bookbashuk Chapter 165: A Series of Twists and Turns
Chapter 165: A Series of Twists and Turns
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The most shocked person was Feng Xiaolu.
She was closest to Chen Anran and could clearly feel the power that was as warm as the sun yet carried supreme majesty. Her mouth was agape as she stared blankly at the figure in the air, enveloped in golden light and lightning, like a war god descending to earth, her mind completely blank.
Feng Xiaolu knew about Chen Anran's "Nurturing Secret Method," but she had never actually seen him fight anyone. He had already surprised her by adding a layer of thunder magic to his peach wood sword during his battle with Jiang Yun. However, what surprised her at the time was that her junior brother hadn't been joking with her. Zhang Nanshan had really passed on the Five Thunder Orthodox Method of Longhu Mountain to him.
Now, watching Chen Anran display his many abilities—Buddhist golden light, the protection of heroic spirits, Taoist thunder magic—these completely different and supposedly conflicting forces have perfectly blended together on him, pushing his cultivation to a level that she can only look up to!
"Junior brother...you..." Feng Xiaolu murmured, momentarily forgetting the perilous situation she was in.
For the first time, a genuine look of surprise, along with an indescribable complexity, flashed across the black-clad woman's crimson eyes. With a single shove, she sent Huiming flying.
Chen Anran ignored everyone's thoughts and stared directly at the woman in black. "No matter where you come from, you'll have to ask me first if you want to mess with my senior sister."
Chen Anran was enveloped in golden light, his sword imbued with lightning, and his guardian spirit and the phantom of the Arhat intertwined to form a mighty torrent of power that surged straight towards the woman in black. This attack gathered all the power he could muster at that moment, its momentum terrifying, as if it would tear the entire martial arts arena apart.
Faced with this attack that would terrify even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, the woman in black remained completely unmoved in her dark red eyes.
Instead of retreating, she advanced, deliberately meeting the thunderous sword light head-on. She extended a slender finger, its tip shimmering with a deep black light, and precisely touched the tip of the peach wood sword where the lightning was most intense.
"Buzz—!"
There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected, only a strange buzzing sound. Chen Anran felt a supple yet irresistible force coming from the tip of the sword. The thunderous power and Buddhist golden light that he had been activating with all his might were silently dissolved and absorbed by that point of black light, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
Chen Anran's pupils shrank sharply, and his blood and qi surged within him. If it weren't for the protection of his guardian spirit and the power of the Arhat, the backlash from the ease with which this power was neutralized would have been enough to injure him.
"The strength is decent, and the techniques are quite varied." The woman in black spoke calmly, with a hint of casualness as if she were commenting on a junior. "Unfortunately, the three styles are forcibly combined, resulting in a mere shell of its kind."
As she spoke, she grabbed the guardian spirit that was attacking her with one hand, while the fingertips of her other hand trembled slightly, sending out a clever force.
Chen Anran felt a gentle force flowing through the sword, causing him to uncontrollably drift backward several steps. Each step left a shallow footprint on the hard blue stone before he could barely dissipate the force and regain his balance.
The other party clearly had the ability to knock him away or even seriously injure him, but only told him to step back.
Before Chen Anran could think about it, he heard Feng Xiaolu and Huiming's voices at the same time.
"Junior brother, I'm here to help you!"
"Master, this humble monk is here to lend you a hand!"
Next up is Qi Lan.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, I will also help you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Qi Lan took off her hat, revealing her true form as a black panther.
Feng Yue and Feng Wenzheng exchanged a glance. Although they knew they were outmatched, there was no turning back now. Feng Wenzheng took a deep breath and shouted in a deep voice, "Feng family disciples, heed my command! Form the formation!"
As soon as the words fell, the remaining members of the Feng family suppressed their fear and quickly moved to different positions. Their spiritual power intertwined, and sword light suddenly rose up, like clouds and mist. Although it was not as powerful as it was at its peak, it still condensed into a sword aura that should not be underestimated, and pointed menacingly at the woman in black.
Elder Jiang Yan struggled to sit up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and shouted hoarsely, "The sons of the Jiang family, don't let anyone look down on you!!"
Upon hearing this, the Jiang family members also mustered their spiritual power, unleashing talismans and magical artifacts simultaneously. Lightning and flames intertwined, and although their power was greatly reduced due to their previous injuries, their fighting spirit surged, forming a pincer movement with the Feng family's sword formation, surrounding the woman in black.
For a time, the martial arts arena was filled with the chilling aura of swords, the interplay of thunder and fire, and the coexistence of Buddhist light and demonic energy. Combined with the remaining strength of the Feng and Jiang families, a situation was temporarily created where everyone was united in their determination to fight against a powerful enemy.
The woman in black stood in the center of the field, facing the suddenly gathered resistance, she merely chuckled and muttered to herself, "No matter what, we must not allow the true revival of spiritual energy to descend, no matter what price we have to pay..."
Her voice was very soft, and in the noise, almost no one could hear it except Chen Anran, who was standing in front of her.
Chen Anran frowned slightly.
This woman in black... her purpose doesn't seem to be simple killing?
Chen Anran frowned slightly.
This woman in black... her purpose doesn't seem to be simple killing?
However, before he could think it through, another unexpected change occurred in the arena!
Just as the remaining forces of the Feng and Jiang families, together with Chen Anran and others, reached their peak and were about to launch a desperate attack on the woman in black—
"Hehe, it's so lively!"
A clear, childlike laugh rang out unexpectedly in the training ground.
The laughter seemed to possess a certain magic, instantly piercing through the tense, deadly atmosphere and reaching everyone's ears clearly. Everyone, including the composed woman in black, paused slightly and looked in the direction of the sound.
At the edge of the training ground, two figures appeared silently without anyone noticing.
Leading the group was a giant man, over three meters tall, like an iron tower. He was shirtless, his bronze skin covered with eerie dark red tattoos, and his muscles were as bulging as rocks. Just standing there, he exuded a suffocating aura of savage ferocity.
What truly caught the eye was the "little girl" sitting on his broad shoulders.
She looked to be about seven or eight years old, wearing a bright red short skirt adorned with silver bells, her bare feet swinging freely in the air. She had two cute buns in her hair, a round face, large, dark eyes, and an innocent smile on her lips, as if she were just a little girl from next door who had wandered into this place by mistake.
However, no one present dared to treat her as an ordinary child.
Anyone who can break through the Maze Forest and force their way through the entrance to the Feng family's barrier is definitely not an ordinary person!
In the little girl's large, dark eyes, there gleamed a playful yet sinister air, completely at odds with her age. In her hand, she toyed with a string of prayer beads made from the bones of an unknown animal, each bead faintly radiating a chilling, bloodthirsty aura.
"Oh dear, fighting and killing is no good." The little girl swung her feet, the bells making a crisp sound. She tilted her head, her gaze sweeping across the entire scene with interest, finally settling on the woman in black. Her smile grew even brighter and sweeter. "However, what's even more interesting is... I never thought that in this day and age, there would still be someone impersonating one of our Crimson Spirit Cult's demons."