"Old dog, come face me!"
Song Changsheng gripped his great spear tightly, currents of water swirling along its shaft. His eyes burned like torches, and his voice thundered like a bell.
"So arrogant! You think no one can deal with you just because you killed Zhang Chenlong?" Cheng Yufei sneered coldly, holding a pitch-black metal seal in his palm. The overwhelming pressure it emitted was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
"Hmph. If I'd had as many years of cultivation as you, cutting off your head would be as easy as reaching into a bag." Song Changsheng's eyes brimmed with disdain. Though Cheng Yufei was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, Song Changsheng wasn't without his trump cards. It was far from certain who would win or lose.
"Die!"
With a roar, Cheng Yufei threw the seal into the air. It soared above his head and suddenly erupted with golden light, crashing down like a mountain, aiming to crush him beneath its weight.
"Break!"
Song Changsheng pointed his Water-Cleaving Spear diagonally. Spiritual energy from the surrounding heavens and earth surged toward the spear's tip, forming a swirling vortex. The muscles on his arm bulged with tension as his blood boiled with power. He was going to take the hit head-on!
Clang!
The spear met the falling seal with a deafening crash. Song Changsheng felt as if a mountain had landed on him tremendous force traveled down through his weapon, making his arm tremble. His sleeves tore apart, revealing bulging veins on his forearms.
Crack... Crack...
In just moments, the solid floor beneath his feet shattered, making him sink slightly from the pressure.
Gritting his teeth tightly, Song Changsheng could feel his blood surging violently. On his spleen, the vividly detailed image etched there began to glow.
A powerful energy erupted from deep within him, soaring into the sky.
"Rise!!!"
Song Changsheng's eyes widened as he roared, pouring every ounce of his strength into lifting the seal inch by inch. Cracks spread like spiderwebs from his feet across the ground.
"His physical strength is this terrifying?"
Cheng Yufei's expression turned grim. Although his seal wasn't technically a spiritual artifact, it had been refined for years and was not far off in power. A full-force strike could easily level a small hill.
He had expected Song Changsheng to be crushed into paste under the blow, but the man had blocked it head-on.
"To have such power just after forming his foundation... He must be eliminated now! If he's allowed to grow further, our sect's centuries of heritage could be destroyed in his hands."
Cheng Yufei's murderous intent deepened. He could no longer afford to hold back he had to kill him before the City Lord's mansion could intervene.
He slid his fingers across his storage pouch and pulled out a golden seed the size of a thumb.
Muttering a few arcane syllables under his breath, he tossed the seed onto the ground, where it sank straight into the earth and vanished.
Though Song Changsheng was struggling to repel the seal, he hadn't let his guard down. His instincts screamed danger at Cheng Yufei's mysterious actions.
With a stomp of his foot, he channeled all his power into his spear. Yin and yang energies swirled around the tip and formed a furious dragon, which blasted the massive seal into the air.
Before he could catch his breath, a jolt shot through his nerves. Without hesitation, Song Changsheng retreated at full speed.
A moment later, a massive vine burst through the ground where he had just stood. It was deep green, covered in razor-sharp thorns, and easily over ten zhang long.
RUMBLE
The ground all around him began to bulge violently as if something beneath was ready to erupt. There was no doubt: more of those monstrous vines were coming.
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, dense vines burst forth, turning the once-spacious street into a jungle. They slithered like giant pythons, all aiming to tear Song Changsheng apart.
"Floating Light, Skimming Shadow!"
Song Changsheng darted and weaved through the onslaught with exceptional footwork, evading the barrage of attacks like dancing raindrops. But the area around him was being sealed off rapidly. He was running out of room to dodge.
Finally, hundreds of vines surged toward him all at once there was nowhere left to escape.
Battle fervor surged in Song Changsheng's heart. He exhaled sharply through his nose, sending out two thick jets of air, and stabbed his Water-Cleaving Spear into the ground beside him. His hands began forming seals as rapidly as lightning.
Array patterns, carved into his bones, acupoints, and even muscles, suddenly lit up from within. For a moment, the radiance seemed to shine through his flesh, bathing him in light.
"Yin-Yang Duality Array Activate!"
A pair of black and white orbs spun around him like loyal guardians, shredding any vine that dared approach within a zhang of his body.
In an instant, broken vines fell like rain to the ground.
There stood Song Changsheng unshaken, unmoving, at the heart of a thousand writhing tendrils.
Cheng Yufei's gaze turned venomous. His hand seals changed rapidly, and the vines began twisting violently with renewed force.
Song Changsheng sensed danger once again and narrowed his eyes. A strange and eerie symbol appeared in his pupils.
"Eye of True Sight Open!"
With the aid of his eye technique, Song Changsheng's gaze pierced through the floor and layers of soil, finally locking onto the source of the countless vines around him.
It was a glittering speck the very Golden Gourd Seed that Cheng Yufei had thrown down earlier.
At that moment, the vines spawned by the seed began retracting rapidly, but Song Changsheng felt no relief. On the contrary, he could sense a terrifying presence being nurtured within it.
"To refine a seed into a spiritual artifact... quite the extravagant move," Song Changsheng muttered coldly as he reached out and drew his spear from the ground.
"Hmph, how could a brat like you comprehend the means of my sect?" Cheng Yufei's gaze was frosty.
Despite his cultivation being far superior to this junior, Cheng Yufei had still resorted to using a spiritual artifact. If word got out, he would be widely ridiculed. But none of that mattered now he had to crush this rising genius with thunderous force before the City Lord's estate could interfere.
RUMBLE!
Without warning, a ten-zhang radius around them collapsed inward. The next moment, a giant hand made entirely of vines burst from the earth then a massive head, torso, and legs followed.
Song Changsheng squinted at the hulking creature before him. Its appearance matched legends of the "Tree Demon": towering several zhang tall, its face faintly human-like, exuding faint signs of intelligence and its aura was no weaker than Cheng Yufei's.
In an instant, Song Changsheng found himself pitted against two formidable foes, and the pressure on him surged.
"ROAR"
The Tree Demon's massive form moved, one enormous hand sweeping toward Song Changsheng like a mountain crashing down.
He hastily summoned his Ink Jade Lotus Platform to block the blow but vastly underestimated the creature's brute strength. The Tree Demon slammed him, platform and all, sending him flying like a ragdoll.
His left side felt like it had been rammed by a runaway carriage. He smashed into a nearby storefront wall with a loud crash, leaving a gaping hole and sending the terrified shop owner fleeing for his life.
"Cough, cough"
Propping himself up with his spear, Song Changsheng rose with difficulty, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Thankfully, his body was incredibly resilient, and he was wearing the Xuantian Battle Armor underneath. The blow had only fractured some ribs and displaced his organs slightly. Any other early Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been dead or half-dead from that strike.
BOOM!
Cheng Yufei gave him no chance to recover. While controlling the Tree Demon to keep up the assault, he also hurled his pitch-black seal down once more.
"Damn it! You just don't quit, do you?" A fierce glint flashed in Song Changsheng's eyes. As the twin attacks came crashing down, he summoned the Lu Wu Bell.
The Tree Demon's hand and the falling seal both struck the bell with an earth-shaking clang, the sound so jarring it made Cheng Yufei instinctively cover his ears.
"Now! Gourd of Soul-Slaying, strike!"
A sharp gleam burst from Song Changsheng's eyes. He summoned the Soul-Slaying Gourd, which had lain dormant until now. It spun gently unleashing an invisible blade that shot straight into Cheng Yufei's sea of consciousness.
"ARGHH!"
Caught completely off guard, Cheng Yufei screamed in agony, clutching his head. Fortunately, his spiritual soul was powerful, and though the blow caused serious damage, it didn't kill him outright.
The excruciating pain distorted his face, making him look nearly deranged. Glaring at Song Changsheng with twisted hatred, he snarled:
"So that's your trump card? Your backup plan? I truly underestimated you... Not only do you possess a top-grade spiritual artifact, but also a soul-slashing tool and a host of mysterious abilities."
"You're quite something, truly. No wonder Junior Brother Qu fell at your hands. Given thirty more years, you might become someone too fearsome to face."
"But this farce ends now I'll personally destroy you!"
As he spoke, a yellowed talisman appeared in his hand. It immediately disintegrated into ash, releasing a blinding sword light that shot skyward and aimed directly at Song Changsheng's throat.
"Second-grade, peak-tier Bright Sky Sword Talisman!"
This was Cheng Yufei's ultimate attack, even while suffering from soul injuries. Song Changsheng narrowed his eyes as he layered every bit of defense he had in front of him:
Lu Wu Bell
Ink Jade Lotus Platform
The Yin-Yang Duality Array, forming a Taiji diagram
And every defensive spell he had ever mastered.
Slash!
The sword light sliced through each spell like a hot knife through butter. The Taiji diagram shattered, the lotus platform cracked, and finally, the remaining force struck the Lu Wu Bell, launching it away.
Luckily, all those layers had weakened the attack by nearly 90%. By the time the sword light hit his body, it was further mitigated by the Xuantian Battle Armor. In the end, it only left a one-zhang-long sword gash across his chest, soaking his robe in blood.
Cheng Yufei slowly approached, towering over the slumped Song Changsheng, and said condescendingly,
"So ends the hope of the Song Clan's rise by my hand."
Yet Song Changsheng didn't panic. Instead, he smiled a cold, eerie smile, made all the more chilling by the blood on his lips.
Cheng Yufei's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively tried to retreat.
But Song Changsheng wasn't about to let him escape not after paying such a heavy price for this one chance.
His eyes lit up with a sharp, killing intent. "Stay."
A black flash suddenly burst from his palm and shot straight toward Cheng Yufei with blinding speed.
Feeling the wave of destruction in that dark light, Cheng Yufei's face went pale as he cried out in disbelief:
"The Slaughter God's Flying Dagger?!"
SHHHHHRIP
The pitch-black Flying Dagger mercilessly tore through Cheng Yufei's defenses. He could only watch helplessly as it pierced into his body and detonated with a thunderous blast.
Under normal circumstances, Cheng Yufei was confident he could have blocked the strike. But Song Changsheng's patience had paid off he struck precisely when Cheng Yufei had become most arrogant and least vigilant.
BOOM!
Cheng Yufei's body exploded on the spot. A mighty late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was reduced to nothing but scattered chunks of flesh.
Seeing that the Slaughter God's Flying Dagger had dealt a decisive, killing blow, Song Changsheng finally let out a long breath of relief. Retrieving his various artifacts, he turned and walked toward the place where the Golden Gourd Seed was buried.
That tree demon had been a manifestation of a spiritual artifact. With Cheng Yufei now dead, it reverted to its original form.
Such a rare treasure couldn't be allowed to slip away.
Just as he reached out to restrain it, the Golden Gourd Seed suddenly transformed into a streak of golden light and shot off into the distance. Song Changsheng tried to pursue it but was simply too injured he could only sigh in frustration as the artifact vanished before his eyes.
"At least the storage pouch remains," Song Changsheng muttered as he looked at Cheng Yufei's spatial Pouch and the black seal lying nearby. A trace of comfort returned to his heart.
However, the world was never short of those who preyed on the wounded. No one had dared intervene earlier because of the fierce battle, but now with one combatant dead and the other injured the hidden jackals began to stir.
"If I were you, friend, I wouldn't touch that Spatial Pouch."
A voice, laced with menace and disgust, rang out beside Song Changsheng's ear.
He turned to find a gloomy-faced young man approaching. Though he didn't recognize the man, he immediately recognized the voice and sneered coldly as he pocketed the Spatial Pouch.
"Ulou Chuan?" he said with icy calm.
"Heh, since you know this grandmaster's name, you'd best hand over the pouch and those shiny little artifacts too. Do so, and I might let you live."
Ulou Chuan licked his lips greedily. Everything Song Changsheng had used during the battle had exposed his wealth, drawing more than a few eyes from the shadows.
Still, his earlier display especially the one-shot kill on a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator had scared most of those people into staying put. Even now, despite his heavy injuries, few dared to make a move.
Only Ulou Chuan had stepped forward.
But even he kept his distance. That terrifying Slaughter God's Flying Dagger was still a mystery to him, and he didn't dare bet that Song Changsheng had already used up all his cards.
Seeing this cowardly posture, Song Changsheng's eyes gleamed with disdain. He said coldly:
"Before you think of robbing someone, you'd best consider whether you're qualified. One more step and you die."
He still had two more Slaughter God's Flying Daggers in his possession. While it felt like a waste to use one on someone like Ulou Chuan, now was the time to make an example.
Ulou Chuan was notorious for bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Seeing Song Changsheng so calm and confident, he suddenly lost his nerve. Was he still holding something back?
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to test the waters. He summoned two puppets one humanoid iron puppet, and the other a beast puppet refined from a monster corpse. Both were low-grade Tier 2.
Controlling the two, he directed them to attack from both flanks in a pincer formation.
But Song Changsheng showed no fear at all. Gripping his spear in one hand and the Soul-Slaying Gourd hovering above his head, he stood ready for another bloody battle.
Just as the fight was about to erupt
a streak of sword light shot in from the distance, descending like a meteor and landing right in front of Song Changsheng…
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