Chapter 76: Chapter 71: Battle Approaches, The Road Ahead on the Martial Path, Condensing Qi to Aura!
Chapter 76: Chapter 71: Battle Approaches, The Road Ahead on the Martial Path, Condensing Qi to Aura!
Recalling who Ji Fanglong was, Chu Zheng's first reaction was that it was a small world for enemies.
But quickly, he grasped a deeper layer of information.
The Phantom Spirit Sect was also plundering amid the chaos.
"What should we do?"
Streaks of blood light suddenly appeared in the sky, and in just a few breaths, a Loose Cultivator was torn asunder, his life extinguished.
Fu Quanliang quickly came to his senses. The Phantom Spirit Sect doing such a thing was somewhat unexpected, but he was not shocked.
Immortal Sects of great stature, where can one find truly benevolent individuals? Maintaining a millennia-old foundation relied on being more ruthless than the ruthless, more venomous than the venomous.
On normal days, when there was no warfare between the great Immortal Sects, the situations for these smaller sects and Loose Cultivators were somewhat bearable. But once war broke out, falling into the current predicament was not surprising at all.
Perhaps the Phantom Spirit Sect had long been aware of Night Light Pavilion's situation, only they had been silently fishing in troubled waters, engaging in the same schemes as Night Light Pavilion.
A great battle was imminent, and both the Phantom Spirit Sect and Night Light Pavilion needed more foundational support, with cultivation resources and combat power being of utmost importance.
True Person Nanfeng's trip to Illusory Spirit City obviously hadn't achieved the intended effect.
The Holy Land didn't intervene either, instead pressing the two sects to battle soon. They might have also known about the situation, simply turning a blind eye.
"Of course, we'll send them to their deaths."
Chu Zheng summoned the Heavenly Aura Sword from his Dantian and his silhouette slowly vanished into the void, his body swirling with Yuan Qi as he activated his Object Control Divine Power.
Sixth Order, belonging to the rank of Spiritual Treasures, the Heavenly Aura Sword, despite being damaged, could repair itself. It had lost the ability to self-repair only because it was previously gravely damaged.
After a preliminary repair by the panel, the Heavenly Aura Sword began to autonomously absorb Spiritual Energy, nurturing itself. After refining the Fire Seed, Chu Zheng's manipulation of it became even more skillful.
As the sword was made of Phoenix Blood Wood, inherently very yang in nature, and nurtured by Divine Fire, the self-repair speed of the Heavenly Aura Sword was now much faster. In just a short period, its potency had increased significantly.
Ji Fanglong's temples were slightly gray, appearing to be over fifty years old, with traces of the years marked on his face, but the divine light in his eyes was intimidating.
His cultivation was not far off from Lai Baojiang of Night Light Pavilion, both in the early stages of the Entry Dao Realm. It would not be difficult for Chu Zheng to kill him, but this was ultimately Phantom Spirit Sect territory. To prevent Ji Fanglong from calling for help, some extra effort was required.
Witnessing Chu Zheng vanish into the void once again, Fu Quanliang was no longer surprised. He took a deep breath, tore off the disguise on his face, and channeled his Qi to attract attention as before:
"Elder Ji!"
Ji Fanglong, not far away, paused and instinctively turned back to look. After seeing Fu Quanliang, a trace of confusion flashed across his face, and he transmitted his voice back:
"Disciple Fu... Why are you here?"
At the moment of his distraction, a blazing red sword light suddenly emerged, piercing through his Dantian and shattering his Celestial Foundation.
The next instant, a great spear swept out from the void beside Ji Fanglong, wrapped in a piercingly cold wind, and struck him square in the chest.
Crackâ
Alongside a sharp bone-cracking sound, a figure flew a hundred yards, blood spraying the sky, like a meteor crashing straight into the ground.
As a Qi Cultivator who also practiced Body Refinement Techniques, Chu Zheng's strike was powerful enough to doom Ji Fanglong even if his Dantian remained intact.
Fu Quanliang rushed to Ji Fanglong's side, crouched down, and looked at the Outer Sect Elder at the bottom of the crater with an unfazed expression.
Since leaving the Song Family, he had already experienced death once, and in the many years at the Phantom Spirit Sect, he had survived this long by making himself useful to the sect; they owed each other nothing.
Ji Fanglong lay in a pool of blood, his Dantian perforated, Celestial Foundation shattered, all mana lost, every bone and sinew broken, and his internal organs reduced to a bloody mire; he couldn't even move a finger, lingering on the verge of death.
"Ha..."
He attempted to speak, but instead vomited a mouthful of blood, drenching his face; his blood-stained eyes filled with confusion.
"Ji Fanglong, Lower Quality Immortal Bone, two hundred and sixty-seven years old, in the Initial Stage of the Entry Dao Realm, the father of three sons and one daughter, with his second son Ji Mingzhong, Lower Quality Immortal Bone, in the Mid Spirit Spring Realm, serving as an Outer Sect Administrator of the Phantom Spirit Sect..."
When he learned that Chu Zheng had killed Ji Feng at the mine, to prepare for any potential conflicts, Fu Quanliang immediately began investigating Ji Fanglong upon returning to the sect. He knew the details like the back of his hand.
Otherwise, he could not have recognized him at a glance amidst the chaotic battlefield just now.
Fu Quanliang counted on his fingers and then said slowly, "Ji Feng was your... young descendant's grandson, your death today can be partly blamed on him."
Based on his understanding of Chu Zheng, if Ji Fanglong hadn't been there, Chu Zheng would have been more likely to use Fu Quanliang's identity to join the cultivators of the Phantom Spirit Sect directly, trying to probe the Phantom Spirit Sect's main camp, rather than killing someone right away.
Before the sound faded, Ji Fanglong's pupils dilated, having already lost all signs of life.
In the distance, up in the heavens, Chu Zheng put away his spear, without the slightest hesitation. He once again urged forward the Heavenly Aura Sword, his Yuan Qi surged within him, connecting the heavens and earth around him. He raised his sword hand, swept it across the void:
"Cut!"
The next moment, the sword wind howled, the blade of the broken sword glimmered faintly red as it conjured a towering sword light and fierce flames. It grew rapidly against the wind, slicing through the sky towards the more than ten Phantom Spirit Sect disciples.
A hundred-yard long Sword Qi, twined with Divine Fire, swept across the earth as if a giant column holding up the sky collapsed and pressed down.
The sword slash, powered by a Qi Cultivator's connection to the natural Yuan Qi of the world, complemented by a Sixth Order Spiritual Treasure, even if incomplete, was something none of the Spirit Spring Realm disciples could resist.
In the blink of an eye, all Protective Magic Artifacts shattered, more than ten charred bodies fell from the sky, instantly slain.