Chapter 44

In the air across from him.

"You actually have a high-grade magical artifact!"

Chen Ziang instantly recognized that the Brother Hei Feng Blade in Qin Ming's hand was extraordinary.

He was stunned and furious, "I never imagined! You've been hiding your true strength—and hiding it so deeply!"

"I underestimated you too much!"

Saying this, a golden high-grade giant sword artifact instantly appeared in his hand.

Chen Ziang formed a hand seal and pointed—his golden giant sword instantly swelled tenfold above him! Golden light flashed, its aura overwhelming! "Go!"

A golden giant light-sword, dozens of zhang long, slashed toward Qin Ming with unstoppable force!

Trees beside them were instantly reduced to ash by the sword's aura. Chen Ziang dared not take it lightly—he unleashed his ultimate technique.

Qin Ming squinted slightly as the giant sword technique approached, showing not the slightest fear.

Instead, he revealed an unprecedented battle intent.

Boom! Qin Ming unleashed all his blood qi, nearly forming a solidified glass-like armor covering his entire body.

He tapped his toe against the ground and leapt high again!

Like a cannonball launched forth! Zheng! The Great Completion-level Blood-Burning Blade Art erupted again! Qin Ming unleashed its seventh form.

Shhh! Wuuu! The Brother Hei Feng Blade moaned, radiating chilling malevolence. It was a plain, unadorned slash—but infused with Qin Ming's full blood qi. A sky-covering torrent of flame-blades wove into a hellish sea of fire.

The temperature in the surrounding air surged abruptly.

The two cultivators beside Chen Ziang, watching this, were terrified, their scalps prickling! Without hesitation, each pulled out a high-grade talisman and hurled it at Qin Ming.

In an instant.

Three powerful magical techniques, arranged in a triangular formation, struck Qin Ming from three directions!

Even so, Chen Ziang's gaze remained locked on Qin Ming, not daring to relax.

Boom—boom—boom! The earth trembled.

The techniques collided violently; the central zone erupted in a towering pillar of fire, instantly rising into a thick cloud.

Zheng! Wuuu! From within the smoke, several black spiritual seeds shot out, using the mist as cover, instantly reaching the three men's feet.

Thorns Spell! The three had just finished casting their powerful techniques and were probing into the smoke.

Chen Ziang, with his late-stage Qi Condensation-level spiritual sense, sensed something wrong and shouted urgently: "Retreat!"

He decisively pulled out a blue talisman and slapped it onto himself—his entire body vanished on the spot, instantly teleporting ten zhang away.

But the two Qi Condensation sixth- and seventh-layer cultivators were not so lucky.

Instantly, clusters of black vines sprouted beneath their feet, wrapping them tightly.

Both were terrified, frantically trying to activate their magic power shields for protection.

Within mere breaths, venomous thorns radiating eerie black light pierced through their defenses and stabbed into their bodies.

Chen Ziang panicked and hurled a fire-based technique at the black vines—but it vanished like mud into the ocean, utterly ineffective.

"Why is the fire technique useless?!"

The instant the withered-blood poison vines struck, the two cultivators felt a piercing agony pierce their minds!

The magic power flowing through their bodies abruptly stalled—their spells were instantly interrupted.

Their eyes gradually grew hollow; they ceased struggling, as if their souls had been drained away by some force.

They stood motionless, soon completely swallowed by dense black vines.

In a few breaths.

The two men, who had just been lively and active, were instantly drained into two dried corpses, offering not even a shred of resistance.

Soon after.

The black vines dissolved, leaving behind two blood droplets that fell to the ground.

Chen Ziang stared at the scene before him, expression numb, his mind in turmoil!

At that moment!

From the center of the previous explosion, a figure slowly stepped forward.

Chen Ziang snapped back to awareness, eyes locked on the figure, his pupils shrinking as if facing a deadly foe.

The smoke cleared.

Qin Ming's unharmed figure gradually emerged.

"How is this possible! You weren't even scratched?!" Chen Ziang was stunned.

He knew full well the destructive power of the giant sword technique he had just unleashed.

The strength of the other's body cultivation had exceeded his understanding!

"You're definitely not normal!"

"How could a Qi Condensation fourth-layer farmhand be this strong?" He even began to suspect whether the man had been possessed by some ancient monster.

Chen Ziang's eyes darted rapidly—he was now filled with fear.

Qin Ming said nothing, his cold gaze fixed on him, as if staring at a dead man.

"Eh, Qin… Qin Dao-you… look, this is all a misunderstanding…" Chen Ziang turned pale, stammering as he explained, stepping backward.

Qin Ming's eyes turned icy! He drew his blade, leapt into the air, and the flame-blade aura surged again! Shhh! The blade-light vanished in an instant, appearing before Chen Ziang.

The sheer power of this slash terrified Chen Ziang, sending his soul into panic.

He dared not block it, frantically pulling out another golden talisman and slapping it onto himself.

Instantly, a golden bell-shaped barrier formed around him, shielding him.

"This is a high-grade protective talisman—the Golden Bell Talisman—surely it can hold?"

Chen Ziang's heart pounded with dread, cursing himself in silence, filled with regret.

He should never have accepted Jiang Kun's assignment; he hadn't expected to encounter such a tough opponent this time.

He was truly about to capsize in a muddy ditch.

Boom! The Brother Hei Feng Blade struck the Golden Bell shield; it only shook violently without breaking open.

Inside, Chen Ziang saw this and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when—

A far more fierce blade light attacked! Boom! Crack!

A series of shattering sounds reached Chen Ziang's ears; he hurriedly looked up to see the top of the shield covered in dense cracks, on the verge of collapsing.

!!!

What kind of monstrous strength is this?! Can't even a high-grade defensive talisman withstand it?

"Fellow Daoist Qin, listen to me! Listen! It was all Jiang Kun, that bastard, who ordered it!"

"I was merely handling affairs for him."

"As the saying goes, grievances have their source, and debts have their master."

Chen Ziang's voice trembled; he was nearly kneeling to beg for mercy.

Seeing Qin Ming remained completely unmoved, he immediately leaped into the air to flee.

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Qin Ming's mouth.

With such speed, could he possibly escape before him?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! In just a few consecutive leaps and bounds, Qin Ming's movements became ghostly, appearing right before Chen Ziang.

The Brother Hei Feng Blade in his hand chopped down fiercely at him!

Chen Ziang, seeing the situation was dire, raised the golden dharma sword in his hand to block!

Clang! Struck by this blow, Chen Ziang, along with his sword, was blasted into the soil below, one arm instantly shattered by the terrifying force.

Ugh! He spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

Without further ado, Qin Ming took out another black spiritual seed and flicked it downward.

"No, no... don't..."

Chen Ziang, with breath as faint as a gossamer thread, still tried to beg for mercy, but in the blink of an eye, he was submerged by black vines.

Three breaths of time.

A distinguished inner disciple of the Spirit Feather Sect, a Qi Cultivation realm eighth-layer cultivator, was sucked dry into a human husk.

The black vines gradually vanished, transforming into a single blood pearl.

Qin Ming raised his hand and summoned, collecting the blood pearl, the golden sword dharma artifact, and Chen Ziang's storage bag.

Subsequently, he also took the blood pearl and storage bag of the other cultivator.

Having done all this,

he used the Fireball Technique to destroy the bodies and erase all traces.

The commotion here was quite significant; he believed people from the Spirit Feather Sect would arrive very soon.

After confirming there were no omissions, Qin Ming swiftly left the scene.

Half an incense stick later.

A giant dharma boat of the Spirit Feather Sect hovered in the sky above the recent scene.

On the dharma boat, Elder Gu used his spiritual sense to probe the situation below; suddenly, an unprecedentedly grave expression appeared on his stern face! "Who exactly dares to commit murder near the spirit fields!"

"Wait!"

"Why is there a residual aura of magic power from our own sect's disciples?!"

(End of Chapter)