Tu Mian had previously fought his opponent bare-fisted, relying on the suppression of his cultivation base. After exchanging dozens of moves with him in close combat, Zhao Chun could more or less sense that he was not skilled in fist and foot techniques.
If she could break through the two centipede Gu, she might find an opportunity to breach his defenses up close. Zhao Chun gritted her teeth. The difficulty lay right here.
These two centipede Gu were agile, their bodies covered in hard carapaces. Although she could defend against them, she found it difficult to kill them. Suddenly, inspiration struck.
Recalling the day she had slain the Black Cicada with her metal and fire spiritual qi, her body followed her thoughts. She infused her spiritual qi into her sword and was about to slash down with a sword form! The male Gu among the centipede Gu was larger and failed to dodge in time.
The sword light struck it, reverting it to a small crimson ball. The female Gu's power was slightly inferior, but it was extremely nimble and swiftly dodged aside, avoiding the attack. The male and female centipede Gu were Tu Mian's Life Gu, connected to his bloodline.
When the Gu-worms were injured, the host body also suffered. Zhao Chun looked over and saw his complexion was much paler than before. She prepared to strike at the female Gu again!
But Tu Mian could not let her slay another one. He was furious, not knowing what that golden-red light was that could actually break through the carapaces of his male and female centipede Gu. He cursed inwardly for having miscalculated at Zhao Chun's hands.
"How can a secret technique of my Yang Water Sect be broken by you so easily?"
He retracted the Gu-worm into his hand and said sternly. The next scene astonished Zhao Chun. Tu Mian actually placed the two small crimson balls into his mouth and swallowed them without chewing!
This was one of the Three Methods of Life Gu of the Yang Water Sect. Before the disciples of the sect had even achieved Qi Guiding, they had to choose a type of Gu-worm to be their Life Gu.
Thereafter, there were three secret techniques available for the disciples to learn: the Control Technique, the Internal Growth Technique, and the Incarnation Technique. The Control Technique was the foundation, allowing one to command the Gu-worm to fight enemies.
The Internal Growth Technique involved swallowing the Life Gu into one's body, using the Gu-worm's qi and blood to strengthen oneself and amplify one's cultivation base in a short period. However, after using this technique, it required an extremely long time to re-nurture the Gu-worm's qi and blood. Tu Mian was using this very method.
The even more formidable Incarnation Technique was a Foundation Establishment method, using the Life Gu as an External Avatar. The person and the Gu would be connected by thought, allowing one to fight enemies of a higher realm.
However, because of the strangeness of these arts, the Yang Water Sect did not have many followers, and even fewer could cultivate to Foundation Establishment. Compared to the massive number of disciples in other sects, they could be considered a small and minor sect.
Zhao Chun knew none of this, but what she could see was that after Tu Mian swallowed the male and female centipede Gu, his entire body was instantly covered in an eerie, crimson glow. His whole aura surged violently.
If before Zhao Chun could faintly sense his cultivation base was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, now Tu Mian's spiritual qi was overflowing. The feeling he gave her was more like Meng Han. Although it was not as intimidating as Meng Han, it had definitely surpassed the scope of the mid Qi Refining stage!
"Late Stage of Qi Refinement..."
She did not dare to act rashly, tightly gripping the Red-Edged Dagger and holding it horizontally before her chest, guarding against Tu Mian's attack. Against the fifth layer of Qi Refining, she could still rely on her metal and fire spiritual qi to put up a fight.
But against the Late Stage of Qi Refinement, the gap was simply too great. It could be said she had no power to fight back at all. However, she was not entirely unprepared...
Wait.
Zhao Chun had to hold on until the "opportune moment" she was waiting for arrived. Just then, Tu Mian moved. His eyes had long been dyed crimson, and his face was covered in bumpy, crawling patterns, almost completely obscuring his previous fox-like smiling appearance.
He looked more like a life-reaping evil ghost. His arms were thick and powerful, appearing uncoordinated with his slightly weaker torso. Under the skin of his left and right forearms, it was as if centipedes were swimming and crawling, making Zhao Chun's scalp tingle.
Tu Mian's speed was extremely fast. Even though Zhao Chun rapidly retreated with the Snake-Form Step, he still closed in on her within three breaths, roaring as he threw a heavy punch at her! At this distance, Zhao Chun had no way to dodge.
She could only cross her arms in front of her chest, protecting her upper body and head, and brace for the blow. The moment before the fist hit her arms, a violent gust from the punch first made her ears ring.
The force that followed sent her flying backward, snapping a round wooden post set up beside the martial arts platform. This punch absolutely surpassed the limits of what a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator could achieve! Zhao Chun's hands were almost immobile, and her back was riddled with wooden splinters.
She had survived these injuries entirely thanks to the protection of that Eight Treasures Mirror. Otherwise, the moment the punch had landed, the force would have shattered her arm bones and pierced through her chest! This was the absolute suppression of the Late Stage of Qi Refinement!
A single blow had almost beaten Zhao Chun to the point where she had no strength left to fight.
"How pitiful."
Tu Mian curled his lip, but there was no pity in his voice.
"A Qi Refining level four not yet twelve years old. You must be considered upper-middle among the True Spirit disciples. What a pity that a good seedling is about to lose her life here!"
He was not one for idle talk. After just a few words of mockery, his next punch was about to smash into Zhao Chun's head!
"The time has come..."
Zhao Chun tilted her head up and saw that behind Tu Mian, there was not only the sky and clouds, but also a brilliant, fierce light!
(End of this chapter)