Yanxin let out a low growl and slammed its front hooves into the ground. The earth exploded with a roar, and a stream of fiery magma shot out like a venomous snake straight at the Man in Black.
Seeing this, Lu Lei snapped back to reality and blurted out, "Big sis, so you weren't actually berserk?"
The Man in Black flicked his sleeves, and the purplish-black ghost fire surrounding him formed a shield in front of him. However, under the impact of the magma, it hissed and spat foul-smelling, thick smoke.
"You courting death, you beast!"
The Man in Black shouted angrily, flicking a white bone nail dharma artifact from his fingertips.
The bone nail swelled rapidly in the wind, instantly transforming into a three-zhang-long bone spear that rode a gust of ghostly wind straight toward Yanxin's glabella.
"Clang!"
Lu Lei flashed forward, pushing the Bronze Skin Iron Bone Art to its absolute limit, using his physical body to block the bone spear.
"Crack!"
Amidst a splatter of sparks, Lu Lei's feet sank deep into the scorched earth. His left shoulder was pierced clean through by the bone spear, and finally, his whole body was smashed into the rock wall like a sack of broken rags.
Yet, like an unkillable cockroach, Lu Lei quickly crawled back out.
He gritted his teeth and pulled out the bone spear. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth as he grinned fiercely, "What's the big deal about hitting it? If you've got the guts, come at me!"
Hearing Lu Lei's words, Yanxin's beastly pupils trembled slightly, filled entirely with affection. The bloody flames on its horn surged violently, faintly condensing into the shape of a sword.
"Hmph, Body Cultivators are such a pain!"
The Man in Black was just about to deliver a finishing blow when Yanxin suddenly bolted on all fours, charging fiercely at him.
The Man in Black sneered, and a bloody skull banner flew out from his sleeve.
The moment the banner unfurled, ghostly winds howled across a radius of ten zhang, and countless resentful souls shrieked as they formed chains, tightly binding Lu Lei and Yanxin.
"A Yellow-grade intermediate dharma artifact—Hundred-Soul Banner!"
The Man in Black bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of vital essence blood onto the banner's surface.
"It is your honor to die beneath this banner!"
The resentful soul chains suddenly tightened. The sheer, massive force was more than even Lu Lei's peak Bronze Skin Realm physique could withstand; his skin split open directly, blood gushing out, and even the scales on Yanxin's body began to flake off piece by piece.
Worse still, the man and the beast were completely immobilized, unable to move a muscle.
Taking advantage of the opening, the Man in Black formed hand seals, and the previously used black-flamed short blade flew up, aiming straight for Lu Lei's face.
"Roar—!"
At this critical moment, the bloody flames on Yanxin's horn transformed into a crimson giant sword, which slashed apart the resentful soul chains binding them with a single stroke, freeing both man and beast.
"Mountain-Crushing Fist!"
Seizing the chance, Lu Lei roared and threw a punch, using the enormous force to knock the short blade flying.
"Hmph, nothing more than a dying struggle."
The Man in Black sneered as a giant hand made of white bone appeared out of thin air, a scarlet ghost eye opening in its palm.
"Yellow-grade superior Spirit Skill—Ghost Hand Soul-Seizure!"
The ghost eye's crimson light flared as it locked onto Yanxin, abruptly freezing the beast in its tracks.
The giant bone hand seized this opportunity to grab its neck. Under the immense pressure, Yanxin's scales shattered inch by inch, and even its breathing began to falter.
"Let it go!!"
With his eyes splitting and his vision bursting, Lu Lei rushed toward the Man in Black, bathed in blood.
Under the suppression of the Hundred-Soul Banner, his peak Bronze Skin Realm body felt no sturdier than a mortal's. Several resentful souls tore savagely at his flesh and blood, but he remained utterly oblivious.
"Idol, you can't even save your own skin, yet you still want to rescue others?"
The Man in Black sneered. The giant bone hand tightened abruptly, eliciting a shrill, miserable howl from Yanxin.
At that split second, Lu Lei suddenly changed direction, slamming his iron fist straight into his own chest!
"Puff!"
Lu Lei spat a mouthful of vital essence blood onto the resentful souls of the Hundred-Soul Banner. The intensely yang blood Qi caused those chilling, cold resentful souls to emit piercing shrieks as they scattered in all directions, and the glow of the Hundred-Soul Banner dimmed significantly in an instant.
"Now is the time!"
A flash of resolute determination crossed Lu Lei's eyes as he leaped into the air. Pushing the Bronze Skin Iron Bone Art to its absolute limit, his fist carried the momentum of wind and thunder as it smashed fiercely into the giant bone hand.
"Break—for me!!"
The moment his fist collided with the giant bone hand, a deafening roar erupted.
However, Lu Lei's expression abruptly shifted—the giant bone hand remained completely motionless, and instead, a terrifying rebounding force surged back.
"Crack!"
Lu Lei's finger bones shattered instantly. The backlash spread from his fist throughout his entire body, feeling as though his internal organs had been struck by a heavy hammer, and blood spewed wildly from his mouth.
His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the charred rock wall. The rock wall fractured instantly, and gravel fell in a rustle, burying most of Lu Lei's body.
"Cough, cough..."
Lu Lei lay limp on the ground, his chest heaving violently, every breath bringing a tearing pain.
He looked down; his fist was a bloody mess, and the excruciating pain of his shattered finger bones made cold sweat break out across his forehead.
"Hahaha!"
Seeing this, the Man in Black let out a harsh, mocking laugh.
"A mere Bronze Skin Realm cultivator, and you dare to forcefully clash with a Yellow-grade superior Spirit Skill? Truly overestimating your own capabilities!"
[Ding! The host is on the verge of death and has entered an exhausted state! Please replenish your energy!]
Trembling, Lu Lei tried to pull out a Spirit-Replenishing Pill to consume.
Yet the Man in Black did not give Lu Lei the time to take medicine as the short blade that had been batted away flew up once more.
The Man in Black said, "You deserve praise for lasting this long, but... die nonetheless!"
The piercing sound of breaking air abruptly tore through the atmosphere as the short blade turned into a streak of light, aiming straight for Lu Lei's glabella.
As Lu Lei watched the short blade about to pierce through him, Yanxin's dark gold pupils suddenly contracted into vertical slits, and ancient bloody patterns emerged upon the single horn on its forehead.
It slammed its front hooves heavily into the ground, causing the rubble within a radius of ten zhang to defy gravity and float up into the air.
"Moo—!"
A crimson beam of light shot forth from its horn, scorching the grass and trees into carbon wherever it passed.
The giant bone hand was pierced through like thin paper, and the remaining force of the crimson beam blasted a medium-sized blood hole into the chest of the Man in Black.
The short blade, just moments away from delivering the fatal blow, suddenly spiraled out of control and plunged deeply into the rock layer right beside Lu Lei's ear.
As it turned out, seeing that Lu Lei had been severely injured in order to save it, Yanxin's bloodline power was instantly ignited. Combined with the effects of the Berserk Beast Incense, it forcefully triggered a bloodline Spirit Skill—Crimson Firmament Piercing the Sun.
It swore to protect Lu Lei to the death!
"Cough, cough... To think you could actually injure me..."
Clutching the bloody hole blasted through his chest by the crimson beam, the Man in Black staggered backward, a fierce, murderous light blazing in his eyes.
His black robe was charred black by the bloody flames, and foul-smelling black smoke rose from the wound on his chest, indicating he was clearly not lightly hurt.
Even so, his cultivation was superior to Yanxin's to begin with, and coupled with the fact that Crimson Firmament Piercing the Sun's power had already been substantially weakened by the giant bone hand, the Man in Black had not completely lost his combat capability. Instead, anger had only driven him into an even more savage frenzy.
"You court death, you wretched beast!"
Gritting his teeth, the Man in Black stepped toward Yanxin step by step.
He intended to torture and slaughter this beast to vent the hatred in his heart.
Yanxin lay collapsed on the ground, the bloody flames on its horn completely extinguished.
Having just forcibly unleashed the bloodline Spirit Skill "Crimson Firmament Piercing the Sun," it had long since exhausted all its spiritual power, and at this moment, it lacked even the strength to stand up.
"Roar..."
Yanxin let out a low growl, its beastly pupils filled with exhaustion and unwillingness.
It laboriously raised its head, looking at Lu Lei, who lay heavily injured and collapsed not far away, a trace of tenderness flashing in its eyes.
It was only a pity that, in the end, it still failed to save that person.
"How touching..."
The Man in Black sneered. "Unfortunately, you are both going to die!"