Chapter 296
The True Ancestor Saves Me
Immortal and undying.
Chen An was feeling his body regenerate.
A realization dawned in his heart: the more severe and fierce the damage he sustained, the stronger his body would become after the next regeneration. This was why he allowed the blood fiend’s claws to gnaw at him so leisurely.
For instance, if Chen An’s current physical strength was one unit, and he were to leap from the fiftieth floor and be reduced to flesh paste, his regenerated body strength would become two or even three units.
One step, two steps.
Chen An slowly walked up to Zhang Asi. After a moment’s thought, he raised the wooden stick in his hand and struck down. It was a simple, unadorned blow.
Zhang Asi neither dodged nor ran. He stared fixedly at the wooden stick, as if trying to see something extraordinary in it. The next moment, a barrier erupted around him, easily blocking the stick.
Zhang Asi’s frozen expression relaxed. He looked at the strange young man, a smile curving his lips.
“You have no spiritual energy, you are a mortal. You can’t possibly hurt me!”
“I wasn’t mistaken! I wasn’t mistaken!” Zhang Asi almost roared. He had felt a chill down his spine just moments ago, thinking he might actually be in trouble. He then formed a hand seal, and countless blood fiends danced in the air, grabbing Chen An’s limbs and even his face, preventing him from moving an inch.
Zhang Asi said triumphantly, “I must admit, you are indeed peculiar. Even I have never seen such a bizarre ability.”
“To be able to ignore pain and regenerate your body.” As Zhang Asi spoke, his face grew increasingly ferocious.
“But there are no spiritual energy fluctuations from you. I wasn’t mistaken! You are a complete and utter ordinary person!”
“I don’t know where this ability of yours comes from, but…” Zhang Asi took a step forward, meeting Chen An’s gaze. “It’s perfectly suitable for feeding these blood fiends. Let’s see how many times you can regenerate!”
He stared into Chen An’s eyes, expecting to see panic or some similar emotion. However, only calmness resided there, not a detached indifference, but a simple, ordinary calmness. The young man’s expression held a hint of understanding.
“You’re right,” Chen An said, nodding in agreement. “I am indeed still an ordinary person now, and I can’t hurt you.”
Standing opposite him, Zhang Asi found it utterly absurd. “Why are you so calm?! Shouldn’t you have collapsed on the ground in terror?!”
Chen An soon provided his answer. “Thank you for the reminder.”
“But it seems we can’t talk things out nicely.” After speaking, a fearsome spiritual energy fluctuation erupted from Chen An’s body. The next moment, Chen An had reached Qi Refining. He once again raised the wooden stick in his hand and delivered another simple, unadorned blow.
This time, the wooden stick easily penetrated the protective barrier and lightly struck Zhang Asi’s shoulder. But Zhang Asi did not feel it was “light.” This seemingly weak strike sent him flying back a good ten meters. Even as he landed, his expression was one of utter bewilderment.
His bones shattered, and intense pain assaulted him. The man gritted his teeth fiercely, forcing himself not to cry out. *I was a ruthless man in my day!* he thought. Yet, his gaze towards Chen An was now filled with fear of the unknown and incomprehension. He truly couldn’t understand how, in this era of scarce spiritual energy, someone could simply achieve Qi Refining. *Everyone else cultivates properly, are you cheating?*
In reality, Chen An could have reached Qi Refining long ago, but as he himself had said, he had forgotten. He had simply forgotten to break through. In his previous life, Chen An had achieved Qi Refining in three days, Foundation Establishment in thirty days, and Golden Core in three months. This time, it had taken him only three breaths.
If Zhang Asi knew about such a vast disparity between individuals, he would likely have spat blood and died on the spot from sheer frustration.
“No, even if you’ve entered Qi Refining, you’re only at the first layer. Why? Why?!” Zhang Asi gritted his teeth, biting his lip until it bled, utterly unaware. He was indignant. *Why?*
Zhang Asi forced himself to stand. An intense killing intent erupted in his eyes. Hand seals flew from his fingers, and blood fiends rose from the ground, attempting to seize the young man. Simultaneously, his body emanated a wild surge of spiritual energy, indicating he was preparing for a desperate struggle.
Zhang Asi’s gaze sharpened, his spiritual energy surging to its peak. He chanted a spell, and his skin instantly turned earthy brown. Earth Evasion! It turned out that his previous resolute and desperate demeanor was merely a ruse to deceive. This technique had always served Zhang Asi well. His body rapidly sank, on the verge of burrowing completely into the earth.
Unfortunately for him, he had encountered someone who played by no rules. Chen An moved. With a single step, he crossed space, arriving before Zhang Asi. Under the man’s terrified gaze, Chen An grabbed his collar and forcibly pulled his half-buried body out of the ground.
At this sight, Zhang Asi finally broke. “Are you playing pull-the-radish here?!” *We’re both at Qi Refining, how can the gap be so huge?* Blood energy surged around him, his face contorted in ferocity, and he roared, “Old Ancestor, save me!”
As if to confirm his ultimate trump card, faint traces of blood energy permeated the air, rapidly converging. In an instant, they ascended into the sky, forming an enormous blood cloud. The cloud churned, carrying with it a chilling and malevolent aura that struck fear into the heart.
Seeing this, Zhang Asi’s face lit up with joy. Although drawing the attention of the Blood Fiend Old Ancestor meant all the gains from the blood sacrifice would be forfeited, and he would pay a heavy price, it was still better than losing his life! Zhang Asi looked up at the sky with anticipation.
The blood cloud slowly parted, revealing a bizarre, blood-red eye. The eye contained an unspeakable rage and oblivion. A mere glance from it seemed to possess the terrifying power to extinguish everything. The entrance was indeed spectacular. Chen An also raised his head and looked up. The next moment, his gaze met with the eye in the sky.
Chen An blinked. Then, the blood cloud vanished abruptly, disappearing far faster than it had appeared. It was as if a mouse had seen a cat, its previous imposing presence utterly gone. It could even be described as a hasty retreat, as if afraid of being too slow. Moreover, not only the vast and evil blood cloud, but the entire formation covering the sky vanished in that instant of eye contact.
Suddenly, the sky was clear, with nary a cloud in sight. It was as if nothing had happened, as if it had all been an illusion. Zhang Asi’s ecstatic expression froze on his face. “No! Old Ancestor! That is the Blood Fiend Old Ancestor, who legend says governs an entire realm and has millions of disciples! How could he abandon his most loyal disciple like this?”
Zhang Asi could not accept it. *If you didn’t want to look, why make such a grand spectacle in the first place?* But he would never know the answer. Because Chen An had already raised his wooden stick and smashed Zhang Asi’s forehead into a pulp with a single blow.
(End of Chapter)
