The underground passage was dim and oppressive, thick with the stench of blood.
Mo Hei Shen Zai's figure swayed unsteadily. He had believed with absolute confidence in his body's resilience.
Blood was still seeping from the tiny holes in him, and the flesh he had once been so proud of—the body that had withstood such tremendous force—was now barely holding together.
"The wounds are dense, the attacks are powerful, and the blood loss is abnormal. How could this guy still be standing?!"
Mo Hei Shen Zai had lost too much blood. His vision was blurring, and even the hand gripping his knife had begun to tremble.
At that moment, he realized he might actually die at the hands of this young man who had appeared out of nowhere—in this dark, lightless underground passage.
"Let's end this. You can finally rest in peace."
Jia Meng's voice rang in his ears, carrying a hint of mockery and cold indifference.
He had just finished off the last low-level evil spirit. Now he rushed at Mo Hei Shen Zai like a demon, the black flames atop his fist roaring—the perfect fusion of cursed energy and physical strength.
"Black Flash!"
Jia Meng let out a low shout. His fist tore through the darkness like a flash of light and slammed into Mo Hei Shen Zai's abdomen.
In that instant, space itself seemed to tear. A force more devastating than words could describe erupted, blasting a horrifying hole through Mo Hei Shen Zai's stomach.
Black Flash was the phenomenon produced when a physical attack and cursed energy struck within 0.000001 seconds of each other, distorting space.
The power released by that distortion far exceeded the ordinary. Its average force was 2.5 times that of a normal attack—a peak that even the most gifted sorcerers could only hope to reach.
The instant he landed Black Flash, Jia Meng entered a state of selflessness, and his use of cursed energy flowed as naturally as breathing.
He looked at his right hand, which had just struck Black Flash, and recalled that inexplicable feeling of exhilaration and satisfaction he'd experienced in the moment before. His heart filled with an intense, unrestrained joy.
Then he looked at Mo Hei Shen Zai, crumpled nearby, and couldn't help sighing. "Even the force of my attacks has increased again."
His sigh held both reverence for Black Flash's power and respect for Mo Hei Shen Zai's astonishing resistance.
"What the hell are you?"
Mo Hei Shen Zai raised his head with difficulty and stared at Jia Meng, as if he wanted to memorize his face before dying and take that image with him to the grave.
"Is that all you've got?"
Jia Meng asked coldly. His eyes were filled with contempt for Mo Hei Shen Zai's stubborn refusal to die.
A small boy appeared in Mo Hei Shen Zai's mind. He was the one thing he could never let go of.
He laughed bitterly to himself, then said, "Three years from now, my child will be born in the prison realm. You can do whatever you want with him."
After saying that, he slowly closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow.
But not long after, Mo Hei Shen Zai's eyes suddenly snapped open again.
He struggled to open his eyes and found himself lying on the icy ground. Jia Meng stood beside him, using Reverse Cursed Technique to heal his body.
Before long, the hole in Mo Hei Shen Zai's stomach healed at a visible pace, and the organs inside his body returned to their original state. He seemed almost as good as new.
He stared at the scene in astonishment, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
"Even though you've finished speaking, I haven't given you permission to die yet."
Jia Meng's voice rang in his ears, carrying an unquestionable determination.
Mo Hei Shen Zai sat up and stretched, and the fatal wounds on his body had already healed.
"I didn't expect you to have mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, and to be able to use it to heal other people. But why save me?"
Mo Hei Shen Zai was thoroughly confused. He decided to ask directly.
"Because you're still useful to me." Jia Meng finished speaking, then lunged forward and attacked Mo Hei Shen Zai again.
His movements were swift and powerful, like those of a young, fully grown tiger.
Mo Hei Shen Zai didn't know why, but Jia Meng's murderous aura was clearly no joke. His instincts told him that if he didn't fight back, he would die again in no time.
And after just having been beaten half to death, Mo Hei Shen Zai was more than a little unwilling to accept it. He felt he'd only been careless for a moment. Now he would summon all his strength and make Jia Meng regret saving him.
The underground passage once again rang with the sound of the two fighting. Fists roared, blades flashed.
Every collision came with a deafening clang, as if the entire passage were about to collapse.
In the next exchange, Jia Meng seized his chance and threw a punch at Mo Hei Shen Zai's ribs.
Black flames once more blazed atop his fist. It was Black Flash's telltale sign.
Mo Hei Shen Zai couldn't dodge in time, so he could only raise his arm to block.
But Jia Meng's punch carried far too much force. Mo Hei Shen Zai was sent flying straight into the wall beside him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, Mo Hei Shen Zai's figure emerged.
His bones had already been shattered. He was drenched in blood, a ghastly sight to behold.
But he still refused to give up. He glared at Jia Meng with furious eyes, as if he wanted to swallow him alive.
Jia Meng swiftly closed in on Mo Hei Shen Zai, whose body could barely stand, and hit him with another punch.
This time, Black Flash's black flames appeared once more atop his fist.
"Black Flash!"
Jia Meng shouted. His fist tore through the darkness like a flash of light and slammed into Mo Hei Shen Zai's left leg.
Mo Hei Shen Zai let out another pained groan, and another hole appeared in his body.
He collapsed to the ground, his gaze growing hazy as though he were about to lose consciousness.
But just then, Jia Meng used Reverse Cursed Technique again and healed his body.
Mo Hei Shen Zai opened his eyes and looked at Jia Meng, confusion and anger filling his gaze.
"What the hell do you want? Are you using me as a punching bag? Even tormenting people has its limits."
He glared at Jia Meng as he shouted.
Jia Meng fell silent for a moment, then slowly said:
"I'm saving you because you still have a use to me, and because you don't want to die for nothing either, do you? After all, your mission has already failed, and you still have a great ambition."
His words carried a hint of sympathy. In that moment, he and Mo Hei Shen Zai formed a bond of understanding.
In the dim, winding underground passage, the aftershocks of their fight still lingered in the dust, while the fluctuations of cursed energy and evil spirits' energy mingled into a chaotic haze.
Mo Hei Shen Zai struggled to get up from the ground. His eyes were filled with darkness and confusion as he stared at Jia Meng, committing his figure to memory.
"What kind of monster are you? How can you land Black Flash twice in a row?!"
After all, Black Flash was a powerful cursed-energy phenomenon that occurred by chance. Even for any sorcerer, it was a peak that could only be reached through sheer luck.
Yet Jia Meng had managed to do it twice in a row. How could anyone not be shocked?
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