Chapter 60: Unleashing Divine Might

"Be careful. That fellow found those three from goodness knows where. While their individual strength isn't the absolute peak, their coordination is remarkably seamless."

Yue Qingcheng had naturally sensed Lin Fan's surging cultivation base. Though filled with endless curiosity, she understood that this was hardly the time for questions, and quickly issued a warning.

"Rest assured!"

Lin Fan nodded, offering the young woman a confident smile before turning his gaze to the robed youth standing behind the trio. This man was the one who had just spoken those arrogant words.

"I sense a trace of intense, fiery breath emanating from you. Could that beast flame be in your possession?"

The robed youth narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lin Fan, a flicker of ruthless intent dancing in his gaze as he demanded in a deep voice.

He had come to the Blazing Flame Valley precisely for that beast flame hidden within the Beast Flame Shrine—a secret known only to his lineage.

And now.

Someone had actually beaten him to the punch. How could he not be furious?

"Hand over the beast flame, and I can let bygones be bygones regarding your offense."

A person who had refined a beast flame could release the flame's origin, provided they willingly relinquished control over it.

However.

The consequences of doing so would deal a heavy blow to one's own foundation. If one were even slightly careless, it could result in being burned to ashes by the beast flame's source itself.

Anyone who would resort to such a method was either driven to a desperate end or simply courting death...

Clearly.

The robed youth did not care about Lin Fan's life in the slightest.

He only wanted the beast flame residing within the other's body.

"There is no reason to spit out food that has already entered one's belly. Regardless of who you are, since you've injured someone, don't even think about leaving in one piece."

As the words fell.

The atmosphere among the ruined halls instantly became intensely taut.

Three experts at the peak of the late Yuanfu realm formed a triangular formation, enclosing Lin Fan tightly in the center.

Their gazes were grave, the spirit weapons in their hands gleaming with cold light. Clearly, they had already mobilized their full spiritual energy.

"Do not kill him. Just cripple him. Leave him alive; I still have use for him."

Following the robed youth's command, one of the peak late Yuanfu realm experts let out a fierce roar and lunged toward Lin Fan alongside the others.

Lin Fan's expression remained unchanged, his eyes as calm as an ice lake. He gently stroked the long sword at his waist. This would be his very first battle after stepping into the peak of the late Yuanfu realm, and he intended to make it a brilliant one.

"Cripple me? Just based on these three trash fish?"

Lin Fan offered a chilling smile. In the next instant, his figure violently transformed into a blur. The very moment his long sword left its sheath, the entire space seemed to be cleaved in two, and an invisible sword qi swept outward.

The three experts only felt their vision blur as Lin Fan's figure shuttled back and forth among them like a ghost. The tip of his sword carried blazing spiritual energy, transforming into streaks of razor-sharp sword radiance that threatened to tear the heavens and earth apart.

"How can this fellow's spiritual energy be so scorching? It's actually burning away my own energy!"

One of them cried out in alarm, hastily waving the twin hammers in his hands to cross-block. Yet that sword radiance was like a raging beast; not only did it shatter his defense, but it also left a deep gouge on the surface of his hammers.

The other two fell into the exact same predicament. Their attacks could not touch the unpredictable Lin Fan at all. Instead, within just a few exchanges, they were completely suppressed by his swordsmanship, suffering setbacks one after another.

For a time, sword light crisscrossed and spiritual energy surged violently amid the ruins above the pit. Lin Fan descended like a god of war, every step accompanied by a thunderous boom and every sword strike carrying the might of a tempest.

The Raging Wind Sword Art—now that he had entered the Yuanfu realm, executing this technique made his offensive momentum grow increasingly ferocious.

Even so, as the battle progressed, Lin Fan gradually sensed that something was amiss.

Though his swordsmanship was formidable and his spiritual energy scorching, when facing these three experienced and well-coordinated opponents, he found himself always falling short by a hair's breadth from landing a decisive blow. Every time he attacked, they would deftly evade with clever footwork or block it with timely defenses.

Inwardly, Lin Fan grew solemn. He realized that his Mortal-grade superior movement technique, the Phantom Shadow Step, was gradually failing to keep up with the fierce rhythm of the current battle.

Whenever he tried to accelerate, he could feel the sluggishness and limitations inherent in the movement technique, whereas his opponents seemed completely at ease in that regard.

After exchanging a dozen blows, the three peak late Yuanfu realm experts wore grim expressions as they exchanged glances. They knew that if they did not unleash their true strength now, they might genuinely perish here today.

Suddenly, the auras surrounding them turned violent. Spiritual energy billowed like a massive tide, and dazzling radiances erupted from their bodies.

"Thunderous Might!" one of them roared, smashing the twin hammers forward. The raging spiritual energy instantly transformed into countless bolts of lightning, madly bombarding Lin Fan.

"Heaven-Shattering Fist!" Another gritted his teeth, unleashing his ultimate trump card. Terrifying power condensed upon his fist, as though it intended to shatter the heavens and earth.

"Rolling Clouds and Sweeping Wind!" The final one flourished his long sword, sending sword qi churning to form whirlwinds, attempting to engulf Lin Fan within them.

Facing the full-force strike of all three, Lin Fan showed not a shred of fear. A ruthless glint flickered in his eyes as the long sword in his hand trembled slightly, and a piercing, razor-sharp sword intent soared into the skies.

"Dividing Sword Shadows!"

Lin Fan let out a low internal cry. The long sword in his grip instantly splintered into countless sword images, every single one imbued with peerless sword qi and scorching spiritual energy.

At that moment, the entire space seemed saturated with these countless sword shadows, weaving together in mid-air to form a gigantic sword net that completely enveloped the attacks of the three experts.

"Oh no!"

The three of them felt a jolt of extreme terror. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that Lin Fan could execute such a horrifying sword art.

Beneath the might of the Dividing Sword Shadows, their attacks seemed utterly insignificant. Those dazzling radiances and violent forces were effortlessly torn apart by the sword images as though they were made of mere paper.

In the span of a single breath, two of the peak late Yuanfu realm experts didn't even get the chance to react before countless sword shadows pierced through them. Their defensive auras were as fragile as paper-mache, utterly incapable of withstanding that terrifying sword qi.

Their bodies trembled in mid-air as blood erupted like waterfalls, and finally, they plummeted limelessly to the ground, all signs of life extinguished.

As for the final expert, he had managed to react just in time to execute a defensive spirit skill. Although he resisted with all his might, he was still heavily battered by the sword shadows.

He was sent flying like a tattered sack, coughing up mouthfuls of blood before crashing heavily onto the ground, utterly devoid of the strength to rise again.

Lin Fan stood on the spot, his long sword already returned to its scabbard. His gaze was as cold as ice as he swept a glance over the corpses and the heavily wounded enemy, showing not a shred of mercy.

He turned his head to look at the robed youth, who had fallen into a state of utter stupefaction. The fellow's strength was mediocre, barely reaching the late Yuanfu realm, and his aura was unstable—clearly having forcefully elevated his cultivation via pills.

Such a person could be blasted to death by him without even needing to draw a sword.

"Lin Fan, don't—don't do anything rash. This person is a disciple of the Pill Hall."