Chapter 728: Slaying the Nether

The provincial capital of Feng Province.

Tonight, the provincial capital is destined to be a sleepless night, for the light in the sky illuminates the entire city as if it were broad daylight!

Blue and red lights interweave, each occupying half the sky.

The sound of rushing water pours incessantly from the air, as if a great river were suspended high above.

Immediately following is a rumbling vibration, like a thunderclap!

At the Lu Estate, Lu Wen, surrounded by a crowd of experts, watches the sky with a gloomy expression.

Shi Caiming suddenly arrived at the provincial capital, calling out for Xu Jing to get out here.

As fellow Grandmasters and university presidents, if Xu Jing wants to keep any shred of dignity, he cannot hide like a coward.

So, Xu Jing went up to meet him.

And then, the two of them exchanged only a few words before directly coming to blows!

In Shi Caiming's own words, since they are both Grandmasters, they should just spar a little.

Thus, two Grandmasters capable of resisting thousands of troops began to fight above the provincial capital.

Lu Wen suspects that Shi Caiming came for Li Fei, but he does not understand on what basis Shi Caiming concluded that this matter must involve Xu Jing.

He is certain that his group's connection with the New Heaven Society is extremely secretive and that no third party could know of it.

Could it be that the New Heaven Society exposed it themselves?

Lu Wen's gaze shifts constantly.

Soon, a subordinate runs over:

"My lord, the Imperial Guard Army has finished assembling!"

After Shi Caiming's sudden arrival, Lu Wen's first move was to order the mobilization of all Imperial Guard Army troops in the provincial capital.

Shi Caiming had already been a Grandmaster over a decade ago, while Xu Jing had broken through to the realm less than a year ago; Lu Wen does not believe Xu Jing can gain the upper hand in this confrontation.

Therefore, he immediately summoned the strongest force currently in the provincial capital—over five hundred Imperial Guard soldiers!

One hundred Imperial Guard soldiers in a military formation can rival a Martial Arts Master; while five hundred cannot rival a Grandmaster, they can still play a role in a clash between two Grandmasters.

"Form up, and strike him with the baleful energy!"

Lu Wen orders.

Soon, over five hundred Imperial Guard soldiers form a military formation, and the blood-red baleful energy transforms into a giant dragon, flying into the sky with bared fangs and brandished claws.

Military Formation—Soaring Dragon Piercing Baleful Energy!

Compared to the "Hundred Soldier Tomb" that Li Fei had once witnessed, this is a higher-level military formation.

The blood-red giant dragon tears through the outer force and arrives at the edge of the two martial domains.

"President Shi, is there nothing that can be discussed calmly? For two presidents to fight so openly, what kind of decorum is this?"

Lu Wen's voice emanates from within the blood-red giant dragon, as a warlock has placed a magic treasure inside the blood dragon, allowing Lu Wen to speak directly to the two Grandmasters.

"I am fighting Xu Jing; why are you babbling?"

Shi Caiming gives Lu Wen no face at all.

As his voice falls, without waiting for Lu Wen to speak again, he violently drives his martial domain to crush toward Xu Jing's side!

In the air, the red light suddenly "invades" the territory of the blue light.

The two martial domains, which had appeared evenly matched until now, suddenly shift in the balance of power.

A line of fire tears through Xu Jing's martial domain and strikes straight inside!

Awoo—

The blood-red giant dragon lets out a heaven-shaking roar and also enters Xu Jing's martial domain, joining the battle.

It is as if three giants, each ten thousand feet tall, are fighting in the sky, whipping up gales and emitting thunder!

A moment later, the blood-red giant dragon is torn to shreds, and a figure falls straight down from the sky.

It is Xu Jing!

Just before hitting the ground, he is caught by a surge of baleful energy, which dissipates his impact force.

Pfft—

Xu Jing's face is pale, a mouthful of blood sprays out, and he looks at the sky with a venomous gaze.

Now, only a single, massive, burning fireball remains in the sky!

This fireball is like a miniature sun, hovering above the provincial capital, bringing endless light and heat.

Even with the help of over five hundred Imperial Guard soldiers, Xu Jing still lost to Shi Caiming, and he lost quickly and decisively.

"Xu Jing, your martial domain is flawed; you must have recently split off a portion to lend to someone else!"

Shi Caiming's voice comes from the sky, resounding throughout the city.

Xu Jing stands up and activates the 【Cloud-Stepping】 divine ability, causing green clouds to form beneath his feet, carrying him as he floats in the air.

His expression remains unchanged: "I do not understand what you are talking about."

Shi Caiming cannot be bothered to waste words with him:

"If anything happens to Li Fei, I will give up this position as president of the Martial Arts University, even if it costs me everything, to beat you until your cultivation falls forever!"

Xu Jing's expression finally changes.

When he decided to eliminate Li Fei, he had not considered what Shi Caiming might do at all.

After all, when the incident with Hao Yi broke out years ago, Shi Caiming had only ultimately saved Hao Yi's life. Later, when Hao Yi violated the agreement and returned to Datong Prefecture, Shi Caiming had also kept his word and did not intervene again.

Hao Yi could be considered half a protégé of Shi Caiming, and even then, it was like that, so Xu Jing did not think the other would do anything for Li Fei.

But now it seems he clearly miscalculated.

"Shi Caiming!"

Another blood-red giant dragon rises into the sky, and Lu Wen's voice, filled with immense rage, emanates from it:

"Do you truly think you can do whatever you want? Don't forget, you are not alone!"

Shi Caiming glances coldly at the Lu Estate and, without making any more threats, simply remains suspended in the air.

He is waiting for news from Tianshui City to return.

Li Fei went to the Tomb of Tianshui because he listened to his suggestion; if Li Fei truly meets with disaster in the Tomb of Tianshui, he will never be able to forgive himself!

Xu Jing returns to the Lu Estate with a gloomy expression.

"That old thing has truly lost his mind!"

Upon seeing Xu Jing, Lu Wen curses angrily.

He looks at Xu Jing's pale face and frowns:

"Are you alright?"

Xu Jing shakes his head: "I sustained some injuries, but it is nothing serious."

Lu Wen does not doubt him; in his view, it is normal for Xu Jing to be unable to defeat Shi Caiming.

"Rest assured, I have already reported this to the central authorities and His Majesty. You stay at my estate to recover; I want to see how he continues his madness later?!"

Lu Wen says to Xu Jing.

Xu Jing knows that hiding in the Lu Estate is the safest option now, so he nods and offers his thanks.

Lu Wen gives him a look, and he activates his martial domain, wrapping the two of them within it to ensure their conversation cannot be overheard by a third party.

"That old thing saw that you split off a portion of your martial domain; how are you going to resolve this?"

Lu Wen asks.

Xu Jing: "It is fine. He has no concrete evidence for such a thing; I can just say that I made a mistake while cultivating."

Lu Wen nods: "Having reached this point, if Li Fei does not die, we will lose both our face and our standing."

Xu Jing's eyes are cold, and he says in a deep voice: "He will surely die!"

Even if You Ming cannot finish off Li Fei, the portion of the martial domain he left with the other is enough to kill Li Fei!

"Hmm."

Lu Wen says no more and turns to arrange the subsequent matters.

Soon, squads of troops and individual experts gather toward the Lu Estate.

The atmosphere becomes increasingly tense!

Everyone is waiting nervously for news from Tianshui City.

The Tomb of Tianshui.

You Ming releases the power stored within the 【Heart Mirror】 without reservation:

A dark, chaotic power instantly shrouds a vast expanse of water.

The scene before Li Fei suddenly changes; he is no longer in the deep water, but standing upon an endless black swamp, surrounded by thick fog where he cannot even see his own fingers.

Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp!

"A martial domain?"

Li Fei immediately perceives what this suddenly appearing power is.

Then, a terrifying suction force suddenly comes from the black swamp beneath his feet!

His Hunyuan Golden Body energy is sucked dry in the blink of an eye; the Golden Thread Jade Scale Armor, this divine garment, does not reduce the suction by even a fraction. Li Fei's force, spirit, essence, blood, and even his life force are being devoured at an extremely rapid speed!

"Black Water divine ability?"

Li Fei's expression changes, and he immediately associates it with the divine ability Xu Jing had displayed when he and Hao Yi raided the execution ground.

And this is only the beginning.

The blood throughout Li Fei's body loses control, attempting to tear through his blood vessels and burst out of his body!

The surrounding fog sweeps toward him, and as it brushes against the Golden Thread Jade Scale Armor he is wearing, it emits a harsh, grating sound.

Wherever the mist passed, fine white scratches appeared on the scales.

This mist was like countless invisible blades, sharp to the extreme!

A portion of the mist snaked through the gaps and holes in the scales, beginning to slice into Li Fei's body.

"Water Control divine ability? Cloud Riding divine ability?"

At this, Li Fei could be certain that this was absolutely the work of Xu Jing.

This Martial Domain was condensed by Xu Jing after he became a Grandmaster!

"So the New Heaven Society is in league with Xu Jing, wanting to put me to death?"

Li Fei's thoughts raced.

He activated the Vajra Seal: Dragon-Elephant, erupting with blood-rage power comparable to 224 Blood Souls!

He violently broke free from the shackles of the swamp beneath his feet, slashed a huge gap in the surrounding mist with his blade, and charged out.

But the surroundings were all swamp, all mist; there was simply nowhere to hide.

Moreover, the surging power within his body was quickly swallowed up.

Li Fei felt himself completely sinking into the swamp, struggling in vain.

Back then, while Xu Jing was distracted dealing with Hao Yi, he had relied on his formidable physical strength to forcibly break free from the Black Water divine ability.

Now his strength was several times greater than before, yet he could not break free.

Because what he was facing now was no longer a single divine ability, but a Martial Domain!

【Water Control】, 【Black Water】, and 【Cloud Riding】—these three divine abilities were perfectly fused together, complementing each other to weave a man-eating swamp that kept Li Fei trapped, unable to break free.

In just over ten seconds, the Blood Souls within the Ten Thousand Blood Bead dropped to only 10, and the Blood Souls within the Blood Spring were being consumed rapidly.

Such an experience made Li Fei inevitably recall the day Hao Yi died.

His right hand gripped the Ghost Slayer Blade tightly, and the blade suddenly turned crimson.

"Master..."

Li Fei's gaze was sharp as he swung the blade in his hand once more.

Outside the Martial Domain, You Ming held that jade-green short blade again, his entire body shrouded in a ghostly blue light.

He could avoid the suppression of the Death Domain by relying on the short blade in his hand, but at this moment, he was deploying a different Martial Domain; even if it was incomplete, he could not avoid the influence the Death Domain exerted upon it.

Therefore, the time this "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp" could be maintained would be shorter than expected.

"He should be dead, right?"

You Ming thought to himself.

Xu Jing had constructed his Martial Domain with three divine abilities to break through and become a Grandmaster; You Ming now had two divine abilities, appearing to be only one short of Xu Jing.

But even if it were You Ming who fell into the strangulation of this Martial Domain, he would be completely unable to break free, and he wouldn't last long before dying without a whole corpse!

The gap between a Martial Master and a Grandmaster is even greater than the gap between the Dao Foundation stage and a Martial Master!

You Ming stared fixedly at the water area shrouded in thick fog ahead, where a massive amount of Water-elemental Qi and extreme cold intent were constantly squeezing the fog from all sides, causing its area to shrink continuously.

This was the Death Domain's rejection of the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp."

A few seconds later, a streak of scorching red light suddenly pierced through the thick fog!

You Ming's eyes widened abruptly; through the gap, he vaguely saw a giant flame blade flash and vanish.

"This is..."

This giant flame blade had merely slashed a gap into the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp."

But the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp" was already enduring the crushing pressure of the Death Domain; when this gap appeared, it was like a dam resisting a flood suddenly developing a breach.

The next second, the dam burst!

The "flood" surged madly through the gap into the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp."

Soon, this already incomplete Martial Domain collapsed!

The mist dispersed, and a figure emerged from within.

You Ming stared fixedly ahead.

The Golden Jade Scale Armor was damaged in many places, revealing the pale golden skin beneath.

This was the appearance after mastering the Golden Body and Jade Marrow.

The helmet on his head was also half-destroyed, revealing half of Li Fei's face and one eye.

Meeting that eye, You Ming felt a chill run through his entire body!

"How is this possible?"

You Ming could not accept such a result at all.

Even if the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp" had collapsed faster than expected, Li Fei should at least have been severely injured!

Li Fei's gaze was cold and stern; a massive amount of Water-elemental Qi surged toward him, driving him to charge rapidly toward You Ming.

The blade he had just used to slash open the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp" was Hao Yi's "Heaven and Earth Single Blade"!

Before his death, Hao Yi had used the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability to help Li Fei re-refine the Ghost Slayer Blade, upgrading it to a Level 6 exotic weapon.

The upgraded Ghost Slayer Blade gained an additional ability: it could store Fire-elemental Qi and Li Fei's "Essence, Qi, and Spirit." Once full, it could unleash the "Heaven and Earth Single Blade"!

Back then, Hao Yi's final blade, propelled by the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability, had reached the level of Creation.

Li Fei reproducing the "Heaven and Earth Single Blade" with the Ghost Slayer Blade certainly could not reach the high level Hao Yi attained, but it was at the level of Intent, and at the peak of the Intent realm at that.

The experience just now inside the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp" had made Li Fei recall Hao Yi once again, thinking of that final blade at the execution ground, and he felt a stirring in his heart.

Thus, the blade intent accumulated for so long erupted from the Ghost Slayer Blade for the first time; the "Heaven and Earth Single Blade" Li Fei unleashed with the Ghost Slayer Blade touched the level of the Profound Realm!

Even if it was only a half-step into the Profound Realm, combined with Li Fei's extreme strength and the external pressure of the Death Domain, he successfully slashed open a corner of the "Dark Cloud Heaven Swamp."

Seeing Li Fei charging over, You Ming was completely terrified and turned to swim toward Zhu San and Ye Zhao, wanting to join forces with them to confront Li Fei.

But Li Fei, assisted by the Water-elemental Qi, had a speed far superior to his and caught up to him first.

A spark bloomed behind You Ming; Li Fei suddenly appeared, holding his blade with both hands and slashing down!

At the same time, a full-power 【Blood Might God】 blasted over.

Having used his final trump card, You Ming's divine ability power was completely exhausted; he truly had "not a drop left."

Thus, he could only rely on his Dao strength to block this 【Blood Might God】, and he couldn't help but feel his mind shake violently!

Although his mental defenses were not broken directly like Ye Zhao's, it still caused his internal energy flow and physical reactions to be affected.

Li Fei slashed down at his head; You Ming only had time to raise his sword to block, unable to even use his Dao strength.

The terrifying force made the long sword in his hand nearly fly out of his grip.

You Ming retreated while borrowing the force, simultaneously activating 【Ghost Shadow】 to vanish into a shadow.

But the next second, his movement was disrupted by the massive amount of Water-elemental Qi, forcing him to reveal his form.

Sparks exploded behind him; Li Fei appeared behind him and thrust his blade forward.

You Ming turned, deploying Dao strength for defense, with a waterfall hanging before him.

The two exchanged several blows in the blink of an eye; You Ming, having no divine abilities left to use, was completely at a disadvantage!

Li Fei seized an opening, used another full-power 【Blood Might God】, and manipulated the Water-elemental Qi to bind You Ming.

The Ghost Slayer Blade slashed toward You Ming's left shoulder, where he had lost his arm, instantly cutting through his protective clothing, then slicing through his flesh and blood like a hot knife through butter!

You Ming wailed silently underwater, desperately erupting with internal energy and activating his core-level extraordinary ability to make his flesh as hard as metal and stone, then using his energy to form chains; only then did he barely lock the blade's edge, avoiding being split in two!

But although he blocked the blade's edge, he could not block the heart-fire and Blood Fiend Qi.

Without the protection of 【Heart Sword】, and with his mindset already unbalanced, the heart-fire finally broke through You Ming's mental defenses.

Infinite fear surged from the bottom of his heart!

You Ming completely lost his composure, stabbing his sword madly at Li Fei in an attempt to force him back.

On the other side, Zhu San and Ye Zhao were riding the black boat, rushing toward this side rapidly.

Previously, the two had kept a great distance to avoid being hit by mistake.

Now they began to regret it.

Zhu San had already released spells at Li Fei from a distance, attempting to interfere with him, but the spells had no effect at all.

Li Fei ignored the sword You Ming had thrust into his exposed throat and continued to exert force with the Ghost Slayer Blade in his hand.

The Blood Fiend Qi had already rotted the opponent's metal-and-stone-like flesh; there was no longer any obstruction before the blade's edge.

A golden blade glow flashed; You Ming was cut entirely from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, his body becoming two halves!

A two-ability Martial Master had fallen!

On the black boat, Zhu San and Ye Zhao stared blankly at this scene.

Li Fei's cold, stern gaze fell upon the two of them.

Zhu San's body trembled, and he hurriedly urged the black boat to turn around, preparing to flee.

But just as the black boat finished turning, Zhu San spat out a mouthful of blood; the black boat trembled violently and stopped in the water.

At this moment, the two sides were a hundred meters apart, within the attack range of 【Blood Might God】.

Compared to the influence on martial artists, 【Blood Might God】 had an even greater influence on magical artifacts!

Zhu San knew this was a moment of life and death; he pinched a seal with both hands and unleashed a secret technique regardless of the cost.

Blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his spiritual sense seemed to ignite, actually taking on a bit of the aura of a True Person's "True Power"!

This power was injected into the black boat beneath his feet; the black boat was reactivated, forcibly breaking through the surrounding Water-elemental Qi and turning into a streak of black light that darted into the distance.

Ye Zhao took a Domain-Breaking Talisman from his bosom and injected his internal energy into it.

Activating the Domain-Breaking Talisman required a bit of time and required one to remain stationary, so Zhu San had to put some distance between them and Li Fei first.

Seeing that the black boat had already rushed out of the attack range of 【Blood Might God】, Li Fei calmly took the Dream-Like Order from his bosom.

This flight-escape artifact had already escaped once before his eyes; naturally, he would not let it escape a second time.

A strand of spiritual intent was injected into the Dream-Like Order, and the token in his hand suddenly emitted a glow.

The next second, the black boat, which had been flying straight ahead, suddenly turned and flew in an arc.

It looked as if Zhu San intended to steer the black boat in a circular arc to fly back around!

Nightmare Sect technique—Going South by Driving North.

This is a type of illusion, commonly known as a "ghost hitting a wall," but it is much more advanced than a "ghost hitting a wall."

Li Fei used the Dream-Like Order to cast this technique, and even Zhu San, at the peak of the Possession Realm, fell for it for a moment.

When fighting You Ming, Li Fei's half-baked technique cultivation was of no use, but it was just right for dealing with Zhu San now.

"Not good!"

Zhu San reacted quickly, his hands forming seals again, and he immediately cleared his mind from the illusion.

Then he watched in despair as Li Fei charged toward him from the left, less than two hundred meters away.

Another full-power 【Blood Might God】 struck the black boat.

Zhu San's vision went black, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.

Taking advantage of his unstable spiritual intent, Li Fei held the Dream-Like Order and cast "Going South by Driving North" again.

This time, the black boat spun in place and stopped moving.

Ye Zhao was terrified and jumped off the boat.

He had the "Water Elder," which could also control the Qi of water, so his movement speed in the water would only be faster than Li Fei's.

But as soon as he jumped off the black boat, his heart and mind were shaken, and his defenses were broken again!

Thus, Ye Zhao also fell into the "Going South by Driving North" illusion.

With this delay, a burst of sparks exploded on the black boat, and Li Fei appeared, slashing open the protective shield around the black boat with a blade.

Zhu San's strongest magic treasure was the flight-escape treasure beneath his feet; he was not skilled in offense or defense, so he was stepped on and pinned down by Li Fei with almost no resistance.

Crack!

Zhu San's sternum fractured as he was pinned under Li Fei's foot; before he could cry out in pain, a heart fire ignited within his body.

Zhu San's mental defenses were broken, his body twitched incessantly, and he fell into a state of extreme agony.

Li Fei struck a burst of force into the opponent's body to restrict his movements, then charged toward Ye Zhao, who had already cleared his mind from the illusion.

Seeing Li Fei charging like a god of slaughter, Ye Zhao was scared out of his wits and hurriedly raised his hands to transmit his voice to Li Fei:

"I am willing to surrender! Do not kill me!"

The blade edge cut through the water flow and stopped in front of Ye Zhao's neck.

Li Fei looked at Ye Zhao, who had given up resistance, suddenly stabbed his blade through the opponent's abdomen, then quickly withdrew it and pierced the opponent's four limbs!

Ye Zhao endured the heart-piercing pain, not daring to resist, and let Li Fei do as he pleased.

Li Fei broke the bones in his four limbs and severely damaged the "Unity" implant in his lower dantian.

In this way, he completely lost the power to resist.

Li Fei wrapped Ye Zhao in a burst of force to prevent him from suffocating underwater, then brought him back to the black boat.

At this moment, Zhu San had used a technique to extinguish the heart fire and was already on the verge of death.

He was originally of ordinary constitution; after having his sternum broken by Li Fei and being struck by force, he also lost the power to resist.

"If you are willing to cooperate with me to testify against Xu Jing, I can give you a way to live."

Li Fei looked down at Zhu San and transmitted his voice.

This was the reason he had not killed these two directly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu San revealed a resolute smile:

"You will get nothing!"

As the words fell, his spiritual intent began to burn again.

This time it was a complete, unreserved burning!

Li Fei frowned, but he could not stop it.

This was self-destruction from the inside out; unless his technique realm could reach the level of a True Person, he would have no chance to stop Zhu San from committing suicide.

Soon, Zhu San's consciousness vanished, and he died right there.

Li Fei turned his head to look at Ye Zhao.

Ye Zhao hurriedly channeled his force to transmit his voice:

"I can cooperate with you, but I have taken a vow technique; if the technique is not broken, there are many things I cannot say."

Li Fei was not in a rush for the moment; having captured Ye Zhao as a bargaining chip, he had already gained the upper hand in the struggle against Xu Jing and Lu Wen and the others.

"Then say what you can; for example, besides killing me, what other purpose did you have in coming to the Tomb of Heavenly Water?"

Li Fei asked.

This chapter is a two-in-one, requesting monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)