However, at this very moment, as the formation continued to absorb spiritual energy, the pressure on Xuan's spiritual palace became too great. After a period of time, it suddenly broke through the barrier again and advanced! Foundation Establishment Level 5!
Once you pass the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, the entire Foundation Establishment period is more than halfway through, which is also the dividing line for the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
After passing through these five levels, Shi Xuan absorbed a much larger amount of spiritual energy than in the previous four levels. The foundation of this level seemed to be broader and more solid than any previous level.
This time, all things seemed to have advanced to a higher level, frantically absorbing all the energy around them.
Meanwhile, Lei Zhi, who was outside the formation channeling spiritual energy into the immortal artifact, felt his spiritual energy vanish rapidly, like a deflated balloon.
He suddenly checked the formation and found that the top-grade spirit stones he had put into it had disappeared. At this moment, the formation was frantically demanding from him, desperately consuming his spiritual power.
In such a severe leak of spiritual energy, the immortal artifact that had been shining with colorful light suddenly went out. At this moment, Lei Zhi was backfired by the act of forcibly using the immortal artifact. He spat out a mouthful of blood with a "poof" sound, and his whole body visibly deteriorated. A moment later, he couldn't even stand up.
The backlash from forcibly using the immortal artifact caused the side effects of the Exploding Spirit Pill to erupt prematurely, instantly rendering Lei Zhi unable to fight.
Lin Daozi, who was already prepared, naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity. His natal spirit sword, carrying a sharp metallic sword intent, flew out and pierced through Lei Zhi's body. With the support of offensive spiritual power, a Nascent Soul stage expert and the sect leader of Luoyin Sect, one of the six sects of Qianyuan, perished.
The moment Lei Zhi fell, his soul left his body and he frantically tried to escape, but Lin Daozi, who was prepared, used his magic weapon to capture him and kill him instantly. He was dead beyond any doubt.
With Lei Zhi's death, the spirit array he set up also lost its effectiveness and disappeared from the spot, revealing Shi Xuan, who had just opened his eyes from meditation because he realized something was wrong.
Shi Xuan and Lin Daozi locked eyes, and in just one glance, they confirmed each other's safety.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Pang Jiaxiang sensed the approaching danger.
Lei Zhi is dead. At this point, he is no match for Lin Daozi in a one-on-one fight, and given his level, it would be difficult for him to escape.
In a flash, he unleashed a powerful attack, sending a massive earthen wall hurtling out, not toward Lin Daozi, but toward Shi Xuan.
"Xuan'er!" Lin Daozi exclaimed in alarm, "Be careful!"
The formation had just disappeared, which should have been the moment when everyone was least prepared. Pang Jiaxiang suddenly launched an attack, and Lin Daozi hurriedly looked at Shi Xuan.
However, Shi Xuan seemed to have anticipated this. The moment she saw the two of them, adhering to the principle of not holding her master back, she immediately used her divine sense to communicate with Yin Shuang and disappeared from the spot, just missing the oncoming earthen wall perfectly.
Lin Daozi was relieved to find that she must have used some special method to hide, but when he turned around, Pang Jiaxiang had already escaped while he was distracted by looking at Shi Xuan.
Shi Xuan did not come out immediately. She was unable to know what was happening outside because she was in the space. She waited for a full half hour before appearing out of thin air, fully on guard.
There were no signs of fighting outside. Only the master was meditating on his flying sword, seemingly intending to sit there and wait for a whole day and night.
Upon seeing Shi Xuan emerge, Lin Daozi sheathed his flying sword and stepped forward to ask with concern, "Xuan'er, are you injured?"
"Thank you, Master," Shi Xuan said. "I am fine and have not been injured. In fact, I have advanced two minor ranks within the formation."
"Hahahaha! Good! Good!" Lin Daozi laughed loudly, "As expected of Xuan'er, she can always deal with things calmly and find opportunities in adversity."
"Master, please stop praising me. Otherwise, I won't be able to find my way back to the sect."
After laughing, the two of them flew back on their swords, talking as they went.
Lin Daozi said solemnly, "I never expected that the leader of Lei Zhiyi Sect would also be involved in this evil force. It is clear that the existence of this force is not something that happened overnight, and its influence may be more extensive than we imagined."
Shi Xuan nodded: "They must have a very difficult goal to achieve. They have concentrated so much manpower and resources and spent so many years planning, but they still haven't completed it. If this goal is achieved, it will definitely be a major event that will shake the entire cultivation world."
“I’m afraid his demands are quite high,” Lin Daozi said, taking out his wine gourd and taking a sip. “With Lei Zhi’s death, the Six Sects Competition may not be able to be held on time. We’ve probably made a wasted trip. We’ll have to go back to our sects and discuss this further.”
"It wasn't a wasted trip. The secrets of the Hidden Sect are gradually coming to light. When we get back to the Hidden Sect, we'll first investigate whether there are any other things they're hiding."
Lin Daozi nodded: "What about the person you arrested?"
"Master, rest assured, he has been hidden away. He will be interrogated alone when we return. I will then release him to speak after I have refined a Truth Pill for him."
Lin Daozi laughed and said, "You're quite the clever one. I'll leave it to you then."
Inside the Luo Yin Sect, everything was as usual. The disciples were unaware that their sect leader had perished, and they continued to chat and laugh as usual. Meanwhile, at the Lianfeng Sword Sect, the disciples were preparing for the Six Sects Grand Competition, accumulating knowledge and experience to be more confident in the future.
When Shi Xuan and Lin Daozi returned, they immediately went to find Shi Mingxiu and explained in detail to the sect leader what had happened that day and night.
"Such a thing is true!" Shi Mingxiu was shocked. He had originally thought that only Pang Jiaxiang, the peak master of Cangyu Peak, had joined the evil organization with his disciples, but he never expected that even the sect leader had done so...
Recalling the time from when he received my message until Cangyu Peak was bombed, he acted no differently than a normal peak master, as if he knew nothing about it.
"Sect Master," Shi Xuan said, "why don't we inform all the sects and ask if anyone knows the steps of this evil spell that converts human and beast souls? That way we can be on guard. If all else fails, we can alert the patriarchs of each sect to see if anyone knows anything about it."
Shi Mingxiu nodded, stroked his beard, and pondered, "This kind of insidious method might end up with a result that none of us can bear. We must treat it with caution."
Shi Xuan: "This method of stealing spiritual veins is appalling. Perhaps we should have each sect check the location of their own spiritual veins to prevent their foundation from being destroyed without their knowledge."
"That's exactly right. There are also people from various sects patrolling the territory to strictly investigate anything related to the eye mark. There are probably quite a few people who have been deceived by the treasure map, and quite a few have been taken advantage of."
They encountered two such cases, and both managed to escape, which shows that what they saw was only the tip of the iceberg.
Shi Mingxiu sighed and instructed, "Let's check the Luoyin Sect first. If we don't find anything, we'll return to the sect."
After reporting what had happened to the sect leader, Shi Xuan returned to his courtyard, entered the Silver Frost Sect, took out the Heavenly Origin Pill Furnace, and began refining the True Word Pill.
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