257: despair

Qin Feng's pupils shrank suddenly, and a storm of shock surged in his heart! Zhongli Wu was actually so sharp that he had almost touched upon the essence of the System! Moreover, how could the emperor extermination powder and Half-Step to the West have no effect on this guy at all!

"Not talking? It doesn't matter." Zhongli Wu didn't seem in a hurry to get an answer immediately. The Yin Fire at his fingertips suddenly became violent. "Once I crush every inch of your bones and pull out your soul for slow interrogation, you will naturally speak. But before that..."

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He curved the fingers of his other hand into a claw, surrounded by swirling black Devilish Qi. With a sharpness that seemed to tear through space, he lunged violently toward Qin Feng's heart!

"Heavenly Demon Claw!"

This claw strike was by no means a probe; it was intended to completely cripple Qin Feng and shatter all his defenses!

Puchi—Kacha!

The white dragon armor (Earth Rank High Grade) on Qin Feng's body, which was already damaged in several places, was torn through as easily as paper under this claw. The armor plates shattered inch by inch and flew off! It revealed the heavenly silkworm jade thread garment (Heaven Rank Low Grade) underneath, which clung to his skin and shimmered with a lustrous white glow!

The heavenly silkworm jade thread garment automatically protected its master, erupting with a powerful white light that formed an incredibly flexible film of light, desperately resisting the black devil claw!

Chichichi—!

The ear-piercing sound of friction and energy annihilation rang out! The heavenly silkworm jade thread garment was indeed a treasure from the Medicine King Valley's treasury, and having been enhanced by Qin Feng with the essence of Black Tortoise scales, this Heaven Rank defensive gear actually managed to temporarily block that fatal claw! However, charred marks instantly appeared on the fabric, and the spiritual light flickered rapidly. It was clearly under immense pressure and could be breached at any moment!

"Cough!" The massive impact was transmitted through the precious garment. Qin Feng coughed up blood again, feeling as if his internal organs had been displaced, and his vision went dark in waves.

"Brother Feng!" Not far away, supported by Ye Wuyou, Xiao Chun let out a weak and desperate cry.

"A Heaven Rank protective garment? Your foundations are indeed impressive." A hint of surprise flashed in Zhongli Wu's eyes, which then turned into an even deeper coldness. "Unfortunately, your cultivation is too weak to unleash its true power. Break for me!"

The strength in his claw increased by another thirty percent! The Netherworld Yin Fire and Heavenly Demon Qi eroded frantically!

Ka... Kacha...

A faint but clear cracking sound came from the heavenly silkworm jade thread garment! A crack spread out from the tip of the claw! The spiritual light of the precious garment dimmed rapidly!

Just at this critical moment—

A resolute, poignant sword light that seemed to condense all meanings of withering and ending suddenly lit up from the side, like the final blooming of a night-blooming cereus in the darkness, carrying an extreme brilliance that burned through life itself!

"Moon Shadow Assassination"

It was Ji Ruxue! She had somehow quietly moved to a spot less than three feet behind Zhongli Wu's side. She poured all her remaining true essence, essence blood, and even her final understanding of the Dao of the sword into this life-risking strike! The purple moon dagger left her hand, almost merging with her figure to become a streak of light—a desolate gray infused with a poignant purple glow. Ignoring the distance in space, it stabbed directly toward Zhongli Wu's temple! This was a forbidden technique from her Legacy intended for mutual destruction!

Too fast! Too sudden! Too resolute!

Zhongli Wu's entire attention was on breaking the heavenly silkworm jade thread garment and investigating Qin Feng's secrets. Coupled with his rhythm being repeatedly disrupted by previous surprises, Ji Ruxue's ultimate assassination at the cost of her life actually found a sliver of an opening—though it wasn't truly a flaw!

He was forced to tilt his head slightly. The devil claw lunging at Qin Feng's heart also subconsciously withdrew thirty percent of its power as he slapped his hand back toward that poignant sword light!

Ding—Boom!

Ji Ruxue's dagger struck the side of Zhongli Wu's neck revealed after he tilted his head, but it produced a crisp metallic clatter! It actually failed to pierce through! Beneath Zhongli Wu's skin, a faint black luster flowed—it was unexpectedly another piece of inner armor or a protective technique of at least the Heaven Rank!

Meanwhile, Zhongli Wu's backhand palm strike landed squarely on Ji Ruxue.

Puff!

Ji Ruxue felt as if she had been hit by a meteorite. She sprayed blood wildly, and no one knew how many of her bones were broken. Like a withered butterfly, she was thrown backward. After rolling several times upon landing, she remained motionless. Her aura was weak to the extreme, hovering on the brink of death.

But her life-risking strike had, after all, bought Qin Feng the last and only glimmer of hope!

At the moment Zhongli Wu was distracted by slapping Ji Ruxue away and his claw force was withdrawn—

A beast-like ferocious light erupted in Qin Feng's eyes! The instinct for survival and the rage over his companion's heavy injury squeezed the last drop of strength from his Meridians! Ignoring the heavenly silkworm jade thread garment that was about to shatter completely and the sharp pain from his chest, the ink plum sword he had been clutching in his right hand burst forth with a final, dim sword light that condensed all his unyielding will. With the most pure and basic straight thrust, he stabbed fiercely toward Zhongli Wu's heart, which was inches away!

This sword strike had no flourishes; there was only speed and ruthlessness!

Zhongli Wu had just slapped Ji Ruxue away; his old strength was spent, and his new strength had not yet arisen. A tiny ripple appeared in his protective Devilish Qi. And Qin Feng's sword seized that nearly non-existent moment when the ripple appeared!

Puchi!

The tip of the sword actually pierced the robes at Zhongli Wu's heart! He felt resistance, but it seemed... it had pierced the outer clothing and touched some tough object inside!

Zhongli Wu's body jolted violently! He lowered his head, looking in disbelief at the tip of the ink plum sword that had sunk an inch into his chest. He could feel the icy killing intent from the sword's edge, as well as... a faint but real sense of stinging pain!

Qin Feng was also stunned. He hadn't expected his desperate sword strike to actually hit the opponent!

Zhongli Wu slowly raised his head. The vortex in his pitch-black eyes seemed to freeze for a moment before becoming even more deep and terrifying. He reached out two fingers and gently pinched the blade of the ink plum sword.

"Very good..." His voice betrayed no emotion, yet it caused the surrounding temperature to plummet. "To actually... be able to wound me."

He exerted a slight force with his fingers.

Kacha.

The ink plum sword, this divine weapon that had followed Qin Feng for a long time and had reached the peak of Earth Rank, was actually snapped in two! The front half of the blade clattered to the ground.

Zhongli Wu released his fingers, letting the broken sword remain in Qin Feng's hand. He looked down at the pierced robes at his heart and the inner soft armor shimmering with dark devilish runes that had stopped the sword tip just a hair's breadth from his skin, and said slowly:

"Heaven Rank armor?" The corner of his mouth curled into an extremely cold arc. "What a coincidence... I have one too."

"And, it's better... than yours."

As his voice fell, the Devilish Qi around him erupted. The dark devilish runes on that inner soft armor all lit up, emitting a heart-palpitating defensive pressure. It was unexpectedly a very high-quality Heaven Rank devil armor! Ji Ruxue's dagger had failed to pierce through earlier clearly because it was blocked by this armor as well.

Holding the broken sword, Qin Feng looked at the undamaged devil armor on Zhongli Wu's chest, then at Tao Yuanyi and Ji Ruxue, whose fates were unknown, and then at the exhausted Xiao Chun and the struggling Cold Peach Blossom and Ye Wuyou... An unprecedented, bone-chilling despair finally submerged him completely.

All the trump cards, all the struggles, all the sacrifices... in the face of absolute strength and defense, were ultimately... in vain.

Zhongli Wu raised his hand again, Devilish Qi pulsing at his fingertips as he locked onto the space between Qin Feng's brows.

"Now, let's see... where your secret is hidden..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

When a sudden change occurred!