Chapter 45

"Are you trying to trick me, Ye Zhen? Do you really think I can't deal with you on my own!" Senior Brother Gu Duo Zhi immediately understood that Ye Zhen was trying to find out if he had any accomplices.

After getting the answer, Ye Zhen's expression became much more determined, clearly confident in his own strength.

"Hong Bao thought the same thing before he stepped onto the martial arena." In fact, Ye Zhen was already 70-80% sure that Gu Duo Zhi had come alone. He had just asked to be on the safe side.

Now that it was confirmed that only Gu Duo Zhi was here, things would be easier to handle.

Ye Zhen's figure slowly moved towards the entrance of the secret cave, and a solemn and deadly atmosphere gradually spread throughout the not-so-wide cave.

"Junior Brother Ye, do you want to kill me?" Gu Duo Zhi raised his eyebrows and shouted.

"Senior Brother, do you think I should just sit here and wait to die?"

"Ha ha, Junior Brother Ye, don't be in a hurry. Actually, your death and my demise aren't the only solutions. We can resolve this peacefully," Gu Duo Zhi said with a smile.

"Peacefully?" Ye Zhen looked skeptical.

"Don't believe it?" Gu Duo Zhi stared at Ye Zhen, and suddenly something appeared in his hand. "Take a look at this?"

Whoosh!

In the instant Ye Zhen's gaze shifted, Gu Duo Zhi flicked his fingers, and a streak of dark light shot towards Ye Zhen with a sharp whistling sound. At the same time, the long sword at Gu Duo Zhi's waist was drawn, and the sword light flashed wildly, slashing directly at Ye Zhen!

Even though Ye Zhen was on guard, he was still caught off guard by Gu Duo Zhi's sudden attack. He cursed under his breath, "Devious," and quickly dodged, avoiding the hidden weapon. However, the space in the secret cave was too small, only about twenty meters long, not enough for Snake Spring Grass to fully exert its power.

Gu Duo Zhi pursued him relentlessly, using a set of small and mysterious Little Heavenly Star Sword Technique, combined with the unpredictable sword light, and slashed at Ye Zhen again.

Fortunately, Ye Zhen's Snake Sliding Step was suitable for close combat, and it was even more effective in such a confined space.

Suddenly, Ye Zhen's figure turned sharply, avoiding the five-foot sword light from Gu Duo Zhi's sword tip. He slid quickly, creating a bit of distance. Just as he was about to counterattack, an unexpected event occurred.

Ye Zhen had dodged to the front of a broken stone shoot inside the cave. The broken stone shoot was where Ye Zhen had previously dug to find the source of the stone marrow spirit liquid, but he had stopped for fear that there would be no more spirit liquid afterward.

Ye Zhen had dodged, but the broken stone shoot, being an inanimate object, was hit by Gu Duo Zhi's five-foot sword light with a loud boom.

Bang!

Shattered rocks flew everywhere.

The broken stone shoot, including the large bamboo tube Ye Zhen had hung there, was shattered by Gu Duo Zhi's sword light, creating a one-meter deep pit.

Destroyed?

Ye Zhen and Gu Duo Zhi were both stunned.

In the next moment, Gu Duo Zhi's sword light suddenly flared up, and he leaped forward, the cold stars flashing rapidly, stabbing towards Ye Zhen. He was in a hurry and directly used the killing move of the Little Heavenly Star Sword Technique, Heavenly Stars Flashing!

At the same time, Ye Zhen, who had gained a moment of respite, unleashed a punch!

The killing move of the high-grade ordinary Five Mountains Divine Fist—Five Mountains Return!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ye Zhen's fists flew out one after another, and several pure green true essence fist marks met Gu Duo Zhi's sword light.

"True Essence Realm?" The pure green fist marks made Gu Duo Zhi pause. "So fast, you've already broken through?"

But when Gu Duo Zhi's sword light collided with Ye Zhen's pure green fist marks, his face changed drastically, and his eyes showed extreme shock.

"How is this possible?"

Gu Duo Zhi's sword light was actually shattered by Ye Zhen's pure green fist marks. Not only that, the remaining power of the pure green fist marks forced Gu Duo Zhi to retreat and defend.

Gu Duo Zhi's shock was justified. Under the same cultivation level, a high-grade ordinary martial technique against a low-grade human martial technique had almost no chance of winning.

Even if it did, it would at most be a draw, not an advantage.

But now, this situation had actually occurred.

Taking advantage of Gu Duo Zhi's shock, Ye Zhen's figure crouched and sprang forward, using Snake Spring Grass to directly collide with Gu Duo Zhi. Pop! Pop! Pop!

His ten fingers moved like snakes, rapidly striking thirty points in an instant, the Snake Pulse Hand's Pulse Sealing Essence!

Gu Duo Zhi's body stiffened, his face turning red, and true essence surged throughout his body. The places where Ye Zhen had struck with thirty-six points exploded, and Gu Duo Zhi was frantically trying to break through Ye Zhen's Snake Pulse Hand.

But it was too late.

A true essence realm martial artist, given just a moment, could defeat the enemy.

Moreover, the time given to Ye Zhen by Gu Duo Zhi, who had his pulse sealed, was not just a moment or two.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ye Zhen's figure moved swiftly, his fists and palms like knives. In an instant, dozens of fists filled with terrifying true essence struck Gu Duo Zhi's vital points.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Duo Zhi was spewing blood and lying on the ground, barely alive.

Even in this situation, Ye Zhen was still not at ease. He used the Snake Pulse Hand to sever the joints of Gu Duo Zhi's hands and legs.

Finally, Ye Zhen thought for a moment, his eyes flashing with a cold light, and he struck Gu Duo Zhi's throat with a palm.

In this short moment, Ye Zhen had already made up his mind. Even if Gu Duo Zhi's identity was highly notable, he had to be eliminated today.

"Wait!"

At the moment of life and death, Gu Duo Zhi spoke, "No, don't kill me, Junior Brother Ye. I am the top of the Earth Rank, already in the sight of the sect elders. If you kill me, you will have big trouble!"

"Not killing you will bring me even more trouble!"

"No, no, Junior Brother Ye, I have treasures. I have medicinal pills worth ten thousand gold in my room. I'll trade those pills for my life, Junior Brother Ye, I still have..."

Gu Duo Zhi's voice suddenly stopped as Ye Zhen's palm cut through his throat.

Wealth can move the heart, but even if Gu Duo Zhi's offer was extremely tempting, Ye Zhen had to be alive to enjoy it.

Gu Duo Zhi was right. With his top Earth Rank status, he was almost guaranteed to become an inner sect disciple and was highly valued by the sect.

The death of an ordinary inner sect disciple would cause a stir in the Qi Yun Sect, and the death of the top Earth Rank, Gu Duo Zhi, would cause an even greater shock.

But he had to be eliminated.

What Ye Zhen could do now was to end this matter in the secret cave.

As for the rest, Ye Zhen could only take a gamble!

A gamble on Gu Duo Zhi's selfishness.

Or, in other words, a gamble that Gu Duo Zhi was a normal person and had not told anyone about his actions today. As for the fact that Gu Duo Zhi had arranged for someone to investigate Ye Zhen on Bai Song Peak, Ye Zhen was not worried at all.

His cultivation had increased so rapidly that it was strange if it didn't attract attention.

Looking at Gu Duo Zhi's body, which had stopped convulsing, Ye Zhen suddenly began to breathe heavily. A sense of inexplicable fear and excitement rose in his heart, making him sweat profusely.

This was the first time Ye Zhen had truly killed someone up close.

The last time he had kicked the sword to kill Ma Hui from a distance, it was too far away to feel anything.

After calming his breathing and wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Ye Zhen walked to the broken stone shoot, which was now his greatest concern.

Would it have been destroyed by Gu Duo Zhi?

There, a large hole had been created by Gu Duo Zhi, and the broken stone shoot that had previously flowed with stone marrow spirit liquid, along with its base, had been shattered, leaving no trace of the stone shoot or the spirit liquid.

Clearing the rubble, the more he cleared, the more Ye Zhen's heart sank. Could the stone marrow spirit liquid have been destroyed by Gu Duo Zhi's sword?

Suddenly, as he was clearing the rubble, Ye Zhen's eyes lit up!

*********

PS: Youngsters, guess what he will find?

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