He knew he was utterly out of time. He was no match for Lin Xiao, and in less than ten minutes, all his spiritual power would be devoured by Lin Xiao, perhaps even becoming a part of Lin Xiao.
The Third Elder began to entertain a possibility: Lin Xiao might not truly inherit human bloodlines.
With that thought, the spiritual power in his dantian surged violently. He plunged his sword directly into his own dantian.
Blood spurted out. The Third Elder stared fixedly at Lin Xiao, "You want to devour me? Then go to hell with me!"
Based on Lin Xiao's previous performance, he was certain that his self-detonation was not something Lin Xiao could consume. Even if he devoured it all, Lin Xiao would surely explode and die!
If you want my power, you must be prepared to die!
Boom!
His body expanded and then exploded amidst golden light.
Lin Xiao's crimson eyes showed not a trace of fear. His body was naturally channeling his cultivation technique at full power.
Even the power of the self-detonation was being absorbed by Lin Xiao!
He was like a bottomless pit, absorbing all the power into his body.
However, as he absorbed, his body seemed to inflate like a giant balloon.
From head to toe, he was now like a massive balloon, ready to shatter into countless pieces if anything touched him.
And all of the Third Elder's being was consumed by him.
There would be no more Third Elder in this world.
"Ugh... Ah!"
Lin Xiao now seemed to be experiencing immense pain. He opened his mouth, and dark energy began to gather within. His body also deflated rapidly, returning to its normal human appearance.
A massive black energy, far larger than his entire body had been moments before, finally formed above his head.
Lin Xiao's crimson eyes regained their clarity. He was desperately trying to control the immense power above him. If this thing exploded, everything in this area would be annihilated.
Fortunately, he had absorbed the Third Elder's self-detonation; otherwise, the world would have been destroyed.
He controlled the power above him, aimed it at the sky, and fired!
As for what this mass of energy would encounter in space, its fate was its own.
The Third Elder was dead.
Lin Xiao, aware of everything, looked at his hands.
The wounds on his hands seemed to have vanished. In fact, he had retained some consciousness earlier; it was just that his body hadn't felt like it was under his control, more like someone else was puppeteering him.
The way he had been was not human.
But now, the power in his dantian had doubled once again.
Was this the power of consumption?
Lin Xiao felt his dantian filled to the point of being overstretched. It was too dangerous.
He felt as though his dantian had almost been destroyed just moments ago.
He looked at the devastated courtyard and shook his head. He needed to tidy up a bit.
The revenge for the Lin family was largely accomplished, yet he felt... nothing. Everything even felt somewhat illusory.
More people from the Sky-Peering Sect would likely come later.
He should now possess enough strength.
He would charge upwards.