Ling Zhenfei's heart was filled with amazement, as he had never seen such a strange person or such a strange cultivation technique before. He felt a chill filling his heart, as if the cold was trying to invade his bone marrow.

Although he did not know the mysteries of this technique, Ling Zhenfei knew for certain that there was a reason for the chill. Without time to think further, he hurriedly dodged to the side.

Just as Ling Zhenfei focused on the barely perceptible cold Qi, Meng Yang's figure suddenly moved, and with a swift shake, he struck towards Ling Zhenfei with a palm.

Ling Zhenfei quickly evaded, and then saw Meng Yang swing his right hand, summoning an iron rod in his palm that smashed towards him with ferocity.

Although Meng Yang was an expert at the Zhiyi Boundary, he chose close-ranged combat, which was different from many Zhiyi Boundary experts. For example, the Heavenly Net Poisonous Woman Ling Zhenfei had encountered before used the Plucking Leaves and Flying Flowers technique to attack from a distance right from the start.

Ling Zhenfei's Sky Piercing Finger was a long-range attack, where Spiritual Power could strike anywhere within its reach.

Heaven-Splitting Ten Fists was also a close-ranged attack, but did not make physical contact. Instead, it attacked by emitting Spiritual Power, yet Meng Yang still chose to attack at close range, swinging the iron rod in his hands at Ling Zhenfei without any discernible technique.

Ling Zhenfei found it very strange. Logically, an expert of Meng Yang's realm should have techniques that utilize Spiritual Power for attacking. Why would he resort to this sort of close combat?

Meng Yang's movements were fast, swinging his rod at Ling Zhenfei over and over again. Although Ling Zhenfei dodged all of them, Meng Yang was not discouraged and his hand motions became even faster, though the techniques didn't change much, posing no real threat to Ling Zhenfei.

The only thing that made Ling Zhenfei somewhat wary was the faint cold Qi emanating from Meng Yang's body. This cold Qi seemed alive, constantly trying to penetrate Ling Zhenfei's body, but all of Ling Zhenfei's meridian points were tightly guarded, leaving no avenue for the cold Qi to invade.

Ling Zhenfei could feel that Meng Yang's Spiritual Power was desperately trying to invade his body but could not find a way in, which aroused Ling Zhenfei's curiosity. What would happen if the cold Qi did invade his body?

They say curiosity killed the cat, and driven by his curiosity, Ling Zhenfei deliberately exposed a flaw in one of his meridian points to allow Meng Yang's cold Qi to infiltrate his body, to see what would happen.

Sure enough, not long after Ling Zhenfei exposed his vulnerability, he felt Meng Yang's cold Qi suddenly find the breach and rush in.

Once the cold Qi entered Ling Zhenfei's body, it charged through his inner defenses like a wild horse broken free from its reins, displaying a stark contrast to its earlier subtle behavior, and instantly turning as cold as ice.

Ling Zhenfei was shocked. He suddenly felt the meridian that had been invaded was frozen stiff, completely unable to move. Hurriedly, he tried to use his Spiritual Power to block it, but it was already too late.

The invasion of cold Qi became incredibly powerful, and a continuous stream surged from Meng Yang's body into Ling Zhenfei's.

Ling Zhenfei tried to seal it off with Spiritual Power, but his Spiritual Power kept retreating, unable to withstand the invading cold Qi.

After the shock in his heart subsided, Ling Zhenfei hurriedly summoned the Northern Spiritual Energy from his Dantian to seal it off. It was only after the Cold Qi had invaded three of his meridians that he managed to completely seal off the invading energy. However, because several of Zhenfei's meridians were occupied, his entire right arm became immobile, as if it had been encased in ice.

"How does it feel, Ling Zhenfei? Have you felt the power of my Cold Ice Heart Meridian?" Meng Yang let out a cold snicker, though his face remained expressionless.

Ling Zhenfei responded without expression, "You really are a despicable person, aren't you? But do you think such minor skills could ever frighten me?"

As they spoke, their combat movements did not stop. Meng Yang's staff, carrying a chill wind, swung at Ling Zhenfei's body. Perhaps because he knew that Ling Zhenfei had been hit by his Cold Ice Heart Meridian, Meng Yang's movements unexpectedly sped up a bit, hoping to defeat Ling Zhenfei while his one arm was immobilized.

"Ling Zhenfei, now you have only one arm that can move, and since you've been struck by my Cold Ice Heart Meridian, a portion of your Spiritual Power must resist the invasion of my Cold Qi. In terms of both physique and Spiritual Power, you're no match for me now. Just surrender already," Meng Yang said with confidence.

Ling Zhenfei laughed, "Meng Yang, you frog in a well, do you really think that I, Ling Zhenfei, have only this much ability? Do you think everyone at the Zhiyi Boundary is like you, all show and no substance?"

While speaking, Ling Zhenfei's figure suddenly moved, and he unleashed a tremendous burst of Spiritual Power with a fierce sweep of his hand.

With this palm strike, Ling Zhenfei used the Heaven-Splitting Ten Fists, launching it towards Meng Yang, who countered with his iron staff. But his staff was no match for the Heaven-Splitting Ten Fists. Before it could even make contact with Ling Zhenfei's palm, the staff was blasted away by the immense Spiritual Power emanating from it.

Even the mere first fist of the Heaven-Splitting Ten Fists was more than Meng Yang could withstand. The iron staff flew out of his hands, and the shock numbed his arm, splitting open his grip.

"How can you be so powerful, it's impossible! We're both at the Zhiyi Boundary, your Spiritual Power can't be that much higher than mine," Meng Yang said, looking at Ling Zhenfei with a face full of shock, as if he couldn't believe the palm strike had been delivered by Ling Zhenfei.

Ling Zhenfei was inwardly amused; now he thoroughly understood that Meng Yang could be described with the proverbial saying 'a frog in a well.' Either because of innate talent or some fortuitous encounter, Meng Yang had reached the Zhiyi Boundary in such a short amount of time.

But there were no strong cultivators around Meng Yang, no sparring or exchange of blows, and he had not learned any advanced cultivation techniques. This led him to believe that cultivation was just like that, and battles relied solely on one's level of Spiritual Power.

Especially Meng Yang's mastery of the Cold Ice Heart Meridian, which could use Cold Qi to invade the body unsuspectingly. By doing this, he had immobilized and defeated some opponents, which fed his arrogance.

However, Meng Yang was now up against Ling Zhenfei, who was different from the others. The former Ling Zhenfei was indeed similar to Meng Yang—battling others by relying on having an abundance of Spiritual Power, more robust spiritual energy, and faster movements, without encountering any adversary.

But Ling Zhenfei had constantly faced attacks due to certain events, until he met Hu Tou and Snake Head, which brought about a change in his mindset.

At that time, Hu Tou and Snake Head were at the Peak of Mingmu Realm, while Ling Zhenfei had already reached the Zhiyi state. According to the levels of Spiritual Power, Ling Zhenfei's Northern Spiritual Energy was several times that of the two, but their incredibly special skills—Hu Tou's sonic attacks and Snake Head's lethal strike—nearly killed Ling Zhenfei.

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