Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 481 Back Attack
Taylor took the book and immediately began to read it.

The room was completely silent, save for the soft rustling of pages turning.

Huang Jie and Thor both craned their necks to look at the contents of the book, their expressions contrasting sharply.

Taylor and Saul's eyes grew brighter and brighter, their joy almost overflowing, while Huang Jie's initial curiosity and anticipation gradually turned into disappointment.

It turned out to be a low-grade Heavenly Rank cultivation manual with a metal attribute, sufficient for cultivators to cultivate to the early Nascent Soul stage, but only cultivators with a metal attribute spiritual root could cultivate it. Of the three, Thor and Taylor both had metal attribute spiritual roots, but Huang Jie did not, hence his disappointed expression.

After reading the contents of the book, Taylor voluntarily placed the cultivation technique in the cabinet, along with the other items in his storage bag, to show that he intended to divide it equally after the matter was finished.

Huang Jie silently walked to the second cabinet, stretched his palm towards the light screen, and his spiritual power surged into it.

Before long, the cabinet's protective barrier broke, the cabinet door opened, and inside was a three-foot-long golden box with exquisite patterns engraved on its surface.

Huang Jie took out the box, opened the lid, and saw that inside was a golden vine shaped like a noodle stick.

What is this? Huang Jie looked bewildered when he saw the golden vines, clearly not recognizing them. He turned to look at the others.

Song Xian and Sol both frowned, exchanged a glance, and saw confusion in each other's eyes.

Taylor, however, seemed lost in thought.

"Fellow Daoist Taylor, do you perhaps recognize this item?" Thor asked before Huang Jie could speak.

All three eyes were immediately drawn to him. Taylor stepped forward, picked up the golden vine, and examined it closely. Then, somewhat uncertainly, he said, "I've never seen this before, but I did read about it in a book. Judging from its shape and color, it looks a bit like the Golden Thunder Vine."

"Golden Thunder Vine?" Huang Jie was puzzled, clearly having never heard of this thing before. He looked at Song Xian and Thor, hoping they would explain, but neither of them had heard of the name either, and both looked confused.

"Golden Thunder Vine is an extremely rare substance that possesses both metallic and thunderous attributes. It is said to have long since disappeared from the world. I don't know if this thing is actually Golden Thunder Vine."

"Possessing both metal and lightning attributes?" Thor looked surprised. Almost all cultivation materials in the world have only one attribute. Those that possess two attributes are extremely rare, even countable on one hand, let alone those that possess lightning attribute.

Wind and thunder, as different attributes, cannot be combined with other attributes. This can be seen from the spiritual roots of cultivators. Once a person has a spiritual root of either wind or thunder, it is impossible for them to have any other spiritual roots.

This Golden Thunder Vine defies common sense, possessing both the attributes of gold and thunder, which is truly rare.

"What is the purpose of this thing?" Huang Jie immediately asked after learning its origin.

"I don't know what it's used for. As I said, I've only read about the Golden Thunder Vine in a book, and I'm not even sure if this golden vine is the same thing."

“Things are valued for their rarity. If this is indeed the Golden Thunder Vine, it will be extremely valuable. Let’s leave it for now. There’s one last cabinet. Fellow Daoist Su, it’s up to you now. I hope your luck is better than ours,” Thor said with a smile.

Without wasting words, Song Xian arrived at the last cabinet and channeled his spiritual energy into the semi-transparent light screen.

As the spiritual energy continued to surge, the light barrier slowly twisted and deformed.

Seeing that he was completely focused on breaking the barrier, Taylor glanced at Thor on his left.

The two men locked eyes, and Thor nodded imperceptibly before turning to Huang Jie on his right.

Seeing his expression, Huang Jie seemed to understand something, but he did not say anything. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly and lowered his head.

Taylor turned around, a smile playing on his lips, his gaze fixed on Song Xian like that of a hunter eyeing its prey.

Just as the transparent light screen was about to shatter, Taylor suddenly made his move. His palms suddenly turned blood red, like red-hot irons, and he plunged them into Song Xian's back and heart.

He was very patient. Even with Saul's consent and Huang Jie's tacit approval, he didn't rush to take action. He was waiting for this moment.

He knew that to break the restriction, he needed a continuous flow of spiritual energy into his body. At the final moment, which was the most critical time and required him to increase his physical and spiritual energy, it was also the time when the one breaking the restriction was most relaxed.

Because he had just experienced it firsthand, he had the most personal experience with it.

His hands, as red-hot as branding irons, were his ultimate technique, the Iron-Blooded Hand. It was used silently without any spiritual energy fluctuations, yet it was extremely powerful. Even a body as tough as a demon beast could be torn through, let alone a cultivator's body. It was impossible to withstand it with the spiritual energy shield around the body.

With this technique, he has taken more than one life.

In the blink of an eye, the blood-red hand, as hot as a branding iron, pierced through the spiritual energy shield, cutting through the skin like a sharp blade slicing through tofu, and piercing the heart.

However, the smile on Taylor's face froze the next moment.

A dark blue flame rose from Song Xian's body and instantly covered his entire body.

"Ah!" A sharp pain shot through his body, Taylor's face contorted, and he screamed.

The eerie green flames enveloped his two crimson hands, and in the blink of an eye, only bare white bones remained.

Before Taylor's piercing screams had even ended, the eerie green flames had already engulfed his entire body along his arms.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. From Taylor's sudden attack to Song Xian being covered in eerie green flames, and now to this situation, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Both Thor and Huang Jie were shocked by this turn of events.

"Fellow Daoist Su, let's talk this out calmly, don't be impulsive." Thor's expression changed drastically and he immediately blurted out, once again playing the role of a peacemaker, as if he knew nothing about all of this.

Seeing Taylor subdued in one move, he felt a sense of dread. He pretended to be unaware of the situation, partly to plead for Taylor's life and partly to clear his name.

Huang Jie, on the other hand, remained silent, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

When Taylor found him, he had already explained the whole story to him, but they did not agree on when to take action. They only said that it would depend on the opportunity and they would act accordingly.

He felt that a three-on-one situation would be a piece of cake, so he agreed.

However, as he traveled along the way, he discovered that this 'Su Xian' was not simple. His strength was much greater than he had imagined, so his heart began to waver.

In reality, his agreement was merely a temporary measure. The two had no enmity, and killing 'Su Xian' would not benefit him at all.

Taylor's promise to him was simply to split Su Xian's fortune equally, and to reduce the original four-person share of the secret treasure to three people.

If he didn't agree, he wouldn't have had the chance to participate in this treasure hunt, so he had no choice but to agree.

Until Taylor was about to take action, he was still hesitant, but he did not object.

Seeing that Taylor had not only failed but was also in danger, he was unsure whether to help. "Ah! Why aren't you doing anything?" A shrill scream came from Taylor's mouth, like the howl of a demon from hell, and Taylor's flesh and blood, enveloped in eerie green flames, rapidly melted away.

Song Xian gently clenched his fist, and the eerie green flames surged instantly, completely engulfing Taylor.

In the blink of an eye, Taylor's body melted away like a candle. His mouth opened and closed, looking quite gruesome, but he made no sound.

Both Thor and Huang Jie were shocked and frightened by the sight, but neither of them made a move.

Soon, Taylor's body was completely burned away by the eerie green flames, leaving only a charred skeleton. Song Xian's face was ashen, and he stared at the two of them with a sinister look in his eyes.

Fortunately, he was prepared. When breaking the restriction, he quietly activated the Profound Heaven Fusion Fire Technique and used the Taiyin Netherfire to protect himself, thus escaping disaster.

Otherwise, Taylor would have succeeded with a single strike.

Even so, his back was still covered in blood, the blood flowing endlessly. Two distinct handprints were like two steel knives piercing his body, just a hair's breadth away from touching his heart.

It must be said that Taylor's technique was quite ingenious. He did not feel any spiritual energy fluctuations beforehand, and only reacted when Taylor's branding-like bloody hand touched his back.

If the Yin Fire had not been secretly activated beforehand, there would have been no time to prepare.

This was also because he had never trusted Taylor and Thor from the beginning and had always been secretly wary of them. He had been at the very back of the four of them all the way, and now that the barrier had been broken and he was facing away from the three of them, how could he possibly feel completely at ease?

"Fellow Daoist Su, please don't misunderstand. This matter has nothing to do with us. It was Taylor who acted on his own. We don't know why he suddenly had this idea. Before we could even react, he started to make a move."

Seeing the murderous intent in Song Xian's eyes, Thor quickly explained, his expression revealing his nervousness, as if he were a taut string.

Although he didn't know what the eerie green flames were, the fact that Taylor, with his strength, was burned to ashes without any chance of fighting back showed how powerful the flames were.

When Thor obtained the Crimson Sun Golden Flame, he also received a thin book containing records about strange flames, so he had some understanding of various types of strange flames, but he knew nothing about this ghostly green flame.

The unknown breeds fear. At this moment, he felt both nervous and regretful. He originally thought that Song Xian only had the Crimson Sun Golden Flame as his reliance, but he did not expect that he had such a powerful weapon hidden in his hands.

Taylor wanted the Crimson Sun Golden Flame, and he also wanted the method to refine and fuse the flame, so the two hit it off immediately.

They believed that with the help of the three of them, they could take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and succeed without fail.

No one expected that Taylor would be wiped out in just one encounter.

……

Song Xian would not believe such nonsense. These three were clearly birds of a feather, especially Thor, who was most likely the mastermind.

Since Taylor was someone he had recruited, if we're talking about grudges, he had fought with Thor over the Yin Meridian Cave, but he had no conflict with Taylor.

Furthermore, the earlier suggestion to activate the cabinet restrictions for each person was Saul's idea, and now it seems that this was a prelude to Taylor's attack; everything was clearly premeditated.

Even without these cabinets and pavilions with restrictions, they would still find an opportunity to strike.

The eerie green flames detached from his body, coalesced into a ball, and transformed into a huge eerie green sphere.

Huang Jie, who had been silent all along, suddenly roared, clasped his hands together, and his body shone with golden light. Behind him, a huge, golden phantom materialized. As the golden light around him merged into the phantom, the phantom solidified, transforming into a giant wearing golden helmet and armor and wielding a golden spear, majestic and awe-inspiring, like a divine general.

As the golden giant thrust out his spear, dazzling golden light instantly engulfed the entire room. The enormous golden spear pierced straight through, and wherever it passed, spatial ripples spread outwards like water ripples.

Taylor coveted Song Xian's Crimson Sun Golden Flame, while Thor coveted the secret of his fusion with a different kind of fire. Thus, the two hit it off and planned to seize the opportunity to strike when Song Xian was off guard during the treasure hunt. Only Huang Jie had no ulterior motives and was forcibly dragged into the scheme.

But at this moment, he acted decisively, partly because an observer has a clearer perspective.

He knew that the situation had reached a point of no return, with no room for maneuver. Any explanation would be superfluous; only his subordinates could prove their mettle.

As he made his move, Thor also pulled out the golden scroll and unleashed the Crimson Sun Golden Flame.

The moment the golden spear touched the eerie green sphere, it melted visibly, like a withered leaf falling into a furnace.

The eerie green flames engulfed everything in an instant, even swallowing the three-legged golden crow.

Thor and Huang Jie simultaneously let out a terrified and shrill scream. The defensive spells they had gathered around them melted away in the blink of an eye under the shroud of the Yin Netherfire.

Both of them were enveloped in eerie green flames, and their flesh and blood quickly melted away.

Although the techniques they used were extraordinary, they were simply no match for the power of the Yin Netherfire.

With the power of the Taiyin Netherfire, it could even fight against a Golden Core cultivator, let alone two Foundation Establishment cultivators. The two sides were not even in the same league, so it was defeated in one blow.

Only after the two were melted by the eerie green flames did Song Xian use the Mysterious Heavenly Fusion Fire Technique to retrieve the Yin Netherfire.

In just a short while, his face turned pale, and blood was flowing continuously from his back, almost staining his entire body red.

Although Taylor's sneak attack did not cause fatal damage, it did leave two bloody holes in his body, causing him considerable injury.

His pale complexion was due to excessive blood loss.

Therefore, he immediately unleashed his powerful move, the Taiyin Netherfire, aiming for a swift victory. In this state, the longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be.

He was initially quite interested in Thor's crimson golden flames and wanted to absorb them to see the effects.

But given the current situation, there was no time to worry about that, so they directly destroyed the Crimson Sun Golden Flame itself.

After retrieving the Taiyin Netherfire, Song Xian immediately took out several pills, swallowed them, and sat cross-legged on the ground.

As time went by, the bleeding from the wound on his back gradually stopped, and his complexion slowly returned to a rosy hue.

After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and got up to go to the last cabinet enveloped by a semi-transparent light curtain. Due to Taylor's sudden attack, the restriction had not been broken, so he had to start over.

After spiritual energy was continuously poured into it, the transparent light curtain gradually twisted and deformed, and soon shattered like a water curtain. The cabinet door opened by itself without wind, and inside was a wooden box six or seven feet long. After opening it, a white robe as thin as a cicada's wing appeared before one's eyes.

This was indeed a magical artifact, but such a garment-like magical artifact was extremely rare. Song Xian reached out and unfolded the white robe, holding it in his hand and stroking it. He felt that the robe was as soft as water, as if he were stroking flowing water.

(End of this chapter)