Chapter 136: The Final Fighter Jet

"Right now!" Ning Zhuo frantically drove the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor, charging toward Qi Bai without a moment's hesitation.

Qi Bai's head was bloodied, his vision darkened, and he was on the verge of fainting.

The next moment, the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor hurtled through the air.

The Dangling Pigtail Hanged Whip!

Over a dozen long whips lashed out like a swarm of frantic pythons.

Qi Bai was thrashed back and forth in mid-air, unable to touch the ground.

Each whip strike against his body triggered ripples of golden light, completely failing to breach his protective technique.

"Is it a spell, a divine ability, or a protective magical treasure?"

Ning Zhuo's eyes reddened with anxiety.

This was a counterattack he had meticulously devised through exhaustive thought.

Once Qi Bai recovered his breath, the suspense of this battle would vanish entirely.

Yet the Dangling Pigtail Hanged Whip, usually so effective against Foundation Establishment cultivators, failed to pierce Qi Bai's defense.

Sun Lingtong transmitted his voice urgently: "Xiaozhu, this Qi Bai is not a body cultivator; he excels in manipulating nether souls and ghosts. His innate talent is the Nether-Sight Death Eye, and his protection is a spell—the likelihood of it being a divine ability is very low."

"I can see that the weakest point of the golden light is at the wound on the top of his head, which is currently healing rapidly."

"The strongest point of the golden light is three inches below his navel, right at the location of the Essence Sea Lower Dantian."

"Use your strongest means."

A sharp glint flashed in Ning Zhuo's eyes, and he only said: "Understood."

He drove the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor to its maximum power.

Spirit stones were consumed at a frantic pace, converting into vast spiritual energy that poured into two palm-sized, intricately patterned Wind-Thunder Talismans.

The talismans each erupted with wind and thunder power, intertwining along the internal formation patterns of the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor, fusing together to form an entirely new force.

Wind and Thunder in Motion.

Cyan-green lightning crackled around the entire Ashen Iron Heavy Armor.

In an instant, the speed of the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor soared to its absolute limit, crashing toward Qi Bai.

The cold of iron armor, the soaring of the azure dragon.

Armor plates flipped open across the back, shoulder blades, elbows, and wrists of the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor, revealing the explosive talismans hidden within.

The talismans ignited completely, blazing with a dazzling white light that forcefully propelled Ning Zhuo's strike, pushing his offensive power to its instantaneous limit.

The black robe disguised as the Dangling-Pigtail Man was torn to shreds. The Ashen Iron Heavy Armor, revealing its true form like a silver dragon breaking through the void and trailing dazzling white light, slashed through all darkness.

Fists like a rain of arrows, legs like a storm!

Fists and legs intertwined into a terrifying wave of assault that completely enveloped Qi Bai.

Fists and legs slammed fiercely into the golden light, shattering the golden protective barrier into explosions of glowing fragments.

The golden light barrier gradually developed cracks, rapidly turning ethereal and dimming.

The defensive power of the golden light weakened swiftly, struggling to deflect the force of the fists and kicks, allowing the blows to reach Qi Bai within.

One punch warped his head, twisting his neck to its absolute limit.

A fierce knee strike hit Qi Bai in the waist, doubling him over like a boiled lobster. The degree of his bend was astonishing, his eyeballs bulging as if they might pop out of their sockets, and he spat out a massive mouthful of fresh blood.

Another blow struck Qi Bai's chin, causing his teeth to snap together fiercely, nearly biting off his tongue.

Qi Bai was violently jerked upward, knocked even higher into the sky.

Yet the next moment, a flash of cyan lightning appeared, and the nimble silver-white physique suddenly materialized directly above Qi Bai.

Ning Zhuo clasped his hands together into a fist, raised them high past his shoulder, and then drove the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor to propel his entire body, plunging toward Qi Bai like a shooting star.

The golden light protecting Qi Bai's entire body had already been weakened until it was nearly transparent.

And the top of his head was still bleeding profusely—the exact spot smashed through by the Out-of-World Peach Karma Pit, and also the weakest point of the golden shield.

Ning Zhuo's gaze was sharp as a blade and piercing as lightning, locking relentlessly onto his enemy's most vulnerable spot.

A full-force strike.

Ning Zhuo's fist slammed down savagely, resembling a shooting star chasing the moon. The momentum was so fierce that the silver-white fist even glowed with a fiery red hue from friction against the air.

At this life-or-death juncture, Qi Bai finally snapped awake driven by his intense survival instinct.

Meng Kui.

The Out-of-World Peach Karma Pit!

Qi Bai's heart trembled, turning ice-cold.

"Since he used the Out-of-World Peach Karma Pit, he must have employed the Mountain-Viewing Divine Ability beforehand."

"Why?"

As a true disciple of the Soul-Devouring Sect dispatched to Fire-Persimmon Mountain, Qi Bai naturally came prepared.

He was, of course, well aware of Meng Kui's signature divine ability, Mountain-Viewing, as well as the Out-of-World Peach Karma Pit.

It was simply that Qi Bai could not comprehend why Meng Kui had suddenly used this divine ability, and within Fire-Persimmon Immortal City of all places.

"He is the Lord of the Immortal City! Isn't he afraid that the slightest mishap would cause the citizens to riot and slaughter one another?"

"There must be a situation I am unaware of that compelled Meng Kui to take such drastic action!"

For a moment, Qi Bai felt immensely wronged!

Upon entering the city for the first time, he had merely intended to subdue three fellow sect members so he could establish a foothold before slowly investigating the soul treasury.

Never had he expected his luck to be so wretched as to fall victim to the Mountain-Viewing divine ability right off the bat.

"Fortune has blinded me, causing me to make mistake after mistake."

"Why didn't I just kill this Sun Lingtong? Subduing Han Ming isn't the only path!"

"I shouldn't have pursued them all the way. These two Foundation Establishment ants are indeed annoying, but I didn't need to make such a huge fuss about it!"

According to Qi Bai's original plan, he was supposed to lie low and act according to circumstances.

"Why did I frequently resort to spells? Spells suffer the greatest suppression within the immortal city—it was completely unrewarding and exhausting!"

"I should have slain these two quickly, and using my innate talent wouldn't have mattered. Instead, I released nether souls and ghost generals to torture and slaughter them, which wasted far too much time."

"I should have used my strongest methods to swiftly execute the two of them and settle the matter once and for all, avoiding protracted complications. I wasted far too many opportunities during this battle."

"These two have operated in the immortal city for too long, spawning endless underground bases. When I couldn't kill them immediately, I should have cut my losses in time."

"I planted my methods in that Sun Lingtong, and only a Golden Core cultivator could untangle them. Wouldn't it have been better if I let them go first and pursued them when the timing was right?"

"The most damned of all is this Dangling-Pigtail Man."

"Trap after trap forced me into a war of attrition with the immortal city's grand array, driving me to use my full strength."

"If not for that, Meng Kui might not have smashed me with that peach pit!"

Jarred awake by that brutal blow, Qi Bai's mind cleared completely.

Countless thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind in the blink of an eye.

He looked up and saw Ning Zhuo's full-force strike descending.

"I'm going to die!"

Qi Bai's hair stood on end with sheer horror.

"I must not let him hit the wound on the top of my head!"

However, it was too late for him to deploy more powerful defensive measures.

He didn't even have time to wield a protective magical treasure.

A magical instrument—the Ghost-Mist Gauze.

In his desperation, his divine sense manipulated his storage belt to pull out a length of gauze.

This was a magical instrument he frequently used during his Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment days, allowing him to shroud himself in ghostly mist and disguise himself as a nether soul when venturing into gloomy, terrifying locations.

The Ghost-Mist Gauze had aided him immensely, enabling him to successfully approach certain wandering ghosts and malevolent spirits for capture.

The Ghost-Mist Gauze had accompanied him through his difficult beginnings, accumulating bit by bit until he climbed step by step to become a true disciple of the Soul-Devouring Sect.

By the time he advanced to the Golden Core stage, the frequency of using this reliable magical instrument had plummeted, and it was rarely used anymore.

Qi Bai had kept it in his storage belt mostly for sentimental value.

Never had he imagined that at this moment of life and death, this would be the only magical instrument he could quickly mobilize.

Bang!

Ning Zhuo's full-strength blow pierced through the ghost mist and slammed heavily into Qi Bai's chest.

In that instant, Qi Bai's full-body golden light barrier could hold on no longer, shattering into countless fragments that flickered in the high altitude before vanishing into nothingness.

Four or five of Qi Bai's ribs snapped, his chest caving inward. His lungs and other internal organs suffered a devastating impact, nearly being shaken into pulp.

He plummeted like a shooting star, crashing through a building and slamming into the ground, sending a violent shudder through the earth.

Immediately afterward, the building collapsed, raising a plume of smoke and dust that buried Qi Bai beneath the rubble.

"He's not dead!"

Sun Lingtong had been continuously observing the battlefield, ignoring the blood and tears streaming from his eyes.

Ning Zhuo's heart sank. Gritting his teeth fiercely, he summoned his momentum once more and plunged headfirst into the dust and smoke.

The Ghost-Mist Gauze had shattered.

Yet it was precisely because of its cover that Ning Zhuo's attack landed on Qi Bai's chest rather than the top of his head, indirectly saving Qi Bai's life.

As Ning Zhuo closed in for the kill, Qi Bai had more time to react than before.

He produced a magical treasure—the Soul-Stirring Rattle-Drum!

The drum surface was pale white, tanned from human skin and faintly translucent, emitting a dim glow in the shadows.

The rim of the drum was carved from pitch-black ink-jade, radiating biting cold.

The handle was pieced together segment by segment from the grayish-yellow finger bones of an adult.

Qi Bai shook the Soul-Stirring Rattle-Drum.

Thump, thump, thump!

The drumbeats were crisp, ringing directly within the hearts of Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong, violently shaking their souls.

Sun Lingtong was already severely injured; upon hearing the drum sounds, blood immediately spurted from his seven orifices, his vision lost its luster, and he lacked the strength to operate his spirit pupils, forcing him to halt.

Ning Zhuo felt the world sway before his eyes. Staggering on his feet, he nearly pitched forward onto the ground.

Consequently, his newly built-up attacking momentum was disrupted as well.

"Xiaozhu!" Sun Lingtong's alarmed cry reached Ning Zhuo's ears.

Years of tacit understanding instantly made Ning Zhuo understand what Sun Lingtong meant—this was their final battle opportunity. They had to eliminate Qi Bai right now; missing this chance meant that once Qi Bai recovered from this crucial breath of air, defeat and death awaited them.

Ning Zhuo had nearly exhausted all his resources!

The puppet mechanisms he had accumulated over a dozen years were mostly spent, and the few remaining were utterly inadequate for this stage.

There was only one left—the Arboreal Martial Ape.

Kneeling on one hand, Ning Zhuo released the Arboreal Martial Ape.

To prepare for this battle, Ning Zhuo had retained the core mechanism components while replacing everything else that could be swapped, drastically altering the form of the Arboreal Martial Ape.

Comparing the old and new appearances, there was scarcely any resemblance left.

The martial ape carried a heart seal on its back, with a staff tip thrust into its body.

Ning Zhuo flicked his wrists, shooting ten strands of magical silk from his fingertips that linked to the key joints of the Arboreal Martial Ape.

Under his threefold command, the Arboreal Martial Ape charged at Qi Bai.

The defensive formation within the Ashen Iron Heavy Armor was raised to full capacity, humming loudly.

Within the array, the powers of Metal and Water combined ingeniously and cooperated flawlessly, radiating a biting chill coupled with metallic attributes. It enveloped the entire Ashen Iron Heavy Armor, integrating offense and defense and elevating its defense to the absolute extreme.

End of Chapter ..............................