Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Forty-Nine: Counterattack

Tie Changqing stumbled and fled, his usual dashing demeanor completely gone.

His body was incredibly itchy, especially around the wounds, which he had scratched until they bled again. But even so, the itching didn't stop; in fact, it got worse, making him wish he could just chop off both his feet.

However, the truly terrifying things don't end there.

Two days later, Tie Changqing, whose body was covered in unbroken skin, suddenly discovered that the unbearable itching had disappeared, but the wounds had begun to slowly rot.

The rate of decay is not obvious, but it is definitely happening.

Tie Changqing tried all the spiritual medicines he had, but they had no effect whatsoever. Just one more day passed, and a foul-smelling black liquid was already flowing from his wound.

Now he was truly terrified. Boundless fear, like a gigantic beast opening its blood-red maw in the darkness, slowly gnawed at his soul.

When a person is down on their luck, misfortune seems to follow. Perhaps attracted by the stench, some wild beasts in Broken Soul Ridge who would normally never dare to approach him began to target him.

In just one night, he was attacked by wild beasts no less than eight times, which left Tie Changqing physically and mentally exhausted. Sleepiness came over him like a tide, threatening to overwhelm and engulf him at any moment.

Finally, dawn broke. Tie Changqing had just dealt with a lynx as big as a calf and was about to rest when the terrifying rustling footsteps approached once again.

"Young Master Changqing, how have you been lately?"

A lazy voice rang out, and Xiao Chong, with a broad smile on his face, emerged from behind a large tree not far away.

However, in Tie Changqing's eyes, that smile was indescribably hateful.

Tie Changqing roared, "Xiao Chong, if you want to kill me or torture me, come at me! Let's see if I'm afraid of you!"

To verify the extent of Tie Changqing's injuries, Xiao Chong fiercely provoked him, saying, "But Young Master Changqing is injured. Even if I win, it will be an unfair victory, and people will laugh at me if word gets out."

These words only fueled Tie Changqing's rage: "How could your Xiao family, a supposedly prestigious clan, possess such a vicious poison?"

"To have caught Young Master Changqing's eye, the effect must be quite good. If you feel the portion is not enough, I can send a little more," Xiao Chong replied with a grin.

Tie Changqing's face contorted with rage as he exclaimed, "Damn it! What kind of poison is this? Why have I never seen it before? The Tie family's elixirs can cure all poisons, so why are they ineffective against this one?"

"It seems that Dingling wasn't just bragging this time after all."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Xiao Chong's smile vanished, and he raised his sword, shouting, "Enough with the nonsense, let's see who's the best. Don't forget, we have a life-or-death situation between us."

"brush!"

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Chong stepped forward, his thick-backed cleaver flashing a bright light as he swung it down at Tie Changqing's head.

Tie Changqing was caught off guard by the sudden attack and hurriedly raised his gun to parry.

As the swords and spears clashed, the cleaver was deflected high into the air, leaving Xiao Chong with an open chest.

Tie Changqing was overjoyed and thrust forward with his spear, intending to finish off his opponent with one strike, but suddenly he stumbled and missed.

"What a pity! I didn't expect the injuries to be so severe; he can't even stand up straight."

Tie Changqing sighed inwardly, not daring to continue the pursuit. He could only withdraw his spear, seeking neither merit nor fault.

After this initial probing, Xiao Chong finally felt confident and, seizing the opportunity, launched a flurry of attacks with his sword.

"when……"

A series of rapid, popping sounds rang out, and Xiao Chong unleashed over a hundred slashes in an instant.

His swordsmanship had no fixed moves, and Xiao Fangzheng hadn't taught him; he was simply told to keep swinging and slashing every day. Therefore, his techniques lacked any aesthetic appeal, but in this context, they seemed to embody the idea that "no moves are better than moves."

Tie Changqing tried his best to parry. He clearly saw the direction and landing point of each strike, and his spear blocked them all accurately, but he was suffering in silence.

The opponent's swordsmanship was monotonous and repetitive, not particularly frightening, and theoretically posed no threat to him. However, the problem was that the back of the sword was too thick, making each strike powerful and heavy. Each blow caused his feet to slam heavily into the ground, followed by waves of unbearable pain.

Originally, Tie Changqing would have looked down on this kind of fighting style that relied purely on brute force, but at this moment he was somewhat hoping that his opponent could have exquisite and unpredictable swordsmanship.

Another barrage of sword flashes rained down, Xiao Chong's momentum surged, and he fought with increasing ferocity, while Tie Changqing's leg was already on the ground.

"Give me your life!"

Xiao Chong raised his sword above his head with both hands, let out a roar, and leaped more than three zhang into the air, like a god about to slash down on Tie Changqing's head.

"what!"

With his life hanging by a thread, a look of madness appeared on Tie Changqing's face. He held the spear upright to his side with one hand and spread his arms wide in the sky.

Amidst a series of rapid "snap" sounds, Tie Changqing's clothes burst open, fluttering in the wind like a butterfly with nowhere to go.

His muscles bulged like mounds of earth, throbbing violently as if they were about to explode, clearly containing astonishing power.

"Oh no, they're trying to self-destruct!"

The thought flashed through Xiao Chong's mind instantly, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He shrank back in mid-air, abruptly changed direction, and rolled into the grass in the distance.

Self-destruction is a martial artist's last resort, a way to take their opponent down with them. After a martial artist has opened up a certain number of acupoints in their body, they will accumulate the Yuan energy they have cultivated in these acupoints.

These Yuan energies are immense. Once a martial artist encounters an inescapable danger and feels their life is in peril, they will use a secret technique to unleash these Yuan energies. The more acupoints opened within the body, the more Yuan energies are available, and the greater the power of the self-destruction.

A martial artist like Tie Changqing, who has already opened more than thirty acupoints, would be as destructive as a small hand grenade if he were to self-destruct, which is extremely terrifying. Therefore, Xiao Chong chose to retreat immediately.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tie Changqing grabbed his spear and slammed it into the ground, his body soaring high into the air as he fled in the opposite direction from Xiao Chong.

"Trying to run? Not so easy!"

Xiao Chong leaped out of the bushes, his long sword flying out and spinning in the air as he chased after Tie Changqing.

While in mid-air, Tie Changqing was secretly relieved to have escaped another disaster when he suddenly felt a piercing pain from below. One of his legs had been severed at the knee, and blood rained down from the sky.