Chapter 240 - 238: Killing Intent
The gray-robed old man, who had been watching the fight in silence, his aura as deep as an abyss, now had a terrifying glint erupt in his eyes.
He hadn’t expected Chen Li’s strength to be so overwhelming that he could severely injure Yun Ya in just a few moves.
With a low roar, his figure shot forward. His withered palm reached out, the tips of his five fingers unleashing grayish-black claws of light that seemed to tear through the void.
The wind from the claws shrieked as they aimed straight for the vital point on Chen Li’s back.
His Cultivation was, shockingly, also at the level of a Void Transformation Grandmaster.
A pincer attack!
Yet, facing the combined assault of two Grandmasters, Chen Li showed no fear. With a mere thought—
HUM!
An invisible domain instantly spread out from him.
Within the domain, clear qi rose and turbid qi sank, forming a small world of its own.
It was the Qiankun Qi Dragon True Intent Domain.
Within the domain, the very environment subtly changed.
"A True Intent Domain?"
The old man’s face turned pale with horror.
The moment the domain appeared, Yun Ya and the gray-robed old man felt immense pressure envelop them, as if they were being bound by layers of invisible shackles.
What terrified them even more was the hidden, omnipresent killing intent within this domain.
Heaven’s Killing Intent.
SHINK!
A subtle yet incomparably sharp wisp of Staff Intent materialized from the void without warning, instantly stabbing toward Yun Ya’s shoulder blade.
Yun Ya was startled, but her movements were sluggish under the domain’s suppression. Though she tried desperately to dodge, she was still grazed.
The clothing on her shoulder was torn apart by the Qi Strength, leaving behind a deep, bloody gash.
Almost simultaneously, a wave of Staff Intent surged up from beneath the gray-robed old man’s feet.
The old man let out a low shout, stomping his foot to shatter the Staff Intent, but his calf was still left sore and numb.
Although the power of this Heaven’s Killing Intent was not immense, it was formless, intangible, and endless.
It forced them to remain constantly on guard.
But that was not the most lethal part of it.
Within the domain, Chen Li’s Qiankun Ruyi Staff transformed into a myriad of afterimages, showering down on the two like a torrential storm.
Each strike contained terrifying power, enough to shatter mountains, crack stone, and churn the heavens.
The staff afterimages clashed madly with the claws of light and the remnants of Sword Qi. Explosions rang out ceaselessly as Qi Strength blasted in every direction.
Dozens of exchanges passed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Li’s Qiankun Ruyi Staff moved like lightning, its tip striking the old man on his Chest Acupoint.
BANG!
As if struck by a mountain, the old man’s sternum caved in. He flew backward, vomiting a mouthful of blood, his combat strength sharply declining.
CLANG!
CRACK!
The rapier snapped in two.
The Qiankun Ruyi Staff grazed Yun Ya’s scalp and slammed into the ground. BOOM! The impact of the Inner Qi blasted a deep crater in the earth, sending shattered stones flying.
Although she wasn’t directly hit, the terrifying shockwave still aggravated her existing wounds, causing her to spit out another large mouthful of blood and collapse weakly to the ground.
A hint of madness flashed in Yun Ya’s eyes.
Enduring the excruciating pain, she formed a bizarre hand seal and shouted sharply, "Fourth Uncle, help me!"
The Power of Divine Sense condensed and compressed, forming a nearly transparent small sword that radiated a sharp killing intent. It tore through the air, silently stabbing straight toward Chen Li’s brow.
The old man also gathered the last of his strength, coordinating with Yun Ya to attack Chen Li with everything he had.
In an instant, they had put Chen Li in a perilous situation.
They reasoned that if Chen Li defended against Yun Ya’s Divine Sense Sword, he would surely be gravely wounded by the old man’s physical attack.
If he defended against the old man, his Divine Soul would be gravely wounded by Yun Ya’s Divine Sense Sword.
However, Chen Li merely let out a cold sneer.
His figure abruptly shot backward.
Heaven’s Killing Intent!
Within the domain, a staff afterimage suddenly appeared, smashing down on the old man’s back.
The old man slapped it away with a backhand strike, but his momentum was broken for an instant.
In that fleeting instant, a soybean-sized speck of Divine Sense leaped out from Chen Li’s Divine Hall Acupoint.
It swelled as it flew, instantly transforming into a Divine Soul Battle Ape wielding a golden staff. Its face was a blur, but its battle intent billowed to the heavens.
The Divine Sense Illusion grasped at the empty air, and a likeness of the Qiankun Ruyi Staff materialized in its hand.
Ape Strike Skill!
With a simple, sharp, and domineering blow, it smashed its staff down upon the incoming Divine Sense Sword.
CRACK!
A sound like shattering crystal rang out.
The Divine Sense Sword, condensed from Yun Ya’s Power of the Divine Soul, instantly shattered into countless motes of light under the domineering blow, dissipating into nothingness.
"Ah—"
As if suffering a severe backlash, Yun Ya let out a piercing scream as blood streamed from her eyes, ears, and nostrils simultaneously.
The light in her eyes instantly dimmed. Her body went limp, and she fell completely unconscious. Her Divine Soul had suffered irreparable damage.
"Mother!"
Seeing this, Liu Yunfeng was scared out of his wits. How could he dare to linger? He turned to flee.
"You damn cur!"
How could Liu Ruoyi, who hated him to the bone, possibly let him go?
With a sharp cry, she activated her Body Technique, pursuing him as nimbly as a swallow.
Her Cultivation was about on par with Liu Yunfeng’s—both were at Qi Realm Perfection—but as a noble son, Liu Yunfeng had never taken his training seriously.
On top of that, he was now terrified out of his mind and had lost all will to fight. He was no match for her.
Liu Ruoyi attacked with seething hatred. Her moves were sharp and merciless. She beat Liu Yunfeng until he was screaming incessantly, his bones broken and tendons torn, and he soon collapsed on the ground like a dead dog.
Chen Li didn’t even spare a glance at the battle over there.
After shattering Yun Ya’s Divine Sense Sword, he instantly locked onto the gray-robed old man, who was trying to use the opportunity to escape.
Seeing Yun Ya’s Divine Soul wounded and realizing the battle was lost, the old man was filled with terror.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he shot back, transforming into a gray shadow and fleeing with all his might into the depths of the darkness at an astonishing speed.
"Trying to run?"
Chen Li barked coldly, his Divine Soul returning to his physical body.
His body instantly shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, rapidly closing the distance to the old man.
With a flick of his arm, the Qiankun Ruyi Staff shot forward with a piercing shriek as it tore through the air, aimed straight at the old man’s back.
Before the staff arrived, the fierce wind it generated sent a chill down the old man’s spine.
Horrified, the old man sensed the terrifying power behind him and had no choice but to turn and confront it.
He thrust out both palms, grayish-black claws of light tearing through the air in an attempt to block the strike.
CLANG!
The tip of the staff collided with the claws of light, producing a deafening roar.
The old man let out a muffled grunt, the immense force from the staff sending his qi and blood into turmoil. He was knocked backward, his face growing even paler.
Having gained the upper hand, Chen Li was relentless, pressing forward step by step.
He leaped into the air, raising the Qiankun Ruyi Staff high, and brought it smashing down toward the old man’s head with the force of a falling mountain.
The wind from the staff howled, kicking dust and fallen leaves high into the air.
The old man’s pupils contracted. Gritting his teeth, he condensed his life’s worth of Power into his claws.
A flurry of claw afterimages appeared, attempting to rip apart the heavy blow.
BOOM!
The staff and claws clashed again, unleashing a shockwave even more violent than before.
The ground beneath the old man’s feet cracked and splintered. His knees buckled, and he almost collapsed.
A sweet taste rose in his throat as he spat out another mouthful of blood. His arms trembled violently, a clear sign that he had suffered serious internal injuries.
Chen Li’s eyes were ice-cold. His Qiankun Ruyi Staff transformed into a dark golden whirlwind, sweeping horizontally toward the old man’s waist.
Facing this unavoidable strike, the old man’s eyes finally filled with despair.
THWACK!
The staff struck the old man across the waist.
A terrifying, immense force erupted in an instant.
In that moment, the old man’s ribs and internal organs were completely pulverized.
He flew sideways like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into a large tree over a hundred feet away with a sickening thud.
Then he slid limply to the ground, his blood instantly dyeing the earth beneath him red.
His eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at Chen Li, his aura like a candle in the wind, rapidly extinguishing.
However, in the very instant before he died,
an extremely faint gray stream of light shot out silently from his Divine Hall Acupoint.
It moved with incredible speed, its target not Chen Li, but Liu Ruoyi’s seven- or eight-year-old nephew standing not far away.
"You dare cause more trouble!"
Chen Li snorted coldly.
The Qiankun Ruyi Staff transformed into a dark golden, roaming dragon, streaking through the air in pursuit at a speed that defied sight.
Though it started later, the roaming dragon arrived first, cleaving down on the small gray sword.
"No—!"
The old man’s Divine Soul let out a desperate roar.
The small gray sword couldn’t resist for even a moment before it was obliterated by the terrifying power of the Qiankun Ruyi Staff, shattering into a shower of light motes that were utterly annihilated.
The old man’s corpse twitched one last time. The final spark of life in his eyes vanished, and he fell completely silent.
A Void Transformation Grandmaster, thus utterly annihilated in both body and soul.
Only then did Liu Zongying and Liu Ruoyi, who had been watching nervously from a distance, finally let out the breath they had been holding.
Liu Zongying was shaken beyond words. It was the first time he had seen Chen Li fight so clearly, and his methods far surpassed his imagination.
Liu Ruoyi dragged the ashen-faced Liu Yunfeng in front of Chen Li, her own face still etched with incredulous shock.
Although she had long suspected that Chen Li’s strength was formidable, she never imagined he could defeat a combined attack from two Grandmasters so cleanly and decisively.
She threw Liu Yunfeng heavily to the ground.
Liu Yunfeng’s acupoints were sealed. His body wracked with excruciating pain, he lacked even the strength to struggle.
He struggled to lift his head, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Chen Li. His body trembled uncontrollably.
He was kicking himself. Why, back at the Jingshan County Magistrate’s Office, had he provoked this harbinger of doom over a few thousand acres of farmland?
His mother and Fourth Uncle, two Grandmasters!
They had... they had both fallen at his hands!
Chen Li ignored Liu Yunfeng and walked straight over to the unconscious Yun Ya.
He raised his foot, channeled his Inner Strength, and stomped down repeatedly without mercy.
CRACK!
CRACK!
The sound of cracking bone rang out clearly.
Yun Ya’s ankles had been brutally crushed.
"AHH—!"
The intense pain instantly jolted Yun Ya awake, and she let out a piercing scream.
She curled into a ball, enduring the heart-piercing, bone-chilling pain. She looked up, staring daggers at Chen Li, her voice trembling. "Who... who in the world are you! What deep-seated hatred do you have for our family?"
Chen Li looked at her, his tone flat. "That is a question you should ask your son."
Yun Ya turned her head to look at Liu Yunfeng.
When Liu Yunfeng met his mother’s gaze, shame and fear intertwined within him, and he immediately lowered his head, unable to look her in the eye.
Yun Ya’s heart sank. She understood instantly. ’Her son must have offended this fiend somewhere, somehow.’
Seeing that Chen Li hadn’t immediately finished them off, Yun Ya’s will to live flared. ’As long as he hasn’t killed us yet, there must be room for negotiation,’ she thought.
Enduring the intense pain, she tried to negotiate. "Sir... what will it take... for you to spare us?"
Chen Li smiled. "That depends on what kind of price you can offer to satisfy me."
Liu Yunfeng kept his head buried, a venomous glint flashing in his eyes, but his desire to live suppressed all else.
His voice trembled. "I... I can give the twenty-three hundred acres of paddy fields the Liu Family acquired in Jingshan... to the Chen Family... for free."
Chen Li chuckled. "Heh. Young Master Liu, you hold your own life and that of your mother in far too low regard."
"Yunfeng! What in the world is going on?"
Yun Ya demanded in a low, sharp tone.