Chapter 212: Realm Breakthrough
Zhang Ruochen walked in from outside, holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword in his hand, and said, "In that case, I'll eliminate you before the Poison Spider Young Master arrives."
"You?"
Shen Feng immediately turned around, his eyes narrowing, and said in a deep voice, "Weren't you out?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I just tested you a little, and you couldn't help but make a move. Your temperament is too unstable. I really don't know how you managed to survive for so many years in the Cloud Platform Sect Mansion?"
"Haha!" Shen Feng laughed heartily, saying, "I admit I underestimated you, but do you think you alone can be my opponent? If I'm not mistaken, your cultivation hasn't even reached the Earth Extreme Small Extreme Position, has it?"
"So what?" Zhang Ruochen quietly released his Space Domain. In an instant, the surrounding area within a hundred meters became a space completely under Zhang Ruochen's control.
Under the power of the Space Domain, Zhang Ruochen could clearly see every move Shen Feng made, including the speed of his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breathing.
Even if Shen Feng's heartbeat quickened just a little, Zhang Ruochen could formulate a counter-strategy in advance.
When Zhang Ruochen was at the Mysterious Extreme Realm, he could fight across five realms against other martial artists, making him a "Five Extremes Genius."
Reaching the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Mysterious Extreme Realm allowed Zhang Ruochen to have one more realm over other martial artists, reaching the level of a "Six Extremes Genius."
That is to say, Zhang Ruochen could now fight across six realms, using his Earth Extreme Initial Stage cultivation to contend with martial artists at the Earth Extreme Great Perfection.
Of course, that was only possible when he unleashed all his trump cards to cross six realms.
If he didn't use the power of the Time-Space Domain and Sword Heart Illumination, Zhang Ruochen could only cross five realms, making his strength equivalent to a martial artist at the Earth Extreme Great Extreme Position.
But Shen Feng's martial arts cultivation had already reached the Earth Extreme Great Perfection, and he himself was a "One Extreme Genius," capable of fighting across one realm.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen joined forces, they couldn't withstand five moves from Shen Feng.
At this moment, Shen Feng was already injured. The meridians in his right hand had been severed by Xiao Hei's claws, so he could only unleash at most sixty percent of his full strength.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen's greatest reliance was the power of the Space Domain. As long as he suddenly unleashed the power of space when Shen Feng was off guard, he still had a chance to kill Shen Feng.
Shen Feng didn't take Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen seriously at all. Staring at Zhang Ruochen, he sneered, "What secrets are you hiding? I don't believe you're really just an ordinary inner palace disciple of the Martial Market Academy."
"What do you mean?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"If you weren't hiding secrets, why would the Poison Spider Young Master order me not to kill you but to capture you alive?" Shen Feng said.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly, then suddenly understood.
"It seems the Poison Spider Young Master has already guessed that I can control space power, but he didn't reveal this secret to Shen Feng. He just sent Shen Feng to capture me."
Zhang Ruochen's ears twitched slightly as he heard the heretical martial artists from the Poison Spider Merchant Guild getting closer and closer. If they waited any longer, the situation would only become more disadvantageous for them.
Not wasting any more time, Zhang Ruochen glanced at Huang Yanchen and said, "Let's move."
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen acted almost simultaneously, swinging their swords to attack Shen Feng.
"Hundred Zhang Wind."
Huang Yanchen mobilized the true qi within her body, unleashing a powerful wind attribute force. The spiritual energy in the air was affected, flowing rapidly and forming a violent gale.
The gale spun continuously, creating a massive vortex a hundred zhang in diameter. In almost an instant, the entire mountain god temple was torn apart by the whirlwind, shattering into pieces.
"Whoosh!"
The wind howled sharply, swirling snowflakes into the sky. Even some trees were uprooted by the wind force and blown into the air.
Activating "Hundred Zhang Wind" consumed a significant amount of true qi, but Huang Yanchen had no other choice. She could only use this method to assist Zhang Ruochen.
Shen Feng stood at the center of the storm, sinking his legs and injecting true qi into the ground to stabilize himself.
His heart was filled with jealousy. Although his martial arts cultivation was far superior to Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen, due to his physical constitution, he couldn't mobilize the phenomena of heaven and earth.
Martial artists who could form phenomena of heaven and earth were basically Three Extremes Geniuses, and a small number of Two Extremes Geniuses could also achieve this. Of course, those Two Extremes Geniuses who could form phenomena of heaven and earth would generally grow into Three Extremes Geniuses.
Huang Yanchen was originally just a Two Extremes Genius, but as her physical constitution improved, she was already very close to a Three Extremes Genius, even able to fight across three realms against enemies.
"Blazing Flame Halberd!"
Shen Feng took the war halberd from his back, gripped it tightly, swung it in a circle, and thrust it fiercely toward Huang Yanchen.
The Blazing Flame Halberd was a sixth-rank True Martial Treasure. Under the powerful true qi infusion from Shen Feng, the thirty-four inscriptions were fully activated, emitting flames over ten meters long.
Only by breaking the "Hundred Zhang Wind" phenomenon of heaven and earth could he seize the initiative.
Otherwise, he would be suppressed by the power of the phenomenon and unable to unleash his full strength.
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't let Shen Feng succeed. Just before Shen Feng was about to strike, Zhang Ruochen acted first, swinging the Abyssal Ancient Sword to slash at Shen Feng.
"Boom!"
Amid the violent wind, the two clashed and simultaneously retreated backward.
"Such strong power," Zhang Ruochen thought with shock.
In that exchange, Zhang Ruochen had already used his full strength, yet he could only tie with Shen Feng, even taking one more step back than Shen Feng.
It must be noted that Shen Feng was already suppressed by the wind force, and his right hand was nearly crippled, forcing him to barely use his left hand to wield the halberd against Zhang Ruochen.
A martial artist accustomed to using their right hand suddenly switching to their left would have their combat power severely diminished, and many subtle techniques couldn't be executed.
Even under such harsh conditions, Shen Feng still held the upper hand. It had to be said that Shen Feng's ranking in the top ten of the Cloud Platform Sect Mansion was no accident; he indeed had real skill.
While Zhang Ruochen was shocked, Shen Feng was even more astonished. He looked at Zhang Ruochen with some confusion and said, "Has your cultivation really not reached the Earth Extreme Small Extreme Position?"
He suspected that Zhang Ruochen's martial arts cultivation had not only reached the Earth Extreme Small Extreme Position but might even have reached the Earth Extreme Middle Extreme Position; otherwise, he couldn't have blocked his previous move.
"Why so much nonsense?"
Zhang Ruochen unreservedly unleashed the true qi within his body, triggering the phenomena of heaven and earth, and roared, "Hundred Zhang Prairie Fire."
Within a radius of a hundred zhang, wisps of spiritual fire appeared. Influenced by the massive wind force, the spiritual fire transformed into fire snakes, fire clouds, and fire waves, surging along with the wind.
The originally bone-chilling snowy night instantly became warm, and the entire night sky was illuminated, like a giant furnace suspended atop the mountain.
"First Hundred Zhang Wind, then Hundred Zhang Prairie Fire—such formidable phenomena of heaven and earth," an old man from the Poison Spider Merchant Guild at the foot of the mountain said with great surprise.
Martial artists who could mobilize the phenomena of heaven and earth were undoubtedly rare prodigies, one in ten thousand. To see two of them in one night was truly astonishing.
The Poison Spider Young Master held a curved blade in one hand, a mocking smile on his face. "If they had another two years of cultivation, they might indeed become a threat to me. But they're still too weak now. With Shen Feng's strength, he can suppress them."
"Brother Shen's cultivation is indeed formidable. Since he's personally taken action, it should be foolproof," the old man said.
The Poison Spider Young Master raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Still, we can't let our guard down. Surround this entire area to prevent them from escaping."
"It's already been arranged as per your orders, Young Master. The entire mountain ridge is covered by our people. They can't escape even if they grow wings."
The Poison Spider Young Master nodded, watching the distant phenomena of heaven and earth, and frowned slightly with displeasure. "What is Shen Feng doing? With his strength, dealing with two martial artists who haven't even reached the Earth Extreme Small Extreme Position should be this difficult? Old Xu, take two experts up there to assist him and end this battle quickly."
The old man immediately led two Earth Extreme experts and charged toward the mountaintop.
"Wind Fire Firefly!"
Shen Feng executed a spirit-grade mid-rank martial technique. The Blazing Flame Halberd emitted a dazzling light, turning into a swift streak of light aimed at Zhang Ruochen's heart.
The two had already exchanged over twenty moves, and Shen Feng had to resort to his ultimate technique to end the battle quickly.
Having to spend so much time dealing with a junior made Shen Feng feel humiliated, and he was furious inside.
Although the junior's martial arts cultivation was far inferior to his, he could predict the initiative every time, striking later but arriving first, breaking Shen Feng's moves.
Twice, Shen Feng, caught off guard, was even cut by his sword, leaving two wounds.
Facing Shen Feng's "Wind Fire Firefly" move, Zhang Ruochen immediately retreated, unwilling to clash head-on with him.
"Die!"
Shen Feng gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to kill Zhang Ruochen, completely forgetting the Poison Spider Young Master's instructions.
It was because he was ordered to capture Zhang Ruochen alive that he held back during his attacks, resulting in being wounded twice by Zhang Ruochen.
Now, he didn't care about that anymore. He would kill Zhang Ruochen first.
Just as the Blazing Flame Halberd was about to pierce Zhang Ruochen's heart, Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to use space power, narrowly dodging the strike.
Although he avoided the vital spot, his armpit was still hit by the Blazing Flame Halberd, leaving a deep wound.
Not giving Zhang Ruochen a chance to catch his breath, Shen Feng swung the Blazing Flame Halberd in a horizontal sweep.
In haste, Zhang Ruochen could only raise his sword to block.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward, his chest aching intensely. He was thrown over ten zhang before finally stabilizing his body and landing on the ground.
Shen Feng let out a sinister laugh and pursued again, his speed reaching 135 meters per second, almost instantly appearing before Zhang Ruochen.
Under the stimulation of immense danger, Zhang Ruochen's potential erupted.
A soft sound came from between his brows. His Qi Sea shook violently, expanding tenfold. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth immediately began to converge toward Zhang Ruochen continuously.
"Breaking through to the Earth Extreme Middle Stage at this moment," Zhang Ruochen thought with joy. He had originally planned to use the Sword Heart Illumination realm to deal with Shen Feng, but now it was unnecessary.
With the realm breakthrough, the flame mark between Zhang Ruochen's brows became even brighter, like a real flame condensed there.