It was not that the ambusher had given himself away—in truth, he had concealed his killing intent very well—rather, He Lingchuan was simply accustomed to preparing for every contingency.
Before sniping the Wu beast, he had already set a ghost shadow cicada slough in place.
Leaping before his captive, he asked, "Who sent you?"
Upon seeing the face, he was not the least bit surprised, for the ambusher was none other than Hu Bin.
Back in the beast nest, this scoundrel had beaten everyone to the punch by severing the Wu beast's head and demanding the exorbitant price of forty cleansing beads. Though his justification had sounded high-minded enough, He Lingchuan hadn't believed a single word.
He could easily tell the difference between an earnest seller and someone putting on an act with ulterior motives.
And now Hu Bin had actually tracked him all the way into the mountains, taking a tremendous risk. After all, running short of even a single cleansing bead could suffocate a hero to death. Even He Lingchuan's Chiyan companions hadn't been willing to brave the mountains with him, yet here Hu Bin was.
The man was a mercenary, and He Lingchuan had no shortage of enemies, making it easy to deduce he was doing a job for pay.
Hu Bin's timing had been immaculate—striking precisely when He Lingchuan had slain the Wu beast and lowered his guard. His luck was just a little rotten.
By a stroke of serendipity, Hu Bin had walked straight into a trap instead.
Hu Bin looked up at him and sneered coldly, "The people who want your life."
"Oh? Which one?" Only when the stench of the scent bun had dissipated did He Lingchuan dare approach, resting the blade of Fusheng against his neck. "Come on, give me a surprise."
Hu Bin struggled once more, a cracking sound coming from his body like a walnut being crushed. At the same time, he answered He Lingchuan:
"All right."
What did this bastard just do? Suspicious, He Lingchuan took two cautious steps back, but the mirror suddenly shrieked, "Watch your back!"
Even before the word "back" was fully out, the hairs on the nape of He Lingchuan's neck stood on end. It was an instinct forged through life-and-death trials in Panlong City: a powerful enemy was closing in from behind. Danger!
The fissure was very narrow, offering no room to maneuver. He Lingchuan could either dash forward or leap straight up.
No, wait—in front of him, Hu Bin was blocking the way.
In that split second, his opponent had driven him into a dead end.
What was worse, the opponent had already anticipated his two escape routes, unleashing a vertical cleave surging forward and a horizontal sweep cutting upward—a ferocious cross slash!
Within seventy feet, blade energy crisscrossed the air!
In a space as cramped as this fissure, He Lingchuan had nowhere to hide. No matter how fast he ran, he could never outrun the incoming blade.
An all-out assault, leaving no room for survival. The sheer resolve to cut He Lingchuan down was terrifyingly absolute.
Yet He Lingchuan neither fled nor dodged.
In the blink of an eye, he chose to spin around and drop into a crouch. Right before his foe's eyes, he conjured a massive shield, slamming it forward with a loud crash!
The rectangular shield had a smooth, reflective face brighter than a mirror, standing more than half a man tall.
This was none other than the second form of the soul-snatching mirror. Having evolved several times after consuming Emperor's Flowing Dew, it had been constantly honing its new properties. As He Lingchuan put it, the thing was finally proving somewhat useful.
Once he crouched, the shield covered him completely.
The cross slash struck the shield with a thunderous boom. What seemed like a single blow was actually seven consecutive strikes! The frequency was so fast and the interval so brief that it sounded like one long, sustained blast.
Even with He Lingchuan's current cultivation, it felt as though a colossal elephant had crashed headlong into him without mercy.
The mirror shrieked even louder: "Aargh! That hurts! This kid is strong!"
Yet, in the end, it held.
The deadliest primary cross slash had struck the shield, and most of its force was deflected. However, the residual blade energy whipped back and forth through the stone fissure like flying daggers.
The stone walls on both sides were sheer. The blade energy ricocheted back and forth like sound waves. Even with the shield braced in front, He Lingchuan's flanks and back were bare of heavy protection, and he was slashed countless times in an instant.
Though it was only residual blade energy, the frequency and ferocity were tantamount to death by a thousand cuts; his foe clearly wished this very torture upon him.
Fortunately, a faint glow from the shield's surface extended across He Lingchuan's body. The mirror shield retained the properties of a heart-protecting mirror, constantly providing him with full-body protection, even if its strength was limited.
Two popping sounds came from his person as two defensive magic artifacts shattered. Any hunter entering the Fu Realm would come prepared, and he had made sure to acquire some protective gear of his own.
Regardless, he had successfully blocked his opponent's most insidious and ferocious strike, seizing the rhythm to counterattack.
With only inches between them, He Lingchuan raised his hand and delivered a thunderous shield bash with crushing force.
His opponent's center line was exposed. Fusheng, hidden behind the shield all along, flashed into view, thrusting straight toward the foe's abdomen like a venomous viper.
He Lingchuan could see clearly now: the ambusher behind him was none other than Hu Bin once more!
Twice! The man had ambushed him twice.
Only now did the "Hu Bin" behind He Lingchuan, bound by spider silk, slowly fade into a blur, until finally only two strands of spider silk fluttered in the empty air.
Hu Bin saw through the follow-up attack. Rather than taking it head-on, he leapt back a step to evade Fusheng.
The blade gave him a distinctly perilous sensation.
Moreover, that massive cross slash had suffered recoil from the shield. No one knew his own strength better than Hu Bin; even a tenth or two rebounding upon him left his vital energy churning, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger throbbing with sharp pain, and his shoulder heavily rattled.
Having finally wrested back the initiative, how could He Lingchuan let it go easily? This was a treacherous mountain ascent. Geographically, Hu Bin was below and He Lingchuan above; when his offensive unfolded, it was like a ferocious tiger charging down a mountain, savage and unstoppable.
Fighting from the high ground gave him the advantage, both practically and psychologically.
Unlike his opponent's sweeping, disciplined assault, He Lingchuan's shield strikes were exceptionally violent and sweeping, while Fusheng in his right hand struck like a phantom, ruthlessly targeting vital points without a shred of chivalry.
Two weapons, two diametrically opposed fighting styles, left his opponent scrambling to keep up.
This was one of the tactics he had learned in the Gale Army, known as "Clam Sting." In the salt lake north of Panlong City lived a small clam no longer than a pinky finger, yet expert at catching fish. Its muscular foot possessed a venomous barb that could dart out suddenly from beneath the shell's protection, impaling nearby minnows.
The Gale Army had adapted the method into combat, combining solid defense with bizarre, deceptive offense to disrupt an enemy's rhythm.
Whenever an opening arose, he pressed forward an inch, advancing step by steady step.
Both were veterans of a hundred battles, both possessed calm minds and unyielding wills. The sparks flying from their clashing blades illuminated the dim mountainside, reflecting the equally ruthless glint in their eyes.
When two meet on a narrow path, the brave prevail. Neither had any way to retreat!
From the very start, this fight had been a duel to the death.
The likes of Fan Sheng or Meng Shan couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Hu Bin. Yet the longer He Lingchuan fought, the smoother his movements became, the more comfortable he felt, and the more excited he grew.
Ever since he obtained the Ziwu Formula in Panlong City, he had applied himself diligently, never daring to slacken for a single day.
Ever since he drank his first mouthful of Emperor's Flowing Dew, his progress had never ceased.
Ever since he first stained the yellow sands with blood, he had known that his only path forward was one of fierce, unstoppable advancement.
Yet after entering the Beijia Kingdom, he had guarded his secrets at every turn, keeping a low profile to survive, treading cautiously and maneuvering between factions.
Rational though he was, the suppression, anger, and indignity accumulated over so long were bound to find an outlet and surge forth.
Like right now, beneath this grueling gravity.
Hu Bin grew increasingly alarmed as the fight wore on.
He could acutely sense that his opponent was growing ever more fluid; both his bladecraft and battle intent were steadily climbing toward their peak.
Like a slumbering dragon rising with the tide, his momentum was unstoppable.
In close-quarters combat and hand-to-hand brawls, it had been a long time since anyone had fought him on equal terms. Yet this youth was actually using him as a whetstone for his blade, seeking a breakthrough right in the middle of battle!
A few months ago, this boy had only just begun making a name for himself, barely capable of exchanging a single blow with him.
Such progress was simply absurd!
His intuition had been right after all: he should have cut him down back then to prevent future trouble.
The two had fought their way out of the fissure and back into the rocky hollow. With their surroundings suddenly opening up, their tactics inevitably shifted.
Though his opponent was growing increasingly exhilarated, Hu Bin wasn't worried. He Lingchuan's momentum was formidable, but his consumption of true power flowed like water through an open sluice gate. One had to remember that the Fu Realm had nearly four times normal gravity; every all-out attack came at a heavy cost.
By the time this brat realized it, his dantian would likely be running dry. Under such conditions, by conserving his own strength while the enemy exhausted himself, Hu Bin would surely find the moment to turn defense into offense.
Hu Bin had been tempered on battlefields for years and defeated countless formidable foes; he knew well that victory was not decided in the heat of a single moment, but by the final outcome.
He still had follow-up moves, trump cards kept in reserve. The moment He Lingchuan's energy faltered would be the moment his vengeance was exacted!
He only needed to wait until—
Suddenly, with a deafening bang, a stone some twenty feet to their side was stepped on and detonated.
At least, on the surface it looked like a stone.
It was a marker He Lingchuan had previously buried around the perimeter of the hollow. It looked and felt like stone, but was hollow inside, containing a muffled thunder charge and an incendiary talisman. The moment the talisman experienced pressure, it ignited, triggering the muffled thunder explosion.
As the shockwave tore outward, neither of them could escape it.
The blast wave hurled both men into the air. Light flashed across both their bodies as their defensive magic artifacts were automatically triggered.
Fortunately, both were exceptionally agile; flipping in midair, they landed steadily on the ground.
Hu Bin cursed vehemently in his heart. No wonder He Lingchuan had driven him back toward the hollow—the bastard had planned to use the muffled thunder on the ground to blow his face to shreds!
He had nearly fallen into the kid's trap.
Yet there wasn't the slightest joy in his heart, because a muffled thunder charge wouldn't detonate unless stepped on.
An uninvited guest had entered the hollow, creeping up silently beside them within less than twenty feet.
Having taken the blast dead-on, the newcomer dropped its disguise and revealed its true form.
Twenty feet tall, a maw like a saltwater crocodile, powerful muscles, razor-sharp talons...
The Wu beast leader had appeared!
Caught off guard by the muffled thunder blast, it slammed heavily against a nearby boulder with a dull thud.
The rock tumbled all the way down the cliff face.
Yet the Wu beast leader scrambled to its feet at once and shook its body. The explosion hadn't wounded its flesh, but it had ignited its fury.
He Lingchuan drew a sharp breath. Li Qingge had explicitly promised him that while this type of muffled thunder had a small blast radius, its power was extraordinarily concentrated—capable of blowing a several-thousand-jin Donao beast straight in two!
If even thick-hided Donao beasts met such a fate, how could Hu Bin have survived stepping on one?
He hadn't expected that before Hu Bin could receive the "hospitality," the Wu beast leader would accidentally detonate it. Even less had he expected that such a potent blast would inflict zero damage on the beast.
It was far too durable. No wonder it dared to clash head-on with a lord-tier creature like the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth.
Even if this beast's strength wasn't quite lord tier, it couldn't be more than half a step away!
Chapter 654