Chapter 19: Spiritual Power Self-Detonation

In that instant, winds rose and clouds surged above the valley, and the entire sky over Zhaoge darkened.

Everyone in the valley looked up one after another, crying out in disbelief at the wind and clouds that had suddenly been stirred into motion.

The barrier that had originally enveloped the menial workers abruptly expanded, like a great bowl turned upside down over the entire valley.

Meanwhile, the shadow guard standing silently behind Chi Yixuan transformed into a stream of black smoke and surged toward Song Dianlai, who was fleeing into the distance. The smoke condensed like a snake and wrapped tightly around him.

Song Dianlai felt a suffocating pressure. The protective spiritual light around his body immediately lit up, and the black smoke coiling around him at once began to hiss, like raw meat thrown into a hot wok. Yet the black smoke refused to loosen its hold. Instead, as if carrying a hatred engraved into the bone, it wound tighter and tighter.

Blue veins bulged on Song Dianlai’s neck. His sleeves billowed as spiritual pressure burst out in an instant, forcefully throwing off the shadow guard. But he had no desire to keep fighting, and without even looking back, he continued fleeing forward.

A cultivator traveling on the wind was extremely fast. At this rate, he would soon escape this stretch of desert.

Since Chi Yixuan had already formed the intent to kill, he naturally would not let him leave.

Putting aside the fact that Song Dianlai had harbored killing intent toward the mortals in the valley, the mere fact that he had recognized this body’s identity and immediately turned to run meant this man absolutely could not be allowed to live.

The person who had taken the original body’s life-bound artifact had been at least Golden Core or above. On the road of exile, the original body had been sold into Strange Treasure Hall as a human sacrifice. Yet a person like Song Dianlai, who viewed mortals as ants, could actually remember a human sacrifice’s appearance and name so clearly. Clearly, he had either been involved, or someone had specifically instructed him.

If he were allowed to run away just like this, he would definitely go report to the Tyrant Blade Sect. At that point, all of Zhaoge, including Chi Yixuan himself and over a thousand others, would die without a place to be buried.

“He has to stay here.”

No sooner had the words fallen than Song Dianlai, who was fleeing ahead, suddenly split into five and fled in five different directions. And these five avatars were not as simple as illusions. Every single one was vividly lifelike, and even as they fled, they attacked in their direction. Spiritual talismans, one after another, shot over with murderous intent. In midair, they wove into a spiritual net and trapped the shadow guard inside.

Black smoke boiled around the shadow guard’s body. It broke free of the spiritual talismans at great speed, and the shattered talismans scattered into threads of spiritual light and disappeared. Yet the shadow guard froze in place, because faced with five completely identical Song Dianlais, it was lost, having no idea which direction to pursue.

The avatars he had scattered obstructed the pursuing shadow guard, but Song Dianlai did not feel even the slightest bit smug right now. Only horror remained in his heart.

Back when he had seen He Nianyuan, that man had already been half-mad, haggard in appearance and cold in expression, completely different from Chi Yixuan’s bearing and demeanor. Moreover, Chi Yixuan was an unfamiliar cultivator with a Foundation Establishment guard. Even if Song Dianlai felt he looked somewhat familiar, he would never have connected him with a cripple.

It was only when Chi Yixuan refused to punish the people in the valley, and when his face remained icy without the slightest trace of warmth, that Song Dianlai faintly matched him to He Nianyuan’s appearance. The same place, the same looks. How could there be such a coincidence under heaven?

But how could a cripple regain his cultivation? And even have a Foundation Establishment guard?

So before Chi Yixuan had even finished delivering that harsh threat, Song Dianlai turned and fled. He was timid, and did not dare fight cultivators from the Easternmost Continent. But it was also because he was timid that he had survived until now. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting one Foundation Establishment cultivator—Song Dianlai had never even considered any other possibility.

In order to flee for his life and report this matter to the immortal gate, Song Dianlai did not hold anything back. He directly used his own life-bound artifact.

Ordinary puppet avatars could not confuse the enemy for long, but a life-bound artifact could. A life-bound artifact was connected to his soul to begin with, so its aura was identical to his. The avatars molded by the life-bound artifact did not need his personal control and could still possess thirty percent of his true body’s strength. Not only could they confuse the enemy, they could also delay them. By the time the other side killed those avatars one by one, Song Dianlai would have already escaped.

Yet no matter what, Song Dianlai never expected that in the next moment, Chi Yixuan would bring the shadow guard and, without the slightest hesitation, abandon the other four puppets, charging straight toward him.

His eyes widened until the corners nearly split.

…

[Your Majesty, chase the one southeast. The rest are fake.]

Chi Yixuan’s life-bound artifact had its limitations. At present, its scouting range could only reach beings below the cultivator level. Yet at this moment, that instead became an advantage. When the life-bound artifact discovered that among the five Song Dianlais, there was only one it could not sense, it immediately locked onto the target.

Without another word, Chi Yixuan brought the shadow guard and moved to cut him off directly.

At first, Song Dianlai thought it was just bad luck. But after he used his life-bound artifact again to split off even more puppets in an attempt to confuse his pursuers, he was horrified to discover that the other party truly had the ability to see through them.

With a boom, the shadow guard smashed a fist into Song Dianlai, forcibly shattering his protective spiritual light. Song Dianlai threw out his remaining magic artifacts. Several spiritual talismans gleaming with golden light shot through the air like arrows. Chi Yixuan dodged nimbly, and several talismans grazed past his afterimage before landing in the ground, blasting a huge crater into the sand.

At the same time, several other magic artifacts rushed toward Chi Yixuan and the shadow guard, trailing spiritual light: a cone spinning at high speed, a ruyi that released poisonous gas, a pearl flashing with lightning...

Seeing this, the shadow guard decisively expanded its body. The black shadow condensed into a curtain blocking Chi Yixuan’s front. The cone, the ruyi, and the pearl sank into the curtain as if sinking into a viscous swamp, their light gradually dimming as they lost their power. At the same time, the shadow guard’s figure also grew illusory, clearly on the verge of collapse.

Chi Yixuan had no time to worry about the shadow guard. He had been silently calculating in his heart all along. Seeing that Song Dianlai had consumed more than half his spiritual power, the corners of his mouth curled coldly, and he suddenly raised his voice. “We perceive the finest detail and misjudge no one. Execute!”

The final word echoed through heaven and earth, leaving lingering reverberations. Invisible might erupted in an instant. Song Dianlai, who was just about to rush out of the desert, suddenly froze as if struck by a heavy blow. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, and at the same time, he could no longer ride the wind. He plunged headfirst from the sky.

His blood fell onto the sand, and quite a few demonic creatures burrowed out from beneath the ground to lick up the cultivator’s blood. Only when Chi Yixuan flew down and landed did these demonic creatures swiftly burrow back into the sand and vanish.

The desert wind brushed against the hem of Chi Yixuan’s robe. He stepped forward and stopped in front of Song Dianlai. Then he heard him say with outward fierceness but inward weakness, “If you dare kill me, the Tyrant Blade Sect won’t let you off!”

Chi Yixuan only asked, “How much do you know about the He family massacre?”

Song Dianlai chuckled. “If I tell you, then once I’m no longer of use, will you not kill me?”

Chi Yixuan smiled faintly, leaned closer, and said, “If I strip away your life-bound artifact and turn you into a cripple, how do you think those mortals you look down on will take revenge on you?”

Song Dianlai’s pupils abruptly contracted. He stared at him in disbelief.

Chi Yixuan shook his head. “As expected, you don’t know about this.” Thinking about it, it made sense. Although Song Dianlai was a cultivator, he was probably at the very bottom of the Tyrant Blade Sect. Moreover, Song Dianlai had come out of the Easternmost Continent and had no foundation at all in the Tyrant Blade Sect. It was not surprising that he did not even know a life-bound artifact could be taken away.

Sure enough, Song Dianlai did not believe it. “Nonsense. A life-bound artifact is connected to the soul. How could it possibly be taken away?” Song Dianlai was too badly injured to get up, but seeing that Chi Yixuan did not immediately make a move, a fluke hope rose in him again. “Fellow Daoist He, back then, I was only following orders when I sent you to Nameless Valley. Spare my life. No, I am willing to take you as my master and help conceal this from the Tyrant Blade Sect. As long as...”

Chi Yixuan shook his head.

He only had part of the original body’s memories, so he had no real impression of Song Dianlai. But the intensity with which the shadow guard had pursued him just now could simply be called biting. It was obvious that although the shadow guard had no intellect, its instinctive hatred had still not been forgotten. Judging from the shadow guard’s attitude, this Song Dianlai was absolutely not as innocent as he claimed.

Seeing that Chi Yixuan still intended to kill him, a ruthless look flashed through Song Dianlai’s eyes. In the next instant, without the slightest hesitation, he detonated his spiritual power. The remaining spiritual power in his dantian was squandered clean. Looking at Chi Yixuan, who had been swallowed by spiritual pressure, he burst into loud laughter. “Since that’s how it is, come be buried with me!”

The violent spiritual pressure tore Chi Yixuan’s outer robe apart, revealing the two whips beneath it.

Under the drive of Foundation Establishment spiritual power, these two low-grade magic artifacts radiated brilliant spiritual light. They wound around his body into a hollow garment, blocking the first wave of explosive spiritual pressure. By the time these two magic artifacts dimmed, the spiritual pressure rushing toward him encountered yet another layer of obstruction—a piece of armor that had broken through yellow-grade.

This had been made from the Black Armor King Beetle that Guo Qianshan and the others had taken down.

Under these layers of defense, Song Dianlai’s suicidal spiritual power explosion did not leave even a flesh wound on Chi Yixuan.

Watching this scene helplessly, Song Dianlai glared in unwillingness. His head tilted to the side, and he died of anger.

Chi Yixuan was also very unwilling. After all, he was a pauper. These had been his only two magic artifacts, and now both were gone.

Next Chapter >