Chapter 147 Breaking Through the Desperate Situation

[Plundered Lifespan: Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Five Years]

Chen Mu felt a surge of joy; by slaying the City God and killing the Underworld Messengers just now, he had accumulated a staggering amount of Lifespan.

On the other side, Nie Feng stopped in his tracks, now less than two zhang away from Chen Mu.

For him, this distance could be covered in an instant.

“So what if you know? So what if you don't? Lord Wen only cares about results. Once you are dead and the loose ends in Qinglin Town are cleaned up, everything will be settled.”

He paused, the cruelty in his eyes intensifying.

“As for you—an unruly variable of unknown origin who repeatedly ruined our plans—everyone is better off with you dead.”

“It is time to end this. To die by my hand can be considered your good fortune.”

With no more words to waste, he raised his right hand, fingers slightly splayed. Hunyuan Astral Qi swirled around his fingertips, transforming into sharp blades of energy.

The shadow of death instantly enveloped Chen Mu.

Yet, at that moment, Chen Mu closed his eyes.

He wasn't giving up; instead, he sank his entire mind into the System.

Infuse! Infuse all the plundered Lifespan into the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body!

This forbidden technique of the Jiang Family—he had previously only cultivated two-thirds of it, yet that was enough to qualitatively change his physical Foundation and allow him to clash head-on with the City God. If he reached Perfection...

A majestic torrent of time crashed into the forbidden technique.

[Lifespan infusion in progress...]

[Year 1,601: In a desperate life-or-death situation, you trigger your full potential. The Calamity Seed within your body, stimulated by the massive Lifespan and your will to die, suddenly boils over. You no longer proceed step-by-step, but forcibly guide this violent power—a mixture of Lifespan essence and the threat of death—to break through the gates!]

[Year 1,833: The Calamity Power is like a mad dragon, rampaging and crashing through your already tough Meridians, tearing and repairing them. The pain exceeds any previous calamity tempering. Blood overflows from your nose and mouth, and bloodstains like spiderwebs appear on your skin, yet you grit your teeth to maintain a sliver of clarity in your mind, using the Soul-Loss Art to firmly pin down your Divine Soul so it does not collapse.]

[Year 2,107: Your internal organs are repeatedly tempered in the violent Calamity Power, with life and destruction intertwining. Your heart beats like a giant drum; your blood surges like a great river. Your liver detoxifies, radiating green light; your spleen and stomach transform energy, sending power through your whole body. Your viscera resonate, faintly harmonizing with the aura of heaven and earth.]

[Year 2,550: Your bones hum, and the marrow sea glows. The three hundred and sixty-five major acupoints of your body, along with countless minute apertures, open simultaneously, frantically swallowing Calamity Power and the thin Spiritual Qi drifting in the world. Beneath your skin, a dark gold luster flows—a sign that the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body is nearing Major Achievement: 'Golden Muscles and Jade Bones, the Calamity Body begins to manifest.']

[Year 2,977: Within your Dantian, the originally single wisp of Hunyuan Astral Qi expands explosively under the infusion of endless Calamity Power and Lifespan, turning into a gray, heavy, mist-like and liquid-like sea of Astral Qi. In the center of the sea, the Calamity Seed has disappeared, completely merging with the Astral Qi. As the Astral Qi flows, the sounds of wind and thunder faintly appear, blending the intent of destruction and creation.]

[Year 3,308: Your body shakes violently as a certain barrier within you shatters. All pain recedes like a tide, replaced by a strange sensation of being perfectly whole, heavy as a mountain, yet as agile as the wind. The dark gold luster on your body withdraws, and your skin returns to normal, yet it possesses a jade-like warmth and indestructible tenacity.]

[Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body: Perfection!]

Chen Mu’s tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. Deep within his pupils, dark gold light swirled wildly; wind, thunder, and surging Calamity Power were faintly visible.

The Protective Aura swirling at Nie Feng's fingertips had already solidified into substance, bone-chillingly cold, with a sharp, ear-piercing sound of breaking air.

However, just as he was about to touch Chen Mu’s chest, his heart skipped a beat. He knew something had changed, but the attack could no longer be retracted. Instead, he added more ruthlessness to the strike, seeking a one-hit kill.

“Clang!”

A dull sound of impact suddenly exploded. Nie Feng felt as if he had struck a piece of profound iron. His Black Eagle Void-Rending Claw, which was enough to pierce the Protective Aura of an ordinary Heart-Awakening Realm Martial Artist, was actually stopped dead outside the skin of Chen Mu’s chest, unable to advance even an inch.

Not only that, a counter-shock force rolled back through his fingertips.

“What?!”

Nie Feng’s expression changed drastically. He could no longer maintain his indifferent, controlling demeanor. In his horror, his figure retreated rapidly, trying to shed this terrifying counter-shock force.

He retreated seven steps, each step leaving an inch-deep footprint in the blue-brick floor. His right arm was numb, and a tearing pain came from his fingertips.

He looked up abruptly, staring at Chen Mu in disbelief.

Chen Mu had already stood up. There were only five pale finger marks on his exposed skin, and the aura around him had completely changed.

It was no longer the heavy condensation from before, but had become perfectly integrated.

The man had no sharp edges or radiance, yet he was indestructible. All his Astral Qi, spirit, and even the killing intent left over from the life-and-death struggle were perfectly restrained, without a single leak.

“You...”

Nie Feng’s throat felt dry as he stared fixedly at Chen Mu.

He couldn't understand. Chen Mu was clearly at the end of his rope just now, heavily injured and dying. How could his strength undergo such an earth-shaking change in the blink of an eye?

Chen Mu said nothing and took a light step forward.

He didn't use the extreme speed of the Divine Void Step, nor the indomitable edge of the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique. He simply stepped forward, clenched his right fist, and punched straight out.

It was a plain, unremarkable punch.

There was no external release of Astral Qi, no howling wind or thunder; even the sound of breaking air was extremely faint.

However, Nie Feng’s hair stood on end. He let out a strange cry, not daring to be careless, and pushed his Middle Stage Heart-Awakening Realm cultivation to the limit.

Both claws lashed out, Astral Qi surged, and his feet tapped the ground as his figure retreated violently, trying to open up some distance.

However, it was too late.

Chen Mu’s fist had already pressed against his cross-blocked arms.

“Crack!”

Nie Feng’s arm bones, which were strong enough to shake divine weapons, actually snapped. The momentum of the punch did not end; it went straight through his arms and landed solidly on his chest.

Nie Feng’s eyes bulged. The clothes on his back exploded as a clear fist print emerged through his body. He was sent flying backward like a projectile, nearly smashing the back wall of the temple.

With a 'wah' sound, he spat out blood. His internal organs had been shattered by that condensed fist force.

He struggled to look up at Chen Mu, his eyes filled with extreme horror.

“Hunyuan...”

He seemed to sense something from Chen Mu’s Fist Intent. He spit out two mumbled syllables and then breathed his last.

[Slayed a Heart-Awakening Realm Martial Artist. Plundered Martial Arts Lifespan: Four Hundred and Seventy-Four Years.]

The cold System voice echoed in his mind.

Chen Mu slowly withdrew his palm and stood in place, panting slightly.

He looked down at his hands. His skin was warm and moist, with a faint jade-like luster flowing, yet he felt no abnormality at all, as if that earth-shattering strike just now had been performed with effortless ease.

The Perfection Realm of the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body.

This terrifying technique, listed as a forbidden art by the Jiang Family and which had killed or crippled practitioners for generations, had finally reached the Perfection Realm after he infused more than three thousand three hundred years of plundered Lifespan.

At this moment, he felt the Astral Qi in his body was perfectly integrated—as heavy as the earth yet as mobile as a breeze. His Divine Soul was stable and his mind clear; the injuries from the fierce battle were healing themselves at an incredible speed.

More importantly, his control over Astral Qi and his application of power had reached a brand-new level.

Returning to simplicity, all laws returning to one.