Chapter 506: A Decisive Strike from Desperate Straits

His qi and blood drained like an elephant guzzling a brook, the water level plummeting wildly, the moment it ran dry not far off.

Flesh torn, blood and bone burning as if on fire, the battle grew ever fiercer; more and more Witch Tribe warriors joined the fray, and looking from inside outward, there was no end in sight.

Two fists are no match for four hands; even a fierce tiger fears a mob of monkeys.

Zhou You's Black Cloud Spear techniques never fell behind, meeting every attacker head-on, blow for blow.

When a witch beast lunged to bite, a spear pierced it through; when flying Gu Insects attacked, wild spear strikes scattered them! He coordinated the Feather-Treading Heaven-Stepping Art with the Iron Feather Battle Robe to glide at will, using mobile tactics to stretch the battle line. Though the Witch Tribe held the numerical advantage, no more than ten engaged him at any one time, and the occasional strange Gu Insect ambush was blocked one by one by the soft armor.

Wounds large and small kept appearing on his body, but none were bleeding anymore, and not a single one was fatal—his situation was very optimistic.

But his body's operation had already reached its limit.

No matter how powerful a machine is, it cannot run at full load without rest, let alone a living person of flesh and blood.

Zhou You's qi and blood weight was unlike that of ordinary people—this amazed even the Witch Tribe warriors. At the Primary Martial Master realm, he had withstood the rotating assault of so many Intermediate Martial Masters and even Advanced Martial Masters.

But with the drain of qi and blood, his tendons, bones, skin, and flesh heated up sharply, already nearing their limit.

Zhou You's breath was scalding, roughly fifty or sixty degrees; massive heat accumulated inside his body with nowhere to vent, burning his mind into a daze.

A Martial Master's body was tough, but it could not endure a sustained temperature rise—once it overheated, he might spontaneously combust on the spot.

If this continued, the Witch Tribe could simply wear him to death.

Zhou You extended one finger and jabbed it toward his chest; the Ice Marrow Finger force pierced through chest and back.

In an instant, he recalled the Resentful Fire Burning Body, that peculiar dream—beautiful yet tinged with loss. Amid the heat and confusion, a woman with a blurred face gently brushed aside her long hair and slowly leaned down toward him…

A sudden jolt snapped Zhou You awake; the frost flower of the Ice Marrow Finger landed on his heart, the chill jolting him instantly sober.

Zhou You suddenly understood—that dream had truly existed. It had drawn out the Resentful Fire for him and left behind the mood of yin-yang harmony.

The woman in the dream seemed to be someone he knew.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

His heart throbbed violently; the mood of yin-yang harmony began to activate, and the cold qi of the Ice Marrow Finger drove the internal heat to circulate, his body temperature starting to plummet rapidly.

Zhou You calmed down and observed his own state; the seven Mysterious Hearts he had originally accumulated were exhausted to the dregs.

His whole body's muscles, tendons, and bones ached—this was the fatigue sign of prolonged intense exertion. If it continued, his flesh would split and hidden injuries and internal fissures would appear.

The surrounding Witch Tribe warriors surged forward one after another, each joining the battlefield, swearing to take Zhou You down.

So many people besieging a single Primary Martial Master—if word got out, it would be a monstrous disgrace. From earlier until now, those killed in the fighting were far more than Shantuo alone, and the wounded were beyond counting.

Gaoyang Ruoqiang was moved by Zhou You's ferocity and decisively ordered, "No need to take him alive. Kill him."

A talent like this, if taken in by a great clan, would become a disaster for their Witch Tribe in the future—he had to be eliminated in advance.

Strike after strike of lethal attacks landed on his body. Though blocked by the battle robe and soft armor, the force penetrated the two layers of defense, accumulated through high frequency and great intensity, battering out bruises and pooled blood across his chest, belly, and back.

Zhou You moved his limbs slightly; the pain was like needle pricks, as if he wore a garment woven of countless steel needles.

"That's about enough!"

Zhou You summoned his last breath and called out from afar toward Gaoyang Ruoqiang, "Gaoyang Ruoqiang, can you take this spear strike of mine?"

In an instant, the surrounding Witch Tribe warriors were stunned by his madness.

Trapped in a desperate encirclement with no hope of escape, he still brazenly challenged Gaoyang Ruoqiang—what kind of behavior was this? "Arrogance! Let me sever your lifeline!"

A Witch Tribe warrior slammed his chest fiercely; two beams of white light shot from his nose—it was a single Gu Insect with its tail connected to its head.

The surrounding Witch Tribe warriors saw the white light and exclaimed in awe, "A Gu King larva! A Gu King larva!" The Gu King was an almost godlike existence within the Witch Tribe, growing alongside its master with the potential for limitless advancement.

The Gu King that had earlier suppressed the Doll Gu was the beloved pet of a Strong Martial great shaman, its power also at the Strong Martial Level.

Though this Gu King was still a larva, its power could not be underestimated; once it struck, it would surely claim a life.

The white light shot into the air, piercing into Zhou You's body with a speed swifter than lightning covering ears.

However…

Long before the Gu King larva launched its attack, Zhou You had already moved. He activated the Iron Feather Battle Robe, stepped with the Feather-Treading Heaven-Stepping Art, pushing his speed to the fastest extreme of his life.

Gripping his long spear, eyes tightly shut, the surrounding Witch Tribe warriors were as nothing to him; he saw only his target—Gaoyang Ruoqiang.

When he thrust the spear, he could no longer tell whether his arms had thrust the Iron Spear, or the Iron Spear had dragged his arms along.

Man and spear merged into one; a great mass of black clouds rose in midair, like a black lotus blooming from mud—mysterious, still, and beautiful.

The Witch Tribe warriors were terrified—they absolutely could not let Zhou You disturb Gaoyang Ruoqiang, nor even let him get close.

Figures darted back and forth, lunging at him one after another, but the black clouds drifted aside unhurriedly, gliding at a pace that seemed slow yet was swift, weaving through the gaps between furious Witch Tribe warriors and roaring witch beasts.

The dense swarms of flying Gu Insects were also swept through by the black clouds, unable to hinder it in the slightest.

"What's the panic? He's just at the end of his qi and blood—a final flare before death, fighting to leave behind a name."

Gaoyang Ruoqiang said in a deep voice, "Do you really think I can't deal with a Primary Martial Master whose oil is exhausted and lamp dried up?"

The surrounding Witch Tribe warriors dared not speak.

"So be it. If you can die at my hands, Zhou You's great name will spread across all of Beixuan Zhou, and your kin and old friends will take pride in you."

Gaoyang Ruoqiang drew from behind his back a Bone Sword shaped like a spine, gleaming with bone-white menace, stepped forward, activated the secret treasure on his body, and his figure flashed like lightning across a thousand meters, striking the black clouds in an instant.

The black clouds scattered; the tip of an Iron Spear emerged first, intercepting the downward slash of the Bone Sword.

The far end of the Iron Spear was gripped in Zhou You's hand; he smiled and nodded at Gaoyang Ruoqiang, "Fortunately."

The Iron Spear clashed, slid past the Bone Sword, and smoothly thrust into Gaoyang Ruoqiang's chest.

Clang! It was as if stabbing an iron plate—Gaoyang Ruoqiang's defense exceeded Zhou You's by more than tenfold; this spear strike was as effective as stabbing into empty air.

The next moment, Gaoyang Ruoqiang's counterattack came. He flipped the Bone Sword and brought it down on Zhou You's chest in one slash.

The sharp blade was blocked by the soft armor and battle robe, but Gaoyang Ruoqiang's swordsmanship was clearly trained to specifically break through secret treasure defenses. The force of the sword body penetrated into Zhou You's body, instantly slamming his heart to a sudden stop.

Zhou You's eyes bulged; his breath cut off on the spot.

"Done!"

Gaoyang Ruoqiang, having landed a successful strike, did not press the attack further, and called out to the Witch Tribe warriors on both sides, "Go cut off his head and bring me that Iron Spear."

Two Witch Tribe warriors stepped forward. Just as they neared Zhou You, a sudden burst of qi and blood erupted from nothing to existence, far surpassing what it had been before.

Swish, swish—black shadows swept past, and two shaman's heads flew into the air, blood gushing from their severed necks like fountains.

Zhou You gripped his Iron Spear, planted it before him as a barrier, breathed in great gulps, and decisively bit through the Secret Medicine of Tian Xingjian hidden beneath his tongue.

He had just broken through to Intermediate Martial Master, and the terrifying deficit in his qi and blood made his scalp tingle—he had to replenish it at once.

(End of chapter)