Chapter 11: A Life and Death Struggle

Lin Tianming hid in a nearby valley, concealing his entire aura as he witnessed the entire battle between the two cultivators of at least the eighth level of Qi Refining. He was utterly shocked.

Thankfully, he had noticed them in time and stopped before running headlong into their fight. Otherwise, it would have been hard to escape unscathed.

Despite his shock, he was also worried. The intense battle just now might have revealed his presence. If so, the red-robed man might silence him to keep his secrets.

He didn't dare to leave rashly, as it would expose him. He couldn't take the risk. All he could do was hope he hadn't been noticed and wait for the red-robed man to leave before making any moves.

Time seemed to crawl.

After a quarter of an hour, the red-robed man stood up. His injuries had somewhat healed, and the bleeding had stopped. His spiritual energy had also recovered slightly.

He collected the white-robed man's storage bag and cast a fireball spell to incinerate the body.

He glanced at the small hill where Lin Tianming was hiding and sneered, "Friend, you've been watching for a while. Isn't it time to show yourself?"

Lin Tianming was startled. He hadn't expected the man to have noticed him all along but had simply chosen to deal with him after the fight.

Seeing that hiding was pointless, Lin Tianming walked out of the valley with a bitter smile.

He flew toward the red-robed man but stopped a hundred meters away to maintain a safe distance, ready to react if necessary.

Lin Tianming calmly said, "I am Lin Tianming, a disciple of the Lin family from Qingzhu Mountain, responsible for guarding Qingfeng Town. I was just patrolling the area and meant no harm. You may leave now."

"What you did and said earlier, I know nothing about. I still have duties to attend to and cannot linger. Farewell." With that, he turned and flew back towards Qingfeng Town at full speed, covering several li in moments.

The red-robed man thought, This guy is from the Lin family of Qingzhu Mountain, just over five hundred li from here. If he reports this to his family and they send a Foundation Establishment elder, exploring the cave will be much harder.

Regardless of whether he knows anything, he cannot be allowed to live. Although injured, with my strength reduced to less than a third, this fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator should be easy to handle.

I'll kill him and then head to the Yellow Sun Kingdom in Jingzhou to lay low for a while. The Lin family's influence hasn't reached Jingzhou yet. When the time is right, I can come back secretly to explore the cave.

Humph, bad luck for you. Dead men tell no tales.

Before Lin Tianming could get far, the red-robed man sat on his giant hammer and flew after him.

As the distance between them rapidly closed, Lin Tianming's anxiety grew. Realizing that escape was unlikely, he calmed himself and devised a plan. The man was severely injured and had expended a lot of spiritual energy in his previous battle. His strength was likely less than half.

With two high-grade attack talismans and two defense talismans, Lin Tianming believed he had a fighting chance. He decided to keep flying to exhaust the man's energy before launching a counterattack.

For several dozen li, Lin Tianming fled with the red-robed man in pursuit. When they were less than a li apart, Lin Tianming landed in a small valley, took a Vitality Pill, and restored as much energy as he could.

The red-robed man had used up much of his energy chasing Lin Tianming. He couldn't afford a prolonged fight and wanted to end it quickly.

"Boy, you're at your limit. Time to die!"

The red-robed man summoned his last reserves of strength, determined to finish Lin Tianming in one blow.

He activated the Dominating Body Technique, and with incredible speed, charged at Lin Tianming with his dual hammers.

Seeing this, Lin Tianming immediately activated a high-grade defense talisman and an attack talisman in response.

Having witnessed the red-robed man's full power in his fight against the white-robed man, Lin Tianming knew he had to be cautious.

The attack talisman transformed into a golden spirit sword, emitting sharp energy equivalent to the full power of an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator, and shot toward the red-robed man.

The defense talisman turned into a massive shield with flowing earth element energy, standing several meters tall in front of Lin Tianming.

After deploying the talismans, Lin Tianming channeled all his remaining energy into his strongest technique, the Fire Element Slash. A massive flaming sword formed, its energy far surpassing that of his earlier attempts.

With a shout, Lin Tianming commanded, "Slash!"

The red-robed man, now only a hundred meters away, swung his dual hammers. A gigantic hammer phantom appeared in the air, aimed directly at Lin Tianming.

The golden spirit sword from the attack talisman collided with the hammer phantom and disintegrated, but not before reducing the hammer's power. The hammer continued toward Lin Tianming, smashing into the defense shield.

The shield shattered after a few moments, and the impact sent Lin Tianming flying several meters. But the delay allowed his flaming sword to strike the hammer phantom.

The hammer phantom dispersed in a burst of light, leaving the flaming sword to continue unimpeded towards the red-robed man.

The red-robed man's face showed disbelief. He hadn't expected Lin Tianming to have such powerful talismans and abilities.

He tried to use another technique, but his energy was depleted. In his panic, he could do nothing.

With a thunderous explosion, the flaming sword struck the red-robed man, sending him flying several dozen meters. He crashed through several trees before coming to a stop, his body charred and mangled.

Lin Tianming was thrown to the side by the shockwave, his body battered and bleeding from numerous wounds. He quickly took a Vitality Pill and began meditating to recover.

After a quarter of an hour, he had regained some energy, and his injuries had stabilized.

Knowing he couldn't stay there, he quickly burned the red-robed man's body with a fireball spell, collected their storage bags and weapons, and erased signs of the fight.

Summoning his Green Bamboo Sword, he flew back towards Qingfeng Town.

Half a day later, Lin Tianming, still injured, landed in the square outside the pavilion. Ignoring the shocked expressions of the mortals, he instructed Lin Shan and Lin Hai not to disturb him unless necessary, and headed into the pavilion.

Without stopping, he went to his room, sat on his stone bed, and began healing his wounds.