Chapter 106: The Qiankun Pouch

The candle was lit, casting an eerie, sickly green glow as Qi Haichuan searched the surroundings.

Hidden in the shadows, Ling Chi was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin. Unless his eyes were deceiving him, that man actually possessed a storage artifact—something he had dreamed of having.

He had no interest in the mysterious black candle; his spiritual sense lingered exclusively on the man’s waist, coveting the storage pouch that was destined to be his. The moment Ling Chi laid eyes on the pouch, he had already sentenced the man to death. He was determined to snatch that bag, and he wouldn't care whose feelings he hurt in the process.

He couldn't afford to make this the battlefield. Having resolved to fight such a formidable opponent, he knew he would need to unleash his full power, and he required a place where he could fight without restraint. Anxiety gnawed at him, fearing his treasure might slip away. He forcibly suppressed his restless hands, calmly deliberating his strategy.

A drop of rain suddenly splashed onto his face. Stunned, he looked up to see the sky choked with dark, heavy clouds as raindrops began to pelt the earth. Ling Chi laughed wildly to himself: "You are truly doomed today. Even the heavens are helping me; how could you possibly escape?"

He crept silently toward the villa, the thunder orb within him humming as he listened to the two men talking. Gazing at the lightning dancing across the sky, he felt an overwhelming surge of joy—they were like his own kin. He changed his mind; there was no need to move. He would bury them both right here.

Inside the villa, the two men noticed the drastic change in the weather and quickened their search.

"Incense Master Qi, there must be a connection we haven't discovered yet between the disappearance of Wei Si and the destruction of the Huwei Villa," analyzed the Ghost Sect envoy, who was at the third level of the Qi Sea realm.

"Do you think I need you to tell me that? The thunderstorm is coming, pick up the pace! If we don't recover the Transport Talisman, I’ll strip the bones from your body," Qi Haichuan cursed, glancing at the sky as flashes of lightning illuminated his grim face.

In the shadows, Ling Chi began to cycle his breathing technique. The storm clouds thickened, and the lightning grew more frequent; his thunderous strike was already brewing.

"It is impossible for outsiders not to know of the Transport Talisman's existence. Even if Wei Si was captured alive, with the Black Talisman in place, no one could extract the secrets of the Holy Sect," Qi Haichuan muttered as he searched. "I have a bad feeling about this; we shouldn't linger here any longer."

The moment he turned his head, a bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating his face. He instinctively looked up and was horrified to see that the sky was completely blanketed by dark clouds, with countless lightning serpents coiling within. This was no ordinary thunderstorm.

"Which God Transformation Realm powerhouse is transcending their Dragon Gate Tribulation here?" Qi Haichuan, terrified by the lightning, lost his composure and cried out.

Based on the information revealed by the Five Ghosts of the Transport Talisman and Qi Haichuan’s outburst, it was clear that those in the fifth realm, the God Transformation Realm, required a Dragon Gate Tribulation to ascend to the sixth realm, the Dragon Gate Master Realm.

But Ling Chi had no time to ponder Qi Haichuan's words; it was time to strike.

"Run! We can't stay here!" Qi Haichuan blew out the black candle, shoved it into his waist pouch, and prepared to flee.

[Thunder Prison]

Ling Chi had been tracking every move Qi Haichuan made. Sensing the man’s attempt to escape, he immediately unleashed the Thunder Prison. Dozens of purple-gold lightning bolts, each as thick as a barrel, descended from the sky, caging the two men just as they were about to bolt.

"Why is it that I’m the one undergoing the tribulation?" In that critical moment, a bizarre thought flashed through Qi Haichuan’s mind.

"Ah! Incense Master Qi, save me!" A scream came from beside him as the third-level Qi Sea envoy was incinerated by the barrage of lightning.

"Golden Malice Body Protection Art!"

Golden malice surged around Qi Haichuan, wrapping him tightly. He reached for his waist and drew a long saber. He no longer cared about the cries of his subordinate; the lightning was so ferocious that one misstep would mean his death.

[Tyrant Cleaves the Mountain]

A purple-gold figure suddenly appeared before him. The zanbato sword was raised high, descending with the force of a collapsing sky, slanted toward his neck.

Seeing the long saber, Ling Chi’s eyes turned red with envy. Such a fine treasure, and yet it was wielded by a piece of trash like this—it pained his heart. He poured even more strength into his strike, desperate to cleave the man in two.

Qi Haichuan parried with his blade. The impact of the two weapons rang out like a thunderclap. Ling Chi did not relent, launching a relentless assault, leaving his opponent no room to breathe. So what if he was at the eighth level of the Qi Sea? He would kill him today.

The thunder crystal within Ling Chi’s body pulsed with brilliant light, and his body surged with lightning energy. For a moment, he held the upper hand, pinning Qi Haichuan down with ferocious strikes.

"Hmph!" Qi Haichuan, suppressed and seething with rage, realized that Ling Chi was only at the sixth level of the Qi Sea—two minor realms below him.

"You little runt, who do you think you are? The protagonist of some storybook? You want to defeat me, an eighth-level Qi Sea expert?" Qi Haichuan blocked and parried, still finding the breath to spout insults.

Ling Chi ignored him, focusing entirely on the kill. He swung the zanbato with such force it whistled through the air, pressing his advantage with a sky full of lightning.

He employed the sixteen basic sword techniques—slashing, chopping, sweeping, intercepting, scraping, lifting, thrusting, parrying, cleaving, coiling, fanning, blocking, sliding, pointing, smashing, and paring. These techniques merged into one. With both hands on the hilt, he turned the two-meter radius around him into a meat grinder, carving several wounds into Qi Haichuan.

Qi Haichuan flew into a rage. Golden malice erupted from his body, condensing into a dozen flying blades. "You purple-gold little runt, I’ll slice you into pieces today!"

"Golden Malice Flying Blades!"

With a roar, the blades turned into a dozen streams of light, striking at Ling Chi in the blink of an eye. Ling Chi remained unperturbed; his Yang Thunder Undying Body was more than enough to withstand them for a while. He ignored the man’s taunts.

The golden blades struck Ling Chi repeatedly, leaving a dozen shallow cuts. Seeing his attack land, Qi Haichuan maneuvered the blades to attack relentlessly. However, he noticed that no blood flowed from the wounds; instead, pale golden blood congealed around the edges, and tiny electric arcs within the wounds helped them heal.

His eyelids twitched. A sixth-level Qi Sea cultivator with such a formidable physique? He discarded his contempt and continued to manipulate the blades to circle and assault Ling Chi.

Ling Chi did not dodge or weave. He spun his zanbato like a wheel of steel, aiming for Qi Haichuan’s vitals and groin. Qi Haichuan was forced into a passive state by such a suicidal fighting style. The opponent's spiritual energy reserves seemed inexhaustible, which made the situation incredibly dire. Furthermore, the opponent was a thunder cultivator—a special existence whose techniques had almost no weaknesses, their power defined only by the strength of the user.

Harassed by the flying blades, Ling Chi’s eyes shone with blinding lightning.

[Heng] [Ha]

He unleashed the Heng-Ha breath simultaneously. Two small dragons of thunder mist erupted from his nose and mouth, roaring as they slammed into Qi Haichuan. The man recoiled, and as the two sonic shockwaves followed, he felt his brain hammered as if by a heavy mallet, and dizziness washed over him.

Seizing the opportunity, Ling Chi lunged forward, his zanbato clanging against the golden malice barrier, each blow heavier and faster than the last.