chsdbacks Chapter 224 Snatching Food from a Tiger's Mouth
Chapter 224 Snatching Food from a Tiger's Mouth
Chapter 224 Snatching Food from a Tiger's Mouth
Seeing this, True Monarch Xuan Shui curled his red lips into a mocking smile, his eyes filled with contempt:
"The Ji family's precious darling is nothing special."
Before she finished speaking, she flicked her hand again, and four more ice spikes condensed, shooting straight at the metal shield in front of Ji Wuchen with a sharp whistling sound.
"Ding ding ding ding!"
After four crisp, ringing sounds, the defensive aura on the surface of the metal shield shattered like glass.
It had already suffered considerable damage from blocking the impact of the short ruler, and now it simply couldn't withstand the attack of the fourth-tier ice spikes.
Four needle-shaped dents instantly appeared on the shield, thick frost condensing in the dents. Then, the shield's light dissipated, and it rapidly shrank to the size of a palm.
With a "thud," it fell to the ground, revealing Ji Wuchen, whose face was completely bloodless.
At this moment, Ji Wuchen was at his last gasp: nearly 70% of his divine sense was frozen by the aftershocks of the ice spike spell, his mind was in chaos, and even his senses had become dulled.
Having consumed three drops of Millennium Spirit Milk in a short period of time, my body had already reached its limit. Even if I were to consume more Spirit Milk now, it would be difficult to quickly restore my magical power and spiritual consciousness.
Although he possessed other treasures, he was unable to access them due to his frozen consciousness and insufficient magical power.
Meanwhile, Xuan Shui Zhenjun's expression also showed some difficulty.
Continuously activating the fourth-order ice spikes was a huge burden on her damaged nascent soul, but she would never give Ji Wuchen time to recover.
She forcefully gathered another breath of magic power, her face flushing even more crimson. Her hands moved swiftly, and two fourth-order ice spikes, imbued with even more intense cold energy, materialized and shot towards Ji Wuchen with a destructive aura.
Ji Wuchen was extremely anxious, his hands clenched tightly.
He had no last line of defense left, but he secretly held a fourth-tier teleportation talisman in his sleeve, the edges of the talisman almost soaked with his sweat.
But a frantic internal struggle was brewing within me:
If he were to activate the teleportation talisman now, he could escape danger instantly. However, Chen Yi behind him was still refining the Thunder Spirit True Meaning. Without his protection, he would surely be killed by True Monarch Xuan Shui.
Chen Yi was someone he had invited to help, and now he's leaving his teammates behind to save his own life. Even if they survive, his conscience will never be at peace.
Even when he reaches the Nascent Soul stage in the future, this mental flaw will most likely cause him to get stuck at a bottleneck, making it difficult for him to advance further.
But if we don't leave,
He stared at the two ice spikes that were getting closer and closer, his mind racing through all sorts of methods, but he really couldn't think of any way to block this fatal blow.
The shadow of death loomed over him more clearly than ever before, making even his breath feel cold.
At this critical moment, Ji Wuchen suddenly felt his belt tighten.
A numbing sensation instantly spread throughout his body, as if an invisible bolt of lightning had tightly bound him from behind.
He could even feel his hair standing on end slightly due to the electric current.
"Open your mouth!"
Chen Yi's soft shout reached his ears just in time, and Ji Wuchen subconsciously opened his mouth. Half a bottle of [Thunder Brew Essence], which was still hot, was instantly sent into his mouth by a force.
A dense surge of lightning energy exploded within his body, and fine crackles of lightning began to appear on the surface of his skin.
His entire body rapidly transformed into the direction of the Thunder Spirit Body, and his previously stiff body regained some sensation due to the infusion of this energy.
The next moment, a crisp "ding" was heard, and a fist-sized crystal core flashing with golden lightning suddenly appeared in front of Ji Wuchen. The surface of the crystal core was covered with lightning patterns, and it spun rapidly in the air at a speed that was difficult for even divine sense to detect.
The first ice spike that shot towards them struck the crystal core precisely, its trajectory instantly deflected by the lightning generated by the core's rotation.
With a sharp, piercing sound, it pierced the mountainside inside the cave, forcefully carving out an ice cave dozens of meters deep, instantly causing thick white frost to condense on the rock walls.
Immediately afterward, the second ice spike was already close at hand, about to pierce Ji Wuchen's chest, which was not yet fully transformed into a spirit.
At that very moment, an arm covered in countless layers of lightning crystal scales suddenly stretched out from behind Ji Wuchen.
The layers of lightning crystal scales on his arms gleamed with a cold, metallic light, precisely blocking the ice spikes from the side, forming a clever angle.
"Sizzle—"
The ice spikes, condensed from fourth-order energy, were embedded diagonally into the lightning crystal scales, emitting a piercing metallic scraping sound.
The eerie blue light at the tip of the ice spikes flickered wildly, attempting to break through the defense.
After piercing through two layers of lightning crystal scales, the ice spike had already consumed most of its energy.
Unable to advance any further, it was finally flung away with a "thud," crashing to the ground and shattering into several pieces of ice crystals.
As for the fourth-tier ice-type spiritual power attached to the ice spikes, after penetrating the remaining eight layers of lightning crystal defense on Chen Yi's right arm,
The power had diminished to its limit; it was melted away by the lightning flowing across his skin the moment it touched him, leaving not even a trace of coolness.
The energy attack hidden within the ice spikes, used to freeze consciousness.
As soon as it approached Chen Yi's brow, it was mostly blocked by the four-colored divine sense shield that he had deployed beforehand.
The remaining ice-elemental energy that had managed to break through by sheer luck hadn't even had a chance to invade his divine sense before it was blasted into tiny ice shards by a fleeting burst of soul lightning from between Chen Yi's brows.
Finally, it was completely swept away by a spring breeze-like dewdrop of life.
From beginning to end, his soul was almost completely unaffected.
Obviously, without relying on external things,
Whether it's physical defense, magic resistance, or soul protection, Chen Yi's raw strength far surpasses Ji Wuchen's.
"What is that!?"
The Xuan Shui Zhenjun, standing some distance away, stared in disbelief, his initial contempt instantly replaced by shock.
She was initially extremely confident that those two ice spikes would be enough to kill Ji Wuchen in one strike.
Unexpectedly, the bald cultivator who suddenly appeared behind Ji Wuchen broke through it so easily, without even touching the hem of the other party's clothes.
"Who is this person? Late-stage third-tier body refinement, bald, wearing lightning crystal scale armor..."
Xuan Shui Zhenjun stared intently at Chen Yi's figure, his eyes filled with apprehension, while rapidly searching his mind for relevant information.
He secretly resolved that he would thoroughly investigate the background of this cultivator when he returned. Being able to withstand a fourth-order ice spike unscathed meant he was no nobody.
At this moment, True Monarch Xuan Shui wanted to use his magic power to keep the two of them in place, but his pupils contracted slightly as his gaze swept over them.
The lightning around Ji Wuchen had stabilized, his skin had turned into a translucent light blue, and fine arcs of lightning swirled around him, clearly indicating that he had completed his lightning spirit transformation.
Chen Yi behind him was the same; his bald head was covered with a layer of fine lightning patterns, and even his pupils shone with lightning. His whole body seemed to be formed from pure lightning spirit power.
"Relax your mind and body, and let me take control."
Chen Yi's voice rang directly in Ji Wuchen's mind.
The voice just fell,
Ji Wuchen felt as if his consciousness had merged with the surrounding lightning spirit power, and his whole body transformed into a condensed bolt of lightning, which was instantly shot out by a powerful force.
What shocked him even more was that at the very front of the two lightning-powered figures, a faint yet tenacious starlight flickered.
The starlight, like a sharp blade, pierced through the air resistance inside the cave at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, leaving an unpredictable zigzag trajectory as it sped away towards the outside.
What kind of escape technique is this? It's reached almost the fourth level!
Ji Wuchen discovered that Brother Chen possessed a life-saving ability far beyond his imagination!
"Trying to run away?!"
Xuan Shui Zhenjun's eyes turned cold, and his Nascent Soul level divine sense suddenly spread out, like an invisible net, trying to lock onto the escape trajectory of the two.
However, she soon had to admit that even with her Nascent Soul cultivator's spiritual sense, she could only barely catch the afterimages of two lightning bolts, and was far from being able to reliably lock onto that terrifying speed.
The escape technique not only possessed the speed of lightning but also the eeriness of starlight, far exceeding her understanding of conventional escape techniques.
"Such exquisite escape techniques exist?!"
Xuan Shui Zhenjun was slightly surprised, and his expression became increasingly solemn.
Fortunately, the cave has only one exit, and she is currently blocking the only way out. No matter how fast the other party is moving, they cannot bypass this only passage.
Therefore, no matter how strange Chen Yi's escape technique was, she was confident that she could stop the two of them.
The next moment, the figure of Xuan Shui Zhenjun, hundreds of feet away, began to blur and gradually dissipated like water vapor, leaving only a crystal droplet of water in place.
The droplet of water rapidly expanded in a very short time, instantly transforming into a water curtain several meters high.
The water curtain, shimmering with a ghostly blue light, stretched across the cave entrance as if it were a tangible entity.
The entire passage was completely locked, and faint fluctuations of Nascent Soul level water-based magic power could be heard from within the water curtain, so heavy that it was suffocating.
Chen Yi, who was controlling his lightning technique, sensed the fluctuations of water-based magic power coming from ahead. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his speeding figure subconsciously slowed down a little.
The water curtain may seem ordinary, but it contains the full power of Xuan Shui Zhenjun's sealing technique, and it is by no means easy to break through.
He quickly calculated a way to break the deadlock in his mind; if he forced his way in...
With the strength of the Thunder Spirit Body, it is highly likely that it can break through a gap, but Xuan Shui Zhenjun will inevitably seize the opportunity.
There are no other options, and delaying will only make things worse once the opponent recovers their magic.
This was his first time facing a Nascent Soul level expert head-on, and even though he had made thorough preparations, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Ji Wuchen also noticed the stalemate ahead and was secretly worried, wondering how Chen Yi would break the deadlock.
Although the water curtain before them was hastily erected by True Monarch Xuan Shui when his magical power was nearly depleted, it still possessed near-fourth-tier power.
It's more than enough to stop a Core Formation cultivator.
What's more troublesome is that while water-based magic isn't top-tier in pure defense and is easily exploited by finding weaknesses, it has a natural advantage in sticking, positioning, and tracking.
He knew very well that if Chen Yi forced his way through the formation, even if he could break through the water curtain with the power of starlight, he would be locked by the power of Xuan Shui Zhenjun as soon as he was tainted by the aura of the water curtain.
With a Nascent Soul True Monarch relentlessly pursuing them, it was virtually impossible for them to escape the Monster Beast Mountain Range by 300,000 li.
Chen Yi had already calculated this potential danger through the method of "perceiving heaven and earth". He was not flustered at all. His mind raced and he came up with several ways to break the deadlock in an instant.
After weighing the pros and cons, he ultimately chose the safest option.
As he flew away, he flipped his left hand and took out a pure white, shuttle-shaped magic weapon from his storage bag. It was the Moon Blade Shuttle that Yue Qingqiu had lent him before.
Immediately afterwards, he slowly channeled the stellar power he had cultivated over the years into the shuttle.
A faint silver sheen quickly appeared on the surface of the Moonblade Shuttle.
In a very short time, a condensed blade of light condensed at the tip of the shuttle, and the energy fluctuations contained in that blade of light had actually reached the level of the quasi-fourth rank.
When Yue Qingqiu lent him this Moon Blade Shuttle,
He once said that with his cultivation level, he could at most unleash the power of a high-grade third rank.
That's because Yue Qingqiu didn't know that Chen Yi had already cultivated the "Star Technique" to the third level.
It should be understood that the power of the stars and moon is inherently interconnected at the fundamental level.
This Moonblade Shuttle magic weapon, when infused with pure star power, can fully unleash its inherent power.
Furthermore, Chen Yi had been secretly preparing for this moment for a long time, so the power unleashed by the Moon Blade Shuttle far exceeded Yue Qingqiu's initial expectations.
next moment,
With a flick of Chen Yi's fingertips, the Moon Blade Shuttle, wreathed in near-fourth-tier blade light, escaped his Star Lightning Escape Light at a speed far exceeding that of Lightning Escape.
Like a silver lightning bolt, it shot precisely towards the water curtain in front of it.
There was a soft "pop" sound.
Without a deafening roar, the seemingly thick, near-fourth-tier water curtain was instantly cleaved open with a gash about a foot wide by the blade light of the Moonblade Shuttle.
The light on the surface of the water curtain flickered violently, but it was difficult to heal on its own for a while.
Upon seeing this from afar, True Monarch Xuan Shui's eyes flashed with surprise, and he thought to himself:
"Such a magical treasure exists? It possesses the attribute of moonlight; could it be from the Star Moon Sect?"
But she quickly regained her composure and did not panic too much.
Making just one opening is useless. As long as Chen Yi's true form dares to escape through the gap, she is fully confident that she can use her remaining magic power to firmly envelop him with a water curtain.
Even if the other party manages to escape, she can still track their movements using the scent of the water curtain.
Moreover, she knew very well that this level of speed-escaping ability would inevitably consume a great deal of mana and could not be sustained for long.
As long as we stall until she recovers some of her magic power before pursuing her, there will definitely be no accidents.
however,
Despite his meticulous planning, True Lord Xuan Shui had not anticipated what would happen next.
Following behind the Moonblade Shuttle was not Chen Yi's true form's escape light, but a lightning crystal core the size of a fist.
The surface of the lightning crystal core shimmered with a faint purple and golden hue, its patterns twisted and irregular.
The energy contained within was extremely unstable, with tiny arcs of lightning constantly exploding around it, clearly carrying the energy of a peak third-tier lightning storm.
As if controlled by an invisible force, the lightning crystal core crashed straight into the still-unhealed gap in her water curtain, and was about to explode within it.
"not good!"
Xuan Shui Zhenjun instantly sensed the unstable energy within the lightning crystal core, and his expression changed drastically.
Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately tried to use hand seals to withdraw the water curtain spell.
But it was too late in the end.
"Bang!"
The lightning crystal core exploded at the gap in the water curtain, and a violent lightning current instantly spread across the entire water curtain like a spider web.
The property of water to conduct electricity is magnified infinitely at this moment.
The lightning energy, which would have scattered after exploding in the air, was now completely absorbed by the entire water curtain.
The electric current surged wildly along the water flow, even scorching the rock walls at the edge of the water curtain.
In order to control the water curtain, Xuan Shui Zhenjun had already merged his magical power with the water flow.
At this moment, transforming into a stream of water and hiding within a water curtain is equivalent to directly exposing oneself to the center of a thunderstorm, experiencing a real "violent electric therapy".
If she had Chen Yi's late-stage third-order body refinement cultivation, she might have been able to withstand this lightning strike. However, in the entire cultivation world, this level of body refinement cultivator is as rare as a Nascent Soul cultivator.
True Lord Xuan Shui was already exhausted and out of supplies. He had no magical treasures specifically designed to defend against lightning, nor did he possess the robust physical body of a body cultivator.
Furthermore, her recent terrifying experience of having her nascent soul injured during a tribulation of lightning caused her to panic and fail to react appropriately in time.
The explosive power of the lightning crystal core almost entirely struck her, causing her body to go numb, her meridians to spasm, and her internal magical energy to surge chaotically.
The water curtain instantly dissipated during the thunderstorm, turning into a shower of water droplets.
The disheveled figure of True Lord Xuan Shui emerged from the water.
His long hair was straightened by the electric current, bursting out like sea urchin spines around his head.
His robes were covered in charred holes, a trace of blood remained at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes and mouth twitched uncontrollably.
What frustrated her even more was that her soul was momentarily paralyzed by that wisp of purple-gold lightning.
It should be noted that she has already formed her Nascent Soul, and her divine soul has undergone a qualitative change, becoming a true fourth-order divine soul.
A third-tier lightning spirit capable of affecting her soul is extremely rare in this era.
But she didn't know that Chen Yi was cultivating the "Purple Lightning Soul-Nourishing Technique" of the ancient Soul Thunder Sect.
He had just refined that ancient lightning spirit essence in the lightning pool, and the two were in perfect harmony, making his soul lightning spell far more powerful than others of the same level.
In addition, the energy of this lightning explosion was enormous, and the double effect was what caused her, a Nascent Soul True Monarch, to be affected.
In that brief moment when Xuan Shui Zhenjun was paralyzed, a dazzling starlight suddenly swept past her side, followed closely by two condensed lightning beams that shot out of the cave like arrows.
The Moonblade Shuttle, which had launched earlier, had already accurately struck the stone-armored beast that was lying in wait outside the cave, under Chen Yi's divine sense control.
With a "swoosh" sound, the blade sliced through the stone armor's back, taking away large pieces of broken stone armor and scarlet blood.
The stone-armored beast howled in pain, and dared not linger in the fight. It immediately used its innate ability to burrow underground, and its body sank into the rock wall and disappeared.
Chen Yi had no time to bother with this monster. After retrieving the Moon Blade Shuttle into his storage bag,
He then led Ji Wuchen to unleash the full power of the Star Lightning Escape technique. Two bolts of lightning left a trail of afterimages at the cave entrance before rushing straight out of the cave and heading into the distance.
When True Lord Xuan Shui regained consciousness and finally recovered from the paralysis,
She hurriedly released her divine sense to scan, only to find that Chen Yi and the other person had already rushed out of the mountain, their escape light already dozens of miles away on the horizon, leaving only a blurry little dot.
Although she felt resentful, she was also aware that she was in extremely poor condition at the moment.
With his body charred and stinging, his internal magical power almost depleted, and his soul still feeling numb, even if he managed to give chase, he probably wouldn't be able to catch these two cunning little thieves.
More importantly, the endless tricks Chen Yi and his companion used made her wary.
In particular, the power of lightning, which could damage her soul, struck at her weakest point.
The lightning tribulation injury she sustained when she formed her nascent soul has not yet healed, and she instinctively feels a sense of fear towards lightning that can threaten her soul.
After weighing the options, True Monarch Xuan Shui finally gave up the idea of pursuing them and gritted his teeth to meditate and walk away.
After the two escaped, Xuan Shui Zhenjun suppressed the numbness in his body and came to the Thunder Pool that Chen Yi had previously refined.
Looking down, her face instantly darkened.
The Thunder Pool was completely empty; not even a trace of residual thunder essence could be found.
Even a foot-wide layer of rock was forcibly removed from the wall of the Thunder Pool.
Not to mention that the golden lightning spirit essence that had once captivated her and could heal the injuries from the lightning tribulation had long since vanished.
A surge of anger welled up in his heart, and Xuan Shui Zhenjun couldn't help but clench his fists.
Her path to becoming an infant was fraught with humiliation.
In order to gather the resources for Nascent Soul formation, he not only exhausted his savings of many years, but also had to submit to a disgusting-looking Nascent Soul demon in exchange for his last chance.
However, when he was forming his nascent soul, his nascent soul foundation was damaged by a lightning tribulation, and he has been suffering from the backlash of the lightning injury for many years.
In order to find a solution, she went to great lengths, consulting a divination master from the demonic sect.
Only then did he learn that there was a corresponding opportunity at Thunder Peak. He then borrowed the stone armored beast that could traverse mountains from the Nascent Soul Beast Taming Master who served him, and asked it to help him find opportunities at Thunder Peak.
Later, the stone-armored beast discovered Chen Yi and his companion's whereabouts and promptly reported it to her, prompting her to rush over in a panic.
Seeing that the other party was only two Core Formation cultivators, she didn't hesitate to break the unspoken rule of the cultivation world that "Nascent Soul cultivators don't cheat Core Formation cultivators."
He took the initiative to attack someone of a higher level, thinking he could easily take down Lei Ling and seize his true essence.
Unexpectedly, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator possessed an absurdly large number of magic treasures.
The other one is cunning and treacherous, possesses the power of thunder spirits, and has extremely strong escape techniques.
Not only did she fail to obtain the opportunity, but she also suffered a considerable loss; even the Xuanming Heavy Water couldn't stop the two of them.
She has really lost face by bullying two juniors who are above her rank this time.
What's more troublesome is that the late-stage Golden Core cultivator is a Nascent Soul seed from the Ji family.
Given the Ji family's influence in the cultivation world, they will most likely come looking for trouble for her later. Just thinking about this made True Monarch Xuan Shui feel uneasy.
She stood by the dangerous spot for a long time, her mind racing, trying to figure out a way to break the deadlock.
After a moment, a thought gradually became clear:
The only way to avoid being put on the defensive is to strike first.
She vaguely remembered that the bald cultivator who could control the lightning crystal and damage her soul seemed to be somewhat famous in the cultivation world of Qi Kingdom.
"Ji Wuchen... bald..."
She kept repeating it to herself, when suddenly her eyes lit up.
"That's right! The Lake and Sea Secret Realm! The Thunder Soul Sect's inheritance!"
No wonder he could control the thunderous techniques that paralyze my soul; it turns out he inherited the legacy of the Thunder Soul Sect!
Following this clue, Xuan Shui Zhenjun's thinking became increasingly clear:
"Back then, these two were in the Lake and Sea Secret Realm, and I heard they had some connection with that demon Ning Bu'er."
The Leifeng Pagoda here is the very place that Ning Bu'er applied to the Demonic Sect for!
No wonder they were here, no wonder they were able to find this opportunity of Thunder Spirit True Meaning, they must be colluding with Ning Bu'er!
When all the scattered clues were pieced together, she finally understood the cause and effect.
Having made up his mind, True Lord Xuanshui no longer hesitated.
She planned to report the matter to the Palace Master of the Demonic Beast Taming Sect as soon as she returned.
They embellished the story of Chen Yi and his companion "trespassing into the Demonic Sect's territory and colluding with Ning Bu'er to steal opportunities," and recounted it in a more dramatic way.
Let me make a special mention of the relationship between the two of them and Ning Bu'er, so that the Palace Master can first go and cause trouble for the Ancient Demon lineage, forcing Ning Bu'er to give the Demon Sect an explanation.
In this way, even if the Ji family comes knocking on their door to demand an explanation,
She also had a "just cause" on the side of the Demonic Sect, as she took action to protect the interests of the Demonic Sect and avoid being put in a passive position.
……
(End of this chapter)