Chapter 31: Chapter Thirty-One: Talisman Artifacts Unleashed

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, too fast for anyone present to react.

“Erlang!”

Deng Zhongzhi’s eyes bulged with rage as he smashed the tea table beside him into splinters with one palm.

Too fast!

Even though he had been on guard, he never imagined that in the span of a simple bow, Tong Yi’s left arm had been cleanly severed at the shoulder!

“Kill them all!”

Deng Zhongzhi leapt forward in a tiger’s bound, drawing his blade midair and slashing down at Chen Hang, while the twenty armored soldiers roared in unison and surged forward.

“Not impressive.”

Chen Hang pointed a finger, and the Thunderfire Thunder Pearl shot out another bolt of lightning, instantly blasting Deng Zhongzhi backward dozens of paces, slamming him into the brick wall and leaving a hand-deep human-shaped dent.

Had Deng Zhongzhi not been battle-hardened and quick-witted enough to wrap himself in a layer of fetal qi the moment the lightning struck—

He would have been reduced to shattered bones and pulverized flesh on the spot.

“Is that a talisman artifact? And a mid-grade one at that!”

Deng Zhongzhi was dazed and stunned by the explosion, his chest numb, unsure whether his heart had even stopped beating.

When he finally struggled back to his senses and saw the red-and-white pearl hovering above Chen Hang’s head, he gasped in horror.

He recognized that pearl—it was the Thunderfire Thunder Pearl of Yangshan Daoist!

That meant—

Yangshan Daoist must already be…

“Erlang, he’s only at fetal qi too—don’t fear him! Bring out your talisman artifact and fight him!”

In a flash of thought, ignoring his pain, Deng Zhongzhi roared again, spinning like a top to circle Chen Hang, buying Tong Yi time to recover.

But before he could close the distance, a wind blade shot toward his face, forcing him to roll desperately to the ground to evade it.

“Master! I’ll hold this man off for you!”

Tu Shan Ge’s face turned deathly pale; he flicked his hands, conjuring waves of wind blades with spiritual power, his expression grimly resolute as he charged forward.

At that moment, the armored soldiers closed within three zhang.

Chen Hang paid them no mind; he waved his hand, and the pearl unleashed a ring of fire, instantly reducing them to pools of bone and blood—even their armor turned to charred iron.

“You… you…”

Tong Yi finally gritted his teeth and rose from the ground; he glanced at his severed arm and the corpses of the soldiers, realizing this could not be resolved peacefully. He made up his mind and shot a streak of green light toward Chen Hang’s eyes.

The green spark moved with blinding speed, reaching Chen Hang’s face in an instant—yet when it tried to press further, it struck an invisible barrier of air, as if hitting solid metal.

Chen Hang smiled faintly; without waiting for Tong Yi to recall the green spark, the pearl fired several more bolts of lightning, lashing out at him with brutal force.

With a thunderous “boom,” the lightning exploded, swallowing Tong Yi whole.

Lightning flared violently, shards of brick and stone flew everywhere, leaving a deep crater—but Chen Hang did not recall the pearl; instead, he summoned another layer of fetal qi and channeled it into the pearl.

Tong Yi had not been killed.

A faint jade glow encircled his body, absorbing every strike; he now poured every last ounce of fetal qi into the green spark, forcing it to shoot forward again.

They clashed again and again.

But Tong Yi grew more terrified with each exchange.

This man had clearly endured countless battles and amassed a lifetime of combat experience—he might as well have been born learning how to fight!

His green spark talisman artifact rarely even reached Chen Hang’s body before a bolt of lightning struck it with perfect timing, neither too much nor too little force—leaving Tong Yi seething with frustration.

Moreover, he knew that even if the green spark did get close, it could not break through Chen Hang’s qi armor in an instant.

So after just a few attempts, Tong Yi abandoned offense entirely, focusing solely on activating his defensive talisman artifact to shield his body.

Repeated blasts of red-and-white lightning battered him, draining his strength, making his expression grow dull, his lips bleeding.

“Aaaaaa!!!”

As another bolt of lightning streaked toward him, Tong Yi let out a hoarse roar, preparing to channel all his fetal qi—when his face froze, then twisted into sheer terror.

“No… my fetal qi is gone…”

Fetal qi is not like qi condensation—its quantity is finite; use one part, and it’s gone forever.

To show off his new “Cloud-Soaring Skiff,” Tong Yi had carelessly left it hovering above Yangshan, an act that drained much of his fetal qi.

But at the time, he had been confident he was on the verge of qi condensation and had a chance to join the Five Lights Sect—so he dismissed the loss as trivial.

Yet now, at the brink of life and death, that small reserve became the decisive factor…

The faint jade glow around Tong Yi dimmed, shattered under another lightning strike, and he flew backward like a ragdoll.

When Tong Yi struggled to his feet again, a long sword rested across his throat.

“Your master has surrendered—still want to fight?”

Chen Hang’s cold voice cut through the air as he turned his gaze toward Deng Zhongzhi, who had just punched Tu Shan Ge to death.

This man had fought countless battles; his martial skill had reached the realm of mastery. Though Tu Shan Ge could summon heavenly forces with spiritual power, his divine body had been shattered, rendering his power negligible.

Yet Deng Zhongzhi had slain Tu Shan Ge using nothing but mundane martial arts alone.

Had Tu Shan Ge not been a divine being—if his true form had not been beyond death so long as it remained outside his divine domain—he would have been unable to even delay the kill…

That fox wouldn’t have lasted a moment…

At Chen Hang’s shout, Deng Zhongzhi trembled, his forehead veins bulging like writhing snakes—but he silently sheathed his blade.

Tu Shan Ge, having reshaped his limbs with spiritual power, scowled and slunk toward Chen Hang, hiding behind him.

“You’re bold indeed. Had this boy offered you even one talisman artifact as a share, the outcome might have been different.”

Chen Hang smiled, sword in hand.

“I’ve fought alongside the Grand General for years—crushing bandits, quelling military disasters, hunting down elixir smugglers—suffered a hundred wounds to reach fetal qi today. Yet now I’ve been bested by you.”

Deng Zhongzhi glanced at the charred corpses of his soldiers, then bowed. “You hold the Thunderfire Thunder Pearl—so Yangshan Daoist must be dead, then?”

Chen Hang nodded.

“The Tong family had little connection to Yangshan Daoist. This was merely a misunderstanding.”

To show sincerity, Deng Zhongzhi hurled his blade far away, embedding it in the stone steps outside the hall.

He spread his hands and stepped forward, signaling he meant no harm.

“Erlang is impulsive. You’ve already severed his arm—that’s punishment enough. I’ll give you all his talisman artifacts as his ransom. What do you say?”

Deng Zhongzhi narrowed his eyes, his tone laced with threat:

“The Cloud-Soaring Skiff moves faster than any mortal soldier can chase—it’s enough for you to flee Rong State! Remember, Erlang is the Tong family’s golden steed—if he dies, the Grand General will go mad, and the entire Rong State will turn upside down!”

Before Chen Hang could answer—

Tong Yi erupted, ignoring the blade at his throat, screaming:

“Give my talisman artifacts to him? Dream on! Never!”