Chapter 261: Soul-Cleaving Divine Thought Strike
Chapter 261: Soul-Cleaving Divine Thought Strike
Hu Yuer jolted in surprise, swiftly dodging to the side.
“Stay away, you villain!”
Her bitten lips and mix of anger and fear made the others chuckle.
Xiao Lingfeng asked, “Are these truly remnants of Zhan Wumen and the Ji Family?”
Cheng Lingyu answered, “Yes. Five in total—Luo Binghe at Blood Martial First Level, two from the Ji Family at Blood Martial Fourth Level, and two from Zhan Wumen at the fifth level of Blood Martial.”
Han Zhen frowned. “We only have Xiao Lingfeng at the fifth level of Blood Martial. Fighting them head-on would put us at a disadvantage.”
Cheng Lingyu shrugged. “They wouldn’t act without confidence. Let’s move. No point keeping them waiting.”
His calm demeanor gave nothing away. No one could guess his thoughts.
Cheng Lingyu soared into the air, holding Hu Yuer’s hand like a golden boy and jade maiden surveying the land, trailed by four experts. The flashy display irked his enemies, who saw it as sheer arrogance.
A figure blocked their path on the horizon.
“Cheng Lingyu, you’ve got nerve.”
Luo Binghe’s eyes burned with killing intent.
“Taking that as praise?”
Cheng Lingyu’s relaxed tone only fueled Luo Binghe’s anger.
“Still mocking me while death looms? I’ll make you regret it.”
As his words hung in the air, four figures lunged at Lou Ri City’s experts.
Xiao Lingfeng and Han Zhen remained calm, having anticipated the ambush. Each engaged an opponent. Han Zhen struggled most, facing a Zhan Wumen expert at the fifth level of Blood Martial.
Cheng Lingyu patted Hu Yuer’s hand. “Assist Han Zhen. This one wants a chat with me.”
Hu Yuer warned, “He wields a spirit artifact.”
Cheng Lingyu grinned. “I’ve got plenty myself.”
Hu Yuer vanished, reappearing beside Han Zhen. The fox in her arms leaped out, morphing into a six-tailed snow fox that swelled to a mountainous size, radiating terror.
Luo Binghe scowled. “You’ve hidden such a trick?”
Cheng Lingyu replied coldly, “I need no aid to kill you. At Guishun Valley, you struck me with a sword. Today, I repay that debt.”
Luo Binghe sneered. “With your Soul Martial Sixth Realm? Arrogant fool.”
He lunged forward, a fish spine gleaming with golden light and Spiritual Light in his grip—a mid-grade spirit artifact.
Cheng Lingyu’s eyes narrowed. “Mid-grade spirit artifact.”
Luo Binghe smirked. “Exactly. Die now.”
He slashed the fish spine, tearing through defenses as it shot toward Cheng Lingyu’s chest.
Cheng Lingyu grinned eerily, making no attempt to dodge as the mid-grade spirit artifact stabbed his chest.
Luo Binghe bellowed furiously, “Cheng Lingyu! You dare look down on me? You think I can’t kill you?”
Channeling twelvefold power, Luo Binghe drove the spirit artifact’s full might into Cheng Lingyu’s chest.
A metallic clang rang out. The fish spine struck true yet failed to pierce even the skin.
“Impossible! This… can’t be!”
Luo Binghe’s roar shook the sky, his face twisted with denial.
“Told you I’d return the favor.”
Cheng Lingyu’s eyes swirled like twin vortices. A thought sword materialized – the Destruction of Space Divine Thought Wave’s mental assault, too swift to evade.
Maddened by hatred, Luo Binghe unleashed his own mental strike. Their psychic blades collided thousands of times in an eyeblink before Luo Binghe’s defenses crumbled. His agonized scream pierced the air as Cheng Lingyu snatched the fish spine and punched through him, obliterating both body and soul.
The entire confrontation lasted mere seconds, resolved in a single exchange.
“Junior Luo!”
The fifth level Blood Martial expert battling Han Zhen and Hu Yuer abandoned his opponents, charging at Cheng Lingyu for vengeance.
Cheng Lingyu tensed, suffocating under the Blood Martial Fifth Level expert’s oppressive aura. With a roar, he thrust the fish spine, rupturing the space-time confinement to regain movement. Retreating swiftly, he launched rapid thrusts with the spine until Han Zhen and Hu Yuer intercepted the attacker.
Breathing heavily, Cheng Lingyu grimly acknowledged his cultivation level’s limitations. While capable of slaying Blood Weapon Second Level foes, victory against Blood Martial Third Level opponents remained uncertain without aids like the magic knife, Flying Flower Snow Moon Sword, or Six Mysterious Deadly Formation. Even against fifth level Blood Martial experts, these tools offered no guarantee.
Han Zhen and Hu Yuer barely held their ground, aided by the six-tailed snow fox diverting the enemy’s attention. Hu Yuer’s Blood Martial Third Level cultivation puzzled Cheng Lingyu.
Xiao Lingfeng fought his Zhan Wumen opponent to a standstill, while Chen Song and Zuo Yi remained deadlocked. Scanning the battlefield, Cheng Lingyu realized he alone could tip the scales.
Vanishing from sight, he reappeared beside Xiao Lingfeng’s adversary – a fifth level Blood Martial combat specialist. Mundane attacks being useless, Cheng Lingyu unleashed the Destruction of Space Divine Thought Strike. Though only manifesting a thousandth of this advanced technique’s power, it overwhelmed the enemy’s mental defenses better than any Dreamy Magic Eyes technique.
As his foe staggered mentally, Cheng Lingyu followed with physical onslaught – a heaven-shaking longsword strike carrying mountain-shattering force. The seamless fusion of mental and physical assault left no opening for defense.
By the time they realized something was wrong, dodging had become impossible.
That sword strike contained boundless power, channeling Cheng Lingyu’s entire strength and merging with the divine might of the high-grade spirit artifact Flying Flower Snow Moon Sword, enough to split the sky itself.
The Zhan Wumen expert, caught completely off guard, found no chance to evade when danger struck.
“Damn you!”
A shrill scream pierced the air as the sword nearly destroyed the expert, blasting away half his body.
Xiao Lingfeng shouted encouragingly, “Well done, Cheng junior apprentice! Leave the rest to me.”
Cheng Lingyu withdrew swiftly, riding the divine might of the Flying Flower Snow Moon Sword as he charged at Han Zhen, instantly overwhelming his strong enemy.
Soon after, two Blood Martial Fourth Level experts from the Ji Family also fell wounded beneath the Flying Flower Snow Moon Sword’s edge, subdued by the high-grade spirit artifact’s sharpness.
Within moments, all four enemies had been captured.
“Cheng junior apprentice, how should we deal with them? Execute them directly?”
Cheng Lingyu observed the four gravely injured foes and asked, “Elder Brother Xiao, I’ve heard the fifth level of Blood Martial forms bloodline marks within the body – part of the Human Blood Constitution among heavenly veins, earth bones, and beast souls. Can these Pulse Seals be stolen or absorbed?”
Xiao Lingfeng shook his head. “Bloodline power works strangely. It can’t be forcibly taken, only inherited. Simply put, when reaching the fifth level of Blood Martial, one’s vital essence becomes Pulse Seals. This blood essence becomes highly toxic to others, causing deadly hemolytic reactions.”
Cheng Lingyu sighed thoughtfully. “So the blood of fifth level Blood Martial cultivators becomes a Weapon?”
“You could say that,” Xiao Lingfeng nodded. “But most experts avoid this method as it severely weakens their cultivation level.”
Cheng Lingyu laughed. “Since their blood’s so precious, we shouldn’t waste it. Trouble Elder Brother Xiao to collect their Pulse Seal blood essence.”
Xiao Lingfeng blinked in surprise at the unusual request.
The Blood Martial Fourth Level experts’ blood contained condensed Blood Souls not yet transformed into Pulse Seals – these could be absorbed.
Cheng Lingyu devoured the Ji Family experts’ Blood Souls, slowly digesting them before collecting four storage rings. The group then continued On Your Way.
Xiao Lingfeng, Han Zhen and others followed silently, deferring to Cheng Lingyu’s leadership.
Hu Yuer cradled her snow fox while holding Cheng Lingyu’s hand, her charming eyes bright with satisfaction.
Having spent considerable time in the ancient ruin since their arrival, the elimination of Zhan Wumen and Ji Family foes left Cheng Lingyu unusually relaxed, a rare smile gracing his features.
The blood river flowed steadily beneath swirling blood mist, strange visions intermittently appearing to tempt cultivators onward.
“The crimson glow ahead intensifies – we must be nearing the end,” Han Zhen reported from the vanguard, sensing ominous vibrations ahead.
Hu Yuer added, “We’re close, but remember there are multiple blood rivers.”
Cheng Lingyu soared skyward, spotting a massive blood lake fed by three crimson tributaries. Numerous Blood Martial Realm cultivators from the ancient ruin clustered around its shores.
Descending, Cheng Lingyu frowned – the blood lake area radiated extreme danger, the first such foreboding he’d felt since entering this mysterious region.
Landing beside Hu Yuer, he fixed her with a questioning gaze. “Nothing to say about this?”