"Be careful. With your current physical strength, you couldn't withstand a single hit from that arrowhead. Besides, I sense something vile on it," Zhen Jingkong warned from within the sea of consciousness, his expression tense.
On that broken black arrowhead, he could sense Corpse Qi so dense it made his scalp tingle. The arrowhead must have been unearthed from an underground tomb, tainted by the vile Corpse Qi of some terrifying catacomb for who knows how many yearsâŠ
If that stuff were to contaminate a person's body, it would be a huge problem! So he had to be extremely careful.
"Vile stuff? You mean Corpse Qi, right? Don't worry, that's the one thing I'm not afraid of," Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, replied, a smile curling his lips. Immediately, he began to circulate the Immortal Sect technique, the "Meditation Sutra," and a wisp of milky-white radiance emerged from his body.
"What is this now?!" When the milky-white radiance appeared, Zhen Jingkong was shocked to find that the hovering Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire had inexplicably grown even more formidable.
Chen Fei didn't answer. He couldn't very well admit this was his primary cultivation technique, could he? If he did, even Zhen Jingkong would probably be stunned speechless for a good long while. After all, in Zhen Jingkong's eyes, a Qi Refining Realm technique like the "Three Yang Sword Manual" was already exceedingly rare and powerful. But in reality? The "Three Yang Sword Manual" was merely his auxiliary technique. The "Meditation Sutra" was his true foundation.
BOOM!
RUMBLE...
Empowered by the milky-white radiance, the Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire swept toward the King of Gilded Toads once again, filling the sky with a destructive and terrifying heat.
At the same time, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, came to a sudden halt. He then leaped into the air and slapped a hand directly at the incoming black arrowhead! The move left Zhen Jingkong stunned in the sea of consciousness, and he cried out anxiously, "What are you doâ"
But before he could finish, his eyes narrowed, as if he had just witnessed something unbelievable.
He watched as Chen Fei's palm slammed hard against the broken black arrowhead. Blood sprayed into the air, staining the sky red as white light flared... The Corpse Qi clinging to the arrowhead shuddered as if it had met its natural predator, then frantically and rapidly receded back into the shaft.
Although Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, was injuredâhis palm pierced straight through by the arrowhead's sharp tipâthe most critical part was that the weapon's deadliest aspect, the terrifying Corpse Qi, had been completely neutralized.
WHOOSH!
"Get over here!"
With a flash of determination in his eyes, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, let out a great shout. He waved his hand, and a wave of milky-white Spiritual Energy rolled out and snatched the broken arrowhead from the air! Seeing this, the King of Gilded Toads froze for a moment before losing control and erupting in fury.
"You wretched runt, how dare you?! Give me back my treasure!" it roared, its body engulfed in a raging torrent of Demon Qi, completely out of control.
"You want your treasure? How about I take your life in exchange?" Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, retorted, his tone turning vicious now that blood had been drawn. His face was a mask of cold, unyielding resolve as he moved to attack again.
"Die!"
Before the King of Gilded Toads could respond, the Thirty-Six Paths of Sanyang True Fire Sword Qi fanned out across the sky, raining down with terrifying heat upon the demon beast on the ground!
Its power was truly horrifying! Even a powerhouse at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer would likely feel a chill run down their spine and their scalp tingle in its presence.
And the King of Gilded Toads, at its strongest, was only a Peak of Second Level Middle Stage Beast, merely a little stronger than a human cultivator at the Peak of Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
Now, having lost its greatest trump cardâthe broken black arrowhead comparable to a top-tier Mid-Grade Magical Artifactâwhat could it possibly use to defend itself? How could it possibly withstand this attack?
BOOM!
The Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire fell like a fiery cataclysm. Before the King of Gilded Toads' pale, despairing eyes, the torrent of fire submerged it completely, and a terrifying explosion ripped through the forest.
The power of the blast was staggering. A blade-like shockwave swept out in all directions, felling countless sky-reaching ancient trees and shattering massive boulders, leaving only chaos and ruin in its wake.
WHOOSH!
From the heart of that terrifying explosion, a dark green figure wreathed in a bloody glow suddenly shot out of the billowing smoke. It fled madly in one direction without a backward glance, its speed as fast as lightning.
"You really think you can escape from me? Wouldn't that make me completely useless?"
But as fast as the fleeing figure was, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, was even faster. And it was clear Chen Fei had been prepared for this all along.
WHOOSH!
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, moved like a hunting cheetah. In less than ten breaths, he appeared behind the dark green figure, raising one hand high as a terrifying surge of blood-red energy began to roil around it.
The figure was, of course, the King of Gilded Toads. He was now covered in wounds and seemed to have been scared witless, his only thought to flee, no longer daring to fight.
Now, however, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, was the one in pursuit, just as the Toad Demon had once pursued him. The roles were simply reversed. The only difference was that back then, Chen Fei had managed to escape. This time, it seemed the King of Gilded Toads would not be so lucky.
"You wretched runt, don't push me! Don't force me to take you down with me!" Sensing the aura of death, the King of Gilded Toads's eyes filled with madness as he roared.
"Take me down with you?" Chen Fei was unmoved, his own aura surging wildly as he prepared to deliver the killing blow. "I'd like to see you try."
"This little runt forced my hand! Fine, then we die together...!"
A fearsome, uncontrollable power erupted from the King of Gilded Toads. It was an aura strong enough to make one's limbs go weak, several times more powerful than Chen Fei's previous all-out attack. The sight even made Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, frown, his expression turning grave.
"You're going to self-destruct?" he asked, his voice ice-cold.
"You want me dead, don't you? Fine! To be able to drag a genius like you down with me would be an honor for this King of Gilded Toads! Let's die together, you wretched runt! HAHAHA, HAHAHAHA!" The King of Gilded Toads laughed madly as the spiraling power within him surged to its absolute peak.
Then, with a deafening BOOM, the world itself seemed to fracture.
The brutal, terrifying impact of the self-detonation. When a Peak of Second Level Middle Stage Beast chose to self-destruct, the resulting power was truly scalp-numbing, sending a primal chill deep into one's bones.
An indescribable storm raged in mid-air. Space itself seemed to tremble, and on the ground, the sky-reaching ancient trees and massive boulders were obliterated, swept away as if they were nothing but dust.
And yet, there stood Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, several miles away from the blast zone, completely unharmed. But wait... wasn't he right at the epicenter of the explosion just a moment ago? How could he have suddenly appeared miles away? Even a Foundation Establishment True Person Realm Expert couldn't have moved that fast. What in the world just happened?
"You... what was that just now?" Zhen Jingkong asked from the sea of consciousness, equally stunned.
"Just a Spiritual Energy Avatar. The fool went mad and didn't even notice," Chen Fei replied with a smirk. It turned out that when the King of Gilded Toads had fled, Chen Fei's real body had never given chase. Instead, he had sent a Spiritual Energy Avatar after it.
Whether because of his desperate plight or simply because he'd lost his cool, the King of Gilded Toads had failed to notice such a simple trick. So while the self-detonation had been frightening, it had only destroyed a Spiritual Energy Avatar, which was of no real consequence.
"A... a Spiritual Energy Avatar?" Zhen Jingkong was taken aback. He couldn't believe he had been fooled as well. The technique itself was simple, but to use it so perfectly was a skill in its own right.
This kid really has grown a lot since our time in the Immortal Ascension Valley.
"Alright, time to deal with the remaining small fries," Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, said, turning back. He hadn't forgotten Zang Rui and the other small fries trapped within the two Great Formations.
"I suggest you don't kill them," Zhen Jingkong suddenly said from within the sea of consciousness.
"Not kill them?" Chen Fei was startled. "Why? What good are they... Wait. Senior, are you suggesting I keep them alive to take control of the Golden Toad Cave?"
"You figured it out that quickly?" Zhen Jingkong sounded surprised. Chen Fei's quick thinking had amazed him yet again. He nodded in the sea of consciousness and began his analysis. "Your current goal is to unify this Eagle Gorge. To do that, you'll need people to work for you, a force to do your bidding. You can't possibly do everything yourself, can you?"
He paused for a moment before continuing. "This is a perfect opportunity. The king was a Second Level Middle Stage Toad Demon; there's no need to mourn him, as his potential was limited. However, those eight Peak of Second Level Early Stage Toad Demons could be of use. Try to subdue them. If it doesn't work out, we'll figure something else out then."