Chapter 73: Chapter 73: The Might of the Raging Fire

"You’re dead."

Furious, Ximen Fu completely ignored his own injuries.

He sprang up from within the forest and gave chase in Jiang Chen’s direction.

Although Jiang Chen continued to throw Flying Swords, the prepared Ximen Fu knocked them all aside.

Because of the forest, even though Ximen Fu’s Cultivation was far higher than Jiang Chen’s, his speed was still restricted.

Jiang Chen weaved through the trees, dodging left and right.

He would occasionally throw out a Hidden Weapon.

Fortunately, he carried quite a few Refined Iron Swords on him. They were the most common type of weapon, not even qualifying as Magical Treasures.

Losing them was no great loss.

However, he knew he was lucky to have succeeded with one sneak attack.

Defeating Ximen Fu in a head-on fight was simply impossible.

He tightened his grip on the dark brown Elixir in his hand.

’I have to succeed in one strike.’

’It’ll be difficult to take out Ximen Fu with a Blazing Pill, but I don’t mind giving it a try.’

The attempt on his life had long since enraged Jiang Chen.

He had prepared the Blazing Pills beforehand, but since his opponents hadn’t swarmed him all at once, he had managed to save a few.

If the four of them had attacked together from the start, he would have had to blow them up one by one.

That would have required at least four Blazing Pills.

But he only had three on him.

Wasting even one would have been a great loss.

SWOOSH!

Ximen Fu’s speed and desperation still exceeded Jiang Chen’s expectations.

He had barely fled four or five meters before Ximen Fu was upon him, sword in hand.

CRACKLE...

The sharp Sword Qi made his hair stand on end.

’Not good!’

At that moment, Jiang Chen hastily dodged aside.

But he was a bit too slow.

SQUELCH!

Ximen Fu’s sword viciously sliced across the left side of Jiang Chen’s abdomen.

A ghastly wound appeared on Jiang Chen’s body.

HISS!

Jiang Chen felt a sharp pain as his body was struck by the force of the Sword Qi, sending him flying uncontrollably.

He slammed directly into a large tree behind him. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He had no chance to react at all.

This was the massive gap in their strength.

THUD!

Jiang Chen hit the ground, grimacing in pain as blood poured from his wound.

Having landed a successful blow and seeing Jiang Chen injured, Ximen Fu let out a cold sneer.

"Run, boy. Keep running. Let’s see how long you can last."

With that, he raised his sword and slowly closed in.

He even locked onto Jiang Chen, ensuring that no matter which direction he fled, he could not escape his blade.

Jiang Chen’s face was pale and bloodless, and his body felt weak.

Even with the Nine Heavens Spirit-Seizing Technique frantically absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, he still couldn’t suppress the destructive power of Ximen Fu’s strike.

The Sword Qi was continuously ravaging his body from within.

As he rapidly considered his options, Jiang Chen demanded, "Who are you?"

"I have no grievance or enmity with you, do I?"

Ximen Fu walked toward Jiang Chen step by step.

He sneered.

"No grievance, no enmity. It’s true, we have none. But you must die."

"Only your death can end your sins."

At this moment, Ximen Fu’s face was covered by a mask, making his features impossible to discern.

Only his eyes, filled with killing intent, were visible.

Jiang Chen couldn’t identify him either.

He clutched the Blazing Pill in his hand, searching for an opportunity.

"Die!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ximen Fu slashed down with his sword.

This strike sealed off all of Jiang Chen’s escape routes, leaving him nowhere to run.

Facing imminent death at his opponent’s hands, how could Jiang Chen be resigned to his fate?

He muttered under his breath.

’Closer, just a little closer... ’

Finally, at a certain moment, a vicious glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flicked his wrist and threw the Blazing Pill.

WHOOSH!

The black Blazing Pill looked utterly unremarkable at that moment.

Ximen Fu even thought it was just an ordinary Hidden Weapon.

’A final, useless struggle.’

His eyes were filled with scorn and disdain for Jiang Chen.

He didn’t even care about the Hidden Weapon Jiang Chen had thrown.

His only thought was to cut Jiang Chen down with a single strike.

THWACK!

The Blazing Pill struck Ximen Fu’s body.

Feeling no killing power from the Blazing Pill, Ximen Fu paid it no mind.

’A mere stone trying to threaten a master like me, a Martial Master First Heaven? Dream on.’

Clearly, he had no idea just how terrifyingly powerful Jiang Chen’s Blazing Pill was.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have thought that way.

Instead, he would have run as far away as he could.

He would regret this action to his dying breath.

The moment the Blazing Pill struck Ximen Fu, it exploded.

Jiang Chen was stunned. The man actually hadn’t dodged; he had let it hit him.

In fact, a second Blazing Pill had already appeared in his hand.

Seeing Ximen Fu’s blunder, Jiang Chen broke into a grin.

"Heaven’s calamities can be survived, but one’s own folly is a death sentence."

"You dared to get hit by my Blazing Pill. You can rest in peace now."

Jiang Chen knew the power of his Blazing Pills better than anyone.

BOOM!

The instant the Blazing Pill detonated, a deafening roar echoed through the forest.

From start to finish, Ximen Fu had never even made it in front of Jiang Chen.

He was still four or five meters away.

And at the moment the Blazing Pill exploded, Ximen Fu’s body was forever stopped four or five meters from Jiang Chen.

His face was a mask of disbelief, astonishment, and terror.

His eyes were wide and round.

"No..."

"Impossible..."

Ximen Fu let out a shriek, his voice shrill with panic.

But his screams did nothing to change his fate.

The power of the Blazing Pill was simply too great.

In the instant of the explosion, a violent torrent of flame completely devoured Ximen Fu.

WHOOSH!

Lying at the base of the great tree, Jiang Chen watched as Ximen Fu’s upper torso was blasted into the air by the flames.

He could faintly make out Ximen Fu’s terrified face beneath the now-disintegrated mask.

That’s right. Jiang Chen’s Blazing Pill had blown Ximen Fu clean in two.

Perhaps Ximen Fu would never have dreamed he would die in such a way.

Not only was he blown into two pieces, but he was also incinerated by the flames. It was likely that not even his bones would remain.

CRACKLE... POP...

The aftershock of the Blazing Pill had blasted a large crater where Ximen Fu had just been standing.

Even some of the nearby trees were destroyed.

Flames still burned unceasingly.

From behind the great tree, Jiang Chen slowly got to his feet.

Although his abdomen was still injured, it didn’t affect his movement.

He had already swallowed a Golden Healing Pill to recover from his injuries. Enduring the pain, he walked over to where Ximen Fu had been standing.

A few meters away, he saw that Ximen Fu’s lower body had been turned to charcoal.

He glanced at it briefly before walking to another spot, where he saw Ximen Fu’s upper body. It was so mangled it was barely recognizable as a human torso.

"How tragic. A heroic sacrifice. You should be honored."

Jiang Chen pursed his lips. In this state, there was no way to verify the man’s identity.

He didn’t linger. He knew the commotion would certainly attract people from the City Lord’s Mansion.

He quickly beat a retreat.

Not long after Jiang Chen left, members of the Hanwu City Lord’s Mansion arrived at the scene of the fight. The City Lord’s Mansion was normally responsible for maintaining order in Hanwu City.