Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior

Chapter 384 227: Vast Power Invades, Tao Xingzheng Executed! (End of Volume 2)_3

"Boom!"

The ground beneath Su Mu's feet kept collapsing, sinking in. The fractured earth was blasted dozens of zhang into the air by the savage aftershocks, splintering apart in a raging storm.

Yet Su Mu did not take a single step back.

In contrast, Tao Xingzheng, desperately activating the Talisman Treasure in his hand, now looked pale as death. Beads of sweat as big as beans streamed from his skin, clearly showing that unleashing the Talisman Treasure's attacks took an enormous toll on him.

Tao Xingzheng could sense the Spiritual Qi within him drying up at an utterly terrifying rate; he had to swallow recovery pills one after another, but it was all useless!

"A Sixth-Grade Middle-Tier Talisman Treasure in my hand can unleash a full-strength blow on par with a Martial Artist who has undergone Secondary Blood Exchange—yet Li Feiyu can take the brunt of multiple Talisman Treasure strikes. How can the Gang Force in his body be so vast? Is it inexhaustible?"

Staring at this scene, the bloodless Tao Xingzheng shuddered with terror, his heart awash with a fear named despair. Facing such an inexhaustible beast of power, he could not help but give in to a deep sense of helplessness.

"Exhilarating... Almost there, almost—the second form of Molten Fire Golden Body is nearly complete!"

The lines on the Cyan Flame Grand Bell, swung again and again by Su Mu, grew ever clearer. Streaks of enlightenment burst forth in his mind, everything making Su Mu's eyes burn with feverish light. His command of power became ever more unfettered, his face unconsciously twisting into an expression of wild joy.

Su Mu was deliberately honing the strength surge after his Sixth Grade breakthrough by clashing with Tao Xingzheng's Talisman Treasure, even intentionally leveraging the pressure to forge the Molten Fire Golden Body's second form.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With every clash between them, hurricane gales raged through the air, as if thunder and fire exploded one after another, shattering the official road and punching out pit after pit.

"Stop! Stop, please... I'm Tao Xingzheng—you can't kill me!"

As Su Mu's assault grew ever more frenzied, Tao Xingzheng was seized by unprecedented panic. He was about to be promoted to Sima of One County, with a glorious future ahead—he did not want to die in this tiny place, much less by the hand of such a lunatic!

Yet Su Mu turned a deaf ear. Seeing Tao Xingzheng nearly spent and burnt out, he let out a sigh of regret for unfinished pleasure but didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a sudden step forward, his figure closed in like a flash.

"Pfft!"

Su Mu's five fingers clenched into a fist, the tyrannical and unmatched Fist Momentum reemerged, smashing viciously into the Spiritual Barrier shimmering with rippling water patterns. This time, it collapsed as if struck by a thunderclap, utterly blasted apart.

Then Su Mu turned his palm into a claw, grabbing Tao Xingzheng's arm—the one wielding the Talisman Treasure—and yanked with brutal strength.

"Aaah!"

Amid shrill screams, flesh tore and bones snapped—Su Mu ripped Tao Xingzheng's arm clean off, snatching away the Talisman Treasure with not a hint of politeness.

Raised in luxury and high status, Tao Xingzheng could never endure such agony. He immediately staggered and collapsed to the ground, his face contorted beyond recognition, all the lofty arrogance of yesterday vanished—now, he was nothing but utterly wretched.

"Lord County Magistrate, your journey ends here."

Su Mu put away the Talisman Treasure, fixed his gaze on Tao Xingzheng sprawled on the earth, and drew the pitch-black short blade from his waist, his voice as cold as death.

Tao Xingzheng knew that begging was futile—he realized that Li Feiyu, having come for him, must have gotten the means to break the Great Yan Destiny from that rogue Wang Xuantian. His bloodshot eyes brimmed with both remorse and venom as he screamed with hysteria,

"Li Feiyu, you have no idea what kind of colossus you've provoked! If I die, you die with me!"

"All descendants of the Tao Family—invite the Ancestor's descent!" Tao Xingzheng howled like a vengeful specter.

"What?"

All at once, Su Mu's eyelids twitched uncontrollably, the Dragon of Spiritual Power between his brows roared in agitation, transmitting an unprecedented premonition of life and death.

In that instant, the air around them seemed to become an invisible prison, the raging winds falling eerily silent.

Su Mu looked up in shock. Tao Xingzheng's body twisted violently, as if something was about to burst from within him. A ray of light shot out from the center of Tao Xingzheng's brow, accompanied by a vast and solid wave of Spiritual Power—a spectral figure condensing rapidly in the air.

At that moment, Su Mu attempted to use Body Technique to escape, only to find his feet mired as if in a swamp, or sealed in place by some force, utterly unable to move.

"No—!"

Realizing escape was impossible, Su Mu's expression grew grave. Without the slightest hesitation, he whipped out Liu Zhengyuan's 'Zheng' character talisman, unable to imagine Tao Xingzheng truly had a means to drag him to death together!

"Heaven and earth possess Vast Qi, which meanders and forms all shapes. Below, it flows as rivers and mountains; above, as the sun, moon, and stars."

"When the heart holds upright thoughts, Qi nurtures vastness; with literature, we convey Dao; with virtue, we bear all; with destiny, we save the world."

Su Mu began madly chanting the text of Nurturing Vast Qi, abandoning all restraint in that moment.

"No matter—it's do or die!"

Martial Artists cultivate only themselves, alone—so said Pharmacist and Zen Heart. If one seeks to achieve Vajra Secret Realm, and smooth passage along the Martial Path, one must not pursue other Cultivation Methods, or remain forever shackled in vain hopes.

But now, Su Mu couldn't care about any of that.

If he survived this time, with his Comprehension, perhaps he could shatter the world's Shackles and walk a path none have trod before.

Yet if he died here, all would be for naught!

Buzz!

Nurturing Vast Qi (entry-level 1%)

Comprehension: 138 (Dragon-and-Phoenix Level)

Su Mu no longer suppressed the enlightenment in his mind and in an instant broke through to entry-level. The first strand of balanced, harmonious special Qi was born within him, settling quietly beside that Gangjin Pill.

At the same time, Tao Xingzheng was finally bereft of breath, but a formless human shape now stood fully condensed on the battlefield.

"One who kills a Tao descendant—must die!"

The spectral figure extended a single finger. In a flash, unspeakable pressure descended. The earth caved in, invisible waves crashed down upon Su Mu, and a dazzling white light condensed on the figure's fingertip, drifting slowly toward him.

"Kakakaka!"

Before the white light even touched, the Cyan Flame Grand Bell at Su Mu's surface resonated with a string of shattering sounds, crumbling to pieces under the dreaded pressure.

"Gah!"

In that instant, Su Mu let out a low roar, forcibly igniting his Qi Blood to reforge the Cyan Flame Grand Bell, buying even the barest shred of time.

Before the bell shattered again—

"Zheng!"

With Vast Qi flooding in, Su Mu frantically poured it into the 'Zheng' character. Awash in Vast Qi, the talisman gleamed with golden light; suddenly, the 'Zheng' character peeled from the paper, floated up into the heavens, and resounded with a gentle hum just as that point of terrifying white light drifted over.

Buzzzzz—!

The two horrific powers collided, stretching out over all, as if freezing time itself. In that moment, Su Mu seemed stripped of all five senses, cast into endless darkness.

"Huff—huff!"

He didn't know how long had passed before his consciousness returned—he was now a man of blood, but as Qi Blood flooded through his body, the bleeding stopped swiftly, and he gasped for breath with guttural, ragged heaves.

Fixing his gaze, he saw the ground torn by a gash as broad as a river. Where Tao Xingzheng's body had lain, not even the smallest scrap remained.

He looked down—Liu Zhengyuan's 'Zheng' rune from the Qingzhou Academy was now dim and faded, with most of its power spent.

Blergh!

Su Mu spat out several mouthfuls of dark blood. Before his mind could settle, something at his waist suddenly trembled uncontrollably. Wisps of Destiny golden light belonging to a Court official were drawn in by the short blade from where Tao Xingzheng had died.

Buzzzz...

The short blade trembled, exuding a chilling, evil aura, pulsing with a wave of Spiritual Power. Then, a calm and raspy voice sounded from within.

"Congratulations... I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You and I are truly kindred spirits."

"You're still alive?!"

Su Mu's expression hardened, his eyes shining with disbelief—he instantly recognized the speaker.

"This, I owe to the Taiping Dao Envoy... showed me mercy once."

"I killed you once. I can kill you a second time."

The short blade fell silent for a moment, then gave a low chuckle laced with a trace of anger. As its Spiritual Power fully dissipated, a final message came from the blade.

"See you in Qingzhou..."

...

Volume Two, Winds Rise in the Cyan Cloud (End)