Chapter 127: Chen Changsheng’s Severe Injury and a Single Word that Forced Back the Yaoguang Saint
Chapter 127 – Chen Changsheng’s Severe Injury and a Single Word that Forced Back the Yaoguang Saint
“Tap, tap, tap!”
Faint footsteps echoed through the darkened mine tunnel, coming to a sudden halt at a fork in the path.
Fang Qiancheng, Xuan Xin, and Chen Changsheng—three peerless geniuses—materialized before three separate passages.
Without a sliver of hesitation, the three erupted into a chaotic melee.
Deep within this ore vein, the dense rock blocked any spiritual sense from sweeping the area.
It was the perfect hunting ground for murder and plunder.
Slay, or be slain.
Boom!
A thunderous impact violently shook the entire ore vein. Other geniuses, sensing the primordial Qi rippling through the rock, rushed toward the epicenter.
Though Chen Changsheng and Xuan Xin had no prior pact, the moment the killing intent flared, they instinctively turned their combined might upon Fang Qiancheng.
They assumed the cramped tunnels would cripple Fang Qiancheng’s speed. Instead, he blurred through the darkness, entirely unhindered.
Before three breaths had passed, Chen Changsheng and Xuan Xin were forced onto the defensive.
Thud!
A brutal punch sent Chen Changsheng crashing through the air, while Fang Qiancheng’s claws nearly gouged out Xuan Xin’s eyes.
Shoving aside a shattered boulder, Chen Changsheng pulled himself from the rubble, covered in grit.
Glancing at Xuan Xin’s handsome, now-bloodied face, Chen Changsheng sneered. “Demon monk, can you hold your own or not!”
“I thought Buddhist practitioners forged unbreakable bodies. How did you get disfigured from a casual scratch?”
Xuan Xin smiled faintly at the mockery.
“This benefactor possesses the world’s ultimate speed. This humble monk has no way to strike him down.”
“If I were to unleash the Buddhist Golden Body within these confines, the vein would inevitably collapse.”
“Benefactor Chen might survive the cave-in unharmed, but the others would face mortal peril. That is an outcome this monk cannot bear to see.”
Chen Changsheng rolled his eyes, utterly unswayed by the monk’s hypocritical compassion.
Bald heads harbor dark hearts. This bald donkey was refusing to go all out for entirely different reasons.
Shrewdly weighing the fated paths, Chen Changsheng turned a frigid gaze upon Fang Qiancheng.
“Fang Qiancheng, you repeatedly target me. What exactly are you scheming?”
“Heh heh heh!”
“If you wish to know my motives, offer up your head first.”
“Then, I shall personally enlighten your corpse.”
Before his voice faded, Fang Qiancheng lunged at Chen Changsheng once more.
In that exact instant, Xuan Xin—his supposed ally—turned and fled into the tunnels.
Left with no time to curse the monk’s ancestors, Chen Changsheng forcibly gathered his spiritual essence to parry Fang Qiancheng’s assault.
Fang Qiancheng was a terrifying foe. His mastery over his own martial laws was absolute, and the raw tempering of his physical flesh was exceptionally rare.
Yet the true nightmare was his ghostly, untraceable speed.
For every ten blows Fang Qiancheng landed, Chen Changsheng could barely return one glancing strike.
Trapped in this suffocating rhythm, even Chen Changsheng felt his stamina rapidly draining.
Swish!
A streak of golden light severed the dark, and fresh blood splattered across the stone walls.
Clutching a deep gash on his chest, Chen Changsheng retreated violently, his predatory gaze locked onto the golden page resting in Fang Qiancheng’s palm.
Observing Chen Changsheng’s guarded posture, the corners of Fang Qiancheng’s mouth curled upward.
“You truly surprise me. To survive that… your life is tough indeed.”
“Since that strike failed to claim your head, I can no longer be bothered to waste my energy.”
“Crawl back and tell the master behind you to hand over the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art.”
“Last time, I spared Gongsun Huaiyu her life. Today, I spare your worthless dog life.”
“If you continue to stubbornly court death, I will grant it.”
Chen Changsheng offered no retort; he merely swallowed his pride, turned in silence, and walked away.
Witnessing the utter defeat of the famously arrogant Chen Changsheng, the newly arrived geniuses froze in shock.
Ignoring their terrified gazes, Fang Qiancheng shifted his attention to Fu Yao standing not far away.
“Do you wish to test your Dao against me as well?”
Fu Yao did not speak. He merely offered a faint smile, turned, and departed.
With a single sentence, he forced back the Yaoguang Saint Son, right after severely maiming the mysterious genius, Chen Changsheng.
In that singular moment, Fang Qiancheng’s prestige among the younger generation surged to an absolute zenith.
“The Yaoguang Saint Son is nothing but a name.”
Sneering in contempt, Fang Qiancheng prepared to descend deeper into the ore vein.
Just then, a genius from the Western Continent who followed Fang Qiancheng cautiously spoke up.
“Master, Chen Changsheng’s sudden defeat reeks of suspicion. Should we proceed with caution?”
“Petty tricks. They are beneath notice.”
“I am well aware he did not unleash his full strength, but neither did I.”
“Even if he burned his primordial essence, I would crush him all the same. In the face of absolute power, all mortal schemes are rendered to dust.”
“Chen Changsheng relies on Formations. His deliberate display of weakness is nothing more than bait to lure me into his array.”
“But he is profoundly ignorant. He has no idea that my Wind-Thunder Twin Wings are the ultimate bane of all Formations beneath the heavens.”
Utterly subdued, the Western Continent genius obediently shut his mouth.
……
The “severely injured” Chen Changsheng walked on for some distance. Once his divine intent confirmed no one was trailing him, his demeanor shifted entirely.
His hunched posture straightened, and his agonized expression melted into cold detachment. The horrific gash across his chest began closing at a visible rate.
Observing the dense golden silk threads weaving his flesh back together, Chen Changsheng gave a satisfied nod.
As his vitality stabilized, he rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
“That bastard also possesses a fragment of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, and he knows exactly what it is.”
“No wonder he spared Gongsun Huaiyu. He was lusting after the complete technique!”
“But why demand that the ‘master behind me’ hand it over?”
Shrewdly deducing the angles, Chen Changsheng quickly arrived at a singular answer.
Within this forbidden land, certain ancient entities had sensed the resonance between the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art and the bearer of Heaven’s Mandate.
Both he and Gongsun Huaiyu had executed the art, yet neither possessed the overwhelming aura one would expect from the true Heaven’s Mandate bearer.
Thus, Fang Qiancheng naturally assumed a hidden master existed—a Heaven’s Mandate bearer who had merely ‘passed down’ the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art to them.
A chilling smile touched Chen Changsheng’s lips. “A slight discrepancy… but you aren’t entirely wrong.”
“And since you’ve figured that much out, your death is utterly non-negotiable.”
Resuming his farce of a crippled man, Chen Changsheng dragged his feet toward the exit of the ore vein.
Fang Qiancheng was rapidly nearing the vein’s core. He needed to clear the blast radius immediately, lest he be caught in his own apocalyptic trap.
……
“Young Master, what happened to you?”
Seeing him steeped in blood and staggering, Gongsun Huaiyu rushed forward to support him.
Met with the alarmed gazes of his followers, Chen Changsheng weakly waved a hand. “My skills were inferior. There is nothing more to say. We leave.”
With a defeated sigh, he led his group out of the subterranean depths.
As the mangled form of Chen Changsheng emerged before the various factions, pure disbelief washed over the onlookers.
Was Fang Qiancheng truly that terrifyingly strong?
To brutally suppress a peerless genius like Chen Changsheng… perhaps Fang Qiancheng truly possessed the fated might to challenge the Heaven’s Mandate bearer.
……