"The true qi within a martial master is much stronger than that of a martial warrior," Li Lin stood up, feeling the true qi he had just devoured. He had reached his limit of absorption. Fortunately, the giant man was already severely injured and had almost exhausted his energy. What Li Lin absorbed was merely the most basic true qi within him. Otherwise, completely absorbing the true qi of a fifth-level martial master would have caused his body to explode.

Li Lin then searched the giant man's body and found a space bag and a cloth bag, which contained the scent-tracking mouse. This first-order demon beast didn't concern Li Lin much, so he casually threw it away and disappeared from the spot instantly. The recent commotion would surely attract many people, and with his own injuries, it was best to leave immediately.

Moreover, he needed to heal his wounds urgently and refine the absorbed true qi, which had reached a critical point.

Shortly after Li Lin left, numerous figures rapidly descended from the surrounding woods. They were mercenaries and teams from the Misty Mountain Range, all staring in surprise at the giant man's corpse.

"Who did this? The Berserk Wolf Mercenary Group is no more."

"Well, they deserved it. The Berserk Wolf Mercenary Group always engaged in unscrupulous deals. Now they've been wiped out. It's karma."

...

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be so beautiful here."

In a secluded canyon, two figures appeared – a stunningly beautiful girl in green attire and her delicate maid.

The two women had wandered through the Misty Mountain Range and inadvertently found this canyon, which was currently Li Lin's dwelling place.

"Miss, look, there's a hot spring here. It's even better than the one in our sect," the delicate maid remarked, looking at the crystal-clear hot spring in the canyon.

"It's been a long time since I bathed in the Misty Mountain Range. This is perfect," the stunningly beautiful girl said with a smile.

"Miss, are you going to bathe here? What if someone comes?" the maid exclaimed in surprise.

"Dong Mei, why don't you join me?" the beautiful girl said, and with a flash, she jumped into the hot spring. Her hair spread out, and her clothes were quickly left outside the spring.

"Splash!"

In the hot spring, the beautiful girl emerged, her shoulders visible above the water, her hair floating on the surface, adding to her allure.

"Alright, it should be safe here," the maid muttered, looking around. She then removed her clothes on the shore. As she undressed, her white, smooth skin and slender waist were revealed from behind. She walked slowly towards the hot spring.

Although the maid's beauty was not on par with the stunning girl, her figure was also shapely. Compared to anyone other than the beautiful girl, she would be considered a beauty.

The two women started to play in the hot spring. Not being able to bathe for a month in the Misty Mountain Range was torture for young girls, but now they were joyfully frolicking in the hot spring.

Li Lin, on his way back, needed to heal as quickly as possible. The secluded canyon where he had been staying for the past few days was undoubtedly the best place, as it was hidden and unlikely to be found by others.

He passed through a concealed entrance in the forest and a thicket of bushes, returning to the canyon. Without paying much attention, he headed towards the cave.

However, from the corner of his eye, he noticed an unusual colored object on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a woman's garment. His gaze then shifted towards the hot spring ahead, and subconsciously, Li Lin thought there might be women bathing there.

"Bang bang bang...!"

A deafening sound of sonic booms echoed, and space shattered like thunderclaps, unleashing a violent force onto Li Lin. The Qing Ling Armor's light dimmed instantly, and he spat out a stream of blood. Even with the armor, Li Lin couldn't avoid injury from this overpowering force. The giant man's final all-out attack was so strong that Li Lin felt it was on the level of a third-tier martial master.

"Pfft..."

Compared to Li Lin, the giant man was in a worse state, his weakened body flung dozens of meters away. He sprayed a cloud of blood before crashing heavily onto a withered tree, falling to the ground along with it.

After ingesting a healing pill, Li Lin approached the giant man's body.

"Spiritual technique, you're a spiritualist!" the giant man exclaimed in horror as he looked at Li Lin. The technique Li Lin had just used was undoubtedly a spiritual technique. Although he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it. A triple-element warrior and a spiritualist, how was this possible? Who was this youngster?

"Correct, now you can die peacefully," Li Lin said coldly, his eyes flashing with a murderous intent as he placed a claw mark on the giant man's heavenly cover.

The giant man had no strength left to resist. A sudden, sharp pain erupted in his mind, followed by uncontrollable spasms as his true qi was forcibly extracted from his body.

"What are you doing..." The giant man cried out in fear, a sense of panic spreading from the depths of his soul, but it was too late for him to be afraid.

"Ah..."

As his true qi was forcibly extracted, akin to reversing his meridians, the giant man let out a miserable scream. In just ten minutes, he turned into a dried corpse.

---

At the sight before him, two smooth and beautiful bodies were frolicking in the hot spring, one delicate-looking and the other, upon seeing her, Li Lin's mind blanked, astonished at her unparalleled beauty.

She was an exceptionally beautiful girl with skin like creamy jade, subtly luminescent. Her ink-like hair draped silently over the water's surface, adding a soft and delicate

beauty, with a touch of allure. Her features were exquisitely crafted, like carved jade. The graceful neck, the white skin shining under the light, added to her captivating and radiant beauty. Her deep, black eyes sparkled with life, her bright eyes and white teeth making her seem like a fairy.

This was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women Li Lin had ever seen, not inferior to Li WuShuang, and perhaps even surpassing her.

Li Lin couldn't help but think of Lan Ling, Yang Miao, Li Mei, Du Gu BingLan, and others. This stunning girl before him was definitely a notch above them.

The hot spring was crystal clear, and the ripples in the water allowed Li Lin to catch glimpses of the smooth, fair bodies beneath the surface. The gentle movements in the water made the breasts of the beautiful girl move rhythmically, and below the smooth abdomen, a vague shadow added to the charm of this bathing beauty scene, causing Li Lin to feel a natural male impulse rising uncontrollably.

"Ah..."

Just then, the delicate maid screamed, finally noticing a figure standing not far from the edge of the hot spring, and it was a man.

"Not good." Li Lin's heart sank. He had already sensed the stunning girl's high cultivation level and immediately planned to leave, leaping towards the canyon's exit.

"Little thief, die!" A sharp voice rang out, followed by a green shadow swiftly attacking Li Lin from behind.

The sharp sound of the wind approached, and Li Lin, unalarmed, prepared to defend himself with the Qing Ling Armor. The opponent's strength was much greater than he had anticipated.

"Smack smack..."

Li Lin still underestimated the opponent's strength. A powerful force struck him, dimming the Qing Ling Armor and hurling him harshly to the ground. Already injured, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Now, a green figure stood before Li Lin. She was clad in green, embroidered with light blue patterns, her attire accentuating her graceful and curvaceous figure, with a slender waist and long, beautiful legs. However, her face was filled with rage, looking as if she wanted to kill Li Lin then and there.

"I'll kill you, you voyeur!" The beautiful girl angrily shouted, her hand forming a palm print and pressing down towards him.

"Such strong power, this girl must be the one who injured the giant man from the Berserk Wolf Mercenary Group," Li Lin thought, recalling memories he had acquired from one of the mercenaries. This girl, who injured the giant man, was terrifyingly powerful.

Li Lin rolled away in a hurry, dodging the palm print that hit where he had just been, cracking the ground.

"I must escape, or I'll surely die," Li Lin thought, his heart sinking. He was no match for her and needed to flee immediately. He trembled with true qi, trying to escape.

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"Dream on, if you think you can escape," the beautiful girl shouted, her hand sending another green shadow striking Li Lin, who unsurprisingly crashed heavily to the ground, blood surging within him and spewing out again.

"Enough, you woman," Li Lin got up, glaring furiously at the beautiful girl in front of him, his pale face showing anger. This made the beautiful girl pause momentarily in surprise.

"This canyon is where I've set up camp. You entered without my permission, and I didn't even say anything about it. Now you want to kill me? Woman, you're being unreasonable," Li Lin angrily said. He hadn't provoked anyone, nor had he intended to see them like that.

"Thief, trying to argue your way out of this. I'll gouge out your eyes first, let's see how you'll peep then," the stunningly beautiful girl retorted angrily after a moment's pause.

"Ridiculous, do you think I wanted to see? I didn't ask you to undress. I might as well fight you to the end," Li Lin said angrily. Women really were unreasonable.

"Stubborn thief!" the beautiful girl shouted, her true qi trembling as she aimed a palm strike at Li Lin, bringing a whooshing sound of fierce qi.

"You're the thief, your father, your ancestors, all thieves. I'll fight you," Li Lin cursed back, angered by being repeatedly called a thief. He no longer held back, summoning all his true qi and starting to form a series of strange hand seals.

"I'll fight to the end," Li Lin thought grimly, realizing he couldn't escape as the girl's strength was too overpowering. He recalled from the Berserk Wolf Mercenary Group's big man's memory that this beautiful girl was also a dual-element warrior. As he formed the hand seals, mysterious arcs appeared around him, enveloping him in dazzling light.

As Li Lin formed these mysterious hand seals, strange lights burst forth in front of him, enveloping his body in a terrifying energy aura. Even the space around started to distort under the influence of this terrifying energy.

"This power is too strong. I'm injured, and even using the Vermilion Bird Art, I probably stand no chance," Li Lin thought. While the Vermilion Bird Art was powerful, he feared it wouldn't be enough to deal with the beautiful girl before him.

"Here goes nothing," Li Lin said through gritted teeth, forming hand seals again. The true qi he had absorbed from the fifth-level martial master and the giant man was also channeled into the Vermilion Bird Art. This energy wasn't yet fully his own.

As he channeled this energy, his meridians swelled, and the energy rampaged through his body like wild beasts.

If he were to refine this energy, it would take him over half a month, maybe even more. Now, channeling it all at once into the Vermilion Bird Art, one could imagine the strain on his meridians.

Li Lin bit down hard, sweating profusely, feeling as if his organs and meridians were about to burst.

If his meridians weren't so robust, he might have already died from them bursting. Any strong cultivator witnessing this would gasp in shock at such a suicidal act.

As this energy entered the Vermilion Bird Art, the previously converging lights suddenly scattered. This energy wasn't yet Li Lin's own true qi, making it almost impossible to merge with the Vermilion Bird Art.

Unaware of this, Li Lin, facing a formidable enemy, didn't have time to think further and only hoped to enhance the power of the Vermilion Bird Art.

At this moment, as the true qi energy was injected, a seven-colored light spread out, and Li Lin felt as if he had been struck heavily, experiencing intense, piercing pain in his mind.

"Damn it, they can't merge," Li Lin finally realized. The true qi couldn't merge with the Vermilion Bird Art.

"Doesn't matter, it has to merge," Li Lin gritted his teeth, with no way out. His mind injected spiritual power again, and his soul force began to invisibly manipulate the dispersing energy to merge once more.

Inside Li Lin's body, the true qi was chaotic, and the intense pain was beyond his tolerance. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he was still struggling against it.

From a distance, the stunningly beautiful girl watched Li Lin, shocked, forgetting to attack him. She observed the seven-colored light around Li Lin and another strange power, seeming to understand his intention.

"What is this boy trying to do? Is he trying to kill himself?" the beautiful girl wondered in surprise. Clearly, Li Lin was attempting to merge two different powers, and one of them was filled with spiritual power, further astonishing her.

But she also felt a dangerous aura emanating from Li Lin. If he managed to merge the powers, it would be terrifying indeed.

Li Lin, enduring the excruciating pain, controlled the three powers to keep merging. The seven-colored light began to converge again. Meanwhile, Li Lin's complexion grew increasingly pale, blood continuously dripping to the ground, even seeping out of his pores, turning him into a bloodied figure.

The extreme pain and swelling of the meridians had reached their limits. If the meridians swelled any further, they would burst.

"I have to merge it, or I'll surely die. If I have to die, I'll do it boldly," Li Lin trembled with a wry smile. If the merge was successful, he might still have a chance.

"Not good," the beautiful girl's expression darkened as she sensed the increasingly intense dangerous aura from Li Lin, starting to feel a bit anxious.

"What a bizarre technique," she said in surprise. She extended her wrist, forming several hand seals, and terrifying energy converged from all around. An odd energy began to gather, her complexion growing increasingly solemn and pale as the terrifying energy drained her true qi.

Enduring the agony, Li Lin finally saw the seven-colored light begin to merge again. The light became even more dazzling than before, the seven colors interweaving and appearing quite mystical. The terrifying energy released from above began to distort the surrounding air currents.

In an instant, Li Lin formed a hand seal, and the violent energy began to calm down, condensing into a four-meter-tall, red energy phoenix. Compared to when he first formed the Vermilion Bird Art in Qingyun Town, this energy phoenix was about a meter larger.

The phoenix was entirely red, like flames, with a seven-colored feathered crown on its head and a long, colorful tail. Its outstretched wings carried flames, causing the surrounding space to undulate.

Feeling the current atmosphere, Li Lin smiled slightly. This time, the Vermilion Bird Art, powered by the true qi from the fifth-level martial master and the giant man, was several times stronger than before. It was a pity it wasn't his own true qi, or else the power would have been even more terrifying.

Regardless, he had finally managed to merge and form the new Vermilion Bird Art, its power significantly increased. With this violent power, Li Lin was confident he could shatter even the giant man from the Berserk Wolf Mercenary Group.

"Vermilion Bird Art, go!" Li Lin shouted, forming the final hand seal and spitting out another mouthful of blood. At the same time, his true qi was completely exhausted.

The terrifying energy of the phoenix instantly transformed into a size of about seven to eight meters. Flames whooshed around it, and the violent aura surged skyward, instantly enveloping hundreds of meters around it in towering flames. The air sizzled as it burned, the horror of it all reaching an extreme point.

"Wind Sweeping Clouds," the stunningly beautiful girl shouted, forming the last hand seal. A violently swirling airflow rose around her, like a tornado howling and churning. In the canyon, starting from the ground, a whirlwind of air flipped over a layer of soil. Countless cracks spread, and the soil layer was swept high into the sky, collapsing and pressing down like a blanket.

Filled with terrifying energy, a gigantic, extreme whirlwind condensed. The howling wind was an actual tornado, flipping the entire canyon.

The two equally terrifying energies collided, and countless lights scattered in all directions. The wind enveloped the flames, and the flames intertwined within the storm.

Inside the canyon, continuous explosions erupted, and within the storm, the phoenix illusion disappeared. Finally, it condensed into an incredibly hot, gigantic fireball. The fireball became agitated and then expanded rapidly. Following that, an explosion burst open in mid-air.