Their only issue would be the probable disbandment of the Water God Cult they had built over centuries.
But that was okay.
After living for so long, Black Water Taoist became much more open-minded. Neither strength nor authority could compare to longevity. The ability to live longer was much more valuable.
Everything would be lost after death.
Forget Dark Wind Cave’s cave master and this unknown brat, even if someone stronger came, even if the legendary Daojun was here in person, Black Water Taoist would never relent.
“Kill them!”
As a man of experience, once Black Water Taoist makes a decision, he would never hesitate.
“Black water phantom, come forth!” Black Water Taoist summoned his pet beast.
Five hundred years ago, Black Water Taoist had been a disciple of a declining sect. However, he defied the sect’s rules by robbing their Beast Manipulation Talisman. Then, he entered a dangerous area and used that talisman to gain control over a black water phantom beast.
This was a variant of fierce ancient beasts which were notorious for their savage nature. If it weren’t for the Beast Manipulation Talisman, with Black Water Taoist’s cultivation level back then, he couldn’t possibly have succeeded in forming a blood pact with it.
His success was largely thanks to dumb luck.
After centuries of nurturing, his black water phantom was now at the peak of Rank 5. Had Black Water Taoist managed to obtain an evolution method for his companion, he would have promoted it to Rank 6 by now.
However, even at the peak of Rank 5, Black Water Taoist saw his black water phantom as second to none.
Controlling the black water phantom, he ordered it to pounce forward. Like nightfall or dark crashing waves, the beast liquefied and spread out to cover a distance of a thousand feet. It then came crashing down at Lin Jin with immense pressure. The black water was so poisonous that even a single drop could prove fatal.
His attack was undoubtedly phenomenal.
“Dragonfire!”
Lin Jin reacted quickly. Almost at the same time the enemy attacked, he opened his mouth to eject a wall of flames to counter his enemy’s attack.
“Amazing!” Tiger Taoist stared in bafflement. He almost couldn’t resist taking action just now, but Tiger Taoist knew that his wind spells would be overwhelmed by the black water phantom. It wouldn’t be as effective as fire.
After all, fire and water were incompatible.
A loud rumble filled the air as water and fire clashed.
Lin Jin unleashed a sea of flames against Black Water Taoist’s dark water waves, which fought hard to put out the fire.
Both dark water and dragon fire were caught in a relentless battle against each other. This was a battle of attrition. The robes of both spell casters rustled against the air pressure and their attacks quickly developed into a stalemate.
“Xiao Huo!”
Realizing that this stalemate wouldn’t last long, Lin Jin further enhanced his spell.
A glowing ball of flames leaped up from Lin Jin’s arm and darted at Black Water Taoist like a sharpened blade. Halfway through, it morphed into the shape of a large fire wolf. It appeared unexpectedly before its target with its jaw wide open.
Black Water Taoist shuddered at the sight. He didn’t have time to be awed by the young man’s ability to multitask in the heat of battle. He shouted in fright and held up a black water shield in an attempt to block off the fire wolf’s attack.
To his horror, the black water shield broke almost instantly under Xiao Huo’s fangs. If Ghost Water Taoist hadn’t used his flying snake fish to fend Xiao Huo off, Black Water Taoist might have already been devoured now.
The battle between two Rank 5 beasts shook the heavens. Alone, Lin Jin managed to hold his ground against Black Water Taoist and Ghost Water Taoist. To their surprise, he even had the upper hand in the battle.
Perhaps out of embarrassment, or perhaps he was trying to drum up his confidence, Black Water Taoist roared, “I’ve been cultivating for five hundred years now. How can I lose to a brat like you?”
Then, he whistled. The dark water around him poured into his body, after which Black Water Taoist grew in size. Instantly, he became one hundred years younger, but his eyes turned ink black. He charged over like a rocket, swinging a fist at Lin Jin.
“Black Water Punch!”
It was his ultimate move that was behind his fame in his younger years. It was a combination of spells and martial arts. He even had his pet beast merge with him physically to give him a power boost. It would surely cause side effects, but Black Water Taoist couldn’t care for that now.
He had to retrieve the gourd fast or he wouldn’t last any longer. Since he was dying anyway, it was pointless to care for anything else.
Black Water Taoist was fast, and this sudden attack surprised Lin Jin. His Black Water Punch was packed with a thick dark liquid substance.
Lin Jin could tell how desperate Black Water Taoist was. Although he could sense danger and knew this punch would deal quite a bit of damage, Lin Jin’s enthusiasm was piqued.
“If you want to go all out, let’s go all out!” Lin Jin gathered his mana and pushed a palm forward.
The Blazing Sky Palm.
In an instant, a fist and a palm collided.
Fire streamed from Lin Jin’s palm, burning like the scorching sun. The Blazing Sky Palm certainly lived up to its reputation. The blazing flames overflowing from his hand burned away the clouds around them, and those who weren’t strong enough would have been reduced to ashes if they stood within a thousand feet of Lin Jin.
The threatening attack even influenced those on the ground. Many of the cult’s members were screaming as plumes of smoke began rising from their houses. Some even caught fire.
According to Daojun’s Hieroglyphic, the Blazing Sky Palm was a phenomenal skill that gathered the fire energy in the atmosphere. In other words, the stronger the fire in the area, the more powerful the attack.
Although Black Water Taoist’s Black Water Punch wasn’t weak, it was still inferior to the Blazing Sky Palm. Since Lin Jin had contracted two Rank 5 pet beasts, his flames were further enhanced with a layer of blood-red color. Black Water Taoist suffered quick defeat from this clash with Lin Jin.
“Argh!”
With a savage look on his face, Black Water Taoist spat out a mouthful of dark blood. Half his body had been set on fire. He retreated rapidly while shrieking in pain.
He lost.
To think a great expert like him who had been cultivating for five hundred years suffered such a devastating loss.
Contrary to popular belief, the length of one’s cultivation wasn’t actually that significant. Lin Jin may not have been cultivating for long, but his cultivation methods had been authentic and effective. What’s more, he had experienced many battles.
On the other hand, although Black Water Taoist had lived a long life, he spent most of it beside the Four Ocean Gourd.
As time passed, Black Water Taoist’s fear of death intensified so he focused more on prolonging his life to the extent of forsaking research on cultivation and spells. To make it worse, he wasn’t that great in terms of the ability to comprehend profound teachings.
Now that he was faced with Lin Jin’s Blazing Sky Palm, he lost immediately.
Black water poured out of his body to put out the flames, but Black Water Taoist himself had suffered too much. His aura diminished sharply and he no longer had the strength to fight.
On the other side, Ghost Water Taoist was fighting Xiao Huo with his flying snake fish.
When he saw his master losing, fear started taking over and he knew the situation was getting out of hand.
