"Boom!"
A thunderous roar rang in his ears.
Huangfu Yun felt as though his Soul Thorn Art were a sharp awl striking an indestructible bronze bell.
Not only had it failed to shake the bell in the slightest, but a powerful backlash swept over him instead.
Agony tore through his mind, leaving it momentarily blank.
The next instant, as he regained his senses.
"Buzzz...!"
A chilling hum rang out above his head.
Gu Chenfeng had leaped into the air, swung both arms in a full arc, and brought his axe crashing down with mountain-cleaving force.
Golden light enveloped Huangfu Yun from above, leaving nowhere to dodge.
Huangfu Yun had no time at all to gather his strength to block.
"Crack!"
At that critical instant, he crushed a Jade Pendant.
Runes flickered, and a blood-red barrier wrapped around Huangfu Yun like protective armor, blocking the Battle Axe's head-on strike.
"Boom...!"
Even so, the Battle Axe blasted Huangfu Yun away, sending him hurtling backward like a cannonball and smashing through a boulder.
He flew back more than a dozen zhang before staggering to a halt.
Then.
"Crack, crack...!"
The barrier around his body rapidly shattered, revealing Huangfu Yun's bedraggled figure.
His long hair hung loose, his face was deathly pale, and blood stained his entire body. His aura had weakened to the extreme.
As the protective barrier broke apart completely, Huangfu Yun shuddered and spat out another large mouthful of blood.
A wound deep enough to expose bone ran vertically down his chest and abdomen, blood pouring from it.
The situation just now had been far too perilous.
Even though he had deployed a Protective Spirit Talisman, he had not had time to fully activate its power.
Gu Chenfeng's axe had nearly cleaved him in two.
Even so, Huangfu Yun had suffered