Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

Chapter 209: Chapter 206: Beaten to the Punch?

Following the map provided by the servant, they hurried toward the heart of the Qi Family Mansion.

A quarter of an hour later,

’What’s going on here?’

Nangong City stopped in his tracks.

Just then,

on the road leading to the heart of the Qi Family Mansion,

the surrounding houses, walls, rockeries, and trees had all collapsed, turning the area into a field of ruins.

The ground was littered with corpses.

What particularly caught Nangong City’s attention

was a body in a purple robe not far in front of him!

The corpse was embedded deep into a massive boulder like a nail.

The terrifying force had caused the great stone to fracture with deep cracks, leaving it on the verge of collapse.

’It’s hard to imagine what kind of power could have slammed that person into the boulder like that!’

But that wasn’t the direct reason Nangong City had stopped.

The corpses on the ground had all died in grotesque and varied ways.

The purple-robed man’s manner of death was not particularly unique among them.

What truly made Nangong City pause was the residual aura emanating from the body.

It was at least at the Ninth Layer Realm!

In other words,

an expert at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm had been pinned and killed here by an unknown force.

It seemed that even his subordinates had been slain on the spot in some unknown incident!

’Could it be that the Qi Family has some protective measure left behind by their Soul Emergence Ancestor, causing the three attacking forces to suffer such heavy losses?’

Nangong City glanced around again at the bodies scattered across the ground, his expression turning cautious.

Most of the corpses on the ground were not members of the Qi Family.

’Judging by their mismatched clothing, they must be from the three families that attacked Qi Family Town!’

Furthermore, based on the residual auras from the corpses,

’they were likely the elites of the three families!’

’For such an elite group to have died here so silently...’

’And the method used to kill that purple-robed man, whose aura was no weaker than my own... I’m not sure I could have defended against it...’

At this moment,

Nangong City’s initial underestimation of the Qi Family vanished completely.

He couldn’t help but glance at Shen Changchuan beside him.

Although he had great trust in the strength Shen Changchuan had displayed,

at this moment,

a flicker of worry rose in Nangong City’s heart.

The Qi Family was, after all, a former Soul Emergence Clan.

’The methods they possess can’t be that simple...’

’Charging straight into the main stronghold of a Soul Emergence Clan like this...’

’Is this really a good idea...?’

Several months ago, he and Shen Changchuan had joined forces to slay the Qi Family Ancestor, a Ninth Layer Late Stage master. The experience had led Nangong City to subconsciously assume the Qi Family was weak and not worth his concern.

But only now,

did he have a stunning realization. Last time had been an encounter in the wild; this time, they were willingly walking into their main stronghold.

’They’re two completely different situations!’

In an instant,

a sliver of hesitation about their current course of action entered Nangong City’s mind.

Shen Changchuan was oblivious to the many thoughts racing through Nangong City’s mind.

At this moment,

his own expression had also grown grim.

Suddenly,

he waved his hand.

A current of Magical Power lifted the clothing from the chest of the purple-robed man’s corpse, revealing what lay beneath.

Nangong City was confused at first,

but the moment he saw the man’s exposed chest, his pupils contracted violently.

There was a pitch-black Palm Seal, sunken deep into the man’s chest cavity!

”Th-that was a one-hit kill?!”

Nangong City couldn’t help but exclaim in horror.

As a Cultivator of the Ninth Layer Realm with vast combat experience,

a single glance at the palm print was all he needed to deduce what had happened.

’An almost unstoppable being threw a palm strike, hitting the purple-robed man’s chest as if meeting no resistance... In the very next instant, the man was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming violently into the boulder before falling silent forever...’

’An expert at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm, killed in a single blow!’

’Could there be a Soul Emergence Realm expert hidden within the Qi Family?!’

The terrifying thought surfaced in Nangong City’s mind.

”Probably not...”

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly,

his gaze shifting toward the heart of the Qi Family Mansion.

In the sky above it, clashing auras surged.

But it lacked the kind of soaring presence a Soul Emergence Realm expert would project—an aura that could cover several square miles.

”Let’s go. We need to hurry... Let’s hope no one beats us to it...”

As his words fell,

Shen Changchuan’s figure flashed

and he sped toward the heart of the Qi Family Mansion.

”Hey...”

Nangong City had wanted to suggest they pause to discuss a plan and prepare for any potential surprises.

But Shen Changchuan’s figure had already vanished.

Helpless,

he could only suppress the worry in his heart and follow.

...

”Hmph? Where did this skulking rat come from?! Get the hell out of my way!”

The deeper they went,

the more frequent the fighting became.

Shen Changchuan’s brazen, straight-line advance naturally drew the attention of those nearby.

A bald man instantly roared in fury. A great black blade attached to an iron chain whistled through the air, roaring like an angry dragon as it shot horizontally toward Shen Changchuan like a giant python lunging for its prey!

The great blade shattered the air with a piercing whistle. The chain RATTLED, unleashing a terrifying torrent of air!

This was an expert of the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm!

Moreover, he attacked with almost no warning,

striking suddenly just as Shen Changchuan was mid-stride, caught in mid-air with no way to leverage himself.

The angle was so cunning and the timing so impeccable, it was impossible to guard against!

Even an expert in the Middle to Late Stage of the Ninth Layer would likely suffer greatly if caught off guard!

”Watch out!”

Shen Changchuan seemed not to notice.

Behind him,

Nangong City’s expression changed in alarm as he saw what was happening, and he couldn’t help but shout a warning.

Just as the roaring black blade was about to slice Shen Changchuan in half at the waist,

at that very moment,

Shen Changchuan, who should have been helpless in mid-air, suddenly shifted his body,

and dodged the attack of the chain-linked black blade by a hair’s breadth!

BOOM!

The attack struck empty air.

Before the attacker could even react,

Shen Changchuan’s figure flickered, vanishing like a phantom of lightning.

”What?!”

The bald man’s expression filled with shock.

But then,

in the next instant,

SWOOSH!

Shen Changchuan’s figure appeared before him, almost as if through Instant Teleportation.

His palm seemed to grasp the very air, gathering immense power before it crashed down on the man’s head!

Terror seized the bald man’s Heart Spirit.

He tried to dodge,

but he suddenly found that a vast aura had descended upon him. A crushing weight, as if a mountain had been dropped on his shoulders, rendered him completely immobile!

And Shen Changchuan’s attack descended like lightning.

BANG!

In that instant,

the bald man was swatted away like a rubber ball, sent flying back to demolish three houses in a row!