Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Dueling an Innate Realm Expert, Falling off a Cliff

The newcomer had a square, blocky face with thick eyebrows and large eyes.

It was Chen Wu.

Compared to before, Chen Wu now looked utterly wretched. His clothes were torn in several places, and his body was covered in wounds.

"Senior Chen Wu, what became of that Pure Essence Fruit?" one Martial Artist couldn’t help but ask, his curiosity piqued.

Chen Wu’s expression was ugly. He snorted coldly and said, "A Cyan-Scaled Eagle appeared out of nowhere and snatched it away, the damn beast."

Everyone fell silent. No wonder Chen Wu looked so foul.

A Cyan-Scaled Eagle!

When he heard those three words, a peculiar glint appeared in Ning Jiang’s eyes.

’A Cyan-Scaled Eagle? That’s a descendant of the Qingtian Roc. I might be able to extract a trace of the Qingtian Roc’s bloodline from it...’ Ning Jiang mused.

"I’m asking you all, there was another Pure Essence Fruit just now. Who took it?"

Chen Wu’s voice interrupted Ning Jiang’s thoughts. freewebnovёl.ƈom

One gaze after another turned toward Ning Jiang.

"You? Kid, if you hadn’t thrown the Pure Essence Fruit away, I would have already seized it. How could it have been stolen by the Cyan-Scaled Eagle?"

The moment Chen Wu spoke, his tone was accusatory, blaming Ning Jiang for the loss of the Pure Essence Fruit. "Alright, hand over the Pure Essence Fruit in your possession. Doing so will absolve you of your mistake."

Although the Pure Essence Fruit in Ning Jiang’s hand was not yet ripe, it was better than nothing.

Besides, even if he sold it at auction, it could fetch over fifty thousand Primordial Stones. Since his own net worth was just over ten thousand Primordial Stones, he certainly wasn’t going to let it go.

Hearing this, the surrounding Martial Artists all shook their heads, feeling that Ning Jiang was rather unlucky.

He had gone through so much trouble to snatch a Pure Essence Fruit, only to be targeted by Chen Wu.

Chen Wu was an Innate Realm Martial Artist. A cultivator of that Realm was not someone a Postnatal Realm martial artist could defeat.

However, Ning Jiang’s response was beyond everyone’s expectations: "You want me to hand over the Pure Essence Fruit? You’re not worthy!"

"Kid, you’ve got some nerve."

Chen Wu’s face instantly darkened, and a murderous intent emanated from him. "It seems you’re looking to die?"

"Hahahaha, what is there to fear in death? Chen Wu, you underestimate me. Once something is in my hands, no one can take it away. Not you, not even an Innate Limit Strong Person!"

Ning Jiang’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, like a Divine Sword piercing the sky. Within his eyes was an arrogance that looked down on all creation!

So what if he was an Innate Realm expert?

He was once a legend who had reached the pinnacle, a Venerable who looked down upon heaven and earth, the strongest expert of a hundred thousand years ago.

No one had ever been able to take anything from him!

The expressions of everyone around them changed drastically. Even Zhang Yao hadn’t expected Ning Jiang to say such a thing.

One must understand that Chen Wu was a genuine Innate Realm Martial Artist.

Even ten of her combined would be no match for a Martial Artist of that level.

"A mere Postnatal Realm cultivator dares to be so arrogant. It seems the young people these days lack the most basic sense of reverence." Chen Wu’s gaze was ice-cold. "Fine, why am I wasting my breath on you? After I capture you, break your limbs, and cripple your Cultivation, let’s see if you’re still so defiant!"

SHRED!

He threw a punch, and the air crackled.

A ball of Innate Gang Qi shot out from his body, the sound of it tearing through the air incredibly deep and powerful.

The terrifying thing about Innate Realm experts was their ability to release their Innate Gang Qi at any time, allowing them to kill enemies from over a hundred yards away.

Chen Wu had only used seventy percent of his strength in this strike, but to the surrounding Martial Artists, even this simple punch was more powerful than Zhang Yao’s full-power All Beasts Fall.

This was the difference in quality. Compared to Postnatal Gang Qi, Innate Gang Qi was more than ten times stronger.

If Postnatal Gang Qi was wood, then Innate Gang Qi was a sharp sword.

A casual strike of Innate Gang Qi could pulverize a massive boulder.

The punch was unleashed in a flash, and it arrived just as quickly.

It crossed the distance of several yards in the blink of an eye.

The attack speed of Innate Gang Qi far surpassed the reaction time of a Postnatal Realm Martial Artist.

But Ning Jiang saw it with perfect clarity. The moment Chen Wu’s arm began to move, he had already caught the detail and reacted.

He pushed off the ground with the ball of his foot and vanished. Instead of retreating, he advanced, lunging forward like a leopard pouncing on an antelope.

BOOM!

The Innate Gang Qi missed, slamming into the ground and blasting out a crater half a man’s depth.

"Face my sword!"

At the same time, Ning Jiang appeared before Chen Wu. Every joint in his body pulsed violently, his great tendons taut like bowstrings. He channeled the combined force of his sinews and bones, erupting with his full power.

He gripped his sword, his entire arm swinging out in a flash.

"Haha, forget one of your strikes, what could you do with a hundred? You think you can break through my Innate Gang Qi?" Chen Wu sneered.

Besides projecting their Gang Qi, the second major ability of an Innate Realm expert was using it to protect their body.

Shrouded in Gang Qi, they were impervious to blades and spears, like a human iron tower. In an army, they possessed the strength of Myriad Enemies.

Immediately, he activated his Innate Gang Qi. A transparent layer of airflow, like crystal glass, enveloped his entire body.

SHING!

The air tore as Ning Jiang’s sword arrived.

Instant Sword Technique.

One instant, one strike.

Compared to before, this strike was faster, quicker, fiercer, and more vicious!

This was an all-out, unreserved Instant Sword Technique.

When Ning Jiang had killed those four men earlier, he hadn’t actually used his full strength. He had only utilized the speed of the Instant Sword Technique, not its sharp, all-penetrating lethality.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that the cost of using it was too great.

The Instant Sword Technique was a Martial Technique that demanded considerable physical stamina for every strike. It placed extreme demands on the user’s sinews and bones; without tough, unbreakable ones, it was impossible to perform.

One must understand, this was a Profound Level Top Grade Martial Technique.

In all of Luoyang City, there were no more than ten Martial Techniques of this Level. Even Liu Yuanlong had only mastered a single Profound Level Top Grade Palm Technique.

When Ning Jiang had executed four consecutive strikes earlier, he had already sustained some damage to his sinews and bones. His bones had developed fine fractures, and his great tendons were throbbing with a dull ache.

But now, Ning Jiang held nothing back, pushing his sinews and bones to their absolute limit to unleash his strongest strike.

CRACKLE-POP.

The moment he unleashed the strike, a sound like popping beans echoed from within his body. It was the sound of his bones, unable to bear the strain, fracturing. His great tendons, like bowstrings pulled to their limit, made a teeth-grinding stretching sound as they began to snap, bit by bit.

He had paid an immense price for this single strike.

But its power had increased by more than tenfold!

’Such a fast sword!’

Chen Wu had initially looked down on Ning Jiang’s attack, but when the strike truly erupted, he still sensed a hint of danger.

This strike was aimed at his heart.

The reaction speed of an Innate Realm expert far surpassed that of a Postnatal Realm cultivator. He shifted his body sharply, moving three inches to the side.

But it was too late to dodge it completely.

BANG!

With a loud bang, the Wind Chasing Sword pierced Chen Wu’s shoulder. He had managed to avoid a fatal blow to the heart.

PFFT.

Blood splattered. The Innate Gang Qi, which could block any attack from a Postnatal Realm Martial Artist, had actually been penetrated by Ning Jiang’s sword. A small hole was pierced clean through his shoulder, and blood gushed out.

"Aaargh!" Chen Wu roared, shocked and enraged.

If he hadn’t dodged the vital point at the critical moment, that strike would have taken his life.

The onlookers were even more dumbfounded.

’That strike... anyone below the Innate Realm would surely die. I definitely couldn’t have taken it. I’m afraid Gao Jin’s position as the number one person below the Innate Realm is in jeopardy.’ Zhang Yao’s heart pounded.

When Ning Jiang had fought her, he had displayed exquisite technique and incredibly keen perception. But at this moment, he demonstrated the sharp lethality of a Sword Cultivator.

It was common knowledge that Sword Cultivators were known for their vicious lethality. Ning Jiang had displayed this trait to its fullest, truly embodying the terror of a Sword Cultivator.

’What a pity.’

Ning Jiang sighed softly.

The Instant Sword Technique was Profound Level Top Grade. Its power was far greater than this. A true burst of the Instant Sword Technique, a piercing Sword Qi, could penetrate straight through a mountain from one side to the other.

Unfortunately, with his current strength, he couldn’t even unleash half of its true power.

If he could break through to the Innate Realm, he could kill Chen Wu with a single strike; Chen Wu wouldn’t be able to dodge at all.

But a Realm was a Realm.

He also knew that after this strike, he would no longer be able to kill Chen Wu.

More than half of the bones in his body were already broken, and even some of his great tendons had been pushed to their limit.

Furthermore, almost all of his Ape King’s Demon Power had been consumed by that last strike.

"If we were in the same realm, I could kill you as easily as a dog."

Leaving behind these airy words, Ning Jiang’s figure retreated, heading away.

This wasn’t fleeing. It was a tactical retreat to recover his strength and regroup.

His own Cultivation was far inferior to Chen Wu’s. The fight was unfair from the start. Being able to injure Chen Wu with a single strike was already a glorious achievement that would astound anyone who heard of it.

"Kid, I want you dead!" Chen Wu was utterly enraged.

For an Innate Realm Martial Artist to be injured by someone in the Postnatal Realm was a great humiliation.

Moreover, that strike had nearly killed him. This life-or-death shock made him hate Ning Jiang to the bone.

He controlled his flesh and blood to seal the wound on his shoulder, his aura seething as he gave chase.

The speed of an Innate Realm Martial Artist far surpassed that of a Postnatal Realm one.

On flat ground, a Postnatal Realm cultivator could never escape the pursuit of an Innate Realm expert.

But the Demon Mist Mountain Range was covered in forests. After darting into the woods, Ning Jiang activated the Ten Steps of Impermanence. Activating this ghostly Body Technique in the forest was a perfect combination of favorable terrain and skill, each complementing the other.

"Damn it!"

Chen Wu raged. He fired balls of Innate Gang Qi through the air, snapping massive trees in half, but he just couldn’t hit Ning Jiang.

"I refuse to believe you can keep running forever! I’m at the Innate Realm, and my Gang Qi is abundant. How long can you last?"

Chen Wu pursued relentlessly. He could tell that activating that Lightweight Step Technique must come at a great cost to Ning Jiang.

One pursued, one fled. Soon, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed.

’If I can’t shake him off soon, I’ll have to resort to some forbidden techniques to kill him. But the price for that would be too terrible.’

’I have to repair that gourd as soon as possible. As long as it can unleash even a tenth of its power, killing him would be no problem.’

’Huh?’

Just as Ning Jiang was lost in thought, his view suddenly opened up. He was at a clearing on the edge of a cliff.

Beyond the cliff was a vast expanse of Demon Fog.

That was the Demon Fog zone, a place that struck fear into all who gazed upon it.

"Let’s see where you run now," Chen Wu laughed.

But Ning Jiang didn’t pause at all. With decisive action, he charged toward the cliff.

"Die!"

Chen Wu threw a punch from a distance. On the open cliff’s edge, there was nowhere left to hide. The crackling Innate Gang Qi arrived in the blink of an eye.

Ning Jiang twisted his arm, blocking behind his back with the Wind Chasing Sword.

BANG.

CRACK.

Two sounds rang out simultaneously. Most of the Innate Gang Qi was blocked by the Wind Chasing Sword, but a portion still struck Ning Jiang, further shattering the bones in his body and violently shaking his internal organs.

SPIT.

Ning Jiang spat out a mouthful of blood as his body plunged into the vast Demon Fog, falling down the cliff.