92: Chapter 92 Man and Sword as One

"Want to leave?!"

Longduota forced his heavily injured body to stand, letting out an unwilling roar. He wanted to pursue, but due to his severe injuries, he violently spat out a large mouthful of blood and fell to one knee.

He could only watch helplessly as that golden figure, in a few leaps, quickly disappeared into the vast night with the remnants of his subordinates.

A moment later, the Barbarian army finally arrived. When they saw the Barbarian King kneeling on one knee, covered in blood, and the ruins of the blood sacrifice altar, everyone was completely stunned by the tragic scene before them.

Clan Chief Black Tooth and the surviving Vulture Clan Chief scrambled forward, their faces filled with shock and fear as they looked at the miserable state of their Barbarian King.

"My King!"

Longduota slowly raised his head. The violent killing intent in his blood-red eyes had long since faded, leaving only endless coldness and gloom.

He glanced in the direction where the figure had disappeared, then looked down at his own mangled right fist. The excruciating pain in his chest made every breath feel like being cut by a blade.

The blood sacrifice ritual had been forcibly interrupted. Not only did it fail to let him fully step into the Fifth Realm, but because of the loss of control over his power and the heavy damage from Gao Feng's eerie blade technique, his Foundation suffered unprecedented damage.

This injury was far more severe than the internal injuries he had suffered last time when resisting the bed crossbow.

But he did not die.

He survived, and he had personally experienced that terrifying power that was infinitely close to the Fifth Realm. That door leading to a new world had already opened a crack for him.

"Pass on my Royal Order." Longduota's voice was hoarse and weak, yet carried an unquestionable majesty. "The entire army is to be on alert and tighten the defensive line. Before I recover from my injuries, no one is to attack without authorization."

"My King, those damned da qian people..." Clan Chief Black Tooth said unwillingly.

"They cannot run." Longduota coldly interrupted him. "Tonight, this King has remembered him. The day I emerge from seclusion will be the time Linhuang City is ground into powder."

After speaking, he walked unsteadily toward the royal tent with the support of his personal guards.

No one saw that at the moment he turned around, deep within his gloomy eyes, besides the monstrous hatred, there was also a hint of deep dread that even he himself was unwilling to admit.

Meanwhile, Gao Feng was leading Li Four and the twenty-odd surviving scouts, under the cover of Wulu's remaining forces, retreating rapidly along the secret path they had come from, heading deep into the Southern Wilderness dense forest.

In this battle, although they had successfully heavily injured Longduota and interrupted his blood sacrifice ritual, they themselves had paid a heavy price.

Of the fifty elite scouts who had set out, less than half were able to retreat with them, and almost everyone was injured.

Gao Feng's own condition was not good either. The final clash with Longduota had caused his Qi and blood to churn, and he had suffered significant internal injuries.

But what he cared more about was the crimson-gold Qi and blood in his body that had already begun to show signs of exhaustion. High-intensity combat was equally exhausting for him.

In a pre-arranged, hidden valley, they finally stopped.

"Stockade Master, are you okay?" Li Four asked with concern, looking at the trace of blood remaining at the corner of Gao Feng's mouth.

Gao Feng waved his hand, indicating he was fine. He sat cross-legged, quickly took out a healing Medicinal Pill from his bosom and swallowed it, then began to regulate his breathing to restore the chaotic Qi and blood in his body.

Wulu led the clansmen of the Green Wolf Tribe to take responsibility for guarding the perimeter. The way this Barbarian Young Lord looked at Gao Feng had completely changed from admiration to near-fanatical worship.

In his view, being able to go head-to-head with Longduota in his "Totem" state and heavily injure and force him to retreat was no longer something a Mortal could achieve, but a true miracle.

"Benefactor, what should we do next?" Wulu asked cautiously.

Gao Feng slowly opened his eyes, a flash of light passing through them. "Wait."

"Wait?"

"That's right, wait." The corner of Gao Feng's mouth curled into a meaningful arc. "Although Longduota didn't die, after this battle, his injuries will only be heavier than mine. He needs time to lick his wounds, and this is our opportunity."

Gao Feng knew very well that although Longduota didn't die, the strategic objective of this assassination had actually been achieved halfway.

At least for a short time, the Barbarian army had lost the ability to launch an offensive, and the crisis in Linhuang City was temporarily resolved.

And he, too, needed time.

The battle with Longduota made him clearly feel the huge chasm between the Fourth Realm and the Fifth Realm.

Even though he could circle with Longduota, who had one foot in the Fifth Realm, by relying on his Eye of Delusion Breaking and exquisite Martial Skill, the huge gap in the level of pure power still made him feel immense pressure.

He must become stronger!

He must find his own path to break through to the Fifth Realm as soon as possible!

And that evil "Blood Refining Technique" he had obtained from the witch doctor, after his own improvements and deductions, now became his only hope.

After resting in the valley for one night, Gao Feng temporarily handed over command to Li Four, letting him lead the wounded from the scout battalion, together with Wulu's tribe, to lurk in the dense forest and be responsible for monitoring the movements of the Barbarian camp.

As for himself, he took a few personal guards and set foot on a path that went deeper into the Southern Wilderness dense forest.

His target was those ancient exotic beasts that entrenched themselves deep in the dense forest, with strength comparable to a Fourth Realm Martial Artist, and possessing vast life essence within their bodies!

He wanted to use the heart blood of these exotic beasts as the main ingredient, supplemented by the rare herbs found everywhere in the Southern Wilderness dense forest, to refine a unique pill that belonged only to him, capable of helping him simulate the impact on the Fifth Realm Bottleneck—the "dragon blood body forging pill"!

This was a crazy and bold plan. In the alchemy classics of his past life, there had never been a similar record.

This was entirely a brand-new creation he had made by combining the special circumstances of this world with what he had learned.

Over the next half month, Gao Feng's figure completely disappeared from everyone's sight.

He was like a top-tier hunter, wandering through the most dangerous and inaccessible core area of the Southern Wilderness dense forest.

The sky here was covered layer by layer by towering trees accumulated over hundreds of millions of years, never seeing sunlight all year round. The hot and humid air was filled with a strange aura of decay and rebirth.

This land did not belong to humans, nor even to ordinary Barbarian tribes, but was a true paradise for ancient exotic beasts.

Gao Feng's purpose for this trip was extremely clear: to hunt seven powerful exotic beasts with strength comparable to a Peak Fourth Realm Martial Artist, and take their heart essence blood as the core main ingredient for refining the "dragon blood body forging pill".

These seven types of exotic beasts must correspond to the seven distinct attributes of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Poison. Only in this way could the refined Medicinal Pill contain the principles of heaven and earth, helping him simulate the impact on that mysterious and profound Fifth Realm Bottleneck.

His first target was an Earth-attribute exotic beast named "Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast".

According to the scattered information he had gathered, this type of exotic beast was a variant of the ancient giant lizard, naturally covered with a layer of thick scales comparable to refined gold. It had infinite strength, was good at manipulating the power of the earth, and its heart essence blood contained the heaviest and most vast Earth-element primordial power, making it the best choice for refining body-forging Medicinal Pills and stabilizing the pill Foundation.

Gao Feng spent two full days before finding the lair of this Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast deep within a complex network of underground karst caves.

It was a huge underground space, and the air was filled with a rich smell of sulfur and earth.

In the center of the space, a terrifying giant beast with a body length of over five zhang, covered all over with dark golden scales, was curled up and sleeping soundly.

Every time it breathed, it was like pulling a huge bellows, spitting out hot air currents, causing the surrounding rock walls to tremble slightly.

The pressure it emitted unconsciously while sleeping was enough to make any Martial Artist below the Fourth Realm have a mental breakdown and shrink back.

Gao Feng's figure, like a ghost, silently lurked behind a huge stalagmite. His breathing was long and steady, almost merging with the surrounding environment.

His gaze calmly scrutinized the behemoth before him, and his Eye of Delusion Breaking was quietly activated.

In his field of vision, the body of the Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast was an energy body composed of incredibly heavy earthy-yellow energy.

That energy was so solid it was almost materialized, especially the scales covering its entire body; the density of its energy was simply incredible.

And in the center of that thick energy body, an energy core like molten lava, emitting a scorching red light, was pulsating rhythmically; that was its heart.

Gao Feng knew that ordinary attacks could never pierce through its terrifying defense. He had to find an opportunity to pierce its heart in one strike.

He did not rush to act, but waited quietly. Hunters need patience above all else.

Time passed slowly in the dead-silent cave.

I don't know how long it had been, but the Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast seemed to finally wake from its slumber.

It lazily turned over and let out a dull roar, the sound echoing in the cave, shaking countless gravel stones to fall rustlingly.

Its pair of dim yellow eyes, like lanterns, slowly opened, scanning its territory.

Now is the time!

Just at the moment when the Earth Dragon Beast was most relaxed and slack, Gao Feng moved!

The ground under his feet suddenly sank, and his whole body ejected like a cannonball, pulling out a faint afterimage in the air!

The three-pointed, double-edged blade in his hand had long been infused with his incomparably pure crimson-gold Qi and blood. The entire blade lit up with a layer of brilliant radiance, and it stabbed like lightning towards a gap in the scales on the relatively soft neck of the Earth Dragon Beast!

This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless! It was the condensation of his entire cultivation!

Clang—!!!!

However, a loud sound like metal clashing suddenly exploded!

Gao Feng only felt an unimaginably terrifying force of counter-shock coming from the blade!

His whole body was actually shaken backward by this force, forcefully!

The three-pointed, double-edged blade in his hand even emitted an unbearable humming sound!

He looked at the Earth Dragon Beast in horror, only to see that his full-force strike had only left a shallow white mark at the gap in the scales of the opponent!

The Earth Dragon Beast even just shook its head with some displeasure because its dream had been disturbed!

Roar—!!

Only at this moment did this sluggish giant beast finally discover the presence of the intruder!

The anger of being provoked by an ant instantly ignited its ferocious nature!

It let out a deafening roar, its massive body leaping up from the ground in a sudden burst; despite its seemingly cumbersome appearance, it erupted with surprising speed that completely defied its size, opening its blood-stained maw wide enough to swallow a cow whole, and snapped down directly at Gaofeng!

A foul-smelling gust of wind rushed towards him; Gaofeng felt a chill in his heart, tapped his toes sharply against the cave wall, and his figure darted away like a nimble swallow, narrowly avoiding the lethal bite.

"Snap!"

The Earth Dragon Beast's massive jaws landed where Gaofeng had just been standing, biting off a large chunk of the hard rock wall!

Having missed its strike, the Earth Dragon Beast's massive tail, like a black iron whip, whistled through the air and swept horizontally towards Gaofeng's waist!

Facing this wide-reaching attack, Gaofeng no longer dodged.

He took a deep breath, and the crimson-gold Qi in his body erupted! Instead of retreating, he advanced, and the three-pointed, double-edged blade in his hand swung from bottom to top, carving a brilliant golden arc to meet the incoming massive tail!

"Clang!"

Another earth-shattering boom!

This time, relying on his more robust Qi, Gaofeng steadily parried the Earth Dragon Beast's attack; however, the overwhelming force still caused the ground beneath his feet to shatter inch by inch!

This epic battle between man and beast, taking place deep within the underground cave, had thus begun.

It was a long and arduous battle that lasted for three whole days and three nights.

On the first day, Gaofeng attempted to find the Earth Dragon Beast's weakness using his exquisite Martial Skill and ghostly movement.

Like a persistent shadow, he circled and attacked the Earth Dragon Beast's massive body incessantly.

His blade slashed, chopped, stabbed, and lifted, landing with pinpoint accuracy every time on the Earth Dragon Beast's eyes, joints, and abdomen—the theoretically weakest spots.

However, the Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast's defense was simply too monstrous; whether it was the eyelids covered in thick keratin or the seemingly soft abdomen, its defensive power was comparable to the sturdiest city walls.

Gaofeng's blade, capable of cutting through refined iron, could at most leave a shallow wound, which would then be rapidly repaired by the massive earth-elemental energy within the Earth Dragon Beast's body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Earth Dragon Beast's attacks, while monotonous, were wide-reaching and full of destructive power; every pounce, tail swipe, and charge could easily alter the cave's terrain, forcing Gaofeng to dodge in a sorry state.

It could even manipulate the power of the earth, causing countless sharp stalagmites to grow from the ground or making the stalactites on the cave ceiling fall like a rainstorm, launching indiscriminate area-of-effect attacks against Gaofeng.

After a full day, not only had Gaofeng failed to cause any substantial damage to the Earth Dragon Beast, but he had also exhausted a large amount of his Qi and stamina due to constant dodging and high-intensity attacks.

On the second day, Gaofeng changed his strategy; he no longer obsessed over finding weaknesses, but instead engaged the Earth Dragon Beast in a pure contest of strength and endurance.

He gave up most of his dodging and pushed his crimson-gold Protective Aura to the limit!

Braving the Earth Dragon Beast's attacks, which were strong enough to split mountains and crack stones, he clashed directly, time and again, with its sharp claws, massive tail, and fangs using his three-pointed, double-edged blade!

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The dense and violent sounds of collision, like the most intense blacksmithing, echoed throughout the cave, day and night without pause.

This was a battle that was incredibly tedious yet extremely dangerous.

Every collision caused the Qi within Gaofeng's body to churn violently.

The webbing between his thumbs and forefingers had long been split by the shock, and the blood stained the handle of the blade, only to be instantly evaporated by the violent energy.

His internal organs felt as if they were being dislodged by the terrifying recoil force.

But he persisted.

His gaze did not waver in the slightest; instead, amidst this extreme confrontation, it became increasingly bright and sharp!

He was using this most primitive and cruel method to squeeze out every ounce of potential from his body!

He could clearly feel that his Fourth-Order Great Perfection Realm, which had originally reached a Bottleneck, was being polished, bit by bit, into something more solid and rounded under the pressure of this life-and-death struggle.

The crimson-gold Qi, between repeated cycles of extreme depletion and recovery, became increasingly pure and dense.

The Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast was not having an easy time either; although it had thick skin and flesh and astonishing regenerative abilities, Gaofeng's blade was a divine weapon after all, and every direct clash left a deep mark on its scales.

The massive earth-elemental energy within its body was also being constantly consumed, and its movements began to grow increasingly sluggish.

The battle entered the most critical stage: a test of willpower.

Finally, at dusk on the third day, the opportunity arrived.

After another earth-shattering collision, the Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast, due to the massive expenditure of its stamina, experienced a momentary stiffness!

And this was the moment Gaofeng had been waiting for!

"Break!"

He let out an earth-shaking roar, pouring the last and most pure burst of Qi squeezed from his body, without reservation, into the three-pointed, double-edged blade!

The divine weapon seemed to sense its master's determination, emitting an unprecedented, high-pitched hum!

The entire blade lit up with a layer of brilliant golden light that was almost blinding!

Gaofeng's body twisted in mid-air at an incredible angle, like a braid, gathering all the strength in his body into this single point!

Man and blade as one!

His entire being transformed into a golden spiral of death!

He drilled fiercely into the heart position of the Earth Dragon Beast, which was slightly exposed due to its momentary stiffness!

"Pfft—shhh—!!!"

This time, it was not the loud sound of metal clashing against metal.

Instead, it was a terrifying sound that set one's teeth on edge—the sound of scales shattering and flesh being torn apart!

The divine weapon, having turned into a drill of death, finally broke through that invincible defense that had plagued Gaofeng for three days and three nights!

It plunged fiercely into the Earth Dragon Beast's massive body!

"Roar—!!!"

The Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast let out the most shrill and painful roar of despair in its life!

It twisted its body frantically, trying to shake that damned "nail" out of its body.

But it was all too late.

Gaofeng's Saber Qi, containing infinite twisting and killing power, had already erupted within its body!

In an instant, it completely shredded its heart, which was beating like molten lava, into pieces!

The Earth Dragon Beast's massive body collapsed heavily to the ground, kicking up a sky full of dust.

The last glimmer of life in its dim yellow eyes slowly faded away.

Gaofeng pulled his weapon from the Earth Dragon Beast's corpse, his whole body feeling as if it were collapsing from exhaustion; he fell to one knee, panting heavily.

His body was covered in wounds large and small, and his black clothes had long been thoroughly soaked with sweat and blood.

But he had won.

Looking at the mountain-like corpse of the giant beast before him, there was no joy in his eyes, only the calm of someone who had survived a catastrophe.

He slowly cut open the Earth Dragon Beast's chest and extracted a heart that was still radiating residual warmth, like a piece of dark red jade, filled with massive earth-elemental energy.

After successfully hunting the Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast and obtaining the first main ingredient, Gaofeng did not leave immediately; instead, he rested in that underground cave for two full days, only then fully recovering from his injuries and the exhausted Qi.

His next target was a wind-attribute exotic beast—the Shadow Leopard King.

In stark contrast to the heavy and sluggish Golden Armored Earth Dragon Beast, the Shadow Leopard King was famous in the Southern Wilderness forests for its ghostly speed and incredibly sharp wind-blade attacks.

It is said that when it runs, its figure turns into a faint cyan shadow, and even the top-tier scouts cannot capture its trail with the naked eye.

And the high-pressure wind blades it spits from its mouth are even sharper than blades made of hundred-refined steel.

To hunt such an opponent that comes and goes without a trace, a direct head-on confrontation is obviously not feasible.

Gaofeng knew very well that once he allowed the opponent to create distance, he would fall into an endless cycle of passive harassment.

He had to create an environment that could restrict the opponent's speed, and then kill it with a single strike at an even faster speed!

After several days of tracking and observation, Gaofeng finally locked onto the trail of the Shadow Leopard King in a canyon surrounded by steep cliffs.

This canyon had a narrow and long terrain, with smooth and steep stone walls on both sides, which was undoubtedly an excellent battlefield to restrict the Leopard King's ghostly movement.

Gaofeng did not alert the enemy, but chose a stormy night to take the initiative and step into this valley of death.

He used himself as bait.

"Awoo—!"

The moment Gaofeng's figure appeared in the center of the canyon, a long, mournful howl filled with warning and murderous intent echoed out from the darkness deep within the canyon.

Immediately following this, two dots of emerald-green light, like ghostly fires, suddenly lit up in the darkness!

A robust yet elegant cyan figure, full of streamlined beauty, walked slowly out of the darkness.

It was over three zhang in length, its entire body covered in strange fur that seemed capable of blending into the wind.

Its limbs were long and powerful, full of explosive strength.

Its eyes were cold and arrogant, and it was examining the human before it—who dared to intrude into its territory—with the gaze of a predator looking at prey.

It was the king of this region—the Shadow Leopard King.

Gaofeng and the Shadow Leopard King stood in a standoff in the midst of the storm.

Neither of them made the first move to attack.