Perhaps he noticed reinforcements coming to his aid, the immortal began to stammer incessantly in an attempt to buy time for his allies.
Lin Jin knew he couldn’t afford to be benevolent right now. Whether or not the immortal talked, Lin Jin had to kill him within three seconds or this person would be a potential threat.
The poor immortal thought his plan was succeeding until he felt a wave of excruciating pain wash over his body. In the blink of an eye, inexorable flames consumed his entire body.
As he was immolated, his soul perished.
Simultaneously, a deep rumbling filled the air as three immortals bearing oppressive auras arrived at the scene.
“Why did Yan Ji’s aura disappear?”
“It didn’t disappear. He was killed. Duo Ji as well. His aura may be gone but I sense a rise in the death aura of an immortal. Someone must have died here.”
The last person who spoke was a strikingly tall immortal. He wore a hood made from animal hide, but his torso was left bare.
This was a profound immortal.
Lin Jin had seen enough to notice how this profound immortal was different from other profound immortals. His aura was solid as a rock and by just standing there, Lin Jin was reminded of a massive beast.
His body looked like it was crafted from steel that was folded a thousand times.
Lin Jin had never met a profound immortal like him before but he had heard stories. Miao Yan Zhenren of the Mystery Dao Sect once told him that there were all kinds of immortal cultivation paths during the immortal era. One of these paths was ascension by one’s own body. They called these people ‘body immortals’.
It was said that body immortality was near-impossible to cultivate, but once they succeed, the immortal would possess insurmountable strength. Instead of relying on spells, immortals of this kind used their bodies to face magic treasures, and they were immune to elemental attacks. In a sense, their body was their magic treasure.
If this immortal was a body immortal, then he was a body profound immortal.
Lin Jin’s expression fell solemn.
Although the two other half immortals weren’t weak, their strength was actually on par with the previous two immortals, so Lin Jin didn’t fear them.
At present, Lin Jin had already killed two enemy immortals, so negotiation was out of the question.
Lin Jin wasn’t in the mood for negotiating anyway.
It was the Beast Deity Cult who attacked him first. Even if they were instigated by Patriarch Xue Pao, that didn’t change the fact that they chose to take action. Since that was the case, they had to face the consequences of their actions.
Lin Jin had to retaliate at full force.
So what if they had a profound immortal?
At Rank 7, Xiao Huo was the equivalent of a profound immortal, not to mention the blood ghost and ghost worm combination that was designed to slay profound immortals.
With the Clear Wind Sword in hand and the protection of the Four Ocean Gourd, Lin Jin wouldn’t lose to a profound immortal despite being a mortal himself.
He might even be stronger.
Lin Jin wasn’t the one who suggested this. It was the Mystery Dao Sect’s Miao Yan Zhenren who told him that. Even Xuan Yue Zhenren stated that she wasn’t confident fighting Lin Jin if he went all out.
While he was a mere mortal, his strength had been acknowledged by expert profound immortals.
‘First one to strike has the upper hand!’ thought Lin Jin.
As their minds were in sync, Xiao Huo pounced at one of the half immortals.
He didn’t need Lin Jin to come up with a strategy. Xiao Huo’s predatory instincts helped him pick out the weakest enemy so they could focus their strength later to deal with the toughest enemy. This was the innate instinct of hunter beasts.
“Wild animal!” roared the body profound immortal with widened eyes. Then, he pulled the half immortal beside him away.
That half immortal had been intimidated by Xiao Huo so he couldn’t react in time. Even if he managed to dodge Xiao Huo’s attack, the fire wolf was too fast to be evaded. To fight him would mean certain death.
The two half immortals were taken out by Xiao Huo in this exact manner.
Without the help of the body profound immortal, the half immortal would have been swallowed by Xiao Huo already.
After missing his target, Xiao Huo turned and pounced again. He moved so quickly that most eyes couldn’t keep up with his speed. However, the body profound immortal was quicker.
He launched his fist forward.
Bam!
The massive impact shattered the earth within a thousand-foot radius. Having suffered a direct hit, Xiao Huo shattered into pieces of fire clouds.
What a powerful and domineering punch.
Even Lin Jin was shocked. He mused, ‘This body profound immortal is truly a living, breathing magic treasure! A normal half immortal would have died from that punch.’
Even a profound immortal would have sustained serious injuries from that punch.
It was no wonder Miao Yan Zhenren was so serious when he spoke of body immortals. According to what he said, they were so resilient that they could take on his magic treasures with bare hands.
That was insane.
Still, Xiao Huo was no half immortal. He wasn’t even your average profound immortal. The phenomenal abilities he possessed weren’t something most immortals could compete with.
Xiao Huo transformed into stardust which started to saturate the air around them. The next instant, these fire particles flew towards the body profound immortal.
As Xiao Huo had cultivated a Dharma body before, he was able to convert his form into pure elements. Since Xiao Huo was made of fire, he could not be destroyed.
Even if it was broken, it could piece itself back together easily.
This was the strength of pet beasts. In the right circumstance, even Rank 6 beasts would emerge stronger than average half immortals.
“Sky Furnace!”
Lin Jin invoked a fire enhancement spell. At this point, he possessed over a thousand stones’ worth of spirit energy, so he didn’t have to pull back his punches.
Compared to the past when he was still in the hundreds, his improvement was tenfold, maybe more.
Lin Jin never had to worry about casting spells anymore. The Sky Furnace was an offense spell Lin Jin created based on Xiao Huo’s unique traits.
Due to its destructive potential, Lin Jin couldn’t use it under normal circumstances. Whoever was dragged into the Sky Furnace would surely die, even if they were immortals.
After all, Xiao Huo’s flames could not be underestimated.
If they could finish off this body profound immortal first, the two half immortals wouldn’t be an issue. Lin Jin could capture and interrogate them later.
A massive flaming tornado rose into the sky, stretching up to a thousand feet tall. It formed a bridge between the sky and the earth, and its thick trunk resembled the interior of a burning furnace.
Hence, the name ‘Sky Furnace’.
In Lin Jin’s opinion, the body profound immortal would likely succumb to the flames, now that he was trapped within the furnace.
A body that surpasses even magic treasures?
Even true magic treasures would be reduced to atoms inside the Sky Furnace. No matter how indestructible a person’s body was, it wasn’t made of steel. How could it possibly endure the heat inside the Sky Furnace?
Rumble!
The flames burned brighter than the sun, making it painful to even stare at.
Even after Lin Jin had invoked the Sky Furnace, the pillar of flames failed to break through the black clouds, which caused him to wonder what these clouds were made of.
The Sky Furnace was too forceful to be deployed for extended periods. Seconds later, when the limit was near, Lin Jin had to retract it.
Even a huge iron boulder would melt if placed inside the Sky Furnace for a few seconds. This was the main reason why Lin Jin believed that the body profound immortal would have died by now.
And yet, as the flames weakened and the Sky Furnace was about to die out, he heard a deafening roar.
