Chapter 94: Fierce Fighting

Because Zuo Zhicheng had left, several monsters immediately rushed onto the boat and tangled with the members of the Shadow Corps. Just as Qingyue Qiu and the others thought Ghost Fist had fled first, Zuo Zhicheng shouted, “Hold on tight.”

He did not give them extra time to think. Tang Xianghui and the others instinctively grabbed the edge of the boat. Then, they saw Zuo Zhicheng pull hard with both hands. A rope tied to Zuo Zhicheng’s waist and the front of the small boat suddenly became taut. It turned out Zuo Zhicheng had tied a rope beforehand before charging toward the stone platform.

Now standing firmly on solid ground, Zuo Zhicheng could finally use his strength without restraint. Having reached Grand Completion of Qi Training, with Purple Innate Qi covering 77% of his body, he fully unleashed his power. The boat was pulled like it was being dragged by a bull elephant. With a loud roar, it charged toward the stone platform.

The few monsters that had just rushed over lost balance and fell into the lake. Other monsters coming from behind were caught off guard and leaped toward the boat’s original spot, all tumbling into the water.

Under the shocked gazes of Tang Xianghui and the others, Zuo Zhicheng gave a loud shout. The muscles in his arms visibly contracted intensely. With a bang, the entire boat lifted off the water. Though it rose just a dozen centimeters high, the boat was dragged right onto the stone platform.

“Get up! Prepare to fight!”

As the Shadow Corps members were still dizzy from the motion, Zuo Zhicheng kicked out one by one, flinging two monsters that were still tightly clinging to the boat.

Unrestrained, the force he displayed was truly terrifying. The two monsters flew through the air with a roar. Before they even landed, their heads burst open, brains splattering; they died instantly.

But these monsters were fearless. Even though everyone had reached the stone platform, the monsters still pursued relentlessly, screaming and charging toward the stone platform.

Zuo Zhicheng stomped and burst one monster’s lungs, then twisted another monster’s neck with one hand. Spotting the much smaller Shadow Guard in the air, he still had time to turn and say, “Qingyue Qiu, use your Dao Arts for support, using them at critical moments.”

Though Qingyue Qiu’s expression remained cold, she still replied, “Okay.”

The next moment, the remaining monsters surged forward like a tide. But this time, Zuo Zhicheng could unleash his full power and no longer feared them. Every punch and every kick of his killed a monster. He was like a human tank, firmly blocking the path in front of the Shadow Corps.

Bang! Another monster was slapped against the mountain wall. Its head looked like it had been run over by a truck.

Moreover, with Night Vision Mode activated, no matter how the monsters attempted to ambush him—whether darting out from the shadows or charging from the river—they couldn’t succeed. Though he couldn’t see living creatures from afar like with Infrared Vision, within at least ten meters, everything was as clear as under sunlight. All ambushes by these monsters failed.

The battle left Tang Xianghui and the others behind him wide-eyed and astonished. Although they had also achieved Grand Completion of Qi Training, Zuo Zhicheng’s lethality far surpassed any martial arts master they had ever seen. Each of his punches and kicks seemed designed solely for killing.

And though they too had reached Grand Completion of Qi Training, with Innate Primordial Breath covering the entire body surface, Northern Peng Hanging Heaven Style’s range and depth in cultivating Innate Primordial Breath—essentially the human muscles—and the evolution of Innate Primordial Breath were beyond comparison with ordinary Authentic Transmission Martial Arts practiced today.

“This monster,” Tang Yuan gasped, watching the corpses piling at Zuo Zhicheng’s feet at a visible rate. “Now I’m a bit worried about the distribution of Spiritual Energy Food.”

“Don’t think nonsense, let’s help too.” Tang Xianghui looked up and saw a monster darting from the shadows at the platform’s edge, lunging at Zuo Zhicheng’s back. Just as he was about to warn him, Zuo Zhicheng seemed to already know. He turned and threw a swing punch. His fist was like a sledgehammer; with a loud bang, it crushed the monster’s skull completely and snapped its neck, sending the head flying.

Witnessing such a brutal and powerful strike, even knowing Ghost Fist was on their side, Tang Xianghui couldn’t help but gasp. ‘If I had taken such a punch…’ He shook his head, stopping his wild thoughts, and charged forward to join the fight.

Meanwhile, seeing Zuo Zhicheng standing like a wall at the edge of the stone platform, the monsters howled and changed tactics. They climbed the stone walls, moving around to the back of the platform, starting to attack Zuo Zhicheng and the others from both front and rear.

Shouts, screams, and roars filled the cavern. After leaving over a hundred corpses behind, the monsters finally retreated.

In this fierce battle, the Shadow Corps lost two members, including the one previously killed on the boat.

Apart from the three missing members from the other boat, only four remained on this boat: Zuo Zhicheng, Qingyue Qiu, Tang Yuan, and Tang Xianghui.

Looking at the cave full of heavy shadows, Qingyue Qiu let out a breath. She hadn’t expected so many deaths just to reach the camp.

“What should we do next?” Tang Xianghui looked at Zuo Zhicheng. Clearly, the series of fights had made them trust Ghost Fist’s words more.

Under his mask, Zuo Zhicheng’s expression was odd. During the recent battle, he had felt something new—both violent and calm, as if something special had mixed into the killing intent.

‘Maybe it’s a change from reaching Spirit Refining. Is it because I killed so many monsters?’ He felt he had moved a tiny bit closer to Human Aspect.

Hearing Tang Xianghui’s question, he snapped back to attention. Scanning the stone platform underfoot, he saw the mountain walls around the platform were covered with various reliefs carved with axes and knives, exuding a wild, primitive atmosphere.

According to the materials he had read, experts hired by the Shadow Corps judged these reliefs to be carved by the legendary Amariken. Though thousands of years had blurred the carvings, traces could still be seen.

But Zuo Zhicheng obviously wasn’t here for history or archaeology. He looked toward the cave opening at the innermost part of the platform, flanked by two humanoid statues. He knew that was the entrance to the ruins.

Zuo Zhicheng said calmly, “Going back is impossible. On the boat, we’re just targets, and who knows how many monsters are still lurking in the shadows. Our only way now is forward.”

Tang Yuan asked, “But what if it’s a dead end inside?”

“As long as we find Spiritual Energy Food, we could even stay inside for a week or two. We can improve our strength enough to deal with those monsters before coming out.”

As he spoke, Zuo Zhicheng crouched down and examined a monster corpse on the ground. He pinched off a bit of the gray skin-like layer and brought it to his nose to smell.

“Corpse Wax?” Zuo Zhicheng looked at the monster strangely. “Clearly a living thing that can be killed by external force—but why does its body already have Corpse Wax, which is unique to the dead?”