Chapter 61: Intercept and Kill
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Intercept and Kill
Jing Hong’s pupils constricted. Recognizing the newcomer, her voice instantly became as cold as a blade. "Linglong? Your mission has shown no progress. What is going on? You’d better give me a reasonable explanation today!"
Linglong bowed slightly, but her tone held little reverence. "Calm yourself, Sister Jing Hong. The mission isn’t without progress. It’s just... I ran into some complications that I need to report in person."
"Complications? What complications?"
Jing Hong’s tone was filled with suspicion and threat.
Linglong said in a soft, aggrieved tone, "My memory isn’t the best. They were all named Chen something-or-other, and I didn’t know any of them. The portrait was blurry, so I got confused and mistook them for Chen Yongquan and his son. But don’t worry, Sister, the two of them passed peacefully. And the Chen Family still has no idea it was us. You won’t blame me, will you?"
"What?"
Upon hearing her words, a wave of fury surged through Chen Zhengping. He was so enraged his vision went dark, and it felt as if his eyes would split from their sockets.
He’d thought it was strange earlier, back at home, when Chen Yongxiao had cursed at his own mother.
Now, hearing Linglong’s words, he understood the truth behind his father’s bizarre death in an instant!
"You bitch! Say that again!" he roared, lunging forward.
Seeing Chen Zhengping charge forward in a blind rage, a cold glint flashed in Linglong’s eyes. Her body flickered like a phantom as she suddenly shot toward him.
With her fingers held together like a sword, a sharp power emanating from their tips, she aimed straight for his throat. The strike was fast, precise, and ruthless—a killing blow.
"Stop! What are you doing?"
Jing Hong was aghast. With a sharp cry, her figure blurred, reappearing like a wisp of smoke in front of Chen Zhengping.
She thrust out a slender, jade-like palm. The Palm Wind seemed gentle, but it contained a soft, insidious power capable of disrupting one’s Inner Breath and clouding their Heart Spirit. It met Linglong’s claw-like hand with precision.
Just as Jing Hong’s palm was about to make contact, Linglong gave a strange smile. Her body drifted backward as if weightless, and she giggled. "Oh, Sister Jing Hong, you’ve made a mistake... Your opponent isn’t me."
’What does she mean?’
Jing Hong’s Heart Spirit clenched. A sudden, overwhelming sense of danger seized her.
Almost at the same time.
BOOM!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure crashed down from above like a mountain, accompanied by a heavy, dark silhouette that tore through the night sky.
A jet-black Iron Staff, wreathed in killing intent so tangible it felt solid and brimming with immense Inner Qi, smashed down toward Jing Hong’s Celestial Spirit with unstoppable force.
The wind from the staff’s passage was so powerful it made the surrounding air crackle and pop.
"Who is it?"
Jing Hong’s face went pale with terror as a storm of shock raged within her.
Spirit Realm!
She had been completely unaware that such a master was hidden nearby.
His aura was perfectly contained, yet his killing intent was incomparably sharp. His power was absolutely greater than hers.
In her haste, she had no time to think and could only circulate her Power with all her might.
Her palms began to shimmer with a faint light. She unleashed layer upon layer of her supple, insidious Palm Strength, attempting to skillfully deflect the stone-shattering blow.
"BAM!"
The staff and palms collided with a deep, thunderous boom.
Jing Hong’s body trembled violently. An irresistible, frenzied power crashed through the layers of Soft Strength she had deployed, flooding her meridians like a torrent.
A sweet taste filled her throat, and she nearly coughed up blood. The impact sent her staggering backward, her arms aching and numb.
Before she could even recover her breath, another staff strike sliced through the air, filled with peerless killing intent.
Utterly terrified, Jing Hong didn’t dare to block the blow head-on and scrambled to dodge.
She was completely on the defensive!
Jing Hong was horrified. ’This person’s Martial Arts are so fierce and explosive.’
’Since when did Lingxi and Mirror Mountain have a master of this caliber?’
Suppressing her roiling qi and blood, a ruthless look entered her eyes. She decided to take a dangerous risk.
’The Celestial Fragrance Scripture isn’t a Combat Technique to begin with.’
’Besides, our Cultivation never required us to fight anyone.’
’Combat isn’t my strong suit.’
’There’s no way I can win. If I meet him head-on, I’ll be defeated in a matter of moves.’
"Rise!"
She took a deep breath and gave a low shout. A faint light began to swirl at the spot between her eyebrows.
An invisible, intangible, yet bizarre ripple of energy, one that could pierce straight into a person’s Heart Spirit and Divine Soul, shot precisely toward the mysterious masked man with the staff.
The greatest strength of the Celestial Fragrance Scripture was its Spiritual Sense Attack.
A direct hit could infinitely magnify the deepest desires and emotions within an opponent’s heart, enough to make a master of the same level lose control of their Heart Spirit.
However, her infallible spiritual wave slammed into her opponent’s sea of consciousness only to vanish without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the ocean.
The eyes visible through his mask remained cold, clear, and resolute, showing not the slightest sign of disturbance.
’What’s going on?’
Jing Hong was stunned. Before she could process what was happening, an even vaster, more condensed Divine Sense—as pure and solid as crystal—surged back along the path of her own attack.
"HUMMM..."
Jing Hong felt as though her head had been struck by an invisible sledgehammer. Her vision went black, her ears rang, and her Divine Sense felt as if it were being torn apart.
"Aargh..."
Jing Hong cried out in pain and staggered back once more, her face instantly turning as pale as a sheet.
In the clash of Divine Sense, she had been utterly defeated and suffered a backlash.
"Who... who in the world are you?"
Jing Hong was both terrified and furious, her voice trembling with disbelief.
The masked man was, naturally, Chen Li.
He did not answer.
The Qiankun Qi Wandering Dragon Staff technique unfolded once more. The staff’s afterimages formed mountains, its True Intent coiled like a dragon, and Jing Hong was completely enveloped.
Every blow she parried sent her qi and blood into turmoil.
She could only rely on her exquisite Body Technique to desperately dodge and parry, but the signs of her defeat were obvious, and she was in constant peril.
BANG!
After three more moves, Jing Hong could hold on no longer. Her body was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground, blood spilling from her mouth.
Just as Chen Li’s staff thrust toward her heart, carrying with it the intent to kill...
At that moment, Linglong cried out urgently, "Senior, spare her life!"
The tip of Chen Li’s staff halted the instant it touched Jing Hong’s robes. The condensed, unreleased killing intent made every hair on her body stand on end.
Chen Li looked toward Linglong, his gaze questioning.
Linglong dragged Chen Zhengping forward and knelt. "Senior, my sect’s Celestial Fragrance Scripture allows us to devour each other’s Inner Qi. Please give me this opportunity. I beg you to hand her over to me for disposal. I, your servant, hereby swear an oath to be loyal to you for the rest of my life. If I break this vow, may the heavens smite me, and may I never be reincarnated."
"Linglong, you... you dare betray the Holy Sect?"
Shocked and enraged, Jing Hong snarled, "Have you forgotten how the sect punishes traitors? Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, the Holy Sect will never let you go!"
But Linglong was in no hurry. She offered a faint smile, her voice soft but laced with a chilling cold. "Sister Jing Hong, as long as you and I say nothing, who’s to know?"
Seeing that Chen Li didn’t object, she hastily continued, "Senior, Jing Hong is an Incense Protector of the Xiang Sect. Her status is special. If she disappears, the Xiang Sect will undoubtedly investigate. But if I am the one to act, I can use a Secret Technique from our sect to take her place. Not only will this spare you future trouble, Senior, but I can also use this opportunity to advance my Cultivation and better serve you in the future."