Suddenly, a shadow flashed past Daozun, silently. By the time it erupted, its power was so immense that Daozun felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.
"Sword, come!"
Jiujian Zhenjun also instinctively sensed the danger. The prickling sensation on his skin made him dare not hesitate for a moment, directly unleashing the Nine Swords.
Nine divine swords immediately flew from the scabbards behind him, forming a nine-pointed sword formation that enveloped Jiujian Zhenjun and Tianhua Zhenjun.
Whoosh!
The black shadow's power was far beyond Jiujian Zhenjun's expectations. It quickly broke through the Nine Swords and swept towards Tianhua Zhenjun.
Tianhua Zhenjun remained calm, flipping his hand to produce a verdant green seed. He gently squeezed it, and the seed shattered, blooming into a nine-petaled green lotus that enveloped Tianhua Zhenjun.
Riiip!
The black shadow's hands, like the talons of an ancient eagle, carried a sharp aura that could tear apart all things. They fiercely scraped across the nine-petaled green lotus.
Petals of green lotus were torn into scraps, exposing Tianhua Zhenjun within. Just as the black shadow was delighted and intended to press further, the nine-petaled green lotus slowly rotated. Petals of green lotus grew, once again enveloping Tianhua Zhenjun.
"Alas!"
Seeing this, the black shadow couldn't help but pause and sigh softly. He had thought he could eliminate Tianhua Zhenjun in one fell swoop, but he had underestimated Tianhua Zhenjun's life-saving abilities.
This black shadow was none other than Lin Yun, who had shattered his core and formed his nascent soul. Although he had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, the Golden Core he had condensed was only a third-grade one, and the Nascent Soul formed was also a black Nascent Soul. His strength was merely on par with that of an ordinary first-grade Golden Core cultivator.
According to the grade of the condensed Golden Core, there were differences in the Nascent Soul formed after breaking through.
The lowest grade Nascent Soul was formed after the shattering of a third-grade Golden Core, resulting in a black Nascent Soul.
Black Nascent Souls were the most common among Nascent Soul stage cultivators. In the Wushan Starfield, although there were nearly a hundred Nascent Soul stage cultivators, over seventy percent of them were black Nascent Souls.
For cultivators who had reached the second-grade Golden Core realm and shattered their Golden Core to form a Nascent Soul, the Nascent Soul would appear silver. Such powerful individuals, once they broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, would be difficult for even peak cultivators of the first-grade Golden Core to contend with.
As for the Nascent Soul formed by a first-grade Golden Core cultivator, it would be a golden Nascent Soul. However, such Nascent Souls were extremely rare, far rarer than first-grade Golden Core cultivators themselves.
"Get lost!"
Jiujian Zhenjun wielded a massive divine sword, which was the state of the Nine Swords merged into one. All nine divine swords were of the mid-grade spirit treasure level. Once the Nine Swords merged, their power was infinitely close to that of a high-grade spirit treasure.
Like a colossal mountain pressing down, the massive divine sword, carrying a heavy pressure, slashed towards the shadow. Space seemed to be momentarily bound, and the shadow, with no way to evade, could only meet it head-on.
After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, Lin Yun didn't pay much attention to anyone who wasn't a first-grade Golden Core cultivator. Facing Jiujian Zhenjun's sword filled with immense weight, Lin Yun directly extended his claw...
The spirit treasure glove collided with the massive divine sword. Lin Yun's five fingers closed, gripping the sword's body. His profound Nascent Soul magic power surged out, attempting to snatch the divine sword away.
"A Nascent Soul stage cultivator?"
Jiujian Zhenjun's expression changed slightly as he felt the powerful tug of the Nascent Soul energy. However, in terms of strength, he was not afraid at all.
"Open!"
Jiujian Zhenjun roared, his strength instantly surging, directly forcing Lin Yun's palm away.
"Divine Ability, Nine Swords!"
After forcing Lin Yun back, Jiujian Zhenjun did not guard and directly unleashed his Nine Swords Divine Ability!
A colossal sword image condensed above Jiujian Zhenjun's head, emitting a fierce and powerful sword aura that even made Lin Yun's heart tremble.
"Shadow Shield!"
Endless black light spewed from Lin Yun's body, rapidly forming an incredibly dark shield in front of him. Black light flowed across the shield, resembling a black hole, seemingly capable of devouring everything.
Boom!
The colossal sword image swept down, striking the dark shield. The flowing black light on the dark shield continuously corroded and weakened the sword image's power.
After less than a breath of stalemate, Lin Yun felt immense pressure. He stared at the dark shield, pushing it forward with all his might. Seizing this brief interval, he unleashed the Way of Shadow, his form flickering as he dodged the sword strike.
Jiujian Zhenjun, who had cultivated the "Nine Swords Divine Ability" to the perfect stage, even without using his divine ability, possessed strength comparable to an ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
With the eruption of his divine ability, his power was even closer to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator who had passed their first tribulation. Lin Yun found it difficult to resist.
"To think he's a Golden Core True Monarch comparable to Heavenly Ranking experts!"
Having witnessed Jiujian Zhenjun's strength, Lin Yun finally understood that this Golden Core stage cultivator, who looked like a youth, was definitely an expert ranked on the Heavenly Ranking.
The divine ability strike just now had been close to the power of a cultivator in their first Nascent Soul tribulation, and even he was far inferior.
Lin Yun took a deep look at Jiujian Zhenjun and once again unleashed the Way of Shadow, entering a stealth state.
Cultivators who practiced the Way of Shadow were extremely formidable assassins. Although Lin Yun's frontal combat strength could only be considered ordinary, his assassination techniques were indeed terrifying.
Furthermore, now that he had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, he might have no way to deal with an expert like Jiujian Zhenjun, but assassinating ordinary second-grade and third-grade Golden Core cultivators was extremely easy.
"I didn't expect this old man to have entered the Nascent Soul stage."
Seeing Lin Yun escape from under Jiujian Zhenjun's hands, Daozun's expression was slightly grave.
He had seen Lin Yun before; he was just an ordinary third-grade Golden Core cultivator. If he had made a move, even if Lin Yun practiced the Way of Shadow, he was confident he could have dealt with him easily within ten moves.
But facing Lin Yun again now, the situation was entirely different. Although his life-saving ability was exceptionally strong, known for being able to escape from Nascent Soul stage cultivators, that was only against the most ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
In the hands of a Nascent Soul expert like Lin Yun, who was skilled in assassination, tracking, and stealth, he truly had little confidence in escaping.
"Who is he?"
Jiujian Zhenjun and Tianhua Zhenjun both looked at Daozun, slightly perplexed.
"He was just a subordinate of that Grandmaster Zhang. But now that he has broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, it's a bit troublesome."
Daozun's eyes held an unreadable expression as he spoke.
"He's just a black Nascent Soul cultivator who hasn't even passed the first Nascent Soul tribulation. If he dares to attack me again, I will ensure he never returns."
Jiujian Zhenjun's expression was arrogant, completely disregarding this cultivator who had just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.
As for Lin Yun assassinating other Golden Core stage cultivators at this moment, he, Jiujian Zhenjun, paid no mind. Other Golden Core stage cultivators were merely obstacles on his path to seize opportunities. Even if Lin Yun didn't make a move, he would eventually eliminate them.
Since Lin Yun was willing to help, he didn't mind being the oriole in the back.
Seeing Jiujian Zhenjun's expression, Daozun couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, a sense of foreboding gnawing at him.
Lin Yun breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage only made him feel slightly troubled. After all, there were over a hundred Golden Core stage cultivators here. If it were a direct confrontation, even Lin Yun couldn't withstand it.
However, in just over half a year, Lin Yun had made such great progress. What was the strength of that Grandmaster Zhang now?