Chapter 168: Confrontation (2)
Chapter 168: Confrontation (2)
“Heh heh!”
A mocking smile played on Tang Jinbiao’s lips as he slowly began walking toward Wei Wuya.
He didn’t rush over rapidly. Instead, he walked step by step, mimicking how Wei Wuya had used the God of War’s Stride to oppress him back then. However, he wasn’t using his own half-baked version of the God of War’s Stride; he was simply walking normally.
Pa!
He stepped forward gently. There was no powerful aura, no imposing pressure; it was just an ordinary step.
Deng!
But to Wei Wuya’s eyes, this step wasn’t simple at all. It was a blatant provocation, an utter insult.
“You! You deserve to die!”
Seeing Tang Jinbiao using this method to humiliate him ignited a blaze of intense hatred in Wei Wuya’s eyes. He desperately wanted to charge forward and fight Tang Jinbiao to the death right now. However, the strange, frigid Frost Qi was too bizarre. Not only had it frozen his Pseudo Qi Sea, it was also beginning to continuously erode his Meridians. If he didn’t address it immediately, it wouldn’t be long before he could potentially freeze into an icy lump.
Pa! Pa!
To resolve the immediate danger, Wei Wuya immediately took out a small Jade Vial from his Storage Pouch. He tipped out four or five colourful Elixirs and swallowed them down without even looking.
“Heh heh!”
Seeing the panic in Wei Wuya’s eyes, the smile on Tang Jinbiao’s lips grew even wider.
Of course, this also confirmed that the Frost Qi was absolutely extraordinary; otherwise, it wouldn’t have reduced a Middle Third Tier Body Refiner like Wei Wuya to such a pitiful state.
Bang!
As Tang Jinbiao’s smile widened, he gently took another step forward.
It was again an equally simple step, devoid of any aura or imposing pressure.
“Grah!”
Wei Wuya was on the verge of flying into a violent rage. Yet, the damage from the Frost Qi inside him made it impossible for him to move recklessly. He could only stand rigidly, concentrating fully on controlling the Qi Energy within him to surge against and melt away the damage caused by the Frost Qi, while simultaneously beginning to slowly refine the Elixirs.
“I will kill you! No—I will definitely refine you into a Corpse Puppet!”
Wei Wuya dared not move rashly, but he cursed Tang Jinbiao incessantly in his mind.
“Heh heh!”
The more venom Tang Jinbiao saw in Wei Wuya’s gaze, the more he enjoyed it instead of feeling discomfort. He liked seeing others suffer; he reveled in witnessing their pain right before him.
Unhurriedly, step by measured step, he drew closer to Wei Wuya.
…
“Hmm?”
On a massive Giant Boulder about a hundred zhang away, Jia Longwu’s eyes showed confusion. She seemed somewhat puzzled why Wei Wuya was acting this way, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
“What’s happening? Just moments ago, Wei Wuya clearly had Tang Jinbiao under control. Why did he suddenly let go?”
Although a hundred zhang wasn’t particularly far, Jia Longwu was ultimately a Body Refiner. Her Divine Sense couldn’t reach that distance to investigate clearly. Relying solely on her vision, she couldn’t make out the exact details of the two figures’ situation very cleanly. She could only see Wei Wuya completely unable to move his body, standing stock-still in place.
…
Step by step, Tang Jinbiao moved closer towards Wei Wuya. Though the physical distance was only a little over ten zhang, Tang Jinbiao had already taken close to a hundred steps!
“Heh, Old Dog Wei, what’s wrong? Not jumping anymore? Not itchy anymore?”
Tang Jinbiao stepped in front of Wei Wuya and observed his face turning deathly pale, brows and hair coated in a faint frost, body trembling incessantly. Tang’s eyes brimmed with triumph.
“Tang… Tang…”
Wei Wuya shook with rage, desperate to speak, but his body was nearly frozen solid, robbing him even of the strength to form words.
“Heh, what happened? Realized your mistake? Ready to surrender? Then kneel and call me Master Jinbiao! If I enjoy hearing it, I might just spare your life!”
Witnessing Wei Wuya’s agony, Tang Jinbiao wore a smug grin.
Yet inwardly, he was stunned: Dammit, the Frost Qi is terrifyingly potent. Just moments ago this arrogant Wei Wuya could leap around, now he’s like a sick cat.
“Aargh!”
If looks could kill, Tang Jinbiao would’ve perished a thousand times over under Wei Wuya’s glare. But that, of course, was impossible.
“Heheh, since you’re immobilized, I’ll play the good Samaritan to the end! Let me help you stretch those limbs!”
Wei Wuya was now a fish on Tang Jinbiao’s chopping block, entirely at his mercy. A predatory gleam flashed in Tang’s eyes as he reached a hand toward Wei Wuya’s shoulder.
Snap!
With a light sound, Tang Jinbiao’s palm settled on Wei Wuya’s shoulder.
“Heheh, Old Dog Wei, remember how you treated me back then?”
Tang Jinbiao wasn’t ready to finish Wei Wuya off yet—his fury still burned unmet. Besides, he sensed another pair of eyes watching him from behind a Giant Boulder nearby.
Clatter-clatter!
The touch sent violent shivers through Wei Wuya’s frame.
Tang Jinbiao failed to notice one crucial detail: the instant his palm made contact, the Frigid Ice within Wei Wuya’s body began to thin.
What?!
A subtle shift stirred within Wei Wuya. Overwhelmed by surprise, he nearly revealed hope in his eyes—only to remember Tang Jinbiao stood right before him. He instantly veiled that response; hatred and suffering flooded his gaze instead.
“Heheh, fear not! I’m not a queer—I won’t violate you!”
Tang Jinbiao’s hand slid slowly down from Wei Wuya’s shoulder to his chin.
Hatred!
Wei Wuya’s eyes radiated venom—so potent he wished to skin Tang Jinbiao alive and devour his flesh.
Tang Jinbiao, you dug your own grave! Had you not touched me, I might’ve frozen to death. Now, you brought this on yourself!
Had Tang been able to read minds, profound regret would’ve gripped him for that careless action.
Time, I need time!
Wei Wuya’s thoughts churned incessantly. Given moments, he vowed to recover fully, smash Tang Jinbiao’s teeth down his throat.
“Huh? Something’s wrong!”
Suddenly, Tang Jinbiao’s gaze sharpened as though he’d sensed an anomaly. He stared at Wei Wuya, predator-like, trying to pierce through to his opponent’s thoughts.
Thump!
Stranded beneath Tang’s scrutiny, Wei Wuya’s heart lurched—had his careful concealment failed?
“Hmph! I’ll deal with you later!”
After watching for a moment, Tang Jinbiao couldn’t see anything, snorted coldly, couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Wei Wuya, and kicked Wei Wuya flying out.
“Ah!”
Wei Wuya let out a painful groan, was kicked onto an open space ten-odd zhang away, and his body couldn’t move at all.
Puchi!
Because of this loss of spirit, the Frigid Ice inside his body that had begun to melt surprisingly showed a trend of condensing again.
“Not good!”
After Wei Wuya felt the change inside his body, he immediately calmed his mind and slowly refined the Frigid Ice again.
“Friend over there, you’ve been watching for so long, shouldn’t you come out now?”
After Tang Jinbiao kicked Wei Wuya away, he turned his head lightly, looked into a Giant Boulder, narrowed his eyes slightly, and spoke lightly, saying.
From the start, he knew that although Wei Wuya was troublesome, he was absolutely not someone who could threaten him. What he truly feared was the person who had been hiding behind all along.
“Huh? Why is Tang Jinbiao talking to himself toward a stone?”
Over on the other side, Jia Longwu saw that Tang Jinbiao hadn’t killed Wei Wuya but had turned toward the Giant Boulder, and confusion appeared in his eyes.
“Friend, must I force my hand before you come out?”
After seeing that the person in the Giant Boulder didn’t react, Tang Jinbiao’s eyes slightly revealed a trace of anger, and he spoke again, saying.
However, similarly, the person in the Giant Boulder still didn’t react.
“Hmph, conceited!”
Tang Jinbiao snorted disdainfully, his body moved, and he instantly charged toward that Giant Boulder.
“Go blast!”
After reaching the front of the Giant Boulder, Tang Jinbiao activated the yellow Qi Energy within his body and slammed it toward the Giant Boulder.
Swoosh!
However, at the very moment Tang Jinbiao’s fist struck it, a white shadow suddenly flew out from within and directly lunged toward Tang Jinbiao.
“Hmph!”
Tang Jinbiao snorted coldly, instantly changed the direction of his fist, and slammed it toward that white shadow.
Bang!
That white shadow was blasted by Tang Jinbiao and immediately exploded, turning into countless white fragments, transforming into a sky-full rain-like shower and falling down.
“Huh?”
Tang Jinbiao was slightly stunned. Just now, he clearly felt that the white shadow was a person, so how could it vanish in the blink of an eye?
“Underground?!”
Having learned from Wei Wuya’s experience, Tang Jinbiao immediately turned his attention to the ground, but could find nothing.
“No?”
Finding nothing underground, Tang Jinbiao promptly narrowed his eyes slightly and looked again at the Giant Boulder in front of him. But the person inside had already disappeared, and he was slightly startled in his heart.
Thud!
Suddenly, Tang Jinbiao felt an unexplained chill run down his spine. He instantly lunged forward several steps before whirling around.
But when he turned, his eyes filled with deep terror at the sight of a phantom-like figure standing exactly where he had been moments before.
The person wore a bulky white robe draped over an emaciated frame—yes, “frame” was the only fitting description. Gaunt to the extreme, his skin drained to a sickly pallor, he resembled a skeleton. Even more chillingly, his entire body hovered mid-air. From a distance, he looked like a ghost.
“It is you!”
Tang Jinbiao’s pupils contracted violently upon seeing the man.
This was Young Master Ma. Once, purely by chance, Tang Jinbiao had observed something different about him. Ordinary Cultivators possessed only a simple cluster of Spiritual Energy within them. But this man was different—a faintly flickering ball of ghostly green flame burned within his skull. Tang had always suspected Young Master Ma was no normal man. Now, seeing his current form, his heart pounded furiously.
“Oh? So your Spirit Eyes aren’t innate after all,” Young Master Ma said, sounding utterly unperturbed and faintly intrigued. He slightly lifted his head, tiny eyes gleaming with that eerie green light as he scrutinized Tang Jinbiao. “Have you… visited the Land of Darkness within the Hundred Thousand Mountains?”
“What?!”
This question confirmed Tang Jinbiao’s fears beyond doubt—Young Master Ma was far more than he appeared.
What is he? Why does he know I emerged from the Land of Darkness? Wait… his eyes!
A surge of dread tightened its grip on Tang Jinbiao’s mind as he frantically theorized about the figure before him. The sight of those spectral flames within Young Master Ma’s eyes brought sudden clarity.
“Heh heh. It seems you’ve figured it out,” Young Master Ma remarked with a faint smile stretching across his waxen face as he noted the horror in Tang Jinbiao’s expression.
“What do you want?”
Facing Young Master Ma’s penetrating stare, Tang Jinbiao felt like cornered prey.
“I want nothing much,” Young Master Ma replied, his tone airy. “Only your eyes. I’ve searched for them… for a very, very long time. How long has it been? Three years? Ten? Thirty? A hundred? Or perhaps three hundred? Maybe… even a thousand years?”
He seemed to be disregarding Tang Jinbiao entirely now, lost in his own murmuring monologue.
“Ah, no. Mistaken. Around three thousand years? Or… could it be ten thousand?”
Young Master Ma continued muttering to himself.
“What?!”
The sheer magnitude of those timescales sent waves of profound terror washing over Tang Jinbiao.
“ARGHH! Tang Jinbiao! DIE!”
At that very moment, however, Wei Wuya—previously lying fallen—roared furiously as he charged toward Tang Jinbiao. He appeared to have recovered. His savage cry rang out…