Chapter 721 - 671: I Will Make You Speak!
As Qin Fan’s words fell, Zhou Shaofeng—renowned as the next Heavenly Master of Xiangjiang for his remarkable, innate talent—widened his eyes in shock. He had no time to care for the burning, lacerated wound on his face. The moment he staggered to his feet, filled with resentment, he froze completely.
The laughing face before him was far too familiar; there was no mistaking it.
Master! How can it be Master? Didn’t he go into seclusion? How could it possibly be him? No, no, no! I must have seen it wrong.
In that chaotic instant, Zhou Shaofeng violently shook his head, refusing to accept this reality. Thinking back to the purple-black Qi Dragon, he was no fool.
If this really is my master, then this was all a setup! A setup that even I was kept in the dark about. A setup that destroyed the souls of dozens of Xiangjiang’s Abnormal Masters!
"Haha, it’s often said that each generation produces its own talents. Who would have thought a mere youth in his teens could discover this old man? Not bad, not bad at all! Haha—!" The aged figure approached from the cliff across from Qin Fan, laughing heartily as he walked.
"Master?" Zhou Shaofeng asked tentatively. Hearing that impossibly familiar voice, he felt as if the very foundation of his beliefs had crumbled.
"Shaofeng! This no longer concerns you. Go back! Your master will explain it to you later!" Zhou Donglin said, waving his hand toward Zhou Shaofeng.
"Why? Why? Why are you doing this? Master, haven’t you always preached about benevolence and righteousness? Why have you become like this? Collecting the souls of the people in Jiangzhou was one thing, but how can you not even spare your own people now?"
Even if Zhou Shaofeng was hopelessly naive, he understood by now that this was all orchestrated by his master, Zhou Donglin. The Demon Dragon’s aura hadn’t broken its Sealing; it was already under his master’s control. He had released the Demon Dragon’s aura to create the illusion that it was spreading to poison the world. It was all a scheme to lure those accomplished Abnormal Masters here so he could use the Demon Dragon’s aura to perform a Soul Gathering in one fell swoop!
At this point, the truth was brutally clear.
"Enough nonsense! You never intended for me to leave Gufeng Ridge alive, and I have no intention of letting you walk away, either! Time to see what you’re really made of!" Qin Fan cut them off with a derisive hum, not giving the master and disciple another moment to speak. With that, his entire body shot forward, the golden whip in his hand sweeping toward Zhou Donglin in a ghostly, golden dance.
"A Martial Arts genius the likes of which Huaxia hasn’t seen in a century, a young Grandmaster who killed Lan Xiaosheng and subdued Hua Xiaotian! I must say, you certainly have the capital for such arrogance. Unfortunately for you, you’ve met me today!" Facing the rapidly approaching Qin Fan, Zhou Donglin’s expression was the very picture of calm composure. As the words left his lips, his body suddenly darted and jolted to the left, then again! In a series of swift, flickering movements, several doppelgangers materialized in the blink of an eye, tightly encircling Qin Fan.
"You dare show off such petty tricks before an expert!" Qin Fan sneered. He channeled his True Qi, pouring it into the golden whip, and viciously smashed it down on one of the doppelgangers.
CRACK!
CRACK! CRACK!
In a flurry of strikes, like a game of whack-a-mole, his whip swept through the air. With each blow, the eight Heavenly Master doppelgangers dissipated into nothingness.
Before Zhou Donglin even had a chance to command his eight doppelgangers, he saw them effortlessly destroyed, and his expression changed dramatically. His calm composure vanished in an instant, replaced by a rare solemnity.
"Boy, it seems I truly cannot let you live!" Zhou Donglin let out a sinister laugh. As he spoke, he spread his arms and began to glide backward. After nine sliding steps, he leaped into the air.
"In the name of the Heavenly Master, I summon the aid of the Nine Dragons! Hah—!" Soaring through the air, Zhou Donglin completely ignored gravity. He took out nine Talismans and flung them toward the sky! As he finished his incantation, the nine Talismans bizarrely burst into flame. While they burned, the ashes defied gravity, eerily coalescing into the shape of dragons.
When all nine Talismans were consumed, nine world-shaking dragon roars thundered from every direction around Gufeng Ridge. The ashes of the nine burnt talismans trembled, then scattered, reforming in the same motion into ferocious, fanged Qi Dragons! They had no physical form, but they possessed both sound and shape. Without any command from Zhou Donglin, the nine Qi Dragons surged forward in unison, bearing down on Qin Fan and cutting off every possible path of retreat.
Facing the nine charging Qi Dragons, Qin Fan simply shook his head in disdain. He stood his ground, pulled nine True Fire Talismans from his storage space, and casually flicked them upward. As if guided by Spirit Communication, the nine True Fire Talismans sailed neatly toward the incoming Qi Dragons.
The moment the True Fire Talismans made contact, the Qi Dragons froze. The next instant, ethereal, mournful draconic cries shook the air.
WAIL—!
WAIL—!
WAIL—!
The True Fire Talismans pressed against the nine Qi Dragons had ignited, unleashing the One-Flavor True Fire. If these had been true dragons, the talismans wouldn’t have been enough to even scratch an itch. But for mere Qi Dragons, especially ones conjured from Talismans, what threat could they possibly pose?
Before Zhou Donglin’s shocked and disbelieving eyes, the True Fire Talismans swiftly devoured the nine Qi Dragons. At the same time, Zhou Donglin clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood. He took a deep, shuddering breath, his gaze toward Qin Fan shifting rapidly. Gasping, he stared at Qin Fan. "Are those... True Fire Talismans?"
True Fire Talismans were said to be able to burn anything in existence to ash, but in all his experience, Zhou Donglin had never known anyone capable of creating them. He had spent years trying to craft them himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he never made any real progress. Seeing them now, how could he possibly suppress the wild pounding of his heart?
What if they are, and what if they aren’t? Qin Fan thought with a mocking shake of his head. He could see the hungry, covetous desire in Zhou Donglin’s eyes all too clearly.
A mere mortal like him thinks he can possess the ability to create True Fire Talismans? What a joke! Without a foundation of Cultivation True Qi, it’s impossible to draw a True Fire Talisman with any real power. Moreover, the threshold for improving them is incredibly high. When I first entered the Qi Refinement realm, I could barely draw one. Now, at the Golden Core stage, I’m still limited to the One-Flavor True Fire. As for reaching the Second or Third Level of Samadhi, I have no idea when that breakthrough might occur. After all, it depends not only on one’s Cultivation but, more importantly, on one’s state of mind and opportunity.
"I’ll make you talk!" Zhou Donglin grinned sinisterly. He quickly produced a banner the size of his palm, with a blood-red background and characters as black as a captured soul. Tossing the banner into the air, a ghostly wind instantly began to howl across Gufeng Ridge. Even the sky rapidly darkened as storm clouds swept in.
As the saying goes, you can tell an expert by their first move. Similarly, when a powerhouse of the Heavenly Master Level like Zhou Donglin makes a move, the battle is rarely a drawn-out affair. He had tested the waters. Now, it was time to unleash his ultimate move and end this quickly.
PS: My fever is gone, but my throat is still inflamed. Even swallowing saliva is painful. I’m exhausted and so sleepy; I just can’t write anymore! I haven’t been in a good state for writing these past few days due to being unwell, so the content might not be up to expectations. Please bear with me. I promise I will give you all a different kind of story later, one that will get your blood pumping with excitement