High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: Chao Lumen

"Found it." Xu Wuyi walked toward the pool.

But he stopped after just two steps.

A person was sitting beside the pool.

It was a Wolfman Priest, dressed in a long, dark purple robe and holding a bone staff inlaid with black crystals.

He had his eyes closed, seemingly in meditation, but the aura radiating from him made Xu Wuyi’s pupils contract.

Level 46.

This was one of the two High-tier Priests guarding the mine.

Xu Wuyi didn’t retreat.

He stood his ground, his mind racing.

’If I retreat now, I’ll definitely be discovered. Once the alarm sounds, I’ll never get another chance to get close to the source.’

’I have to kill him.’

Xu Wuyi slowly raised his right hand, and the Power of his Heart Image began to coalesce.

But he didn’t attack immediately. Instead, he first took out a metal tube of Erosion Source Agent and gripped it tightly in his left hand. Only then did he lock his entire Heart and Spirit onto the Priest.

’Eighty meters. Within range of my Heart Image’s perception.’

Xu Wuyi clenched his fist.

A dark gold flame ignited directly in the Priest’s chest, where his heart was.

The Priest’s eyes snapped open.

His reaction was incredibly fast. The instant the flame appeared, he activated a protective spell. A dark purple barrier of light materialized over his body, holding the flame at bay.

But Xu Wuyi’s attack didn’t stop there.

With another thought, a second wisp of flame ignited at the back of the Priest’s head, a third in his Dantian, a fourth along his spine...

The Priest’s face contorted. He never expected to be attacked from so many directions at once. His protective spell could only defend one spot; the flames elsewhere had already burned through his skin and begun to scorch his internal organs.

"Ene—" He tried to shout, but just as the sound escaped his lips, his throat was choked by flames.

He tried to fight back, but the flames raging within him had already destroyed his main meridians, making it impossible to summon his power.

Three seconds later, the light in the Priest’s eyes faded completely.

’Weaker than I thought...’ Xu Wuyi realized that in a confrontation at the Innate level, the application of one’s Heart Image was the primary factor in determining combat strength. The Energy Level was not as important.

Without a glance at the fallen body, he charged toward the energy pool.

He had to hurry.

’The energy fluctuations from the Priest’s death will definitely alert the other High-tier Priest. He’ll be here in a minute at most.’

Xu Wuyi ran to the edge of the pool, took out all three metal tubes of Erosion Source Agent, pulled their safety pins, and threw them straight in.

The metal tubes sank into the viscous energy liquid, and the runes on their surfaces began to glow. Three seconds later, the casings disintegrated, releasing the highly concentrated chaotic energy within.

The dark purple water in the pool turned murky at a visible rate, its surface churning with grayish-white foam. The once-pure energy fluctuations became chaotic and violent.

’Done.’ Xu Wuyi turned to leave.

But he was too late.

A terrifying pressure radiated from the cavern entrance.

"Human, you court death!"

The roar echoed like thunder, making the entire cavern tremble.

Xu Wuyi looked up to see a dark purple figure charging toward him at an astonishing speed.

It was an even more burly Wolfman Priest. He held no weapon, but his fists were wreathed in tangible energy fluctuations.

The other Level 46 Priest had arrived.

And from his aura, he was even stronger than the last one.

Xu Wuyi had no intention of fighting him head-on. ’The mission is complete. Now I just need to get out.’

He turned and sprinted deeper into the cavern, toward another fissure he had spotted on his way down—one that led into the mountain’s interior.

"Trying to run?" the burly Priest sneered, throwing a punch.

A dark purple phantom fist shot from his hand, rapidly expanding in mid-air. Space warped in its path, and the black crystal pillars shattered.

Without looking back, Xu Wuyi clenched his fist behind him.

The Power of his Heart Image coalesced into a dark gold shield behind him.

The phantom fist slammed into the shield, creating a deafening BOOM. The shield shattered, but the attack’s power was diminished by more than half. The shockwave still struck Xu Wuyi’s back, making his Qi and Blood roil.

But he used the force of the impact to accelerate, diving headfirst into the fissure.

The burly Priest was right behind him.

The fissure was narrow and winding, but that posed no problem for either of them. Xu Wuyi sprinted ahead while the burly Priest gave chase, the two clashing constantly along the way.

Every impact left deep cracks in the rock walls. Shards from the shattered black crystals flew through the narrow space like bullets.

Xu Wuyi fought a running battle, retreating as he went.

’I don’t need to win. I just need to hold him off and create some distance.’

Three minutes later, light appeared up ahead—the exit at the other end of the fissure.

Xu Wuyi accelerated out of the fissure and back onto the surface. He was now on the other side of the mountain range, at least five kilometers from the mine.

Without a moment’s pause, he sprinted along his predetermined escape route.

The burly Priest emerged from the fissure and watched Xu Wuyi’s retreating figure, his face ashen. He wanted to give chase, but the mine had been contaminated. He had to go back and handle it, or the entire mine would be lost.

"Damned human..." he growled through clenched teeth before turning back.

Xu Wuyi didn’t stop until he was twenty kilometers away.

Looking back, the area around the mine was in chaos. Alarms blared, and the energy fluctuations were a turbulent mess. Clearly, the Celestial Wolf Civilization had discovered the problem.

’Mission complete.’ Xu Wuyi let out a breath.

He didn’t linger, continuing his retreat away from the mine.

’Next, the Celestial Wolf Civilization will definitely launch a massive manhunt for me. The Star Realm Battlefield is vast, but I can’t afford to be careless.’

’I need to find a place to lay low for a while. Once the heat dies down, I’ll move on to the next target.’

Meanwhile, the basin housing the mine was in total disarray.

The burly Priest stared at the completely corrupted energy pool, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip ink.

He tried to purify it with his spells, but the contamination from the Erosion Source Agent had already seeped into the mine’s very source. It was impossible to clear out quickly.

"Pass down my orders," he said to the other Priests who had rushed over, speaking each word with deliberate force. "Activate the highest alert. Lock down the entire West Seventh District. That human... must be found."

"Yes!"

The Priests answered in unison, but their eyes were filled with grim apprehension.

They knew this enemy was different from any they had faced before.

It wasn’t a large-scale invasion or a frontal assault. It was a single person who had infiltrated their base silently, destroyed an entire mine right under their noses, and then departed with ease.

A threat like that was greater than an entire army.

And by now, Xu Wuyi had already vanished into the vast, scorched landscape.

...

Fifty kilometers from the mine, three figures emerged from a Teleportation Array.

The leader was a tall, slender Wolfman with a cold, severe face. He wore dark red Battle Armor, a slender Bone Saber hanging at his waist.

The most striking feature about him was his eyes: one was a normal amber, while the other was pure blood-red.

This was Zhaolumen, one of the Divine Sons of the Celestial Wolf Civilization’s current generation. His Life Energy Level was 48, just one step away from becoming a Quasi-God.

Behind him were two other Divine Sons, a man and a woman, both with auras exceeding Level 46.

"We’re late." Zhaolumen gazed toward the chaotic energy fluctuations coming from the mine, his blood-red eye narrowing slightly.