After being struck by the middle-aged man's staff shadow, Evan Lin was sent flying for several hundred meters before he managed to steady himself. Several places on his body split open directly, two ribs were broken, and the surging blood and energy inside made his face turn pale in an instant.
This was the consequence of Evan Lin forgetting to activate Earthshift, but he now fully understood the gap between his own strength and that of a mid Immortal Lord Realm expert. At present, his body's defensive power could at most withstand attacks from early Immortal Lord Realm cultivators—mid stage was still out of reach.
The wood element inside his body was running wild, rapidly healing his injuries, but Evan Lin hardly seemed to care about the wounds. His eyes remained locked on the distant middle-aged man, while at the same time, lightning elements were also frantically gathering.
That middle-aged man had also been blasted hundreds of meters away by Evan Lin's Star-Cleave, and now several deep, bone-revealing wounds were gushing blood on his body. Still, his injuries were not as severe as Evan Lin's.
"Big Brother, why won't you let us protect you? This guy is a mid Immortal Lord Realm fighter—he's not someone you can handle right now. Don't try to act tough!" Jade Chu suddenly called out.
"Jade, I know what I'm doing. Just now I wanted to test the gap between my late Da Luo Golden Immortal stage and the Immortal Lord Realm. Now I have a clear idea of where I stand.
If I could unleash Divine Cleave, then I could defeat this mid Immortal Lord expert in one move—maybe even kill him instantly.
But right now, I still can't clearly recall the cultivation method for Divine Cleave—only some blurry fragments show up in my mind," Evan Lin said.
Just then, the middle-aged man glanced at Evan Lin and instantly flashed in front of him. At this moment, the wounds on his body had already healed, and his recovery speed was so shocking that even Evan Lin was taken aback.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to actually injure me. That's a real surprise. But this time, your luck has run out. I'm going to show you that Immortal Lords aren't opponents you Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortal brats can defy!" the middle-aged man roared.
"Don't blow smoke in front of me! Mid Immortal Lord Realm? I don't even take you seriously. If you've got some big moves, just bring them out—I'll take whatever you throw at me!" Evan Lin snapped back.
By now, the lightning elements had almost finished gathering. As Evan Lin spoke, he quickly poured Chaos Immortal Force into his arm—against an expert like this middle-aged man, he wasn't holding anything back.
"Primordial Heaven-Destroying Staff!" the middle-aged man roared. The golden staff in his hand erupted with light, unleashing a suffocating aura as countless staff shadows filled the sky.
Evan Lin didn't back down. His Frostbane Sword buzzed in his hand as he poured the power of all five elements, plus wind and lightning, into his arm. With Unicorn Arm activated, he unleashed his strongest Star-Cleave.
A sword-light tens of meters long burst from the Frostbane Sword, and the entire space shook violently as if it might collapse at any moment. The shockwave spread so far that it could be felt thousands of li away.
At that moment, the middle-aged man from the Martial Spirit Dominion sensed the spatial tremors and frowned slightly. "Why is it coming from another direction? Wasn't that kid supposed to be fleeing this way? Could it be that I'm being lied to?" he muttered.
He immediately had his Celestial Vulture turn and speed toward Evan Lin's direction, just as the two fighters' devastating attacks collided head-on.
A shield formed from cyan and yellow light appeared around Evan Lin, and the force of the clash sent both fighters flying again. This time, thanks to Jade Chu and Tom Chu's protection, Evan Lin was unharmed—but cracks had begun to appear in the shield.
"Jade, Tom, are you two alright?" Evan Lin asked urgently when he saw the cracks in the shield.
"Big Brother, we're fine. I didn't expect that guy's attack to be so strong—Tom and I burned through more than half our Immortal Spirit power just to block it. If he hits us again, we might get hurt," Jade Chu replied.
"You two rest for now—leave the rest to me. I'm sure that guy's been badly hurt by now. Just let me finish him off with lightning," Evan Lin said.
Just as Evan Lin predicted, the middle-aged man's body was covered in wounds, with multiple broken bones and damaged organs. Blood kept pouring from his mouth—he was clearly gravely injured.
But when he saw Evan Lin standing there unharmed, his mind went blank—he simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He fumbled in his storage ring for a medicinal pill, just about to take it, when a bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the sky, landing squarely on his body.
He'd already felt numb all over after Evan Lin's brutal attack, and now the massive lightning bolt slammed him straight into the ground.
Just like the silver-haired elder Evan Lin struck down in Coldriver City, the middle-aged man smashed into the earth, forming a huge crater. Evan Lin swooped down, switched the Frostbane Sword to his other hand, and chopped down with all his strength.
Strike while the enemy's down—it's a habit Evan Lin developed in the lower realms. If he could kill a mid Immortal Lord Realm expert here, he'd consider it a tremendous honor.
But just as Evan Lin's Frostbane Sword slashed down, a streak of purple light shot out of the crater at unbelievable speed. Evan Lin immediately recognized it.
But he'd already unleashed Star-Cleave and couldn't chase after the purple light right away. That was the middle-aged man's Immortal Infant—he'd abandoned his physical body to escape with it.
The Immortal Infant was incredibly fast. Evan Lin chased it for a while, but it eventually vanished from sight, leaving him frustrated—this was a huge hidden danger that he'd have to deal with sooner or later.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man's Immortal Infant was fleeing in a panic—only to run straight into the Blazefire Immortal Lord arriving from the Martial Spirit Dominion. "Blazefire, help me!" the Immortal Infant cried.
Blazefire Immortal Lord glanced at the Immortal Infant and was stunned. "You're Pengzhou City's Second Elder? What happened to you? Who hurt you like this? Tell me—I'll avenge you!"
"That guy is incredibly strong—he's just a few thousand li ahead. I barely escaped with my life, Blazefire, so be careful!" the Immortal Infant said, still shaken.
"Didn't you use your artifact?" Blazefire Immortal Lord asked.
"There was no time! That kid can control lightning—it's impossible to guard against, and his attack power is on par with mine," the Immortal Infant replied.
"Enough—let me see how strong this kid really is!" Blazefire Immortal Lord snapped. With a flap of the Celestial Vulture's wings, he vanished into the sky...