Eye Killing

In the river valley, the wind never ceased, and Killing Intent never ended.

"Kill!"

His face twisted ferociously, his legs drove hard, and he sprang up like a cheetah. Old Hound gripped his hunting blade and slashed viciously at Jiang Chen, who had revealed himself.

Yet faced with Old Hound's fierce incoming strike, Jiang Chen remained utterly still.

Seeing Jiang Chen behave this way, Old Hound's Killing Intent surged even higher. His slash looked simple, but it was in fact extraordinarily savage. It was the Bear-Hunting Blade passed down through his ancestors, the product of movement technique and blade technique combined. The movement technique stored power for the blade, multiplying its force.

"Die!"

Killing Intent erupted within him. At this moment, Old Hound held nothing back, unleashing the greatest power of his life. His blade light turned into a shining ribbon and fell with terrifying speed, seeking to tear Jiang Chen apart.

"This strike should be the strongest one I've delivered in decades."

His heart and blade became one. Old Hound felt that his Bear-Hunting Blade had seemingly ascended to another level. He had a premonition that, if he survived today's trial, he might use his blade technique to break through the bottleneck between the Second-rate Realm and the First-rate Realm.

But before joy could rise in his heart, his gaze met Jiang Chen's eyes.

Dark and profound, like a bottomless ocean. The instant he met Jiang Chen's eyes, Old Hound's mind involuntarily blanked for a moment. It was as if he had sunk into a dream and forgotten everything.

At that moment, his originally incomparably fierce blade momentum was broken. Without its most vital spirit, only an empty shell remained, riddled with openings.

"During the apocalypse, I tempered my soul between life and death again and again, making it far stronger than an ordinary person's. Though reincarnation has greatly depleted my soul's reserves, its quality remains."

"Old Hound may be a martial artist with a firm will, but he still cannot withstand my Soul Bewitchment."

With this small trial of the blade, Jiang Chen further confirmed his conjecture.

As his thoughts turned, Jiang Chen finally made his move. With a flick of his finger, he sent the hunting blade flying from Old Hound's hand, easily neutralizing his attack. Then he brought his five fingers together and chopped out with his palm.

With death right before him, it was as though some stimulus had jolted Old Hound awake at last.

But everything was already too late. Facing Jiang Chen's descending palm, he could do nothing but watch helplessly as it fell.

With a hum, the force of the Heart-Severing Palm burst forth, soft yet bone-eroding. Old Hound was instantly sent flying and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Yet in the very next moment, Old Hound—who should have been dead or grievously wounded after taking a Heart-Severing Palm—spat out a mouthful of blood, forcibly drew up a breath, activated his movement technique, and fled toward the dense forest.

"Jiang Wang... Jiang Wang is absolutely no ordinary martial artist. He has definitely cultivated immortal arts..."

Filled with terror, Old Hound no longer had any thought of contending with Jiang Chen. If not for the protective soft armor passed down by his ancestors, he would already have died this time.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen's brows furrowed slightly. The instant his palm had landed, he had sensed something unusual, as though something had dissolved part of his palm force. It seemed that was indeed the case.

"A protective treasure? It seems Old Hound truly has some foundation. No wonder he dared come hunt me down. But I am no longer who I once was."

His body drifted like willow floss, moving with the wind. Within a few breaths, Jiang Chen caught up to Old Hound.

He had already begun tempering his body, and his martial strength rivaled the First-rate Realm. He had been stronger than Old Hound to begin with, and now that Old Hound was injured, there was simply no way he could escape from someone who had mastered the Willow-Floss Movement.

"Stay."

With a flash, Jiang Chen appeared before Old Hound and once again used Soul Bewitchment and the Heart-Severing Palm.

Faced with Jiang Chen's Soul Bewitchment, Old Hound immediately chose to close his eyes, but it was useless. He still fell into a daze, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

With a hum, the Heart-Severing Palm descended again. Compared with before, Jiang Chen felt it more clearly this time and confirmed that a treasure on Old Hound's body had borne part of the palm force for him. But while that treasure could save Old Hound once, it could not save him a second time.

Though Old Hound did not die immediately this time, he suffered severe wounds. Blood filled his nose and mouth. Looking at Jiang Chen, who had already arrived before him, he desperately tried to stand, but could not. Every sinew and bone in his body had been ruined by Jiang Chen's Heart-Severing Palm force.

Looking at Old Hound, Jiang Chen's expression remained indifferent. He reached out, seized his neck, and lifted him up.

"Jiang Wang, haven't you always wanted my Falcon-Taming Secret Art? Heh. Keep dreaming. Even if I die, I will never give it to you."

Knowing he had no hope of survival, Old Hound looked at Jiang Chen with eyes full of mockery. He had lost to Jiang Chen, lost completely and utterly. This was his final revenge against Jiang Chen. Even in death, he did not want Jiang Chen to have an easy time.

Hearing this, Jiang Chen remained unmoved.

Before this, his predecessor had indeed proposed exchanging for the Falcon-Taming Secret Art. Though this art did not count as a spell, it was indeed quite wondrous. If he could acquire it, it would be of some help to his future cultivation—for instance, in finding the White Deer. Unfortunately, Old Hound had directly refused.

"No. I think that after you die, you will definitely tell me."

His eyes were deep and without the slightest ripple as Jiang Chen voiced his thought.

Hearing this, Old Hound wanted to mock Jiang Chen for dreaming again, but Jiang Chen gave him no further chance.

Crack. Jiang Chen tightened his five fingers and directly snapped Old Hound's neck. Compared with the words of the living, he actually trusted the dead more, because the dead did not lie.

Just then, as if sensing something, the Gray-Feather Eagle that had been circling overhead let out a mournful cry. Then, radiating a fierce and savage aura, it plunged down from the sky like an arrow, throwing itself at Jiang Chen without regard for its life.

"A fine bird. From this alone, Old Hound's Falcon-Taming Secret Art truly was quite remarkable."

Watching the Gray-Feather Eagle swoop in to kill, ripples stirred in Jiang Chen's heart.

"Very well. I shall grant you your wish."

His ability stirred, and a flash of scarlet light passed through Jiang Chen's eyes. In the next instant, the Gray-Feather Eagle's wings broke, and it fell from the sky without another sound. This was Eye Killing.

Having endured the baptism of the apocalypse, Jiang Chen had developed his ability many times, giving rise to four major powers: Soul Illumination, Soul Bewitchment, Eye Killing, and Spirit Infusion. Their difficulty of development progressed from shallow to deep, and each possessed its own mysteries.

Most of them leaned toward supportive abilities. Only Eye Killing was a true art of slaughter. It combined soul power with killing aura and excelled at attacking souls. An ordinary person who met its gaze would truly be frightened to death, their liver and gall splitting apart.

Even those with firm wills would feel tearing agony. To truly resist this art, one needed either a treasure or secret art that protected the soul, or a soul foundation deeper than Jiang Chen's. Its only flaw that barely counted as a flaw was that, once a living being was killed by Eye Killing, using Soul Illumination to search its soul became very difficult.