BANG! BANG! BANG! HISS! HISS! HISS!

On the riverbank, the air crackled with the sound of incessant explosions.

Chen Qing pushed his combat abilities to their absolute limit, managing to trade several blows with an Astral Force master from the Demon Sect!

But ultimately, his lower Cultivation Realm put him at a disadvantage. With every collision, his blood roiled, and his arm grew sore and numb.

Gradually, Chen Qing began to figure out Jiangchuan Bridge’s true strength, and an icy killing intent took root in his heart.

...

Meanwhile, the tavern in Tongping City was in shambles.

The surviving bald leader leaned against a wall, looking at the tragic corpses of his two brothers. His eyes were wide with rage, and his heart was consumed by grief and indignation.

Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps rapidly approached.

The bald leader struggled to lift his head. When he saw the newcomer’s face, he was utterly shocked. "You... You’re Elder Yu... Yu River of the Earth Element Sect?!"

The crowd, which hadn’t yet fully dispersed, erupted into an uproar. They never expected another Astral Force master to appear!

Yu River’s expression was as dark as a thundercloud. He ignored the bystanders and demanded sharply, "What happened here? Where is Chen Qing?!"

As if clutching a life-saving straw, the bald leader endured the excruciating pain and quickly recounted what had just happened: how a shout of "Chen Qing’s" name had drawn them in, how they had rushed upstairs and clashed with the black-robed Demon, and how his brothers had been tragically killed before the two fled...

"You mean to say, the person who jumped out the window deliberately shouted his identity to lure you upstairs, all so he could use that Demon Sect master’s hand to deal with you?"

As a veteran of the Jianghu, Yu River instantly pieced together the scheme.

The bald leader gritted his teeth, his voice filled with hatred. "That must be it! That man is so treacherous and vile! Insidious and cruel! We were all tricked by him!"

He conveniently ignored the fact that he and his men had been the ones with malicious intent in the first place.

Yu River, however, felt a sudden chill in his heart.

’This kid really is insidious and cruel,’ he thought. ’And quite quick-witted, too.’

"Which way did they go?" Yu River asked urgently.

The bald leader struggled to raise his hand and pointed in the direction outside the city where Chen Qing and Jiangchuan Bridge had vanished. "They left the city! They headed for the river!"

Without another word, Yu River’s figure blurred. He shot out of the tavern like an arrow loosed from a bow, speeding off in pursuit in the direction the bald leader had indicated!

The whereabouts of the Earth Essence Marrow Pearl, Chen Qing’s suspicious involvement, the potential existence of a third party, and being framed for the murder of the Nether and Ghost Guards—he had to get to the bottom of it all!

.....

「Outside Tongjiang City.」

The black energy erupting from Jiangchuan Bridge’s palms surged as his phantom-like figure closed in.

In an instant, the Black Death True Astral around him boiled like ink, and two spinning black vortexes appeared in the center of his palms.

The air sizzled and hissed as if being corroded. The moment the gravel on the riverbank touched the black Gang Qi, it instantly disintegrated into dust!

This strike was far more powerful than his previous ones. It was clear Jiangchuan Bridge was now using his full strength, determined to either kill or cripple Chen Qing in a single blow!

Chen Qing’s brow furrowed as the blood and qi in his body suddenly ignited, erupting like a volcano!

"ROAR! TRUMPET—!"

The low roar of a tiger and the mighty bellow of an elephant erupted from within his body, echoing across the riverbank!

Steam rose from his body as the furnace of his blood and qi blazed, forcibly resisting the insidious, bone-chilling cold of the Bone Erosion technique.

At the same time, the Cyan Wood True Qi from his Eleven Orthodox Meridians surged forth.

Chen Qing’s gaze turned frigid. The roars of a tiger and bellows of an elephant exploded from his very bones as his blood and qi erupted like a furnace.

He stomped his right foot, drawing power from the trembling earth as his arm shot forward in a ferocious thrust, tearing through the air straight toward the center of Jiangchuan Bridge’s palm!

"KSSSHHH—!"

His arm collided head-on with the black vortex, and an earth-shattering boom exploded outward!

The very ground of the riverbank was scoured away, sinking several feet. Countless pebbles were pulverized into dust, and in the distance, waves dozens of feet high erupted from the surface of the Yunjin River!

"BOOM!!"

The Gang Qi exploded, and the ground collapsed.

VMMM! VMMM!

As the Black Killing Astral Qi surged toward him, the Azure Wave Profound Flood Dragon Armor was stimulated by the opposing Gang Qi and automatically activated to protect its master!

The immense force sent Chen Qing stumbling backward. Each step sank deep into the rocky ground, carving a trail dozens of feet long before he finally managed to stabilize himself.

The sleeves on both his arms had been completely shredded, revealing arms that looked as if they were forged from Fine Steel. The bronze sheen on them had dimmed considerably, and a few scorched black marks had appeared, sending waves of stinging, numbing pain through him.

The terrifying Palm Power—strong enough to erode bone and melt gold—had been mostly blocked and neutralized by the combined defense of his Eight Extremes Vajra Body’s powerful Flesh Body and the Azure Wave Profound Flood Dragon Armor.

Chen Qing instantly suppressed the Black Killing Astral Qi that had invaded his body by converting his other types of True Qi into a potent surge of Cyan Wood True Qi.

"How is that possible?!"

Jiangchuan Bridge cried out involuntarily, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

He had used his Netherworld Bone-Eroding Palm at full power, yet Chen Qing had taken it head-on! How could a mere Embrace Pill Realm cultivator just cough up a bit of blood and receive some minor arm injuries?!

’Normally, when an Embracing Pill Force master is struck by my Black Death True Astral, their True Qi is instantly crushed,’ he thought. ’They have no power to resist whatsoever.’

’How did this kid manage to withstand my Black Death True Astral!?’

Chen Qing shook his sore and numb arm, his eyes as cold as ice.

Through that head-on clash, he had also managed to gauge Jiangchuan Bridge’s true strength!

’This man’s aura seems to be at the Astral Force level, but it’s actually shallow and unstable,’ Chen Qing thought. ’The quality of his Gang Qi is impure and mottled, far inferior to the dense, heavy power of Yu River. It’s even weaker than that of Shen Xiuyong, who only recently entered the Astral Realm.’

’He clearly broke through using some kind of shortcut technique from the Demon Sect. His foundation is flawed. He’s all bark and no bite!’

’Kill him?’

A crazy thought flashed through Chen Qing’s mind.

’If I go all out right now, use the Blood Burning Technique for a temporary boost, and try to forcibly channel all Five True Qi... I might actually have a chance to kill this old Demon!’

’But there were risks.’

’Jiangchuan Bridge is an Astral Force master, after all. If he focuses solely on escaping, I might not be able to stop him...’

Just as killing intent surged within Chen Qing and he was weighing the pros and cons—

"Hm?! Oh no!"

He and Jiangchuan Bridge’s expressions changed at the exact same moment. They both snapped their heads around to look back in the direction of Tongping City!