Chapter 17 - Passing Away Very Peacefully

Facing the Sudden Attack

Faced with this sudden attack, although Zhao Heng's hair stood on end, he didn't panic and instantly responded.

He twisted and ducked his head, hiding behind the shield on his back. Two gleaming flying knives embedded themselves in the shield, vibrating with a humming sound.

Simultaneously, Zhao Heng's legs twisted oddly, his body as flexible as if boneless, avoiding the flying knives aimed at his lower body.

"Oh...?"

A light exclamation came from the dense forest.

"Who's there?"

The moment Zhao Heng dodged the flying knives, he flashed behind a large tree trunk.

"Hehe... not bad skills. No wonder you were able to take out all those people sent by Steward Liu!"

With light footsteps, a young man wearing miscellaneous disciple's clothes emerged from the dense forest.

The youth was well-proportioned with handsome features, but the cold smile and killing intent in his eyes gave him a dangerous aura.

Confrontation

"Are you sent by Liu Hong?" Zhao Heng asked cautiously, never having seen this person before.

"Let's just say I am. However, I'm only here because I owe him a favor, and this time I'll take care of you for him."

Zhao Heng's eyes narrowed slightly. "Have you been following me?"

The youth smiled lightly. "Yes, I was. Initially, I thought those people would handle you, but they turned out to be so incompetent, getting taken down by you alone."

Saying this, the youth looked at Zhao Heng with interest.

"I'm really curious; how did you manage to increase your strength so much in just two months? From the fourth level of body refinement to your current state, did you really consume some heavenly or earthly treasures?"

"If you can offer such treasures, maybe I'll spare your life."

Zhao Heng's expression shifted slightly.

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Fine, I'll give it to you!"

Zhao Heng directly reached out and threw a handful of lime and a soft tendon dispersant at the youth's face.

The youth, however, was prepared and waved his sleeve to fan away the dust. With his other hand, he pulled out two flying knives from his sleeve and shot them at Zhao Heng, forcing him to retreat.

"Hehe... I expected you'd try that!" the youth laughed coldly.

Zhao Heng didn't say a word and continued to wildly scatter lime.

Although the youth had some precautions, he couldn't withstand the large quantity of lime. Several dozen kilograms of lime were scattered, turning the area around them into a foggy, smoggy environment.

The youth, though not hit directly by the lime, was still choked and his flying knives continued to shoot out as he retreated from the fog.

"Cough... cough... Your lime must be all used up now!"

The youth, covered in dust and looking somewhat disheveled, glared at Zhao Heng with great malice.

"Your flying knives are all used up too," Zhao Heng replied, his eyes equally cold.

Both men locked eyes and simultaneously charged at each other. Zhao Heng took a powerful step forward and unleashed a robust punch.

The punch was mighty and dense, a basic level of the "Stone Shattering Fist."

Facing Zhao Heng's attack, the youth smirked and adopted the same stance, punching out.

"Stone Shattering Fist!"

He also executed the Stone Shattering Fist, colliding with Zhao Heng's punch.

"Bang...!"

A muffled sound echoed as the youth stumbled back a step.

Zhao Heng, however, was pushed back several steps, his fist aching and his arm numb.

"Stone Shattering Fist, small achievement!"

Zhao Heng was surprised to see the youth's skill level. The Stone Shattering Fist was one of the most basic postnatal martial arts techniques. It was not surprising that the youth also knew it, but what shocked Zhao Heng was the youth's fist's power and density, far surpassing his own and clearly reaching the small achievement level.

"How's my Stone Shattering Fist?" the youth laughed coldly, his body suddenly closing in with rapid and fierce punches like falling rocks.

Zhao Heng did not dare to slacken and swung his fists to meet the youth's, retreating as they exchanged blows.

The two men engaged in this standoff for dozens of moves. Although Zhao Heng was at a clear disadvantage, he continued to resist stubbornly without falling.

This surprised the youth, whose cultivation had already reached the peak of the ninth level of body refinement and was just a step away from entering the bone refinement realm. Combined with his small achievement in the Stone Shattering Fist, he was nearly unbeatable among peers of the same rank.

The youth was astonished by Zhao Heng's resilience. From a power perspective, Zhao Heng was only marginally at the ninth level of body refinement, and his Stone Shattering Fist was just at the basic level. It shouldn't have been so tough.

Moreover, the youth noticed that Zhao Heng's Stone Shattering Fist was not only more powerful than the ordinary basic level but also had a unique blend of hardness and softness, making it very odd.

Though puzzled, the youth had absolute confidence in defeating Zhao Heng. He believed that in this high-intensity battle, Zhao Heng wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

Zhao Heng, struggling to withstand the youth's increasingly fierce attacks, was also puzzled.

"Why hasn't the soft tendon dispersant taken effect?"

Earlier, when scattering lime, Zhao Heng had also spread a large amount of soft tendon dispersant. The youth didn't wear a mask and couldn't have avoided inhaling it entirely.

Moreover, with his intense mobilization of qi and blood, the dispersant should have taken effect quickly.

This was also why Zhao Heng had engaged in close combat—to speed up the effect of the dispersant.

Seeming to sense Zhao Heng's confusion, the youth laughed coldly: "You're wondering why the soft tendon dispersant hasn't taken effect? That little bit of dispersant is useless against me. Since entering the sect, I've been working in the spirit herb garden and have seen all sorts of medications. I've already taken an antidote beforehand."

"Hmm?"

Zhao Heng was surprised; he hadn't expected the youth to not only be powerful but also knowledgeable about poison.

"Enough, no more playing around. Go die!"

The youth's voice turned cold, his speed increasing by threefold as he unleashed two deadly punches aimed at Zhao Heng's face and chest.

The intent was to make Zhao Heng unable to dodge.

Facing these lethal punches, Zhao Heng's pupils suddenly constricted, but his mind remained calm. His body twisted at an unbelievable angle, avoiding both punches simultaneously and counterattacking with a punch aimed at the youth's throat.

The youth was shocked, forcibly retracting his punches and retreating to avoid the dangerous blow.

"You've actually cultivated a body technique!"

The youth looked at Zhao Heng in disbelief.

As a miscellaneous disciple, being able to cultivate any martial technique was already remarkable. The rarity and value of body techniques far surpassed other types of techniques, even among outer sect disciples.

That Zhao Heng had cultivated one and was already at the basic level was truly astonishing.

The youth's initial shock turned into a fiery passion.

"You have so many good things on you; after I kill you, they'll all be mine!"

The youth's entire body surged with qi and blood as he launched another attack on Zhao Heng.

He swung his fists wildly, aiming to crush Zhao Heng with overwhelming force.

Liu Feng couldn't do anything about Zhao Heng, and Zhao Heng couldn't land a hit on Liu Feng. For a moment, both sides had reached a stalemate.

However, if they continued fighting like this, Zhao Heng would definitely lose first. After all, Liu Feng was at the peak of body tempering, with greater qi and blood reserves.

And although the Bone Transforming Step was mysterious and effective, the body could hardly sustain its prolonged use.

Facing this difficult situation, Zhao Heng glanced at the large tree where he had secretly buried his package earlier, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Liu Feng, still engaged in battle, noticed Zhao Heng's changing expression and his demeanor shifted.

He suddenly moved sideways, actively disengaging from the battle to charge toward that tree.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Heng was greatly alarmed.

Without stopping, Liu Feng sneered, "Kid, don't think I don't know. You've hidden all the good stuff you got from those people here. Since I can't kill you, I can't leave empty-handed. I'll take these things, and I'll tell Liu Hong it was you who took them. Then he'll come finish you off!"

As he spoke, Liu Feng had already reached the tree and was reaching to lift the stone slab.

A fierce wind whistled from his side.

"Don't touch my things!" Zhao Heng rushed over anxiously, throwing a punch at Liu Feng. Liu Feng sneered with disdain, countering with a punch that sent Zhao Heng stumbling back several steps.

"I may not be able to kill you, but you can't stop me either!"

Seeing Zhao Heng's urgent reaction, Liu Feng became even more certain there were valuable items hidden there. After repelling Zhao Heng, he kicked away the stone slab.

Under the slab was a layer of soil with a dead branch stuck in the middle.

Liu Feng didn't notice that the branch moved slightly upward, as if something had pushed it from below.

He brushed away the soil and grabbed hold of a round object.

"What's this?"

He brought the object up to his eyes - it was an iron ball the size of a pigeon's egg, beautifully patterned and quite attractive.

Not far away, witnessing this scene, Zhao Heng sighed softly and expertly dropped to the ground, covering his ears with both hands.

The next moment.

"BOOM...!"

A violent explosion rocked the quiet forest, sending shock waves rolling outward and startling countless birds into flight.

After the explosive force dissipated, Zhao Heng stood up and looked at where Liu Feng had been standing.

Besides a large crater, Liu Feng's corpse was basically nowhere to be found. Based on experience, Zhao Heng judged that Liu Feng had probably passed away very peacefully.

"Say I told you not to touch it, yet you still did. Now you've learned your lesson," Zhao Heng said innocently to himself.

That round ball was none other than the last thunder pearl he had.

Earlier, after eliminating those miscellaneous disciples who were chasing him, Zhao Heng had a vague feeling of hidden danger.

Although he couldn't confirm if this was just his paranoia.

But following the principle of being prepared for danger, he had taken action and set up precautions.

So, Zhao Heng had pretended to bury treasure halfway through his journey but actually set up a "trigger-type landmine" using the thunder pearl.

This was to have a backup plan in case he couldn't handle the enemy.

Unfortunately, Liu Feng perfectly triggered this backup plan.

Although he had spent his last thunder pearl, destroying such a strong enemy made Zhao Heng satisfied.

It was just a pity that the thunder pearl's power was too strong, destroying everything on Liu Feng's body, including the valuable items.

Liu Feng was a miscellaneous disciple from the Spirit Herb Garden, which was a lucrative position. He must have had many good things on him.

"Ah... what a shame!" Zhao Heng sighed.

Preparing to leave, he was concerned that the earlier commotion would attract other participants and patrol teams.

However, at this moment, a prompt from the divine dice system echoed in his mind.

"Detected a dissipating soul. Can use 'Memory Plundering' skill. Do you want to use it immediately?"

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