254: terrifying strength

Just a few breaths after Lu Chen's self-muttering words fell, a sudden change occurred.

Without any warning, an extremely thin, almost transparent gray light membrane...

...like a giant inverted bowl, appeared out of thin air, completely enveloping the area of several hundred feet around him.

The light membrane seemed weak, but it emitted a solid fluctuation of isolation and imprisonment.

Its edges fit seamlessly with the ground and rock walls, as if it had always existed here.

Lu Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and his whole body's muscles tensed instantly.

This light curtain appeared too strangely; he hadn't detected even the slightest trace of spiritual power or Formation fluctuations.

It was as if it had grown out of this space itself.

Is it a Divine Ability?

Or a field formed by the special environment of this place?

The path of retreat was cut off.

With a flip of his wrist, the purple brilliance spear was already gripped in his hand.

The cold spear shaft provided a solid touch, making his mind settle slightly.

Since there was no way to avoid it, there was only to fight.

He had entered this place prepared to face danger.

He just hadn't expected the reception to come so suddenly, and so... with such intent of sealing and isolation.

His gaze was like lightning, dead-locked on the thickest darkness dozens of feet ahead.

There, space seemed to distort slightly, and a tall silhouette was slowly emerging from the absolute gloom.

It looked as if it were condensed from the darkness itself.

Even if the light and shadow were blurry, that was definitely not a human form.

And the rushing, baleful pressure—far exceeding that of all previous Star Marrow Predator Beasts—made Lu Chen's heart thud heavily.

The Tribulation Pupil operated silently, its gray-white vision piercing the gloom, finally seeing the newcomer's appearance clearly.

It was actually a monster over two zhang tall, standing upright like a human!

Its overall outline vaguely showed certain characteristics of the Star Marrow Predator Beast.

Such as the dark bone plates covering its body, thick hind limbs, and a hideous bone tail dragging on the ground.

But its standing posture, weirdly proportioned yet more powerful upper limbs ending in huge hooked claws flickering with metallic cold light...

...as well as that even larger head, with mouthparts split past the gills and filled with spiral sharp teeth, all demonstrated that it was definitely not one of those lower-level kin that only knew how to pounce and bite by instinct.

Most striking were the crystals, each the size of a fist, embedded in the center of its forehead and its chest, slowly flowing with dark purple and pale white light.

A cold, chaotic mental pressure with the intent of Soul-snatching...

...was spreading from these two crystals, faintly echoing with the surrounding gray light curtain.

"Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast..."

Lu Chen's throat felt a bit dry, and he subconsciously swallowed, a fragment of almost forgotten text flashing through his mind.

That was from a scattered record in a tattered ancient book he had accidentally obtained during an underground transaction in Ruins Abyss City.

It vaguely mentioned this terrifying exotic beast born in places of extreme Yin and Stellar Baleful Qi, capable of setting up a Baleful Soul Field and devouring Souls.

At the time, he only thought it was the absurd imagination of the ancients, never expecting to see it with his own eyes here!

The source of that heart-palpitating pressure from before now left no suspense.

At the very moment Lu Chen recognized its origin, the Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast moved.

It seemed extremely impatient with Lu Chen's scrutiny, or perhaps its hunting instinct had reached its peak.

When the distance closed to less than ten zhang.

This distance was almost instantaneous for it.

Its seemingly heavy body suddenly exploded with a terrifying speed inconsistent with its size!

"Boom!"

The ground shook slightly, leaving two shallow pits where it had stood.

The tall figure dragged an afterimage, carrying a nauseating fishy wind and Evil Qi that pierced the Soul, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, crashing straight toward him!

A simple collision, yet due to that terrifying power and speed, it brought a dull sonic boom.

Lu Chen's eyes sharpened; he was long prepared.

With a flick of his wrist, Thunder True Essence within his body surged in.

The purple brilliance spear hummed, dazzling purple Lightning Light flashed, and arcs of electricity jumped wildly at the spear tip.

He had no room to retreat or dodge; behind him was that strange gray light curtain.

Raising his arm, twisting his waist, snapping his wrist—thrust!

"Chila!"

Several condensed, arm-thick purple thunder spear glows...

...shot out from the spear, not as a scattered attack.

Instead, as if they had life, they traced small arcs in the air, forming a triangular pattern.

They blocked the most important points on the Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast's collision path.

So fast they only left burning bright traces on the retina.

However, the Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast's reaction was amazingly fast.

Facing the thunder spear glows close at hand, its forward momentum did not decrease.

That hideous head suddenly tilted to the side at an unconventional angle and speed, while its upper body twisted with extreme coordination.

"Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Two thunder spear glows aimed at its head and chest vitals...

...actually grazed past its bone armor by a hair's breadth, hitting the light curtain behind.

Ripples spread out, but it failed to break through.

Only the third spear glow, because of its body's twist, failed to be completely avoided.

With a "pffft" sound, it solidly struck the thick bone armor on its left shoulder blade.

Lightning Light exploded, lightning snakes scurried everywhere, and the bone armor there instantly turned charred black.

Even fine cracks appeared.

But that was all.

The Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast's forward momentum only stalled slightly, and it let out an enraged low roar.

Its crimson gaze locked onto Lu Chen, its ferocious Aura growing even stronger, and its speed seemed to increase by another notch.

Those hideous hooked claws, capable of shattering stone monuments, came down toward Lu Chen's head with a whistle that tore through the air!

Lu Chen's heart sank.

This beast was even more troublesome than expected!

In the blink of an eye, those air-tearing hideous hooked claws were already at his face!

Lu Chen could even see the faint gray Evil Qi swirling around the claw tips; that bone-chilling cold that pierced straight into the Divine Soul made his brow sting.

He couldn't take it head-on!

A green light suddenly appeared on the swift wind boots beneath his feet, and Lu Chen's figure, as if pushed by an invisible wind, swept back and to the side in the nick of time.

The hooked claws, with a shrill sound of breaking air, grazed past his chest.

The sharp claw wind actually tore several gashes in his front lapel, and his skin felt a burning sting.

"What fast speed!"

Lu Chen was inwardly alarmed; this Baleful Soul Beast seemed tall and clumsy, but it was actually terrifyingly agile.

Having missed its strike, the Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast's crimson pupils glowed with even more ferocity.

Its thick bone tail, like a steel whip, swept across silently yet swiftly, blocking Lu Chen's path of lateral movement.

At the same time, the pale white crystal on its chest lit up slightly, and an invisible mental shock, like an awl, stabbed fiercely into Lu Chen's Sea of Consciousness!

A double attack of physical and Divine Soul!

Lu Chen let out a muffled groan, his Sea of Consciousness feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy blow; his vision went slightly dark, and his figure inevitably stalled.

In that moment of delay, the terrifying bone tail was already close at hand!

"Thunder Wall!"

At the critical moment, Lu Chen's left hand formed a seal, and the Thunder True Essence in his body surged out, instantly condensing into a purple thunder shield composed of countless jumping electric arcs at his side.

" Bang！！"

The bone tail lashed heavily against the thunder shield, the violent force directly causing the shield's light to flicker wildly, covered in cracks and nearly collapsing.

Although Lu Chen used the force to fly back again, shedding most of the power...

...he was still shaken by the residual impact, his blood and Qi churning, a sweet taste in his throat, and a trace of blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

After only two contacts, he had already suffered minor injuries, and his internal organs were faintly aching.

This beast's power, speed, defense, and even Divine Soul attack were far beyond the ordinary Late Foundation Establishment Stage; it was indeed troublesome!

The Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast did not let up, letting out a low roar and pouncing again with heavy steps, each step causing the ground to shake slightly, its Aura terrifying.

It seemed to see that Lu Chen's movement was flexible, and its crimson eyes were dead-locked on him.

The pale white crystal on its chest continuously emitted invisible fluctuations that interfered with the Divine Soul, making Lu Chen's thinking and reactions feel a bit sluggish.

Can't let it get close for a melee!

Lu Chen's eyes were cold, enduring the discomfort in his Sea of Consciousness and the shaking of his internal organs.

While relying on the agility of the swift wind boots to move quickly within the limited range of the light curtain and pull away from the Baleful Soul Beast, he flicked his fingers repeatedly.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

The nine purple lightning hibernation stings turned into nine purple lightning snakes, no longer trying to attack its solid bone armor head-on.

Instead, like maggots on a bone, they specifically harassed the Baleful Soul Beast's eyes, ears, joint connections, and the edges of the two crystals on its chest and forehead!

The jingzhe thorns were extremely fast and followed tricky trajectories; although the Power of Thunder on them wasn't enough to severely injure it...

...it could effectively paralyze, sting, and interfere with its movements, and continuously consume and disperse the gray Evil Qi swirling on its body surface.

At the same time, Lu Chen waved his right hand, and the startling thunder whip shot out like a silver dragon.

It no longer sought to entwine or bind but turned into a sky full of whip shadows, carrying exploding thunder, covering the Baleful Soul Beast's upper body.

The whip shadows flickered between real and illusory, sometimes like a venomous snake's tongue striking straight at vitals.

Sometimes like a giant python coiling to restrict its arm movements, forcing it to distract itself and causing its momentum to repeatedly falter.

For a time, in this area at the edge of the cave enveloped by the gray light curtain, Lightning Light flickered, whip shadows crisscrossed, and purple electricity shuttled back and forth.

The Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast roared repeatedly, its hooked claws dancing wildly and its bone tail sweeping.

It constantly knocked away the incoming jingzhe thorns and whip shadows.

But its forward momentum was also contained by this dense long-range harassment.

It was difficult for it to get close as easily as at the beginning.

Lu Chen's expression was calm, controlling the two Magical Artifacts to engage from a distance...

...while his feet trod mysterious steps.

He always maintained a relatively safe distance of more than ten zhang from the Baleful Soul Beast.

He seemed to be at a disadvantage, only able to fight while moving.

In fact, he was carefully observing, looking for this beast's weaknesses and attack patterns.

Every time a jingzhe thorn collided with the gray Evil Qi on the Baleful Soul Beast's body...

...it would burst with fine purple and gray light, wearing each other down.

"The Power of Thunder indeed counters its protective Evil Qi, but the intensity isn't enough to pierce that bone armor, let alone damage its core crystals..."

Lu Chen quickly analyzed in his mind.

"Its Divine Soul attack seems to require the pale white crystal on its chest to activate, there's an interval, and the range seems to be affected by this light curtain... The dark purple crystal on its forehead has even more hidden energy fluctuations..."

Just as he was distracted by his analysis, the Star Marrow Baleful Soul Beast seemed completely enraged by this slippery fight.

It suddenly opened its huge mouth and let out a silent roar!

This time, it wasn't a sound wave.

But a circle of visible, air-distorting gray-black ripples, suddenly spreading out with it as the center!

Wherever the ripples passed, even the light seemed to dim for a moment.

Lu Chen only felt his head "buzz," as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Double images appeared in his vision, and the jingzhe thorns and startling thunder whip under his control immediately became chaotic.

The Baleful Soul Beast seized this fleeting opportunity, its massive body charging forward at a speed that defied inertia.

It instantly broke through the interception net woven by the Magical Artifacts, and one hideous hooked claw erupted with several feet of gray glow.

Like a death god's scythe, with a shrill whistle, it lunged straight for Lu Chen's heart!

This strike was fast, ruthless, and accurate, blocking all of Lu Chen's paths of retreat.

Before the gray glow even arrived, that bone-eroding and Soul-extinguishing Evil Qi already made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and his protective spiritual light flickered violently!

The real killing move had only now appeared!