Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 283: Crimson Phoenix Fails to Subdue

Before the shrill screech of the shattering fiend soul crystal had fully dissipated, that earth-shattering axe strike, mixed with the residual Battle Intent of an ancient powerhouse and the boundless rage of the Soldier Soul, had already torn through the thick Evil Qi and descended upon Fang Hao with the power to destroy everything!

Before the axe’s radiance even reached him, the tangible, sharp killing intent and terrifying pressure caused Fang Hao excruciating pain all over his body, as if he were about to be sliced to pieces!

The ground beneath his feet collapsed silently, and cracks spread like a spiderweb. This was power far exceeding the Golden Core level, a strike sufficient to utterly crush him along with his Divine Soul!

In that split second between life and death, there was no fear in Fang Hao’s eyes; instead, they erupted with unprecedented brilliance and calmness.

The medicinal power of the Ice Heart Soul-Suppressing Pill dissolved within his Sea of Consciousness, a cool, clear stream protecting his mind, keeping his consciousness sharp and his thoughts fast as lightning.

Retreat? Dodge? Under the locked-on axe radiance and terrifying pressure, no matter how exquisite his Divine Spirit Steps were, it would be difficult to avoid it completely, and taking it head-on would be suicide!

The only option was to strike where it must defend, to use offense as defense, and gamble for a sliver of survival!

"Old Jin!" Fang Hao roared in his heart, and Old Jin, the artifact spirit of the battle heaven axe who had been silent and ready, responded instantly!

A desolate, ancient, and unyielding Battle Intent erupted like a dormant volcano, rising from the phantom of the battle heaven axe deep within Fang Hao’s Dantian, resonating powerfully with his own will, his Chaos Spiritual Power, and the sharp Qi and blood refined by the Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing!

"Slash!!!"

Fang Hao did not dodge or evade. Facing the grey-black axe radiance that tore through the Void Realm, he actually advanced instead of retreating, taking a step forward that caused the ground to explode!

He did not unleash his spiritual power, nor did he use any Spell; he simply focused all his strength, will, and even his unyielding Battle Intent onto his right fist and punched out to meet the terrifying axe radiance!

This punch had no frills, only the purest power! Chaos Spiritual Power, the immense strength of his Physical Body from the Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing, and the reinforcement of the battle heaven axe’s unyielding Battle Intent were all condensed into a single point!

Upon the fist, grey Chaos radiance intertwined with white-gold sharpness, faintly forming a small, twisted vortex that seemed to want to devour and destroy everything!

Boom!!!

The fist radiance and the axe radiance collided without any flair!

There was no earth-shattering explosion as one might imagine, only a dull, extreme thud, like the terrifying sound of two great mountains colliding!

At the center of the collision, space itself seemed to distort, and a visible ring-shaped shockwave, mixed with grey-black Evil Qi, white-gold fist energy, and grey Chaos light, exploded outward!

Pfft!

Fang Hao was struck as if by lightning, flying backward like a kite with a broken string. While still in the air, he spewed several mouthfuls of blood, which faintly contained fragments of his internal organs!

The sleeve of his right arm instantly turned to dust, the skin on his arm cracked inch by inch, dripping with blood, and his bones emitted a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound, as if they would shatter at any moment!

His internal organs were in turmoil, and his Meridians were in excruciating pain, threatening to tear apart!

A strike at the Nascent Soul level, even one weakened by the destruction of the fiend soul crystal and the Soldier Soul’s failure to exert its full power in its rage, was still terrifying to this extent!

With just a single clash of fists, Fang Hao was already severely injured!

However, that terrifying grey-black axe radiance also trembled violently and dimmed under this punch, finally dissipating for the most part with a "pop." Although the remaining ripples of the axe radiance still grazed Fang Hao, their power was greatly reduced, and they were resisted by his sturdy Physical Body and the automatically appearing Chaos Spiritual Power barrier on his body surface.

"Huh?" The Soldier Soul seemed to pause for a moment, the dark red flames in its hollow eye sockets flickering. It seemed not to have expected that this tiny insect could actually disperse part of its axe radiance with a single punch (albeit a weakened version). Although he was severely injured, it was enough to surprise it.

But immediately after, there was even more violent rage! It raised its broken axe again, and an even more terrifying strike was condensing!

"Now!" Fang Hao forced himself to endure the pain of his body feeling like it was falling apart and his churning Qi and blood. Borrowing the momentum of flying backward, he fiercely threw the "Explosive Flame Thunder Bead" he had been clutching in his left hand toward the Soldier Soul’s feet, in the direction of the few remaining fiend soul crystals that had not yet been destroyed!

At the same time, he did not hesitate to activate the "Fire Feather Escape Talisman" that Crimson Phoenix had given him in his right hand!

The Explosive Flame Thunder Bead, carrying a shrill whistling sound as it broke through the air, landed precisely near those few fiend soul crystals and exploded with a roar!

Scorching thunder fire and violent explosive energy swept through instantly, engulfing the remaining few fiend soul crystals as well!

Boom boom boom!!!

Successive explosions rang out. Although those few fiend soul crystals were not immediately destroyed, their light flashed wildly, and the connection between them, the Evil Qi pool, and the Soldier Soul became even more unstable!

The Soldier Soul’s aura fluctuated violently again, and the second axe strike that was about to be unleashed also experienced a momentary lag and Chaos!

And in this moment of hesitation, the Fire Feather Escape Talisman in Fang Hao’s hand had already been activated!

Crimson light enveloped his entire body, turning him into a blazing trail of fire that instantly tore through the thick Evil Qi, fleeing toward the periphery of the Valley of Buried Soldiers at an incredibly fast speed! A hundred miles in an instant!

"Roar!!!"

The Soldier Soul let out a roar of extreme rage, slashing its axe into empty air, carving a bottomless trench into the ground where Fang Hao had originally been!

It wanted to pursue, but the fiend soul crystals had been destroyed one after another, and its connection to the Evil Qi pool and the soldier fiend spirit fire was severely disrupted, causing its figure to flicker and its aura to become even more unstable.

Meanwhile, on Crimson Phoenix’s side, the traction on the soldier fiend spirit fire had reached a critical moment; the spirit fire struggled violently, emitting terrifying fluctuations, preventing it from pursuing Fang Hao with full force.

The Soldier Soul was caught in a dilemma, its furious roars echoing beneath Broken Blade Cliff, but it could only watch helplessly as the trail of fire that was Fang Hao disappeared into the horizon, then cast its even more brutal gaze toward Crimson Phoenix, who was concentrating on collecting the spirit fire...

One hundred miles away, in a relatively flat pile of rubble at the edge of the Valley of Buried Soldiers, a crimson light flashed, and Fang Hao’s figure appeared, stumbling. As soon as he landed, he spewed another mouthful of blood, his face pale as paper, and his right arm hung limply; he was clearly severely injured.

He immediately forced his heavily injured body to use the Divine Spirit Steps again, concealing his aura, and quickly moved away from the landing spot of the Fire Feather Escape Talisman. He found a hidden rock crevice to hide in and set up a few simple concealment Restrictions. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief, immediately sat cross-legged, took out a Medicinal Pill to heal his wounds, and began circulating the Chaos Derivation Art to start healing.

The Chaos Derivation Art was truly a supreme cultivation method, with excellent healing effects. Coupled with the powerful recovery ability of his Physical Body after the "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing," his injuries stabilized at a speed visible to the naked eye.

However, the fractures in his right arm bones and the trauma to his internal organs would still require time to recuperate.

While healing, he recalled that thrilling scene from just moments ago.

The terror of the Nascent Soul level far exceeded his imagination.

Even though the Soldier Soul was not in a good state, and he had exerted all his strength, plus the help of the battle heaven axe’s Battle Intent and Old Jin, he had only barely managed to withstand one strike before fleeing, heavily injured.

If it weren’t for the Explosive Flame Thunder Bead and the Fire Feather Escape Talisman that Crimson Phoenix had given him, he would likely have been in grave danger.

"Crimson Phoenix..." Fang Hao looked toward the direction of Broken Blade Cliff, where even more violent energy fluctuations and the furious roars of the Soldier Soul could be vaguely heard, but the distance was too great to perceive clearly.

He wondered if she could successfully collect the soldier fiend spirit fire under the threat of the Soldier Soul?

However, this was no longer a problem he needed to worry about.

He had fulfilled his promise, destroyed the fiend soul crystals, held off the Soldier Soul, and even suffered severe injuries for it.

Whether Crimson Phoenix would succeed depended on her own ability and fortune.