Chapter 82: Vajra Demon Suppression

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Vajra Demon Suppression

Faced with this pincer attack, especially the fatal sword strike from the Marrow Refining Realm expert Chen Xuanli, Chen Yue showed no sign of panic. Instead, the corners of his mouth curved into a mocking smile.

He ignored Chen Hao’s attack from the side. As the web of light from the soft sword coiled toward his neck, Chen Yue didn’t even try to dodge. He simply raised his right palm.

His five fingers came together, his palm slightly cupped. Gang Qi rapidly circulated and condensed beneath his skin. There was no charging up, no battle cry—just a simple thrust of his palm.

It was a move from the Great Vajra Palm: Vajra Mountain Pushing.

’He wants to block my Spiritual Snake Sword with his bare hand?’

A flicker of astonishment crossed Chen Xuanli’s eyes, quickly replaced by an even thicker killing intent. His soft sword was forged from Hundred-refined Cold Iron mixed with Exotic Metal, making it incomparably sharp. Moreover, it was infused with the immense Power of his Marrow Refining Realm cultivation.

Even an expert of the same realm wouldn’t dare to clash with it head-on with their physical body. Chen Yue’s move was nothing short of a death wish!

’Since you’re looking for death, I’ll grant your wish!’

Chen Xuanli roared inwardly. Instead of changing his move, he pushed the Power in his soft sword to its absolute limit. The blade trembled and let out a piercing shriek.

The sword’s light suddenly intensified, threatening to shred and sever Chen Yue’s entire arm, hand and all!

The next instant, palm and sword clashed.

"CLANG!"

The expected scene of flying flesh and shattered bone never happened. Instead, a sound like the tolling of a great bell boomed out—the clang of metal on metal, sending sparks flying!

The moment the soft sword touched Chen Yue’s palm, the grimness and killing intent on Chen Xuanli’s face changed dramatically.

He felt as if he had stabbed a block of ancient, profound steel. A terrifyingly rigid and powerful force erupted from that palm, surging back up the length of his blade.

’Gang Qi?’

Chen Xuanli’s pupils constricted as monstrous waves of shock crashed through his mind.

He could clearly feel a wall of energy, as solid as matter itself, separating Chen Yue’s palm from his blade’s edge.

It was this wall of energy that had stopped his supposedly unstoppable blade cold. The massive rebound force tore open the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, sending blood streaming down his hand. The soft sword was nearly knocked from his grasp.

’Not good!’

With his vast combat experience, Chen Xuanli instantly realized the situation was dire. ’This Chen Yue’s strength is far beyond what I imagined!’

He made a snap decision. His footwork shifted rapidly, and his body drifted backward like a willow catkin, trying to dissipate the terrifying rebound force.

With each step back, the hard bluestone tiles beneath his feet would KRAK, leaving a clear, web-like crack in the shape of a footprint. Only after retreating seven steps did he manage to stabilize himself. His Qi Blood roiled within him, and for the first time, a look of utter gravity appeared on his face.

At the same moment Chen Xuanli was sent staggering back by the palm strike, Chen Hao’s Poisoned Dagger was less than three inches from Chen Yue’s neck.

The chilling wind from the dagger was so close it raised goosebumps on the side of Chen Yue’s neck.

Chen Yue didn’t turn his head. He merely shot a cold glance from the corner of his eye at the frenzied Chen Hao.

His left palm, as if it had been waiting all along, shot out from below. At a speed and angle that defied all logic, it slapped diagonally upward, landing precisely on the right wrist Chen Hao was using to wield the dagger.

"KRAK!"

The explosive crack of bone was accompanied by the sickening thud of pulverized flesh. Under Chen Yue’s palm, Chen Hao’s right wrist and entire hand shattered like porcelain struck by a sledgehammer, instantly deforming and exploding into a spray of bloody mist mixed with bone shards.

The Poisoned Dagger fell powerlessly to the ground with a CLANG.

"AHH!!"

Chen Hao let out a short, piercing scream. The intense pain made his frenzied momentum falter, completely ruining his offensive posture and leaving his center wide open.

Without a moment’s pause, Chen Yue retracted the left hand that had just shattered Chen Hao’s wrist, bent his arm, and then, with a sound like muffled thunder, viciously kicked his right leg into Chen Hao’s exposed chest.

"BOOM!!!"

With a dull thud like a mallet striking leather, Chen Hao’s chest visibly caved in. The clothes on his back RIIIIPPED open as a spray of blood and organ fragments erupted from his spine.

Chen Hao’s feet left the ground as he was sent flying backward, slamming hard into the solid wall of the Alchemy Room several yards away.

"RUMBLE!"

The wall shook violently, and dust rained down.

Chen Hao slid limply to the floor, his back against the wall. His chest was caved in, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose. He was only breathing out, not in; it was clear he wasn’t going to make it.

All of this takes time to describe, but it happened in the blink of an eye.

From Chen Xuanli’s sudden attack to him being forced back seven steps by a palm strike, the webbing of his hand torn. Then to Chen Hao’s sneak attack, ending with a shattered wrist and a kick that sent him flying, his fate uncertain...

The entire process took no more than two or three breaths.

A dead silence fell over the Alchemy Room.

Only the crackling of the firewood and the ever-thickening stench of blood filled the air.

In the distance, by the door, Chen Jing and the deathly pale Chen Zhige were completely dumbstruck, their minds utterly blank.

Their mouths hung agape and their eyes were wide as saucers, as if they were witnessing the most unbelievable, absurd, and terrifying scene in the world.

Chen Yan, a Bone Forging Realm clan elder, had been killed with a single punch.

Chen Hao, another Bone Forging Realm clan elder, had been brought to the brink of death with one palm strike and one kick.

And Chen Xuanli, the Chen Mansion’s strongest pillar, their Stabilizing Needle and a Marrow Refining Realm master, had been forced back seven steps by a bare-handed palm strike from this young man they’d viewed as a mere ingredient for alchemy. He could barely even hold onto his sword!

’This... How is this possible?’

’This isn’t an Alchemy Master!’

’This is clearly a primordial beast in human skin, a soul-reaping Asura from Hell!’

A terrifying thought sprouted uncontrollably in the minds of both Chen Jing and Chen Zhige.

’Is this person before us... really the Chen Yue we knew? The young man from Huichun Hall with a Talent for the Alchemy Dao?’

’Could the real Chen Yue have died long ago?’

’Is this man an imposter, some expert from a demonic sect?’

Boundless fear, like a cold tide, washed over and completely submerged them.

The way they looked at Chen Yue was now filled with the deepest despair and terror.

Chen Xuanli gripped his still-trembling soft sword. The sharp pain from his torn hand and the churning horror in his heart made his knuckles turn white.

He stared fixedly at the approaching Chen Yue. His eyes, once as calm as an old well, were now filled with disbelief, wariness, and a sliver of dread he was unwilling to admit even to himself.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. His voice was dry and hoarse with tension as he asked, enunciating each word:

"Who... are you!"

This question lingered in the mind of every member of the Chen Family present.

The young man before them could not possibly be the Chen Yue they knew!

Faced with Chen Xuanli’s almost instinctual question, Chen Yue didn’t pause his advance. His expression remained unchanged.

"At a time like this, does that question even matter?"

Indeed, did it even matter?

No matter who he was, the situation had already become a fight to the death. The Chen Family’s schemes, their assassination attempt, and their current killing intent had already pushed both sides to the edge of a cliff, with no turning back.

Chen Yue’s steps were unhurried, yet they carried an unstoppable, oppressive weight as he closed in.

As his gaze swept over them, Chen Jing and the quivering Chen Zhige couldn’t help but shuffle backward, trying to put more distance between themselves and this monster.

Chen Zhige knew nothing of the Martial Dao, and at this point, he was scared out of his wits.

Although Chen Jing had some foundation in Martial Arts and had managed to reach the Refining Flesh Realm over the years, his Cultivation was laughable, like that of a child, before a man who could repel a Marrow Refining Realm master with one palm and casually slaughter those in the Bone Forging Realm.

He was too terrified to even think of resisting.

In the end, all the pressure fell on Chen Xuanli.

He was the last pillar of the Chen Mansion, the only one who could possibly—and who *had* to—stop Chen Yue.

There was no retreat, no escape!

A killing intent born of humiliation, rage, and final, desperate madness erupted in Chen Xuanli’s chest like a volcano.

"AHH!"

Chen Xuanli let out a guttural roar, his eyes shot with blood. Holding nothing back, the cicada-wing-thin soft sword in his hand seemed to come alive, letting out a clear, piercing cry.

The next moment, the sword’s light flared!

Profound Light Shadow Splitting!

Chen Xuanli spun, and his soft sword transformed into a hazy mirage of light, making it impossible to distinguish illusion from reality. Like a deadly whirlpool suddenly forming in the deep sea, it carried a bone-chilling cold and a sharpness that could cut through anything as it instantly enveloped the space several feet around Chen Yue.

Myriad sword shadows, each one aimed at a vital point—his throat, his heart, his eyes, his Dantian...

This was the Chen Mansion’s ultimate technique, the Profound Light Swordsmanship.

They had acquired it years ago along with the Human Pill Secret Technique. It was a top-tier Swordsmanship renowned for its deception, speed, and illusory nature.

Chen Xuanli had been immersed in this Swordsmanship for over a decade and had long ago cultivated it to the Great Success Realm. Unleashing it now with the full force of his fury, its power far exceeded his previous strike.

Sword Qi crisscrossed, tearing through the air with shrill whistles. The very temperature in the Alchemy Room seemed to plummet.

’So what if you have Protective Gang Qi! I refuse to believe that Gang Qi powered by a Bone Forging Realm cultivation can block the full might of my Great Success Profound Light Sword!’

Chen Xuanli thought viciously. He had keenly sensed that the aura of the realm Chen Yue projected was indeed still within the scope of the Bone Forging Realm; it was just unbelievably dense and powerful.

’This gives me a sliver of hope. No matter how strong his Gang Qi is, it still needs cultivation to support it!’

’As long as I can break through his Gang Qi, victory is still possible!’

Faced with this sky full of deadly sword shadows—enough to fluster even a fellow Marrow Refining Realm expert—Chen Yue’s expression finally showed a subtle change.

His gaze focused, and he silently pushed his Heart Nourishing Technique to its absolute limit.

In an instant, the sky-numbing blur of sword shadows—so fast they were nothing but afterimages—suddenly seemed to slow down in his eyes.

The trajectories of the sword lights, the rhythm of their shifting between real and illusory, even the slight tremor in Chen Xuanli’s wrist from the rapid movements... every detail was slowed down, deconstructed, and presented with perfect clarity to Chen Yue’s lucid Heart Spirit.

Just as the deadly web of swords was about to close in and touch the Gang Qi surrounding him, Chen Yue aimed his right palm at a single point within the storm of shadows—the core sword light that was subtly guiding the entire Sword Momentum—and struck.

Great Vajra Palm—Vajra Demon Suppression!

"CLANG!!!"

The explosive clang of metal on metal was more violent than any before, as if a thousand-pound bronze bell had been struck by a massive hammer. The sound was sharp and ear-piercing, shaking dust from the Alchemy Room’s beams and pillars.

The sky full of hazy sword shadows vanished in an instant!