Chapter 654 - 178: A Head-on Clash, I Am Invincible Below the Fifth Realm

Chapter 654: Chapter 178: A Head-on Clash, I Am Invincible Below the Fifth Realm

Chu Fan remained unfazed, his right fist wreathed in Vajra Gang Qi as he punched straight out!

DONG!

A dull boom, like the striking of heavy leather, erupted. The seemingly indestructible Black Shield rippled violently, its center caving inward as a visible dent appeared. The shield’s eerie glow dimmed by more than half.

Chu Fan’s Fist Momentum didn’t falter. His fist scraped past the shield’s edge and shot upward, meeting the descending Thunder Sword Qi head-on!

CRACKLE!

The lightning exploded, and the Sword Qi shattered into a shower of sparks that filled the air.

A faint white mark was all that remained on Chu Fan’s fist, but it vanished in an instant, erased by the flowing golden light. His skin wasn’t even scratched.

The masked woman panicked. Pushing her speed to the limit, she used the Ghost Shadow Illusionary Body Step, trying to put some distance between herself and Chu Fan.

But how could Chu Fan let her escape?

He also used the Ghost Shadow Illusionary Body Step, but his was several times more refined than the woman’s. His body was like a shadow clinging to hers, and in an instant, he was right in front of her again.

This time, he attacked with both fists. A storm of punches rained down, each one powerful and heavy, smashing against the three Black Shields!

DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!

The continuous barrage sounded like war drums beating, echoing throughout the ruined valley.

Although the three Black Shields didn’t shatter outright, their light faded rapidly. They spun slower and slower, letting out a pained, overburdened CREAK as the blood-red runes on their surfaces trembled violently.

The woman’s face was white as a sheet. Under this ferocious assault, she couldn’t even find a moment’s opening to prepare a powerful Sword Technique!

Chu Fan’s fists were like a series of powerful offensive Ancient Treasures. Their power was terrifying enough on its own, but they also carried a mixture of Extreme Cold Qi and Yellow Springs Death Qi. This energy passed through the Black Shields, causing her blood to churn and the circulation of her Primordial Qi to grow sluggish.

’I can’t keep taking this passively!’

Gritting her teeth, a look of resolve flashed in her eyes. Her left hand formed a seal as she spat a mouthful of blood essence onto the blade of her sword!

VMMMM—

The longsword let out a sharp hum. The lightning coiling around it instantly turned from blue to purple, and its violent aura surged severalfold!

She poured most of her remaining Primordial Qi into the sword, raised it high, and brought it down in a vicious slash!

"Silent Extinction Thunder Strike!"

Hundreds, even thousands, of fine purple lightning-snakes erupted, sweeping forward for dozens of yards like a flock of frenzied thunderbirds. It was an overwhelming, indiscriminate attack that plowed countless deep, scorched furrows into the very earth!

RUMMMMMBLE—!!!

The purple lightning completely engulfed Chu Fan, forcing him back step by step!

Dust and lightning intertwined, plunging the canyon into chaos.

The masked woman seized the opportunity to retreat, trying to put some distance between them!

But she had only retreated about fifty feet...

WHOOSH!

Chu Fan, who should have been engulfed in the purple sword light, reappeared out of thin air right behind her!

’What in the world is this Body Technique...’

The pupils behind the woman’s mask contracted sharply as another Talisman ignited.

BOOM!

Chu Fan, having used Shadow Step to appear behind her, punched straight through one of the Black Shields and landed a heavy blow on her back!

BANG!

The woman dissolved into a flurry of scattered leaves!

The next moment... her figure reappeared over a thousand feet away!

The moment she reappeared, the woman soared into the sky!

’...Sword Flight?’

Chu Fan focused his gaze and saw the woman standing atop a longsword, its blade flickering with an eerie light!

’This is trouble!’

The Vajra Undying Body made him a king on the ground, and Shadow Step was devious at short ranges, but he had one fatal flaw—he couldn’t fly!

He could still leap to intercept an opponent flying at low altitudes, but once they ascended high into the sky and gained air superiority, they could leisurely wear him down from a distance or simply flee. Even with all his immense strength, he would have no way to use it.

’Am I just going to stand here and watch her escape?’

Just then, the unexpected occurred!

"Get down!"

A clear, cool, and utterly domineering female voice suddenly echoed across the sky above the canyon, as crisp as ice pearls falling onto a jade plate.

As the voice faded, the wind and clouds high above churned violently!

A pitch-black "Fire Stick," looking as though it had just been pulled from a hearth, broke through the clouds without warning, appearing directly in the woman’s path as she ascended on her sword!

Its arrival was so sudden it was as if it had been hovering there all along.

Then, with brutish, unceremonious force, it smashed down toward the woman below!

There were no flashy lights, no profound Runes, not even much of a ripple in the ambient Primordial Qi. It was just a simple, unadorned strike, yet it seemed to carry the weight of a colossal mountain. The air around the stick was so compressed and warped that it let out a low, whooshing wail as it tore through the sky!

"Xiao Ziye!"

The woman shrieked, her voice a mixture of shock and fury.

She never imagined that after barely managing to escape from Xiao Ziye in the Burial Demon Marsh last time, she would be cornered by her again here!

At this life-or-death moment, she couldn’t worry about the cost. She slapped the Jade Pendant at her waist!

VMM!

A large, ancient cyan shield engraved with the image of a turtle and a snake instantly unfurled, its surface glowing. Facing upward, it bloomed with a hazy cyan light, forming a thick, defensive curtain of light—this was her trump card, a Defensive Magical Treasure, and she activated it without hesitation!

The next instant—

The black stick and the cyan shield collided without any finesse!

CLANG!!!!

The massive clang, like that of a great temple bell, sent endless echoes reverberating through the canyon. It was a dull, deep sound that far surpassed any of the previous impacts in their fight!

There was no stalemate.

As Chu Fan watched with narrowed eyes, the black stick smashed into the shimmering cyan shield. The shield held for barely half a breath before the turtle-and-snake image on its face let out a mournful cry, its light dimming to almost nothing!

KRAK!

BOOM!

Spiderweb cracks spread across the cyan shield before it, and the woman with it, were brutally smashed to the ground from dozens of feet in the air!

The entire exchange, from the appearance of the black stick to the woman hitting the ground, took only two or three breaths. It all happened so fast it was hard to follow.

As Chu Fan charged toward the woman, he glanced up at a high point in the canyon to his right.

There, on a jagged boulder shaped like an eagle’s beak, a tall figure stood silently.

She wore tight-fitting martial clothing that outlined a slender, powerful silhouette.