Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Might of the Innate

Relying on the arcane power of the Scarlet Sun Pearl, the treasured artifact of the Xuan Zhen Temple, Cheng Feng transformed himself, unleashing a barrier of protective force rivaling the might of a master at the Transformative Form Stage of the mystic arts. But even this great shield was shattered, and as he stared death in the eye beneath the onslaught of Cheng Feng’s soul-manifesting, mystical restraints, Qi Fei could only muster his remaining strength to hurl forth a desperate, thunderous punch.

There was nowhere to run. He was forced to meet the endless, crimson sword light head-on, which burst forth and crashed down with suffocating force. In the deafening explosion, both of Qi Fei’s arms erupted into a haze of blood. The intense, explosive energy surged into his meridians like a breached dam, inundating his entire body in an instant.

The world energy Qi Fei had once been so proud of now seemed utterly insignificant before the devastating might of this soul-manifesting technique. Countless wounds tore open across his body, and together with a collapsing beam of the great hall, he was hurled down onto the blue stone tiles of the sect’s main chamber.

Broken and battered, Qi Fei lay buried beneath the rubble, his internal meridians shattered and torn asunder by the mystic restraints. Facing certain death, unwilling to accept his fate, memories of his past flashed through his mind, igniting a fierce will to live.

In that razor-thin space between life and death, Qi Fei suddenly felt a torrent of world energy erupting from within his Frostfire Martial Soul, surging through his veins and acupoints in an instant.

A strange numbness overtook him—Qi Fei could feel no pain at all, and this bizarre sensation left him adrift. Had he already died?

Just then, the spiritual energy from the many rare elixirs of the Pill Cauldron Sect, which had been dormant within his meridians, began to seep out. A wave of indescribable comfort flowed through his limbs and bones. Soon after, a pure, chilling current welled up from his spiritual core, circulating throughout his battered meridians.

Time seemed to freeze. In this moment, Qi Fei felt as if his mind had been cleansed and awakened, able to perceive, with crystalline clarity, even the motionless grains of dust and fragments beyond the ruins.

Had he, in this moment of certain death, broken through the innate barrier and awakened his primal spiritual sense?

With a single thought, the dissipated world energy within him gathered swiftly together, mending his torn meridians and acupoints at once. Joy surged within Qi Fei—he had never imagined that, in this most dire of crises, his struggle for survival would truly shatter the innate barrier.

With his spiritual sense fully awakened, the world energy forged from his Frostfire Martial Soul rose to a new height. Drawing upon the miraculous effects of the many elixirs he had consumed, the ruptured meridians and acupoints within him soon began to heal.

Mo Zhanpeng and the others, seeing that Qi Fei still clung to life beneath the rubble, were overjoyed and hurried to rescue him. But Cheng Feng, his heart set on murder, coldly declared, “This contest between Qi Fei and myself is not merely a matter of victory or defeat. Whoever dares intervene shall answer to me!”

No sooner had Cheng Feng spoken than the disciples of the Xuan Zhen Temple surrounded Mo Zhanpeng and the others, blocking their way.

“Master Cangsong,” said Chu Qingyun, “Qi Fei is a rare talent. Must your temple truly press him to death?”

Cangsong sighed softly. “My disciple now serves under Elder Yang of the Danxia Sect. Matters of Danxia are no longer for me to meddle in. Besides, the fate of these two lies in the hands of destiny. Young Marquis, why force the issue?”

As he spoke, Qi Fei, bloodied and battered, broke free from the rubble and slowly rose to his feet, disheveled and barely standing.

Seeing that Qi Fei was at his end, Cheng Feng’s face twisted with venomous malice. He sneered, “Qi Fei, if you kneel and kowtow before me a few times, perhaps I’ll spare your life.”

Qi Fei, having shattered the innate barrier in the face of certain death, awakened his primal spiritual sense. Employing the wondrous Lingxi Art, he concealed the aura of his breakthrough beneath the ruins, intending to strike at Cheng Feng with the full might of his newfound power when least expected.

He crawled out from the wreckage with great effort, stumbled before Cheng Feng, and wiped the blood and grime from his face with a trembling, wounded arm. With calm resolve, he said, “Cheng Feng, your soul-manifesting power is indeed formidable. To have crossed swords with a prodigy of the mystic arts like you—I, Qi Fei, have not lived in vain.”

“Well then,” Cheng Feng replied coldly, “since you seek death, I shall oblige you.” Having witnessed the miraculous Bloodshadow Escape before, Cheng Feng dared not be careless. He immediately summoned forth his soul-manifesting technique, intending to kill Qi Fei with a single, decisive blow.

As the mystic formula took effect, a spectral image of Cheng Feng’s soul appeared once more. Just as he prepared to unleash its supreme might upon the seemingly defeated Qi Fei, Qi Fei’s downcast eyes suddenly snapped open.

In an instant, a boundless and overwhelming force erupted from Qi Fei’s body. The Bloodshadow Escape art blazed to life, and in a flash, he vanished and reappeared right before Cheng Feng.

With a surge of energy, Qi Fei’s already tattered blood-soaked robe burst apart. His right hand, veins bulging, slashed out, the newly awakened innate energy within him roaring forth.

In the blink of an eye, he combined the most domineering strike of the Yinsha Blade Art with the third form of the “Heaven-Sundering Slash” from the Scripture of the Immortal Executioner, unleashing a lethal assault.

A dazzling stream of light, as if forged from his very soul, flashed across the hall, instantly enveloping both Cheng Feng’s emerging soul and his physical body.

A chilling air of slaughter filled the grand hall—icy venom and fiery force intertwined, so intense it seemed to make the very air crackle and explode.

Cheng Feng never imagined that this opponent, cornered and battered by a soul-manifesting strike, would not only snatch life from the jaws of death, but that his cultivation would surge so drastically as well.

There was no time to consider these strange events. In a panic, Cheng Feng channeled his spectral soul and summoned his mystic flame sword, meeting Qi Fei’s earth-shattering blow with all the true energy he could muster.

Crash!

The collision erupted within the great hall, a deafening explosion that shook the very foundations. The shockwave sent countless disciples of the various sects flying, unable to resist.

The entire hall trembled as if struck by an earthquake, debris raining down from the shattered beams above.

With the full force of his revived innate energy, Qi Fei’s devastating strike tore through Cheng Feng’s spectral soul image. Cheng Feng let out a blood-curdling scream.

Yet this prodigy of the mystic arts was not so easily vanquished. Though his soul was grievously wounded, Cheng Feng’s face twisted with rage and malice. Risking utter annihilation, he transformed his damaged soul into a blood-red restraint, binding Qi Fei’s arm in a death grip.

Qi Fei had long known that Cheng Feng was no ordinary foe, but he had not foreseen such a reckless, mutually destructive tactic.

Unable to break free, Qi Fei was wounded by the mystic restraint forged from Cheng Feng’s battered soul. Crimson light blazed, and with a ghastly explosion, Qi Fei’s arm vanished in a spray of blood.

Knowing he could not falter, Qi Fei summoned his last reserves, channeling his supreme martial skill through his left hand and striking fiercely at Cheng Feng’s body.

Cheng Feng, a genius of the path, could even divide his focus while manifesting his soul. Seeing Qi Fei’s attack coming, he hastily activated several talismans, forming a barrier of protective restraints.

Qi Fei’s knife-hand strike crashed against the shimmering barrier, erupting in another burst of dense, bloody mist.

Locked in a life-and-death struggle, the innate martial energy and mystic soul force of both men became hopelessly entwined. A torrent of energy exploded between them, sending hair streaming and blood flying.

Both Qi Fei and Cheng Feng’s faces were twisted with bulging veins as they exerted every ounce of strength, neither willing to yield an inch. Black blood seeped from their eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouths, and the main hall filled with the pungent reek of blood.

The assembled masters, witnessing the martial arts miracle Qi Fei now displayed, were shaken to their core.

The power of the innate—Qi Fei, in the midst of mortal combat, had broken through to the Innate Martial Stage. And more than that, the innate energy he wielded was not merely the chilling force of ice he had shown before. Mingled within his aura was a blazing energy, far surpassing that of any ordinary Fire Martial Soul. Could it be that Qi Fei possessed the legendary dual martial souls, a talent found perhaps once in ten thousand lifetimes?

If Cheng Feng was a prodigy of the mystic arts, then Qi Fei was nothing less than an unparalleled genius of the martial path.

At that moment, all eyes turned to Cheng Feng, who, locked in desperate struggle with Qi Fei, coughed black blood and seemed to mutter, “Master, save me…”

Cangsong’s expression changed drastically. This disciple, so gifted and so dearly cultivated by the Xuan Zhen Temple, must under no circumstances perish atop Qingyang Peak.