Chapter 143: Obliteration by the Barrier

The Lion Ridge Kingdom and the Immortal Wu Dynasty were neighboring countries, sharing a border. Therefore, Xia Jiuxuan's flight from the Lion Ridge Kingdom into the Immortal Wu Dynasty was entirely safe.

Roughly a day later, Xia Jiuxuan and his party arrived at the border, mere kilometers away from the territory of the Immortal Wu Dynasty.

"Stop."

After flying a few more kilometers, Xia Jiuxuan touched down on the border line. Crossing this line meant stepping directly into the territory of the Immortal Wu Dynasty. It also meant that the protective barrier of the Lion Ridge Kingdom would cease to shield them.

The others landed, coming to a halt behind Xia Jiuxuan.

"Big Brother, is there danger ahead?" Qin Wei asked.

"Danger? Far worse than that. Take another step, and we will surely be blasted to dust." Xia Jiuxuan narrowed his eyes as he looked up into the sky.

The azure sky looked completely empty, yet it was densely packed with lethal formations. To make matters worse, the barrier of the Immortal Wu Dynasty was wide open.

"It seems that old bastard's soul power has grown quite a bit."

The person Xia Jiuxuan referred to was naturally the Emperor of the Immortal Wu Dynasty, Yu Guiyuan. Before Xia Jiuxuan had left the Immortal Wu Dynasty, Yu Guiyuan had been decrepit and on the verge of death. In such a state, it would have been utterly impossible for him to control the barrier. The only explanation was that Yu Guiyuan's life had been prolonged, and his soul power had increased.

"Big Brother, what should we do then? How about we stay hidden in the Lion Ridge Kingdom? At worst, we just won't go to the imperial capital," someone suggested.

"Hide? Why would I hide? What I'm considering is how to kill more of them!" Xia Jiuxuan said coldly.

"But... with our current strength, we are no match for the experts of the outside world," Xu Fei said from the side.

"Stay here, do not cross the barrier, and just watch."

Without further ado, Xia Jiuxuan stepped forward, crossing the boundary of the barrier.

Rumble!

Instantly, the heavens and earth trembled. Terrifying bolts of lightning snaked across the sky, and phantom sword images materialized out of thin air. Even beneath Xia Jiuxuan's feet, the ground turned into a muddy quagmire, trapping him firmly.

Yet, all of this had been anticipated by Xia Jiuxuan. Restricting formations, killing formations, illusion formations... various arrays descended upon him in a continuous stream. Without preparation, even a peak Return-to-Origin realm expert would likely have been obliterated here.

"Little bastard, die!"

Seeing the killing formations descend and leaving Xia Jiuxuan with no path of escape, the hidden figures of the experts began to emerge. The sky was densely packed with upward of ten thousand people staring intently below.

"A bunch of trash!"

The corner of Xia Jiuxuan's mouth curled upward. A purple banner suddenly materialized and hovered before him.

"Space lockdown!"

Instantly, centered on Xia Jiuxuan, the space within a hundred-zhang radius solidified.

Rumble!

Those powerful formation attacks rained down upon the solidified space like a torrential downpour.

"Fool! Do you really think a Profound-grade magical treasure can withstand our formation attacks?!"

Under the ferocious onslaught, the solidified space began to fracture.

Xia Jiuxuan, however, showed not a hint of panic. With a flash, he flew out from the sealed space and landed safely back within the borders of the Lion Ridge Kingdom.

Those devastating attacks slammed into the ground, obliterating the forest and earth across a radius of ten miles, leaving behind a massive crater a hundred zhang deep. Yet Xia Jiuxuan, safely inside the barrier, remained completely unharmed.

"The wretch escaped!" an angry roar echoed from the sky.

Xia Jiuxuan's expression remained indifferent. His maneuver just then had been precisely to shatter the sky-full of killing formations and flush out the lurking experts of the outside world.

"That was too close!"

"Big Brother, how did you escape from that restriction formation?"

The group of youths looked on in absolute disbelief.

"Once my banner solidifies the space, the restriction formations fail. Isn't it child's play to escape after that?"

Before stepping out of the barrier, Xia Jiuxuan had already calculated how to make a safe escape; otherwise, he wouldn't have foolishly taken such a risk.

"Xia Jiuxuan, you can't run forever! Do you intend to cower like a turtle for the rest of your life?!"

"Cower your grandmother's ghost! I'm coming right back out—if you've got the guts, come and kill me!" Xia Jiuxuan roared up at the sky.

Immediately afterward, he once again stepped across the boundary of the barrier, venturing dozens of zhang away from the Lion Ridge Kingdom's border line. This was a deliberate opening Xia Jiuxuan left for them!

"A golden opportunity!"

Seeing this, the sect masters and elders were overjoyed.

"This fellow is too arrogant! He is dozens of zhang away from the border. With my speed, I can instantly kill him!"

Li Hengyang's heart surged with excitement. After chasing for so long, the opportunity had finally arrived!

"Kill!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Li Hengyang was the first to dive downward. Behind him, several formidable elders and Bai Wendao also plunged downward for the kill.

"Good."

Watching the rapidly descending figures, Xia Jiuxuan's lips curled into a mysterious smile.

"Big Brother, watch out!"

Feeling the overwhelming pressure that shook the heavens, the youths from the mortal kingdom felt their hearts leap into their throats, worrying anxiously for Xia Jiuxuan. Under such ferocious attacks, what chance of escape could possibly remain?

*Ah, is Big Brother Xia going to die?* Sorrow inevitably welled up in everyone's hearts.

In merely a breath's time, over a dozen powerful figures descended, closing to within a hundred zhang of Xia Jiuxuan.

Boom, boom, boom!

Terrifying assaults all converged upon Xia Jiuxuan with lethal intent.

"Suppress!"

At this critical juncture, Xia Jiuxuan willed his mind, manipulating the soul pearl.

The barrier descended.

The abruptly materializing barrier engulfed the figures of those few individuals.

"Not good! A barrier!"

Li Hengyang was the first to react, his eyes filled with terror. He tried to pull back and escape, only to find he could no longer halt his rapid downward plunge.

"Ah!"

Screams rang out one after another. Those dozen-odd external experts were already compressed by the barrier, suffering excruciating agony.

"Suppress!"

Xia Jiuxuan uttered a soft command, and the barrier rapidly constricted.

Bang, bang, bang...

With a series of explosive reports, those dozen-odd external experts were all reduced to bloody mist.

"Elder Li!"

Up in the sky, the Sect Master of the Clear Wind Sect widened his eyes and let out a furious roar!

"A barrier! How did a barrier suddenly appear?!"

"That old scoundrel Yu Guiyuan! He deceived us!"

"Why?! Why would that old scoundrel help Xia Jiuxuan?!"

None of them could make sense of it. Seeing that Xia Jiuxuan was about to be obliterated, why would Yu Guiyuan release the barrier and doom a group of elders? This score had to be settled with Yu Guiyuan, no matter what!

"Pity, I only killed a dozen of them."

Xia Jiuxuan shook his head, not entirely satisfied with the result. He had originally expected at least several hundred people to charge down to kill him, in which case he could have utilized the barrier to wipe them all out.

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"

"Those who court death bring it upon themselves!"

"Big Brother is invincible!"

The youths from the mortal kingdom leaped across, landing inside the territory of the Immortal Wu state.

High above, the ten thousand-plus external experts watched Xia Jiuxuan and the others chatting and laughing nonchalantly, completely powerless to do anything. Every single one of them was so angry they wished they were dead.

At that moment, the figure of Yang Guirong descended, stopping at the edge of the barrier. He exchanged a calm gaze with Xia Jiuxuan across the brief distance.

"Xia Jiuxuan, do you really think that by hiding inside the barrier, this old man can do nothing to you?" Yang Guirong asked very calmly.

"If you have any methods, feel free to use them. I'll wait," Xia Jiuxuan replied, looking back at him with equal composure.

"Very well! Just wait, within a month, this old man will surely kill you!"

With that, Yang Guirong turned around and flew back up into the sky without looking back.