Chapter 712: Price (II)

Cao Hongchang turned to Wu Di and asked coldly, "Was that man just now the Senior Xiao Zhe you mentioned earlier?"

The enemy had revealed himself for a brief moment, so Wu Di and the others had undoubtedly seen him.

"Y-yes, Sen..."

But before Wu Di could finish, a tiny rift abruptly formed in the void, and a terrifying blade of light shot from it.

"Hmph!" Cao Hongchang snorted coldly. As though he had anticipated the attack, he shifted slightly to the side and avoided the terrifying slash.

"I found you! You won't escape this time!" Cao Hongchang narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam flashing within them as he looked toward the entrance of the great hall.

A terrifying boom erupted beneath his feet as he shot out of the great hall. As he moved, his body rapidly expanded and transformed into a hideous figure more than five meters tall. His enormous demonic body abruptly vanished into the void and reappeared a hundred meters in the air.

Boom!

A terrifying explosion thundered through the sky as Cao Hongchang collided violently with an enormous figure clad in black scales.

Their fierce battle stirred up wave after wave of violent winds, uprooting the island's towering trees.

"Not good, retreat!" Wu Di cried out and rapidly withdrew.

Boom!

A terrifying beam of dark light crashed down from the sky and struck the great hall. The entire area was instantly reduced to an enormous crater. Kong Yujing swallowed nervously, her heart pounding wildly. For that brief instant, she had felt death come frighteningly close.

"Who do you think will win?" Wu Di asked as he watched the two enormous figures carry their battle farther into the distance.

"I don't know, but our lives should be safe now. I never imagined master was actually a Nascent Soul realm expert. This is far beyond anything I expected," Kong Yujing murmured. Even now, everything still felt dreamlike and utterly unreal to her.

***

The two enormous demonic bodies collided fist against fist, and Cao Hongchang was sent flying backward by the terrifying force. Lin Zheyu, meanwhile, hovered in the void as though nothing had happened, the purple-black scales covering his body still gleaming with a brilliant dark light.

Cao Hongchang's expression turned grave as the right arm he had used to clash with Lin Zheyu trembled slightly. Cracking sounds came from within as his shattered bones healed at an astonishing rate.

What terrifying strength! What formidable defenses! Cao Hongchang was inwardly astonished. He gave a soft snort, retreated swiftly, and formed a hand seal.

"Demonic Flame Soul-Burning Crows!" Vast amounts of black mist surged from Cao Hongchang's body and swept toward Lin Zheyu.

Lin Zheyu remained unmoved by the sight before him. His figure flickered as he swiftly retreated, avoiding the dense mist. The mist was somewhat unusual, for the area it enveloped formed a special domain under Cao Hongchang's control. Within this domain, even if Lin Zheyu used the Heaven-Deceiving Art, it would be difficult for him to escape Cao Hongchang's perception.

Black and blue flames suddenly ignited within the mist, and a flock of fire crows abruptly emerged from the flames, their wings beating rapidly. The fire crows moved with astonishing speed and seemed to possess an ability similar to short-range teleportation. In the blink of an eye, they appeared all around Lin Zheyu and completely surrounded him.

"Oh? This technique is rather interesting!" Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed slightly as a trace of interest appeared on his face.

The secret art Cao Hongchang had unleashed did not appear to draw upon the authority of the Nascent Soul realm, yet it could produce an effect similar to short-range teleportation.

"Caw, caw, caw..."

The fire crows multiplied, surrounding Lin Zheyu on all sides. No matter how fast he moved, he could not break through the encirclement of fire crows capable of something akin to short-range teleportation.

One fire crow after another hurled itself at Lin Zheyu like moths drawn to a flame. Each tiny crow struck his purple-black scales and burst into a mass of blue-black flames that strangely seeped into his body.

Cao Hongchang's cold laughter rang out as he said, "Hmph! No matter how formidable your defenses or how terrifying your physique may be, you cannot withstand my soul secret art!"

Vast amounts of black mist poured ceaselessly from his body. The mist ignited and transformed into fire crows that threw themselves at Lin Zheyu like moths drawn to a flame. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The Demonic Flame Soul-Burning Crows was the most powerful secret art Cao Hongchang had created. It could directly attack an enemy's sea of consciousness and detonate the yao will within, using its powerful corruptive and erosive properties to assault the enemy's soul.

This move was highly effective against ordinary cultivators. Against demonic cultivators, the yao will detonated by the fire crows would act as a fuse, igniting the yao will and demonic qi within their bodies.

Lin Zheyu raised his head toward Cao Hongchang, a mocking sneer curling his lips. "Is that so? It's an interesting secret art, but it doesn't seem particularly powerful. Are you trying to tickle me?"

He had expected some formidable secret art, only to discover that it was a soul attack. Soul attack secret arts were precisely what Lin Zheyu feared least. The boundless golden energy stored within his sea of consciousness formed the finest defensive barrier he could ask for. Even without that vast ocean of golden energy protecting him, he would not have been afraid.

His soul was incomparably powerful and had almost completely condensed into a tangible form, appearing no different from a living person. Were it not restrained by the shackles of the Heavenly Dao, Lin Zheyu even suspected that his soul could leave his sea of consciousness and physical body to roam freely between heaven and earth.

"How is this possible? Impossible! How could you withstand the Demonic Flame Soul-Burning Crows head-on? Even Nascent Soul realm cultivators would not dare let them touch them!" Cao Hongchang's expression changed drastically, and his already pale face grew even more unsightly.

Although this move was immensely powerful, it also placed a tremendous burden on him. After only a few breaths, Cao Hongchang already felt that he could not maintain it much longer.

Suddenly, the instant Cao Hongchang was distracted, Lin Zheyu vanished and appeared beside him in an uncanny manner. Vast amounts of demonic qi surged from his body, concealing the tremendous fluctuations of blood qi within him.

Lin Zheyu thrust out both fists, striking toward two different points in the void in quick succession. The terrifying force slammed into the void, sending ripples spreading through the surrounding space.

"I was the one at fault in this matter, and there is no real enmity between us. Why don't we end this here?" Cao Hongchang's figure suddenly emerged in the distant sky, his expression somewhat unsightly.

He had grown wary of Lin Zheyu. Cao Hongchang had employed nearly all his most powerful methods, yet none had been able to harm his opponent. Instead, he had repeatedly been forced to teleport away in disarray whenever Lin Zheyu attacked. His opponent, meanwhile, had not used teleportation even once.

After all, short-range teleportation consumed one's Nascent Soul realm origin. During their brief battle, Cao Hongchang had already expended more than half of his. If the fight continued, he would be the one to lose.

Even if he attempted to flee, Cao Hongchang was not confident that he could escape. He had consumed a vast amount of his Nascent Soul realm origin, while his opponent had not teleported even once and had suffered virtually no depletion. He had little confidence that he could successfully get away.

The wings behind Lin Zheyu flapped gently, carrying him to the same height as Cao Hongchang as he said coldly, "Hmph! You attacked my subordinates without cause, tried to force them to accept you as their master, and seized my territory. Don't you think you're making it sound far too easy to end things here?"

Throughout the battle, he had maintained an air of effortless composure to project the bearing of an unfathomable expert and compel Cao Hongchang to concede of his own accord. Although Lin Zheyu's combat strength rivaled the Nascent Soul realm, he had not mastered short-range teleportation and would be powerless to stop Cao Hongchang from fleeing.

Cao Hongchang took out a black jade bottle and reluctantly tossed it over, his expression impassive. "Take this bottle of Ink Divine Water as compensation for my offense. If you insist on pressing the matter, even if you manage to keep me here, you will pay a grievous price and merely allow others to reap the benefits."

Ink Divine Water was a powerful heavenly treasure and earthly wonder born in the demon realm, formed by absorbing vast numbers of yao as nourishment. It offered tremendous benefits not only to cultivators who practiced demon arts but was also an incomparably precious treasure to ordinary cultivators.

Lin Zheyu caught the black jade bottle and examined the Ink Divine Water within before chuckling softly. "Heh."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he extended an invitation with a smile. "A friendship often begins with a fight. Since you've come such a long way, fellow friend, why not come down and stay for a while?"

"Since you have invited me, how could I refuse and slight your reputation? As it happens, I also have some matters I wish to discuss with you."

The coldness vanished from Cao Hongchang's face, replaced by an amiable smile. It was as though the two of them had not been the participants in that fierce battle moments ago, but old friends meeting again after many years apart.

Lin Zheyu responded with a hearty laugh, "Haha, after you, fellow friend!"

The wings behind him flapped gently, and his entire body transformed into a black blur as he descended onto the island. Cao Hongchang watched Lin Zheyu's retreating figure, his eyes flickering slightly as he sighed.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pay a considerable price this time. Just how does this man suppress the yao will within him? His condition is simply too perfect, without the slightest sign of going berserk or losing control," Cao Hongchang murmured softly. His figure flickered as he followed. Since the matter could not be resolved through force, cooperation was his only option.