34: Chapter 34 Blasphemous Power

Time slipped by in a flash. As the prompt flashed in his mind once more, Tang Long opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of frost.

This Aurora Breathing Method is truly remarkable.

In just one night, he had practiced it continuously to near level three. His realm had recovered to the second stage, and his Qi Manipulation had even advanced to more than halfway through the second stage. It could certainly be called smooth sailing.

Compared to Barbarian Blood, both the consumption and the difficulty of cultivation were much lower.

Unfortunately, the five Ice Spirit Stones were exhausted, and the few dozen pieces of spirit residue had been completely used up. With his current resources, reaching this point was the limit.

In other words, his actual hard strength hadn't really improved much.

With such a small improvement, could he really fight against that deadly woman behind him?

Tang Long shook his head inwardly.

If he had two more days and a few more Ice Spirit Stones, he might be able to break through to the third stage of Qi Manipulation, and perhaps he would have a fighting chance.

But now...

After he had caught her off guard with that trick yesterday, even if she were foolish, she would likely not be easily fooled again.

The problem was that not fighting wasn't an option either.

That woman was very fast and clearly skilled at tracking; he wouldn't be able to shake her off.

Furthermore, every Blasphemers possessed an ability known as Blasphemy Power, which differed for each person, and some were quite terrifying. Although someone of Ming Meier's low status wouldn't be too strong, once forced to use it, it would likely be difficult to deal with.

Moreover, the organization of Blasphemers was vast. If he failed to kill her, and she summoned reinforcements, the situation would only become worse. If just one more person of this level came to assist in the pursuit, he would be in danger.

Therefore, the best option was to finish her off quickly while she was alone, so he could buy time for development.

But the certainty of winning a head-on confrontation really wasn't high~

Just as Tang Long was struggling with this, his expression suddenly darkened.

[ The mask of calamity has returned! ]

[ You have activated Calamity Sacrifice! ]

Taking off the mask casually, Tang Long couldn't help but sigh again.

Now, even if he wanted to commit suicide to get rid of Ming Meier, it would be difficult.

The reason the old Blasphemers hadn't followed Ming Meier was likely because he had noticed the unique nature of the mask and was staying behind at Linshan Market to lie in wait. Once Linshan Market discovered the mask was missing, he would likely arrive quickly as well.

It seemed like the situation had fallen into a deadlock.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck Tang Long.

This mask didn't just have a resurrection function; it should... also be usable as a weapon, right?

...

In another ice cave, Ming Meier was soaking wet, warming herself by a fire, and questioning her life.

Although she had been raised by her grandfather since she was young, she was not a flower in a greenhouse. Surviving in the vast forests of Scale Mountain, she often had to face life-and-death crises; she couldn't afford to be a weak woman even if she wanted to.

Although she had never attended a professional training institution, she was a genius in martial arts cultivation, and her actual combat ability was not even weaker than her grandfather, who was at the sixth stage.

To end the suffering of this world, she and her grandfather had joined the Blasphemers, who dared to resist the gods. Facing the suppression of all The Sects in the world, she lacked no courage.

But today, facing Tang Long, she had to admit that she was afraid, and she had lost.

That person's insidiousness, cunning, and ferocity had completely overturned her understanding of people.

Even though his strength wasn't high, he had utilized various conditions beyond imagination.

As a result, she had lost her reason, discarded her weapon, and even had her waist pouch taken away, nearly losing her life.

She had even been disfigured!

But this failure, or rather, this soaking in the glacial river, had made her completely clear-headed.

She was facing an extremely dangerous individual, one with an intelligence much higher than her own.

He actually possessed a Body Tempering technique; it was this unknown piece of information that had caused her to suffer a huge loss.

Fortunately, he should have exhausted his trump cards as well; otherwise, he wouldn't have given up such a good opportunity to pursue her.

When she caught up next time, she couldn't rely on any luck.

Even if it meant lowering her realm as a cost, she had to use that trump card to eliminate this person.

Ming Meier didn't sleep well all night.

Early the next morning, she began searching for Tang Long's tracks again.

However, this process was not smooth. For a considerable amount of time, she had completely lost Tang Long's trail.

It wasn't until noon that she discovered Tang Long's raft on a glacial river.

This time, she did not attack rashly but followed cautiously.

However, to her surprise, Tang Long did not accelerate to escape again; instead, he paddled the raft toward her and took the initiative to apologize.

"Ms. Ming, I'm sorry about yesterday!"

Ming Meier only sneered and didn't respond, to avoid falling into Tang Long's trap again.

"I know you want to kill me! Since I can't outrun you anyway, I've decided to fight you to the death!"

Ming Meier was still sneering, treating Tang Long's words as a joke.

But the next moment, Tang Long threw her long whip onto the bank with force.

"For the sake of fairness, I'm returning this thing to you!"

Receiving her long whip, Ming Meier was even more bewildered.

She instinctively felt that Tang Long must have a trick up his sleeve, but she couldn't figure out where it was.

Regardless, having a weapon in her hand greatly increased her lethality; that couldn't be wrong.

She flicked the whip a few times, confirming that nothing had been tampered with.

By this time, Tang Long had already brought the raft to the shore at a flat spot, jumped onto the bank, drew his blade, and stood about twenty meters away from her.

Ming Meier couldn't help but wonder, what exactly was he thinking? How did he dare?

At this distance, on flat ground, he couldn't possibly have any chance, not even the chance to jump into the river!

Was he really tired of living?

"I don't know why you want to kill me, but I've been hunted by you for several days. I haven't had a good sleep in days, and my mental and physical stamina have reached their limit. If this continues, I'll die of exhaustion anyway."

"I know you think I'm overestimating myself. But I also want to tell you that I am strong. My specialty is using a blade, and I want to kill you too! Because only by killing you can I survive!"

"So don't think that just because your realm is high, you're guaranteed to win. Under the blade, everyone is equal!"

These words were loud and clear, carrying an upright momentum and a sharp, compelling killing intent, which made Ming Meier look at him with new respect.

Could he really be thinking that?

Ming Meier finally spoke: "Fine! If you really want a decisive battle, come closer to the shore!"

"Tch! Typical woman's perspective. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Tang Long said this while continuing to walk onto the land, walking sixty or seventy meters in one go before stopping and waving at her.

"Coward, come and fight!"

Ming Meier was looked down upon again, and she gnashed her teeth in hatred.

She then flicked open her long whip and strode over.

She used her long whip extremely well. Her control over her strength was fluid and versatile, and she could hit exactly where she aimed. The sharp tip of the whip was even more impossible to guard against.

But when they actually started fighting, she discovered that Tang Long hadn't been bragging; his blade technique was indeed quite good.

For example, the move where she had injured him with the whip tip yesterday was actually blocked by his left-hand dagger today. Moreover, Tang Long was extremely fierce, constantly taking the initiative to attack and press toward her. His various sinister moves opened her eyes.

In all fairness, if both parties possessed equal speed, she would very likely not be Tang Long's opponent.

Ming Meier finally believed that Tang Long was indeed trying to fight her to the death.

However, her speed was much faster than Tang Long's, so no matter how good his blade technique was, it was useless.

But she knew that Tang Long could still suddenly accelerate and possessed a Body Tempering technique, so she was not in a hurry to decide the outcome.

Sure enough, Tang Long's pace suddenly accelerated, and he charged straight at her face with his blade.

Ming Meier defended with her whip with all her might, guarding her entire body tightly.

Tang Long slashed dozens of times in a row, each strike tricky and fierce. Sparks flew where the blade and whip clashed, but he still couldn't break through.

Ming Meier was also startled by this offensive.

She clearly saw that Tang Long's strength at this moment was even stronger than yesterday, having actually reached the second stage of Qi Manipulation, and even vaguely approaching the third.

If she hadn't adjusted her strategy yesterday, she might very well have been caught off guard again.

What an insidious guy!

Unfortunately, no matter how smart you are, you are only at the second stage after all. Although your strength is excellent, your speed is still far from mine. How long can you last with such crazy consumption of spiritual energy?

Sure enough, Tang Long's frantic attack only lasted less than two minutes before it quickly slowed down.

Ming Meier laughed with no small amount of pride and immediately launched a counterattack.

In just over ten seconds, Tang Long's calf was slashed by the whip tip, causing him to lose his footing, and his dagger was subsequently knocked away.

Ming Meier did not get close, but maintained her distance, using the whip tip to constantly inflict damage. Soon, Tang Long was bleeding from multiple places on his body, and he could barely even hold his blade.

But just at this moment, he actually tried to grab the long whip with his bare hands, but the whip suddenly retracted, and he immediately grabbed at empty air. The whip's momentum shifted again, directly sweeping him into a tumble.

That long whip seemed to have a life of its own; black light flowed along the whip's body, and the tip stood up, like a venomous snake staring intently at its prey. Even more astonishingly, Ming Meier had already let go of the long whip, yet the whip was spiraling and twisting on its own like a giant snake.

At this moment, a black rune had also appeared on Ming Meier's forehead, extending from her blasphemy mark, forming the image of a two-headed snake that made one feel oppressed and fearful at a glance.

Tang Long could see that in the status bar behind her name, 'Blasphemy Power: Snake Dance' had been added.

It's out.

She really did use Blasphemy Power.