Chen Dalu had suffered plenty of torment at the Pacification Office, but Zhang Shiheng had wanted something from him and had not dared to break him completely.
Awakening the yin dragon through the blood sacrifice ritual and forcibly fusing a portion of the dragon soul with the mother Gu had substantially strengthened his body and advanced his cultivation.
The iron staff in his hands was merely a spare and did not handle smoothly, yet against a seventh-rank junior like Zhou Wuji, it was more than enough!
Chen Dalu knew Zhou Wuji possessed superb swordsmanship, but he did not care in the slightest.
In both power and speed, a sixth-rank martial artist utterly crushed a seventh-rank cultivator. What was more, the surging vital blood in his veins was sufficient to disrupt any spell Zhou Wuji could muster.
With his profound, surging true qi, the thirty-jin iron staff felt as light as a bamboo twig in his grasp. This sweeping strike blanketed all directions, leaving Zhou Wuji no room to evade.
Even before the staff fell, the howling gale it stirred pressed the breath from Zhou Wuji’s chest, suffocating him and even stifling the circulation of his true qi.
Zhou Wuji had run Chen Dalu through with a sword once before, but back then, Chen Dalu had been pinned down by the Golden Light Incantation, powerless to resist.
Facing him again, Zhou Wuji truly appreciated the terrifying might of a sixth-rank martial artist.
Not only was Chen Dalu fast and immensely strong, but more importantly, he could manipulate true qi, giving the iron staff hundreds and thousands of fluid variations in his grip.
Confronted by such a furious onslaught, Zhou Wuji could only retreat swiftly, flicking his sleeve at the same time to unleash Northern Dipper Tianshu Yin Thunder.
A bolt of lightning like surging water darted straight toward Chen Dalu like a serpent. Chen Dalu did not dodge at all; plunging his iron staff directly into the lightning, he gave it a violent shake.
The watery thunderlight shattered against the staff into a canopy of luminescence. Before the canopy could disperse, Chen Dalu broke through the light with his staff, lunging at Zhou Wuji once more.
Protected by his turbulent vital blood and true qi, Chen Dalu had withstood the Yin Thunder without a scratch.
*Formidable,* Zhou Wuji thought in alarm. Had there not been another expert standing by, he could have traded a few moves with Chen Dalu.
With his current cultivation, he could not guarantee victory, but holding out for a while would have posed no problem.
Yet with another master watching, Zhou Wuji dared not take the risk—nor was there any need to.
Without hesitation, he retrieved a prepared jade talisman and channeled true qi through his fingertips to activate it.
The jade tablet, three inches long and two inches wide, shattered without a sound. The Golden Light Divine Incantation sealed within burst forth, turning into a dome of brilliant golden light that enveloped Zhou Wuji.
This was the Golden Light Divine Incantation jade talisman Zhiyuan had given him. Once triggered, the divine incantation possessed seventy to eighty percent of Zhiyuan's own power, capable of shielding both his body and spirit for a short period.
The Golden Light Divine Incantation did not impede Zhou Wuji’s movements; in fact, it even boosted the speed at which he breathed in spiritual qi.
Its sole drawback was that it completely cut off the inside from the outside. While external attacks could not reach him, any power he unleashed could not penetrate the barrier either.
Zhou Wuji could only employ the Flowing Cloud footwork, drifting and weaving in all directions to evade.
Chen Dalu was no mindless zombie, but a formidable sixth-rank martial artist.
The iron staff in his hands whirled like the wind. On the third strike, it slammed brutally against Zhou Wuji’s chest.
Layer upon layer of golden light rippled, deflecting the mountain-heavy staff away.
Zhou Wuji felt almost nothing. Seizing the opportunity, he fell back once more to open the distance.
Chen Dalu shook the numbness from his arms, absorbing the recoil, and closed in again to pursue Zhou Wuji with the staff.
After tangling for more than ten exchanges, Chen Dalu landed five heavy blows on the golden light, yet every one was repelled by the barrier.
Looking closely, he saw that although the layers of golden light had dimmed slightly, they could easily hold out for quite some time.
Chen Dalu felt an uneasy sinking in his chest. Turning toward Chen Chaofeng, who stood off to the side, he called out, "Senior Brother, give me a hand! Help me capture this kid quickly, before complications arise!"
Chen Chaofeng gave a slight nod. He had assumed Chen Dalu could easily subdue Zhou Wuji, never expecting the youth's protective spell to prove so stubborn.
Seeing Chen Chaofeng prepare to move, Zhou Wuji quickly shouted, "You two fools! You can't even tell I'm bait? Why aren't you running while you still have the chance?"
Both Chen Dalu and Chen Chaofeng were caught off guard. Indeed, seeing how well-prepared the kid was, could this really be an ambush?
Yet to be bluffed by a mere junior would be even more humiliating.
"Zhang Shiheng has returned to the commandery seat!" Chen Dalu snarled fiercely. "With just Zhiyuan and Xinjue, they can't do a thing to us. Even if those two old men come rushing over, I'll slaughter you first!"
"Why must you be so stubborn?" Zhou Wuji was in remarkably good temper now, patiently counseling him. "My master always said: *As long as three inches of breath remain, a man has a thousand uses; once the impermanence of death arrives, all affairs come to nought.*
"Taking revenge might feel satisfying, but it doesn't compare to keeping your life. Once your life is gone, everything is gone..."
Chen Dalu's rage flared even hotter. To hear this kid spout cynical platitudes at a time like this made him itch to tear him to pieces!
The vast Five Dragons Gang, the yin dragon soul into which he had poured countless drops of heart's blood—all of it had been destroyed by this kid.
Their enmity was irreconcilable under heaven!
Just as Chen Dalu was about to trigger a secret art and go all out, a woman's melodious, soft chuckle reached his ears. "Heh, what an interesting fellow."
The woman murmured softly, "*As long as three inches of breath remain, a man has a thousand uses; once the impermanence of death arrives, all affairs come to nought.* Though plain in wording, it speaks directly to the great Dao of life and death."
The woman's voice was gentle, clear, and remarkably pleasant to hear, yet it easily overpowered the wind-and-thunder roar of Chen Dalu's swung iron staff.
Chen Dalu felt a jolt of dread. Pulling back his iron staff, he turned toward the entrance and first saw Zhiyuan clad in a purple ritual robe.
Beside Zhiyuan stood a tall Daoist nun. Her facial features were as exquisite as a painting. She wore a purple-gold Five Dippers Crown and a matching purple-gold ritual robe, with a long sword hanging at her waist and a white jade-handled horsetail whisk cradled in her pale hand.
She looked barely twenty, standing there with an amused, half-smiling expression. Clearly a brilliant, radiant nun, she exuded an unrestrained, carefree air.
Though Chen Dalu did not recognize the nun herself, he recognized the Five Dippers Crown on her head. In the Arctic Sect, only cultivators of the upper three ranks were entitled to wear it.
In other words, this woman was at least a third-rank Realized Person.
The moment Chen Dalu and Chen Chaofeng realized this, their hearts sank.
Zhiyuan smiled at Zhou Wuji. "We arrived just in time."
Zhou Wuji agreed wholeheartedly. "Fortunately you were swift, Abbot. Any later, and you wouldn't have seen me alive."
He had no idea who the nun was either, but a Realized Person of at least the third rank was more than enough to dominate the entire scene.
Paying no mind to Chen Dalu and his companion, Zhiyuan said to Zhou Wuji, "This is Realized Person Zhihua, a Hall Master of the upper abbey. Having received my written message, she came especially to subdue demons and monsters."
Zhou Wuji knew little of the upper abbey's internal structure, but he understood what the post of Hall Master entailed. This woman appeared to be in her early twenties, yet she had not only achieved the third rank in cultivation, but was also a Hall Master—the second highest authority in the upper abbey.
He bowed respectfully with hands clasped. "Junior Wuji pays his respects to the Realized Person."
Zhihua flicked her whisk and chuckled. "Zhiyuan praised you to the skies. Seeing you today, you truly are calm, elegant, and exceptional."
"I am unworthy of such high praise. You flatter me, Realized Person." Though thick-skinned, Zhou Wuji felt a twinge of embarrassment at being praised to his face by a third-rank Realized Person.
More to the point, the Realized Person was strikingly beautiful and spoke so amiably that his heart could not help fluttering slightly.
Yet he was well aware that as an eminent Realized Person who cultivated orthodox sect arts, she would never take matters between men and women lightly.
Moreover, she belonged to the Zhi generation. However youthful her appearance, her true age could not be small—certainly not in her twenties.
If there were truly a third-rank Realized Person in her twenties, her fame would have shaken the Daoist world, and there was no way he would not have known of her.
Seeing Zhihua and Zhou Wuji chatting and exchanging pleasantries as if no one else were present, Chen Dalu felt both infuriated and utterly helpless. Trapped in the cave by Zhiyuan and Zhihua, there was nowhere to run.
Their only chance of survival was to seize Zhou Wuji as a hostage. But taking a hostage right under the nose of a Realized Person would be no easy feat.
Chen Dalu shot Chen Chaofeng a look, signaling for them to strike together and seize Zhou Wuji.
Chen Chaofeng caught Chen Dalu's meaning, but he understood the terrifying prowess of a third-rank Realized Person. Now that she had arrived, how could she possibly allow them to play tricks?
He cupped his hands respectfully toward Zhihua. "I am Chen Chaofeng of the Myriad Saints Cult. I came here merely to help Chen Dalu escape, and nothing else concerns me. May the Realized Person be generous and spare me."
Zhihua scoffed lightly. "Had you been the Six Paths Demon Lord, I might have indulged you with some face.
"A mere fifth-rank, yet you dare announce your name as if to intimidate someone? You look down on me far too much..."
As she spoke, Zhihua waved her horsetail whisk. In the empty air, seven brilliant star points condensed and shot toward Chen Chaofeng.
With a darkened expression, Chen Chaofeng circulated his true qi, driving his Five Poisons Iron Sand Palm to its utmost limit and thrusting both palms forward to meet the seven star points head-on.
The Five Poisons Iron Sand Palm he cultivated was not tempered with actual venom; rather, it channeled the qi of the five viscera throughout his body. Its strikes were overwhelmingly fierce, capable of slaying opponents upon contact as though infused with poison.
Facing a spell cast by a Realized Person, Chen Chaofeng did not dare rely on a weapon; only through his bare palms could he pour forth his true qi with everything he had.
As his palms struck out, wind and thunder seemed to erupt, shaking the entire cavern with a resounding roar. The vital blood around Chen Chaofeng flared as fiercely as an erupting inferno.
Even protected by the Golden Light Divine Incantation, Zhou Wuji could feel the scorching, tyrannical true qi unleashed by Chen Chaofeng.
Yet the seven glittering star points pierced straight through the overwhelmingly fierce palm force, plunging deep into Chen Chaofeng's body.
The eyes of the fifth-rank expert rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Though Zhou Wuji knew how formidable third-rank Realized Persons were, seeing those starlights shatter a fifth-rank martial artist's true qi so effortlessly still left him shaken.
He could faintly sense a peerless sharpness lingering upon the starlight. Rather than a spell, it felt more like some form of sword qi...
Whether spell or sword qi, to subdue a fifth-rank martial artist so casually was a display of divine might that truly broadened Zhou Wuji's horizons and filled him with deep admiration.
He could not help yearning for such power. The Arctic Sect was truly mighty, possessing incredible secret arts and divine powers. He had to cultivate diligently—he wanted to become a Realized Person too!
Beside him, Chen Dalu watched Chen Chaofeng get subdued so easily. Though he forced a calm expression, terror churned within his heart.
He had never encountered a powerhouse of the third rank before. He had thought that by joining forces and risking their lives, he and Chen Chaofeng might claw their way to survival, never imagining a third-rank Realized Person could be this monstrously strong.
Chen Chaofeng's martial arts far surpassed his own, yet before her, he had not even possessed the strength to resist. The gap between them was vast beyond measure.
Before a third-rank Realized Person, all resistance seemed entirely meaningless. Yet he was unwilling to simply surrender and await death...
Realized Person Zhihua cast a disdainful glance at Chen Dalu. "You have brought about the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent commoners. You cannot be spared."
As she spoke, she moved to strike Chen Dalu down. Zhou Wuji's mind stirred, and he spoke up hastily: "Why should the Realized Person dirty her hands with such a scoundrel? Unworthy as I am, this junior is willing to do it in your stead."
A glimmer of surprise showed in Realized Person Zhihua's bright eyes. She turned to Zhiyuan with a smile. "A cultivator from your branch abbey has such courage? A remarkable talent indeed!"
Zhiyuan smiled wryly. Zhihua was clearly teasing, not offering genuine praise...
Before Zhiyuan could explain, Zhou Wuji said, "This villain's sins are heavy, and he shares a deep grudge with me. I am willing to test myself against him!"
Zhou Wuji was not acting purely for the precious sword; more importantly, he had his eyes on the yin dragon soul inside Chen Dalu.
Furthermore, he harbored a deep loathing for the man, and slaying him with his own hands would be ideal.
Besides, though Realized Person Zhihua was a woman, she possessed a heroic, bold, and unrestrained disposition. Showing courage and martial resolve before her would likely earn her appreciation.
Even if he failed to win her admiration, it mattered little—either way, he had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
"Very well. Then let me witness the caliber of an exceptional talent from the branch abbey..." Realized Person Zhihua smiled. She was genuinely curious to see just how capable this seventh-rank cultivator renowned for his swordsmanship truly was.
Chapter 112