That voice seemed to come from Nine Nether Hell, carrying a lofty indifference that regarded all living beings as ants.
Pressure!
An unprecedentedly terrifying pressure, like mountains weighing billions of jun, crashed down upon Qingyang City.
Within the city, countless low-level martial artists and ordinary people had their legs give way beneath that pressure and fell straight to their knees, trembling all over, their faces filled with endless terror.
Even the Li and Zhao Lineage heads watching the battle from a distant tower—both experts at the Body Tempering Ninth Stage—felt as though an invisible hand had clutched their hearts, leaving them unable to breathe as their faces instantly turned deathly pale.
"Qi... Qi Condensation Realm!"
"It is definitely a Qi Condensation Realm expert!"
They exchanged a glance and saw the unshakable horror in each other's eyes.
Chen Chen, at the center of that pressure, bore an even more unimaginable burden.
He felt his bones creaking, as though they would be ground into powder by the pressure the next second.
He knelt on one knee, using his steel blade to support himself against the ground, barely keeping himself from being crushed flat. He raised his head and stared fixedly at the sky, his scarlet eyes filled with unyielding determination and frenzied battle intent.
Blood Fiend Tower!
That so-called Emissary from a Superior Sect had finally come!
And he had come earlier, and far stronger, than Chen Chen had anticipated!
In the sky, a dense mass of blood-colored clouds had gathered at some unknown time.
The blood clouds churned as a young man in a luxurious black robe embroidered with blood-red patterns slowly stepped out from within them.
He walked upon empty air as though it were level ground, looking down at the ruins below, which resembled an Asura battlefield. A playful, cruel smile curled across his lips.
His gaze paused briefly upon Wang Wei's corpse, which had been cleaved in two, and one brow lifted slightly.
"Half-step Qi Condensation, and the Blood Fiend Demonic Heart was nearly complete. He was a decent dog. What a pity that he died just like that."
His tone was calm, as though he were discussing something utterly insignificant.
Then his gaze fell upon the only youth still standing below, whose entire body radiated Asura Fiendish Energy.
"Oh? At the peak of the Body Tempering Ninth Stage, yet you killed someone at half-step Qi Condensation?"
A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes before turning into intense interest, like a child who had found a novel toy.
"The cultivation art on you is quite interesting. That Killing Intent seems even purer and more tyrannical than the arts of my Blood Fiend Tower."
"Boy, state your name. Then tell me why you killed my dog."
He looked down from above, his tone filled with an unquestionable air of interrogation.
Chen Chen raised his head to meet his gaze. There was not the slightest fear in his eyes, only icy hatred.
"Chen Family, Chen Chen."
"A life for a life. It is the law of heaven and earth."
"Chen Family?" The Blood Fiend Envoy tilted his head, seeming to search his memories. "Oh, I remember now. That was the Lineage that did not know its place and was wiped out by Wang Wei, right? Heh, just a pack of ants."
He chuckled and shook his head. "The law of heaven and earth? Boy, you still have not grasped the situation. In this world, the strong are heaven! I am justice!"
"You killed my dog, so you must pay the price. But considering that your talent is not bad, I will give you a chance."
His eyes gleamed with the light of a cat toying with a mouse.
"Kneel, acknowledge me as your master, offer up your cultivation art and soul, and become the new lackey of my Blood Fiend Tower. I can spare your life."
"Keep dreaming!" Chen Chen forced out the words through clenched teeth.
"Oh?" The smile on the Blood Fiend Envoy's face slowly faded, replaced by an icy, sinister chill.
"It seems you have chosen the road to death."
"So be it. Killing you and taking it myself amounts to the same thing."
As his words fell, he slowly raised one finger.
At his fingertip, a wisp of blood-red true qi carrying an aura of destruction began to gather.
The pressure of the Qi Condensation Realm locked onto Chen Chen without the slightest restraint!
In that instant, Chen Chen felt as if the entire world had abandoned him and cast him into an endless deep sea, leaving him without even a shred of strength to struggle.
The shadow of death had never been so clear!
If he fought head-on, death was certain!
Run? Before a Qi Condensation Realm expert, he did not even have the right to flee!
What could he do?
Chen Chen's mind spun madly.
His gaze swept over his system panel.
[Name: Chen Chen] [Realm: Body Tempering Ninth Stage (Peak)] [Cultivation Arts: Asura God Transformation Art, Nine Nether Soul Refining Art] [Martial Skill: Seven Shadows Step] [Cultivation Points: 1180] [Treasure Chests: Random Treasure Chest*1]
He had enough Cultivation Points!
But breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm required time!
And the other side clearly would not give him that time!
Was he truly going to die here?
No!
Absolutely not!
A flash of resolute madness passed through Chen Chen's eyes!
He remembered the three bottles of Qi Condensation Pills in Wang Zhan's storage bag!
He also remembered the Ice-blue Token that mysterious White-robed Woman had left him!
He would gamble everything!
"System! Open the Random Treasure Chest!" he roared inwardly.
[Ding! Opening Random Treasure Chest...] [Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a special item—'Heaven Concealing Talisman'!] [Heaven Concealing Talisman]: A single-use consumable. Upon activation, it can completely conceal the Host's aura, body, and heavenly secrets for ten breaths. Even cultivators two major realms above the Host will be unable to detect it.
Good stuff!
Chen Chen was overjoyed!
This was his only chance to turn the tables!
"Little bug, are you ready to turn to ash amid endless regret?"
In the sky, the blood-red true qi at the Blood Fiend Envoy's fingertip had condensed to its limit, forming a blood-colored sphere of energy that emitted terrifying fluctuations capable of making one's heart quake.
He seemed to greatly enjoy controlling the lives and deaths of others, watching his prey tremble in despair.
Yet what he saw was not despair on Chen Chen's face.
But an... eerie smile.
Just as the Blood Fiend Envoy was about to flick the energy sphere from his fingertip—
Chen Chen moved!
He did not flee, nor did he defend himself.
He made a move that no one had expected.
He pulled out the three bottles of Qi Condensation Pills from his storage bag and, without a second thought, shoved all three pills, each the size of a longan, directly into his mouth!
At the same time, he crushed the Heaven Concealing Talisman in his hand without hesitation!
"Hmm?"
The Blood Fiend Envoy frowned.
He could feel the aura of the youth below suddenly vanish completely from his perception!
It was as though Chen Chen had never existed at all!
Then, the next second—
BOOM—!!!
A berserk Spiritual Energy storm, a hundred times more terrifying than the previous Fire Luring Thunder explosion, erupted around Chen Chen!
The medicinal power of the three Qi Condensation Pills exploded within his body at the same time. That vast energy was far beyond what a Body Tempering Realm body could possibly endure!
That energy poured outward madly, forming an energy storm that swept across the entire ruin!
Smoke, shattered stones, flames, Spiritual Energy... everything mixed together, forming a chaotic domain that cut off all perception!
"Paltry tricks!"
The Blood Fiend Envoy snorted coldly. Though somewhat surprised, he did not care.
The blood-red energy sphere at his fingertip became a streak of light and slammed fiercely into the chaotic energy storm.
He was confident that this strike would utterly level that entire area, along with that boy!
However, at the same moment he attacked, an almost imperceptible ice-blue token at the very center of the energy storm was fiercely crushed by a blood-smeared hand!
Before you continue