Chapter Thirty-One: The Power of the Talisman

All this took place in the blink of an eye, so swiftly that none present had time to react.

"Second Brother!"

Deng Zhongzhi’s eyes bulged with rage as he smashed the tea table beside him into splinters with a single slap.

Too fast!

Even though he had secretly kept his guard up, he never imagined that, with merely a gesture of respect, Tong Yi’s left arm would be severed at the root!

"Kill them for me!"

With a tiger’s leap, Deng Zhongzhi sprang forward, drawing his blade midair to strike at Chen Heng. The twenty armored elite soldiers let out a fierce roar and pressed in with sudden force.

"So that's all."

Chen Heng pointed, and the Thunderfire Pearl released another bolt of lightning, which struck Deng Zhongzhi midair, sending him hurtling several yards away. He crashed heavily into the brick wall, imprinting a deep, human-shaped dent.

Had Deng Zhongzhi not been a battle-hardened veteran, quick to react, wrapping himself in fetal breath as the lightning struck, he would have been shattered to pieces on the spot.

"Is that a talisman device? And a middle-grade one!"

Dazed and numb in the chest from the blast, Deng Zhongzhi struggled to regain his senses. When he caught sight of the red-and-white pearl suspended above Chen Heng’s head, he gasped in horror.

He recognized the pearl—it was the Thunderfire Pearl of the Daoist of Yangshan!

In that case...

The Daoist of Yangshan must have already—

"Second Brother, he’s only at the fetal breath stage. Don’t be afraid! Use your talisman device against him!"

Thinking quickly, Deng Zhongzhi ignored his injuries and shouted again. Spinning like a top, he tried to engage Chen Heng in a moving fight, hoping to buy Tong Yi a moment to breathe.

But before he could get close, a wind blade flew straight at him, forcing him to roll on the ground and narrowly avoid it.

"Master! Let me hold this man off for you!"

Tu Shan Ge, pale-faced, flicked his hands and summoned wind blades with divine power. His expression was grim, as though he were going to his death, as he charged forward.

Meanwhile, the elite soldiers pressed in within ten feet.

Chen Heng was unconcerned. With a wave of his hand, the pearl unleashed a ring of fire, instantly reducing them to puddles of bone and blood. Their armor, too, was incinerated to iron cinders.

"You—you..."

Tong Yi managed to stifle his pain and climb from the ground. Surveying his severed arm and the corpses of the elite soldiers, he realized there could be no peaceful resolution. Steeling himself, he unleashed a beam of green light aimed at Chen Heng’s eyes.

The green glow moved swiftly, reaching Chen Heng’s face in the blink of an eye. But as it tried to advance further, it was stopped by a layer of airflow, as if striking metal.

Chen Heng smiled faintly. Without waiting for Tong Yi to withdraw the green glow, the pearl shot out several bolts of lightning, violently striking him.

With a thunderous explosion, lightning engulfed Tong Yi’s form. Light flashed furiously, bricks and stones flew everywhere, and a deep pit appeared in the ground. Yet Chen Heng did not retract the pearl; instead, he gathered another surge of fetal breath and infused it into the pearl.

Tong Yi survived the blast.

A faint jade radiance surrounded him, absorbing the attacks. Desperate, he forced his fetal breath to send the green glow out again.

They fought for several more rounds.

But Tong Yi grew more and more alarmed. His opponent seemed to have survived countless deadly battles, accumulated endless experience with magical combat—almost as if he had been trained in fighting since birth!

Each time Tong Yi sent his green talisman device, it was struck down by a bolt of lightning at the perfect moment, the force delivered with uncanny precision, leaving him deeply frustrated.

Moreover, even if the green talisman device got close, it would be hard to break through Chen Heng’s Air Armor technique in a short time.

So after a few exchanges, Tong Yi could only focus on activating his defensive talisman, clinging to survival.

The relentless red-and-white lightning strikes left Tong Yi increasingly dispirited, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Ahhhhh!"

Seeing another bolt of lightning flying toward him, Tong Yi let out a hoarse roar, preparing to marshal the last of his fetal breath. But his face suddenly froze, and a look of terror and dread overtook him.

"No—my fetal breath is spent..."

The fetal breath stage is not like Qi refining; the fetal breath within the body is limited. Use a portion, and there is one less.

Tong Yi had shown off his newly acquired "Cloud-Skimming Flying Boat," deliberately keeping it floating above Yangshan, which consumed much of his fetal breath.

At the time, he was confident—Qi refining was within reach, and he hoped to join the Five Lights Sect. He paid little heed to the loss.

But at the brink of life and death, that little bit of fetal breath became the key to victory or defeat...

The faint jade radiance around Tong Yi dimmed. Another bolt of lightning struck, shattering it, and sent him flying like a torn sack.

When Tong Yi struggled to stand, a long sword was already resting against his throat.

"Your Second Brother has surrendered. Do you still want to fight?"

Chen Heng spoke coldly, turning his gaze to Deng Zhongzhi, who had just killed Tu Shan Ge with a punch.

This man was a veteran of countless battles, his martial skills nearly perfect. Tu Shan Ge, though able to summon various powers with his divine force, had lost his divine golden body, and his might was unimpressive.

Deng Zhongzhi, relying solely on mortal martial arts, had beaten Tu Shan Ge into defeat.

Had Tu Shan Ge not been a divine being—so long as his true form was not slain in the divine realm, he could always be reborn with divine power in the mortal world.

This fox, it seems, could not even delay any longer...

At Chen Heng’s shout, Deng Zhongzhi’s body trembled. Veins bulged on his forehead like small serpents, but at last, he silently sheathed his blade.

Tu Shan Ge, having reformed his limbs with divine power, looked sullen and quietly scooted behind Chen Heng.

"You are bold indeed. If this youth had been willing to share a talisman device with you, today’s outcome might still be uncertain."

Chen Heng smiled, sword in hand.

"I have followed the Grand General in campaigns north and south for so many years—quelling bandits, pacifying disasters, conquering the Dan Sui. Scarred countless times, I finally attained fetal breath, yet today I fell at your hands."

Deng Zhongzhi glanced complexly at the charred corpses of the soldiers, cupped his fists, and said, "Since you possess the Thunderfire Pearl, I assume the Daoist of Yangshan is already dead?"

Chen Heng nodded.

"The Tong family actually has little connection to the Daoist of Yangshan—this was all a misunderstanding."

To show his sincerity, Deng Zhongzhi threw his long sword far across the hall, embedding it in the stone steps outside.

He spread his hands and stepped forward a few paces, indicating no malice.

"Second Brother is reckless. You have already punished him by severing his arm. I can decide to give you all his talisman devices—they can be his ransom. What do you say?"

Deng Zhongzhi’s eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of threat in his words:

"With the Cloud-Skimming Flying Boat, no ordinary soldier could chase you down. It’s enough for you to leave Rong Country! Know that Second Brother is a prized youth of the Tong family. If he comes to harm, the Grand General will go mad, and all of Rong Country will be thrown into chaos!"

Before Chen Heng could reply, Tong Yi erupted, ignoring the sword at his neck, and shouted,

"Trying to give my talisman devices to him? Dream on! Never!"