“Boom!”
The dark gold streak of light clashed with the demonic energy, shaking the cave violently.
Ripples of residual energy swept outward, grinding the gravel on the ground into powder.
Su Yueli felt a massive force surge wildly into her body through Xiaohei, making her meridians feel as though they were about to burst.
“Pfft!”
She retreated dozens of yards, a sweet taste rising in her throat.
Looking down at her slightly trembling right hand, she forcefully suppressed the churning blood qi in her body, a wave of shock washing over her heart.
Is this... the true gap between a martial artist and a cultivator?
She was already a Tenth Realm Martial God at the pinnacle of the mortal world, and she had even resorted to the Life Burner technique her master had taught her back then.
She had forcefully raised her combat power to an unprecedented height in a short time.
Yet even so, her full-strength punch had only managed to force the late stage Fourth Realm Earth-Splitting Bear back a few steps.
Looking up, the Earth-Splitting Bear had suffered no substantial damage other than some cracks on its chest carapace.
She had never experienced this kind of powerlessness on her journey before.
Buzz~
In her right sleeve, Xiaohei let out a muffled hum, the light on its blade dimming slightly.
Clearly, that head-on clash had put a massive strain on this Heaven-grade mid-rank divine weapon.
Su Yueli was secretly alarmed, and the Earth-Splitting Bear opposite her was equally shocked.
Its crimson eyes stared at the tiny human before it, filled with disbelief.
It was a late stage Fourth Realm great demon with an incredibly tough body. It could withstand a direct strike from a cultivator's flying sword, yet it had just been forced back by a mortal martial artist's bare fist, someone without a shred of spiritual energy?
Not far away, Qi Feng, who was performing hand seals, was also stunned.
A Martial God... can actually withstand a head-on clash with a late stage Fourth Realm demon beast and survive?!
For a mortal martial path to reach such a terrifying level at its peak completely shattered his understanding of martial artists!
Aside from his shock, seeing the blood-red veins covering Su Yueli's face made Qi Feng feel an even deeper sense of guilt.
“Miss Su! The magic treasure is ready! Get out of the way!”
Right then, Qi Feng bellowed. The golden talisman seal in his hand erupted with a blinding light as a destructive aura began to spread.
Su Yueli pursed her lips, her mouth filled with the thick taste of blood. Hearing Qi Feng's shout, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
I've finally held out...
Stomping her foot, she transformed into a green afterimage and retreated.
“Roar—!”
Seeing Su Yueli trying to retreat, the Earth-Splitting Bear flew into a rage.
With a roar, its massive body lunged forward, determined to smash Su Yueli into mincemeat as it pounced frantically.
But in the next instant, a giant immortal sword condensed from golden spiritual energy descended from the void above Qi Feng's head, carrying a pressure that seemed to tear space itself apart.
It instantly engulfed the mid-air Earth-Splitting Bear.
“Boom!”
Golden light completely consumed the surroundings, and endless explosions rang out as dust and shattered stones filled the air.
After a long while, the dust and smoke finally dissipated.
The once-spacious stone hall was now reduced to ruins.
The Earth-Splitting Bear lay in the center of a massive crater. Its black stone carapace was almost completely shattered, and more than half of its body was a bloody mess. It was on the verge of death.
Its body twitched, and its dark red eyes were filled with resentment, as if it were still struggling to mount a counterattack.
“Beast, die!”
Qi Feng's face was pale. Clearly, activating this magic treasure had consumed a vast amount of his spiritual energy.
Leaping up, he drove his longsword through the Earth-Splitting Bear's neck, ending its life once and for all.
Qi Feng let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He quickly walked over to Su Yueli and cupped his fists. “This time, it is all thanks to Miss Su's willingness to use a forbidden technique at the cost of your lifespan.”
“If you hadn't blocked those critical ten breaths for me, not only would this mission have failed, but my junior brothers and I would likely have lost our lives here today.”
Su Yueli let out a long breath. As her blood qi settled, the blood-red lines on her fair face slowly faded, leaving her looking a bit weak.
She waved her hand. “We both got what we wanted. Fellow Daoist Qi, about the generous reward you mentioned earlier...”
Qi Feng quickly said, “I will never go back on my word. Since you have lost some of your lifespan, mortal herbs will find it difficult to replenish it.”
“My Blue Moon Sect has a True Martial Blood Soul Pill specifically for high-level martial artists. It has excellent effects on replenishing blood qi and extending lifespan.”
“However, refining this pill is somewhat tedious and will take some time. If you trust me, please give me a few days to return to the sect and ask a senior brother from the Alchemy Peak to refine a batch for you. What do you think?”
True Martial Blood Soul Pill?
Although Su Yueli had never heard of the True Martial Blood Soul Pill, a martial artist pill kept by a cultivation sect would surely have effects far exceeding anything in the mortal world.
Though she had lost thirty years of her lifespan, if she could obtain this martial artist pill from the cultivation world, it would be of great benefit in helping her break through the bottleneck of the Tenth Realm.
“Very well. I shall do as you say, Fellow Daoist Qi.”
Su Yueli nodded calmly, then glanced at the massive bear corpse on the ground. “But how do you plan to handle the corpse of this Fourth Realm demon beast?”
Qi Feng smiled with some embarrassment. “To be honest, this Earth-Splitting Bear's bones, gall bladder, and demon core are all necessary materials for me to hand in for my sect's reward, so I must take them back. As for this demon beast's essence blood...”
Qi Feng paused, his tone very generous.
“This beast was in the late stage of the Fourth Realm, so its essence blood is incredibly vast. It isn't of much use to us cultivators, but since you are a martial artist, this Fourth Realm demon blood will be of great benefit to your physical body.”
“Since it is inconvenient for you to carry the essence blood, I will take the liberty of bringing it back to the sect myself.”
“In addition to the True Martial Blood Soul Pill, I will ask my senior brother to use this Fourth Realm bear blood to refine two extra Blood Marrow Pills for you. As for the necessary auxiliary herbs, I will cover all the costs myself, so you won't have to spend a copper.”
Su Yueli glanced at Qi Feng with some surprise.
She had originally only wanted some demon blood to absorb herself, but she hadn't expected Qi Feng to take the initiative to help her refine it into cultivation world pills that were easier to absorb, even covering all the costs of the auxiliary ingredients.
But Qi Feng actually had it all calculated.
Compared to the miraculous pills of the cultivation world that easily required spiritual herbs hundreds or thousands of years old, the materials needed for a martial artist were much simpler, and the cost was well within his tolerance.
But Su Yueli had just saved his life and those of his junior brothers, and had even burned her lifespan. This karmic debt was too heavy. If he didn't compensate her this way, his Dao Heart would find no peace.
“Seven days from now, at this very spot, I will present all three pills to you with both hands. What do you think, Miss Su?” Qi Feng asked.
Su Yueli smiled faintly and cupped her fists to Qi Feng.
“Since you are so generous, Fellow Daoist Qi, I won't refuse. Thank you. I will wait for you here in seven days.”
“It's a promise,” Qi Feng replied with a smile.
With the matter settled, Su Yueli delayed no further.
The weakness from her burned lifespan was constantly surging up now, and she urgently needed to find a safe place to recuperate.
Nodding to Qi Feng, she turned and quickly disappeared into the depths of Black Wind Valley.
Not long after Su Yueli left...
Near the stone wall, the two Third Realm disciples who had fainted from the aftershocks of the battle finally rubbed their aching heads and got up from the ground, groaning.
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