Just as Skydream Ice Silkworm was feeling smug, Tianlin frowned.
"Brother Skydream, don't let your guard down. I doubt Evil Sword Immortal is truly dead. Just now, he seemed to switch to Bibi Dong's appearance in an instant. If I'm right, he must also possess Bibi Dong's undying body. Even though my Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit Slash barely reached god-level, it hasn't completely surpassed the limits of that immortality due to my cultivation. He's likely just badly injured and hiding somewhere."
Skydream was startled. "Right, since this guy was created by Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, he must have inherited her powers too. That undying body is a real headache—practically unkillable."
"Well, a big boss that's too easy to kill wouldn't feel real anyway. Even if he's not dead, he won't recover soon and will have to hide for a while. That's enough." Tianlin wasn't too disappointed, and throughout, he hadn't revealed much about himself.
Evil Sword Immortal's biggest weakness compared to Tianlin was a lack of information. He didn't have the memories of the previous Evil Sword Immortal's past life, only an obsession about returning to the Sword Immortal world to take revenge someday. He knew nothing of the Holy Spirit Pearl, Demon Sword, or Demon-Suppressing Sword, nor that Tianlin had inherited the Sword Immortal world's legacy or was a transmigrator—Tianlin's greatest advantages. Dealing with Evil Sword Immortal was no harder than facing a native Douluo Continent expert.
Tianlin slowly descended from the air. When he was ten meters above the ground, he could no longer hold himself up and fell, gasping for breath.
"Xiao Tian, are you okay?" Skydream asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. I just used up too much energy fighting four powerful opponents in a row. Especially the last Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit Slash—it nearly drained me dry. I can't even use my ultimate curse to recover now," Tianlin said weakly. "Luckily, I knocked out the Slaughter King and sealed the Demon Spear Douluo. I need to recover some soul power fast."
Tianlin sat cross-legged and began meditating. Skydream noticed that Tianlin's biggest flaw was his lack of cultivation. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit Slash was indeed earth-shattering, even more powerful than Di Tian's Dragon God Claw, but Tianlin could only use it once; afterwards, he was completely drained, unable to use even recovery skills. Di Tian, on the other hand, could use the Dragon God Claw as a regular attack.
Unless Tianlin used sneak attacks like just now, he was still a bit behind Di Tian and Evil Sword Immortal in a direct fight. He had to find a way to increase his cultivation quickly. Once he reached Ultimate Douluo, he should be able to use the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit Slash multiple times.
An hour later, Tianlin had recovered about 20% of his strength—enough for now. He stood up and used the Demon Sword's eighth soul skill, Extreme Curse Returns Yin and Yang, instantly restoring himself to full strength.
Tianlin walked over to the Slaughter King, summoned the Holy Spirit Pearl, and said, "Tang Chen, I'll free you now. First Soul Skill: Five-Elemental Purification!"
Light from the Orb shone on Tang Chen, waking him up with a painful howl as his body smoked and turned red. Actually, the real target of the Five-Elemental Purification was the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King inside him. Tianlin's goal was to force the Bat King out of Tang Chen's body.
Suddenly, Tang Chen's skin split open with many wounds, and dark red blood spurted out, gathering in the air to form a giant nine-headed bat. The Bat King had been parasitizing Tang Chen, able to turn itself into blood and enter a host's body through wounds, taking control from within.
In the original story, it was forcibly purified by the Sea God's Light and had no chance to escape, but Tianlin hadn't used his full power, giving it a slim chance at survival. Unfortunately, even that hope was about to be taken away.
Since this Bat King was Tang Chen's eighth trial, Tianlin decided to finish it for him, to prevent it from parasitizing someone else and helping Evil Sword Immortal again.
Using his teleportation skill, Tianlin appeared in front of the Bat King and slashed down. "Annihilate the Three Realms!"
This was the Seven Kills Sword technique under the Sword of Annihilation, ten times stronger than the Seven Kills Sword Dao. The Bat King's body and nine heads began to disintegrate under Tianlin's strike.
The Bat King was originally powerful—on par with the strongest beasts of the Star Dou Forest, worthy of being the eighth Asura trial. But it had already been gravely injured earlier, nearly burned to death by the Five-Elemental Purification, and now its remaining strength was less than a Soul Douluo's. It stood no chance against Tianlin's sword.
"Screee!"
The Bat King screamed in pain, but Tianlin showed no mercy. For decades it had controlled Tang Chen's body and committed countless atrocities, causing tens of thousands of deaths through the Slaughter City's minions. It deserved its fate.
With its death, a blood-red soul ring and a piece of soul bone appeared before Tianlin. The ring had four gold stripes.
"Who would've thought this Bat King had over 400,000 years of cultivation? Too bad, Xiao Tian, your Demon Sword's soul rings are full, and the Holy Spirit Pearl can't absorb such an evil ring. What a waste!" Skydream sighed. A 400,000-year soul ring was a treasure for most, but now it could only be left to dissipate.
Tianlin shook his head. "Nothing to be done." He waved his hand, dispersing the soul ring to avoid the frustration of being unable to absorb it.
But there was still the soul bone. Tianlin grabbed it—it was a left leg bone, the only spot he was missing. "Nice, I'll absorb this later to perfect my soul bone armor," he said, satisfied.
Back on the ground, Tianlin fed Tang Chen a pill for minor healing, enough to keep him alive. He could have fully healed Tang Chen with the Extreme Curse Returns Yin and Yang, but there was no need—after all, Tang San and Tang Hao had both died because of him, and if Tang Chen knew, he'd turn against Tianlin.
Tianlin needed Tang Chen to live a bit longer, just to fulfill his promise to Bo Saixi. After that, Tang Chen's body, ravaged by the Bat King's poison, would soon fail—Tianlin's medicine could only delay it; when the effect wore off, Tang Chen would die.