Chapter 109: Annihilation
Chapter 109: Annihilation
Cheng Lingyu’s figure flickered like a ghost as he launched a frenzied assault. Butterflies swarmed around Lu Hu, initiating ruthless slaughter.
Lu Hu’s broken right arm severely weakened him. Oppressed by the magic knife’s pressure, his mind teetered on madness. Those reaching the peak of Soul Martial Realm endured countless battles through blood and fire. Being cornered to death by a mere True Martial cultivator filled Lu Hu with indignant rage.
But rage bred panic, and panic bred mistakes. Cheng Lingyu’s Invasion of the Mind further shattered Lu Hu’s spirit, crippling both his Defensive Strength and attack power.
“Time’s up. Let me end this.”
Cheng Lingyu’s icy voice rang with terror. In that instant, Heart Sword Leaves No Trace struck – his ultimate killer move that once obliterated mountain peaks. Now fused with black death light, it had become the Sword of the Reaper. A single hit meant certain death.
Though sensing danger, Lu Hu couldn’t resist. His body convulsed violently, cracks spreading across his form as martial souls inside screamed in terror before being consumed by black flames.
Nangong Yehong stared in disbelief. Lu Hu had been nine stages stronger at Seven Levels of Soul Martial Arts, yet fell to Cheng Lingyu’s hands. Unthinkable.
“Your turn now.”
Cheng Lingyu turned coldly, blood-streaked lips twisting cruelly. He pounced like a leopard, actions replacing words. Their murderous intent justified his ruthlessness – this was his creed, forged through childhood humiliation.
Of seventeen experts from two great families, eight already lay dead. Nine remained.
“Stay focused! Kill him together!”
Despite her anxiety, Nangong Yehong commanded the remaining experts calmly. Cheng Lingyu darted between targets – against nine late-stage Soul Martial Realm opponents, direct confrontation meant suicide.
The surviving cultivators felt bitter irony. Hunters becoming prey in their own trap – what wretched humiliation.
The magic knife’s rotating domain sealed all escape. Even Nangong Yehong couldn’t break free. Kill or be killed – no third option.
Butterflies swirled amidst flashing sword lights. Beasts materialized while spiritual energies clashed. Both sides fought desperately for survival through blood and carnage.
Blood spilled from Cheng Lingyu’s lips. Without Ghostly Magic Blade or Heart Sword Leaves No Trace, his lower cultivation level left him struggling. Yet this life-death struggle honed his skills, sharpening reactions and integrating his techniques.
His Magic Eyes technique proved crucial – seeing through enemy techniques’ flaws, piercing illusions, while launching spiritual assaults.
Amid the bloody battle, Cheng Lingyu seamlessly merged the Soul Cutting Technique with Invasion of the Mind. Through relentless combat, he grasped the nuances of various techniques under enemy pressure – growth unattainable through quiet cultivation.
“Thousand Strikes!”
After prolonged struggle, Cheng Lingyu launched a frenzied offensive to prevent complications. The overwhelming force of Thousand Strikes instantly repelled multiple foes, creating openings for follow-up attacks.
Though suppressed repeatedly, Cheng Lingyu’s determination burned fiercer. He resolved to annihilate all enemies using every skill he possessed.
The youth’s heart held icy pride and unyielding resolve. Against enemies’ battle cries, his Long Sword and fists proclaimed defiance.
When Heart Sword Leaves No Trace activated for the third time, six experts including Nangong Yehong became targets – Cheng Lingyu meant to make an example.
The formless Heart Sword emerged without warning from Cheng Lingyu’s body, bypassing all defenses. Infused with black death light, this Sword of the Reaper unleashed annihilating shockwaves that vaporized all six experts instantly.
“No… Damn you!”
Nangong Yehong’s dying scream echoed Lu Hu’s earlier refusal to accept defeat.
Nangong Zuoye shrieked in terror as the two remaining cultivators tried fleeing like haunted men, only to rebound off an invisible barrier.
“Regrets? Fear? Weren’t you so eager to capture and execute me?”
Cheng Lingyu’s frosty smile chilled Nangong Zuoye to the bone.
“You cheating coward!” The pale-faced man spat. “Fight properly and you’d lose!”
Cheng Lingyu’s bitter laugh cut through the air. “Me? Cheating? What of your bullying and shameless tactics? You never wanted fairness from the start!”
Without Heart Sword Leaves No Trace, victory would require the magic knife’s dark power – an option Cheng Lingyu considered less honorable than his current method.
“Silence! Die!”
Knowing no mercy awaited him, Nangong Zuoye led the final desperate charge. The trio’s coordinated assault briefly overwhelmed Cheng Lingyu.
Yet his body endured. While internal injuries accumulated, external wounds barely formed. This resilience proved crucial as Cheng Lingyu wielded his high-quality treasure artifact with Seven Butterfly Shadows, systematically dismantling the attackers.
Seventeen storage rings later, Cheng Lingyu retrieved his magic knife and fled.
Emerging from her ring, Lan Xiaozhu gasped at Cheng Lingyu’s bloodied state. “You need healing! Now!”
“Later.” He coughed crimson. “They’re all dead.”
“All… seventeen Soul Martial experts? By a True Martial cultivator?” Her disbelief mirrored the impossibility of the feat.
“My exposure demands swift recovery and power growth.”
Guiding his staggering form, Lan Xiaozhu suggested, “The central area’s intensifying light will draw others. We’ll find shelter at the periphery.”
At dusk, they reached a stone forest. Using Heavenly Spirit Diagram formations, they erected triple defensive barriers.
Cheng Lingyu consumed cultivation resources plundered from Guishun Valley – pills, herbs, monster cores. Lan Xiaozhu watched anxiously as he ingested enough resources to burst ordinary cultivators. Yet his true essence surged violently, forging a fourth True Essence Sea in his left foot’s sole.
Memories surfaced as Lan Xiaozhu guarded him. Their initial transaction – her purity for healing – now felt distant. Three days’ shared peril in Guishun Valley had kindled unexpected affection for this younger youth.
She recalled telling Caiyun their three possible outcomes: clean parting, one-sided attachment, or mutual love. Caiyun had dismissed the first option prophetically – Lan Xiaozhu was already falling.
“What am I in your story?” Her whisper hung unanswered.
After a day-night recovery marathon, Cheng Lingyu commenced River Stage’s final breakthrough. Lan Xiaozhu watched in terror as he devoured dozens of pills and monster cores simultaneously – a suicidal feast for others, yet fuel for his unprecedented cultivation.