Chương 94: You Chose the Wrong Opponent

Zhang Huaijin's face remained expressionless. Deep within his sea of consciousness, his soul force churned like a tempest. Twelve Yin Yang Divine Needles materialized across the vast expanse of his inner sky, moving so swiftly that they vanished almost as soon as they appeared. As they shot forward, wisps of black and white energy visibly linked the twelve needles together, one after another. The black and white light blazed brilliantly, then condensed into the shape of a clay vessel, half black, half white.

The divine needles thrust outward from within it. Sensing the impending doom closing in from behind, the cultivator at the Seventh Level felt his blood run cold. He understood all too well how insidious and inescapable Soul Techniques could be.

"Diamond Jade Talisman!" Without a moment's hesitation, he unleashed his ultimate trump card. A golden spirit talisman materialized in the air, unleashing a cataclysmic surge of energy. A diamond-shaped barrier instantly enveloped his body. Pure earth-attributed power swirled around him, spinning faster and faster until it solidified into the phantom of a towering green stele.

Delicate golden veins ran across its surface, and deep within its core, the power of the Perfection Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm pulsed, faint but unmistakable. The green stele phantom radiated an indestructible might as it stood suspended in the heavens.

"Soul Techniques can't be blocked by something like that!" Zhang Huaijin steadied his mind. He hadn't expected his opponent to possess a Tier 2, upper grade talisman, and a rare one at that, capable of both attack and defense. A treasure that shielded its user while striking back. The talisman was among the finest of its grade, unleashing power that rivaled the Perfection Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. But Soul Techniques operated on an entirely different plane from ordinary techniques.

They were silent and traceless. Without physical form. Though the Diamond Jade Talisman's power was formidable, protecting the man's physical body the two attacks existed in completely separate dimensions. Zhang Huaijin's Soul Techniques consumed only the barest wisp of power as they pierced effortlessly through the golden barrier. The man's face twisted in sheer horror. His soul scrambled frantically within his sea of consciousness, desperately trying to erect a defense.

At the same moment, with a single thought, he sent the green stele phantom crashing down toward Zhang Huaijin. He hoped to force his enemy into a dilemma, defend or counterattac and carve out a slim chance of survival.

"Violet Gold Azure Armour!" Huaijin's spiritual energy erupted outward. A violet armor phantom blazed across the sky. This Tier 2, Upper Grade spirit artifact drained most of his remaining spiritual power in an instant. Boom! The two forces collided with earth-shaking violence. A flicker of genuine terror flashed through the Seventh Level cultivator's eyes.

'A Tier 2, upper grade spirit artifact?' This man actually possessed an Upper Grade spirit artifact, and a defensive one at that.

'Who in the world is he? The secret son of some Purple Mansion Realm elder?' This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. After all these years at the Seventh Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, Jiang Wenshi himself owned only one Tier 2, Upper Grade spirit artifact! Rumble... The Yin Yang Flying Guillotine, forged from the twelve Yin Yang Divine Needles, breached the man's sea of consciousness without resistance.

The Chaotic Taiji Force twisted and spun like a millstone, relentlessly grinding his soul into fragments.

"Perfection Stage soul power? That's impossible!" The man's eyes flew wide open, blood vessels bursting in the whites. He coughed up mouthful after mouthful of crimson blood. The Diamond Jade Talisman's power had been completely nullified by the Violet Gold Azure Armour. The soul defense he had so desperately thrown together was like wet tissue paper against Zhang Huaijin's Soul Techniques, crumpling, tearing, dissolving. Unbearable agony flooded his mind, tearing a miserable, animalistic shriek from his throat.

Blood seeped from all seven of his orifices. His soul shattered piece by grinding piece. His entire frame convulsed uncontrollably. If his soul hadn't already reached the Seventh Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would have died on the spot.

"No… I can't die here!"

"I have to escape!" Only a single thought remained in his shattered mind. Zhang Huaijin's combat prowess was utterly terrifying. Endless regret drowned his heart. The Yin Yang Flying Guillotine spun like a vortex storm, gnawing and devouring his soul. He struggled with every last shred of his will, staggering and stumbling as he tried to flee into the distance. The Diamond Jade Talisman's power had not yet fully faded, it still shielded his broken body.

Zhang Huaijin calmly swallowed a pill to restore his spiritual energy and followed at a leisurely pace. Once the Diamond Jade Talisman's power was exhausted, the man's death would be certain. The Seventh Level cultivator's movements grew slower and more sluggish by the second. Beneath his black robe, his face was already a gruesome mask of blood, seven streams weeping from eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. He couldn't even make it a hundred meters before his legs gave out. His body convulsed violently.

Most of his soul was already gone, shattered into nothing. He couldn't hold on any longer. Staring at the Pine Fish Cliff, mere inches away, despair flickered one last time in his eyes. It was over.

"Senior Jiang… I have to admit, I don't understand. Are you really so eager to die? Our grudge was never that serious, was it? Or did you simply take me for a pushover? Someone you could bully at will?" Zhang Huaijin approached unhurriedly, step by deliberate step. He looked down at the black robed man and spoke slowly, each word deliberate and sharp. The man's entire body went rigid.

"You… you recognized… recognized me…" The black hood fell away, revealing Jiang Wenshi's blood soaked face. He could feel his vitality slipping away like sand through fingers. He was barely clinging to life, hanging by a thread, teetering at death's door. His soul kept shattering. Less than one-eighth of it remained. The one who had ambushed Zhang Huaijin was none other than Jiang Wenshi, the same man who had harbored a grudge against him back at Blood Lion Mountain over a few Merit Points.

"Facial features can be hidden," Zhang Huaijin said calmly.

"But your soul's aura is unmistakable." The Diamond Jade Talisman's power was visibly fading now.

"Ha… haa…" Jiang Wenshi's face twisted into a bitter, self-mocking smile. He coughed up great gouts of blood, flecked with pieces of his own internal organs.

"You… you hid… far too deep…" Jiang Wenshi looked like a vengeful ghost crawling out of the underworld, his face drenched in blood, his body trembling uncontrollably. His breathing came in ragged, desperate gasps. Speaking was a battle he was losing.

"You chose the wrong opponent." Zhang Huaijin's voice was utterly flat, devoid of any emotion. The Yin Yang Flying Guillotine inside Jiang Wenshi's sea of consciousness had already vanished. With a subtle shift of his soul, Zhang Huaijin sent the twelve Yin Yang Divine Needles shooting forward like phantoms. They pierced directly through the fading barrier of the Diamond Jade Talisman. Plfft! Soundlessly. Invisibly. They bored straight through Jiang Wenshi's skull. His final wisp of soul shattered like glass.

His head couldn't even hold together, it burst open like a melon split by a cleaver. Zhang Huaijin had killed Jiang Wenshi, a cultivator at the Seventh Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Zhang Huaijin's eyes blazed with cold, unfiltered killing intent. He didn't care why Jiang Wenshi had wanted him dead so badly. But in his mind, one thing was certain, from this moment onward, the entire Jiang Clan was doomed. Once Jiang Wenshi fell, the Jiang family would know exactly who was responsible.

The enmity between them was now absolute. Irreversible. To the death. The Jiang family would never let Zhang Huaijin live. And Zhang Huaijin would never let the Jiang family stand. Times had changed. He was not afraid of the challenge. He gathered Jiang Wenshi's corpse and stored it away. He intended to feed it to the Purple Spirit Tiger. If someone chose to become his enemy, they had to be prepared for the consequences. A dozen breaths later, Zhang Huaijin returned to his original position.

His white robes were immaculate, unstained by so much as a speck of dust. The spirit sword in his palm was streaked with a few fresh lines of blood. His eyes were cold, filled with the grim silence of a slaughterer who had long since made peace with death. The Blood Dragon Sword slowly dissolved into spiritual light. His own power had grown a little stronger once more. Zhang Huaijin turned his gaze toward the battlefield where Zhang Liqian and the other two were still fighting.