Chapter 687: Fierce Battle Against an Innate

The energy from the cave’s Array was practically inexhaustible. He was fighting with an abundance of power; victory was almost guaranteed.

All Chen Cheng had to do was kill his opponent in a single, lightning-fast strike!

Mu Qingfeng was clearly aware of his predicament. He instantly materialized a yellow Thick Earth Light Shield, shrouding his entire body.

He then thrust his Long Spear, his body and weapon moving as one. He stabbed at an incoming boulder, shattering it with a single strike!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The other boulders smashed against the Thick Earth Light Shield, but failed to shake it in the slightest!

Mu Qingfeng used the force of the impact to propel himself away, darting into the distance!

“I’ll crush you!”

Chen Cheng wasn’t about to let him escape. Stepping on Thunder Arcs, he appeared behind Mu Qingfeng in just a few flashes.

The Military Dao Combat Killing Hammer in his hand crackled with thunder and unleashed a violent sonic boom as he swung it with all his might!

This unsparing strike from his Profound Evil Thunder Extreme Hammer Technique was approaching a Realm Power of 11,000—enough to shatter the Profound Gang Rock Wall at the cave’s Array Hub in a single blow!

It was tyrannical to the extreme! Terrifying to the extreme!

Mu Qingfeng was horrified. He unleashed his True Intent of Heaven and Earth with all his might, causing the Earth Qi Long Spear in his hand to grow even more substantial. He then jabbed it fiercely behind him—a perfect execution of the Turning Spear technique!

BOOM!

Amidst the deafening crash, the Earth Qi Long Spear exploded into fragments!

The Military Dao Combat Killing Hammer then smashed into the yellow Thick Earth Light Shield, sending Mu Qingfeng flying!

“I’ll crush you!”

Chen Cheng’s gaze was icy. He rode the Thunder Arcs, sticking to Mu Qingfeng like a shadow, and swung his hammer once more!

BOOM!

The yellow Thick Earth Light Shield, infused with the True Intent of Heaven and Earth, instantly shattered!

Like a kite with its string cut, Mu Qingfeng was sent flying once again!

Like a Humanoid Fierce Beast, Chen Cheng gave chase again, bringing the Military Dao Combat Killing Hammer down with savage violence!

Thunder cracked, shaking the very heavens!

SMASH!

Mu Qingfeng was smashed into dust, exploding into a cloud of bloody mist!

Chen Cheng halted. He raised his hammer and scanned the area, a flicker of suspicion in his deep-set eyes as he carefully probed his surroundings.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Dozens of yards away, a fierce gale suddenly whipped up!

The gale immediately began to rage, sweeping up rubble and dust into the air. It formed several whirlwinds that shot off into the distance!

An aura flickered in and out of existence within the whirlwinds. Even when Chen Cheng pushed his Perception to its limits with his Concealment Secret Skill, he couldn’t pinpoint its exact location.

“Break!”

Chen Cheng roared.

He once again channeled the energy of the Gen Palace Array, unleashing crushing waves of pressure that swept down fiercely!

POP! POP! POP!

The whirlwinds were forcibly crushed and dispersed! The falling rubble was pulverized into dust!

The whole of Shi Lin suddenly fell silent!

Aided by the Gen Palace Array, Chen Cheng pushed his senses to their limit, but he still couldn’t detect any unusual aura.

‘He still got away?’

‘As expected of an Innate Realm Expert who’s lived for over a century. To think he had a Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact like a Substitute Doll… He’s truly a difficult opponent.’

Chen Cheng shook his head slightly. He used his Long Saber to pick up a dark-red metal fragment. He could faintly make out intricate patterns on its surface, and it carried a trace of the blue-robed old man’s aura.

‘That full-power strike from my Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Hammer Technique should have been enough to kill Mu Qingfeng in one blow!’

‘But the bastard actually used a Substitute Doll to take the blow for him!’

‘Mu Qingfeng seized the opportunity to use a series of Escape Techniques and get away!’

A Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact like a Substitute Doll required not only top-tier Artifact Refining Materials but also decades of refinement using one’s own blood essence and Innate True Qi. It was the ultimate life-saving treasure.

‘Forget it. No use chasing a desperate foe.’

‘The man’s strength is immense. Without the aid of the Gen Palace Array, I might have been able to defeat him, but killing him would have been nearly impossible.’

With that thought, Chen Cheng flew off in the direction of the Array Hub.

…

「On the outskirts of Shi Lin.」

Mu Qingfeng emerged from behind a large rock. He gazed toward the center of Shi Lin, his aged face still pale with shock and filled with deep apprehension.

‘Just what are that boy’s origins? To have comprehended the True Intent of Heaven and Earth at such a young age!’

‘I comprehended the True Intent of Heaven and Earth when I was sixty, and it took me another seventy or eighty years of arduous cultivation to reach my current level!’

‘Yet that boy’s mastery of the True Intent of Heaven and Earth is only a sliver weaker than mine. His Martial Arts Talent is simply monstrous!’

‘I fear that not even the Great Yu Saint Emperor, who reached the Martial Saint Realm, was this astonishingly talented in his youth!’

‘A monster! That boy is an absolute monster!’

Mu Qingfeng’s gaze gradually grew feverish, bordering on madness. He murmured to himself, “Ji Lingxiao has awakened the Martial Saint Bloodline. The Innate Origin in his body is peerlessly powerful.”

“If I capture him, I can use his blood essence, combined with the dense Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi at the Central Palace Array Hub, to cultivate the legendary Six-leaf Black Lotus.”

“By refining the Six-leaf Black Lotus into a Treasure Medicine, not only can I extend my life by fifty years, but I might even break through to the Blood Transformation Realm!”

“And that boy’s bloodline… it’s probably not much weaker than Ji Lingxiao’s. If I capture both of them, I might be able to go a step further and cultivate the Nine-leaf Black Lotus!”

“Then, I could refine a legendary Spirit Medicine!”

“A legendary Spirit Medicine that can extend one’s life by a hundred years!”

“With another hundred years, I could become a Martial Arts Grandmaster, or perhaps go even further… Gyeheheheheh…”

‘The cave’s Array suppresses the acupoints of Puncture Realm experts, so I can’t use my Innate True Qi. On the surface, Ji Lingxiao and that boy seem stronger than me!’

‘But the ace I have up my sleeve is designed specifically to deal with top-tier geniuses like them!’

‘That boy made me waste my life-saving Substitute Doll. How detestable!’

‘However, his killing Batulu actually did me a favor. Without that variable, my plan is flawless. It can’t possibly fail again!’

‘I’ll let you run wild for a little while longer… Gyeheheheheh…’