Chapter Sixty: Fang Yichen

Feeling the surging nether soul energy radiating from the Blood Fiend Fruit in his hand, Jiang Feng made his decision swiftly.

His expression was now calm and resolute, neither joyous nor sorrowful, as he spoke plainly, “Senior Ghost Moon, for the time being, this Blood Fiend Fruit is still of great use to me. It may be the key to rescuing my fiancée, Wang Yingying. If Yingying is unharmed, I will naturally offer the fruit for your use.”

This was Jiang Feng’s final concession. If Ghost Moon intended to seize it by force, he would have no choice but to unleash all his nether soul power and fight Ghost Moon to the bitter end.

Ghost Moon did not object, nor did she agree. Her sharp gaze bore into Jiang Feng, exuding a ferocious pressure as mighty as an ocean, so intense Jiang Feng felt as if a boulder pressed upon his heart, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Yet, having skirted the edge of life and death countless times, he only faltered for a split second before regaining his composure, confronting Ghost Moon without fear.

“Heh, not bad, boy. You can meet my gaze for so long,” Ghost Moon finally said, a trace of admiration rising in her eyes. She glanced longingly at the Blood Fiend Fruit clutched in Jiang Feng’s hand, sighed softly, and said, “So be it. When you no longer need it, bring it to exchange with me.”

Jiang Feng breathed a small sigh of relief, bowed deeply, and said respectfully, “Thank you, Senior Ghost Moon.”

At that moment, Jue interjected, timely shifting the conversation between the two. Yet this time, the gravity in Jue’s tone sent a chill through Jiang Feng’s heart. With rare seriousness, Jue said, “Boy, up ahead should be the bronze hall I once built. But there’s a problem—I can’t sense the presence of the Chishui Tiger inside.”

Jiang Feng immediately looked toward the distant, imposing bronze hall.

He was stunned.

Over the plain before him drifted a dense green mist, like a mass of black clouds shrouding the sky above the bronze hall. At times, it condensed into demonic blades, at others into monstrous beasts and all manner of grotesque, menacing specters.

And above the bronze hall itself, two purple electric serpents wound around each other, like the Thunder God and his consort, driving away the miasma.

Suddenly, a peal of laughter resounded. “Ha ha ha! You indeed returned with the Blood Fiend Fruit. As expected of the one I have chosen—such courage and skill!”

The mist in the sky surged and contracted, condensing into a tangible form—a man clad in black. Although his broad hat hid much of his face, his every gesture struck Jiang Feng as oddly familiar. What truly unsettled Jiang Feng, however, was the strange quality of the man’s voice, thick with nasal resonance.

“This fellow is rather strong,” Ghost Moon remarked lazily, her tone sounding like praise but carrying an undercurrent of disdain.

Jue interrupted her, his voice somber. “Boy, that’s only an avatar, conjured by some special nether art.”

After a moment, Jue asked, “Is this the one who sent you to find the Blood Fiend Fruit?”

Jue’s reminder made Jiang Feng realize the truth. He stared at the black-clad man, carefully sensing his aura, and sure enough, he detected the presence of that old fox, Yi Chen.

“You’re Yi Chen’s avatar? Where are Yingying and the divine beast?” Jiang Feng’s expression hardened, and his nether energy surged. He had already sensed a dangerous killing intent emanating from Yi Chen.

“Insolent!” Yi Chen’s voice thundered, and a surge of nether energy swept out, instantly making the air taut with tension. Even the space around Jiang Feng became unbearably heavy, as if he might collapse to his knees and bury his head in the earth like an ostrich.

Alone, Jiang Feng would never have imagined Yi Chen’s nether force could be so profound. Just two words left him struggling, almost forcing him to prostrate himself in abject submission.

“Alas, this boy is still too weak without relying on his nether soul power,” Ghost Moon sighed. She had no choice but to invoke her Frost Stream again.

Immediately, that feeling of might and invincibility returned. Jiang Feng’s flesh became as strong as steel, and he released all the anger pent up in his chest: “Answer me!”

Jiang Feng’s voice crashed down like a mountain.

Thunder rumbled.

Yi Chen’s avatar felt the earth quake beneath his feet—a fine crack appeared, and soon the fissure spread across the plain for dozens of miles, as if the entire land would shatter with a single misstep. The force of Jiang Feng’s voice, like a hurricane lashing the seashore, assailed him so fiercely that he had to cover his ears and summon all his nether power just to barely contain it, easing the pain only slightly.

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“Hmm, how did Jiang Feng suddenly become so formidable?” Yi Chen was secretly shocked, though he quickly reasoned it out. “He must have secretly consumed a Blood Fiend Fruit while retrieving it, granting him this strength.”

This power was entirely foreign to the Jiang Feng of the past, so the explanation seemed plausible.

“Heh, Jiang Feng, hand over the Blood Fiend Fruit and I shall reunite you with Wang Yingying and the divine beast,” Yi Chen said with a chuckle, doffing his massive hood to reveal that enigmatic, solemn face, as serene as a Buddha.

Once, these words might have fooled Jiang Feng, but now two ancient beings dwelled within his mind—Jue and Ghost Moon—whose cunning far surpassed Yi Chen’s. As soon as Yi Chen spoke, Jue sneered in Jiang Feng’s consciousness. “Boy, don’t believe his lies. Since this is merely an avatar, his true body must be with your Yingying. If you hand over the fruit, he’s sure to endanger her immediately.”

Jiang Feng’s heart chilled. Jue’s every word rang true; it was entirely possible.

“What, you don’t trust me?” Yi Chen pressed, his tone growing softer, exuding the image of a venerable Buddhist monk to any outsider.

Jiang Feng gritted his teeth. Inwardly, he vowed: Yingying, I will save you!

Without further hesitation, his body shot forth like lightning, leaving not even an afterimage behind as he vanished on the spot. Yet his voice still echoed through the air: “That’s right, I don’t trust you!”

In the next instant, eight distinct yet interlinked runes appeared in the air. With each rune, a dragon born of sonic fury emerged, surrounded by murderous intent, their whiskered jaws adding an ancient, sorrowful majesty.

The Eight-Dragon Sonic Slaughter!

“Sonic arts? To be fair, you are indeed one of the Jiang clan’s most outstanding scions, wielding such a technique with this much force. But with your current cultivation, it’s still far from enough to defeat me!” Yi Chen’s avatar swept his sleeve.

Instantly, the heavens turned a deep green, as ink-hued mist overwhelmed the sky, swallowing all light so that one could not see a hand before one’s face. Wherever Jiang Feng looked, he saw only green. It felt as if, in a heartbeat, heaven and earth had been swept into Yi Chen’s sleeve.

The world spun wildly. As Yi Chen’s sleeve whirled, waves of nausea assailed Jiang Feng’s mind. Though he had vanished with his movement art, he was forced back into view, unable to even walk straight, let alone unleash any advanced technique.

Struggling to suppress the sickness roiling in his gut, Jiang Feng recalled his father once describing the four great clans. Of these, the Fang and Wang families were the most powerful. Wang Yingying’s family, Wang Manor, was likely a collateral branch of the Wang clan.

Among the four, the Jiang family was respectable but not exceptional; against the Wang family, they could secure victory, but against the Fang family, they were outmatched. The Fang family was renowned for their mastery of nether arts far superior in grade to those of the other three.

His father had said that in the hands of the Fang clan, even a nether adept could conjure scenes of cosmic upheaval. In the hands of those at the sixth tier of the Void Nether Realm and above, their arts could summon dragons and serpents; in the hands of someone like Yi Chen at the ninth tier, their power was enough to reverse heaven and earth.

Now, Yi Chen’s relentless, whirling sleeve seemed to embody precisely that dreadful might.

Jiang Feng realized the situation was dire. If he met force with force, his iron body would only prolong his demise. If he gambled everything and unleashed his nether soul power, he could defeat this avatar—but Yi Chen’s true self would then know his secret, a handle Jiang Feng could ill afford to give away.

What was he to do?

“Who cares about his nether arts? Just use your strongest power and break through it head-on!” Jue snapped, exasperated by Jiang Feng’s hesitation. “You’ve already unleashed your Sonic Slaughter, yet you’re still dithering on the sidelines—stop dawdling!”

A wave of frustration and self-reproach surged in Jiang Feng’s heart. “Jue is right. I haven’t even tried, and I’m already faltering. Since I gained this power, it’s become a shackle, not a weapon.”

With this realization, Jiang Feng rescued himself from indecision. Since the world around was as dark as eternal night, he simply closed his eyes, using only his senses and ears to perceive the world.

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Crackling thunder!

Eight bolts of lightning tore through the darkness, shaking the heavens. The eight dragons of sonic slaughter roared, manifesting as true dragons towering between heaven and earth, their breath shaking the very sky.

Though some of their bodies were battered and their nether energy diminished, each dragon still exuded an ancient, indomitable aura, unbowed by any spell. Even Jue, formidable as he was, felt a tremor in his heart at their heaven-piercing might.

“Jue, where did this boy learn such a sonic art?” Ghost Moon wondered. She searched her memory for a long time but found nothing comparable. Some arts could shape sound into form, but none possessed such terrifying force. For a nether king of five hundred years, the ignorance stung.

For Jue, who had lived three thousand years, it was even more infuriating. He racked his brains, almost to the point of madness, but could not recall the origin of such a formidable technique. He vaguely remembered Jiang Feng using it against the Plum Sword before, but that was with nether soul power, so he had paid it little mind. Seeing it again today, he was shocked.

Even powered only by nether energy, this Sonic Slaughter could conjure such a fearsome spectacle?

“Heaven and earth reversed, plucking the moon and stars!”

Yi Chen’s voice grew icy, as if echoing from the depths of the netherworld. Suddenly, a vast chanting resounded, startling both Jue and Ghost Moon. They looked up to see, within the green mist above, countless spears forming, each spaced a step apart in neat, military ranks.

The ancient, imposing nether incantation thundered in Jiang Feng’s ears. Though what he saw fell short of the incantation’s full description, he was still shaken. Each spear flashed with cold light—any single one would be a fine nether artifact, let alone an entire army.

In a flash, the spears struck, shattering the eight sonic dragons without leaving even a scream behind.

The green mist thickened, coalescing into a giant hand that swept down like a massive net, ensnaring Jiang Feng.

“Heaven’s law is inexorable—judgment and slaughter!”

Yi Chen’s face had lost all its solemn composure, twisted now by his chanting into the visage of a demon god.

Jiang Feng’s expression did not change. Immersed in battle, he felt not a trace of fear. Raising a palm before his chest, he summoned the Nine Heavens Steel Blade, which grew ever larger until it was as thick as a barrel, shining with a brilliant gleam as it slashed toward the green hand.

The green hand closed, seeking to seize the steel blade.

“All phenomena of the cosmos!”

Sweat beaded on Yi Chen’s brow, but his spells grew only more fearsome. After three heartbeats, he opened his eyes wide and unleashed his sorcery, striking the Nine Heavens Steel Blade squarely.

The massive blade exploded, shattering into tens of thousands of spinning shards. In each fragment appeared countless scenes—mansions, palaces, waterfalls, grasslands, mountains, deserts, skies, polar lands, snow-capped peaks... all the myriad phenomena of the world!

These shards seemed to slice through emotion itself, drawing Jiang Feng’s entire mind into that boundless world of phenomena.

“This Blood Fiend Fruit—I’ll be taking it. Ha ha!” Yi Chen’s voice thundered outside the realm of phenomena. “By the way, perhaps you’ve guessed it by now—my name is Fang Yi Chen!”

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