I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - Chapter 408:

Chapter 408: 409
The sound echoed in the great hall.

“Xiong Da, what do you mean by this?”

Elder Ji’s body was immediately drenched in cold sweat. From the looks of it, Xiong Da had already reached an agreement with Li Xiaobai and had deliberately lured him and the Dry Flame Saint Child here. Had they been tricked again?

“Elder Ji, sorry about this, but I had already agreed with Young Master Li that, as long as Lord Cai could send troops to support us, I would hand over you and the Dry Flame Saint Child to the Young Master. Now that the third battlefield has been suppressed, it is natural for us to bring you before the Young Master.”

With a stern face, Xiong Da spoke in a deep voice.

“Hiss!”

As these words came out, they confirmed Elder Ji’s suspicion, and he couldn’t help but take a sharp intake of cold air.

The Dry Flame Saint Child was also full of disbelief. They had just reached an agreement with Xiong Da two days ago, becoming allies, and now they were betrayed at the drop of a hat.

Previously, they had mocked Xiong Da for his stupidity, planning to kick him to the curb once they were done using him. Yet before they could even initiate their plan, they had been sold out. This move left them feeling utterly outplayed.

“Lord Xiong, how could you do this? Didn’t we just agree two days ago to join forces and help each other?”

“Could it be that, in Lord Xiong’s eyes, the heritage of Fire Qilin Cave cannot even compare to that measly Huazi?”

Elder Ji spoke with a restrained anger, his palms and temples sweating slightly, his eyes frantically searching the great hall for an escape route.

“Indeed, Lord Xiong, to think I, the Saint Heir, considered you a confidant. I was wrong about you!”

The Dry Flame Saint Child also screamed in shock, continuously using exaggerated language to buy time. It understood that once the main topic was broached, it would be its time to die, so it had to find a way to escape as quickly as possible.

As long as it could save its life, there was always a chance to start over.

“Compared to the lofty but intangible promises the two of you offered, I place more trust in tangible benefits that I can see and touch. Moreover, all I asked for were the elixirs and resources that can enhance one’s cultivation realm. Whatever Fire Qilin Cave can offer, Huazi can as well, and to better effect.”

“All I can do is apologize to you both; may there be no sickness or pain in the Immortal Realm.”

Xiong Da spoke in a somber tone, his mind now fixated solely on Huazi, leaving no room for anything else. As for the people of Fire Qilin Cave, whatever happens to them is none of his concern.

“Saint Heir, run quickly!”

Elder Ji’s hair stood on end in an instant as he operated his cultivation technique, his fists evolving into magma and abruptly smashing towards the people in the bathhouse.

“Roar!”

A fiery red Qilin Divine Beast stepped forward from the void, its cry echoing through heaven and earth.

“Elder Ji, thank you! Fire Qilin Cave will remember you!”

The Dry Flame Saint Child was also decisive, turning to run. He executed his escape technique to the extreme, and in an instant, he vanished within the great hall.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss!”

The water in the bathhouse evaporated in an instant in the face of the terrifying high temperature, turning into a dense mist.

Fiery red, scale-covered lava claws pierced through space, reaching straight for the crowd.

“Young Master Li, today I shall test the true strength of a top expert from the Great Crossing Realm!”

Elder Ji roared, though Xiong Da had already revealed that the black flames that day had come from Li Xiaobai’s arm, and that the strange ability to control cultivators within them was likely Li Xiaobai’s technique, these were after all only rumors, never witnessed firsthand, so the reverence wasn’t as strong.

Perhaps this is what people mean by ‘courting death.’

To his surprise, there was no one in the pool who took action against him, not even any resistance.

With Cai Kunxu and Yang Guang leading the way, all the cultivators slowly moved behind Li Xiaobai, as if leaving everything to him would mean there were no problems.

This action further ignited the rage in Elder Ji’s heart; he felt belittled. The force on his fiery giant claw unconsciously increased, warping the air with its scorching heat and emitting a sharp, piercing shriek.

Watching everything before him, Li Xiaobai smiled faintly, hands clasped behind his back, and met the challenge head-on without dodging or evading.

It was quite rare for Great Crossing Realm Cultivators to actively come over and contribute Attribute Points.

[Attribute Points +10000…]

[Attribute Points +20000…]

“Hmm, not bad, worthy of being a Great Crossing Realm cultivator, the offensive is much stronger than that of an ordinary cultivator,” Li Xiaobai nodded, his eyes expressing approval; he quite enjoyed being hammered by this wave.

“This is impossible, how could my attack be completely ineffective!” Elder Ji’s face showed shock and disbelief as he exclaimed. He only felt that his strength and Spiritual Power dissipated into Li Xiaobai’s chest like a stone sinking into the sea, without causing even a small splash.

The opponent didn’t even employ a Cultivation Technique to defend against the attack, simply relying on his physical body to block it. What kind of cultivation level was this?

Keep in mind, he wasn’t just any ordinary Great Crossing Realm cultivator. In terms of cultivation level, he could be considered above average among his peers, and with the Qilin Bloodline, his strength allowed him to battle beyond his level. But now, his attacks were utterly ineffective.

Easily deflected.

“How could a mere Great Crossing Realm cultivation level inflict harm on me?”

“However, Elder Ji’s loyalty to the Dry Flame Saint Child is commendable; to choose to sacrifice yourself to aid his escape, I admire that!”

“It’s just a pity that the moment you stepped into the great hall, your fate was already sealed. No matter how you struggle now, it is all in vain.”

Li Xiaobai slowly stood up from the pool, his wrist flipping as a longsword appeared in his hand, lifting it slowly above his head before slashing down fiercely.

“Hundred Percent Barehanded Blade Catch!”

Elder Ji’s color changed drastically. He frantically circulated his cultivation technique to resist this sword strike. The massive sword glow he envisioned did not materialize, but the next second, he felt his body become immobile, as the cultivation technique raging in his Dantian was abruptly stopped.

“Pfft!”

His meridians were damaged, and he coughed up blood profusely.

Moments later, his body uncontrollably dashed towards Li Xiaobai, falling to his knees, hands raised high, firmly catching the longsword in Li Xiaobai’s hands.

The Qilin Divine Beast in the void also vanished without a trace with a roar, the wild aura in the hall melted away like ice and snow, leaving only the shadow of a man kneeling.

This feeling, this scene, he was all too familiar with it—it was exactly like the encounter when he had sneaked into the fourth battlefield. Without any power to resist, he realized how enormous the gap was between him and Li Xiaobai at this moment!

“Swoosh!”

Another dark figure dashed into the hall from outside, also falling to their knees, hands raised high, also showing a confused and shocked face, prostrating on the ground; it was none other than the Dry Flame Saint Child.

This familiar sensation once again reminded him of the fear of being dominated by the black flame.

“Demon Sword Li Xiaobai, Sword Imprisonment, Demon’s Wicked Sword, is this the origin of the Demon Sword?”

“Young Master Li, my Fire Qilin Cave has endless resources. If only you could spare my life, my treasury is always open to you!”