Chapter 75

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Hao Qi closed his eyes, but the death he had anticipated did not come. He did not find himself in the system's dark space, nor did he have to sacrifice his life again to revive and strengthen himself. Nothing strange happened; it was as if he had merely closed his eyes for a brief nap.

Hao Qi quickly opened his eyes and saw that the red puppet, which had been about to strike him, had stopped in its tracks. Not only this red puppet, but puppets were also continuously falling from the spiral staircase, including those at the Quasi-Neili (Internal Force) stage and the Neili stage. These puppets seemed to have lost their power source, all landing on the ground like lifeless objects.

"Blue Spirit... did you succeed?"

Hao Qi wanted to laugh, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a mouthful of blood mixed with internal organ fragments spewed out. The intense pain made his entire body ache. The palm strike from the Neiqi (Internal Energy) puppet had almost cost him his life. The immense force had shattered the bones in his fists, dislocated the joints in his spine, and severely injured his internal organs. Several major blood vessels inside his body had also ruptured. The only good news was that he had finally discovered the difference between puppets and humans. Whether at the Neili stage or the Neiqi stage, puppets could not inject Neili or Neiqi into a human's body. This was the only good news; otherwise, he would already be dead. With the power of Neiqi, if it had been injected into his body upon contact, he would have been dead for sure.

Hao Qi took a deep breath, circulated his Neili, and followed the circulation path of the Luohan Fumogong (Arhat Demon Subduing Technique). As soon as he started, he felt a cool and refreshing sensation, and the pain lessened significantly. In the internal view of his Neili, several blood vessels began to heal rapidly, and his internal organs showed signs of recovery. His bones also began to tremble and realign. At this rate, he estimated that it would take only a day or two for these severe injuries, which would have killed an ordinary person on the spot, to fully heal.

Truly, this was a martial art from the game that could heal every turn, but the Luohan Fumogong was different from the Yijinjing (Muscle and Tendon Changing Classic). It consumed a large amount of Neili, and the speed at which he generated Neili while circulating the Luohan Fumogong was significantly reduced, at least ten times slower than when he circulated the Yijinjing or even when he did not circulate at all. It seemed that there were both advantages and disadvantages, and indeed, there were no free lunches in this world.

After circulating the Luohan Fumogong, Hao Qi slowly jumped out of the wall indentation. He was covered in injuries, and seeing the hundreds of Quasi-Neili puppets and over ten Neili puppets around him, as well as the Neiqi puppet standing next to the core crystal, he felt a bit nervous. However, he could not afford to dawdle. The key was to immediately destroy the core crystal. He had heard from the elder of the Sutuka tribe that even if the reset button was pressed, it did not mean the core crystal was turned off. The program of the core crystal was still running, just reset to the lowest alert level. Since he was now in the core area, the alert level would soon rise again, so he had to destroy the core crystal before that happened.

Just then, a wall beside the underground core square suddenly exploded, and a young man with a bare upper body, holding half of a red puppet, emerged from the wall. The moment he appeared, he looked at the core crystal and then immediately at Hao Qi.

"Hey, is this the core area of the ancient sect's ruins?" The young man casually discarded the half of the red puppet on the ground and walked towards Hao Qi.

This person appeared mysteriously, and Hao Qi was naturally on full alert. Suddenly, he remembered what the elder of the Sutuka tribe had mentioned about someone entering the core area, causing the alert level of the core crystal to rise to the highest. In fact, he believed that the appearance of another Neiqi puppet here was likely due to this person entering the core area. Anger surged in his heart, but he still managed to say, "Yes, this is the core area of the ancient sect's ruins. Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

"Oh, that's right then."

The young man twisted his joints and looked around with a cold smile. "Where are the people from the Su family? Call them out so I can kill them in two strikes and be done with it, to save trouble and complete my mission. But speaking of which..."

As he spoke, the young man's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood. Hao Qi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately channeled his Neili into his brain. He saw that the young man was now less than ten meters away, and with a flick of his hands, a visible spiral wind current appeared in front of him.

(Such incredible speed, such strange technique... This person is so strong. I can't block this attack; I have to dodge!)

Hao Qi instantly sensed the young man's strength. He determined the young man's attack route and channeled all his Neili into his body, then dodged to the left.

Time seemed to slow down as he channeled Neili into his brain, but once it was channeled into his body, everything returned to normal. Hao Qi should have been able to dodge, but in the blink of an eye, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and was thrown twenty to thirty meters away, with half his shoulder feeling as if it had shattered.

The young man's attack route was indeed as Hao Qi had seen, but when Hao Qi channeled his Neili into his body and tried to dodge, the young man twisted his foot at the last moment and changed the direction of his attack from a straight frontal attack to a left-side attack, hitting Hao Qi's shoulder.

Hao Qi lay on the ground, instantly understanding how he had been hit. This was a highly sophisticated combat technique, one that only an incredibly experienced fighter could create, or one passed down through family martial arts. Regardless, this young man was the strongest Neili practitioner he had ever seen, far surpassing anyone he had encountered before.

After throwing Hao Qi, the young man did not show any sign of satisfaction. Instead, he shook his hand in confusion and walked towards Hao Qi, saying, "Strange, you have excellent physical attributes and very strong Neili, but why are you so weak? Have you been injured before? Speaking of which... did you have a duel in the desert earlier?"

Hao Qi slowly stood up and looked at the young man with a calm expression. "So what if I did?"

The young man was taken aback and then burst into laughter. "That's great, I'm looking for you. The Su family is said to have five Neili practitioners, and I've killed them all. Adding you, a great master, makes this trip worthwhile. Ha ha ha, truly worthwhile!"

As he laughed, the young man lunged at Hao Qi again. This time, Hao Qi did not dodge but used the Tianluo Dizhang (Heavenly Net Earth Palm) to cover the surroundings, blocking each attack. Although each palm strike from the young man made his hands feel as if they were splitting, the Luohan Fumogong continued to heal his body, and the healing speed was actually faster. So he held on, but he noticed that some of the Quasi-Neili puppets on the ground were starting to move, a very ominous sign. The core crystal would soon regain control of these puppets and raise the alert level again.

Hao Qi's mind flashed with the young man's words, and he had an idea. "Wait, aren't you looking for a strong opponent? I'm severely injured and can't fight at full strength. Even if you kill me now, it won't satisfy your desire for a strong opponent. Why don't you give me a few minutes to rest, and then we can have a proper fight, okay?"

However, the young man's attack did not stop but became even more fierce. Hao Qi's Heavenly Net Earth Palm was almost unable to hold. The young man's cold voice said, "Are you mistaken about something? I just want to kill strong opponents. Who said I want to fight them? Killing is more satisfying than fighting, especially killing stronger people. It gives me a greater sense of satisfaction, far more than women. Yes, you were probably strong before you were injured, maybe not as strong as me, but close. So what? Now it's easier to kill you in your weakened state. Ha ha ha, come on, let me have my fun! Let me kill you!"

Hao Qi's heart no longer wavered, and he did not try to dodge or run. He saw the Quasi-Neili puppets starting to stand up, the red puppets and red puppets slowly moving, and even the green Neiqi puppet's fingers trembling...

(Time is running out. This person is a madman, and he's here to kill Su Shiyun and the others. I can't let him live. But my injuries... well, I had hoped to avoid using my resurrection ability and not consume my lifespan, but there's no choice now...)

Hao Qi thought this, feeling the Bore Palm force already gathered in his palms. He stopped the healing path of the Luohan Fumogong and, with a shake of his hands, deflected the young man's attack. This left him vulnerable, and he made a move as if to run. The young man, seeing this, was overjoyed and lunged at Hao Qi with a single hand, while the other hand circled and aimed at the direction Hao Qi was about to run.

However, to the young man's surprise, his hand easily pierced through Hao Qi's chest, passing through his entire body as if there was no resistance. The young man's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to retreat. But Hao Qi would not give him the chance. He brought his palms together and unleashed his strongest attack.

"Bore Palm!"

"Bore Palm!"

"Luohan Fumogong!"

Both palms were Bore Palm, and from the point where they met, a golden Buddha seal, much larger than usual, glowed and instantly combined with the Luohan Fumogong, striking the young man's chest with immense force. The golden light burst forth, and the young man was thrown forward, crashing into the core crystal, which shattered like glass. The force continued, and Hao Qi pressed the young man into the wall, piercing through several layers of metal plates before the force weakened. He then fell backward, his consciousness fading.

At least ten seconds later, in Hao Qi's fading consciousness, the young man was still not dead. His body was blackened, and his chest was almost completely shattered. He struggled to stand, trembling as if he might fall at any moment. He let out a piercing scream.

"Good, good... good! You actually did this to me, using up the Neiqi that my ancestors protected. If I don't kill you today, I swear I won't be... Ah! Neiqi stage!?"

The young man only managed to say this before, without a second thought, he fled into the darkness, leaving Hao Qi lying on the ground. Hao Qi's consciousness was fading, and he was prepared to use his resurrection ability and consume his lifespan. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw a figure through the broken hole. It was Su Shiyun, sword in hand, followed by Zhang Heng and several other Neili practitioners. Behind them stood a robust middle-aged man, radiating a powerful aura.

Hao Qi managed to smile before his vision went black, and he lost all awareness...

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