Chapter 197 - 128: Exhausting All Means to Slay Bai Ting!

Chapter 197: Chapter 128: Exhausting All Means to Slay Bai Ting!

Like a drop of water merging into the sea, it left no trace.

The next moment, the air three feet to Lu Jing’an’s left rippled. A narrow steel blade pierced out from the void, its tip trembling like a viper’s tongue, thrusting straight for his temple!

It was impossibly fast!

Lu Jing’an relied entirely on the death omen from [Danger Perception] and the instinct bestowed by [Ghost Shadow Instant Kill]. He jerked his head back violently. The blade brushed past his forehead, severing several strands of black hair. The icy aura of the blade sliced a fine line across his brow bone, and beads of blood instantly seeped out.

Lu Jing’an rapidly retreated, flicking his left sleeve.

"PUFF!"

A cloud of grayish-black smoke exploded, instantly engulfing half the long street. The smoke was as thick as ink, with faint flickers of will-o’-the-wisps visible within. Its sickeningly sweet scent carried a bone-corroding, lethal poison.

[Dark Smoke and Miasma]!

Smoke Cultivation Evil Technique!

"Huh?" Bai Ting’s figure solidified at the edge of the smoke, his brows furrowing slightly. How could a Martial Cultivator use the methods of a Smoke Cultivator?

But Bai Ting had no time to dwell on it; his killing intent had reached its absolute peak. Twisting his body, he didn’t dodge or evade. Instead, he transformed into a streak of bloody rainbow light and crashed straight into the depths of the poisonous miasma!

"SIZZLE—!"

The moment the toxic smoke touched the churning dark purple blood mist surrounding him, it melted rapidly like boiling water poured over snow. However, the miasma was too dense. Bai Ting’s Eye Power couldn’t penetrate beyond three feet, leaving nothing but rolling grayish-black smoke in his vision.

Bai Ting simply closed his eyes, his ears twitching slightly to catch every subtle sound within the smoke. Breathing, heartbeats, the rustling of clothes...

There!

Seven steps to his front left, the sound of tearing air suddenly erupted! Bai Ting twisted his wrist, his steel blade slashing out a hauntingly beautiful arc of light.

"CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!!!"

The dense, torrential sound of metal clashing exploded!

It was the silver coins Lu Jing’an had thrown. The edge of each coin had been sharpened. Infused with True Force, they spun and shot out like projectiles. Bolstered by [Defense Break], they actually managed to briefly pierce through the blood mist’s Defense!

Bai Ting’s blade flashes were as dense as a net, yet two managed to slip through. One struck the outside of his left knee, and the other nailed into his right shoulder blade.

"THWACK! THWACK!"

Blood splattered. The wounds weren’t deep, but the pain was excruciating. Worse still, with his joints injured, his Body Skill inevitably lagged by half a beat.

Within the smoke, Lu Jing’an’s aura darted left and right, completely erratic.

Bai Ting’s expression turned as dark as iron. He could feel the Primordial Ancestor’s mark on his forehead slowly seeping into his skull. With every passing breath, the shackles on his soul tightened a fraction more.

He couldn’t drag this out any longer.

Bai Ting took a deep breath. What he inhaled wasn’t air, but the stench of blood permeating the long street. He abruptly threw his arms wide open, his ten fingers hooking into the void like claws.

"Blood Prison... Open!"

"RUMBLE—!!!"

With Bai Ting at the center, the dark purple blood mist expanded madly in all directions like a tsunami! Wherever it passed, the grayish-black toxic miasma was tainted, devoured, and assimilated. Finally, with a loud BANG, it shattered completely!

The entire long street instantly plunged into a blood-red world. The sky disappeared, replaced by a hazy, blood-red light hanging low like a curtain. The ground vanished, the bluestone slabs soaked a deep, dark purple. Stepping on them felt sticky and slippery, oozing bubbling blood. The ruined brick walls of the arcade buildings on both sides were crawling with earthworm-like blood veins. The air was chokingly sweet and metallic; every breath felt like swallowing red-hot iron sand.

Standing in the center of this Blood Prison, Lu Jing’an felt the blood in his entire body begin to surge uncontrollably. His skin flushed an unnatural red, and fine beads of blood seeped from his pores. Once separated from his body, the blood droplets didn’t fall but suspended in mid-air. They transformed into wisps of blood mist, inversely merging into the surrounding blood-red Domain.

Lu Jing’an’s blood was betraying his body!

Bai Ting’s feet hovered three feet off the ground, suspended in the center of the Blood Prison. His long hair danced without wind, thick droplets of blood dripping from every tip. Bai Ting looked down at Lu Jing’an, his gaze as indifferent as if he were looking at an ant.

"Burn."

As he spat out the single word, the sensation of boiling blood coursing through Lu Jing’an’s body suddenly multiplied tenfold! A faint red blood steam sizzled up from the surface of his skin. His muscles began to spasm uncontrollably, and blood-red halos blurred the edges of his vision.

This was the sign of his blood being forcibly evaporated and extracted!

Now was the moment!

Lu Jing’an’s mind sank into the deepest depths of his sea of consciousness, touching the blood-red entry he had never used.

[Blade of Destiny].

This was the red entry he had acquired from the Fate Cultivator last time. Lu Jing’an had never found the opportunity to use it. Now was the perfect time to test its capability.

Lu Jing’an had long figured out how to use the entry. It was an equivalent exchange of sorts—you had to pay for whatever you wished to gain. However, it couldn’t be used on oneself; it could only be applied to others.

He thought, "I want Bai Ting to fall into a one-second stupor the moment I launch my killing strike."

This was what Lu Jing’an intended to exchange.

[Fifty thousand silver coins or their equivalent (equivalents include but are not limited to entries and other items)]!

Fifty thousand silver coins! The price for this momentary lapse was indeed steep. But on second thought, the price was actually reasonable. After all, this brief stupor could mean the end of a lifetime.

Naturally, Lu Jing’an couldn’t sacrifice an entry. Money lost could always be earned back. Lu Jing’an definitely chose the silver coins.

Of course, it was impossible for him to carry fifty thousand silver coins on his person. But that didn’t mean he lacked a usable equivalent. Lu Jing’an was extraordinarily well-prepared for this battle.

Without hesitation, Lu Jing’an locked his consciousness onto the brocade pouch tucked securely inside his clothes. It contained the most precious gems from the Lu family vault: three pigeon-blood rubies, one emerald, and a pile of other gemstones Lu Jing’an couldn’t even name. In terms of market value, they were worth far more than fifty thousand.

"Exchange."

As his thought settled, his chest suddenly felt slightly lighter. The gems inside the pouch silently turned to dust, their Energy siphoned away by an invisible rule.

The price had been paid.

At the same time, Bai Ting raised his right hand and slowly curled his five fingers.

"Refine."

"HUM—!"

The blood steam surrounding Lu Jing’an violently surged, making him feel like an iron ingot tossed into a furnace. The agony was overwhelming!

Yet, Lu Jing’an’s eyes lit up with a terrifying brilliance at that exact moment.

No more suppression. No more holding back.

[Peak Strike]!

Activate!

All Attribute points, fully poured into "Attack"!

His Attack Power skyrocketed madly, instantly breaking past 270 points and surging toward an unknown height!

But it still wasn’t enough. The Six Harmonies Fist Heart Skill operated at maximum capacity, his vitality surging endlessly like a mighty river.

The [Master of Boxing] entry triggered. The theory of the Fist Skill became perfectly clear to him, and his Power flowed flawlessly and harmoniously.

The [Vajra Tiger Aspect] quietly emerged. The phantom of a ferocious tiger flashed behind him for a split second before merging into his fist stance.

All buffs were stacked into this single punch.

His Attack Power broke the 400-point threshold!

"BOOM—!!!!"

The ground beneath Lu Jing’an’s feet didn’t just shatter. Instead, it was forcibly crushed by pure, extreme violence into a bowl-shaped crater twenty feet wide and three feet deep!

Lu Jing’an’s figure vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a visible, milky-white shockwave ring. It spread madly in all directions. Wherever it swept past, the remaining window frames exploded, and roof tiles went flying!

This punch transcended the realm of speed, as if time itself was torn apart by the fist’s edge!

The moment that aura of destruction erupted, Bai Ting’s pupils shrank to pinpricks!

He thought in a panic, "I will die! I must dodge! Bat Transformation! Blood Escape! Anything will do—Wait... What... was I about to do?"

Bai Ting’s train of thought abruptly snapped. It was like a rapidly writing pen suddenly halting mid-stroke, or a raging river instantly freezing solid.

A blank, complete second.

For Lu Jing’an, that one second was enough to tear through a hundred feet of the Blood Prison. Wherever his fist passed, the dense blood mist evaporated and dissipated with a sizzle, like snow meeting the scorching sun!

Lu Jing’an arrived right in front of Bai Ting. He threw out his right fist.

It was unpretentious, yet it condensed all the endurance, calculations, trump cards of the night, and... an absolute resolve to kill.

Before the fist even arrived, the fist wind had already crushed the clothes on Bai Ting’s chest into flying ash. His skin caved inward, forming a clear Fist Seal.

Bai Ting’s hollow eyes regained their clarity at that exact moment. But it was too late.

Bai Ting could only watch helplessly as that fist lightly stamped against his heart.

The touch was slightly cool.

And then—

"PUFF."

A soft sound echoed, like bursting a water-filled wineskin.

Bai Ting’s body didn’t fly backward. There was no scream. Not even a struggle.

Instead, the instant the fist made contact, starting from that Fist Seal on his heart...

His entire physical shell silently crumbled like a sandcastle. It didn’t shatter; it disintegrated into the finest dark purple dust particles. Then, washed over by the blazing vitality contained within the Fist Force, he was completely obliterated into nothingness. Not even a trace of blood was left behind.

The blood-red Domain enshrouding the long street collapsed along with him. Moonlight spilled down once more, cold and clear as water, illuminating the streets and alleys that looked as if they had weathered artillery fire.

Lu Jing’an slowly retracted his fist, standing at the edge of the deep crater. The blood steam rising from his body gradually dissipated, revealing his cracked, reddened skin underneath.

Lu Jing’an’s chest heaved violently, every breath carrying the metallic stench of blood.

But his eyes were clear and bright.