Chapter 800: Borrowing a Thousand Lives to Slay the Barbarian King

"You can't kill him, hurry up and leave!"

Qiu Zi'an asked bluntly, and Li Fei replied just as bluntly.

It was a simple logic: if the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability combined with national destiny could slay Boerhu, the Emperor and Xiang Yunshu would have consumed national destiny beforehand to let Li Fei refine the divine ability seed, then specifically formulated a decapitation tactic for him.

The Sun-Moon-Star Armor and the Rivers-and-Mountains-Society-State Blade, these two items refined with national destiny were indeed powerful, but still insufficient for Li Fei to contend with Boerhu.

If one really wanted to slay Boerhu in this manner, who knows how much national destiny would be consumed!

That would be a loss outweighing the gain.

The national destiny the Emperor gave Li Fei now was all newly added, and the amount was limited.

It was given to Li Fei to save his life, not to kill the enemy.

Hearing Li Fei's reply, Qiu Zi'an was somewhat disappointed, but she did not leave; instead, she flew rapidly toward the blood-colored giant to rendezvous with Li Fei:

"How can there be any reason to let a young man of only twenty years old stay behind to cover the retreat?"

Qi Zhou also flew over with her, which actually surprised Li Fei a little.

At the same time, that ancient bronze mirror in the sky also flew above the head of the blood-colored giant.

An aged voice entered Li Fei's mind:

"Marquis of Jing'an, in a moment, this old man will self-detonate my life-bound magic treasure to cover your retreat!"

"You have the 【No Distance】 divine ability and the protection of national destiny; the Heaven-Mixing Compass above your head will help you conceal your aura and tracks, making it difficult for others to trace you. You can get away!"

Li Fei was startled upon hearing this and replied in his mind:

"True Person Zhang, if you self-detonate your life-bound magic treasure, what will happen to you?"

Zhang Chengbi's magnanimous laughter rang out:

"This old man already passed away from old age over seventy years ago; it was only by the grace of the late Emperor that I was able to survive as a true soul within my life-bound magic treasure. Over these years, I don't know how many heavenly treasures and how much national destiny the imperial court has spent to preserve my cultivation realm. The court kept this useful body of mine precisely so that I could contribute at a moment like this!"

"This old man is already decrepit, and my cultivation realm will only grow lower in the future. But you, Marquis of Jing'an, are different; you are the number one prodigy in the history of our Great Lan Dynasty. His Majesty would not even hesitate to exhaust national destiny to save you, so you cannot die here!"

Li Fei fell silent.

As top-tier powerhouses, the Great Lan Dynasty had those like Mi Han who were solely focused on preserving themselves.

There were also those like Ji Yifan who would only do their best but were unwilling to risk their lives.

But there were also those like Qiu Zi'an and Zhang Chengbi who, for the sake of the nation, would spare nothing of themselves!

"Don't be wishy-washy, it's decided!"

Seeing Li Fei not responding, Zhang Chengbi said again.

The exchange between their minds happened in an instant; for this conversation between the two, only one second had passed in the outside world.

Boerhu, who had been knocked flying, had already emerged from a pile of rubble and was charging over here again!

From the start of the battle until now, this Northern Barbarian King had also been heavily injured, suffering repeated heavy blows.

However, among the divine abilities he mastered were healing-type ones, which he could derive and strengthen to allow him to continuously recover from his injuries.

Therefore, his condition was better than anyone else present.

Possessing seven divine abilities, the strength of this Northern Barbarian King was all-encompassing!

"This old man is preparing to self-detonate my life-bound magic treasure; watch for the right moment to dissolve the military formation and retreat yourself!"

Zhang Chengbi's voice rang out in Li Fei's mind again.

At the same time, he also spoke to the others, telling them to get ready.

Li Fei gritted his teeth, feeling unwilling.

If he dissolved the military formation and fled alone, the remaining thousand-plus Imperial Guard soldiers, as well as Qiu Zi'an and the others who had followed, would likely all die!

These people did not have the 【No Distance】 divine ability, no protection of national destiny, and no Heaven-Mixing Compass to help them mask their auras.

"Everyone, are you willing to trust me one more time?"

Li Fei's voice suddenly resounded throughout the entire military formation.

"What does the Marquis intend to do?"

A Martial Arts Master asked on behalf of everyone.

"Lend me your lives!"

Li Fei gritted his teeth and said.

The 【Refining Objects】 divine ability can refine all things, but these things must be something one can completely control; otherwise, if the slightest fluctuation occurs during the refining process, a tiny deviation could lead to a massive error.

Therefore, Li Fei could only refine things that belonged to him, including life force, and even lifespan.

If he wanted to refine someone else's things, he could only borrow them, and the other party must be willing to give them up voluntarily and be 100% cooperative; only then could it be refined.

Now, Li Fei wanted to borrow everyone's 'lives'!

"Hahahahaha—"

A Martial Arts Master laughed upon hearing this, "The Marquis of Jing'an wants our lives? Take them!"

Another Martial Arts Master asked with burning eyes: "Is it to slay the Northern Barbarian King?"

These words made everyone in the military formation excited, and everyone looked at Li Fei with full anticipation.

As long as Li Fei nodded and said it was possible, they would offer everything they had without reservation!

But Li Fei said regretfully:

"Sorry, I don't want to lie to everyone. Even if I sacrifice everyone's lives, I still cannot kill the opponent, but there is a chance to severely wound him."

"That is enough!"

The three Martial Arts Masters immediately stated.

"Our lives, feel free to take them!"

"Hahaha, first slay the Great Elder of the Fire Qilin Tribe, then severely wound the Northern Barbarian King; we've made a profit! A huge profit!"

"Many thanks to the Marquis for granting us this honor!"

"..."

The Imperial Guard soldiers in the formation also shouted one after another.

Outside, Boerhu collided with the blood-colored giant again, the black baleful light crashing into the Rivers-and-Mountains-Society-State Blade.

This time, the Northern Barbarian King's power was even stronger than before!

As the phantom of mountains and rivers on the Rivers-and-Mountains-Society-State Blade shattered one after another, the blood-colored giant was knocked back, its back slamming into a small mountain peak, snapping the peak in half!

The earth shook, and smoke and dust filled the air.

In the sky, the ancient bronze mirror controlled by Zhang Chengbi suddenly erupted with dazzling light!

It was as if a small sun had appeared in the sky.

Boerhu looked up at the bronze mirror, immediately realized something was wrong, and retreated decisively.

A pair of wings on his back flapped, instantly tearing through the air and retreating over a thousand meters!

A beam of pure, spiritual light fell upon him; phantoms of palaces, white clouds, and cranes appeared around him, as if he had suddenly entered the thirty-three celestial realms.

Boerhu's figure stalled for a moment, and taking advantage of this time, the small sun in the sky transformed into a meteor and crashed toward him!

"Go! Live and return—"

Zhang Chengbi's voice rang out in Li Fei's mind again.

This was the last sentence this former Pavilion Master of the Law Enforcement Pavilion would ever speak in his life.

Boom—

An earth-shattering explosion; everything within a thousand-meter radius turned into a vast expanse of white!

Li Fei did not take the opportunity to dissolve the military formation and flee alone; instead, he exerted the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability with all his might, using the military formation to concentrate and refine everyone's power.

These thousand-plus Imperial Guard soldiers gave their energy, essence blood, mental focus, and life force—everything they had—to Li Fei without reservation!

"Marquis, it is our honor to fight alongside you!"

Such shouts vaguely reached Li Fei's ears.

"It is also my honor to fight alongside you all!"

Li Fei also shouted:

"Let's go—"

The blood-colored giant, holding the Rivers-and-Mountains-Society-State Blade and clad in the Sun-Moon-Star Armor, charged into the center of the explosion without a second thought!

With both hands raised high, he brought the Rivers-and-Mountains-Society-State Blade down in a slash, concentrating the lives of over a thousand people into this single strike!

Qiu Zi'an, on the periphery of the explosion, had the intention to coordinate with Li Fei to strike at Boerhu, but the power of the self-detonating life-bound magic treasure was too astonishing, and she was already severely injured; she was truly unable to charge into the explosion to attack, and could only watch helplessly as the blood-colored giant charged in to risk his life.

As for Qi Zhou, he had dodged outward before the explosion occurred, while simultaneously exerting his Martial Arts Domain to the fullest to defend against the shockwaves of the blast.

At the center of the explosion, the Sun-Moon-Star Armor on the blood-colored giant continuously cracked and shattered, enduring the terrifying impact.

The Rivers-and-Mountains-Society-State Blade, carrying the weight of ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains and the state of the world, slashed from above into a pitch-black ball of light.

After the blade struck the ball of light, it was like cutting into an endless void space; there was no end, and it could never fall through.

During this process, the power on the blade was being rapidly absorbed!

This black ball of light was the manifestation of Boerhu's Martial Arts Domain; he could combine his seven divine abilities to strengthen one of them, deriving new variations.

Then, by highly condensing and compressing his Martial Arts Domain, he could significantly enhance the strengthening effect!

In offense, he possessed limitless power amplification.

In defense, he possessed a void space that could infinitely absorb others' power—which was this ball of light.

Of course, the so-called "infinite" was only theoretical.

But even if it was only Boerhu's "finite," for the current Li Fei, it could already be considered a kind of "infinite."

This was an absolute crushing of cultivation realms!

However, Li Fei currently had the support of the Heaven-Mixing Compass.

In his perception, this void space turned into countless points and lines; he could clearly see the flow of energy within and the combinations of various divine abilities.

The blood-colored giant twisted its wrists, the River and Mountains State-Protecting Blade in its hands began to vibrate violently, and then it precisely slashed through line after line, node after node.

This void space began to collapse, and the pitch-black ball of light was sliced in two!

After consuming a vast amount of power, the River and Mountains State-Protecting Blade finally succeeded in striking Bo'erhu.

This Northern Barbarian King was slashed back over a thousand meters, slamming heavily into the ground.

BOOM!!!

Dust and smoke billowed in the distance.

A massive crater appeared on the ground, with Bo'erhu lying at the bottom, his entire body covered in cracks and dripping with blood—a shocking sight!

His body began to shrink, and the features of his beast-transformation—the scales on his skin, the twin horns on his forehead, and the wings on his back—were rapidly disappearing.

He had been forcibly knocked out of his beast-transformation state!

From the start of the battle until now, the analysis of this Northern Barbarian King by the Heaven-Mixing Compass had never ceased.

Even though Xiang Yunshu was not present in person, the power of Dao laws is the power of Dao laws; such a long duration was enough to derive truly targeted measures.

The strike Li Fei had just delivered was aimed precisely at his beast-transformation state!

If Bai Yan had not died, this strike should have been delivered by him leading the military formation.

Now that it was Li Fei, it could only be done by sacrificing the lives of the soldiers.

One strike, forcibly breaking Bo'erhu's beast-transformation state and causing severe damage to his origin!

Such trauma could not be healed even by healing-type divine abilities.

With his beast-transformation broken, Bo'erhu's combat power also plummeted from the "Prince-level" to the Dao-Establishing Realm.

With a cold, murderous look in his eyes, he stared into the distance and flew up from the crater, but instead of attacking again, he turned and left.

He had chosen to retreat!

Even if a Grandmaster were leading the military formation, enduring so many of his attacks should have left them severely wounded and unable to hold on.

Yet in his perception, Li Fei remained unscathed!

This brought immense psychological pressure upon Bo'erhu!

He did not know how much longer Li Fei could hold out.

The blessing of national destiny, combined with the targeting of the Heaven-Mixing Compass.

These factors combined finally made Bo'erhu harbor thoughts of retreat.

The losses of the Northern Barbarians today were already great enough, and with his realm having fallen, he could not continue to take risks.

In the distance, seeing Bo'erhu choose to retreat, Li Fei felt some regret, but also breathed a sigh of relief.

This was why he said he could not kill the Northern Barbarian King.

The opponent could fight when he wanted and leave when he wanted, holding the absolute initiative.

How could he be killed?

If Zhang Chengbi had not voluntarily sacrificed himself and detonated his natal magic treasure to create an opening for Li Fei.

He would not have even had the chance to land that final strike on Bo'erhu.

No matter how great the power, it was useless if it couldn't hit the opponent!

Li Fei first used the Heaven-Mixing Compass to sense Bo'erhu's movements, confirming that the opponent had truly retreated and had already flown several thousand meters away, before he voluntarily dispersed the military formation.

Beams of light flew out from the blood-colored giant's body like falling meteors across the sky.

Over a thousand soldiers of the Imperial Guard landed on the ground, every one of them pale and unable to even stand steady.

That final strike had exhausted almost everything they had; even if he hadn't voluntarily dispersed the formation, it would have collapsed on its own before long.

Li Fei used a wind-riding technique to fly above these Imperial Guard soldiers, his gaze sweeping over the swaying soldiers below one by one, before he finally raised his right fist and shouted loudly:

"MIGHT!!!"

Without the voluntary sacrifice of these men, it would have been impossible to break Bo'erhu's beast-transformation state and damage his origin.

From now on, the opponent would not be able to return to his peak in the short term, let alone attempt to break through to the Martial Saint realm.

So, although this decapitation operation did not succeed, at least the strategic objectives had been mostly achieved!

The thousand-plus Imperial Guard soldiers below barely had the strength to speak, but at this moment, they still gritted their teeth, stood straight, looked up at the figure in the air, and used their final strength to shout loudly:

"MIGHT!"

"MIGHT!"

"MIGHT!"

After these three shouts, everyone breathed their last and died.

In this battle, all three thousand six hundred soldiers of the Imperial Guard of the Barbarian-Slaying Army died in action!

Qiu Zi'an flew to Li Fei's side, looked at the fallen soldiers below, and suddenly let out a muffled groan as blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Immediately after, purple flames ignited below, setting the bodies of the Imperial Guard soldiers ablaze.

"We cannot leave their baleful weapons to the Northern Barbarians, and we cannot take their bodies with us, so we shall cremate them here."

Qiu Zi'an explained to Li Fei.

"Mm."

Li Fei nodded.

Qiu Zi'an's purple flames were no ordinary fire, and they quickly burned everything to ashes.

Li Fei descended from the air, knelt on one knee, and scooped up a handful of white ash from the ground.

He took a wooden box for elixirs from his robes, consumed the elixirs inside, and then placed the white ash from his hand into the box to store it.

This was the only thing he could bring back.

"It is time to go; if we don't leave now, the Northern Barbarians might send other experts to hunt us down."

Qi Zhou landed beside Li Fei and said softly.

Li Fei stood up, looked up at the sky, and his lips moved slightly.

"Let's go, we are going home!"

(End of chapter)