Chen Fan's blood and qi churned violently. A Qi Refining Realm cultivator had forcibly withstood a strike from a Golden Core Realm powerhouse—an ordinary cultivator would have been blasted straight into ash, body and soul obliterated. But Chen Fan's physique had been tempered by the Marrow Cleansing Pill and countless Demon Cores, making it incomparably tough. Even so, the old woman's blow had not only gravely injured him, but also thrown the Blazing Heaven True Qi within him into disarray. The Killing Intent he had sealed away suddenly showed signs of bursting free again.
Yet his opponent was unwilling to let matters rest. Perhaps hearing Chen Fan's roar and realizing he was not dead, she sent a sharp sword flashing past the mouth of the cave. Immediately afterward, an enormous bolt of lightning, carrying the intent to destroy heaven and earth, crashed down with a thunderous boom.
Chen Fan's expression changed at once. If that lightning struck him in his current state, the Killing Intent would certainly break through its seal. Then he would be dead beyond doubt.
Without hesitation, Chen Fan crushed two Spirit Stones, instantly replenishing a portion of the True Qi within him. Then he stepped out with the Nine Palaces Footwork. At the very instant the lightning crashed down, his body halted—and the lightning exploded at that exact moment, erupting in a blaze of searing white light.
On the ground, Su Ziyue frowned as she gazed at the gradually darkening volcanic cave and asked softly, "Master, is he dead?"
"He has already been torn to pieces by the lightning. He was merely in the Qi Refining Realm—why should you be so nervous?" The old woman flicked two fingers, drawing the flying sword back into its sheath. Her hair was entirely white, yet her cultivation had reached