"Hum."
With a flash of light from Chu Feng's palm, a massive black axe spanning two meters in length appeared in his hand.
Once the Shura Ghost Axe materialized, Chu Feng's entire aura transformed completely. Layers of dark energy shrouded him, as though he and the axe had fused into a single being.
"That's the Shura Ghost Axe — the extraordinary weapon the six major powers discovered in a ruin, the one mentioned on the wanted posters?" The sight of it sent shockwaves through everyone present.
Tang Yixiu and the others furrowed their brows even deeper, flashes of fear crossing their eyes. They could all sense a life-threatening presence emanating from the Shura Ghost Axe. They were certain that the axe was far more terrifying than Chu Feng's White Tiger Killing Art. If it landed a hit on them, the consequences would be dire — perhaps even fatal.
"Brothers, this kid Chu Feng possesses far too many strange techniques, and that Shura Ghost Axe of his is not to be underestimated. We can't afford to underestimate him anymore. Let's use the trump card Vice Patriarch Jie Yan gave us — otherwise, we may all be buried here today."
Suddenly, Liu Xiaoyao transmitted his voice to the three of them. As he spoke, he flipped his palm open, and a blood-red pill appeared. Its peculiar appearance marked it as a forbidden medicine.
This forbidden pill was different from ordinary ones — it was squirming. And as it writhed, it emitted terrifying shrieks, as though it were a living creature.
Without a moment's hesitation after producing the forbidden pill, Liu Xiaoyao swallowed it whole. In that instant, his aura surged violently upward, climbing from the first level of the Heaven Martial Realm to the second level.
"Damn it — to think this little brat forced us to this point, to actually have to consume this forbidden medicine." Song Qingfeng and the others glanced at the pills in their hands and swallowed hard, traces of fear visible on their faces.
But no matter how reluctant they were, under these circumstances, they did not hesitate. One after another, they swallowed their forbidden pills.
And once the pills entered their stomachs, their auras soared just like Liu Xiaoyao's, rapidly climbing to the second level of the Heaven Martial Realm. Blood-red wisps of energy, like writhing little snakes, circled their bodies. Even their hair began to whip about, and their robes billowed wildly.
"Look — what did they just eat? Forbidden pills? What kind of forbidden pills could possibly cause such a dramatic increase in strength for someone already at the Heaven Martial Realm?"
The onlookers who had witnessed everything cried out in disbelief. Although forbidden pills were powerful, they had their limitations — they worked best on experts of the Xuan Wu Realm. For those at the Heaven Martial Realm, they might have some effect, but they certainly shouldn't have caused such a massive leap in cultivation, let alone an entire level's breakthrough. Yet here Liu Xiaoyao and the others were, their auras exploding upward. This defied all reason.
"This kind of forbidden pill can only be refined by a Purple-Robe Spirit World Master. The Nine Provinces Continent shouldn't have any Purple-Robe Spirit World Masters right now — and even if there were, it would most likely only be within the Jiang Dynasty."
"So the three forbidden pills those four consumed are priceless treasures. It seems they truly intend to fight you to the death," Eggy said.
"Hmph, second level of the Heaven Martial Realm? Very well — if they were too weak, I'd have no sense of accomplishment anyway." Chu Feng gave a faint smile, then swung the massive axe in his hand. With a sharp whoosh, a crescent-shaped blade of black light shot outward, hurtling toward Liu Xiaoyao and the other three.
"Watch out!"
The black blade was incredibly fast. But now armed with a man-made artifact weapon and bolstered to the second level of the Heaven Martial Realm, Liu Xiaoyao and the others managed to dodge successfully this time.
"Boom!" The blade struck nothing, instead slamming into the distant palace. A violent ripple of force spread outward, and every structure in that area was obliterated by the black crescent.
"I heard his artifact weapon can recognize its master. Judging by this power, it really is far superior to Murong Yu's Divine Wood Sword."
"Brothers, there's no turning back now. Let's fight this little bastard with everything we've got and show him what the four of us are made of!" Liu Xiaoyao bellowed. His body blurred as he transformed into a streak of blood-red light, charging toward Chu Feng first.
"Just what I wanted."
Chu Feng swung the Ghost Axe repeatedly, sending crescent blades of black light dancing through the sky. But Liu Xiaoyao, having consumed the forbidden pill, had not only gained a boost in strength — his speed had multiplied several times over. The black crescent blades were dodged one by one, and he rapidly closed in on Chu Feng.
At this, Chu Feng's expression shifted. He hurriedly urged the Azure Dragon beneath him to dodge to the side.
"Damn it — back when I fled from the Supreme Villa, the gap between us was only two levels of cultivation. But the difference in the Shura Ghost Axe's power now is enormous. It seems that even though the axe has recognized me as its master and fused with me, how much of its true strength I can unleash is still closely tied to my own cultivation."
Right now, there was no questioning the Shura Ghost Axe's power — but its speed was lacking. Facing Liu Xiaoyao, who had consumed a forbidden pill and wielded a man-made artifact, Chu Feng's axe was simply too slow to catch him.
"Chu Feng, your Shura Ghost Axe is certainly powerful enough — it's just a shame you can't bring out its full potential in your hands. Why don't you hand it over and let us keep it safe for you?" At the same time, Song Qingfeng and the other three closed in on Chu Feng from multiple directions.
Seeing this, Chu Feng flashed with azure light beneath his feet and quickly dodged away.
The four of them had already been able to crack his Xuan Martial Shield Art when they were only at the first level of the Heaven Martial Realm. Now that they had advanced to the second level, they could undoubtedly shatter the Shield Art entirely — and possibly kill him. Under these circumstances, going head-to-head with them would be anything but wise.
Fortunately, Chu Feng had mastered Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens — a profound movement technique that was virtually on par with a ninth-tier martial art — giving him an absolute advantage in speed. Even if he couldn't win in a direct confrontation, no one could catch him when he fled.
And indeed, no matter how fast Liu Xiaoyao and the others became, they still couldn't match Chu Feng. Even Jie Yan, a cultivator at the fifth level of the Heaven Martial Realm, hadn't been able to catch up to him — let alone these four.
"Chu Feng, are you a monkey or something? All you know how to do is run! Didn't you claim to have a secret technique? Don't you have an artifact weapon? Weren't you supposed to send us to our deaths? Fight us head-on if you've got the guts!" Song Qingfeng and the others hurled insults at the top of their lungs.
"You four turtle grandsons — can't beat me so you pop forbidden pills? Have you no shame? Being at the first level of the Heaven Martial Realm and still unable to defeat me at the seventh level of the Xuan Martial Realm — how embarrassing is that?"
Chu Feng cursed back even as he fled, looking entirely at ease, perfectly relaxed. His Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens could easily sustain days and nights of continuous travel — it was quite simply the most convenient and fastest means of transportation he had at his disposal.
Using it to run circles around Liu Xiaoyao and the others would absolutely drain them to death. Not everyone, after all, was like Chu Feng — with a Dantian brimming with seemingly inexhaustible Heaven Force to support the unlimited use of martial arts.
Liu Xiaoyao and the others, however, were a different story. They could only chase Chu Feng because of the forbidden pills. Once the pills' effects wore off and the backlash kicked in, forget about fighting Chu Feng — they would likely be too weak to even stand, becoming nothing more than fish on a chopping board, at his mercy entirely.