This scroll was Li Feng’s only hope. If it wasn’t the blueprint for the Blood Refining Array, he knew he had no chance of destroying it.
Though there were three boxes on the shelf, Li Feng didn’t think the blueprint would be in them. After all, items stored in jade boxes were likely extraordinary treasures, not something as specific as an array blueprint.
With this in mind, Li Feng didn’t hesitate. He picked up the scroll and opened it with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.
“It really is the blueprint for the Blood Refining Array.”
Li Feng was overjoyed. The scroll didn’t disappoint; it was indeed the blueprint he sought.
But his excitement quickly faded.
While the scroll was the Blood Refining Array’s blueprint, its dense annotations and intricate symbols overwhelmed him, leaving him clueless about where to begin.
The Blood Refining Array wasn’t a basic array but a true, profound one, ethereal and complex. To someone ignorant of arrays like Li Feng, the blueprint was incomprehensible, a dizzying maze of symbols.
“What do I do?”
Li Feng frowned. He was like someone who had found a Rolls-Royce but didn’t know how to drive it.
“Study the array fundamentals?”
He quickly shook his head. He had been in the cave for nearly ten minutes and had no time to learn array basics.
What could he do?
Li Feng paced anxiously.
“There’s only one way. I don’t know if it’ll work, but I have to try,” Li Feng said, stopping as determination flashed in his eyes.
He stuffed the remaining three boxes into his spatial pouch without checking their contents, then took the Blood Refining Array blueprint and sat on the central meditation cushion. Spreading the blueprint before him, he used his divine sense to examine it.
Yes, divine sense.
Li Feng had long been unsure of its uses. During his confrontation with Du Wu’s Innate Realm pressure, he discovered his divine sense could exert peak Acquired Realm pressure. Now, he hoped to use it to study the blueprint and find a way to break the array.
He wasn’t sure if divine sense could help decipher the blueprint, but he was treating a dead horse as a living one, a desperate measure born of necessity.
Legend said that divine sense, at its peak, could kill with a thought or shatter the void. Li Feng had heard such tales but only as rumours, lacking any systematic understanding of divine sense.
In truth, this was due to the decline of martial artist traditions. Divine sense, alchemists, array masters, and even artificers—key professions of ancient times—were now rare. Martial cultivation relied on family inheritances or techniques found in ruins, with no formal education, leading to the current situation.
Calming himself, Li Feng closed his eyes, focused his mind, and felt a blinding light, as if waking from sleep.
Moments later, he could sense everything in the room: the empty shelf, the kicked-open door, even the outside scene.
With his divine sense at peak Acquired Realm, the entire chamber was under his perception, down to the mosquitoes.
After scanning the chamber and finding nothing unusual, Li Feng focused his divine sense on the Blood Refining Array blueprint.
Instantly, the chaotic, dense array symbols appeared vividly and clearly in his mind.
“It’s working.”
Li Feng was thrilled. Using divine sense to observe the blueprint eliminated the disorienting complexity, as if the symbols were etched into his mind.
He didn’t need to comprehend the entire Blood Refining Array; he only needed to find the weak points in its core to destroy it, a much simpler task.
His efforts paid off. Five minutes later, Li Feng’s eyes snapped open, a glint of brilliance flashing within.
He had found the method to destroy the array’s core.
Li Feng silently rejoiced. If Du Wu had carried the blueprint with him, breaking the array would have been impossible. But now…
As he tried to stand, his body swayed, and he collapsed back onto the cushion, exhaustion written across his face.
“Looks like I can’t overuse divine sense.”
Li Feng felt as if he’d fought a great battle, utterly drained. He knew it was due to overexerting his divine sense.
“I need to recover first.”
Li Feng reached to his waist, producing a Solid Foundation Pill. He had five bottles, fifty pills in total, and had used ten already. Each pill used was one less, but to restore his strength and boost his cultivation, he couldn’t afford to hesitate.
The pill melted in his mouth, and Li Feng began circulating the Nine Heavens Heart Sutra.
Though the sutra had limited effect on restoring divine sense, it was his only option.
As he circulated the sutra, the dragon-shaped jade pendant around his neck glowed green, drawing surrounding spiritual energy toward him like a whirlwind.
With this energy, his cultivation progressed swiftly.
Three minutes later, feeling his divine sense partially restored, Li Feng stopped cultivating. He stood and headed toward the Blood Refining Array’s core outside.
He knew he had no time to continue cultivating. Destroying the array was critical, as Zheng Xiaoyang and Du Wu’s battle was likely nearing its end.
Li Feng was right. The battle between Du Wu and Zheng Xiaoyang had reached a critical point. Though both were at peak Acquired Realm, there were differences in strength. Zheng Xiaoyang, having reached this level only a few years ago, couldn’t compare to Du Wu, who had been at this level for decades.
Initially, Zheng Xiaoyang held his own with his martial skills, but after ten minutes, he began to falter. Yet, as a powerhouse from the Zheng family of Central Plains, he didn’t surrender. He unleashed several trump cards.
These were meant to save his life, and he never imagined using them in a small place like Kunyang Town. This only strengthened his resolve to kill Du Wu.
“Today, I’ll kill you no matter what,” Zheng Xiaoyang said, forcing Du Wu back, his eyes glinting with cold killing intent.
“Hmph, kid, you’re not bad, but you’re far from killing me. If I were you, I’d kneel and let me kill you. Maybe I’d leave you an intact corpse,” Du Wu sneered, inwardly furious. He hadn’t expected Zheng Xiaoyang to be so tough. Despite fighting so long, he couldn’t subdue him, and Zheng Xiaoyang’s trump cards frustrated him further.
“Old man, you’re the one seeking death,” Zheng Xiaoyang roared, sneering at Du Wu. “Today, I’ll kill you, and not just you—everyone in the Du Sect deserves to die.”
Du Wu laughed heartily. Kill everyone in the Du Sect? Did Zheng Xiaoyang really think he could survive today?
“Zheng Xiaoyang, Third Master Zheng, you want to kill our Du Sect? You’d need the strength to do it,” Wild Leopard, who had arrived at the scene, sneered. “Third Master Zheng, do you think your Zheng family can wipe out our Du Sect? Heh, want to know what’s happened to your Zheng family members?”
“What did you do to them?” Zheng Xiaoyang glared coldly at Wild Leopard.
“What did I do? Third Master Zheng, what do you think? Hmph, defying the Du Sect’s might—they deserve death. All your Zheng family members in Kunyang Town are surrounded. What do you think their fate will be?” Wild Leopard sneered. Arriving at the back mountain, he saw Zheng Xiaoyang fighting Du Wu. Though he knew Zheng Xiaoyang was strong, he hadn’t expected him to match the old master so evenly.
“You’re courting death,” Zheng Xiaoyang roared in fury. He hadn’t just brought Zheng family fighters but also elites, especially Zheng Kai, a sharpshooter with divine skill. If nurtured, Zheng Kai could become a pillar of the family. Losing him in Kunyang Town would be a devastating blow, something Zheng Xiaoyang couldn’t accept.
“Courting death?” Wild Leopard sneered. “Third Master Zheng, with the old master here, do you think you can kill me?”
Du Wu laughed loudly. “Wild Leopard, well done. These aristocratic brats are no good. The Zheng family deserves to die. Hmph, I’ve operated in Kunyang Town for decades. How could I let you ruin my plan at the final moment? You’ll die today.”
“Old man, you’re strong, but killing me won’t be easy. Don’t forget I’m backed by the Zheng family of Central Plains, a top-tier family in China. Think carefully about the consequences of crossing us,” Zheng Xiaoyang said coldly.
“Hahaha, aristocratic brats are all the same, arrogant even at death’s door, threatening me now? Don’t you think that’s cowardly? In the world of ancient martial artists, the strong rule. If I can kill you today, I can kill the rest of the Zheng family later,” Du Wu sneered, looking at Zheng Xiaoyang as if he were an idiot.
“Courting death.”
Boom!
Zheng Xiaoyang’s aura erupted, and he charged at Du Wu with thunderous force, his fist like a dragon emerging from the sea.
The fist wind roared like thunder, shaking the air across the back mountain. Du Sect members watched in horror.
A punch like that could kill.
Du Wu glanced at Zheng Xiaoyang, letting out a cold snort, his gaze calm.
“Go to hell.”
Zheng Xiaoyang’s eyes flashed with killing intent, his fist accelerating like lightning toward Du Wu.
Bang, bang, bang…
The fierce fist wind coated Zheng Xiaoyang’s fist with a silver glow, the piercing sonic boom causing pain to nearby Du Sect members’ ears.
Du Wu’s gaze turned cold. As Zheng Xiaoyang’s fist came within a metre, he stomped his left foot, shooting forward.
“Qingming Palm!”
A massive palm appeared in the air, imbued with eerie, cold nether energy.
Boom!
A deafening crash and a scream followed as Zheng Xiaoyang was sent flying.
“How is this possible?” Zheng Xiaoyang landed, staring at Du Wu in disbelief. In their prolonged fight, Du Wu had never knocked him back with one move. Had Du Wu been hiding his strength?
Even so, killing him wouldn’t be easy.
Unbeknownst to Zheng Xiaoyang, his mindset had shifted from wanting to kill Du Wu to merely surviving, a reversal of roles.
“Hmph, I said I’d kill you today,” Du Wu declared coldly, vanishing from sight and reappearing half a metre in the air.
“Kill me?” Zheng Xiaoyang snorted, unleashing several palm strikes at Du Wu.
Boom!
A loud crash echoed as both retreated several steps.
Zheng Xiaoyang spat blood, glaring coldly at Du Wu. His clothes were tattered, his hair dishevelled, clearly heavily injured.
Du Wu appeared calm, but his trembling hand behind his back showed he hadn’t escaped unscathed.
Boom!
At that moment, a massive explosion shook Kunyang Town. Du Wu’s face changed drastically. “No, someone’s destroyed the Blood Refining Array!”
