CHAPTER 167: CHAPTER 35: INJURED!

His body’s defense was incredibly formidable. Qin An’s pen tip only left a white mark on his palm, not even close to breaking his defense.

Instead, when he exerted force, Qin An was injured by the counterattack. He grabbed Qin An’s neck, slowly applying more pressure. Qin An struggled hard, trying to pry open his hand, but was unsuccessful. His face turned red, and his breath became unstable.

Seeing Qin An’s situation, Si Lin, Yue Zhao, Cheng Hao, and Qu Ye attacked from four directions simultaneously, while Qi Yu looked for an opportunity to rescue Qin An.

The golden light was imposing, leaving a deep mark on the ground, as it slashed toward his back.

The invisible Sound Blade, carrying a chill, attacked his neck.

Hundreds of Sword Qi shot out from the silver Soft Sword like meteors, carrying a fierce murderous aura, stabbing at his right waist.

The earth-yellow glow, with a heavy aura, flew towards his back of the head, causing sand and stones to fly as it passed.

An attack from one person was nothing to the middle-aged man, but simultaneous attacks from four people made him wary. He tossed Qin An aside like throwing a sandbag, turned around, extended his right hand, and a giant axe as tall as a person appeared in his hand. He swung it in Si Lin’s direction, sending a beam of white light shooting at Si Lin.

The white light collided with the golden light in mid-air, their intense brilliance making it hard for anyone to keep their eyes open. The two emitted a fierce clash, causing the ground to shake briefly. The golden light vanished immediately, while the white light weakened considerably, flying straight toward Si Lin.

Si Lin wielded the Dragon Capturing Sword again, completely blocking the white light, preventing any injury, but his face remained very serious.

After the white light flew out, the middle-aged man ignored it and instead used the giant axe to block in front of himself, deflecting Yue Zhao’s Sound Blade. The giant axe was slashed with a white mark. He swung the axe at Yue Zhao, then lowered the axe to block Qi Yu’s attack, turned to face Qu Ye, raised the axe, and took a step back to block Qu Ye’s attack.

After Qin An was tossed aside, Qi Yu caught him, stabilized him, and together with Si Lin and the others, engaged the middle-aged man again.

The middle-aged man glanced at the group, a flash of red appearing in his black eyes, and he initiated an attack.

His figure flickered, disappearing from his original position. In the next instant, he appeared in front of Qi Yu, raised the giant axe, and slashed fiercely toward Qi Yu. Qi Yu immediately raised the heavy sword to block the middle-aged man’s attack. Sparks flew when the giant axe collided with the giant sword, pushing the giant sword closer to Qi Yu. Qi Yu’s face flushed red, exerting all his strength just to keep the giant axe in front of him.

Qi Yu’s body kept retreating, about a dozen meters, before he stopped.

The middle-aged man suddenly kicked Qi Yu’s stomach. Qi Yu tried to dodge, but with the giant sword against the giant axe, he could only take the kick. His body flew backward, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood mid-air, his eyes dulling slightly.

While the middle-aged man fought with Qi Yu, Si Lin and the others launched an attack, but after Qi Yu was injured, the middle-aged man directly avoided their attack.

The next moment, the middle-aged man appeared in front of Qin An. Qin An hurriedly raised the Iron Pen in his hand, trying to attack the middle-aged man, but the middle-aged man swung the giant axe first, aiming for his head. Qin An could only cross the Iron Pen horizontally to resist the middle-aged man’s attack.

The middle-aged man’s strength was much greater than his, forcing Qin An’s body to continuously retreat until the giant axe finally hit his shoulder. If Si Lin hadn’t arrived in time, one of his arms might have been chopped off!

The Dragon Capturing Sword charged straight at the middle-aged man’s eyes. Among everyone, Si Lin had the highest cultivation and deepest understanding of Sword Intent. Similarly, his attack was the strongest. Even before the Dragon Capturing Sword reached his eyes, the middle-aged man felt the chill from the sword’s tip and instinctively closed his eyes.

Si Lin suddenly changed direction, prying open the giant axe in the man’s hand, and gently pushed Qi Yu out of the battle circle.

He himself faced the middle-aged man head-on, the Dragon Capturing Sword continuously clashing with the giant axe in the man’s hand. Explosions were heard constantly from around them, pits appearing on the ground, raising dust so that Yue Zhao and the others could barely see the two figures clearly!

Si Lin’s face was serious as he faced the Half-step Immortal Rank. The pressure was immense, and the man’s strength was formidable. He could feel his own hand going numb, but he couldn’t stop!

Qu Ye, carrying his own staff, also joined in between the two, attacking the man alongside Si Lin from the left and right. The man swung the giant axe so fast that afterimages were visible, with ripples from the attacks spreading all around, continuously creating more pits on the ground, turning the originally flat ground into a rugged surface.

At this time, Yue Zhao stopped using Sound Blade attacks and switched to playing a tune. This tune could affect a person’s mental state, being one of the few Divine Sense Attack Magic Techniques.

However, the man’s Divine Sense was much stronger than Yue Zhao’s. When the man’s actions paused for a moment, Yue Zhao coughed up blood, nearly interrupting his tune!

Si Lin and Qu Ye seized the man’s pause to unleash their strongest attacks, finally leaving wounds on the man’s shoulder and back.

Of course, this only served to anger the man further.

He turned to look at Yue Zhao, who felt danger and instinctively looked up, locking eyes with the man. Immediately, he felt a sharp pain in his head, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his actions halted directly, and his breath weakened significantly!

After dealing with Yue Zhao, the man raised the giant axe, exerting all his strength to slash toward Si Lin. A huge axe shadow appeared, leaving deep marks on the ground as it passed, arriving in front of Si Lin.

Si Lin appeared stern and immediately swung his sword to block, but this was the man’s angry strike. Despite using all his strength, Si Lin couldn’t block it. He slid across the ground for more than ten meters, finally spitting out a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest, kneeling on one knee, heavily injured!

The man turned again, swinging the axe at Qu Ye. Qu Ye’s cultivation was not even as high as Si Lin’s, and he was knocked backward, spitting out several mouths of blood before collapsing unconscious.

Cheng Hao had just launched an attack when the man turned toward him, suddenly appearing in front of Cheng Hao and slamming a palm into his chest. Cheng Hao staggered back several steps, spitting out a large amount of blood. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, continuing to attack the man until he was kicked flying, passing out.

Si Lin, Qin An, and Qi Yu endured their injuries as they launched another attack. However, they had not been a match for the man before, and after their injuries, they were even less so. Qi Yu and Qin An were directly thrown away by the man single-handedly, crashing into a rockery before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Si Lin wasn’t doing much better, a long wound left on his back by the Giant Axe, bleeding heavily and his face turning pale instantly. Just as the man was about to chop off his arm with the Giant Axe, Rong Ye intervened.

The Heavenly Awakening Record floated above Rong Ye’s head, and tens of thousands of talismans flew out from the Heavenly Awakening Record, surrounding the man. Under Rong Ye’s control, all the talismans were activated, their explosive power forming a whirlwind that enveloped the man, blocking Rong Ye and others from sight.

Rong Ye took the opportunity to bring Si Lin to Mu Chen’s side, asking Mu Chen to help heal Si Lin’s wounds.

After the aftermath of the talisman explosion passed, the man appeared in front of Rong Ye and the others, with many small wounds on his body, visible on his cheeks as well. The severity of his injuries differed from what Rong Ye imagined, and Rong Ye’s face turned grim.

The strongest few had lost combat power, and Gu Qingqing and the others couldn’t just stand by; they all took out their weapons and attacked the man together.

The Mixed Immortal Silk rushed at the man like a Spiritual Snake, wrapping around the man’s wrist holding the Giant Axe, attempting to coil further up, but was grabbed by the man. Gu Qingqing immediately controlled the Mixed Immortal Silk to soften, slipping from the man’s hand.

At the same time, Lin Xian’er and Zhao Yan each attacked with sword moves directed at the man, but their assaults couldn’t cause serious damage to him, only leaving a shallow cut, which the man directly ignored.

Yun Ran’s whip hadn’t reached in front of the man when it was grabbed by him, he swung it forcefully, causing Yun Ran to spin several times in mid-air before being pulled towards the man. She had to discard the whip to free herself from his control but was swept by the man’s palm wind, spitting a mouthful of blood.

Zhuo Tingqiu’s sword move was likewise ineffective, like Lin Xian’er and the others, leaving only a not-too-deep wound on the man’s body. The man directly ignored his attack, appeared in front of him, and kicked Zhuo Tingqiu, whose body flew up and crashed heavily onto the ground, blood continuously flowing from the corner of his lips.

Though they hadn’t achieved much, four out of the five were injured. Gu Qingqing seized the chance to bind the man’s waist, channeling Spiritual Power into the Mixed Immortal Silk, which became extremely sharp, cutting into the man’s skin. The man grabbed the Mixed Immortal Silk, tossing it forcefully, causing Gu Qingqing to be flung away and caught by Rong Ye.

Rong Ye, holding the poison given by Mu Chen, threw it at the man, who brushed it aside with palm wind, all landing on the ground.

The group dared not give up, attacking the man again. The man directly reached Gu Qingqing, swinging the Giant Axe, a red beam flying towards Gu Qingqing, who was locked in by the man’s aura, unable to move, only able to watch helplessly as the red beam approached!

"Geng Geng, watch out!" Rong Ye shouted loudly, rushing towards Gu Qingqing.

Just as the red beam was about to hit Gu Qingqing, a translucent protective shield suddenly appeared around her, the red beam and shield dissipating together, with Rong Ye arriving to take her aside.

Touching the Jade on her neck, Gu Qingqing’s eyes flashed with surprise. This Jade was given to her by Wen Guiyun before departure, claiming it could help her withstand three full-force attacks from a Half-step Immortal Rank. She thought it wouldn’t be used, unlike previous ones, but unexpectedly it was!

The man did not insist after failing to hurt Gu Qingqing, turning directly to fly towards Lin Xian’er and Zhao Yan, swinging the Giant Axe. Unlike Gu Qingqing, Lin Xian’er and Zhao Yan didn’t have Jade, nor enough cultivation power. Despite trying their best to resist, they were still knocked unconscious!

Rong Ye controlled the talismans from the Heavenly Awakening Record to attack the man again. The talismans exploded on the man’s body; a layer of ice formed on his arm only to be shaken off, and the lightning struck his body merely slowing him down momentarily. Other attacks had little effect, with the only useful Samadhi True Fire Talisman being scarce in Rong Ye’s possession, and all successfully avoided by the man!

The man eyed Rong Ye, swung the Giant Axe, with a red beam heading straight for Rong Ye’s face. Rong Ye quickly used over a dozen protective talismans before himself, weakening the red beam’s power and blocking it.

Zhuo Tingqiu and Yun Ran seized the chance to attack again.

Yun Ran had retrieved her whip, this time not directly wrapping it around the man but dispatching shadows of whips towards him.

Zhuo Tingqiu did likewise, attacking the man with Sword Qi.

Their attacks left two scars on the man’s lower back and left arm, but the man struck both heavily injured, leaving them lying on the ground, watching him head towards Gu Qingqing and Rong Ye.

"Geng Geng, retreat," Rong Ye stepped forward, blocking Gu Qingqing, and told her, activating the Heavenly Awakening Record again.

From the Heavenly Awakening Record, the talismans formed a giant sword shape in the air, thrusting at the man but blocked by his Giant Axe, causing Rong Ye to spit a mouthful of blood.

The man raised the Giant Axe, striking at Gu Qingqing fiercely. Once again locked in place, unable to move, Jun Wu dragged his injured body to shield Gu Qingqing, taking the blow himself, suffering further injury, with blood seemingly flowing relentlessly from his mouth. He only managed to glance at Gu Qingqing before utterly fainting.

"Jun Wu!" Holding Jun Wu’s collapsing body, Gu Qingqing felt a sour sensation in her heart, eyes instantly reddened. She embraced Jun Wu, setting him down properly, then arranged an Array Plate next to him, shielding him from flying dust and soil.

After settling him, she stood upright, facing the man.

At that moment, the man was battling Rong Ye, Gu Qingqing eyed him with a grave expression.

Her face tightened, watching the man, when as Rong Ye’s talismans targeted the man, she suddenly spoke: "Fixed!"

The Word Spirit Technique instantly took effect, freezing the man’s body, allowing Rong Ye’s attack to hit him, resulting in a ten-centimeter-long wound on his chest.

Due to the level difference, the Word Spirit Technique’s effect didn’t last long, but Rong Ye seized the opportunity to leave numerous wounds on the man’s body.

Meanwhile, Gu Qingqing grew pale, her spiritual power nearly exhausted, with the meridians aching!

As the Word Spirit Technique dissipated, Gu Qingqing’s lips lightly parted: "Right arm vanish!"

Mysterious and ethereal as her voice fell, the man discovered his arm, formerly clutching the Giant Axe, had vanished. He turned his head towards Gu Qingqing, shocked, seemingly not anticipating her Word Spirit Technique’s prowess!