of blood from where the spear had poked him on the forehead. That alone was enough to tell him that the spears had been ‘real.’

But… the spear that was ‘real’ was no longer ‘real’ nor there. What in the world was going on?!

“Watch out!!”

A shout from Lü Fang snapped Lü Yuan from his shock. Shaking his head, Lü Yuan was immediately made aware of yet another flaming spear that threatened to stab him straight through!

This spear was no illusion this time; this was the true strike!

The doppelgangers were meant to be used as a diversionary tactic, and they had worked.

After the confusion wrought by the doppelgangers, Bai Yunfei took the opportunity to pierce Lü Yuan with his spear!

With Lü Fang’s warning, Lü Yuan was given an opportunity to save his own life by throwing himself to the side to dodge.

“Tzzk!”

The life-threatening moment had passed, but not without injury. The Fire-tipped Spear managed to stab into Lü Fang’s right shoulder all the way to the bone, but it wasn’t a fatal wound.

However, would he be able to evade death so easily again?

The answer…

No!!

A single stab of the spear wouldn’t be enough for a sure kill. Eyes flashing in recognition of that fact, Bai Yunfei’s right hand relinquished its hold on the spear.

He clenched his right hand and a great fire rose up from his upper right arm. It formed into a-meter-long blade of fire!

In sync with the Fire-tipped Spear, Bai Yunfei moved forward to slash at Lü Yuan!!

“Swish!”

Decapitated from the rest of its body, a single head flew into the air before succumbing to the fire. It disintegrated into ashes…

“Thump!!”

The now headless body came to a crash on the ground. With a spear still embedded in its shoulder, Lü Yuan’s body gave several twitches before finally coming to a rest…

“……”

Silence descended upon the area.

Even Han Chong and Lü Fang paused their fight with the latter blankly looking at the corpse of his brother. Before this, he had been charging toward Han Chong, but this new development saw him come to a stop as he slowly turned toward Bai Yunfei.

To Bai Yunfei’s side was Han Lin.

Han Lin’s right hand was frozen in place next to his waist. He had been preparing to support Bai Yunfei with a flying dagger or two, but instead of doing as he had intended, the dagger he had primed to throw had fallen to the ground. Though, he hadn’t noticed due to his amazement.

An instant death!!

Not even half a minute had gone by since Bai Yunfei had started his barrage on Lü Yuan!

There was no hesitation. Only a series of attacks one after another, and just like that, a mid-stage Soul Ancestor had been killed on the spot!!

……

While everyone else was staring at Bai Yunfei in shock, he was already walking over to Lü Yuan’s corpse. Stooping down, Bai Yunfei grabbed hold of Lü Yuan’s hand and ripped off the space ring.

“It’s not here…” Bai Yunfei muttered in annoyance as he inspected the inner contents of the ring.

“Is it on you, then?” Eyes swung to Lü Fang.

That look was more than enough to snap Lü Fang out of his stupor. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about the situation.

Now was the time to run away!

He was scared. A late-stage Soul Ancestor he might be, but even he didn’t know why he felt such destitute terror in regard to this late-stage Soul Warrior. However, this terror was enough to drain any semblance of fighting spirit away. The only thought he had was to flee—to flee as fast and as far away as possible.

The Lü brothers trump card—a unison soul skill that could endanger even a Soul Exalt—would remain unused.

Without Lü Yuan’s head on his body, what possible way was there to use the unison skill!?

“Pah!”

The sight of Lü Fang fleeing made Bai Yunfei feel a wrathful indignation. With eyes that stalked the fleeing Lü Fang, Bai Yunfei retrieved the Cataclysmic Seal from its storage and pointed a finger.

A light as red as fire trailed behind the brick as it whisked through the sky like a comet. It shot after Lü Fang at least twice as quickly as he was traveling!!

Noticing that something was amiss, Lü Fang looked back. His eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. Soon after terror flooded his eyes when the Cataclysmic Seal registered in them. Clenching his teeth, he pivoted around so that his front was now facing the Cataclysmic Seal. He was effectively traveling slower than before.

Free of the sword he had brandished in his hands earlier, Lü Fang began to form a series of complicated hand seals before finishing the last seal with a heavy stomp on the ground and a loud shout!

Like a storm, soulforce burst from within Lü Fang’s body along with a rich concentration of elemental earth. The soulforce traveled down his foot and into the ground, and when Lü Fang stepped back, the earth where he once was began to churn and shake before a three-meter-wide, one-meter-thick wall erected itself to stop the Cataclysmic Seal!!

Though this earthen wall had been erected, Lü Fang didn’t stop his hand gestures. Four more steps were taken and four more walls were made!

“Boom!!”

The Cataclysmic Seal smashed into the first wall by the time the fifth and final wall was constructed. An explosive quake rocked the area before the Cataclysmic Seal smashed through the second, then the third…

The walls looked to be sturdy and immovable, as a wall of earth should. However, in front of the Cataclysmic Seal, they were torn apart like rice paper. The Cataclysmic Seal didn’t show any signs of slowing for even a second!!

Any blood that might’ve remained on Lü Fang’s face drained once the fourth wall was demolished. Rather than continuing to run away, Lü Fang began to form another set of hand seals. The elemental earth in him started to become even thicker as it covered his body.

Like the last time, his foot came up and then smashed back down onto the ground.

Instead of a wall, a-meter-wide crevice formed in the ground!

The fifth and final wall came crumbling down as the Cataclysmic Seal sped through it with Bits of earth flying in every direction. At that moment, Lü Fang threw caution to the wind and leaped into the crevice.

As soon as he did, the earth above him quaked slightly before coming together as if it hadn’t separated in the first place!

……

The area above ground was completely silent now. Lü Fang was nowhere to be seen, and his ‘underground’ technique made no sounds nor left any signs of movement.

“An underground escape…” A flash of cold light snaked across Bai Yunfei's eyes as a sneer formed on his lips. “You want to escape? And with the fireseed spirit mushroom… do you really think you can?

“The fireseed spirit mushroom is mine, I’ll kill anyone that tries to steal it!”