C5 My God! the Golden Finger Was Actually(2)

"Divided Light and Shadow Technique!"

Chu Hen watched the evenly matched combatants with a sense of self-reproach for his carelessness in stepping outside to greet them. With the door now flung open, his initial advantage was lost, and to make matters worse, the crossbow array prepared by the Inner Palace was rendered useless for the time being.

He quietly retreated, keeping a watchful eye on the unfolding battle.

"From having no martial arts skills to reaching the seventh level of the mortal realm."

"Such a sudden surge in strength is definitely abnormal."

"An anomaly like this suggests that my earlier suspicions were probably correct."

Thankfully, Leng Yan arrived just in time; otherwise, the outcome could have been disastrous.

The two were now engaged in an intense duel, the headless corpse on the ground bearing the brunt of the fierce sword Qi, leaving it with grievous wounds.

A few more steps and he would be back inside the door. Once there, he planned to take refuge in the Inner Palace and command the archers to seal off the passages, effectively creating an impenetrable defense.

"Stop!"

Chen Sheng's eyes gleamed as he saw Chu Hen attempting to flee. With a loud cry, his bones snapped and his stature increased by half a foot.

"Blood Sacrifice Technique?"

Leng Yan sensed trouble. Chen Sheng had recklessly shortened his own life to forcibly elevate his cultivation to the eighth level of the mortal realm, Gathered Atop. The immense pressure that followed was unbearable for most.

The dark art turned Chen Sheng's complexion a deep red, and the sword light in his hand merged into a thick, robust blood mist. The mist, carrying an overwhelming force, swept towards Leng Yan.

"Swish!"

Leng Yan managed to retreat swiftly, but the blood mist still grazed his shoulder, scorching it as if seared by hot coals, causing excruciating pain.

Staggering, Leng Yan couldn't maintain his stance and, with a stifled groan, collapsed to the ground.

He had recently achieved a significant feat, having consumed the secret fruit of the sect and with the young mistress's aid, he had nearly reached the eighth level of Gathered Atop. Yet, his adversary had astonishingly leaped from the seventh level straight to the eighth level of Chakra Activation.

In the realm of martial arts, the smallest discrepancy could lead to a vast error; there was no room for even the slightest negligence.

Chu Hen was just half a step from the door when he decided it was time to act. He spun around and sprinted away, all the while chanting under his breath. A subtle ring of dim red light emerged around his wrist, barely visible beneath his sleeve.

"Little dog, you won't get away," Chen Sheng called out.

Upon seeing Chu Hen slip through the door, Chen Sheng's anxiety spiked. The Chu estate was a labyrinth of buildings with mazes at every turn. Finding someone who didn't want to be found would be no easy feat.

Left with no other choice, he resorted to the Blood Sacrifice Technique once more.

"Whoosh!"

Harnessing the dark art, Chen Sheng shifted three meters to the side in an instant, and with another quick step, he was nearly at the doorway. The residual energy from his movement sent Chu Hen tumbling to the ground.

"Hahaha... Trying to escape?" Chen Sheng's laughter boomed.

But suddenly, his body seized up, and his complexion swiftly changed from crimson to ghostly white. The backlash from invoking the celestial technique a second time hit him hard.

No matter, he thought. Once he had finished off this 'little dog,' he'd just consume a few more elixirs. With a sneer, he dismissed the pain.

"Don't come any closer," Chu Hen warned, his back to the ground as he shuffled away. "Behind me is an arrow formation. Even if you kill me, my sister will seek vengeance."

With a grimace of determination, Chu Hen flung his arm out, then lay back and yelled, "Fire!"

Instantly, a barrage of bolts filled the sky, turning the upright Chen Sheng into a human pincushion.

"Is that all you've got?" Chen Sheng roared defiantly.

His white aura of protective Yuan Qi enveloped him. At the full might of his seventh-level Chakra Activation cultivation, the bolts might as well have been shooting into a pile of cotton—they harmlessly dropped to the ground.

In the brief respite from the onslaught, Chen Sheng advanced, reaching for Chu Hen on the ground.

"What other tricks do you have left?" he taunted.

Out of nowhere, a flash of red light burst from Chu Hen's wrist. In a desperate, last-ditch effort, he swung at Chen Sheng's approaching hand.

"Pfft!"

It was like striking cotton; his palm was repelled by the protective Yuan Qi.

Chen Sheng's wild laughter filled the air. "You insignificant ant, dying before me, yet still trying to be cunning. Today, I'll indulge you in a little game and give you a taste of a fate worse than death."

"Mo Xie, Bo Luo Mo, Ruo!"

Chu Hen appeared utterly petrified as he rolled to the side, muttering indiscernible Sanskrit under his breath. Suddenly, Chen Sheng withdrew his outstretched hand, emitting a squeal akin to a pig being slaughtered.

Visible to the naked eye, a red, transparent snake flicked its long tongue on his retracted palm, greedily consuming the pale-white protective aura. The fire snake, engorged with energy, abruptly reared its head and, in a swift predatory motion, sank its fangs into Chen Sheng's palm.

Chu Hen wouldn't miss such an opportunity. A surge of red light flared from his wrist, and he viciously swung at Chen Sheng's neck.

Another fiery red serpent darted up Chen Sheng's neck, clamping its jaws onto his face, with blood spraying and splattering the ground.

"Ah..." Caught off guard, Chen Sheng's cries filled the air as the two fire serpents gnawed at him. He stumbled backward, inadvertently exposing his unprotected back to Leng Yan on the ground.

With a reach and a forceful throw, Leng Yan hurled a short sword, striking Chen Sheng squarely in the back.

Struck by the blow, Chen Sheng collapsed, and the two fire serpents, as if sentient, vanished in a flash, retreating into Chu Hen's sleeve.

"Kill! A reward of a thousand taels of silver to the one who takes his head!"

Determined to rid himself of this menace for good, Chu Hen issued the deadly command and swiftly withdrew.

One should never approach a centipede that isn't stiff in death, especially someone steeped in dark arts.

"Yes!"

Seeing Chen Sheng motionless in a pool of blood and tempted by the hefty bounty, the remaining household guards closed in.

"Ha! Surrender your life!"

With a thunderous roar, Chen Sheng leaped to his feet, his body glowing with a fluorescent light as his wounds visibly healed. He lunged at Chu Hen, sending the guards in his path flying through the air.

The tide turned too quickly; the once lifeless Chen Sheng had miraculously come back to full strength.

"He's like a cockroach that just won't die."

Feeling utterly helpless, Chu Hen clenched his jaw, raised his feverish arm, and braced himself for a desperate strike.

"Humph!"

At that crucial moment, a silver object accompanied by a cold snort soared through the air, circled Chen Sheng, and with a flash of silver light and a faint crackling sound, it struck him at the waist.

Chen Sheng, in disbelief, glanced at the silhouette that had flown toward him, then down at his waist. He reached out to touch it, and instantly, blood and intestines burst forth, his internal organs spilling onto the ground.

His waist was severed, yet his intestines were still attached; the silver object had delivered its force with uncanny precision.

"This... this can't be happening."

He stumbled a few steps, his upper and lower body splitting apart as he gasped:

"The story... no, I... I am the reincarnated Chen Changsheng of the Holy Light, destined to defy the heavens and alter fate. Among the three thousand teachings of the Daoist Canon, I am the sovereign of another realm. How could I possibly die..."

Chen Sheng's words were cut short as he died, filled with resentment.

The ground was a chaotic mess, soaked in blood. Chen Sheng's spirit had already drifted off, seething with anger as it awaited reincarnation.

The pressure suddenly lifted, and Chu Hen felt an overwhelming emptiness. On the verge of collapse, he noticed a peculiar fragrance wafting from the ground. This scent cooled his body and refreshed his palate, prompting a bizarre and terrifying urge within him.

He frantically pinched his nose, trying to control his wild thoughts and resist the urge to consume the gushing blood, but the fragrance wielded an irresistible allure. Unwillingly, he found himself drawn toward Chen Sheng.

"Could it truly be Chen Changsheng?"

Chu Hen was astounded. In his past life, he had only read the beginning and end of the novel, knowing only that Chen was akin to a fruit of immortality, and that drinking his blood would grant eternal life.

Now... beyond the craving for blood, it seemed the pool of tainted blood also pulsed with the power of the cosmos.

He couldn't afford to ponder any longer; his thoughts were gradually grinding to a halt. To his sister, it appeared that, after this brutal battle, her brother had depleted all his strength and was now collapsing into the filthy blood.

He could only feel his tongue writhing and a fragrant scent filling his nostrils.

In a daze, his vision blurred as faint light morphed into swathes of blood-red, misty illusions that shrouded the world in a crimson haze.

The blood-colored phantoms twisted in defiance, emitting eerie hisses, but their efforts were futile against the unyielding power of the Grim Reaper.

It bellowed in rage, refusing to succumb because it had the power to defy fate. But now, it had to halt. Anger had driven it to demonic madness, also flaring its demonic intellect.

"Heh heh... heh heh..."

A crescendo of ghastly laughter grew from faint to piercing, alternating between wails and howls.

"Chu, you mongrel, I'll make your life a living hell! My blood will become your nightmare, dragging you into the endless abyss of torment!"

"Commence the ritual! The wicked space!" A distant, indistinct wail reverberated, splitting Chu Hen's head with pain.

Gathering its strength, the blood-colored phantom lunged, a massive hand of blood materializing to seize Chu Hen and hurl him through the air.

"Thud!"

It was as if he had collided with an iron gate, which then creaked open, and an ancient voice announced, "The path of the King of the Gods is now open. The tester has been positioned."

"Damn it, are you kidding me? This divine intervention is too little, too late!"

There was a sister's scolding, a sensation of being tugged, but none could withstand the force from beyond the gate. Then, Chu Hen's world went dark, and he was lost to unconsciousness.