Chapter 68: All Hell Breaks Loose

He caught the eyes of the two attendants across the clearing and shot a broad, unapologetic wink directly at Bai Yan and Su Qing.

[Irritation detected — Targets: Bai Yan, Su Qing]

[Rage Value: +450]

[Current Rage Points: 122,350]

Before either disciple could shout a retort, the roiling black fog at the center of the swamp violently convulsed. The distorted, vine woven form of Shen Murong swelled to a towering, terrifying height, her hollow eyes burning with pure, unhinged malice as she looked at the surrounding human formations.

"TRAITORS!" Shen Murong shrieked, the sound vibrating through the water and shaking loose bark from the ancient trees. "I saved you! Centuries ago, when your ancestors were weak and hunted, I gave you shelter! The only reason you all exist in peace today is because of me! And now you bring blades to my domain?!"

The sky above the caldera parted smoothly. Riding a gentle, effortless current of pure spiritual wind, the Orchid Veil Sect Master descended into the center of the clearing. She looked calm, authoritative, and utterly unintimidated by the dark spirit’s towering form.

"You saved no one." the Sect Master said, her clear, resonant voice cutting effortlessly through the roaring mud.

"You trapped us in a gilded cage. You forced false rules upon our sisters, stole our ancestral resources, and fed dark corruption into the very land that sustained us. You were never our guardian, you were keeping us down to feed your own spite."

The spirit’s form violently shuddered, the green leaves on her vines turning into jagged, weeping black thorns.

"Unacceptable! If I cannot rule this land, then I will destroy everything! Not a single soul leaves this mud alive!"

The dark spirit slammed her tendrils into the swamp floor. Immediately, the gray-robed Heretical Corpse Refiners hiding in the mist raised their bone staffs, chanting a low, guttural incantation. Hundreds of mutated, undead beasts erupted from the black pools, their hollow red eyes locking onto the sect formations.

The battle was about to commence in full, bloody fury when the Orchid Veil Sect Master’s gaze swept across the front lines and landed squarely on the pragmatic hermit standing right beside Lin Feng.

The Sect Master’s calm, authoritative mask shattered completely. Her eyes widened, her breath hitching as she stared at the woman holding a simple iron spear.

"Mother...?" she whispered, the word barely audible over the rising roar of the undead horde.

Lin Feng froze mid-step, his head snapping toward Yu Mei, then back to the Sect Master, his brain stalling out entirely. "Eh?"

Yu Mei didn’t even blink. Her jaw tightened, her knuckles turning white around her spear shaft as she locked her eyes onto the charging monsters.

"Focus on the fight!" she barked sharply, shutting down the family drama before a single question could leave Lin Feng’s mouth.

"They’re coming!"

Lin Feng couldn’t even process the bombshell before all hell broke loose.With a deafening crash of steel and spirit-qi, the two massive forces collided. The Orchid Veil disciples formed tight, interlocking sword arrays, sending waves of silver light slicing through the vanguard of the undead beasts. The gray robed necromancers countered by raising dark, bone shielded barriers and launching volley after volley of corrosive black bolts that hissed violently against the disciples’ defensive talismans.

Meanwhile, high above the central basin, the atmosphere warped under an entirely different tier of power. Bai Xuan, the ancient white myth, floated lazily in the air, its massive wings unfurled and the blue gem on its forehead burning like a captive star. Across from it, Shen Murong’s towering dark form coiled like a massive, venomous serpent of mud and corrupted roots.

The two ancient entities began circling each other, their sheer ambient pressure tearing the surrounding mist apart and forcing every lower-tier fighter to keep a wide berth from the center of the caldera.

"Keep the flanks clear! Don’t let the anomalies break the perimeter!" Yu Mei shouted, lunging forward. She slammed the butt of her spear into the root platform, unleashing her earth elemental power. Thick, jagged pillars of stone and hardened mud erupted from the basin floor, impaling three charging undead wolves and creating a temporary barricade to shield a group of younger Orchid Veil disciples from a barrage of dark bolts.

Lin Feng grinned wildly, rolling his shoulders as hisfoundation thrummed with violent, ready energy.

"Time to go to work!" Lin Feng roared.

He triggered his heavily upgraded Fleet Footed Dash, his body blurring across the slick, blood soaked roots with insulting speed. He shot directly into a dense cluster of five mutated swamp crawlers that had broken past the outer sword array.

The leading crawler, a bloated, weeping black-iron anomaly snapped its massive jaws at his head. Lin Feng didn’t dodge. He stepped straight into the strike, triggering Thick Face Counterstep.

Brief impact resistance flared across his skin as the creature’s plated skull slammed into his shoulder, driving him back half a step. Using the creature’s own momentum, Lin Feng pivoted inward and swung the Rage Forged Cleaver in a brutal, upward diagonal arc.

SHING!

Qi flared bright crimson along the heavy blade. It sliced through the crawler’s reinforced dark plating like hot wire through tallow, cleaving the beast cleanly from jaw to spine. A dense rush of pure residual hostility exploded from the corpse and flooded directly up the hilt into Lin Feng’s arms, patching another micro-fracture in his meridians and refilling his stamina.

Before the remaining four anomalies could swarm him, Lin Feng slammed his left heel into the flooded root basin, triggering Aqua-Shock.

A violent, concussive ripple tore through the stagnant water beneath the beasts, shattering their footing and throwing them off balance.

Lin Feng danced through the staggered pack, weaving between snapping claws and lashing tails with effortless footwork. Every heavy, sweeping strike of his cleaver severed limbs, cracked skulls, and converted their dying malice into raw fuel for his foundation.

Behind him, a trio of gray-robed necromancers noticed the carnage he was wreaking on their frontline. Eyes blazing with fury, they pointed their bone staffs at him, chanting rapidly to summon a concentrated volley of dark, soul-corroding spears.

[Ambient battlefield conversion bonus active]

[Rage Value: +14,500]

[Rage Value: +18,200]

[Current Rage Points: 155,050]

"Kill that arrogant brat!" the lead necromancer screamed, firing the dark spears.

Lin Feng dashed sideways, letting the dark bolts obliterate an empty patch of roots, while two Orchid Veil disciples Bai Yan and Su Qing seized the distraction. Working in crisp coordination, Bai Yan smashed through the necromancers’ bone shields with a heavy, qi-infused palm strike, while Su Qing’s silver sword flashed twice, taking the heads of two heretics before they could finish a second chant.

Lin Feng gave them a quick thumbs-up before turning back toward the deeper basin only to see the tide suddenly shift. From the darkest recesses of the swamp behind Shen Murong, three massive, towering juggernauts crawled out of the mud.

They were stitched together from the corpses of dozens of high tier swamp predators, bound by thick, glowing chains of necromantic dark energy. With a deafening, earth-shaking roar, the three juggernauts charged straight toward the slightly weakened left flank of the Orchid Veil formation, threatening to crush dozens of disciples under their sheer, unstoppable mass.

Yu Mei’s eyes widened as she tried to raise an earthen wall, but her qi was already taxed from holding the center line. The stone wall cracked instantly under the leading juggernaut’s heavy shoulder check.

Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed. His standard strikes wouldn’t drop three massive, stitched-together tanks fast enough to save the flank.

Running at full speed toward the oncoming juggernauts, Lin Feng turned his focus inward and snapped open the System Shop. With over 155,000 Rage Points sitting in his account and his restrictions lifted, a brand new, glowing crimson skill icon sat right at the top of the offensive tab.

[New Skill Available: Asura’s Wrath]

[Type: Active AoE / Heavy Cleave Technique]

[Effect: Condenses accumulated residual hostility and killing intent into a massive, devastating crimson shockwave. Deals catastrophic damage to physical armor and structures while inflicting temporary soulstun on surviving targets.]

[Cost: 45,000 Rage Points]

Lin Feng didn’t hesitate for a single heartbeat. He mentally slammed the purchase button.

[45,000 Rage Points Spent]

[Current Rage Points: 110,050]

[Skill Unlocked: Asura’s Wrath]

A terrifying, ice cold surge of pure, ancient killing intent flooded Lin Feng’s mind, instantly imprinting the exact circulation pathways and strike angles into his muscle memory. The Rage Forged Cleaver in his right hand vibrated violently, its dark metal turning a glowing, molten crimson as it drank in the dense ambient hostility of the entire battlefield.

Lin Feng planted his boots firmly into the trembling roots directly in front of the stunned Orchid Veil disciples, standing alone against the three towering undead juggernauts thundering toward him like avalanches.

Gripping the heavy hilt with both hands, Lin Feng drew the glowing crimson blade back behind his shoulder, a wild, fearless grin stretching across his blood-streaked face as the air around him warped from the sheer pressure.

"Alright. Let’s test the new skill." He whispered