20demayo Chapter 2009 It’s a matter of life and death!
Chapter 2009 It’s a matter of life and death!
Chapter 2009 It’s a matter of life and death!
The Sky Arena was deathly silent.
The air seemed to freeze, heavy enough to crush mountains. All eyes were focused on the demonic cultivator Ji Botao's provocative and greedy grin, and on Chen Fei, the silent figure in a green robe opposite him.
The demonic cultivators watched with mockery, awaiting yet another scene of reaping the rewards. Meanwhile, the cultivators were heavy-hearted and filled with worry.
Finally, cultivator Wu Fanyu couldn't help but sigh slightly, looked at Chen Fei, and said in a deep voice:
"This cunning creature must have something to rely on. If you feel that things are not going to work out... there is no need to force it."
Wu Fanyu's words contained no contempt, only a realistic judgment and a hint of reluctance.
He had no prior dealings with Chen Fei, but now that they were on the same side, he naturally didn't want Chen Fei to actually perish here.
Chen Fei's ability to achieve thirty kills with a late-stage fifteenth-level cultivation level must have relied on unorthodox methods.
Such methods can achieve remarkable feats under specific circumstances, but in this restricted martial arts arena, facing a well-prepared fifteenth-level Earthly Dao Foundation Limit Demon Cultivator, the risk is simply too great.
Moreover, Ji Botao's audacity in taking the stage must mean he has already devised a way to counter unorthodox practices.
The most terrifying scenario is that if Ji Botao were to unleash some devastating and deadly technique, Chen Fei might not even have the chance to utter the words "I admit defeat."
At that time, one will die and perish.
In this heavy and oppressive atmosphere, Chen Fei first turned to Wu Fanyu, who had spoken up to remind him, cupped his hands in a slight bow, and said calmly, "I appreciate Fellow Daoist Wu's kindness, thank you."
After saying that, he slowly turned his head to face Ji Botao, who was arrogantly standing on the training ground, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
“This back-and-forth fighting is too boring. How about… we try a different approach?” Chen Fei’s voice rang out clearly, not loud, but with a peculiar penetrating power.
Ji Botao frowned, his sinister smile fading slightly, and said, "Youngster, you're about to die, what tricks are you trying to pull?"
Chen Fei's smile remained unchanged, and his tone was still calm: "How about a fight, a life-or-death battle where neither of us can admit defeat?"
"what?"
Ji Botao's pupils contracted slightly, almost thinking he had misheard. His voice suddenly rose, "A feigned retreat? A bluff? Or do you think I'm easily intimidated?"
Chen Fei, however, seemed not to hear his question and continued casually, "Since you think it's just a bluff... why not just have a fight? That way we can determine who's better and who's worse, and decide who lives and who dies!"
"presumptuous!"
Ji Botao's voice suddenly turned sharp, "Why should I follow your rules? You can only set the rules after you beat me first!"
Chen Fei looked at Ji Botao's slightly stiff expression, his smile deepened, but he said nothing more.
He took a light step forward, his figure as graceful as a breeze across the water, and in the next moment, he silently appeared in the center of the training ground, facing Ji Botao from afar.
"You actually dared to come up here!"
Looking at Chen Fei who had appeared before him, Ji Botao felt a surge of rage, the same rage he had felt earlier from being provoked by a weakling. "You really aren't afraid of death!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Fei gently straightened his perfectly wrinkle-free sleeves, looked up at Ji Botao, and chuckled softly:
"You actually dare to challenge me? Are you really not afraid of death?!"
"You sharp-tongued brat, die!"
Ji Botao was completely enraged. He no longer cared about testing him. His eyes flashed with ferocity, and with a sudden grab of his right hand, a writing brush that was pitch black with a blood-red tip and exuded a strong aura of resentment appeared out of thin air.
Blood ink from the netherworld, ten thousand ghosts devouring hearts!
Ji Botao gripped the pen, his demonic energy surging wildly into it, and swung it sharply into the void before him.
A thick, dark ink, as if formed from the dried blood of countless living beings, was splashed from the tip of the brush.
The moment the ink left the brush, it emitted a shrill, mournful howl like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts. It grew longer in the wind and instantly transformed into thousands upon thousands of blood-red ghostly figures, each with its own distinct shape and radiating overwhelming resentment.
Like a blood-red Styx bursting its banks, it surged towards Chen Fei in a devastating torrent.
Where the ghostly figure passed, a chilling wind howled, and even the light seemed to be swallowed up, becoming extremely dark.
After unleashing this powerful attack, Ji Botao did not rush forward. Instead, he retreated rapidly while concentrating his mind and closely guarding against any possible array fluctuations or puppet traces around him.
Ji Botao is meticulous and far from being a reckless man.
In his view, among the three methods of formation, puppetry, and talisman making, formation is the most threatening. Once trapped in a formation, one will be controlled in every way.
Therefore, Ji Botao's strategy was extremely clear: never get close, maintain a safe distance, force out the opponent's trump card, and then use his prepared methods to find an opening to break through.
Breaking through the enemy's formation from outside is always the best option.
Faced with the overwhelming onslaught of ten thousand ghosts that would have even flustered an ordinary fifteenth-level peak cultivator, Chen Fei stood still, his body motionless. He simply raised his right hand, his fingers forming a sword shape, and pointed forward.
"Buzz!"
The dragon pearl hidden in his sleeve trembled slightly.
In the next instant, a dazzling, five-colored divine light, containing the Daoist essence of annihilation, burst forth from his fingertips.
The divine light was initially thin, but after leaving the finger, it suddenly surged, transforming into a dazzling river of light that stretched across the sky and met the boundless ghost tide.
"Chi chi chi!"
There was no earth-shattering explosion; the instant the two came into contact, a more chilling sound of dissolving was emitted.
Wherever the Five Elements Extinction Divine Light passed, the ferocious, roaring, blood-red ghostly figures let out mournful howls, their forms rapidly becoming blurred and transparent, and finally turning into wisps of green smoke, completely annihilated by the destructive power contained within the divine light.
No matter how turbulent the ghost tide was, it was like waves crashing against rocks in front of the Five-Colored River of Light, shattering and dissipating, unable to cross the line.
Previously, Zheng Hongtao bore some of the pressure from the chain formation, but after Chen Fei killed ten fifteenth-level demonic cultivators, the suppression on his soul was further reduced.
Without forming a new magic array, Chen Fei's current divine soul is more than capable of handling the linked array and keeping it functioning properly.
"It really is the power of an array!"
In the distance, Ji Botao's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched his Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Heart technique being so easily neutralized by the other party.
Although the formation was not fully deployed, the unique rules and rhythms contained within the five-colored divine light revealed its origin.
What startled Ji Botao was that the formation was more ingenious than he had imagined.
He could mobilize power for offense and defense so flexibly and efficiently without even fully manifesting the formation. This was completely different from the array cultivators he knew.
His first attack failed, which only fueled Ji Botao's ferocity. He refused to believe that his opponent, a late-stage 15th-level cultivator, could withstand his full-force attack with the help of an array.
A circle drawn on the ground becomes a prison, and the mountains and rivers become its walls!
Ji Botao wielded the magic pen once more, its strokes flowing like dragons and snakes, unleashing a torrent of demonic energy.
In the void, ink strokes outlined a majestic, towering, and all-encompassing dark mountain phantom that quickly coalesced.
This mountain is not an inanimate object; its interior features mountains, rivers, cities, and villages that can be vaguely seen, and one can even hear the illusory sounds of countless living beings offering sacrifices and prayers.
It was as if Ji Botao had condensed the weight and will of an entire plane into this one stroke.
"Boom!"
A colossal mountain, carrying the terrifying power to crush stars and suppress eternity, pressed down on Chen Fei, causing ripples in the space as it passed, as if it were about to be crushed by this demonic mountain.
But that wasn't all. Ji Botao continued writing, and with a flick of his pen, the demonic energy transformed again, from heavy to vast.
The sky is stained with ink, and the Milky Way pours down!
A boundless celestial river, composed of pitch-black demonic water and twinkling demonic stars, surged forth from the void.
Within the Milky Way, every star emanated destructive energy. Billions of stars drifted with the current, transforming into a torrent that annihilated everything, sweeping towards Chen Fei from another direction.
A mountain and a river, a town and an annihilation, two terrifying divine powers, sealing the heavens and locking the earth, intending to completely crush Chen Fei and the space around him into dust.
Looking ahead, Chen Fei's thoughts stirred slightly, and the Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light that stretched across the way shone brightly, like a soft, colorful ribbon, actively meeting the river of destruction that was about to destroy the stars.
At the same time, Chen Fei raised his left hand, spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them towards the descending Tongtian Demon Mountain.
"Zhengzhengzheng!"
Countless condensed, almost tangible, sword auras of immortal slaughter emerged out of thin air. They carried the purest will of killing and destruction, converging into an invincible torrent that surged upwards and crashed violently into the bottom of the demonic mountain that was pressing down.
"boom!"
"Hiss... Buzzing!"
A deafening roar and the piercing noise of energy dissipation erupted simultaneously.
The torrent of sword energy from the Immortal Slaughtering Sword collided violently with the base of the Heavenly Demon Mountain. The sword energy tore apart continuously, but it also cut into the base of the Demon Mountain, causing sparks and energy turbulence to erupt everywhere.
The Demon Mountain's descent was suddenly halted, trembling violently as it was held aloft by countless sword energies, unable to fall even an inch.
On the other side, the five-colored ribbon formed by the Five Elements Extinction Divine Light became entangled with the Destruction Starry Sky River.
Divine light flowed, constantly extinguishing the demonic waters and stars in the Milky Way, emitting a continuous sound of annihilation. The momentum of the Milky Way's surge was greatly slowed and weakened; although it remained turbulent, it could hardly break through the defense of the divine light.
For a moment, Chen Fei managed to withstand Ji Botao's incredibly powerful combined attack, resulting in a brief stalemate.
Ji Botao's face turned extremely ugly as he watched as his two powerful attacks were caught by his opponent.
He originally thought that even if the opponent had the help of an array, they would be forced to use their complete array in the face of his suppression containing the power of a plane and the power to annihilate stars. However, he did not expect that the opponent would deal with it so calmly.
Unable to break through after a prolonged siege, Ji Botao's anxiety and murderous intent surged simultaneously.
"Youngster, let's see how long you can hold out!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Ji Botao's eyes. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of pure natal demonic blood onto the Netherworld Blood Pen in his hand, instantly turning the pen tip a dazzling scarlet red.
He wielded his brush wildly in the air, drawing strange and malevolent runes.
"Awooo!" "Roar!" "Hiss!"
Accompanied by countless shrill, chaotic, and violent roars, the demonic light created by the essence blood runes swelled upon landing, instantly transforming into tens of thousands of demonic puppets of various shapes, but without exception, all of them were blood red and exuded a strong bloody and deathly aura.
These blood golems were shaped like trolls, insects, or indescribable twisted lumps of flesh.
They had no intelligence, only the purest instinct for killing and devouring. Like a blood-red tide, they roared and surged towards Chen Fei, who was still standing still, from all directions.
Seeing Ji Botao once again activate the sea of blood puppets that blotted out the sky, Chen Fei's mind stirred slightly, and the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Qi surrounding him sank downwards.
Immediately, countless incomparably sharp sword energies connected end to end, layer upon layer, paving a path of dazzling silver light and soaring killing intent beneath Chen Fei's feet.
In the next instant, Chen Fei took a step forward, his figure suddenly becoming blurred, transforming into a streak of azure light that tore through the void, shooting straight towards the fleeing Ji Botao along the path paved with sword energy.
The speed was so fast that it was almost instantaneous.
"Chi chi chi!"
Wherever Chen Fei went, the blood puppets that tried to stop him were easily torn apart and shredded by the condensed Immortal Slaughtering Sword Intent.
The Blood Puppet Sea could not hinder Chen Fei in the slightest, and the distance between Chen Fei and Ji Botao was being compressed to the extreme.
Ji Botao was constantly on guard against possible array fluctuations or puppet ambushes around him, but he never expected that Chen Fei would unleash such terrifying speed in this way.
This was not the movement technique a late-stage fifteenth-level cultivator should have; it was even faster than when he used his full-power escape technique.
"Want to get close? Wishful thinking!"
Ji Botao remained calm despite the shock, reacting extremely quickly. Almost at the same time as Chen Fei set off, he unhesitatingly and frantically activated his demonic energy again, retreating rapidly while simultaneously slashing the void with his Netherworld Blood Pen.
The blood puppets that had originally scattered to attack suddenly surged back like a tide, no longer pursuing attacks, but instead piling up in layers and densely packed in the void between Ji Botao and Chen Fei.
In the blink of an eye, a dark red flesh barrier, thousands of feet thick, squeezed by countless ferocious blood puppets, constantly writhing and emitting a soaring bloody stench, was formed.
This barrier not only contains immense demonic energy, but also possesses a strange property of being filthy, corrosive, and obstructing the penetration of divine sense and energy, attempting to forcibly slow down or even trap Chen Fei's advance.
"Puff puff!"
Chen Fei, transformed into a cyan swan, did not slow down at all and crashed directly into the thick blood wall.
At the forefront of the Sword Path, billions of Immortal Slaughtering Sword Intents spontaneously condensed into a sharp edge. Wherever it passed, no matter how tough or filthy the blood wall was, it was forcibly torn apart and pierced by this extremely sharp sword intent containing the Dao of Destruction.
Dark red chunks of flesh and blood rained down like a storm, only to be completely annihilated by the subsequent sword intent.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Fei pierced through the thousand-foot-thick barrier of flesh and blood.
The distance between the two has been reduced to less than half of its original size.
"This……"
Ji Botao's expression finally changed. He knew the defensive power of this blood wall very well. Even a demonic cultivator of the same level would have to put in a lot of effort to break through it, yet it was so easily penetrated by the other party.
Seeing that the blood barrier was ineffective, Ji Botao made a decisive move, spitting out his essence blood and sprinkling it onto the illusory image of the magic brush in the void.
"receive!"
The distant Tongtian Demon Mountain and the Destruction River, which were entangled with the Five Elements Divine Light and the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Qi, suddenly trembled violently.
The next moment, it vanished into thin air, transforming into two pure torrents of demonic energy. In an instant, it traversed space and reappeared in front of Ji Botao, reforming into a mountain and a river, blocking his path.
Ji Botao spared no effort to deplete his energy and forcibly withdrew his supernatural powers, switching to close-quarters defense. He was clearly determined not to let Chen Fei get close.
Just as Ji Botao withdrew his supernatural powers and focused on defense, a barely perceptible smile appeared on Chen Fei's lips.
The sword energy path beneath Chen Fei's feet shone brightly, and all the sword energy that had spread outwards, like rivers flowing into the sea, instantly surged back and converged beneath Chen Fei's feet, compressed, condensed, and then... exploded with a roar.
A terrifying force, seemingly capable of distorting space, suddenly acted upon Chen Fei.
Chen Fei's figure became completely blurred at this moment, as if he had merged into the void itself.
As if teleported, Ji Botao felt a blur before his eyes, and Chen Fei, who was still far away a moment ago, had appeared out of thin air in the void less than a hundred feet in front of him.
Between the two lies only the hastily recalled and still not fully stabilized Demon Mountain and Heavenly River.
Array, rise!
As Chen Fei pressed forward with one hand, the entire world suddenly changed color.
Centered on Chen Fei, the void within a radius of several thousand feet seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand. Countless extremely complex array runes, like living stars, emerged wildly from the void, flickering and intertwining.
A dazzling five-colored radiance soared into the sky, transforming into a luminous curtain covering the heavens. The phantoms of the stars slowly rotated, casting a chilling killing intent. The rich earth energy rose, perfectly merging with the starlight and the essence of the five elements.
The moment the formation was completed, the immense pressure of the formation, as vast as the sea, descended with a deafening roar, completely sealing and suppressing the internal space.
Trapped in the formation, Ji Botao felt the space around him suddenly become viscous and heavy, as well as the omnipresent and heart-palpitating killing intent of the formation. His face was filled with disbelief and horror.
Chen Fei's speed in that final burst of speed had completely exceeded his understanding of the limits of a late-stage 15th-level cultivator; it was a movement technique that only a Heavenly Origin Dao Foundation level being could possess.
But the opponent is clearly only at the late stage of the fifteenth rank!
"break!"
Trapped in the formation, Ji Botao let out a hysterical roar.
He frantically channeled his demonic energy, and the Heavenly Demon Mountain and the Destruction River in front of him, which contained most of his power, crashed into the array barrier in front of him like two out-of-control stars with the momentum to crush everything.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The earth-shattering explosion echoed within the array space, and a terrifying energy storm raged and crashed.
However, the seemingly thin array light barrier only rippled violently like water a few times, with five-colored light flowing across its surface, and easily broke apart this terrifying attack power that was enough to destroy a small world.
The entire formation was as stable as a rock, without even a tiny crack appearing.
At the heart of the formation, Chen Fei stood in mid-air, looking calmly at Ji Botao, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
Slaying immortals to create divine power, condensing stars to fall to earth!
Chen Fei slightly changed his sword-like hand gesture, and the stars above the array suddenly lit up. Countless sword energies of the Immortal Slaying Sword condensed from the void and rapidly compressed and converged towards several central points.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Immortal Slaughtering Stars, their surfaces burning with illusory star flames and containing all the sharpness attributes of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Qi, took shape.
"fall!"
With a flick of his finger, Chen Fei unleashed dozens of Immortal-Slaying Stars, trailing destructive tails, like a deadly meteor shower, crashing down upon Ji Botao within the formation.
Before the stars arrived, the incomparably sharp and murderous sword intent had already pierced Ji Botao's skin, causing him pain and making his soul feel like it was about to be torn apart.
Ji Botao sensed the power of the Immortal Slaughtering Star and his expression changed drastically. Then, his eyes immediately turned to the core of the entire linked array.
With the natural affinity between the Earthly Dao Foundation and Heaven and Earth, Ji Botao sensed the rich wood-elemental power within the array base. That was the array base, the most fundamental part of this interconnected array, but also perhaps the weakest.
Even if the array doesn't break, its power will be greatly reduced if the spiritual materials within the array base are destroyed.
Heavenly Scriptures, all laws return to emptiness!
Ji Botao's eyes turned pure black as he poured all the demonic energy and even a portion of his original blood essence into the Netherworld Blood Pen in his hand without reservation.
The blood-stained pen instantly became crystal clear, and the faint light at the tip of the pen condensed to its fullest extent.
The next moment, Ji Botao's arm muscles bulged, and he thrust the pen fiercely towards the location of the array base that he sensed.
"laugh!"
A soft yet exceptionally piercing tearing sound rang out. The tip of the Netherworld Blood Pen ignored the layers upon layers of incredibly solid array light barriers in front of it and, in an unbelievable way, pierced the core of the array hidden at its deepest point with unparalleled precision.
This is precisely Ji Botao's greatest reliance: the Void-Breaking Brush, a talent he acquired from the Heavenly Scripture, which can partially penetrate various energy barriers and array restrictions.
"clang!!"
A deafening roar, not from the shattering of spiritual materials, but from the clash of metal—a sharp, piercing sound—suddenly erupted from the depths of the array's foundation. The sound was filled with a dull thud, as if power had been forcibly distorted and blocked.
The gleam that had just appeared on Ji Botao's face instantly froze.
(End of this chapter)