"Ah...you crafty boy, you dare deceive me!" Zhu Yuheng, who was sitting in meditation and cultivation, suddenly bellowed.

The intense vibration of his voice immediately woke Zhu Bufan. As he opened his eyes, Zhu Yuheng's condition was fully reflected in his vision.

He saw Zhu Yuheng's silver hair, usually bound by a jade crown, was now completely disheveled. Bloodstains covered his long robe. For some reason, his arms were swollen as thick as legs with blood vessels ruptured, showing a web-like pattern!

Zhu Yuheng's Dantian vibrated, and streams of blood continuously spurted from his mouth.

Feeling the fury and the overwhelming killing intent in Zhu Yuheng's words, Zhu Bufan immediately sensed that something was amiss. Without any further concealment, he fully activated the Hanhai Tide Skill. Suddenly, an obscure sensation emanated from him, and within his Dantian, a great pressure emerged.

But the Scattered Element Green Mist, which seemed like a wispy smoke, was like an incredibly sturdy barrier. No matter how intensely Zhu Bufan tried to strike, he could never break through that confinement!

Zhu Yuheng roared furiously, his entire being creating a mist of blood, carrying boundless powerful energy, and aimed directly at Zhu Bufan's lethal pressure points—the head!

Zhu Bufan's pupils suddenly shrank intensely. If the palm strike landed, his brain would surely burst, and how could he survive?

Ah...

At this critical juncture, Zhu Bufan showed no sign of despair. Relying solely on his raw power, he crossed his hands and raised them to protect his head.

Ever since Zhu Bufan had cultivated the Hanhai Tide Skill and reached the Second Layer of the Tuoba Realm, his physical fitness had far surpassed that of the average person. Merely relying on his raw strength, Zhu Bufan was able to contend with a Fifth Rank martial artist.

Boom...

After the deep sound of impact, Zhu Bufan's body sank down for a moment, and under heavy pressure, his bones, meridians, and flesh continuously twisted.

His body, already injured, found it even harder to withstand the sudden intense pain, causing his vision to darken, nearly passing out.

And Zhu Yuheng was also far from comfortable.

The Surging Wave Palm was a terrifying martial skill capable of annihilating Innate Martial Artists. Though Zhu Yuheng was formidable and exceedingly cautious, constantly analyzing the authenticity of the cultivation technique, he was still unavoidably injured.

And the injury was severe. More than half of his meridians throughout his body had suffered large and small damage, and his Dantian had sustained a heavy blow.

The Dantian is the martial artist's foundation for cultivation, the place where Inner Qi is stored. The higher the level of cultivation, the more significant the role of the Dantian.

Now, Zhu Yuheng's Dantian had been injured at this critical moment, almost signifying that he would be stuck in the Innate Realm, with little chance of further progress!

Tell me, how cruel is this blow to Zhu Yuheng? And how could the hatred Zhu Yuheng harbored towards Zhu Bufan be conveyed in mere words?

Having sustained injuries, Zhu Yuheng's strength had dropped by more than one rank, with at most only the late-stage strength of an Eighth Rank.

However, the full force of an Eighth Rank martial artist is still not something Zhu Bufan could bear.

Zhu Bufan felt a sharp Inner Qi suddenly penetrate his body, transforming into a huge treasure sword within, rampaging through without any resistance, furiously plunging towards Zhu Bufan's Dantian.

"This old man is so ruthless!" Unable to kill Zhu Bufan instantly, he used his incomparably sharp metallic attribute Inner Qi, aiming to pierce through Zhu Bufan's Dantian.

Once the Dantian was broken, the Inner Qi would be drained, and Zhu Bufan's lifetime of effort as well as his hopes for the future would vanish like bubbles, shattering completely.

"No, I absolutely won't allow such a thing to happen!" Zhu Bufan growled, desperately circulating the Third Layer Condensing Origin of the Hanhai Tide Skill. However, the toughness, durability, and expandability of the meridians throughout Zhu Bufan's body had just entered the early stage of the Second Layer Tuoba. Now pushing towards the Third Layer, the difficulty was naturally unspeakable!

The bulging veins popped up all over Zhu Bufan's body as if they were inflated with air, even his eyes swelled and were covered with blood vessels, appearing as though they would burst the very next moment.

Seeing Zhu Bufan in this state, even the furiously enraged Zhu Yuheng was taken aback, realizing that Zhu Bufan was truly fighting desperately!

However, Zhu Yuheng was unconcerned. Just now, Zhu Bufan had relied on his formidable prowess to withstand what he thought was a sure-kill strike. This secretly astounded Zhu Yuheng, but now, he wondered how many blows the Inner Qi-deprived Zhu Bufan could withstand!

"Hmph!"

Zhu Yuheng let out a cold snort, his hands' force unwittingly intensified once more, his palms seeming as if they were coated with a layer of gold, dazzlingly bright.

But Zhu Bufan was caught in an exceedingly awkward situation, as his body was instantly immobilized in the midst of his frenzied surging, unable to move anything other than his thoughts, not even his eyeballs.

What terrified Zhu Bufan more was the clear feeling that his blood, inexplicably, escaped the pull of his heart and rushed crazily towards his head.

One could see Zhu Bufan's skin, from top to bottom, rapidly withering away, resembling dry, rotten bark, a sight shockingly distressing.

In no time, at an alarming rate, Zhu Bufan's entire body, except for his head, turned into a dried-up old tree root due to the extreme lack of moisture.

Watching Zhu Bufan's bizarre appearance, Zhu Yuheng's eyes flashed with doubt, but the golden light on his palms became more solid and intense.

Snap...

Without much noise, nor bloodshed, Zhu Yuheng's palm touched Zhu Bufan's head.

However, the sensation was soft, as if Zhu Yuheng was gently stroking Zhu Bufan's head, more like an elder caressing a junior rather than attempting to kill.

"What... what are you doing?"

Fear filled Zhu Yuheng's voice.

This caused Zhu Yuheng's aura to become extremely chaotic, his metallic Inner Qi flickering non-stop, and his hands pressed firmly on Zhu Bufan's head, clearly showing Zhu Yuheng's struggles, mustering all his power, trying to move his hand off Zhu Bufan's head.

As Zhu Yuheng's palm fell, Zhu Bufan lamented internally: "Am I really going to die?"

However, contrary to the expected darkness and death, when Zhu Yuheng's palm landed on his head, it actually gave Zhu Bufan real hope for survival.

Originally, Zhu Bufan's body was in complete disorder, and the bizarre pulling force in his head almost entirely absorbed all the Essence from his body. Facing Zhu Yuheng's killing intent, Zhu Bufan hardly had any energy to spare. Even if Zhu Yuheng didn't attack Zhu Bufan, the abnormal condition within his body would take his life.

Struggling...

Desiring to live...

Unwilling to give up...

Zhu Bufan's strong willpower clashed with the blockade on his Dantian as he continuously strived to rid himself of that bizarre pulling force!

"Attraction?..."

In that instant, Zhu Bufan's past experiences vividly surfaced in his mind. He suddenly recalled that the strange suction in his Dantian, which had once burdened him with the title of a cripple, had whisked away most of his painstakingly cultivated Inner Qi. And now, yet another form of suction had emerged.

This time, however, the attraction was even more terrifying—not devouring his Inner Qi, but his blood, his essence, his very life!

"Could it be, from the start, that suction never disappeared; it merely lay dormant temporarily, now erupting in full force?"

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