Chapter 129 – No Easy Meat

  Zhao Wuxian was a blazing comet of defiance, his fist hammering against Demonic Cultivators to send them flying, their bones shattered and their bodies broken. His laughter echoed even louder than the clash of battle around him.

  He was completely wild and unrestrained as scarlet-gold Qi surged from his body.

  Behind him, a colossal phantom rose in the shape of a towering ape with iron-dark fur and eyes that burned like molten coals. The Iron-Backed Flame Ape was the bloodline spirit of Zhao Wuxian, and it roared in tandem with a muscular young man.

  With each one of Zhao Wuxian’s strikes, the image howled, its power fueling him as he became an unstoppable storm that tore its way through the battlefield.

  Then the world around him seemed to come to a standstill.

  A suffocating spiritual pressure descended from above, pressing down like a mountain on the deck where he stood. Nearby Disciples staggered, their breaths catching in their throats.

  Zhao Wuxian’s laughter faltered as an older woman descended slowly from the sky. Her black robes flowed around her unnaturally, while her presence was cold and malicious. The smell of blood and demonic Qi clung to her like perfume.

  Her lips curved into a cruel smile, and her eyes gleamed with hunger as they lingered on Zhao Wuxian.

  “An awakened Beast Bloodline. It will be perfect to anchor my unstable Dantian. Boy, your blood and marrow will be mine!” She said, her voice smooth and venomous.

  Zhao Wuxian spat on the deck, and his grin remained despite the suffocating pressure suppressing him.

  “Then come take it, you old hag! Zhao Wuxian is no easy meat!”

  He lunged forward, his fist igniting with the full might of his Iron-Backed Flame Ape bloodline. The phantom beast behind him struck as well, its roar shaking the air around him.

  The woman didn’t retreat or show any concern. Her Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Qi surrounded her, and she merely flicked her sleeve with a casual motion.

  A tidal wave of crushing Qi surged forth, halting Zhao Wuxian’s strike before it could reach her. His grin froze on his face as the pressure pierced into his body. A grotesque chorus of cracks sounded out as his bones snapped one after another.

  His ribs, arms, and legs were crushed by the sheer force of her cultivation. His body crumpled to the ground, trembling, as blood spilled from his mouth. The Iron-Backed Flame Ape behind him gave a final, distorted roar before its image shattered and faded away.

  Zhao Wuxian coughed violently, but even while he was broken, his eyes blazed with unwillingness to lose.

  The Demonic Woman’s fingers had just begun to curl, the red light of the Crimson Rebirth Sutra gathered around her, when a thunderclap rang out across the deck.

  A streak of force slammed into her chest, driving her backwards. She staggered a half dozen steps, her cruel smile faltering for the first time. Her feet scraped against the blood-slick deck, only halting when her Qi flared to anchor her in place.

  The older woman’s eyes widened in surprise, and for the first time, a trace of doubt appeared on her face.

  Shen Weifeng stood between her and the crumpled form of Zhao Wuxian. His hands were clasped neatly behind his back, while his blue Inner Sect robes billowed around him. The air shuddered with the weight of his unrestrained aura, proclaiming him to be firmly and solidly in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

  Unlike his normal, calm and wise demeanour, Shen Weifeng’s face was carved from stone, cold and terrifying in its intensity. His killing intent swelled around him, pressing like a blade against the woman’s skin.

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  “Another fool comes to die?” The woman sneered, masking her uneasiness with venom.

  Shen Weifeng didn’t bother to respond. Instead, he dropped into a ready stance while Jun De appeared at his side.

  “Jun De, take Zhao Wuxian below to the healers. I will deal with this one.” Shen Weifeng ordered, leaving no room for argument.

  “Yes, Elder Shen.” Jun De said, not hesitating and unconsciously switching to his formal way of speaking to the former Elder.

  Jun De moved quickly to kneel next to Zhao Wuxian and lifted the large man to sling him over his shoulder. Zhao Wuxian let out a groan from the pain but resisted calling out. As Jun De turned and sprinted for the stairwell that led below deck, Shen Weifeng stood in front of the older woman like an unmovable wall.

  “It doesn’t matter what you do; I will have that boy’s bloodline.”

  Shen Wiefeng’s response was to strike out, and the deck of the flying ship shuddered as they clashed. His movements were sharp and precise; each attack was honed through years of training and decades of experience. Qi surged with his every palm strike, crashing against the older woman like an avalanche.

  The woman only laughed, her voice shrill and cruel as she met him blow for blow. While Shen Weifeng was physically stronger and his foundation was solid, the difference between the middle and late stages of Foundation Establishment couldn’t be overcome easily.

  The demonic Qi fueling her attacks was vast, and the battle between them seemed even for the moment.

  Shen Weifeng flicked his sleeve and released a jade talisman that he had concealed there. It separated into pieces, detonated in rapid successions of fire and lightning that tore the deck apart. The woman staggered back a step under the barrage, her robe singed, and her lips bloodied.

  She wiped the blood away with the back of her hand and chuckled, the sound almost feral.

  “Impressive, you fight like someone who has stared death in the eye many times. But you’re going to die just the same, and your soul will make a fine addition to my Banner!”

  Her hand shot into her storage pouch and took out a black silk flag that was ragged at the edges. The air chilled as she unfurled it, and Shen Weifeng could see the surface was crawling with faint, screaming faces of the souls she had imprisoned within it.

  A suffocating miasma of resentment and slaughter poured out from the spiritual artifact as thousands of tortured souls wailed from within its fabric, their cries digging into the minds of those who heard it like claws.

  Shen Weifeng’s expression tightened for the first time since they had started fighting, and his breath halted for a fraction of a moment. The flag pulsed with a sickening light, and the keening wail of the damned gnawed at his spirit.

  He pushed his Qi outward to shield himself, but the spiritual artifact pressed against his defences.

  The woman laughed harder as she thrust the flag forward, and black mist poured from it to coalesce into chains that lashed out at Shen Weifeng. He pivoted and struck out with a palm, his Qi flaring for an instant as he shattered one chain, but three more coiled around him, dragging at his limbs and clawing at his skin.

  The chains tightened, and Shen Weifeng’s ribs began to crack under the pressure. He struggled to free himself with his own strength, but he was completely trapped.

  After a moment, he ceased moving, and his expression grew grim. In a voice almost too low to be heard, Shen Weifeng muttered to himself.

  “I wanted to walk this path with nothing but my own strength. I never wanted to rely on my Clan, but I don’t have a choice if I want to protect those placed in my care.”

  Shen Weifeng’s stance shifted, his feet rooted more firmly onto the blood-soaked deck. Qi roared through his meridians, converging onto his clenched right fist.

  The older woman sneered when she saw him continuing to struggle.

  “You should feel honoured. To be bound within the Thousand Howling Banner. The souls within have all lent their Blood Essence to my foundation, and soon you will join them. And when you’re gone, I’ll find that boy with the Beast Bloodline and make him mine as well!”

  Shen Weifeng’s voice was steady as sharp as he raised his right fist and drove it forward.

  “Shen Clan Secret Art: World-Breaking Fist!”

  The strike wasn’t as elegant or precise as his other attacks had been. The Shen Clan technique was raw destruction, and Qi surged outward in an explosion like a collapsing mountain. The spectral chains binding him shattered instantly, breaking into fragments that hissed into nothingness.

  The Thousand Howling Banner wailed as cracks spread through its surface, the silk shrivelling like burned paper. In the same motion, his fist continued forward to smash directly into the Demonic Cultivator’s chest.

  Her body twisted under the force as her Qi barrier crumpled. She screamed as her bones snapped, and blood sprayed from her lips. The Shen Clan’s technique didn’t stop until she was obliterated in a spray of bloody mist.

  Free from his restraints, Shen Weifeng staggered as the backlash of the technique ravaged his meridians. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his body trembled. His right hand was scorched black from the toll of using the attack, and his entire arm hung limp by his side.

  Shen Weifeng watched in satisfaction as the souls within the flag were released, before turning around to go look for Jun De and the others.