Chapter 298 : Long Time No See
Chapter 298: Long Time No See
“Who’s there?”
The black-robed man was furious when he saw the prize he was determined to seize snatched away by someone else. He let out an angry roar, raised his hand, and slapped forward, transforming his palm into a massive black hand.
“How dare you snatch what belongs to me—do you have a death wish?!”
The murderous intent in his voice was almost tangible.
Especially when he realized that the one who had snatched the treasure was merely a First Grade Martial Artist.
Moreover, it was the same person from before—the one exuding that incredibly delicious aroma. To his surprise, the man was still alive.
Perfect. He’d devour this brat first.
In an instant, the giant black hand was already looming over the brat’s head.
But the strike landed in vain.
For a brief moment, the black-robed man completely lost track of the other party.
What kind of movement technique was this?
Such speed!
By the time his target reappeared, he was already dozens of meters away.
The astonishment in the black-robed man’s eyes faded, replaced by a cold sneer. “That kind of footwork—how many times can you use it?”
A technique of that caliber had unimaginable energy consumption. There was no way a mere First Grade Martial Artist could sustain it for long. It wouldn’t be long before the brat exhausted himself.
He struck again, another palm slam, giving the other party no chance to breathe.
By comparison, Yu Haitang was no longer a concern. As long as he killed this person and devoured that small sapling, he could replenish his lost magical energy. Then, Yu Haitang wouldn’t be able to escape either.
But at that moment, a peculiar fluctuation arose from the brat’s body.
This was—
“Impossible!”
A mix of shock and fury twisted the black-robed man’s face.
The brat’s aura surged rapidly, actually breaking through the martial artist’s limits, as if a Divine Repository had been opened—an extraordinary power now surged within him.
Just like Yu Haitang earlier!
But how was this possible?
To harness the power of such a treasure, one needed to cultivate the corresponding cultivation method.
Could it be… he was also one of Yu Haitang’s contingencies?
“So… this is the Divine Repository Realm?”
Chen Ming let out a sigh of awe. Then he swung his sword, and a wave of green Sword Intent shot out, slicing the massive black hand apart.
Not good!
Without a second thought, the black-robed man turned into a cloud of black mist and vanished.
He had already lost nearly half of his power due to the earlier explosion in Golden Light Valley. Fighting Yu Haitang consumed even more, injuring his very core. He now possessed only twenty to thirty percent of his full strength.
Now this brat, borrowing the sapling’s power, had strength even surpassing Yu Haitang’s. If he stayed here, he risked death.
“Catch!”
Suddenly, Yu Haitang’s shout rang out from some hidden spot. The “Chongming Sword” flew toward Chen Ming.
After catching the sword, Chen Ming infused it with magical energy. The spirit within the sword didn’t resist in the slightest and accepted him immediately.
Because the “magical energy” he now possessed was nearly identical to that of the sword’s original master.
With the sword in hand, Chen Ming’s confidence soared.
This little sapling was truly wondrous. It could serve as a source of power, granting him temporary “magical energy”—as if he had an external Divine Repository.
This state would last for a maximum of thirty breaths!
Chen Ming immediately assessed the situation. Five breaths had already passed. He had twenty-five breaths to finish off the black-robed man.
“Trying to flee?”
With a cold sneer, Chen Ming’s figure flickered and vanished from sight.
…
Not good!
The black-robed man, now a shapeless mist, was horrified when he sensed Chen Ming above him. How did he find me?
All sects under the Cult of Eternal Life possessed secret techniques for survival after reaching the Divine Repository Realm, making it extremely difficult to kill them once they chose to flee.
The “Blood Demon Grand Art” included a method of dividing into countless shadowy forms—transforming into identical clouds of black mist to confuse the enemy.
This method had never failed him.
Its only nemesis was the Heaven’s Path Alliance, whose members cultivated both martial and magical paths, allowing them to see through the true body. That’s why Cult of Eternal Life disciples avoided them before reaching peak power.
But this Chen Ming before him… was even more terrifying than the Heaven’s Path Alliance.
None of their members had such an unimaginable movement technique—faster than even his own shadow clone technique!
Impossible!
Unwilling to believe it, the black-robed man’s mist exploded again, scattering into dozens of light shadows fleeing in all directions.
“You can’t escape!”
Chen Ming’s voice echoed ahead of him like a haunting curse, driving the black-robed man to near collapse. Catching him once might be luck. But twice—this meant Chen Ming could truly see his real body.
“I’ll fight you to the death!”
Enraged, the black-robed man spat out a black blood bead radiating an evil, foul aura. However, it was clearly smaller than before.
Summoning it again—he was betting it all.
“Out of tricks!”
The “Chongming Sword” in Chen Ming’s hand burst with blinding light as he slashed fiercely at the black blood bead. The sword was briefly blocked, but then it surged forth like breaking bamboo, shattering the bead.
With sizzling sounds, the black bead was utterly erased by the sun-like sword light of the Chongming Sword.
As the sword light faded, Chen Ming stood suspended in midair, a slight smile curling at his lips. The Chongming Sword shot out a beam of sword light, striking a point in the void.
“No—”
A barely audible scream echoed from the void before it dissipated into a wisp of smoke.
【You have slain an LV110 enemy. Gained 10 million experience points.】
At that moment, a system prompt finally appeared before his eyes.
Chen Ming thought to himself: Trying to fake death and slip away right in front of me? Keep dreaming.
One had to admit, the Blood Demon Sect truly had many escape methods, but unfortunately for them, they encountered someone who had already cultivated a Yin Spirit. From the perspective of a Yin Spirit, the Black-Robed Man had nowhere to hide.
Moreover, after killing someone, the system would issue a notification. As long as there was no prompt, it meant the person wasn’t dead yet.
So, encountering him was simply the Black-Robed Man's misfortune.
"Thirteen breaths left!"
After dealing with one enemy, Chen Ming looked toward Ling Ruocheng and Gu Dongquan, who were still locked in fierce combat.
The battle between these two Divine Repository Realm experts had also reached its climax. The wounded Gu Dongquan was no match for Ling Ruocheng and had accumulated several more injuries.
However, Ling Ruocheng was still fighting steadily and methodically, intending to wear Gu Dongquan down bit by bit, without giving him any chance to retaliate.
"Senior, allow me to assist you!"
Suddenly, Chen Ming shouted, his body turning into a sword light as he slashed toward Gu Dongquan.
Gu Dongquan was already running on fumes and could barely handle Ling Ruocheng—how could he possibly withstand a sword strike from behind?
He was pierced through on the spot, and with the explosion of sword energy, his body was shredded into a bloody mist.
Thus, a Divine Repository Realm expert from the Wushan Sect died here without uttering a single word.
【You have slain an LV118 enemy, gaining ten million experience points.】
Another ten million points in the bag.
Chen Ming felt quite pleased—indeed, he had struck only to steal the kill.
For ten million points, offending someone was no big deal.
"Brat, who told you to interfere?"
Ling Ruocheng blew his beard and glared furiously, clearly itching to teach him a lesson.
Chen Ming said, "Senior has been fighting this man for so long, I thought you were unable to finish him off. If I’ve offended you, I ask for your forgiveness."
His words carried veiled dissatisfaction.
With Ling Ruocheng’s strength, had he truly exerted himself, it wouldn’t have taken more than a few moves to kill Gu Dongquan. His delay in delivering the final blow, while watching Yu Haitang being driven into a desperate situation by the Black-Robed Man, made his intentions crystal clear.
Ling Ruocheng glared at him for a while but eventually held back, merely saying, "Brat, do you know who that man was? Now that you’ve killed him, there won’t be a place for you in Jiangzhou."
Chen Ming remained unconcerned. "If I don’t say, and you don’t say, who’s going to know he died at my hands?"
"Brat, one day you’ll learn—there are no walls in this world that don’t let wind through. You’d better pray for your own good fortune." With that, Ling Ruocheng turned and called down, "Yu Family girl, I’ve done what you asked. You’d best uphold your end of the bargain."
"Naturally."
Yu Haitang’s voice rang out below. "Senior, if you don’t chase after him now, that Qin fellow really might escape."
"Don’t worry. He won’t."
As Ling Ruocheng finished speaking, he vanished from the spot.
...
Finally gone.
Seeing the scheming old man depart, Chen Ming let out a sigh of relief. His aura plummeted, and the little sapling above his head detached and floated away.
He felt a profound sense of weakness—not just from falling out of the Divine Repository Realm, but also as a result of forcibly boosting his strength through external means.
"I knew it—you wouldn’t die so easily."
Behind him came Yu Haitang’s slightly resentful voice.
Chen Ming turned around and saw her, extremely weak and with blood still at the corner of her lips. A smile appeared on his face. "It’s been a while. You’ve gotten thinner."
Yu Haitang’s eyes held a hint of feigned anger. "Who taught you to be such a sweet talker? Hand over the Chongming Sword."
Chen Ming tossed both the Chongming Sword and the sapling to her.
Yu Haitang caught the "Chongming Sword," closed her eyes, and a moment later, reopened them—now slightly reddened. "You weren’t possessed by the Undying Demon Venerable?"
Chen Ming paused, finally realizing that her lending him the "Chongming Sword" had a deeper purpose.
The "Chongming Sword" was a bane to all evil beings and highly sensitive to demonic energy. Just now, when he activated it with "magic power," they had established a deep connection, allowing the sword to discern whether his Yin Spirit had been corrupted by demonic energy.
He replied softly, "Come to think of it, I have you to thank for tossing me that golden flame back then."
"That was the Chongming Golden Flame."
"This isn’t the place for talk. Let’s leave first."
"Alright."
...
Half a day later.
In a nameless small city, at a manor on the outskirts.
Chen Ming and Yu Haitang sat in the courtyard, enjoying flowers and chatting.
"You’ve actually reached First Grade."
Yu Haitang poured wine while looking at him with sparkling eyes. "How did you do it?"
Chen Ming said, "You know I’ve always cultivated quickly."
"Forget it if you won’t tell me. What’s the big deal?" she muttered, but then asked, "You said earlier you avoided being possessed by the Undying Demon Venerable thanks to the Chongming Golden Flame? What happened exactly?"
So that golden flame was called Chongming Golden Flame.
Chen Ming finally learned the name of the fire that had saved his life. Wait, her peerless divine weapon was also called the "Chongming Sword"—was there a connection between the two?
He answered her question first, summarizing the events.
After listening, Yu Haitang understood the many coincidences involved. "I knew it. You’ve always been lucky."
Chen Ming then asked about the relationship between the Chongming Golden Flame and the Chongming Sword.
Yu Haitang replied, "In ancient times, there was a secret realm called the Chongming Secret Realm. Both items originated from it. Because they naturally counter the Cult of Eternal Life, several Demon Venerables later attacked the secret realm together and turned it into ruins."
She asked again, "Where have you been this past year? Why didn’t you come find me?"
"I’ve been cultivating in seclusion at a hidden place. I knew clearly I hadn’t been possessed by the Undying Demon Venerable, but others likely wouldn’t believe me. I couldn’t prove my innocence. So, to avoid bringing you trouble, I kept my identity hidden and stayed on the run. It wasn’t until I saw you in danger today that I had to act."
Yu Haitang snorted, "Don’t think I don’t know—you came for the Metal-Elemental True Technique."
Chen Ming said, "When I heard about the Golden Light Valley, I guessed it was you who spread the word. So I came to see if I could lend a hand. But even if I hadn’t stepped in, you probably could’ve taken care of that Black-Robed Man yourself, right?"
Yu Haitang neither denied nor confirmed this. She took something from her bosom and said, "These are the Metal-Elemental and Earth-Elemental True Techniques. With them, you’ve now gathered five True Techniques. If you can fuse them, it will become a supreme divine art."
Chen Ming looked at the two items on the table and asked, "You’re giving them both to me?"
"To open the Eternal Life Emperor’s false tomb in the future, we might have to rely on you."
"What do you mean?"
"You’ll find out when the time comes. For now, focus on integrating these two True Techniques."
Chen Ming picked up the two manuals and asked, "You should know, the method of immortality in the Eternal Life False Tomb likely has major flaws—just like with the Demon Venerables of the Blood Demon Sect and Undying Sect."
"What, are you afraid I’ll turn into a demoness and drag you down with me?"
Yu Haitang said this half-jokingly, but not entirely.
Chen Ming said seriously, "I just hope you think carefully about whether it’s truly worth it."
Yu Haitang looked deeply at him and said, "I’ll think about it. Alright, you’ve consumed a lot today. Rest a few days, then focus on comprehending and merging the techniques as soon as possible."
She stood up to leave.
Chen Ming called out to her, "One more thing."
"What is it?"
"Do you know where Deng Ziyang is?"
"What do you want with him?"
"I have something to ask him."
"He’s currently in seclusion somewhere and probably won’t come out anytime soon."
"If there’s any news, let me know immediately."
"Alright."
"And don’t tell my family I’ve returned."
"Mhm."
With that, Yu Haitang turned and left.
In the courtyard, only Chen Ming remained.