Chapter 113: with translation of title

The angry shout just fell, and that pitch‑black palm slapped onto the back of the heart; Niu Dingtian let out a muffled groan, and his complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.

「Sss— sss—」

Another burst of sss sounds rang out, like scorching heat, carrying waves of foul, black smoke, which spewed from the spot where the black palm met the back of the heart.

In the critical moment, Niu Dingtian abruptly withdrew most of the internal force he had pushed toward Yi Deng, and fully mobilized Nine Yang True Qi to gather at his back of the heart to save his life.

The compressed Nine Yang True Qi, with its extreme heat, instantly burned the black‑clad man's poisonous palm, producing plumes of black smoke.

But after the palm force retracted, the balance shifted, and Yi Deng's internal force surged forward with a roar; although his left shoulder had been struck by a dagger, his internal force remained overwhelmingly massive, blasting straight into Niu Dingtian's body.

Yet Niu Dingtian's back of the heart acted like a huge magnet, tightly clinging to his palm; no matter how he strained, he could not break free by an inch!

Hoo!

Just as she had taken a step forward, a sharp gust of wind suddenly flashed toward her.

Zhu Ziliu shouted from behind; trying to step forward to stop her was already too late, and after the earlier exchange he realized the woman's body was slick, and a moment's inattention gave her an opening.

Retreat!!!

In the urgent moment, he instinctively tried to lift his hand away from that back‑of‑the‑heart position.

「Quickly let go of me, old man!! 」

At that moment, his eyes were filled with terror and dread; as his internal force continued to leak outward, gradually his gaze even flashed with despair.

「How dare you! 」

「Die!! 」

But the earlier fright from the North Darkness Divine Skill had truly broken his courage; now he had lost even the bravery to clash palms, fearing that once he stuck to Niu Dingtian's body he would never break free.

He saw the opponent's body visibly beginning to swell, and her eyes grew even more worried.

Immediately, a powerful suction emanated from Duan Zhixing, frantically devouring the cultivation energy within her.

And the black‑clad man behind Yi Deng,

Seeing that the dagger in his hand had missed, he simply abandoned the dagger, raised his hand and slapped toward Yi Deng's back of the heart, bellowing:

The black‑clad man behind Niu Dingtian suddenly sprang up, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes; he abruptly raised his other hand and, with all his might, lunged to seize Han Xiao Ying's arm.

Likewise, Han Xiao Ying had already reacted; after discarding the broken sword in her hand, she also raised a hand and slapped toward the black‑clad man behind Niu Dingtian!

「Get away quickly!! 」

"Ying Gu, you…" Yi Deng's eyes flashed with reluctance; he had already recognized the newcomer's identity.

From afar, Huang shouted urgently, but it was already too late.

The moment he saw the broken sword on the ground, he was somewhat stunned; Han Xiao Ying's treasured sword was no ordinary blade—someone could confront its tip bare‑handed and shatter the blade with a palm. Apart from possessing overwhelming internal force, only Qiu Qianren's iron palm could achieve that.

Earlier he had also heard the woman's voice from that person and noticed something odd on his master's face, but concerning his master's life, he could not afford even a moment's hesitation.

At this point, after calming down, he realized that Niu Dingtian's use of the North Darkness Divine Skill was likely aimed at the black‑clad attacker behind him.

Having said that, he rushed toward Qiu Qianren on the cliff edge. Since he had already siphoned so much internal force today with the North Darkness Divine Skill, he simply released it all, cursing, "Damn it, I'm about to become an immortal! Who cares how many kinds of internal force you have?"

「Die, you!! 」

Qiu Qianren's heart trembled as he saw Niu Dingtian leap up, stepping on a stone beam and charging toward him; he dared not hesitate and bolted away.

Seeing Han Xiao Ying's reaction, Niu Dingtian, moved and then irritated, watched her palm miss and then continue to strike; he shouted angrily, "Don't you damn thing block the view? Get out!!"

Having escaped, Qiu Qianren, seeing no one pursuing from behind, let out a hurried sigh of relief.

Huang and Han Xiao Ying could not spare a glance to chase the black‑clad man; seeing Niu Dingtian's pallid complexion, they rushed forward from front and rear.

Thinking, thinking,

Then without looking at anyone else, he forced himself to endure the pain and swiftly chased after the direction where the black‑clad man had fled.

Having just seen Ying Gu behind Duan Zhixing also being sucked in, he saw a glimmer of hope for survival!

「Dingtian! How's it going? 」

「Pfft~」

There was no one else besides that guy Qiu Qianren.

The black‑clad man's complexion changed dramatically, and he couldn't help shouting angrily.

「Xiao Ying, be careful! 」

Niu Dingtian felt his internal meridians as if shattered, excruciating pain unbearable; seeing the two's anxious faces, he steadied his breath and gently reassured, "I'm fine; a bit of cultivation to regulate will fix it."

He felt that after the scorching, fierce resistance of Niu Dingtian's back of the heart vanished with a boom, his own internal force surged like a breached river dam, continuously flooding toward the opponent's back of the heart.

"Sir, do not push me too far! You first killed my senior disciple Shangguan Ying! Today Qiu also did not succeed; shall we erase everything and not interfere with each other's waters thereafter?"

While the North Darkness Divine Skill was being fully exerted, a terrifying vortex of airflow formed instantly with Niu Dingtian at its center; the airflow spun wildly as if to cling to all things and devour everything.

Having already reached Yi Deng's side, Zhu Ziliu, seeing the black‑clad man about to strike his master, let out an angry shout.

「Hoo! Hoo! 」

Feeling the internal force surging wildly, Yi Deng's already pallid face instantly turned aghast.

He originally still possessed some strength to spar with Niu Dingtian, let alone Niu Dingtian was now seriously injured.

Moreover, with the poisonous palm strike to his back of the heart, he was now indeed gravely wounded.

What use is this iron palm of mine then?

At the same time, the black‑clad man behind Niu Dingtian also sensed something amiss.

「Boom! 」

「Dingtian, you…」

His gaze coldly fixed on Qiu Qianren, Niu Dingtian said in a chilling voice:

Hearing that suddenly, Huang, who was dashing toward them from afar, abruptly halted.

In just a few breaths, the two were already drawing ever closer!

In the urgent moment, seeing Niu Dingtian about to fall onto the stone beam, Qiu Qianren's heart hardened; disregarding his own safety, he gathered internal force into his iron palm and slammed it fiercely toward a spot near his foot.

At first, hearing the voice behind him made him somewhat startled and doubtful; that woman's voice etched itself into his bones and left him feeling guilty and remorseful for nearly ten years.

After she recovered, she could not break free; she watched her internal force gush out wildly, and the frantic suction already caused her flesh and skin to contort incessantly.

The judge's pen in his hand barely blocked that palm, then swept horizontally, trying to push the woman aside.

A hint of confusion appeared in her eyes, followed by a surge of grievance; for a moment she was at a loss what to do.

"Hoo—"

"I'll let you taste fear again in a moment! Then I'll go to Iron Palm Peak and drain your sister! I'll also wipe out that damn Iron Palm Sect without leaving a single beast!"

The palm wind that just ambushed him was ferocious, and the attacker's martial skill must be extremely formidable; he himself had already sustained severe injuries, and opposite him, Yi Deng was also badly hurt.

Such a terrifying scene made Han Xiao Ying and Zhu Ziliu, standing nearby, gasp in horror one after another.

Han Xiao Ying suddenly understood; Niu Dingtian's roar at her moments ago was only out of necessity—he was worried about her safety.

"Duan! Zhi! Xing! You're so ruthless…" the woman shouted in hatred.

"Boom!"

"North Darkness!"

Outside the temple

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian abruptly ceased his exertion and hurriedly withdrew the North Darkness Divine Skill.

The palm wind whooshed forward, and Yi Deng, trapped by the North Darkness Divine Skill, could not evade; the woman's hateful palm struck Yi Deng's rear heart in the blink of an eye.

When he passed this lotus pond earlier his feet never touched the water, looking effortlessly cool; this time his trousers were soaked up to half their length.

Seeing Niu Dingtian about to pounce, Qiu Qianren was so terrified his soul fled, and without even greeting his sister, he leapt onto a broken cliff beam and rushed toward the opposite side.

As several fell to the ground, Niu Dingtian's face turned ghastly; a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and he immediately cultivated to suppress the surging blood qi inside him.

Niu Dingtian let out a sudden angry shout; just as Han Xiao Ying's palm was about to meet the black‑clad man, he gritted his teeth, leaned forward, and dragged the man behind him, causing Han's strike to miss.

The black‑clad man, who had been languid, suddenly surged up, catching even Niu Dingtian off guard; Han Xiao Ying, careless for a moment, had her left arm tightly seized.

Damn, she's a real tiger mother!

Niu Dingtian moved at lightning speed; although his body throbbed with unbearable pain, his hatred burned even hotter—today he would not postpone his revenge.

Seeing Niu Dingtian draw ever nearer, realizing escape was hopeless, when he reached the second cliff opening Qiu Qianren suddenly halted, tore off the face veil, looked at Niu Dingtian, and said in a deep voice:

"Brother Niu!"

"Erase it with one stroke?" Niu Dingtian sneered. "Damn, I almost lost my life because of you today! Erase it with you?"

After a few broke free from the powerful suction, they collapsed limp on the ground, gasping heavily; only Han Xiao Ying, whose contact had just been released, could barely stay on her feet.

"Master, be careful!"

As her body swelled more terrifyingly, tears welled in her eyes, and in panic she couldn't help lifting a foot to step forward.

Moreover, bearing a grudge, abandoning Yi Deng, the master who first struck her, and taking Ying Gu up the mountain clearly knew the feud between them.

At that moment, the black‑clad man behind him caught his breath and, unable to continue the ambush, hoisted his feeble body and fled desperately toward the temple exit.

But Niu Dingtian paid no heed; a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he forced himself to endure the massive pain from the rampant true qi inside, and accelerated the North Darkness Divine Skill once more.

After a booming sound, the palm force on her hand vanished instantly, and the released internal energy flowed away like mud into the sea, leaving no sensation.

She glanced back at the distant temple; Qiu Qianren's eyes flashed with a hint of unwillingness, and he ran desperately down the mountain.

This is the divine skill his grandfather once cultivated!

Thinking of the horror of this technique, Yi Deng, while struggling, shouted urgently, "Niu, you cannot! Stop right now!"

Recalling the wondrous nature of the North Darkness Divine Skill and seeing his own blackened palms, Qiu Qianren's eyes could no longer hide his greed.

When he reached the lotus pond's edge, he ignored the winding path, hammered his soft legs hard a few times, then used the water‑walking technique to step across the lotus leaves, spanning nearly a hundred zhang of pond.

"Hmph! Old scum, you run pretty fast!"

In an instant, Han Xiao Ying felt a surging, devouring force emanate from her left arm, as if it would consume everything inside her.

"Clang!"

When he saw the broken sword on the ground, his gaze hardened, as if recalling something; a flash of cold light burst, and he growled through clenched teeth:

Then she halted, staring at the people ahead; doubt flickered in her eyes, sensing something was off.

Han Xiao Ying, seeing Niu Dingtian's enraged expression, froze the move she was about to make.

The black‑clad man behind Yi Deng suddenly roared loudly, hatred flashing in his eyes, making hearts race; she deftly evaded Zhu Ziliu's block and swung her palm again toward Yi Deng's rear heart.

In the North Darkness there is a fish called Kun; Kun is so huge it can swallow all things.

He thought, "That guy named Niu is ruthless; if he catches me, even my lightest strength will be drained completely!"

Recalling the terrifying scene when Niu Dingtian used the North Darkness Divine Skill, his legs kept trembling.

"Qiu Qianren!! Today I'll make you wish you were dead!"

When he fled to a cliff, having just stepped off the stone beam onto the ground, he heard an icy voice from the opposite cliff.

That little brat actually has a demonic skill that siphons others' internal force!

So it's called the North Darkness Divine Skill!

After that hoarse, urgent shout, he was terrified, his soul fled.

It's no wonder the usually calm, gentle him panics; once this martial art is unleashed, the internal force he's cultivated for decades could be lost.

"Damn old scum!"

Before even stepping out of the temple, Niu Dingtian already harbored fierce hatred toward Qiu Qianren.

Feeling the palm still striking the rear heart, Niu Dingtian gave a cruel smile, let out an angry shout, and deliberately let the incoming palm forces flood his body while wildly circulating the North Darkness Divine Skill.

"North Darkness Divine Skill!!"

But now he could think of no one else; after suffering such a massive hidden loss and being gravely wounded, he wanted to suck the person behind him dry like jerky!

"Duan Zhixing! I said I'd someday stab that dagger into your heart! Hahaha! Die!"

He and Yi Deng's internal‑force clash had already reached its peak, and neither dared to withdraw their cultivation, giving the two black‑clad men a chance.

At this moment, upon hearing the other party mention the dagger affair, Yideng's heart became even more certain; he immediately exerted his strength, desperately resisting the terrifying suction force on his hands.

Huh?

Wrong!

Hearing the sound coming from behind him, Yideng's originally startled expression suddenly froze; in his dazed state, he even forgot to continue exerting his power to block the internal energy that kept leaking out.

If we don't seize the opportunity to kill this old bastard behind us, everyone present tonight will suffer more misfortune than fortune!

After a loud bang, the stone beam snapped under the sound; the three-zhang-long broken beam directly whooshed down into the bottomless cliff.

At this moment, Qiu Qianren already had one foot hanging in midair, the other barely stepping on the edge of the stone beam, while Niu Dingtian, who was drifting down in midair, seemed to have no place to land.

(End of chapter)