Chapter 148: The Final Opportunity

"Now!" Ning Zhuo frantically drove the Cang Tie Han Jia, charging toward Qi Bai without a moment's hesitation.

Qi Bai's head was bloodied, his vision darkening; he was on the verge of fainting.

The next moment, the Cang Tie Han Jia tore through the air.

Hanging Corpse Whip!

Over a dozen long whips danced like a swarm of pythons, lashing out wildly.

Qi Bai was whipped about in mid-air, unable to touch the ground for a moment.

Every time the long whips struck him, they stirred up ripples of golden light; they were unable to break through his protective technique.

"Is it a spell, a divine ability, or a protective magic treasure?" Ning Zhuo's eyes were bloodshot, anxiety rising in his heart.

This was the counterattack he had racked his brains to conceive.

Once Qi Bai caught his breath, the suspense of this battle would vanish completely.

Yet, the Hanging Corpse Whip, which was usually highly effective against Foundation Establishment cultivators, could not break Qi Bai's defense.

Sun Lingtong transmitted his voice urgently: "Little Zhuo! This Qi Bai is not a body cultivator; he specializes in controlling yin spirits and ghosts. His innate talent is the Nether-Piercing Death Eye; it is highly unlikely that his protective means are spells or divine abilities."

"I can see that the weakest point of the golden light is at the wound on the top of his head, which is currently healing rapidly."

"The strongest point of the golden light is three inches below his navel—the location of his Essence Sea Lower Dantian!"

"Use your strongest means!"

Ning Zhuo's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he only said: "Understood!"

He pushed the Cang Tie Han Jia to its maximum power.

Spirit stones were consumed frantically, transforming into vast spiritual power that poured into two palm-sized, intricately patterned wind and thunder talismans.

The talismans each erupted with wind and thunder power, interweaving along the internal array patterns of the Cang Tie Han Jia, merging to form a brand new force—

Wind-Thunder Motion!

Cyan-green electric light swirled around the Cang Tie Han Jia.

In an instant, the Cang Tie Han Jia's speed soared to the limit, killing its way before Qi Bai.

Iron Garment Chill!

The defensive array within the Cang Tie Han Jia was pushed to ten percent, humming as it operated. Within the array, the powers of Metal and Water combined ingeniously, working in perfect coordination to emit a biting chill while carrying the nature of Metal, enveloping the entire Cang Tie Han Jia to make it both offensive and defensive, pushing its defense to the limit.

Azure Dragon Strikes the Void!

The back, shoulder blades, and the elbows and wrists of the Cang Tie Han Jia's arms all flipped open, revealing hidden explosive talismans.

The talismans ignited completely, lighting up with brilliant white light, fully boosting this strike from Ning Zhuo and pushing his attack to the limit in an instant!

The black robe disguised as the Chui Tiao Ke was torn to shreds, and the Cang Tie Han Jia, revealing its true form, looked like a silver dragon tearing through the air, carrying a blinding white light that cut through all darkness!

Fists like a rain of arrows, legs like a storm.

Fists and legs intersected, weaving into a terrifying tide of attacks that completely enveloped Qi Bai.

Fists and legs struck the golden light fiercely, beating the golden light barrier until it splashed with fragments of light.

The golden light barrier gradually developed cracks, rapidly turning ethereal and dimming.

The golden light's defensive power weakened rapidly, unable to offset the force of the fists and legs, allowing Qi Bai inside to suffer attacks as well.

One punch landed, knocking his head sideways, his neck twisted to the limit.

A knee struck fiercely at Qi Bai's waist, bending him like a lobster; the degree of his hunch was quite exaggerated, his eyeballs looking as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Another punch hit Qi Bai's chin, causing the latter's teeth to clamp shut fiercely, nearly biting off his tongue. Qi Bai threw his head back violently, being knocked even higher into the sky!

But the next moment, a flash of cyan lightning appeared, and the silver-white, agile body suddenly appeared above Qi Bai's head.

Ning Zhuo clasped his hands together, forming a fist, and after raising it above his shoulder, he drove the Cang Tie Han Jia to push his entire body, diving toward Qi Bai like a meteor.

The golden light protecting Qi Bai's entire body had been weakened until it was nearly transparent.

And the top of his head was still bleeding profusely; it was the place pierced by the Outsider Peach Kernel, and also the weakest point of the golden light barrier.

Ning Zhuo's gaze was like a blade and lightning, locked tightly onto the enemy's weakest point.

A full-force strike!

Ning Zhuo's fist smashed down fiercely, like a meteor chasing the moon; the power was so strong that the silver-white fist revealed a fiery red color from the friction with the air.

At the moment of life and death, Qi Bai finally woke up amidst the intense instinct for survival!

"Meng Kui! The Outsider Peach Kernel!!"

Qi Bai's heart shook, turning ice-cold.

"Since he used the Outsider Peach Kernel, he must have used the divine ability of Mountain-Watching earlier."

"Why?!"

As a true disciple of the Soul-Devouring Sect, Qi Bai was naturally prepared when he was sent to Fire Persimmon Mountain.

He was certainly aware of Meng Kui's signature divine ability, Mountain-Watching, and things like the Outsider Peach Kernel.

It was just that Qi Bai did not understand.

Why did Meng Kui suddenly use this divine ability, and in the Fire Persimmon Xiancheng at that!

"He is the Xiancheng Lord; is he not afraid that a slight mistake would cause the city residents to riot and kill each other?"

"There must be a situation I am unaware of that prompted Meng Kui to make such a big move."

For a moment, Qi Bai felt very wronged.

When he first entered the city, he only wanted to subdue three fellow disciples; in order to investigate the Soul Treasury, he would first gain a foothold and then plan slowly.

He did not expect his luck to be so bad that he would be hit by the Mountain-Watching divine ability as soon as he arrived.

"Fate is confusing me, making me make mistake after mistake!"

"Why didn't I kill this Sun Lingtong? There is more than one path to subdue Han Ming."

"I shouldn't have chased them all the way. These two Foundation Establishment cultivators are indeed annoying, but I didn't need to make such a big commotion."

According to Qi Bai's original plan, he was supposed to lie low and act according to circumstances.

"Why did I frequently cast spells? In the Xiancheng, spells suffer the greatest weakening; it is completely thankless."

"I should have killed these two quickly; using my innate talent wouldn't have mattered, but I chose to release yin spirits and ghost generals to torture and abuse them, which wasted too much time."

"I should have used my strongest means to kill the two quickly, settling the matter in one blow to avoid long delays. In the battle, I wasted too many opportunities!"

"These two have operated in the Xiancheng for too long, with underground bases emerging one after another; I couldn't kill them for a moment, so I should have stopped in time."

"Sun Lingtong had my means planted in him, which is hard to resolve without a Golden Core; wouldn't it have been better to let them go and chase them when the timing was right?"

"The most damnable thing is this Chui Tiao Ke!"

"Traps layer after layer, actually making me consume energy against the Xiancheng's great array, forcing me to use my full strength."

"If not for this, Meng Kui might not have hit me with the walnut."

Qi Bai was completely sobered up by this blow.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind in the blink of an eye.

He looked up and saw Ning Zhuo's full-force strike.

"I'm going to die!" Qi Bai's hair stood on end, terrified beyond measure.

"Absolutely cannot let him hit the wound on the top of my head."

However, he was too late to cast a more powerful defensive means.

He didn't even have time to use his protective magic treasure.

Magic Tool—Ghost Mist Scarf.

In his desperation, he moved his divine sense and pulled a scarf from his storage belt.

This was a magic tool he often used during his Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, allowing him to cover himself in ghost mist and disguise himself as a yin spirit when he ventured into some eerie and terrifying places.

The Ghost Mist Scarf helped him a lot, allowing him to successfully approach some ghosts and evil spirits to capture them.

The Ghost Mist Scarf accompanied him through his difficult start, accumulating bit by bit, climbing step by step, and finally becoming a true disciple of the Soul-Devouring Sect.

By the time he advanced to Golden Core, the frequency of using this useful magic tool dropped rapidly, and he used it less and less.

Qi Bai left it in his storage belt, mostly as a memento.

He did not expect that at this moment of life and death, this was the only magic tool he could quickly activate.

Bang!

Ning Zhuo's full-force strike pierced through the ghost mist and smashed heavily onto Qi Bai's chest.

At this instant, the golden light barrier covering Qi Bai's entire body could no longer hold, collapsing into countless fragments that flickered in the high sky before vanishing into nothingness.

Four or five of Qi Bai's ribs were broken, his chest caved in, and his internal organs, including his lungs, suffered heavy blows, nearly being shaken into dust.

He fell like a meteor, crashing through a house and smashing into the ground, causing the ground to shake.

Immediately, the house collapsed, smoke and dust rose, burying Qi Bai.

"He's not dead!" Sun Lingtong had been observing the battlefield, ignoring the fact that his eyes were already streaming blood and tears.

Ning Zhuo's heart sank; he gritted his teeth fiercely, gathered his momentum again, and plunged into the smoke and dust.

The Ghost Mist Scarf was shattered.

But it was precisely because of its cover that Ning Zhuo's attack landed on Qi Bai's chest instead of his head, indirectly saving Qi Bai's life.

Ning Zhuo killed his way in, but Qi Bai had more time than before.

He took out a magic treasure.

Soul-Swinging Rattle-Drum!

The drum surface was pale, tanned from human skin, faintly transparent, and could emit a faint fluorescence in the dark.

The edge of the drum was carved from pitch-black ink jade, with cold air overflowing.

The drum handle was made of gray-yellow adult finger bones, assembled section by section.

Qi Bai shook the Soul-Swinging Rattle-Drum.

Dong, dong, dong.

The drum sound was crisp, ringing in the hearts of Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong each time, violently shaking their souls.

Sun Lingtong was already heavily injured; upon hearing the drum sound, blood immediately flowed from his seven orifices, his eyes lost their luster, and he was unable to operate his Spirit Pupils, forced to stop.

Ning Zhuo only felt the world shaking in his vision; he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground headfirst.

As a result, his attack, which he was gathering momentum for again, was also interrupted.

"Little Zhuo!" Sun Lingtong's exclamation reached Ning Zhuo's ears.

Years of tacit understanding let Ning Zhuo know instantly what Sun Lingtong wanted to express—this was their final opportunity! They must take this chance to eliminate Qi Bai; if they missed this opportunity, once Qi Bai caught his breath from this most critical moment, they would be defeated and die.

Ning Zhuo was nearly at the end of his rope.

The mechanical creations accumulated over a dozen years were mostly consumed, and the few remaining were simply not up to this task.

There was only one left!

Tree Martial Fighting Ape!

Ning Zhuo knelt on one knee on the ground, releasing the mechanical fighting ape. To cope with this battle, Ning Zhuo had retained the core mechanical parts, replacing everything that could be replaced, causing the Tree Martial Fighting Ape's form to change drastically. Comparing the old and new appearances, there was almost no resemblance.

The fighting ape carried the Heart Seal, and a staff head was inserted into its body.

Ning Zhuo flicked his arms, his ten fingers shooting out spiritual silk, connecting to the key positions of the Tree Martial Fighting Ape.

Under the triple command, the Tree Martial Fighting Ape killed its way before Qi Bai. ===== CHAPTER 149 =====