Chapter 574 - 251: Why All the Nonsense!?
Chapter 574: Chapter 251: Why All the Nonsense!?
The five Elders were powerless to resist the Fist Force, which struck like a collapsing sky. Their bodies were twisted and mangled, imprinted into a crater in the ground.
At the very moment those five Elders died, a rapid succession of seven thuds echoed out.
The seven Elders who had been clinging to Fang Shuwen were sent flying.
Their Inner Strength had been drained completely. While still in mid-air, they were killed by a backlash of that very same power. They were dead before they even hit the ground.
Fang Shuwen circulated his North Nether Divine Technique and slowly exhaled.
Those seven Elders were no simpletons; each possessed Inner Strength honed over at least forty to fifty years of arduous cultivation.
Having absorbed hundreds of years’ worth of Inner Strength in an instant, even Fang Shuwen felt a slight stir within him.
Since obtaining the North Nether Divine Technique, Fang Shuwen hadn’t made it a habit to absorb every person he met. Still, on his long journey from the Eastern Domain to the Northern Domain, and then on to the East Sea, the number of masters he had drained dry was simply too great to count.
By now, he himself had almost lost track of how much Inner Strength he truly possessed.
As this new wave of Inner Strength entered his body, his meridians actually began to feel faintly congested.
’Looks like I’ll need to properly sort through my Inner Strength after this.’
Fang Shuwen sensed this wasn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it was a sign that he was about to make another breakthrough.
It was a step, however, that an ordinary person couldn’t hope to take even in ten lifetimes.
The dozen or so Elders had barely stalled Fang Shuwen’s advance before they were all dead.
Suddenly, he heard Suhe Lan cry out in alarm:
"What are you doing?!"
Luo Shuqing instantly recalled the True Qi that had been about to manifest and drew it back into her Dantian.
Following Suhe Lan’s gaze, she too was stunned.
She saw Suhe Zhen—who just moments before had been part of a picture of paternal love and filial piety—with one hand clamped on Suhe Chen’s head.
Suhe Chen’s face was a mask of contorted agony, yet he couldn’t utter a single word.
The veins all over his body bulged, writhing like earthworms beneath his skin.
But that wasn’t the most shocking part.
It was the golden patterns that had appeared on the surface of Suhe Chen’s skin—on his face, between his brows, and elsewhere.
The patterns were incredibly complex. They appeared chaotic and random, yet seemed to hide an underlying order.
Now, however, those patterns seemed to be shattering. In their place, identical golden patterns were appearing on Suhe Zhen’s body.
The scene was truly astonishing.
Even in her wildest dreams, Suhe Lan would never have imagined something like this could happen.
She had nearly been killed by her own father and brother, and now her father was... doing this to her brother. ’What is this? Is he devouring him? Absorbing him? What is going on?’
In the past, Suhe Lan would have flown forward to intervene without a second thought.
But now, she just stood there, frozen, watching in absolute horror.
Luo Shuqing, however, narrowed her eyes slightly and said to Fang Shuwen,
"Those patterns... they look a little familiar."
"They’re identical to the ones beneath the statue in the ancestral hall’s underground chamber."
Fang Shuwen had, in fact, already noticed.
Suhe Zhen probably never expected the dozen or so Elders to be able to stop Fang Shuwen.
Zuo Xuan and the others had already sailed the large ship a good distance away. Even if Suhe Zhen could run across the waves and board it, Fang Shuwen wasn’t a corpse; he would certainly give chase. Fleeing at this point was meaningless. There was no escape.
That was why, while Fang Shuwen was killing the dozen-odd Elders, the great Pavilion Master of Tingtiao Pavilion had already made his move against his son.
Fang Shuwen had noticed it the moment it happened. After a moment’s consideration, he chose not to intervene.
Although he was the type who preferred to strike first in a fight, he had a different idea when it came to the Pavilion Master of Tingtiao Pavilion.
The Eight Forbidden Areas of the East Sea... if they were truly, as Suhe Zhen claimed, the orthodox inheritors of the Profound Celestial Sect—its so-called "legacy"—then their Secret Techniques were likely all quite similar.
’If the other Forbidden Lands have similar methods, it’s better to see what Suhe Zhen can accomplish with this now, rather than being caught by a nasty surprise later.’
’At least then I’ll be mentally prepared...’
Of course, the most important reason he dared to let this happen stemmed from his absolute self-confidence.
Since his debut in the Jianghu, he had fought in countless battles, large and small. He had met an ever-increasing number of masters, and his horizons had broadened accordingly.
And every fight, every new experience, had not only enriched his journey through the Jianghu but had also forged a unique and unshakable confidence.
Just then, Suhe Zhen released his grip on Suhe Chen’s head.
Suhe Chen’s body swayed and then collapsed to the ground like a broken rag doll.
His vacant eyes were still fixed in Suhe Lan’s direction.
Suhe Zhen, meanwhile, crossed his arms, shut his eyes, and took a sharp, deep breath. A continuous series of cracks and pops echoed from the bones and sinews throughout his body.
A flicker of what might have been surprise crossed Fang Shuwen’s face.
’This is...’
He realized that with every breath, the man’s True Qi was growing at a frenzied pace.
It wasn’t a direct plunder of True Qi like his North Nether Divine Technique. It was as if he were plundering something else entirely.
’Something more... fundamental?’
Fang Shuwen couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
But as Suhe Zhen continued to draw in and expel True Qi, the oppressive aura around him grew stronger and stronger.
He was the Pavilion Master of Tingtiao Pavilion to begin with, his Martial Arts already far beyond the ordinary.
Yet now, the pressure he exuded had more than doubled.
The people of Saint Mother Chaoyin had already retreated again and again, not daring to come any closer.
Suddenly, Suhe Zhen’s eyes snapped open and fixed on Fang Shuwen.
"...Hero Fang, my previous offer still stands.
"I urge you not to... be so stubborn."
Fang Shuwen let out a dry laugh but said nothing more.
The North Nether Force Field flared to life. Suhe Zhen’s expression changed drastically as he was pulled toward Fang Shuwen, like a weary bird drawn irresistibly back to its nest.
Fang Shuwen’s fingers shot out and clamped around Suhe Zhen’s neck.
"Enough of your damn nonsense!"
With that, he hoisted him high into the air and smashed him violently onto the ground.