Final Showdown

A monkey sat atop a large tree. It was small in size, but its throat was remarkably thick, and it was watching Long Chen with a vigilant expression.

Long Chen immediately froze, not daring to move. He couldn't help but feel immense regret; he had been running Marquis Ying in circles for the past few days and had actually started to become careless.

That was a Roaring Monkey, just an ordinary wild beast with no attack power. Yet, this very monkey, which possessed no offensive capabilities, had landed Long Chen in massive trouble.

Roaring Monkeys were gregarious beasts. Clearly, this forest was their territory, and that particular monkey must have been a sentry.

When they discovered intruders or encountered danger, they would let out a roar to warn their companions.

Now that Long Chen hadn't paid attention to his surroundings and had entered their territory, he immediately knew he was in for trouble. He hurriedly began to back away slowly, signaling that he would leave at once.

However, it was too late. The monkey suddenly opened its throat and let out a loud cry. From atop the tree, which was dozens of zhang high, the sound instantly carried for dozens of miles.

Long Chen's expression darkened. If he could get close to that monkey, he would definitely hack it into a pulp with a single strike.

After the Roaring Monkey let out its cry, the entire forest began to echo with continuous roars, as if an alarm had been sounded, making one feel agitated and restless.

Long Chen's pupils suddenly constricted. He looked into the distance, and sure enough, a figure was speeding toward him like a shooting star.

He saw Marquis Ying's eyes filled with killing intent. Marquis Ying had already discovered him; running now would be useless.

Long Chen simply gave up on fleeing. Since his tracks had been discovered, other methods were no longer useful. At this point, he had no choice but to fight.

"Long Chen, if I don't grind your bones to dust and scatter the ashes, I shall not be surnamed Ying!" Marquis Ying arrived in the blink of an eye, saying this through gritted teeth.

At this moment, Marquis Ying's eyes looked as if they were spitting fire. These past eight days had felt like years to him, especially the "generous gift" Long Chen had sent last time, which had nearly driven the naturally germophobic Marquis Ying to suicide.

During these eight days, although he hadn't eaten a single thing, he had continued to vomit incessantly. He had even vomited up his bile, and he was still retching.

It could be said that Marquis Ying's hatred for Long Chen had far surpassed his hatred for Long Tianxiao. Now, seeing Long Chen standing alive before him, his entire body couldn't stop trembling. As for the reason, perhaps only Marquis Ying knew.

"Whether your surname is Ying or not has nothing to do with me. I am not your father, so I can't manage that," Long Chen shook his head, and a broadsword appeared in his hand.

At this point, saying anything was meaningless. He had been on edge all these days, but now, facing Marquis Ying, his heart had actually calmed down.

Long Chen felt his spirit and energy rise to an unprecedented Peak. He was now fearless, as if his Realm had elevated by a tier.

It was a profound and mysterious feeling, impossible to clearly describe. In short, under Marquis Ying's pursuit, he had constantly been smelling the scent of death, making him feel as if he were undergoing some kind of transformation.

"Hahahaha, are you trying to provoke me so that I'll give you a quick death? Keep dreaming. I will make you wish you were dead, and regret ever coming into this world!" Marquis Ying said with a sinister grin.

"I don't need to provoke you. How did the gift I gave you last time taste?" Long Chen said indifferently.

Upon hearing the word "gift," Marquis Ying's face immediately turned deathly pale, and his stomach began to churn violently once again.

"Go to hell!"

Marquis Ying roared, his longsword vibrating as it traced a sharp ray of light and slashed down toward Long Chen.

Long Chen had long been prepared. Seeing Marquis Ying move, he also swung his sword.

"Bang!"

With an explosive sound, Long Chen retreated more than a dozen steps before stabilizing his figure, his blood and Qi surging in his chest.

Looking at Marquis Ying, he had only retreated three steps. Long Chen couldn't help but sigh; the Tendon Tempering Realm was truly the Tendon Tempering Realm. This barrier in Rank was too great.

His strength had currently recovered to nearly ninety percent, yet he was still no match for Marquis Ying. Even in the area he was most proficient in—strength—he had been completely defeated by Marquis Ying, who didn't even specialize in strength.

This was the gap, and this was why, despite the countless cultivators in the Phoenix Empire, Marquis Ying could stand at the Peak of the strong.

Seeing that Long Chen had actually blocked his attack, Marquis Ying narrowed his eyes. As expected, an Alchemist's resources were rich. When Long Chen had fled, he was half-dead, but now he had already recovered quite a bit.

It was evident that Long Chen must have consumed quite a few Medicinal Pills. Marquis Ying himself was not an Alchemist, and Advanced Medicinal Pills corresponding to his cultivation were very scarce.

This made Marquis Ying deeply jealous. If he were also an Alchemist, or had Medicinal Pills on hand, how could he have spent so many days without recovering even seventy percent?

Thinking of this, Marquis Ying felt that the Heavens were unfair. Among his peers, he had always been suppressed by Long Tianxiao and found it difficult to get ahead.

And Long Tianxiao had even sired an incredible son who, at such a young age, had become a Pill Apprentice and possessed terrifying talent in the Martial Dao.

Compared to Long Tianxiao, he was such a failure. For a moment, his eyes turned red, the veins on his body bulged, and with a sharp shout, his longsword surged with sky-filling Sword Qi, shaking the sky as it rolled toward Long Chen.

Long Chen took a deep breath. At this moment, Marquis Ying was like a madman, attacking with full force, unstoppable. He simply couldn't block many moves.

He reached out and wiped his ring; two Medicinal Pills appeared in his palm. He tossed one into his mouth and swallowed it quickly.

He used his Soul power to attach the other one to the broadsword. When he swallowed the pill, Marquis Ying could see it and assumed Long Chen was injured and taking healing medicine.

However, the second Medicinal Pill, with the previous concealment, silently adhered to the back of the broadsword. Marquis Ying had completely failed to see this action of Long Chen's.

Seeing Marquis Ying's longsword attacking with the Aura of splitting mountains and cleaving cliffs, Long Chen roared and also thrust out his sword.

When it came to the subtlety of sword techniques, Marquis Ying could leave Long Chen ten streets behind. However, the broadsword in Long Chen's hand was seven feet long, just enough to use clumsiness to break ingenuity, leaving Marquis Ying's exquisite moves with nowhere to be applied.

"Boom!"

The two weapons collided, emitting an explosive sound. After the explosion, a pale red gas instantly spread out, covering a ten-zhang radius in an instant and swallowing both of them.

"Ah!"

Marquis Ying was invaded by the red gas and immediately let out a miserable scream. His exposed skin felt as if it had been scalded by a branding iron, the intense pain unbearable.

Not only that, the red gas seemed to be alive, desperately drilling into his body along his skin. Even though he held his breath immediately, it was useless.

Moreover, the red gas carried extremely terrifying corrosiveness. His skin began to blister and, at a speed visible to the naked eye, started to rot, emitting a foul odor.

"You used poison?" Marquis Ying said with a shocked and angry expression.

"What do you think?"

Long Chen gave a cold laugh, though he wasn't doing much better. The Poisonous Pill, refined from Heart-Corroding Grass, was powerful, and even he couldn't resist it.

Although he had taken an Anti-Poison Pill beforehand, it couldn't completely neutralize the toxic gas. He was still scorched by the gas, his whole body turning bright red, looking like a shrimp about to be boiled.

However, there was one point where he was better off than Marquis Ying: he had an Anti-Poison Pill and didn't need to worry about the poison attacking his heart. That was the most terrifying aspect of that Poisonous Pill refined from Heart-Corroding Grass.

This Poisonous Pill was the first one he had ever refined, and it was his strongest life-saving means. Marquis Ying was simply too powerful; he had no choice but to use it now.

"Little beast, you're courting death!"

Marquis Ying was furious. Just as he was about to attack with full force to kill Long Chen immediately, his expression changed drastically. Just as he circulated his Spiritual Qi, the toxic gas that had just entered his skin suddenly flowed rapidly into his body, heading straight for his heart.

This discovery nearly scared Marquis Ying to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. Such a powerful poison—if it invaded his heart, even as a Tendon Tempering Realm expert, he wouldn't live for more than a short while. He hurriedly took out a Medicinal Pill from his ring and swallowed it.

Seeing that Medicinal Pill, Long Chen couldn't help but change his expression. He hadn't expected Marquis Ying to actually possess such a pill.

Just by looking at the luster and the medicinal fragrance it emitted, Long Chen knew the name of this pill—Snow Toad Pill.

The Snow Toad was a very rare Demonic Beast. Unlike other Demonic Beasts, it didn't have a crystal core; it only had an inner core, which was where the essence of its entire body resided.

The Snow Toad was also a poisonous beast. An adult Snow Toad was a Rank 2 Demonic Beast; the poisonous mist it sprayed could instantly cover a radius of several hundred zhang.

After the poisonous mist enveloped an area, Demonic Beasts would die from the poison, and plants would wither and die. It was extremely terrifying. However, precisely because its toxic gas was so potent, it couldn't withstand it itself, and its inner core was there to help it detoxify.

The Snow Toad was one of the few Demonic Beasts that combined both poison and antidote in one body. The Snow Toad Pill, refined using the Snow Toad's inner core, could cure a hundred poisons.

That was a very precious pill. He hadn't expected Marquis Ying to actually have such an Opportunity; his life was truly too tough.

Often, those claimed to cure a hundred poisons could basically only cure a portion, but this portion that could be cured was enough to reverse the situation.

"Long Chen, you actually forced me to use up the precious pill I've treasured for half a lifetime. Give me your life!"

Marquis Ying shouted sharply, his face already distorted. That pill was something he had obtained in his youth and had treasured until now. To have it wasted on a small rookie in the Qi Gathering stage like Long Chen made his heart bleed.

Seeing that the Snow Toad Pill had temporarily suppressed the poison from attacking his heart, Long Chen was startled. Seeing Marquis Ying pounce over, he erupted with his full Aura, his twelve Qi cyclones spinning crazily, and his broadsword danced as he met Marquis Ying.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Continuous collisions and the erupted Aura spread to the surroundings like ocean waves, shattering the surrounding large trees one after another; the momentum was terrifying.

Under Marquis Ying's all-out attack, Long Chen's arms were numbed, blood spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his internal organs even began to suffer injuries.

However, at this moment, Long Chen was gritting his teeth and persisting. He knew that the Snow Toad Pill could not suppress his Poisonous Pill forever.

"Bang!"

With another violent collision, Long Chen was sent flying and spat out a mouthful of blood. Yet, there was not a trace of joy on Marquis Ying's face; instead, it carried a look of horror.

"Hehehe, finally discovered it? Is a Poisonous Pill refined by me, Long Chen, so easily neutralized?" Long Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered. The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

It was true that the Snow Toad Pill could cure a hundred poisons, and its effects were indeed very powerful. However, that was mainly targeted at animal poisons, while Long Chen's Poisonous Pill was primarily derived from Heart-Corroding Grass, which caused the Snow Toad Pill's efficacy to be greatly discounted.

Killing intent was revealed in Marquis Ying's eyes. He took a deep breath, pointed his longsword at the sky, and a terrifying Aura surged out along the longsword, with a murderous air sweeping across all directions.

"Even so, you are still going to die!"

"Void-Breaking Slash!"