Innate Realm Ambush

A Minor Mastery Geng Metal Finger was not merely astonishingly powerful.

Even its casting speed had increased by a great deal compared to before.

"And most importantly, I can control its release at will. Even after the spell has taken shape, I can disperse it in an instant."

Zhou Changwang still remembered how, when he had previously practiced the Geng Metal Finger, he had tried dispersing the spell after it formed in order to increase its proficiency without expending spiritual power. Instead, the spell had slipped out of control and violently burst apart.

Now, the Minor Mastery Geng Metal Finger could already form and disperse freely.

It could be considered a preliminary achievement of his original goal.

Only, the spiritual power expended would not decrease.

After all, the instant a spell was cast, it had already harmonized with heaven and earth.

The spiritual power leaving his body returned to the heavens, and naturally could not be reclaimed.

"Daoist Zhou, I won't say any words of thanks. Let's head back together tonight and visit Crane Immortal Tower. I'll treat you to a meal."

Xu Zhong looked at his now neat and tidy Spirit Field, his excitement impossible to conceal.

"That won't be necessary. I have something to do tonight. We can gather another time when we're free."

Zhou Changwang cupped his hands and replied.

By then, the sky had already begun to darken.

If he went to dinner as well, night would surely have fallen completely.

And the outskirts of Phoenix-Cry Cove Market were no peaceful place. He did not dare wander about at night, for rogue cultivators might be unable to resist attacking him at any moment.

Even if they were not rogue cultivators, an ordinary Rogue Cultivator who saw him alone might be tempted to knock him over the head with a club, transforming from a kind and decent neighbor into a rogue cultivator in an instant.

Here, weakness was the original sin.

By the time he stepped into the outskirts of the market, the sky had grown dim.

Zhou Changwang walked along the familiar alley. Seeing that he was nearly home, his steps gradually lightened.

Just then.

Zhou Changwang halted, his body instantly shooting backward.

At the same time, a small knife flashed like lightning and stabbed straight into the ground.

"Who is it?"

Zhou Changwang's eyelids twitched wildly. In an instant, he saw a black-clad, black-masked figure wielding a longsword and charging swiftly toward him.

At the same time, another person stood behind him, likewise dressed in black with their face covered by black cloth. Holding a curved saber, she appeared to stroll leisurely, yet moved like a phantom. In only a few steps, she had rushed before him, her saber slashing diagonally in a move as elusive as an antelope hanging its horns.

The moment the saber swung, a blade radiance like a ribbon had already rushed before him.

The two revealed themselves without a word and attacked directly, swift and ruthless.

"Two people? Martial artists? Two Innate Realm martial artists?"

Zhou Changwang was horrified.

He had never expected two Innate Realm martial artists to suddenly lie in wait along his only path and attack him.

Had he not been a cultivator now, with Second Layer of the Qi Refining Realm cultivation, his physique constantly nourished by spiritual power until it had become extraordinary, and his five senses greatly enhanced—able to hear cicadas from a hundred meters away and see every hair within ten steps—he would never have noticed this ambush. That first throwing knife alone would likely have struck him.

Seeing the saber slash toward him, he had no time to think. He hastily raised the spirit hoe in his hand and met the blade radiance head-on.

Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions.

Zhou Changwang's spirit hoe was violently knocked aside, and a notch appeared directly above its blade.

Though the spirit hoe in his hand looked unremarkable, it could be infused with spiritual power for use. Its material was naturally exceptional, its hardness comparable to divine weapons in mortal eyes.

But these two were Martial Dao Innate among mortals, able to project true qi beyond their bodies. The weapons in their hands were naturally divine weapons as well, which was why his spirit hoe had been chipped at once.

If this continued, however, his spirit hoe would not withstand many more blows.

"Damn it."

Zhou Changwang cursed.

Then he saw a longsword stabbing upward from below.

As the sword light bloomed, sword radiance flickered and surged within it.

It was the first martial artist. She had already rushed close and thrust this sword at him.

Zhou Changwang hurriedly rolled to the side in a sorry state, barely avoiding the strike.

As he rose, he did not hesitate in the slightest. Spiritual power churned violently within him, and under the control of his mind, rune structures rapidly condensed one after another.

He knew that the two were martial artists. In speed, strength, combat techniques... they far surpassed him.

And what he could rely on now—

Was only spells.

The sole offensive spell he had mastered: the Geng Metal Finger.

"He's casting a spell. Stop him!"

A sharp female cry rang out. The sword-wielder lightly stepped against the wall, her body soaring like a swallow as she thrust her sword at him.

"Don't worry."

The other person gave a low shout, taking several strides as she pursued him as swiftly as a cicada in flight. Her crescent saber slashed down fiercely.

One wielded a saber, the other a sword; their coordination was seamless.

Dense Innate true qi poured madly into their saber and sword, making both weapons gleam faintly. With every slash and thrust, blade light and sword flashes danced, dangerously fierce.

Zhou Changwang's face turned pale. One hand wildly swung the spirit hoe to block, while his feet kept retreating beneath the successive tremendous impacts of saber slashes and sword strikes.

At the same time, as spiritual power circulated within him, his mind remained steady, controlling the spiritual power as it condensed into a spell.

It was only because his Geng Metal Finger had now reached Minor Mastery, making him incomparably familiar with the spell and greatly increasing his ability to control spiritual power, that he could maintain the casting amid such fierce combat.

"Not good, his spell is about to take shape."

"Didn't they say cultivators had to stand still to cast spells? How can he keep moving?

"And how is he so fast?"

The two Innate Realm martial artists were both startled.

"Windwave Slash!"

Seeing this, one of them hurriedly shouted. The curved saber in her hand blazed brightly, and an incomparably swift long blade had already slashed down.

Zhou Changwang suddenly felt his hand grow light.

The spirit hoe he had been wildly swinging had already been cleaved in two.

"Gale Sword!"

On the other side, the sword-wielding martial artist also hurriedly swung her longsword, turning it into countless specks of starlight.

Weng!

But at that very moment, Zhou Changwang's spell finally took shape.

Geng Metal Finger!

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately pointed forward.

A streak of golden light flashed and vanished in an instant.

Pfft!

In the next moment, a bloody hole appeared in the sword-wielder's head.

Only then did blood begin to gush from the hole.

She was dead.

The scattered sword radiance she had unleashed also lost its strength with her death and soon dispersed.

"Xi Feng..."

The other person cried out, his eyes turning blood-red in an instant. Raising his curved saber, he slashed madly at Zhou Changwang.

But at that very moment, a peculiar spiritual light suddenly descended upon him, immediately causing his originally astonishing speed to drop sharply.

Zhou Changwang was overjoyed at the sight. Without caring who had suddenly come to his aid, he hurriedly withdrew from the man's attack range. As spiritual power surged within him once more, he rapidly condensed the spell runes.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

After three breaths, the spell took shape.

He pointed with one finger.

Even though the black-clad man reacted in time and used the saber's blade to block, the Geng Metal Finger still pierced straight through the back of the saber, its remaining force undiminished as it pierced through his head.