Chapter Seventy-two: Black Light

  "It's actually Brother Zhao, what a coincidence."

  Seeing Zhao Shi, Shen Cong was also stunned for a moment. When did Zhao Shi escape? Shen Cong didn't know either. He only knew that after he woke up from the lightning strike, Zhao Shi was nowhere to be seen, and he must have taken advantage of the opportunity to slip away. Unexpectedly, they met here again, it's really a coincidence.

  Zhao Shi gazed down at Shen Cong, his dark and disheveled appearance, his flesh torn and bloodied. "To have escaped like this, Brother Shen is indeed skilled, but what a pity."

  "What a pity, elder brother!"

  "Unfortunately, you still have bad luck." Zhao Shi's smile grew even brighter. "There is a grudge between us, even if I don't say it, you should understand. Now that we are alone, shall we settle the score?"

  "This place is indeed good, even if something was done, no one would know." Shen looked around and nodded with a smile.

  "Your guts are not bad!" He thought Shen Cong would kneel down and beg for mercy, at least his face would change color. Unexpectedly, Shen Cong was so calm and composed, as if he didn't care at all.

  "Master brother is overpraising, Master younger brother just thinks that what's meant to come will eventually come, no matter how you hide, it can't be avoided. You say so too, Master brother?" Shen Cong smiled and looked at Zhao Shi, making him feel uncomfortable for a moment.

  Zhao Shi wanted to see Shen Cong in a flustered state, not like this now. This made Zhao Shi feel no sense of revenge and instead hated Shen Cong even more in his heart.

  "You've already understood, so I won't say anything else. I'll give you two options: kneel down and beg me, if you can satisfy me, then everything can still be negotiated. The second option is that I will make you disappear from this world, go back to your sect, and help you by saying that you died at the hands of an evil cult!"

  "Hmm, the conditions given by my senior brother are not bad. How about I give you two choices instead?" Shen Cong smiled lightly, seemingly unaware of the chill in Zhao Shi's eyes, and continued: "Firstly, kneel down and beg me, if you can satisfy me, then everything can still be negotiated. Secondly, I'll make you disappear from this world, and when you return to our sect, I'll help you explain that you died at the hands of an evil cult!"

  The words were returned intact to Zhao Shi. After saying this, Shen Cong smiled first.

  "Are you looking for trouble?"

  Zhao Shi's eyes widened, and since there was no one else around, he didn't even bother with superficial courtesy. He simply stretched out his hand and slapped out a palm. The wind rose and the clouds surged, and even such a simple move had immense power. A fourth-stage Condensed Origin early-stage expert would have to be careful in responding to such a technique, lest they capsize in a ditch.

  "Boom!"

  A crisp sound, under Zhao Shi's incredulous gaze, his arm shattered directly, and his palm exploded into a bloody mist that spread out. Shen pointed his finger forward slightly, the bloody mist stopped, then transformed into a knife blade, and slashed towards Zhao Shi.

  "What sorcery is this!" Zhao Shi shouted in a loud voice, but just one move was enough to shatter the pride in his heart. The scene before him was completely different from what he had imagined, but the miserable state of his arm told him that it was reality.

  "Bang!"

  A jade ruler blocked the Blood Blade, but the immense power it contained sent Zhao Shi flying out. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which flowed directly into the Blood Blade, increasing its power even more.

  Zhao Shi's soul was greatly shocked, this move was not exquisite, but the terrifying power it contained made Zhao Shi extremely horrified. Just a simple slash and chop, and the Yu Chi Ling Guang dissipated by half. This was a fourth-grade superior treasure, yet it seemed so vulnerable.

  "Boom!"

  Zhao Shi gritted his teeth and pointed at the Jade Ruler. The Jade Ruler emitted a dazzling light, and the spiritual energy fluctuated, making it possible to feel clearly even if separated by several miles. Zhao Shi's heart was already chilled, and no matter how many doubts he had in his mind, the fact before him was still a fact.

  "It's such a waste of treasure, brother, you really shouldn't have."

  One arm ignored the surrounding spiritual shock, grasping the jade ruler in hand. The spiritual light rebounded, but was suppressed by Shen Cong's even greater power, and his true yuan rushed in, dispersing Zhao Shi's breath completely. In an instant, the jade ruler returned to its original state.

  "Pffft!"

  Treasured instrument changes hands instantly, Zhao Shi suffers a backlash, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Zhao Shi looks at Shen Cong, as if he's a monster. His mind is completely unaware of what's happening in front of him, only knowing that the current situation is extremely dangerous, even more so than when facing Lü Ying and others before. If he's not careful, he'll lose his life.

  Earlier Zhao Shi wanted Shen Cong to die, it's only natural. At this moment, under the sudden change of circumstances, Shen Cong would not let him go either. Thinking of this, three spiritual talismans appeared in Zhao Shi's hand and were thrown at Shen Cong.

  "Seal! Lock! Block!"

  Three rays of spiritual light flashed and arrived above Shen Cong, a treasure pagoda directly enveloped Shen Cong inside. Amidst the deafening roar, the entire ground shook, Shen Cong vanished without a trace, and what appeared in its place was a treasure pagoda.

  "Run, run now, or else there will be no chance later!" Zhao Shi looked at the pagoda, hesitated for a moment, and then turned around to leave. The three spiritual symbols were extremely powerful, but Zhao Shi did not dare to fight to the death. As long as he was alive, he had countless hopes. It was completely unnecessary to fight Shen Cong to the death at this moment, it wasn't worth it!

  The pagoda continued to shake, but ultimately did not break open. Zhao Shi's heart slightly relaxed, but he still didn't dare slow down his speed. In his heart, he was extremely resentful of Shen Cong, causing him to flee in such a sorry state.

  "Blood Wind Blade, Break the Army!" A loud shout rang out, and a blood line emerged from the tip of the tower. The first one, the second one, and then countless blood lines burst out of the treasure tower, and the entire tower burst forth with dazzling light. A bloody shadow flashed out, and then the treasure tower exploded in a shocking explosion, with massive spiritual energy waves covering everything within a hundred meters.

  "How can this be, how is it possible!" Zhao Shi's heart almost stopped beating as he sensed the commotion behind him. Only a fifth-tier warrior could possibly destroy the treasure tower in such a short time, and Zhao Shi had already overestimated Shen Cong before, but now realized that he was still far underestimating him.

  "The pagoda will be destroyed, and a huge explosion will occur. It should be able to create an opening for me, I'm not completely out of luck!" Zhao Shi kept comforting himself, but he didn't dare look back, afraid that he would see something that would make him collapse.

  "Senior brother, things are not yet clear, why be in such a hurry to leave!" A soft laugh was heard, and a streak of blood flashed by. Shen Cong appeared in front, the Dragon Bird Knife slanting, completely blocking Zhao Shi's path.

  "Y...". Zhao Shi stared at Shen Cong in shock, without any injuries. Even if he had been injured, it was before that. The explosion of the treasure tower didn't bring any trouble to Shen Cong at all. Realizing this, Zhao Shi took a step back in shock.

  "Using a ghost to scare me, sending people to besiege me, and now you want to kill me again. Eldest brother, three times in a row, how should I repay you?" Shen Cong asked with a smile.

  "I... I didn't!" Zhao Shi vigorously shook his head, "It's all a misunderstanding, Shen Shidi, it's all a misunderstanding!"

  "Big brother, once something is done, one should take responsibility. And even if you say it doesn't exist, can't it really be gone?" Shen Congyi smiled, revealing his white teeth.

  "It's not like that, younger brother. If you have something to say, we can talk it over. What do you need? You can tell me, and if older brother can make it happen, I definitely won't refuse!" Zhao Shi shouted in terror, "Whether it's resources for cultivation or other precious artifacts and spirit symbols, older brother has them all here. If younger brother needs anything, just speak up!"

  "Hearing you say that, it's indeed a lot. But brother only needs to kill the master, and all those things you mentioned will belong to me, won't they?"

  "No! We are fellow disciples. If the sect finds out that we've killed one of our own, they'll hunt us down relentlessly from a thousand miles away. You can't do this!" Zhao Shi shouted in alarm.

  "You're right, so I'll handle it cleanly and won't let anyone in the sect know about it. Please rest assured, senior brother!" Shen Cong said seriously with a nod.

  Zhao Shi's eyes widened, and he suddenly let out a loud roar. A brilliant light burst forth from his hand and shot towards Shen Cong, "If you don't want me to live, then we'll all die together!"

  That brilliance had yet to reach the front, but Shen Cong already felt a suffocating pressure brewing within. On the surface, this attack could blast a fourth-stage Condensed Origin expert to death, and even a fifth-stage powerhouse might be severely injured if they weren't careful.

  But every powerful means has its own flaws, it's just a matter of how you break through them. The Dragon Bird Knife flipped in his hand, Shen disappeared from the original place and reappeared behind Zhao Shi.

  That brilliant light suddenly stopped, and then fell to the ground. Zhao Shi stared blankly down, blood spurting out, both palms severed at the wrist.

  "Ah! You dare to cut off my palm, how dare you do this, how dare you!" A shrill cry rose up, Zhao Shi gazed at Shen Cong with resentment, as if he was about to pounce and bite him.

  "When you tried to kill me with all sorts of methods, you should have expected this outcome today!" Shen Congyi smiled, the Dragon Bird Knife rose, and a streak of sword energy flashed by.

  Zhao Shi's eyes widened, staring blankly at the incoming attack. Unfortunately, he was unable to do anything, and the fear of death enveloped him. Even with treasures in his乾坤袋 (Qian Kun Bag), they were of no use at this moment. When there is an absolute difference in strength, everything becomes futile, including strategy.

  "Ding!"

  An ancient bell-like sound seemed to ring out in his soul, and Shen Cong was shocked. Before he could understand what was happening, a brilliant light burst forth from Zhao Shi's body. The spiritual energy fluctuation was so intense that Shen Cong's attack was directly cancelled before it even reached him. Without time to think, Shen Cong instantly retreated over a hundred meters, and just as he did, the position where Zhao Shi stood transformed into a wave of light sweeping horizontally in all directions.

  Everything along the way was annihilated, and Shen Cong's heart almost stopped beating. His body shot up into the air. It was also the buffer of the previous hundred meters that gave Shen Cong reaction time. When Shen Cong fell down, the ground below had already been devastated, with several meters of earth gone. If Shen Cong hadn't reacted in time, he would probably have disappeared by now.

  "The attack just now!"

  His heart still had an irrepressible shock, having a taste of the fifth-level battle force, which made Shen Cong feel complacent. But now seeing the power of that black light, Shen Cong only realized how far he still had to go, and everything was just getting started.

  Confirmed that the surroundings were not in danger, after a half-hour pause, Shen Cong came to the position where Zhao Shi was standing before. A deep and bottomless pit appeared here. How deep it is, no one knows. But one thing can be understood, the previous light wave was just the aftermath of this attack, and the center of this location is the most exaggerated.

  Shen Cong didn't know just how strong a Sixth-Order Sect Master was, but he suspected that even they would need to drink a whole jug of wine before being able to withstand the attack's power. Next to the cave entrance was a ring of ordinary soil. Shen Cong bent down and grabbed a handful, which was indeed just ordinary soil; this place hadn't been attacked earlier and belonged to a safe location.

  "Huh?"

  Shen's gaze suddenly froze, his foot stomping down.

  PS: It's late again today, and tomorrow's update should be normal. See you on Monday, thanks!