87: Chapter 87 The Annihilation of Wind and Thunder

But Longduota was not having an easy time either.

On his forearm, that layer of solid, blood-colored Protective Aura had been split open by a clear crack from the thunder intent on Gao Feng's blade!

The skin beneath the Protective Aura had even been left with a knife wound deep enough to see the bone, with wisps of black Qi emerging from the wound, clearly injured by the power of thunder.

"The power of thunder and lightning?!" For the first time, a look of genuine surprise appeared in Longduota's eyes. "You... you can actually master this kind of power of heaven and earth! No wonder... no wonder you were able to kill Poison Fang!"

"What will surprise you is yet to come!"

Gao Feng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging blood and Qi, and pressed forward again!

He knew that his only advantage was the refinement of his Cultivation Technique and the agility of his movement technique!

For a time, on the ruins of the city wall, the two figures turned into black and red whirlwinds, crazily entangled and fighting together!

Gao Feng's three-pointed, double-edged blade danced so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through, each strike precisely attacking Longduota's vital points.

Longduota completely abandoned defense, letting Gao Feng's blade slash at his blood-colored Protective Aura, while his fists, like two indestructible giant hammers, unleashed terrifying fist winds capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks time and time again!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sounds of intense collision were endless!

The ruins of the city wall beneath their feet constantly collapsed and shattered under the aftermath of their terrifying battle.

Below the city, all the barbarian soldiers and Panshi Army soldiers who were fighting subconsciously stopped their movements, staring dumbfounded at this battle that was like gods fighting, far beyond their scope of understanding.

The fierce battle lasted for a full hundred rounds!

Gao Feng was already wounded in many places; his shoulders and ribs had been grazed by Longduota's terrifying fist wind. Although it did not hit his vitals, his bones were cracked and his internal organs were shaken.

Every breath brought a heart-wrenching pain.

But he was still gritting his teeth and persisting!

Because he knew that for every extra moment he persisted, Linhuang City behind him would be one bit safer!

Longduota was not having an easy time either; the indestructible layer of blood-colored Protective Aura on his body had been slashed by Gao Feng's blade, which was imbued with thunder intent, until it was covered in cracks and on the verge of collapse.

There were also a dozen knife wounds of varying depths on his body, and blood dyed his bronze-colored skin red.

"Enough!" Longduota had been fighting for a long time without success, and the brutality in his heart had reached its Peak.

He suddenly let out a roar, clashed hard with Gao Feng, and separated the two of them again!

"To be able to force this King to this point, you are enough to be proud!"

"Next, let this King use the true power of the 'Ba Snake' to send you on your way!"

Before the words had even fallen, the Ba Snake totem on his body instantly lit up with an unprecedented, eerie blood-red light!

A huge phantom of an ancient Ba Snake, condensed from pure blood and Qi energy, slowly emerged behind him!

A terrifying pressure from the primordial era, filled with brutality and devouring Aura, instantly enveloped the entire battlefield!

"Totem manifestation! It is the Barbarian King's totem manifestation!"

Seeing this scene, the barbarian army below the city instantly erupted into bursts of fanatical, worshipping cheers!

This was the strongest trump card of their King of the Southern Wilderness, and it was not one that would be used lightly!

"Die!"

Longduota roared, and that huge Ba Snake phantom also opened its blood-red mouth, which was enough to swallow mountains, and bit fiercely towards Gao Feng!

Facing this earth-shattering strike, there was no fear in Gao Feng's eyes; instead, an unprecedented, crazy Battle Intent burned within them!

He knew this was a moment of life and death!

He suddenly slammed his three-pointed, double-edged blade into the ground and formed a mysterious hand seal with both hands!

All the blood, Qi, and Internal Energy in his body, at this moment, poured crazily toward his glabella without reservation!

At the center of his eyebrows, that faint vertical pupil mark that had appeared when he was fighting the Ghost King emerged once again!

That was the most fundamental Mental Energy from the depths of his Soul, belonging to another world!

"Eye of Delusion Breaking!"

"Open—!!!"

Following his roar, an invisible mental shockwave, which seemed to be able to pierce through all the delusions in the world, shot out from his glabella!

It accurately bombarded the head of the incoming Ba Snake phantom!

"Awoo—!!!"

That Ba Snake phantom, condensed from blood and Qi, actually let out a shrill roar full of pain!

Its figure suddenly stalled in mid-air, becoming illusory and blurry!

Mental attack!

This attack method, which completely exceeded the scope of this world's martial arts system, had a devastating restraining effect on this kind of totem phantom condensed from pure mental will and blood and Qi energy!

Now is the time!

Gao Feng seized this fleeting opportunity, pulled out the three-pointed, double-edged blade from the ground, and poured the last bit of thunder intent in his body into it!

His figure turned into a purple lightning bolt that moved forward without looking back!

"Man and Blade as One!"

"Wind Thunder... Annihilation!!!"

He himself, along with the blade in his hand, at this moment, turned into the most ultimate beam of light that tore through heaven and earth and severed life and death!

"Puchi—!!!"

The purple blade light penetrated the illusory Ba Snake phantom, which was roaring in pain, without any obstruction, and then slashed fiercely onto Longduota's chest, which had revealed a flaw due to the totem being damaged!

"Clang—!"

A loud noise!

The blood-colored Protective Aura on Longduota's chest shattered with a bang!

The sharp blade left a terrifying knife wound on his chest that was half a foot long and deep enough to see the bone!

The edges of the charred wound still had leaping purple electric arcs, crazily destroying the vitality within his body!

"Puh—!"

Longduota suddenly spat out a large mouthful of dark red blood mixed with visceral fragments!

His tall, demon-god-like body staggered back more than a dozen steps, and he barely managed to stabilize himself by supporting his body with his fists on the ground.

He raised his head and looked in disbelief at Gao Feng, who was also as pale as paper, leaning on his blade and panting heavily.

He, defeated?

He actually lost to this da qian people who was one major Realm lower than him?!

Gao Feng was not having an easy time either; forcibly using "Eye of Delusion Breaking" and "Wind Thunder Annihilation" had completely drained all the strength in his body.

Just now, in order to slash out that blade, he even risked taking part of the backlash from Longduota's totem power.

His left shoulder was completely shattered, and his internal organs were in excruciating pain, like being burned by fire.

This battle, which seemed to give him a slight upper hand, was actually a mutual defeat!

"Retreat... retreat the army..."

Longduota used all his strength to squeeze out these two words that were filled with endless humiliation for him.

He knew that he had suffered a fatal injury, and the strange thunder power on Gao Feng's blade was crazily raging in his body, constantly destroying his internal organs.

If he did not retreat now and find the Great Shaman in the tribe to heal his wounds, he might really fall here today.

With an order, the barbarian army below the city, which was already terrified by the "Demonic Technique" and scared out of their wits by the god-like battle between their own Barbarian King and Gao Feng, felt as if they had received a pardon.

They could no longer care about military orders or honor, let out strange cries, threw away the weapons in their hands and their companions' corpses, and fled in a sorry state toward the distant horizon like the receding tide.

On the city wall, the Panshi Army soldiers and laborers who had survived the disaster watched the fleeing barbarian figures, first stunned, and then erupted into earth-shattering cheers!

"We won! We won!"

"Stockade Master is mighty! Panshi Stockade is mighty!!!"

Countless soldiers threw away their weapons, collapsed on the ground, and cried loudly, while countless laborers hugged each other and wept.

The shadow of death that had been weighing on their hearts for the past few days was finally completely dispelled at this moment.

However, as the greatest hero of the victory, there was no joy on Gao Feng's face.

He braced himself, watching the barbarian army disappear completely from his sight, and only then could he no longer suppress the injuries in his body. His throat felt sweet, and with a "puff," he spat out a mouthful of blood. His vision went black, and his tall body fell straight backward.

"Stockade Master!!"

Du Wei and others exclaimed and rushed up, hurriedly helping to support him.

...

Linhuang City was held.

With an army of eight thousand exhausted troops, they withstood the main force of sixty thousand barbarians, fought for four days, finally forced back the Barbarian King, and held this isolated city.

This news seemed to have grown wings, spreading throughout the entire sphere of influence of Panshi Stockade and even farther within a few short days.

Everyone who heard this news had their first reaction as disbelief.

But with the confirmation from countless refugees and caravans who had fled from Linhuang, this impossible battle record was finally confirmed as fact.

For a time, the names "Panshi Stockade" and "Gao Feng" shook the Southern Border!

However, the joy of victory was short-lived, and what followed was an extremely severe reality.

In this battle, the Panshi Army suffered more than two thousand casualties, including thirteen hundred dead.

This accounted for nearly a quarter of the total strength of the Linhuang garrison.

The city's treasury was empty, and city defense supplies such as arrows, logs, and fire oil were exhausted.

What was even more fatal was that everyone knew that the barbarians had only retreated temporarily and were not truly defeated.

Once the Barbarian King Longduota's injuries recovered, or the barbarians completed their reorganization, the next attack would surely be thunderous and relentless.

And given the current state of Linhuang City, it would be impossible to withstand another attack of the same scale.

For a time, the joy of victory was quickly replaced by a heavier worry about the future.

The entire Linhuang City was shrouded in a tragic and oppressive atmosphere.

Inside the City Defense Office, in Gao Feng's bedroom, a strong smell of medicine filled the air.

Gao Feng lay on the bed, his face still pale.

Longduota's punch not only shattered his shoulder bone, but that overbearing and peerless barbarian Qi energy also invaded his internal organs. If it weren't for his Physique far exceeding that of ordinary people and the power of the spiritual spring keeping him alive, he would likely have already fallen to the Yellow Springs.

For the past few days, he had been in a semi-comatose state, relying entirely on the soup medicine brewed by Uncle Sun with various rare medicinal herbs to sustain his life.

"Stockade Master... how exactly is the Stockade Master?"

Outside the bedroom, Luo Qin and other core generals anxiously surrounded Uncle Sun, with worry written all over everyone's faces.

Gao Feng was the anchor of Panshi Stockade; if he fell, the morale and hearts of the entire Panshi Stockade would collapse in an instant.

Uncle Sun wiped the sweat from his forehead. His aged face wore a trace of exhaustion and gravity, and he slowly shook his head.

I have done my best. The Stockade Master has suffered an injury from the Origin Qi energy of a Fifth Realm Barbarian Martial Artist. This injury spreads from the inside out, is incomparably overbearing, and cannot be healed by ordinary decoctions.

Currently, I can only use a Millennium Blood Ginseng to sustain the Stockade Master's heart pulse and delay the deterioration of his injuries. But to cure it completely... unless we can find the legendary Earth Milk Spirit Liquid, or... if the Stockade Master can break through the shackles himself, enter the Fifth Realm of Marrow Cleansing and Blood Changing, and use his new, more powerful Qi and blood to expel that savage Qi energy on his own.

Upon hearing this, everyone's heart sank to the bottom.

Earth Milk Spirit Liquid, that is a Heaven And Earth Treasure that only exists in legends; how could it be easy to find?

As for breaking through on his own... the Stockade Master is already severely injured and his Qi and blood are failing; how could he possibly break through his Realm in such a situation?

This was almost a dead end.

Just as everyone fell into despair, Luo Qin, who had been silently guarding Gao Feng's bedside, suddenly stood up.

Her face, which looked somewhat haggard from days of toil, wore an unusual calmness and determination.

She took out a small, sealed bottle made of special jade from her bosom; it was the three semi-finished Blood Burning Marrow Cleansing Pills that Gao Feng had given her when he left the main city.

Uncle Sun, Luo Qin's voice was a bit hoarse, yet exceptionally firm, please take a look, can this item be of any help to my husband's injuries?

Uncle Sun took the jade bottle with a puzzled expression.

When he opened the cork and smelled the medicinal fragrance that was full of explosive power yet contained a trace of strange vitality, his murky old eyes instantly widened!

This... this is...

He poured out a Medicinal Pill with trembling hands, sniffed it carefully at the tip of his nose, and then scraped a little powder off with his fingernail to taste it in his mouth.

Immediately, he stood frozen on the spot as if struck by lightning, his face revealing an unprecedented look of wild joy and excitement!

Divine... Divine Pill! This... this is simply a Divine Pill! Uncle Sun was so excited he was incoherent. Inside this pill, there is a violent medicinal power capable of detonating the human body's Qi and blood potential! At the same time, there is a strange, gentle vitality protecting the heart pulse! This... this is simply a miraculous medicine tailor-made for the Stockade Master's current situation!

With this Divine Pill! The Stockade Master's injuries can not only be healed! But even... even potentially use the pill's overbearing power to break and then establish, breaking through the Fifth Realm barrier in one go!

Uncle Sun's words were like a ray of dawn, instantly illuminating the bottomless despair in everyone's hearts!

Great! That's great! Du Wei and the others were moved to tears of excitement.

Luo Qin also let out a long sigh of relief in her heart.

There is no time to delay! She made an immediate decision and said to everyone, My husband needs an absolutely quiet and undisturbed environment to heal and break through. Du Wei, you must immediately order the entire City Defense Office to be put under martial law! No one is allowed to approach the backyard, and those who violate the order will be executed!

Big Fool, Zhao Iron Pillar, you two personally lead the personal guards to stand guard outside the bedroom and act as Protectors!

Uncle Sun, please be ready to prepare the auxiliary decoctions at any time!

All military and political affairs of Linhuang City will be handled by me and Military Advisor Liu for the time being!

Under Luo Qin's calm and decisive command, everyone acted quickly.

The entire power core of the Panshi Stockade, after experiencing a brief period of chaos, began to operate efficiently again.

Inside the bedroom, Luo Qin personally and carefully placed a Blood Burning Marrow Cleansing Pill into Gao Feng's mouth.

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, turning into a scorching torrent like magma, instantly surging into his limbs and bones!

Ugh...

Gao Feng, in his coma, let out a painful groan, and his face, which had been pale as paper, instantly flushed with an abnormal, eerie redness!

The blood vessels all over his body bulged like earthworms, and a terrifying medicinal power, capable of instantly bursting an ordinary Martial Artist, exploded within his body!

At the same time, the overbearing and incomparable savage Qi energy left behind by Longduota in his body seemed to have been provoked and began to backlash frantically!

Two completely different yet equally violent forces began a primitive and cruel life-and-death struggle within his Dantian and Meridians!

Gao Feng's body instantly became a tragic battlefield!

Meanwhile, the barbarian army outside Linhuang City had also fallen into unprecedented chaos and suspicion.

Longduota was severely injured; as soon as he returned to the main camp, he entered the deepest level of closed-door healing, temporarily handing over command to the Clan Chiefs of the Black Tooth and Vulture tribes.

However, these two Clan Chiefs were not on the same side and each had their own ulterior motives.

Furthermore, most of the heavy losses in the previous siege were among the small and medium tribes used as cannon fodder, while the elites of their core major tribes had suffered little.

This huge disparity filled the leaders of those small and medium tribes with resentment and dissatisfaction.

They began to openly disobey military orders and were passive in battle.

A few tribes even broke out in small-scale fights within the camp over the already scarce food and supplies!

The entire barbarian Alliance looked powerful, but in reality, it was already a scattered mess, with morale in shambles.

In the most remote and damp corner of the entire camp lay the camp of the Green Wolf Tribe.

Nearly half of the tribe's warriors were lost in this siege, and the wounded, lacking medicine, could only groan in pain in dirty tents. The stench of rotting wounds mixed with the despair of food shortages was nauseating.

Young Lord Wulu was sitting outside his father's tent, silently wiping his huge battle axe with a rag.

His Physique was more than a circle more robust than it had been over two years ago.

His exposed upper body was covered with scars of various sizes on his bronze skin, and every muscle bulged like granite, full of the most primitive, explosive sense of power.

He sat quietly, but like a dormant Vicious Beast, he exuded a terrifying Aura that made one's heart tremble.

Inside the tent came the muffled coughing of the old Clan Chief.

He had been publicly whipped by the enforcer of the Black Tooth Tribe during the siege; although his life was not in danger, his internal organs were injured, leaving behind a chronic illness.

Every time he heard a cough, Wulu's hand gripping the battle axe would tighten, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

Hatred, like a poisonous vine, had long since taken deep root in his heart.

Did you hear? That scum from the Black Tooth Tribe snatched our last two bags of rations again!

Damn it! We can't go on like this! The brothers are fighting for their lives at the front, and they are eating and drinking well at the back!

Not far away, several Green Wolf Tribe warriors were cursing indignantly in lowered voices.

Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?

What's there to fear! We're going to die sooner or later anyway! I've finally figured it out; that old thing Longduota just wants to use the Qian people's blade to wear out all of us disobedient tribes here!

Sigh, but what can we do? They are the butcher's knife, and we are the fish on the chopping block...

Listening to his tribesmen's conversation, Wulu's eyes grew colder.

Just then, two leaders from other small tribes walked past his tent, cursing.

Damn it, how unlucky! What kind of monster is that Qian person named Gao Feng? Even the Barbarian King was injured at his hands!

Who's to say not! I heard that guy uses Demonic Technique, can summon heavenly lightning, and can even breathe fire!

Gao Feng... Gao Feng...

One of the names struck Wulu's mind like a thunderbolt!

His action of wiping the battle axe suddenly stalled!

Gao Feng?

This name... how familiar it was!

More than two years ago, he was saved by a da qian man named Gao Feng, and that was how he survived.

Could it be... him?

Once this thought appeared, it grew like wild grass, impossible to suppress!

Wulu's heart began to beat wildly.

That's it! It must be him! In this world, how could there be so many coincidences? Besides him, who else could have such strength and also have this name?!

He was his savior!

And now, he had become his greatest enemy.

No... that's not right!

A terrifying gleam suddenly erupted in Wulu's eyes!

Enemy? Who is the enemy?

Is it Longduota, who forced him and his tribesmen into a desperate situation and treated them like grass?

Or is it the savior who once saved his life and is now just fighting to protect his home?

This choice did not need any hesitation!

This might be... his only chance to escape his current predicament and avenge his father and the dead tribesmen!

Wulu stood up abruptly, a look of determination flashing in his eyes, and a plan, so bold it was almost crazy, quickly formed in his mind.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and Gao Feng slowly finished his cultivation, spitting out a breath of stale air that carried a faint black Aura.

After these few days of recuperation and the overbearing medicinal power of that semi-finished Blood Burning Marrow Cleansing Pill, his internal injuries had finally basically healed.

That savage Qi energy lurking in his internal organs, although not completely expelled, had been firmly suppressed in a corner by his powerful Qi and blood energy, unable to stir up any trouble for the time being.

It was a pity that he ultimately failed to break through that barrier in one go and enter the Fifth Realm.

However, he could clearly feel that his strength had reached an unprecedented Peak of the Fourth Realm!

The bones throughout his body were as hard as iron and stone, and every inch of his bone marrow seemed to be filled with magma about to erupt.

The total volume and quality of his Qi and blood energy were many times more powerful than before the battle!

Now, he was like a dam filled with water, and the distance to the next Realm of Marrow Cleansing and Blood Changing was only the last thin membrane that could be breached at any time.

Even so, his combat power had already undergone a heaven-shaking and earth-shattering change.

Gao Feng was confident that if he were to face Longduota in his prime now, even if he still couldn't defeat him, he would definitely not be as embarrassed as last time, and might even have the certainty of severely injuring him!