Chapter 44: Transforming Qi On the Spot, Shocking Fengyang!

"Strike!"

Feng Yang formed a sword-finger with his right hand and swiftly traced a circle in the air.

"Whoosh!"

A copper coin sword radiating a golden light burst forth from his body. It struck Qin Feng's black peach wood sword with lightning speed.

"Crack!"

Like a hot knife through butter, the peach wood sword cleaved the copper coin sword apart.

"What?"

Feng Yang's pupils constricted, his face a mask of utter shock.

There was something wrong with that sword. How could it possibly be this sharp? It had actually sliced his magical artifact right in half. This was a copper coin sword crafted from the coins of the greater Five Emperors, far more powerful than those made from the lesser Five Emperors' coins. Wielded at his level of cultivation, even a flying corpse would have to retreat three thousand cubits.

"Damn it, I never expected this hairy corpse to be so troublesome!"

Feng Yang knitted his brows and immediately vaulted into the air. Stepping onto the black peach wood sword with ultimate velocity, he leveraged a backward somersault to kick Qin Feng squarely in the chest.

"Bang!"

Qin Feng instantly felt a formidable force slam into him, sending a sharp pain through his chest. Fortunately, the impact was manageable. The vast majority of the kinetic force had been blocked and deflected by his armored coat of fur. Without it, he felt that kick would have sent him flying backward for at least ten meters or more.

Without missing a beat, Qin Feng's mind stirred. Sharp claws sprouted from his left hand, and he lunged to grab Feng Yang's right leg. As long as he managed to scratch Feng Yang, no matter how formidable the Daoist priest was, the corpse poison would take effect within five seconds, killing him and turning him into a corpse.

"You still wish to harm this humble Daoist? It is useless, even if you have broken through to the mid-stage of a hairy corpse. If you had reached the realm of a purple-eyed corpse, I would indeed give you a wide berth."

Feng Yang sneered. In his eyes, Qin Feng's counter-attack was simply far too slow. The vast chasm in their cultivation realms could not be bridged merely by possessing monstrous tricks.

As he spoke, Feng Yang quickly retracted his leg, flipped his orientation in mid-air so that his head pointed toward Qin Feng, and rapidly formed hand seals. A palm seal blasted toward Qin Feng.

"Oh no!"

Qin Feng's dark blue corpse-eyes widened slightly. Employing the Innate Eight Trigrams Footwork, his body swiftly shifted to the left.

"Whoosh!"

The palm seal grazed past his ear in a blur.

"The Innate Eight Trigrams Footwork?"

A hint of disdain flashed in Feng Yang's eyes. He swept his hands horizontally, attacking Qin Feng's chest.

A cold smirk appeared on Qin Feng's green-faced, fanged countenance. Instantly, his footwork shifted. He stepped into the Yin-Yang Two-仪 Footwork, dodging Feng Yang's strike while simultaneously thrusting his peach wood sword upward.

"Adapting footwork mid-combat? How is this possible?!"

Feng Yang could no longer maintain his composure. His disdainful expression was replaced by sheer shock. Even he, having mastered multiple top-tier footwork patterns, could not alter his footwork on the fly mid-battle. That was a feat achievable only by supreme masters of his master's caliber, whose immersion in footwork had reached an unfathomable realm. The vast majority of peak experts at the True Person stage were incapable of it.

Yet now, a mere corpse was capable of adapting footwork in the heat of battle! How could he not be astonished? Even the paragons of the Daoist sect had not mastered this, yet it was displayed by a corpse—and the footwork patterns this corpse used were all merely standard ones. It was utterly unimaginable that such mastery could be achieved under these conditions.

Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it. This monstrous corpse before him far surpassed the descriptions given by Wu Feng and Bai He. If this corpse were not eliminated, the realms of Yin and Yang would likely know no peace. Even if the creature did not actively harm mortals, it would eventually need to consume blood in order to break through its realm. Feeding on the blood of ordinary people would eventually become ineffective, leaving only the blood of Daoist practitioners to suffice. This was the eternal, irreconcilable conflict between righteousness and evil.

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind in a fraction of a second. Feng Yang snapped back to focus, stepped out with his right foot, and narrowly evaded Qin Feng's sword. Then, he tossed out a yellow talisman, formed hand seals with both hands, and chanted an incantation. The entire sequence of movements flowed like moving clouds and flowing water, executed with blistering speed in nearly an instant.

"By decree!"

Feng Yang gave a low shout. The yellow talisman burst into flames.

"Boom!"

A clap of thunder echoed out of a clear sky as five piercing heavenly thunderbolts instantly descended.

"Wu Feng, be careful! This is the Five Thunders Annihilation. Do not let yourself be struck; every single lightning bolt carries the might of all five thunders."

Mu Rusheng, currently engaged in combat with Wu Feng, called out a solemn warning to Qin Feng. As she spoke, she completely suppressed Wu Feng, driving him back step by step. Wu Feng was only at the early stage of the Soul-Exiting realm, while she had already reached its late stage. Though she had not yet fully mastered the inheritance of the Wuji Celestial Master, her previous techniques were more than enough to easily deal with Wu Feng. Just as Feng Yang had said, the vast chasm in cultivation realms could not be compensated for by any trickery.

The peach tree demon was also locked in fierce combat with Daoist Bai He. Dozens of tree roots had surrounded the Daoist. Bai He's strength was no slouch either, proving fully a match for the peach tree demon.

On the other side, Qin Feng furrowed his brow as he faced the descent of the five thunderbolts. His footwork shifted once more, transitioning from the Innate Eight Trigrams to the Four Symbols Suppression Footwork. The seamless transition between footwork patterns had clearly reached a state of perfection.

However, the five thunderbolts seemed to have locked onto his aura, shifting their trajectory to continue pursuing him relentlessly.

"It's useless. If the Five Thunders Annihilation could be evaded so easily, it wouldn't be considered a top-tier thunder technique. The five thunders have locked onto your aura; no matter how you dodge, it is impossible to escape them."

Feng Yang watched Qin Feng coldly, his hands moving without pause. With a wave of his right hand, a golden long whip emerged from his possession.

"Go!"

Feng Yang pointed at Qin Feng. The whip lashed forward like lightning. This was the Demon-Binding Rope, a magical artifact bestowed upon him by his master. Though designed to bind demons, it was equally effective against corpses. Once this corpse was entangled and restrained, even if it managed to withstand the five thunders, he had countless ways to destroy it.

Faced with Feng Yang's barrage of techniques, panic began to rise within Qin Feng. He could clearly sense that he could not withstand the might of the five thunders. Even if he miraculously survived, he would be severely injured. And now, on top of the thunder, there was also the Demon-Binding Rope.

"Damn it, the thunder has locked onto my aura, and I can't dodge it at all. That rope is also moving too fast. If this continues, before I'm even struck by the thunder, I'll be bound by the rope."

"No, I mustn't panic. Calm down, I must stay calm."

Qin Feng desperately tried to reassure himself inwardly as his mind raced frantically. Countermeasures surfaced in his mind one after another, but unfortunately, none of them would work.

Finally, his gaze landed upon the hundred-odd animal corpses. His eyes lit up instantly. With a leap, he plunged directly into the midst of the corpse horde.

"You five, help me block the heavenly thunder!" Qin Feng commanded five wild boar corpses.

"Hiss!"

The five wild boar corpses exhaled a gust of corpse Qi and, without a moment's hesitation, vaulted directly into the path of the oncoming thunderbolts. Because the distance was too close, the five thunderbolts had no time to alter their trajectory.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Five deafening explosions rang out. The bodies of the five wild boar corpses shattered like bursting watermelons.

Having neutralized the five thunders, Qin Feng gripped his sword with his right hand and slashed toward the incoming Demon-Binding Rope.

"Damn it!"

Feng Yang gnashed his teeth in exasperation. He hurriedly manipulated the Demon-Binding Rope, changing its course to recall it to his side. The rope had missed its prime opportunity; trying to bind the corpse now was out of the question. He had already witnessed the terrifying sharpness of the black sword in the corpse's hand. If he continued to let the rope attack, it would simply be cleaved in half. Having already lost one artifact, he had no desire to lose a second. Even a successor to the Celestial Masters of Mount Longhu could not sustain such a loss of magical treasures.

"Vile creature! I must admit, you are a monster. I underestimated you before, but now, I officially regard you as my true opponent!"

Feng Yang gazed at Qin Feng with a solemn expression, a burning fighting spirit erupting in his eyes. Previously, he had looked down on Qin Feng, treating him with playful disdain like a cat toying with a mouse. But through the series of exchanges just now, he had truly come to recognize how formidable and troublesome this corpse was.

Next, he would unleash his ultimate strength and techniques, holding nothing back.