Chapter 33: Chapter 31: Sound Transmission Jade

A swarm of snake shadows surrounded Jiang Jichen from all sides, lunging to kill.

Faint, cyan Spiritual Patterns flickered across these Cyan Serpent shadows, which radiated a chilling aura.

Some opened their mouths to flick their tongues, others spat venom, and still others coiled their tails to strike at Jiang Jichen. Their forms and movements varied, but all were incredibly vicious. The snakes’ eyes glinted with a cold, cunning light—a perfect reflection of Du Fei’s own gaze.

The attack of a Half-step Innate Realm expert was indeed powerful, far beyond what someone in the Ninth Level Mortal Realm could ever hope to match.

If Jiang Jichen hadn’t just had his breakthrough, he would have been utterly powerless to retaliate against Du Fei’s attack.

But now, he simply took a casual step. A golden light flashed, flickering once, and in an instant, he vanished from his spot.

The next moment, he had swapped places with the last remaining Golden Snake Sect disciple.

The Shifting Technique—the first form of Shadow Step.

Shadows like a dream, ethereal and unfixed!

With two Golden Spiritual Veins, Jiang Jichen could now execute the Shifting Technique form of his Shadow Step with even greater ease.

Had he only been at the First-level Mortal Realm, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to take that step so easily while under siege from the swarm of Cyan Serpent shadows.

As the two swapped places, the Cyan Serpents that had been attacking Jiang Jichen all lunged at the Golden Snake Sect disciple instead.

"Don’t!"

The Eighth-level Mortal Realm disciple from the Golden Snake Sect let out a wretched scream before he was overwhelmed by the countless Cyan Serpent shadows. In an instant, his body was covered in innumerable small wounds, his blood turning from red to black. He struggled for another moment, still screaming, before collapsing into a blackened corpse.

The entire exchange happened in a flash. By the time Du Fei realized what had happened, it was too late to call back his attack.

"What kind of Step Technique is that?"

Du Fei cried out in shock. He couldn’t have cared less about killing one of his own men; his expression only grew uglier.

Even as he spoke, Du Fei’s assault didn’t cease. Instead, it grew even more sinister and swift.

The countless dancing Cyan Serpent shadows merged into one, transforming into a massive Cyan Soaring Giant Serpent.

It was dozens of meters long. With a single sweep, a gale erupted, kicking up clouds of dust.

BOOM!

The massive tail of the Cyan Soaring Giant Serpent slammed down, cracking the earth. The large cave began to show signs of collapse as countless stones and clumps of dirt rained down.

Jiang Jichen suddenly understood Du Fei’s plan. He wanted to collapse the cave and bury Jiang Jichen inside. Even if it didn’t kill him, he would be severely injured. Meanwhile, Du Fei was positioned at the entrance, ready to retreat at any moment.

"Haha... you fell for it, boy!"

Du Fei laughed smugly. The Cyan Soaring Giant Serpent’s shadow slammed against the ground, blocking Jiang Jichen’s path forward, allowing him to make a leisurely escape.

Countless cracks had already appeared in the cave, which threatened to collapse at any moment. Little Yue’Er, who was in a smaller cavern, was unharmed for now, but the entrance to her alcove was already half-blocked by rock and debris, placing her in a perilous situation.

Jiang Jichen remained silent. Killing intent had already consumed him. His only goal was to slay Du Fei; nothing else could sway his resolve in the slightest.

Facing the massive Cyan Soaring Giant Serpent’s shadow, Jiang Jichen neither dodged nor evaded. He charged forward to meet it head-on.

"Seven Stars Gathering!"

He condensed the power of seven fists into a single blow. Bolstered by the latter stage power of the first revolution of his Undying Scripture, this punch was comparable to a full-force strike from an expert in the Innate First Realm.

PSHFFT!

The Cyan Soaring Giant Serpent was obliterated, dissolving into an endless cyan mist that swirled toward Jiang Jichen.

"You actually destroyed my Soaring Snake Transformation in a single blow? No matter. The second attack is the Snake Mist Heart Devourer. Let’s see how you avoid this, boy!"

Du Fei sneered, already starting to back toward the cave entrance.

Jiang Jichen was enveloped by the cyan mist, but his expression remained unchanged. He didn’t retreat a single step. Instead, he charged forward with even greater speed.

Faint golden spiritual power lines materialized around him. Within his body, his golden Qi Sea churned like a crashing tide, surging forth. This caused the two golden spiritual power lines to stretch out, becoming incredibly long and thin as they wrapped around his entire body.

For an ordinary person, there was a limit to how long their Spiritual Power Lines could be; reaching a few meters was already astounding. But Jiang Jichen’s Qi Sea was simply too vast, and his golden spiritual power seemed inexhaustible. As a result, his Spiritual Power Lines also seemed to be infinitely long.

At this moment, Jiang Jichen looked as if he were wrapped in golden silk. The moment the cyan mist neared the golden Spiritual Power Lines, it silently dissolved, fading into the Void.

"Using Spiritual Power Lines to neutralize poison... How is that possible?"

Du Fei, who was just about to retreat to the entrance, saw this, and his face changed drastically. He cried out in astonishment.

But before the sound of his voice had even faded, Jiang Jichen was upon him.

Du Fei’s expression changed dramatically. It was too late to retreat now, because the speed Jiang Jichen had just unleashed was even greater than his own.

"Crazy Snake’s Tongue!"

Du Fei was, after all, an expert at the Half-step Innate Realm. He acted with utmost decisiveness, condensing nine faint-cyan Spiritual Power Lines into one, forming the Cyan Snake Sword.

The Cyan Snake Sword shot toward Jiang Jichen like a Spiritual Snake’s Tongue, its speed and power terrifying to behold.

Facing such a dangerous attack, Jiang Jichen continued to charge forward, meeting the swiftly approaching Cyan Snake Sword head-on.

Just as the Cyan Snake Sword was about to pierce his heart, the pale golden Spiritual Power Lines wrapped around Jiang Jichen’s body seemed to come to life. They swarmed forward and easily entangled the blade.

Without even glancing at the Cyan Snake Sword, Jiang Jichen took another step forward and slammed his palm into Du Fei’s chest.

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK!

The sound of innumerable shattering bones rang out. Du Fei’s body flew backward and landed near the cave entrance. He collapsed to the ground, his entire body as limp as if he had no bones at all.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

"What... what kind of palm technique was that?"

Du Fei asked, his voice wavering. His face was as pale as paper, and his breath was as faint as a silken thread; he looked as though he could die at any moment.

Taking pity on a dying man, Jiang Jichen replied dispassionately, "The Bone Shattering Palm."

Bone Shattering Palm, one of the Body Cultivation Martial Techniques. Just as its name implied, anyone struck by this palm would have every bone in their body shattered. It was a truly terrifying close-quarters combat skill, and nearly impossible to defend against.

"No wonder... I have no complaints about my death. But I don’t even know your name. Could you tell me, so that I may die in peace? *Cough, cough...*"

After saying this, Du Fei began to cough up more blood. His breathing grew weaker, as if he were about to draw his last breath.

"Jiang Jichen."

Jiang Jichen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his head held high. He replied coolly, looking every bit the part of a peerless master.

So cool, so impressive...

But just then, Du Fei muttered to himself, "Jiang Jichen, Jiang Jichen..."

After repeating Jiang Jichen’s name several times, his face suddenly twisted into a ferocious grin and he began to laugh maniacally. "Jiang Jichen! It would have been better if you hadn’t told me your name. Now you’re a dead man! You’re going to be buried with me! You... Haha...!"

Du Fei died in a final fit of crazed laughter. Jiang Jichen’s expression changed drastically. He made a beckoning gesture, and his opponent’s Low-Level Storage Bag flew into his hand.

He swept it with his Divine Thought and saw a jade stone, about the size of his little finger, glowing with a soft light inside the Low-Level Storage Bag. It was covered in mysterious and complex Spiritual Patterns.

’A Sound Transmission Jade!’

It turned out Du Fei had activated the Sound Transmission Jade long ago. Every sound from this place had already been transmitted back to the Golden Snake Sect.

This was a low-level sound transmission jade, a one-time-use consumable item, but it was also incredibly precious. Even some Sect Elders might not have one. Yet Du Fei, who hadn’t even reached the Innate Realm, somehow possessed one.

’I’ve been exposed. I can’t stay here!’

Jiang Jichen casually crushed the Sound Transmission Jade. Then, his figure flickered and he quickly scooped Little Yue’Er into his arms, preparing to leave.

But he glanced back at the boy from the Fifth Level Mortal Realm. In the end, he grabbed him with one hand, activated his Shadow Step, and quickly fled the Giant Python’s cave.