Cultivation starts from simplifying the exercises

Chapter 2140 Clay Chickens and Earthen Dogs

"He orchestrated all of this. We... we were forced to act. The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. Shi Pojun has already escaped; you should go after him. We are just minor, insignificant figures."

Spare my life, and I, Chang Guwu, swear to my inner demons that I will never reveal a word of what happened today, and I will never be your enemy again.

Chang Guwu spoke very quickly, trying to absolve himself of all responsibility and shift all blame onto the escaped Shi Pojun, attempting to secure a glimmer of hope for his own survival.

Beside him, Huang Jiugao's scarlet soul flames flickered wildly. His face, formed from demonic energy, was filled with anxiety and fear. He hissed urgently:

"This matter has nothing to do with me. All I wanted from beginning to end was to leave this godforsaken place. It was that woman who used a boundary-splitting technique to trap me and force me to attack. That's why I was forced to attack you. I can give you half of the treasures I've accumulated. Let me go, and we'll go our separate ways!"

Both of them adopted an extremely humble posture, showing none of the arrogance and ruthlessness they displayed when besieging Chen Fei earlier; only fear of death and the instinct for survival remained.

Chen Fei's gaze was as calm as an ancient, cold pool, without the slightest ripple. He was neither swayed by Chang Guwu's explanation nor moved by Huang Jiugao's enticement.

"The extraneous branches and details should also be pruned."

Chen Fei looked at Chang Guwu, his voice calm, "Since you chose to take action, you must be prepared to bear the consequences. Shi Pojun is the mastermind, and you are his accomplices. Accomplices should also be executed!"

Chen Fei's words were like a cold knife, piercing through the last bit of hope and pretense between the two.

Since you've chosen to be enemies, to launch a pincer attack, then you must be prepared to be killed in return. On the path of cultivation, cause and effect cycle endlessly, and retribution is inevitable. There are never so many unavoidable circumstances.

It's nothing more than being driven by profit and driven by greed.

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Fei moved.

With one step, the space seemed to shrink beneath his feet. The next moment, Chen Fei appeared in front of Chang Guwu, his dark golden Qian Yuan Halberd slashing down with a chilling aura of death.

His final pleas for mercy were ruthlessly rejected, and all hope for life was extinguished. The last shred of reason in Chang Guwu's eyes was replaced by mad despair.

Since death is inevitable, let's unleash our final madness before we die. Even if we can't take Chen Fei down with us, we'll make him pay the price.

Thunder, the source of all things, burn my broken body; wind, fire, and thunder, the prison of all things, perish together!

Chang Guwu's beard and hair stood on end, his face contorted like a demon, and he let out a hysterical roar.

He no longer suppressed the chaotic and collapsing Yuan Power and Dao Injuries within his body. Instead, he took the initiative to activate them, igniting and detonating all the remaining essence, blood, and even the shattered Xun Lei Dao Domain in the most violent and decisive way.

"boom!"

Chang Guwu's entire body instantly transformed into a ball of intensely burning blue, silver, and red light.

The three extremely violent energies of wind, thunder, and fire, having lost all restraint, raged wildly within his body, clashing and annihilating each other before erupting with a deafening roar.

Chang Guwu intends to use himself as a catalyst to detonate everything, transforming it into a destructive prison of wind, fire, and thunder, dragging Chen Fei and everything around him into the abyss of destruction.

At the same time, a hint of ruthlessness and madness flashed in Huang Jiugao's scarlet soul flames.

It knew that Chen Fei had killed Chang Guwu, and it would surely be next. Instead of waiting to die, it decided to fight to the death. Perhaps there was still a sliver of hope in the chaos created by Chang Guwu's self-destruction…

Ten thousand grievances gnaw at the bones, and the demonic soul is annihilated!

Huang Jiugao let out a sharp shriek, and its massive demonic body instantly collapsed and contracted inward, with all the resentful demonic energy, death energy, and demonic thoughts surging wildly into the ferocious bronze hammer in its hand.

The copper hammer emitted an extremely deep black light, as if it could even devour light.

Huang Jiugao himself transformed into a jet-black streak of light emanating an ominous and filthy aura. With the speed of teleportation, he bypassed the three-colored light orb formed by Chang Guwu's self-destruction. The copper hammer in his hand, carrying all its remaining power and resentment, smashed fiercely towards Chen Fei's head without regard for anything else.

It was determined to achieve its goal in one fell swoop, launching a fatal blow while Chen Fei was dealing with Chang Guwu's self-destruction.

In an instant, the three-colored wind, fire, and thunder prison radiating destructive energy, along with Huang Jiugao's pitch-black hammer shadow that condensed all demonic energy, almost simultaneously enveloped Chen Fei.

In dire straits, the two powerful figures simultaneously unleashed their final, and most dazzling, frenzy.

"Boom!"

The terrifying high temperature of the Wind, Fire, Thunder Prison, the all-tearing gale, and the exploding lightning snakes instantly shredded everything in the central area.

Chang Guwu's remaining soul, at the very core of this destructive storm, endured indescribable pain, emitting a silent, mournful scream filled with madness, agony, and a final resentment and bitterness towards the world.

However, even when faced with this self-destructing storm powerful enough to severely injure an ordinary mid-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivator, the trajectory of Chen Fei's downward-slashing Qian Yuan Halberd remained unchanged.

The dark golden halberd blade cleaved into the center of the colorful wind, fire, and thunder prison without any frills.

On the halberd blade, the energy field that could suppress everything flowed slightly. Wherever the halberd's edge passed, Chang Guwu's self-destruction, which cost him his life and combined the three energies with unparalleled power, was like a piece of cloth cut by a sharp blade, which was forcibly cleaved in the middle.

The violent energy was forcibly pushed back and suppressed, unable to have any effect on Chen Fei behind the halberd.

Just as Chen Fei cleaved through the Wind, Fire, and Thunder Prison with his halberd, from the side, Huang Jiugao's pitch-black hammer shadow, imbued with all his demonic energy, carrying immense power and a soul-corroding, resentful death aura, slammed solidly into Chen Fei's temple.

"Boom!"

A dull thud, without the crisp clang of metal clashing or the muffled sound of flesh breaking.

As the hammer fell, Chen Fei's head only tilted slightly at an insignificant angle.

The pale golden light on his body suddenly shone at the point of impact, forming visible golden ripples that completely blocked, absorbed, and neutralized the hammer force that contained all of Huang Jiugao's power.

Only a tiny, fleeting ripple indicated that the attack had indeed hit its mark.

On the contrary, Huang Jiugao felt as if his seemingly inevitable hammer blow had struck an ancient and eternal divine metal. An overwhelming and unstoppable force of recoil surged back along the hammer handle like a flood bursting its banks.

Huang Jiugao's arms trembled violently, and the ferocious bronze hammer, formed from pure resentful demonic death energy, emitted a cracking sound as it could not bear the weight, and fine cracks appeared on its surface.

The copper hammer could no longer be held, flew out of his hand, turned into a streak of black light, and smashed into the ground far away, creating a large crater.

Huang Jiugao himself was struck as if by a heavy blow. His demonic body trembled violently, and the dense demonic energy surrounding his body dissipated. He let out a painful groan and staggered backward involuntarily, his scarlet soul fire flickering wildly.

Just how terrifying is this physical body? I attacked with all my might, yet I couldn't even break through its defenses and was instead injured by the recoil.

Chen Fei seemed completely unaware of Huang Jiugao's sneak attack, not even glancing away. With a flick of his wrist, he cleaved through the Wind, Fire, Thunder Prison with his Qian Yuan Halberd, using the momentum to trace a smooth arc, changing from a downward slash to a horizontal sweep.

"Buzz!"

The halberd trembled, emitting a deep, murderous hum.

The dark golden halberd light, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, swept towards the remnant soul of Chang Guwu, who was silently roaring in the center of the Wind, Fire and Thunder Prison, and Huang Jiugao, who was staggering backward from the side.

Where the halberd's edge passed, the raging tri-colored energy turbulence was forcibly swept away and annihilated by this tyrannical force. The first to bear the brunt was Chang Guwu's already extremely weakened soul.

The silent roar ceased abruptly the instant the halberd's edge touched the target. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a sound like a candle being extinguished by a gale.

The illusory remnant soul carrying Chang Guwu's last consciousness instantly melted and vanished under the dark golden halberd light, disappearing completely from the world.

The halberd's momentum didn't stop at all, tearing apart the remaining turbulent energy flow and sweeping straight towards Huang Jiugao, who had just regained his footing.

The Shield of Ten Thousand Grudges!

Huang Jiugao let out a shrill scream, crossed his arms in front of him, and the little remaining pure resentful demonic death energy in his body surged out wildly, instantly condensing into a pitch-black shield in front of him, engraved with countless painful and wailing faces.

"Crack!"

A clear cracking sound rang out from the center of the black shield, which was etched with countless faces of agony. Immediately afterward, countless cracks, like a spiderweb, spread across the entire shield.

"Boom!"

The heavy shield of vengeful demons shattered under Huang Jiugao's despairing gaze, turning into countless black fragments that were then churned into even finer black mist by the aftershocks of the halberd's light and vanished completely.

The moment the shield shattered, the dark golden halberd light struck Huang Jiugao's arms, which were crossed in front of his chest, and the demonic body behind them without any hindrance.

"Pfft!"

As the halberd blade swept across, Huang Jiugao's arms were easily severed and dissolved as if made of paper. Then, the halberd blade cut into his chest and abdomen without any resistance...

"Roar!"

Huang Jiugao let out a shrill, inhuman scream, and his entire demonic body exploded, releasing a large amount of dense, impenetrable black demonic mist. This demonic mist churned endlessly, within which countless twisted, wailing faces of vengeful spirits could be vaguely seen.

Huang Jiugao's remaining consciousness screamed wildly amidst the exploding demonic mist, filled with fear and resentment. The demonic mist churned violently, attempting to reform, but its progress was slow, and its aura was extremely weak, clearly at its last gasp.

“Wait…wait, I am willing…” From within the exploding demonic mist, Huang Jiugao’s faint but urgent soul fluctuations emanated, as if he wanted to say something more.

But Chen Fei's eyes remained completely unmoved.

With a slight twist of his wrist, the sweeping Qian Yuan Halberd traced a delicate arc in the air, dissipating its residual force, before rising again and slashing down once more at the dark demonic mist that was attempting to reform.

"laugh!"

The dark golden halberd blade, as if slicing through a black curtain, pierced through the churning demonic mist without hindrance. The supremely yang and unyielding power contained within the halberd blade, capable of warding off evil and suppressing demons, erupted with a thunderous roar.

"No!"

Huang Jiugao's last wisp of soul energy emitted a shrill scream filled with endless resentment and unwillingness, before abruptly ceasing.

The dense, impenetrable black demonic mist hissed and dissolved the moment the halberd touched the body, and countless twisted, wailing faces of vengeful spirits within it shattered and vanished.

The enormous mass of resentful demonic energy, along with Huang Jiugao's remaining primordial demonic thoughts, was completely purified and annihilated by the Qian Yuan Halberd, turning into wisps of thin black smoke that dissipated into the air without leaving a trace.

Chen Fei sheathed his halberd and stood there, the Qian Yuan halberd pointing diagonally at the ground.

He flipped his left hand over, his palm facing the spot where Liu Yanqing, Chang Guwu, and Huang Jiugao had fallen, and made a grasping motion.

Instantly, three orbs of primordial light, containing pure energy and profound fluctuations, emerged from the void and, drawn by an invisible force, flew into Chen Fei's palm.

At the same time, Chen Fei casually collected the three's shattered divine weapons and incorporated them into the Void Realm. Although damaged, these materials, being of extraordinary quality, were still quite valuable.

After doing all this, Chen Fei's thoughts stirred slightly, and the purple-gold barrier surrounding the area lit up slightly. Then, it rippled out like water, quickly became transparent, and finally disappeared completely, revealing the outside world.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the Undying True Light Mirror began to operate slightly. The next moment, a faint yet exceptionally clear imprint appeared in Chen Fei's perception, rapidly fleeing in a certain direction.

"They escaped quite quickly."

Back in the previous battle, the instant Shi Pojun was injured and forced back by Chen Fei's halberd strike, Chen Fei had already quietly planted several divine soul imprints on him using the profound mystery of the Undying True Light Mirror.

Unless Shi Pojun's spiritual cultivation far surpasses his, or he has a special treasure protecting him, it would be extremely difficult to discover and eliminate him in a short period of time.

Chen Fei's figure swayed, a faint golden divine light flashed on his body, and with one step, his figure merged into the space, turning into a faint shadow, and quickly chased after the direction sensed by the mark in his divine sense.

Its speed far surpasses that of ordinary mid-stage Tai Cang Realm cultivators.

Hundreds of thousands of miles away, a dim, blood-red streak of light was fleeing at breakneck speed through the dark ruins and forests; it was Shi Pojun.

His face was ashen, his breathing weak and disordered, and his right arm, which was holding the knife, was trembling slightly.

Destroying his natal longsword, burning his life essence to unleash a secret technique, and forcibly urging his remaining strength to tear open the barrier and escape, had already compounded his injuries, severely depleted his vitality, and left him with less than one-tenth of his former strength.

But at this moment, he dared not linger for even a moment; only one thought occupied his mind: escape. The farther he could escape, the better, to get away from that monster, Chen Fei.

However, a persistent sense of unease lingered in Shi Pojun's mind.

He always felt as if some kind of tracking mark had been planted on him, as if a pair of cold eyes were watching him from afar, and he could not escape it no matter where he fled.

"Damn it, that kid must have tampered with me!"

While fleeing frantically, Shi Pojun continuously used his inner vision, combined with various investigative techniques, to search his flesh, blood, meridians, and soul inch by inch, trying to find any possible tracking marks.

He has mastered the Dao Body of the Myriad Realms and has extremely strong control over himself. He has also cultivated the Undying True Light Mirror, and his soul perception is very sharp. In theory, it would be difficult for cultivators of the same level to leave undetected marks on him.

However, no matter how hard he searched, even at the cost of expending his vital energy to activate secret techniques and examine his body inside and out several times, he still found nothing.

Apart from his own injuries and disordered power, there was no foreign energy or soul imprint within his body.

Shi Pojun frowned, his unease growing stronger.

He knew Chen Fei's unpredictability and power, and he absolutely did not believe that the other party would let him escape so easily. That kid was meticulous and had a variety of tricks up his sleeve; he must have a backup plan.

"We can't delay any longer, we have to find them." A ruthless glint flashed in Shi Pojun's eyes.

Escaping is crucial, but if a tracking mark is truly placed on my body, escaping any distance will be futile; I will be caught sooner or later. In my current state, I will undoubtedly die then.

Shi Pojun gritted his teeth, disregarding the exhaustion and injuries to his soul, and forcibly concentrated all his energy to activate the golden page he had obtained by chance deep in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"When the true nature is not obscured, all illusions are revealed and shattered!"

Shi Pojun gave a low shout in his heart, and the golden page suddenly burst out with an unprecedentedly brilliant light. A clear divine soul power, which seemed to be able to see all the minute details, instantly swept over his entire body and directly penetrated into the most subtle level of life essence.

These golden pages are used sparingly and are extremely taxing on one's spiritual energy; they are only used as a last resort. But at this moment, Shi Pojun couldn't care less.

Under this spiritual light, some faint points of light that were previously imperceptible became clearly visible, like dust particles hidden in the darkness.

One, two, three... a total of nine.

Nine faint yet exceptionally resilient soul imprints, each carrying Chen Fei's unique aura, were imprinted on different parts of Shi Pojun's body.

These marks are extremely ingenious, not only hidden, but also seemingly subtly connected to each other, with the effect of affecting one at a time. Unless they are removed simultaneously, or forcibly washed away with spiritual power far exceeding that of the caster, they are extremely difficult to eradicate completely.

Upon seeing the nine hidden marks revealed on his body under the illumination of the spiritual light, Shi Pojun's face instantly darkened to the point of being almost dripping with water.

He had thought there would be at most one or two, but Chen Fei had actually planted nine tracking marks on him silently. Moreover, the locations were so cunning and crucial, and the marks were interconnected, clearly indicating an extremely sophisticated method of chain marking.

Damn it!

Shi Pojun dared not be negligent. While maintaining high-speed flight, he also diverted his attention to mobilize the remaining power of his soul to try to peel off and erase the mark.

However, the moment his soul power touched the mark, an exceptionally strong force of resistance came through.

At the same time, the other eight marks seemed to be drawn in, emitting faint fluctuations as they worked together to offset Shi Pojun's soul-eroding power.

Shi Pojun's expression grew even uglier. He tried to increase the output of his divine soul power and concentrate his attack on the mark.

However, this drastically increased his energy consumption. Given his current severely injured and weakened state of mind, it would take him more than ten breaths to completely erase a mark. Moreover, during this time, he also had to maintain high-speed flight and could not exert his full strength.

Clearing all nine marks at the same time would actually be less efficient.

The nine marks are interconnected, forming a subtle array that shares the pressure, making the removal much more difficult.

Unless his spiritual power far surpasses Chen Fei's and he can crush all nine marks at the same time with an absolute advantage, breaking them one by one is the only option. But even so, it would take dozens of breaths, or even longer.

"Is this the power of the Immortal True Light Mirror when cultivated to a high level?"

Countless doubts and horrors gnawed at Shi Pojun's heart like venomous snakes.

How exactly did Chen Fei manage to cultivate a top-tier body-refining technique to perfection and achieve the state of body and domain integration in such a short time, while also cultivating the profound soul-refining secret technique, the Undying True Light Mirror, to such an unparalleled level?

What kind of extraordinary opportunity did he obtain? (End of Chapter)