Book 4: Chapter 42 (1) |
What was Zhong Shan chasing after? Although he hadn’t seen it, Zhong Shan, with his extraordinary intelligence, quickly deduced the probable target. In the area of the great pit from before, apart from the Great Qin City itself, there was nothing else. The immense impact could only be attributed to fragments of the Great Qin City or that piece of dark jade talisman.
If it were fragments of the Great Qin City, there couldn’t be just one piece, and was it really possible for the Great Qin City to be shattered by a single blow from those powerful individuals? This probability was low. As for the dark jade talisman, it was indeed about to float away from the Great Qin City with a single strike. The chances were very high. What was even more important was that although Zhong Shan hadn’t seen the dark jade talisman, he had caught a glimpse of a fleeting silver light—the same light that had surrounded the dark jade talisman under the moonlight.
Without hesitation, Zhong Shan decided that he couldn’t interfere with the situation at the Great Qin City from afar. He knew that possessing the dark jade talisman would already be extremely luxurious for him.
Swiftly, Zhong Shan increased his speed with the Essence of Heavenly Demon Essence Body Technique—Fourth Stage, which granted him five times the strength. His speed kept accelerating as he chased after the dark jade talisman. Thankfully, the dark jade talisman’s speed slowed down due to the resistance of the wind. After flying over eight great mountains, Zhong Shan finally closed in on it.
However, Zhong Shan didn’t feel complacent about this success. “Fortune and misfortune depend on each other.” Even though it might not seem relevant, Zhong Shan had come to believe in this principle over his many years of cultivation. Danger often lurked when one felt most triumphant.
As he pursued the dark jade talisman, Zhong Shan kept a close eye on his surroundings. When he turned his head, his heart skipped a beat. His years of caution had once again saved him. Among the generals who had besieged the Great Qin City earlier, one person had also chased after him.
It was a Nascent Soul stage expert who flew effortlessly through the air, not relying on a giant blade like Zhong Shan.
In the high sky, the Nascent Soul stage expert gazed at the dark jade talisman flying far away and Zhong Shan chasing from below. A giant blade? Golden Core stage? The Nascent Soul stage general sneered coldly. He swiftly locked onto Zhong Shan with his spiritual sense but hadn’t expected this Golden Core stage individual to be so fast.
Zhong Shan’s heart also tightened, and he maximized his speed, knowing that he had to grab the dark jade talisman before the Nascent Soul stage expert.
Boom! A hundred-zhang-long blade energy slashed fiercely towards Zhong Shan.
“Boom!”
Even with Zhong Shan’s full protective energy, he was still violently sent crashing into the river. On the surface of the river, massive waves billowed.
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of blood spurted out as Zhong Shan sank into the river. However, he had succeeded. In the final moment, Zhong Shan managed to grab hold of the dark jade talisman.
But there was a problem—this dark jade talisman couldn’t be stored in his storage bracelet?
Clutching the dark jade talisman tightly, Zhong Shan looked astonished. At the same time, he felt a sense of worry. If the dark jade talisman couldn’t be stored in his storage bracelet, then he had no leverage to negotiate with the Nascent Soul stage expert. Without it, the general had no reason to fear him and could simply kill him to obtain the talisman.
What should he do?
As he sank deeper into the river, Zhong Shan’s mind raced.
“It’s indeed a valuable treasure!” The general on the river’s surface exclaimed in joy.
Because he had also witnessed Zhong Shan’s actions, the fact that the dark jade talisman couldn’t be stored in a storage space meant it was an extraordinary treasure. The general had no worries; he was dealing with just a Golden Core stage cultivator, and his spiritual sense had been tracking Zhong Shan all along. Escape? Where could he run?
The river was extremely deep. When Zhong Shan was halfway down, he suddenly squinted his eyes. Despite sustaining minor injuries, he swiftly swam upstream. Simultaneously, the Red Phoenix Pink Lotus on his forehead released an intense red mist that spread through the river water downstream.
On this day, the creatures in this river were going to experience something extraordinary.
The general pursued Zhong Shan at a leisurely pace, following him until they reached a waterfall. Above the waterfall, the river water cascaded down, creating a deep pool at the bottom. The water from the deep pool formed a new river that flowed downstream. Zhong Shan arrived at the deep pool, and there was no way for him to escape.
The general smiled. “Where are you going to run now?”
Zhong Shan remained calm. The more dangerous the situation, the more one needed to stay composed. During the Pre-Natal stage, he had killed a Nascent Soul stage Thunder General, and now, having reached the Fourth Stage of the Golden Core stage, could he not handle another Nascent Soul stage opponent?
A deep pool was even better, and Zhong Shan slowly descended to the bottom. The pool was over 200 meters deep, a rare occurrence. At the bottom, Zhong Shan found a huge rock to hide under. He held the giant blade in his hand and concentrated his gaze on what was happening above. At the same time, the Red Phoenix Mist rapidly enveloped the deep pool, though it wasn’t very noticeable due to the early morning darkness.
The Nascent Soul stage general stood on the surface of the deep pool, his spiritual sense already locked onto Zhong Shan. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“You can’t escape now. Hand over the talisman, and I’ll spare your life,” the general said coldly.
Would Zhong Shan believe him? There was no one else here, and as long as he killed Zhong Shan, he could take the talisman for himself. Would he let Zhong Shan get away?
Zhong Shan didn’t speak; instead, he patiently watched the water in the deep pool. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the giant blade remained motionless in his hand.
Zhong Shan gazed at the water in the deep pool without directly looking at the general on the surface. The general felt a slight hint of doubt, wondering if Zhong Shan was a bit cockeyed. However, he didn’t pay it much mind because, in his eyes, Zhong Shan was already trapped.
Raising his blade, the general swung it fiercely towards the depths of the pool.
“Boom~~~”
Zhong Shan’s blade swiftly met the attack, resulting in a massive explosion as water from the pool was splashed in all directions.
However, the general’s strike ultimately failed. The vast force was countered by the two-hundred-meter-deep pool water. Zhong Shan was at the Fourth Stage of the Golden Core, but within this hour, his strength had reached five times its usual level.
The general’s strike proved ineffective, and he frowned while Zhong Shan continued to ‘cock an eye’ as he observed the water, seemingly unaffected.
“Hmph,” the general snorted and enveloped himself in his spiritual aura before descending slowly into the pool.
As he submerged into the water, Zhong Shan couldn’t help but let out a cold smile.
Zhong Shan remained concealed beneath the large stone below, and when the general reached a depth of one hundred meters, Zhong Shan’s pupils constricted. His blade-hand moved, filling it with blade qi as he unleashed a thirty-meter-long blade qi attack towards the general from below.
There was no visible blade aura, only blade qi. The general sneered, thinking it was only a thirty-meter attack range, and he was already eighty meters away. This attack couldn’t possibly reach him. Was this person not only cockeyed but also foolish?
As the general looked down in mockery at Zhong Shan while blocking the incoming thunderbolt, Zhong Shan’s blade strike was unleashed fully.
He slashed down, and the pool water scattered as if it was evading an invisible force. Water, inherently formless, had no defined shape, but Zhong Shan’s blade strike seemed to separate the pool water, forcibly splitting it apart to either side.
Starting from the tip of his blade, it seemed as if a piece of fabric was being torn upwards.
This eerie scene was nothing caused by blade qi; it was as if the river water itself was being torn apart. Like a domino effect, pulling a single strand affected the entire body of water. The immense tearing force rushed upward and directly towards the general.
The general’s pupils contracted. Although he didn’t understand what was happening, a sudden sense of danger washed over him, a profound and impending peril.
With his blade still in mid-swing after blocking the thunderbolt from above, the general suddenly felt his thoughts scattered, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman burst into his mind. He immediately sensed something was wrong—a hallucinatory spell?
“Boom~~~”
From above, a massive thunderbolt struck directly at the general. Even though he had regained his focus and swung his blade upward.
“Boom~~~”
He managed to dispel the thunderbolt with a single stroke. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder: How had the thunderbolt almost deviated from its course? Cockeyed? Could someone with such strange eyes cultivate to the Fourth Stage of the Golden Core?
As the general was contemplating the strange events and looking down in a mocking manner at Zhong Shan, suddenly, Zhong Shan unleashed his strike.
As his blade descended, the pool water seemed to avoid it as though an immense force was tearing it apart. Water, formless and shapeless, was seemingly split by Zhong Shan’s blade strike, with a significant fissure running from the tip of his blade upward.
This bizarre sight was not a result of blade aura but the water itself seemingly being torn apart. Like a house of cards collapsing, the rip spread rapidly and surged upwards, heading straight for the general.
The general’s pupils shrank, and though he didn’t understand what was happening, he felt an impending danger. A colossal and terrifying force acted on his protective aura.
His Nascent Soul stage protective aura, though it held on for a moment, was instantly torn apart by the tremendous force. The force wasn’t from the blade strike but from the two sides of the fissure pulling and tearing. These two overpowering forces relentlessly tugged at his protective aura.
Even a Nascent Soul stage protective aura couldn’t withstand the strain, and it was torn apart in an instant. The pulling forces continued in the direction of the fissure.
The general’s eyes widened in disbelief. He was just in the Golden Core stage; how could this blade strike be so powerful? Why?
“What kind of blade technique is this?” The general asked in disbelief moments before his demise.
With a cold look in his eyes, Zhong Shan slowly replied, “This is a technique of my own creation, and since it has displayed its power today, it deserves a name. Remember the name of this blade technique: ‘Heavenly Code.'”