Chapter 894
Chapter 894
He stopped and found a relatively dry spot in the roots of a huge banyan tree that was half-dead and covered with dark green moss. He sat down cross-legged, took a poison-avoiding pill, closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, as if making final preparations for entering the depths of the swamp.
The contracted spirit, like an invisible spider web, silently spread outwards from him within a hundred-foot radius. He carefully discerned the countless chaotic, weak, and malicious life auras and energy fluctuations in the swamp, while also "listening" to the subtle disturbances that were difficult to completely conceal and out of place with the environment as the pursuers behind him approached.
coming.
In his contracted spiritual perception, four figures, like raccoon dogs, silently approached from three directions under the cover of poisonous miasma and strange trees, finally stopping about fifty feet away from him, forming a loose encirclement.
These four people were no longer the Qi Refining stage scouts we had seen in Youhuang Valley before.
The leader was a thin man with a sinister face. He was the young man in brocade robes from the Poison Dragon Gang in Lingxi Village! He had changed into a dark green bodysuit that was easier to move in the swamp, but the resentment and greed in his eyes remained unchanged. His cultivation level was still at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but his aura was more solid than before, which showed that he had made progress in the past year.
To his left was an old woman with a hunched back, holding a twisted snake-head wooden staff, her face covered with strange tattoos. Her aura was cold and obscure, and her cultivation was also at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. There were faint phantom images of poisonous insects swirling around her, clearly indicating that she was a master of poisons.
On the right was a burly man, nine feet tall, with bulging muscles, a dark bronze complexion, and carrying a giant axe the size of a door panel on his back. His cultivation level was clearly at the late Foundation Establishment stage! His eyes were fierce, and his aura was wild, like a savage beast that could erupt at any moment.
The last person was hidden in the thick fog behind Fu Shaoping, his aura the most inconspicuous, almost blending into the environment. If Fu Shaoping's contracted spiritual sense hadn't been so sharp, he would have been nearly impossible to detect. This person's cultivation level was unknown, but the threat he posed to Fu Shaoping was no less than that of the burly man in the late Foundation Establishment stage!
"The leader of the Poison Dragon Gang, an old woman who uses poison, a body cultivator skilled in direct combat, and a master of stealth assassination..." Fu Shaoping instantly made a judgment about the four-person combination. The Poison Dragon Gang had certainly gone to great lengths to deal with him.
"Boy, do you think you can escape by running away to this godforsaken, poisonous swamp?" The young man in the brocade robe spoke first, his voice sharp with excitement and resentment. "I've gone to great lengths to find you! If you know what's good for you, hand over the fragment you bought at the auction, along with all your valuables, and cripple your cultivation. Then I might consider leaving you a whole corpse!"
Fu Shaoping slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over the four people who had surrounded him, finally settling on the young man in the brocade robe. His voice was indifferent: "Young master of the Poison Dragon Gang? Is it worth making such a fuss over a mere fragment of unknown purpose?"
"Merely?" The young man in the brocade robe scoffed. "Something that would cost a coward like you five thousand spirit stones to snatch could be nothing ordinary? Enough nonsense! This young master's patience is running out!"
Before he could finish speaking, the burly man carrying the giant axe growled impatiently, "Why waste time talking to him! Just take him down and search his soul!" With that, he took a step forward, the mud beneath his feet exploding, and he flew like a cannonball, unleashing a violent punch at Fu Shaoping! The force of his punch even forced the surrounding poisonous miasma back several feet!
A direct strike from a late-stage Foundation Establishment body cultivator is terrifying in its power!
Almost simultaneously, the hunchbacked old woman moved as well. She uttered a hoarse and unpleasant incantation, and with a flick of her snake-headed wooden staff, several streaks of grayish-green poisonous smoke shot out from the staff like serpents, bypassing the front and attacking Fu Shaoping from the side and rear! The stench of the poisonous smoke was overwhelming, and wherever it passed, the grass and trees withered and turned black instantly.
The figure hidden in the thick fog had completely disappeared, as if blending into the environment, waiting for the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.
The young man in the brocade robe grinned maliciously, summoning a small, palm-sized, jet-black shield covered in barbs to protect himself. At the same time, he made hand seals, clearly preparing some kind of sinister spell.
Despite the coordinated attack from the four, Fu Shaoping remained seated cross-legged in the hollow of the tree root, seemingly unable to react in time.
Just as the burly man's fist, powerful enough to shatter stone monuments, was about to strike, and the poisonous smoke was about to engulf him—
Fu Shaoping made a move!
It's not about dodging, but... striking even faster!
He pointed his left hand like a sword, not even glancing at the poisonous smoke coming from behind him, and flicked his hand backward!
With a flick of his fingertip, he condensed a pale golden contract essence and precisely placed it on the very core point where several wisps of poisonous smoke converged and where the energy flowed!
"break!"
With a soft "poof," those seemingly insidious gray-green wisps of poisonous smoke dissipated and vanished instantly, like punctured balloons! Not even a trace of poison gas leaked out!
The old woman groaned, her snake-headed wooden staff trembling violently. The tattoos on her face contorted, and disbelief and horror filled her eyes! Her "Five Poisons Corroding Heart Smoke" was incredibly vicious, specifically designed to break through protective true essence and corrode the soul, yet the core of it had been so easily breached by the opponent?!
At the same time, Fu Shaoping's right hand was already thrusting out to meet the burly man's ferocious fist!
There was no astonishing burst of true energy on his palm, only a thin halo of light flowing with pale golden contract runes.
Fist and palm strike!
"boom!"
A dull, resounding crash, like the sound of leather being struck!
The scene that Fu Shaoping was expected to be blasted away by a single punch did not occur.
The burly man's ferocious punch, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, seemed to vanish the moment it touched the thin halo of light. It was dissolved, absorbed, and deflected layer by layer by an invisible, extremely flexible yet strangely agile force! Furthermore, a strange, bone-chilling sense of "stagnation" and "binding" spread up his fist, making it difficult for him to unleash his subsequent power smoothly!
"What the hell is this?!" The burly man was both shocked and furious, feeling as if his fist had struck the thickest swamp, or as if he were entangled by countless invisible threads!
Fu Shaoping, using the force of this palm strike, floated back several feet as if weightless, just avoiding the strongest point of the frontal punch and widening the distance between himself and the burly man.
The entire exchange was swift and decisive, lasting only a moment. Fu Shaoping deftly deflected both the old woman's poisonous smoke and the burly man's direct attack, demonstrating astonishing combat skills and a precise grasp of power and timing.
The young man in the brocade robe was slowed down by a beat, his smug grin freezing on his face, a hint of surprise and uncertainty flashing in his eyes. This man's methods were even more bizarre and unpredictable than they had been in Lingxi Village!
"Attack! Don't give him a chance to breathe!" the young man in brocade robes shouted sharply, raising his hand to unleash a dark blue ice spike that shot straight at Fu Shaoping's face!
The figure concealed in the thick fog finally seized the moment when Fu Shaoping retreated and his aura shifted. Like the most deadly scorpion, it suddenly flashed out from the shadows to Fu Shaoping's left! A nearly invisible streak of dark light, carrying a chilling aura and an absolute sense of death, pierced straight for Fu Shaoping's temple! The speed, the angle, and the timing were all deadly! This person was the true killer move!
Faced with this deadly sneak attack from both sides, Fu Shaoping seemed to have no way to avoid it.
However, there was still no sign of panic on his face.
He didn't even turn his head, but simply uttered a single syllable:
"Certainly."
Words spoken become law!
An invisible force of "binding" originating from the contractual level, like an invisible shackle, instantly descended upon the dark light that was attacking from the left!
The assassin's figure suddenly froze! Although it was only for an extremely brief moment, less than a breath, it was enough for a cultivator like Fu Shaoping!
Fu Shaoping's left hand had been raised at some point, his five fingers spread, his palm facing the dark light, and he gently clenched it.
"seal up."
Several more solid, pale golden chains of contract appeared out of thin air, coiling around the dark light and the assassin's shadowy figure behind it like serpents! The chains flowed with the true meaning of the contract, "sealing," "binding," and "isolation," not only locking the poisoned dagger but also suppressing the assassin's aura and movements!
The assassin let out a short, startled "Eh?", clearly not expecting Fu Shaoping's reaction and methods to be so bizarre. He moved like smoke, trying to disappear into the thick fog again, but found that the surrounding space seemed to be solidified by invisible contractual rules, greatly affecting his stealth technique.
Fu Shaoping's right hand met the azure ice spike shot by the young man in brocade robes. He pointed his fingers like a sword, and a wisp of pale golden sword light, more refined and imbued with the true meaning of "breaking the spell" and "dissolving ice," flashed and disappeared from his fingertips!
laugh!
The deep blue ice cone was split in two, turning into two ordinary ice blocks that fell to the ground.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Fu Shaoping fought against four opponents single-handedly, not only without being at a disadvantage, but also using his unpredictable contractual methods to instantly suppress the poisonous smoke, neutralize the frontal assault, imprison the deadly assassins, and effortlessly break the young man in brocade robes' magic!
"How is this possible?!" the young man in the brocade robe exclaimed in shock, his face finally showing horror. How could this person's strength have increased so rapidly?! And his methods were unheard of!
The old woman and the burly man's expressions changed drastically, and they no longer dared to show the slightest contempt.
The assassin, temporarily bound by the chains of the contract, flashed a cold light in his eyes, let out a low shout, and burst out of his body in a cloud of black mist, forcefully breaking the two chains. He retreated rapidly and disappeared into the thick fog once more, his aura becoming even more erratic, clearly preparing to launch the next, more deadly attack.
"Form a battle formation! Don't let him pick us off one by one!" the young man in brocade robes shouted shrilly, quickly closing in with the old woman and the burly man. The three of them subtly connected their auras, forming a small Three Talents Battle Formation, integrating offense and defense, and cautiously watching Fu Shaoping.
Fu Shaoping slowly straightened up and patted off non-existent dust. His gaze swept over the three people who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, then glanced into the depths of the thick fog, a cold smile curving his lips.
The warm-up is over.
He no longer concealed his aura, fully revealing his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation. Pale golden contract essence flowed around his body, radiating a unique and awe-inspiring sense of majesty and order. The source core in his arms seemed to sense its master's fighting spirit, warming slightly.
"Now, it's my turn."
Before he finished speaking, Fu Shaoping's figure had already disappeared from the spot!
It wasn't fast, but an extremely eerie "flickering"! It was as if he wasn't moving, but rather "jumping" directly from one contract node to another!
The next moment, he appeared on the side of the three-person battle formation, closest to the hunchbacked old woman!
The old woman was terrified. She swung her snake-headed wooden staff swiftly, spewing out a large plume of dark green poisonous mist, while simultaneously retreating rapidly!
However, it seems that Fu Shaoping's target is not her.
Without even glancing at the poisonous mist that could corrode metal, he pressed down with his left hand, and a pale golden circular light shield made of contract runes instantly appeared in front of him, blocking all the poisonous mist and making a "hissing" sound as it melted away, but the light shield remained completely still.
His right hand, with fingers pointing like a sword, gently tapped the connection point of the battle formation behind the old woman, which had been slightly exposed due to her retreat!
"Break".
A soft shout seemed to sever an invisible thread.
The newly established and unstable battle formation connection between the young man in brocade robe, the old woman, and the strong man was like a string of a musical instrument being severed by a sharp blade, emitting a snapping sound that only they could perceive!
The three of them groaned simultaneously, their qi and blood slightly disordered, and their formation instantly collapsed!
Just as the old forces had dissipated, the new forces had not yet emerged, and the formation was collapsing, Fu Shaoping's figure "flickered" once again!
This time, he appeared directly behind the assassin who had just broken free of his chains and was preparing to launch another attack from the thick fog!
The assassin's reaction was incredibly fast. The moment Fu Shaoping appeared, he noticed him and, without turning his head, stabbed behind him with a backhand. The blade flashed like a venomous snake's tongue, ruthless and cunning!
However, Fu Shaoping seemed to have anticipated his movements. He slightly turned his body to avoid the blade, while his left hand, with its five fingers, gently brushed across several key points on the assassin's wrist, elbow, and shoulder, as if playing a musical instrument.
With each sweep, a wisp of extremely condensed contractual power, carrying the effects of "paralysis," "slowness," and "interruption of true energy," penetrates in!
The assassin felt his entire arm go numb and weak instantly, his internal energy flow became sluggish, and his sharp slash became soft and crooked.
Fu Shaoping seized the opportunity to strike the assassin's nape with his right hand, which was cleaved into a blade and imbued with pale golden contract essence!
"Crack!"
A clear cracking sound rang out!
The assassin's eyes bulged, filled with disbelief, horror, and despair. His body went limp and he collapsed forward, his life force rapidly fading. A Foundation Establishment expert skilled in stealthy assassination hadn't even lasted three moves against Fu Shaoping's unpredictable movements and precise contract strikes before he was dead!
"Fourth brother!" The young man in the brocade robe exclaimed, his eyes wide with fury and shock.
The burly man roared and, disregarding everything else, swung the giant axe on his back with the force of splitting mountains and cleaving the earth, slashing wildly at Fu Shaoping! Wherever the axe blade passed, the air was torn apart, emitting a shrill shriek!
Fu Shaoping didn't even glance at the menacing giant axe. His feet moved with the mysterious "Shadow Step," his figure like a phantom, gliding past the axe's edge in the blink of an eye. Simultaneously, he spread his left hand, fingers outstretched, and pressed down on the burly man's chest, which was wide open from the force of the blow!
"Suppress!" (End of Chapter)