Chapter 561 - 561: Severe Fire Poisoning

However.

By the time they noticed, it was already too late.

In the pitch-black night, Anfu and Chen Yi's eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness.

The sudden explosion of Primordial Power from Chu Qingyun's body momentarily blinded them.

Anfu, in particular, only saw a black glint flash through a blinding burst of light. Then, a sharp pain shot through his head, and he instantly lost consciousness.

Three meters was simply too short a distance.

Just before, Anfu had been mobilizing his Primordial Power, completely focused on suppressing the Fire Poison within him.

When Chu Qingyun suddenly used the Thrusting Sword Technique, even a ninth-level Martial Spirit like him had no way to dodge. He hadn't even managed to summon much Primordial Power to defend himself.

With a single strike, the sword pierced Anfu's head, finishing off the ninth-level Martial Spirit!

Without hesitation, Chu Qingyun pressed a hand against Anfu's body and unleashed his Devouring Power, absorbing the Primordial Power within him at the fastest possible speed.

He didn't, however, try to devour the body itself.

Anfu was deeply afflicted with Fire Poison. If Chu Qingyun devoured his flesh and blood, he would inevitably absorb the Fire Poison as well, which would only cause trouble for him later.

"Chu Qingyun, you bastard!"

Chen Yi shot to his feet, his face contorted with rage.

The three of them, all ninth-level Martial Spirits, had been ordered to hunt down and kill Chu Qingyun.

They had originally thought it would be a trivial matter—just catch up to Chu Qingyun, strike him down casually, and take back the sect's Token.

They never expected things to turn out like this.

Shao Hua Yang had died in the Fire Poison District, his body ravaged by Molten Beasts until not even bones remained. And now Anfu, right under his nose, had been killed by Chu Qingyun with a single sword through the head.

As their leader, Chen Yi was filled with uncontrollable fury.

"Those who kill will themselves be killed. Since you took orders from that old bastard Elder Huang to come after me, you should have been prepared to die."

Chu Qingyun retorted with a cold smile.

Meanwhile, he increased the output of his Devouring Power.

His purpose on this trip was to devour Primordial Power, so he was more than happy to exchange a few more words with Chen Yi to avoid wasting the power of a ninth-level Martial Spirit like Anfu.

"Those who kill will themselves be killed?"

"A mere sixth-level Martial Spirit like you—what right do you have to say that to us!"

Chen Yi roared in anger.

"What's wrong with being a sixth-level Martial Spirit? Weren't you once sixth-level Martial Spirits yourselves?" Chu Qingyun replied calmly.

By now, he had almost completely drained the Primordial Liquid from Anfu's Qi Sea.

The Primordial Power of a ninth-level Martial Spirit was exceptionally pure.

After being refined by his Devouring Martial Soul, what seemed like the same amount of Primordial Power could be converted into far more Primordial Liquid than that of a seventh- or eighth-level Martial Spirit.

Furthermore, since Anfu was already dead, his body offered no resistance, allowing Chu Qingyun to devour his Primordial Power without any obstruction.

"Hmph! You caused Shao Hua Yang's death and killed Anfu. Today, I'll offer your life as a sacrifice to them both!"

After just a few exchanges, Chen Yi could no longer hold back. With a cold shout, he kicked off the ground and charged at Chu Qingyun, his hand shaped into a claw, aiming for his neck.

'Faster, faster, faster...'

Chu Qingyun's eyes were fixed on the charging Chen Yi as he pushed his Devouring Power to absorb Anfu's Primordial Power even faster.

Finally, when Chen Yi was just five or six meters away, every last bit of Primordial Power in Anfu's body was devoured.

"Go to hell!"

Chu Qingyun roared and suddenly threw Anfu's corpse at Chen Yi.

Chen Yi's expression changed slightly. He had no choice but to retract the power in his hand, catch Anfu's body, and toss it to the side.

After all, the three of them had a decent relationship, so Chen Yi didn't want to blast Anfu's corpse to pieces.

Seizing the opportunity, Chu Qingyun grabbed his Thunder Shock Sword, leaped back a couple of steps, and squared off against Chen Yi.

The sun had not yet risen.

However, Chu Qingyun didn't want to use his Shadow Martial Soul again. He wanted to use this opportunity to see for himself just how strong a ninth-level Martial Spirit from the Outer Sect truly was.

"Chu Qingyun, die!"

Primordial Power surged around Chen Yi as he flashed forward, suddenly striking at Chu Qingyun with his claw-hand.

From his hand, a massive amount of gray Qi erupted, coalescing in mid-air into a giant claw. It carried an incredibly sharp aura as it lunged violently toward Chu Qingyun.

He opened with an extremely vicious claw strike, a testament to the rage consuming him!

'So he's also at the Qi Realm...'

Chu Qingyun couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Reaching the Qi Realm could make one a top expert among those in the Martial Spirit Realm in the Land of Hundred Dynasties. But within the Saint Extreme Sect, it was considered a very ordinary and common technique.

Fortunately, however, Chu Qingyun had now touched upon the Intention Realm.

"Thunder Sword!"

The giant gray claw arrived in an instant.

This was his first time fighting a ninth-level Martial Spirit from the Outer Sect, so Chu Qingyun wasn't the least bit careless. He pushed his Secret Techniques and other abilities to their limits. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed the Thunder Sword, meeting Chen Yi's claw head-on.

BOOM!

The Thunder Sword and the Qi Realm claw collided violently.

The moment they made contact, Chu Qingyun felt a tremendous force travel up the Thunder Shock Sword and into his body. A coppery tang filled his mouth, and he nearly coughed up blood.

Still, Chu Qingyun gritted his teeth, gripped the hilt with both hands, and channeled all his Primordial Power and strength to resist the claw.

Thunder Power continuously bombarded the gray claw.

After a brief stalemate, the gray claw finally began to give way, its surface starting to decay.

Chu Qingyun seized the opportunity. Using the Primordial Power of a sixth-level Martial Spirit, he activated the might of the Thunder Shock Spirit-level Divine Weapon and, with one slash, split the giant claw in two, causing it to dissipate into streams of gray Qi.

By then, the force of the attack had pushed Chu Qingyun back more than ten meters, his feet carving two deep gouges in the ground.

The power of a ninth-level Martial Spirit was truly terrifying.

Far stronger than an eighth-level Martial Spirit!

'It really is the Intention Realm...'

Failing to kill Chu Qingyun in a single move made Chen Yi's expression turn grim.

The previous attack had forced Chu Qingyun to use nearly all his strength. If Chen Yi had pressed his advantage then, he surely could have forced Chu Qingyun to reveal more of his hidden trump cards.

But he didn't.

This wasn't because he was showing mercy, of course.

It was because he, too, was deeply afflicted by Fire Poison and had to constantly divert a significant amount of his Heart and Mind and power to suppress it.

Therefore, he couldn't go all out and fight Chu Qingyun with his full strength.

Chu Qingyun, of course, had understood this from the start. Otherwise, he never would have chosen to confront a ninth-level Martial Spirit head-on.

"Thunder Sword!"

After withstanding the claw attack, Chu Qingyun caught his breath and surprisingly launched an attack of his own.

After unleashing that claw, Chen Yi's face had turned an even deeper shade of red. Even the whites of one of his eyes had turned fiery red—a sign that the Fire Poison was surging through his body, about to break past his suppression!