Fight to the Death

The moment the young man finished speaking, Kong Jiao felt a powerful aura erupt from within him.

It bore down on the three of them.

Kong Jiao's chest tightened slightly as he sensed that oppressive presence, his expression turning solemn.

"Wheel-Nourishing Realm, sixth level! No wonder he's so arrogant." Realizing how troublesome this was, Kong Jiao had no choice but to reassess the young man.

A sixth-level Wheel-Nourishing Realm cultivator would still be considered a second-tier expert among the entire outer sect of the Cangwu Sect.

Kong Jiao knew that even if he joined forces with Feng An, their chances of victory would not be high.

He had never imagined that he would have to risk his life over a Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi at Frostmoon Altar. At worst, he could simply yield it.

But given the value of the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi, even if they gave it up, this man would never let them leave alive in order to keep the secret.

With that thought, Kong Jiao exchanged a glance with Feng An.

Feng An's face was grave. Though wary, his anger had gained the upper hand, and he slowly nodded.

The two reached an understanding.

"We can only kill him."

Feng An glared at the young man before him, speaking in a hoarse voice, one word at a time.

With every word he uttered, his aura slowly rose another notch.

His somewhat hunched back gradually straightened, sweeping away his aged appearance. His eyes seemed to turn unlike those of the old hand Kong Jiao knew.

There was no time to dwell on Feng An's transformation. After all, everyone had some trump card tucked away.

"Attack!" Kong Jiao bellowed, and the ice arrow in his hand shot forth. Strike first to gain the upper hand.

On the other side.

"Roar!" Feng An let out a crazed howl like that of a wild beast.

His body, which had seemed on the verge of collapse, now burst with youthful vigor. Muscles bulged, and his hair flew loose around him.

Like a savage beast, he lunged at the young man by the cellar entrance alongside Kong Jiao's arrow.

The young man had long since seen through the strength of the three inside the cellar.

Two were at the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm, and one was at the third level.

That was why he had been so calm and unhurried. From beginning to end, he had never regarded them as worth his attention.

Seeing the incoming arrow and the beastlike Feng An, he sneered. "You overestimate yourselves."

Bang! Scorching energy erupted from the young man's body.

Firelight illuminated the dim cellar.

Orange-red flames poured from his palm, eventually forming a long whip entwined with fire. With a casual flick, it coiled around the ice arrow that arrived first.

The ice arrow Kong Jiao had condensed with all his Frostfall Spiritual Power possessed enough force to blast through a wall, yet before that long whip, it was as fragile as a rotten branch.

Crack!

With a crisp snap, the ice arrow broke. The frigid power contained within it was melted away by the fiery whip, turning into droplets that evaporated into mist.

Then the long whip changed direction and lashed at Feng An.

Feng An gathered all his strength and raised his sturdy arm to block it.

Crack! Yet his entire body was still sent flying by the immense force contained in the whip.

He slammed viciously into the cellar wall, leaving a dent in it.

The part of his arm that had blocked the strike was already split open, his flesh torn and scorched with severe burns.

"So strong!" Witnessing this, Kong Jiao clenched his teeth so hard that his brows nearly twisted together.

He had known that the sixth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm was powerful, but he had never expected that in their very first exchange, he and Feng An would already show signs of defeat, completely suppressed.

"Two whole levels apart—the gap is this obvious!"

After her two companions clashed with the young man for the first time, Zhou Tingyu's pretty face turned pale, and her pearly teeth bit down on her lip.

She knew what would happen if they were targeted by someone at Frostmoon Altar and failed to defeat him.

"I'll take that Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi." The young man swung his whip wantonly, leaving several charred marks across the cellar floor. He said arrogantly, "Leave behind everything you've harvested these past few days as punishment for disrespecting me, and I can spare your lives."

"Heh." Kong Jiao sneered repeatedly, clearly not believing his nonsense.

Setting aside the value of the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi for now.

Even if they were willing to give it up and leave behind the more than ten Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi they had gathered, this man would never let them leave alive.

After all, a second-grade spiritual herb like the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi was enough to drive every cultivator in Frostmoon Altar mad.

Once word got out, even if the young man took the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi and immediately withdrew, he would still have a hard time leaving this place.

So the best choice was to kill them all.

Thus, from the moment the young man entered this cellar, Kong Jiao's group and this man had already reached a fight-to-the-death situation.

If Kong Jiao could see through it, how could Feng An fail to do the same?

With his hair hanging loose, he walked to Kong Jiao's side and spoke solemnly. "Junior Brother Kong! Stop holding back. Bring out every trick you have. If we don't kill him, none of us will leave Frostmoon Altar alive."

As he spoke, Feng An's already massive body grew taller once again. His once-wrinkled skin was now smooth as new.

Sharp claws extended from his fingertips, making him look every bit like a wild beast, radiating savage ferocity.

Kong Jiao watched this unfold. He had long heard that the Cangwu Sect possessed a type of Wheel-Nourishing scripture that allowed cultivators to unleash strength and tenacious vitality comparable to demonic beasts.

Feng An must have cultivated that kind.

Moreover, he had used some unknown secret art to raise his cultivation from the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm to the fifth level.

"I understand." Kong Jiao took a deep breath.

He knew that the time had come to fight with their lives on the line.

Still somewhat hesitant before, he directly pulled out a bottle of pills from his robes. Tilting its mouth, he poured out a dark-red pill reeking of blood and stench.

It was precisely a Qi-Bursting Pill.

Without hesitation, he swallowed it, letting its pungent flavor spread through his mouth.

Then Kong Jiao took a Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi from his robes and swallowed it together with the Qi-Bursting Pill.

The pill refined from Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi was the Meridian-Protecting Pill, which offered excellent protection for the meridians.

As the main ingredient of the Meridian-Protecting Pill, Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi possessed the same medicinal effect.

It could reduce the bodily harm and side effects caused by the Qi-Bursting Pill to the lowest possible level.

The instant the pill entered his mouth.

Boom! Kong Jiao felt the spiritual power that had once flowed through him like a stream transform into vast rivers.

Spiritual power surged wildly through his meridians, and a sense of overflowing strength swept through his entire body.

His spiritual power rose with it, temporarily propelling him directly into the fifth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

After doing all this, Kong Jiao turned his head gravely and said to Feng An in a low voice only the two of them could hear, "This state of mine can only last for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. We need to end this quickly."

The young man's previously relaxed demeanor finally vanished after Kong Jiao and Feng An both erupted with the aura of the fifth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

Because at their current realms, they truly could threaten him.

A trace of caution appeared on the young man's face, but he did not forget to mock them. "One relies on pills, the other on a secret art. You're both strong on the outside but hollow within. Can you really hurt me?"

"Kill him!" As Feng An drove his secret art, he seemed to have lost his usual reason.

An inhuman, crazed roar burst from his throat.

The next instant!

Bang! Stones flew from the spot where he had been standing.

The force erupting from his legs shattered the ground beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye, he had already pounced before the young man.

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