Chapter 157: Earthly Fiend Gangqi Blade (Request for Subscription)

Even from a considerable distance, the mere sight of this monster filled Yang Ze with intense disgust. Without a close look, one could hardly tell it was once a human being.

Green liquid dripped continuously from the massive fleshy tumor, burning small holes into the ground wherever it fell, which was a clear indication of how terrifyingly corrosive that fluid truly was.

The moment he laid eyes on this creature, Yang Ze was instantly reminded of the experimental infant he had seen in the basement of the abandoned estate in Yu Family Village. The two bore a chilling resemblance to one another. The only difference was that the monster residing in Hawk's Beak Ravine looked far more humanoid, and infinitely more repulsive.

By now, there was no mistaking the identity of this individual. This person was undoubtedly Yu Haibiao. Remembering the helpless infant brutally murdered by this fiend, a murderous intent surged instantly within Yang Ze's heart. A wretch like this, regardless of whether he was responsible for killing the martial academy's unregistered disciples, simply had no right to exist in this world.

"Are you Yu Haibiao?" Yang Ze asked in a cold voice, taking a few cautious steps backward at the same time. Yu Haibiao was at least a Second-Stage Blood Condensation Realm martial artist. Though he appeared heavily injured, if he still harbored any trump cards, Yang Ze would be doomed.

"Hahaha! I have lived for one hundred and twenty years, yet there are still people who know my name. It seems you learned of my whereabouts from those younger generations in Yu Family Village. Those people actually did a decent job this time, delivering a First-Stage martial artist right to my doorstep. Though you are only at the early stage of the Bone Refining Realm, consuming your flesh and blood will allow me to hold on for a little while longer."

Yu Haibiao's pale, bloodless lips parted as his tongue darted out to lick them, drool actually spilling from his mouth.

Yang Ze's expression turned grave. A Second-Stage Blood Condensation Realm martial artist could live up to one hundred and twenty years. Yu Haibiao should have reached the end of his natural lifespan, yet he remained alive—clearly sustaining his fading life through some vicious, unorthodox art.

"So, the three unregistered disciples of our Misty Martial Academy were all devoured by you," Yang Ze stated coldly.

"That's right, I devoured them! If not for those three brats with nine-stage True Essence, how could I have lasted until now? Back then, I was merely at the late stage of the Second-Stage Blood Condensation Realm, and my lifespan had long since been exhausted. It is entirely thanks to this divine art that I have managed to keep a breath of life from scattering.

"Fortunately, the heavens above have still left me a sliver of vitality. Just as my final breath was about to dissipate, they delivered you to me. Once I consume you, I will have the strength to walk out of this Hawk's Beak Ravine.

"Devour a few more people, and once this thread of vitality is completely stabilized and my dark art reaches perfection, I will be able to storm back to the Zhenyuan Sect and settle the score from seventy years ago!"

As Yu Haibiao spoke, his eyes turned completely bloodshot, and madness twisted his entire features.

"Since you've come today, don't even think about leaving! Though I am down to my final breath, my cultivation at the late Second-Stage Blood Condensation Realm is still beyond what you can resist. Submit quietly and accept your death!"

With a loud roar, Yu Haibiao violently swung his withered, skin-and-bone right arm. A handful of the black fur covering his body was instantly ripped away, transforming into a volley of short black arrows that rained down upon Yang Ze.

Yang Ze's eyes flashed. He slammed his right foot fiercely into the ground, a loud explosive bang ringing out right before him. His body instantly sprang backward, catapulting through the air to evade the incoming storm of arrows.

This very technique was the movement art he had acquired from the Scripture Pavilion: the Burst Qi Step. By stamping his foot onto the ground and erupting True Essence outward through his toe, a localized explosion was generated, converting into an external propulsion force applied to his body to drastically increase his speed.

Triggering a single explosion constituted the entry level, three explosions marked minor accomplishment, and ten explosions signified major accomplishment. With the black stone's replication capability, there was even a consummate realm of thirty consecutive explosions.

During this recent period of secluded cultivation, Yang Ze had pushed the Burst Qi Step to the minor accomplishment realm, enabling him to unleash six consecutive explosions—not far from achieving major accomplishment.

Executing three consecutive steps, Yang Ze shot backward across a considerable distance, completely escaping the range of the arrow volley. He had never expected that those black short arrows were actually mutated strands of Yu Haibiao's own hair.

Taking advantage of the distance he had just created, Yang Ze channeled his True Essence through his left hand to activate a pre-prepared sound-transmission talisman, instantly dispatching the intelligence of his situation outward.

Li He, who was currently operating the array disk, was still pouring his energy into it. The lack of any anomaly on the array disk had been steadily growing his irritation. At that exact moment, he received Yang Ze's voice transmission, causing a violent shock to ripple through his heart.

Recovering swiftly, Li He transmitted back to Yang Ze, telling him to hold on at all costs. He then bit the tip of his tongue, spraying a mouthful of fresh blood onto the array disk. With a swift change of hand seals, a series of glowing spots began to manifest across the pristine white surface of the array disk, culminating in a bright red dot flickering near its northern sector.

Paying no heed to his fluctuating breath, Li He immediately transmitted the coordinates to the other nine individuals, simultaneously cutting off the grand array. He vaulted onto a swift steed and galloped furiously toward Hawk's Beak Ravine.

Though this sequence of events took a while to describe, Yang Ze had actually transmitted the message in just a few short breaths. Yet, successful as he was in sending the word out, Yu Haibiao had also detected the move.

The moment he realized Yang Ze possessed backup, he understood instantly that the Misty Martial Academy had made its move. No longer daring to delay any further, he knew the Misty Martial Academy was an adversary he could never hope to withstand.

Striking the cave wall with his left hand, the rocky cliffs of Hawk's Beak Ravine trembled violently. Yang Ze watched as a mass of black fog suddenly surged upward from the exit, accompanied by shrill, piercing shrieks. Six experimental abominations, identical in every way to the one seen in the underground basement earlier, burst out from the mist.

"You cannot escape!"

Yu Haibiao had grown utterly frantic. These six test subjects were trump cards he had buried here long ago. Having spent decades delving into this unorthodox art, he had cultivated unique variations; all six of these subjects had practiced portions of the dark technique, each possessing strength comparable to an early-stage Bone Refining Realm martial artist, as well as serving to sustain his life. They were his ultimate contingency.

Seeing the exit completely blocked, Yang Ze knew he had no paths left for retreat; he could only fight his way through. Without a trace of fear, the Blood Slaughter Saber leaped from its scabbard behind his back, releasing a dense wave of bloody malevolent Qi.

"A superior-grade mortal weapon!" Yu Haibiao's eyes burned with greed. Back when he had been a figure of some renown within the Zhenyuan Sect, he had never possessed a superior-grade weapon. Yet Yang Ze, mere First-Stage martial artist, wielded one. The resources and treatment of the Misty Martial Academy filled him with profound envy.

Yet this realization only made him more cautious. As the six experimental creatures lunged forward simultaneously, he began preparing a final trump card of his own.

Standing his ground as the six monsters charged at him, Yang Ze slammed his right leg onto the earth, triggering three consecutive explosions right in front of him. The leading creature took the brunt of the triple shockwave, its charging momentum halting abruptly in its tracks.

While the Burst Qi Step successfully checked one, five others continued their assault unchecked. Swinging the Blood Slaughter Saber in an arc, Yang Ze unleashed a wave of blade Qi, engaging the remaining five abominations head-on.

Blade light flashed as Yang Ze maintained a solemn expression. Fighting five test subjects comparable to early-stage Bone Refining martial artists all at once was a first for him. Moreover, allowing even a drop of their toxic touch to reach him meant he had to rely entirely on the Blood Slaughter Saber for defense.

Fortunately, his weapon was a superior-grade artifact; otherwise, had he been using a standard mortal weapon against their corrosive attacks, it would have dissolved instantly.

Droplets of green liquid hissed through the air toward him. Frowning, Yang Ze swept the Blood Slaughter Saber in a swift slash, capturing the corrosive fluid within his blade Qi and redirecting the lot of it straight at the final test subject that was rushing back into the fray.

The green liquid sank into the creature's body, yet the monster showed no reduction in speed, charging forward unabated.

The pressure bearing down on Yang Ze multiplied instantly. Fighting six early-stage Bone Refining entities simultaneously was grueling, and it was only thanks to these creatures lacking true sentience—allowing him to leverage his superior combat experience—that he managed to maintain a slight upper hand and prevent the situation from spinning entirely out of control.

Just as Yang Ze intended to slowly wear down and exhaust these abominations, he caught sight of Yu Haibiao descending from the rock wall.

A silent curse rose in his mind as he realized Yu Haibiao intended to enter the fray personally. It seemed the old monster was growing desperate to eliminate him swiftly.

In this moment of crisis, True Essence surged within Yang Ze's Dantian. The pure power of bone-refining burst forth from the thirty-two fully tempered bones of his lower limbs, empowering him to unleash an astonishing slash.

This horizontal sweep lashed out with devastating force, instantly sending all six test subjects flying backward in a sprawling tumble.

Without pausing, Yang Ze's blade momentum carried straight toward the descending Yu Haibiao. The old monster's expression remained completely unchanged as he raised a withered, grey-Qi-enveloped right hand, colliding directly with the incoming blade strike.

*Clang!*

Yang Ze felt a violent recoil reverberate through the blade, sending a numbing shock up his entire right arm. True Essence coursed frantically through his meridians to neutralize the stinging ache.

Gazing solemnly at Yu Haibiao, Yang Ze confirmed his fears: a Second-Stage Blood Condensation Realm martial artist was truly formidable, remaining terrifyingly lethal even at death's door.

At the same time, he finally saw Yu Haibiao's complete physical state. The lower half of the old man's legs had nearly transformed entirely into bare white bone, retaining only shreds of withered skin and muscle.

Grinning hideously, Yu Haibiao bellowed, "Die!"

An eerie, aberrant blood-qi erupted from his monstrous physique, crushing downward to suppress Yang Ze. In response, the thirty-two fully tempered bones in Yang Ze's lower body flared with a brilliant golden light, bracing his frame to keep him from collapsing.

With bloodshot eyes and under this immense pressure, Yang Ze finally unleashed his full power. As the six test subjects scrambled back to their feet and lunged again, Yang Ze stomped his left foot backward, triggering six consecutive explosions that intercepted and halted the monsters once more.

Taking advantage of this fleeting opening, Yang Ze's aura surged to its absolute limit. His right hand gripped the Blood Slaughter Saber tightly as the muscles in his right arm vibrated in an entirely different rhythm, wrapping the blade in a distinct, volatile pressure.

Blade momentum burst forth, manifesting an aura several times more powerful than any he had ever produced before. This time, Yang Ze deployed a brand-new saber technique: the Earthly Fiend Gang Qi Blade!

The malevolent Qi accumulated within the Blood Slaughter Saber was pushed to its absolute limit. With a downward chop, the blade Qi fused with the fierce malevolence and plunged straight toward Yu Haibiao, arriving above the old man's head in the blink of an eye.