9: Blood Escapes a Thousand Miles, Fate Plate Changes

"Go!!!"

Chen Feng's hoarse roar exploded in the blood-soaked mountain hollow! He was like a moth flying into a flame, the hot blood spraying from the penetrating wound on his left shoulder as he slammed violently into the teetering Su Wanzhao!

The Withered Old Man suffered a backlash from forcefully activating his Demonic Art, causing him to spurt black blood and his aura to plummet like a broken cliff. Green flames danced wildly in his eyes, mixing shock and rage! Seeing Chen Feng dare to save someone right in front of him, his filthy Demonic Consciousness instantly locked onto the pair. The Grievous Soul Demonic Flame barely condensed on his withered claw twisted and flared up once more!

"Stay!" The Old Demon roared, sounding like a night owl crying blood. A Foul Blood Demonic Arrow, condensed into substance and emitting a pungent, foul stench, tore through the chaotic energy aftermath. Though launched later, it arrived first, shooting straight toward Chen Feng's back! This arrow contained the last remnants of Demonic Essence he squeezed out in his fury; it was vicious and insidious, specifically designed to pollute Spiritual Power and corrode the foundation of cultivators!

The shadow of death was like a maggot clinging to the bone!

Chen Feng could even feel the skin on his back stinging from the chilling malice emanating from the Foul Blood Demonic Arrow! In this critical moment, there was no fear in his eyes, only an extreme calmness, almost instinctive, forced out by the proximity of death!

He couldn't take it head-on! He couldn't dodge! The only way... He fiercely twisted his body, forcibly converting the momentum of his lunge toward Su Wanzhao into a lateral shift. At the same time, his right arm, covered in dark silver light and circulating maniacal Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power, swung violently backward like a venomous python choosing its prey! The target was not the lethal Foul Blood Demonic Arrow, but—the corpse of the demonic cultivator nearby, which Su Wanzhao's sword had frozen and had not yet completely dispersed!

*Pfft!*

The palm wrapped in dark Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power penetrated the frozen corpse instantly, like a searing hot iron plunged into solid ice! Chen Feng roared, erupting with all his strength, actually lifting the heavy frozen corpse and swinging it violently like a shield toward the incoming Foul Blood Demonic Arrow!

*Hiss—!*

The Foul Blood Demonic Arrow slammed into the frozen corpse's chest! The anticipated violent explosion did not occur. Instead, the filthy demonic blood instantly spread and permeated the corpse like a living thing! The frozen corpse's tough Demonic Body rapidly blackened, rotted, and dissolved at a visible speed, emitting nauseating sizzling sounds and a potent stench! In just half a breath, the corpse was mostly corroded and melted! The arrow's momentum slightly decreased, but it still carried its vicious, foul power, piercing through the remaining chunks of flesh and slamming violently into the Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power shield Chen Feng had hastily condensed on his back!

*Bang!*

It was like being struck by a heavy hammer! Chen Feng felt like he had been struck by lightning, thrown forward by the immense force, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood! The clothes on his back instantly turned to ash, revealing a terrifying, fist-sized wound on his skin, deep enough to expose bone, with edges rapidly blackening and rotting! The Filthy Demonic Qi was like a maggot clinging to the bone, frantically eroding the wound, causing agonizing pain! Furthermore, a sinister and malicious Demonic Thought surged up wildly through his right hand, which had touched the frozen corpse, impacting his Sea of Consciousness!

"Ugh!" Chen Feng's vision went black. His soul felt as though it were being pierced by ten thousand needles, and his consciousness blurred for a moment! But he bit down hard on his tongue. Stimulated by the intense pain, he used the momentum of his throw to finally reach Su Wanzhao!

Su Wanzhao was in worse shape than him. The backlash from forcefully using the "Blood Burning" Secret Sword had completely erupted like a breached dam! Her face was transparent as paper, her breath as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. Her cold body trembled slightly, having lost even the strength to hold her sword. The Grievous Soul Demonic Flame that had invaded her body was now unrestrained, raging through her Meridians, enveloping her body in a faint layer of black Qi. Her life force was rapidly draining away.

"Hold on!" Chen Feng roared, enduring the bone-corroding agony in his back and the dizziness from his churning Sea of Consciousness. His left hand, covered in dark silver light, shot out like lightning and grabbed Su Wanzhao's icy cold wrist! The newly generated Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power in his body, possessing an overwhelmingly domineering corrosive nature, was recklessly forced into Su Wanzhao's Meridians!

Fighting poison with poison!

"Mmm..." Su Wanzhao let out a painful groan. Chen Feng's violent Spiritual Power, mixed with extreme poison and fiendish energy, rushed into her icy and fragile Meridians like scalding magma, causing tearing pain! But strangely, wherever this domineering power passed, the Grievous Soul Demonic Flame, which was raging and polluting her Profound Yin Spiritual Power, seemed to encounter a fiercer predator. It was savagely torn apart, devoured, and neutralized by the dark silver light!

Although the process was agonizing, like scraping poison from the bone, the rate of corrosion by the filthy Demonic Qi inside her body was forcefully suppressed by Chen Feng's even more domineering Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power!

The Withered Old Man watched as his Foul Blood Demonic Arrow, which he was certain would succeed, was mostly neutralized by the opponent in such a strange manner. Seeing Chen Feng use that bizarre Spiritual Power to suppress the Demonic Flame for Su Wanzhao, his shock and rage intensified, mixed with a hint of unbelievable greed!

"What strange Spiritual Power! It can neutralize my Grievous Soul Demonic Flame?! This boy... this boy must harbor a great secret! I absolutely cannot let him escape!" The Old Demon ignored the surging injuries within his body, forcibly suppressed his turbulent Qi and blood, and raised his withered claw again. Viscous Demonic Essence began to condense, preparing to launch an even more terrifying attack! He would never allow the duck he had cooked to fly away!

Chen Feng's back wound was gushing blood, the impact of the Demonic Thought on his Sea of Consciousness hadn't subsided, the Demonic Qi erosion in his left shoulder caused piercing pain, and he had to divert attention to suppress the Demonic Flame inside Su Wanzhao! Under this triple torment, his entire body trembled uncontrollably, his vision kept darkening, and the coldness of death had already crept up his spine!

Escape! They must escape immediately! Otherwise, both of them would die here!

His bloodshot eyes swept across an unassuming, ancient jade pendant shaped like a crescent moon hanging from Su Wanzhao's waist—it was her last remaining Life-Saving Sword Talisman! It was also their final chance!

"Senior Sister! Lend me the talisman!" Chen Feng roared, his blood-stained right hand shooting out violently toward the Crescent Moon Jade Pendant!

Although Su Wanzhao's consciousness was blurred, the moment Chen Feng grabbed her wrist and forcibly poured Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power to suppress the Demonic Flame, an almost instinctive Soul connection allowed her to sense Chen Feng's intention. Without the slightest hesitation, she used the last trace of her weak Divine Sense to actively sever her connection with the jade pendant!

The jade pendant felt warm and smooth in his hand, yet it carried an inner sharpness, seemingly capable of slicing through time and space!

The Demonic Essence condensed by the Withered Old Man had already transformed into a gigantic Demonic Claw burning with Emerald Ghost Fire, grabbing fiercely down toward the two, as if blotting out the sky! The terrifying pressure solidified the air!

"Now!" The last flicker of frantic light burst forth in Chen Feng's eyes! He recklessly and violently poured all the remaining Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power in his body, along with the faint yet pure Profound Yin Qi emanating from Su Wanzhao's wrist, into the Crescent Moon Jade Pendant in his hand!

*Buzz—!!!*

The jade pendant suddenly burst forth with unprecedented dazzling brilliance! The light was no longer purely moon white; it was tainted by Chen Feng's Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power, transforming into an eerie halo mixed with dark silver light and icy blue cold stars! A terrifying Sword Intent, far more violent, chaotic, and incomparably sharp than when Su Wanzhao had previously activated it, erupted with a boom!

"Slash!"

Chen Feng roared hoarsely, gripping the jade pendant, and swung fiercely toward the massive descending Demonic Claw, toward the endless dark mountain forest ahead!

*Tear—!*

A Sword Qi, condensed to the extreme but appearing as a strange dark blue-silver twist, tore through space! Wherever the Sword Qi passed, instead of freezing everything, it carried a domineering corrosive and cutting force! The air emitted a shrill wail, forcibly ripped open into a brief, unstable black fissure! The moment the gigantic Demonic Claw phantom collided with the Sword Qi, it was as if a hot knife had sliced into semi-solidified grease, making sizzling corrosive sounds, and was forcibly torn open with a massive gap!

"What?!" The Withered Old Man's eyes nearly popped out! His attack, fueled by rage, was actually forcibly torn apart by this bizarre hybrid Sword Qi?! The corrosive power contained within the Sword Qi made even his Demonic Essence tremble!

The Sword Qi tore through the Demonic Claw, its momentum undiminished, and slashed violently into the dark mountain forest ahead!

*Rumble!*

Towering ancient trees were severed mid-trunk like straw, corroded and decayed! Hard mountain rocks were ploughed open into a bottomless ravine! A path filled with destructive aura was forcibly carved out instantly!

"Go!"

Chen Feng didn't even look at the result. The instant the Sword Qi struck, he violently unleashed the last remaining trace of power in his body! His left hand tightly clasped Su Wanzhao's icy, slender waist, hoisting her entire body onto his shoulder like a weightless feather! His legs, infused with all the brute strength gained from Body Tempering, stomped fiercely onto the ground!

*Bang!*

The hard rock beneath his feet instantly shattered! Chen Feng, like an arrow shot from a bow, carrying Su Wanzhao, transformed into a dark stream of light mixed with blood, extreme poison, fiendish energy, and faint Profound Yin Qi. He frantically rushed out along the destructive path that the Sword Qi had forcibly carved open and was rapidly closing! His speed was so great that he left an afterimage in his wake!

"Aaaah! Little bastard! This Old Man will grind your bones to dust!" The Withered Old Man watched helplessly as the two broke through the blockade and escaped. He was so enraged that Demonic Qi surged throughout his body, and he spat out another mouthful of black blood! Just as he was about to recklessly burn his Essence to pursue them, the Destructive Cold Poison and Sword Intent remaining from Su Wanzhao's Blood Burning Secret Sword suddenly erupted inside him, causing him to stagger and his aura to plummet once more!

"Damn it! Damn it!" The Old Demon stared in the direction the two had vanished. Green flames danced wildly in his eyes, filled with fury, unwillingness, and a hint of deep apprehension. He forcibly suppressed his injuries, waved his withered claw, and a viscous demonic light shot into the void, transforming into a palm-sized Pitch-Black Bat that silently pursued the direction Chen Feng had fled.

"You've been hit by this Old Man's 'Bone-Clinging Blood Curse.' Don't even think about escaping, no matter where you run! Once this Old Man stabilizes his injuries... Hmph!" The Withered Old Man shot a venomous glance at the mess and the corpses of his subordinates on the ground. His body transformed into a faint demonic light and fled toward the depths of Black Wind Cliff. He needed to heal quickly and prepare for the inevitable refinement he planned for ten days later when the fiendish energy at Black Wind Cliff would be at its peak!

The icy night wind scraped against his face like a knife.

Chen Feng carried Su Wanzhao, running desperately through the rugged, dark mountain forest. Every muscle movement in his back wound brought tearing pain, and Demonic Qi burrowed through his flesh like a venomous snake. The penetrating wound on his left shoulder bled non-stop, and waves of dizziness from blood loss washed over him. In his Sea of Consciousness, the Old Demon's mental attack and the Demonic Thought from the Foul Blood Demonic Arrow, like maggots clinging to the bone, continuously assaulted his will, bringing soul-tearing agony.

Su Wanzhao lay slumped on his shoulder, her breath weak. Her icy body temperature permeated his clothes, feeling like a block of cold ice. Although the residual Demonic Flame in her body was temporarily suppressed by Chen Feng's Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power, the backlash from the Blood Burning Secret Technique was like a bottomless abyss, frantically devouring her life force.

He couldn't stop! The Old Demon could catch up at any moment!

Chen Feng gritted his teeth, squeezing out the last bit of potential from his body, staggering and fleeing in the direction away from Black Wind Cliff and away from Qingyun Sect. Every step felt like stepping on a knife edge, and every breath carried a heavy scent of blood.

He didn't know how long he ran, how many ridges he crossed, or how many dense forests he passed through. The sky was still pitch black, but a hint of gray-white was faintly visible in the east.

Exhausted!

Chen Feng's vision kept blackening, and his steps faltered. Finally, unable to support himself any longer, he collapsed behind a damp pile of moss-covered rocks with a thud. He carefully lowered Su Wanzhao from his shoulder, letting her lean against a cold boulder.

Su Wanzhao's eyes were tightly closed, tiny ice crystals condensed on her long eyelashes. Her breath was so faint it was barely noticeable. The terrifying depletion caused by Blood Burning made her like a candle about to be extinguished.

Chen Feng leaned against the cold rock, panting heavily. Every inhale pulled at the wounds on his back and left shoulder, causing cold sweat to pour down his face from the pain. He forced himself to focus and inspected his internal condition, which was equally terrible. His Spiritual Power was almost depleted, and the drop of Dark Silver Venom in his Dantian was dim. The foul blood wound on his back was constantly worsening under the Demonic Qi's erosion, and the area of decay was expanding. His Sea of Consciousness was like muddied water, and the severe pain and dizziness made his thoughts sluggish.

He had to treat his wounds! He had to recover! Otherwise, he would be finished before the Old Demon even caught up!

He struggled to tear off a few relatively clean strips of cloth from the lining of his tattered clothes. Enduring the intense pain, he used his teeth and right hand to laboriously bandage the penetrating wound on his left shoulder. He couldn't treat the wound on his back himself, so he could only tightly bind it with cloth strips for now to slow the bleeding.

After finishing all this, he was drenched in sweat and nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

"Spirit Stones... pills..." Chen Feng reached into his embrace with a trembling hand. He remembered that when he was promoted to Outer Disciple, besides the cultivation technique, he had received ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills. The Qi Gathering Pills were poisonous, so he couldn't touch them. The Spirit Stones were his only hope right now!

However, when he touched the small cloth bag containing the Spirit Stones, his expression instantly turned even uglier!

The cloth bag was completely empty!

During his breakthrough using Fiend Energy to Temper his Body in the stone chamber, the violent energy impact had long since shattered the ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones into dust!

His last hope was shattered! Despair, like a cold tide, submerged him once again.

No Spirit Stones, no pills, severely wounded and near death, surrounded by powerful enemies... True desperation!

Just as Chen Feng's mind was violently shaken, about to be crushed by the successive blows—

*Buzz!*

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the gray [cosmic destiny plate] that had been silently suspended suddenly and extremely faintly vibrated without any warning!

A faint yet incredibly clear stream of information instantly flowed into Chen Feng's consciousness, which was nearly frozen by pain and despair:

[Host near-death state detected... Extreme energy depletion... Deep scan passively triggered...]

[Scan complete.]

[High-purity energy source discovered: Abandoned Spirit Stone Vein (Coordinates: Dragon Severing Ravine, back mountain, intersection of earth veins, depth three hundred zhang.)]

[Status: Unexploited, weak energy dissipation, available for absorption and conversion.]

[Consume remaining lifespan (five years) to perform "Extreme Distance Energy Extraction"? (Note: This operation carries extremely high risks and may trigger unknown geological changes or energy backlash)]

[Yes / No]

Chen Feng's eyes snapped open!