Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 228 - 220 Misfortune and Fortune Part (2/3)

Chapter 228: Chapter 220 Misfortune and Fortune Part (2/3)

Zhou Heng let out a fierce shout, going all out in this moment.

Nine Nether Ice Heaven Jue!

He formed a layer of ice over his body. Although it was only at the Heaven-Opening Realm level, he now had to exert all his strength.

Hisss hisss hisss!

Flames engulfed him, and the ice layer didn’t even have time to melt into water before it directly vaporized, creating streaks of white mist that floated past the corners of Zhou Heng’s mouth and his hairline.

This ice layer, which could even slightly hinder an expert of the Mountains and Rivers Realm, was utterly useless in the face of nature’s mighty power. It disappeared in an instant, but Zhou Heng spared no Spiritual Power in desperately cycling it—melting and forming repeatedly, always enveloping himself and Han Yiyao.

His Brutal Strength was far greater than his Spiritual Power now, and no Martial Arts Techniques were as powerful as his direct punches and sword swings. Thus, running out of Spiritual Power was not a problem.

Huge rocks approached, slamming against him!

Zhou Heng gritted his teeth and activated his Metallic Bloodline, immediately turning golden yellow—his second layer of defense.

Boom!

Terrible force struck, and Zhou Heng grunted. His entire body seemed ready to shatter in an instant!

This was not a sensation - it was happening! His flesh was peeling off his bones, exposing his Crimson Gold skeleton, which was tougher than the Crimson Gold Bloodline itself, comparable to a Mountains and Rivers Realm Magic Artifact!

At his level, flesh was no longer of importance. Bones, blood, and meridians were truly matters of life and death!

The Crimson Gold skeleton tightly wrapped around his relatively tender internal organs and meridians, and one could even directly see with naked eyes his blood coursing through, creating a thunderous roar.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After one collision, Zhou Heng was rebounded but immediately caught up by the boulder, getting hit again, rebounding, and getting hammered again! This went on seven or eight times before he was finally pressed up against the rocks, fused into one with them as they plunged towards the layers of lake water.

His bones were incredibly non-human, but such collisions caused countless spider-web like cracks to appear. If he were not a true life form, unlike a Magic Artifact, he would have shattered into countless pieces!

Zhou Heng was maintaining his physical form through sheer will; if his concentration faltered for even a moment, his bones would crumble on the spot!

He was suffering, and so was Han Yiyao. Although the brunt of the collision forces was absorbed by Zhou Heng, the power transmitted through his body was still enough to make her vomit blood, splattering it all over him.

However, this was far from over!

White Flame Burn Melting!

"Ah—" Even Zhou Heng, with his defensive power, couldn’t help but cry out in agony. The flames were too domineering; even his body, comparable to a Mountains and Rivers Realm Magic Artifact, couldn’t withstand it!

The skeletal frame, full of cracks, began to show signs of melting!

Damn!

Fight fire with fire!

Zhou Heng nourished his bones with his Azure Dragon Bloodline, repairing as much as possible, while also activating his Purple Flame Bloodline to counter the melting from the white flames.

He bit down hard, enduring indescribable pain!

No cold sweat dripped down, for he had nothing but a skeletal frame left, and any sweat that might have formed would have instantly vaporized at these extreme temperatures, becoming invisible.

If his will were not incredibly strong, he would have passed out by now! And if he were to faint, both he and Han Yiyao would instantly be reduced to ashes!

He didn’t want to die!

He had to bring his mother home for a family reunion! He wanted to give his uncle, with his extraordinary talent, a beating to vent his father’s frustration!

He had to spank Han Yiyao! Punish this woman until her buttocks blossomed for making him suffer like this!

My life, by my command! Not by fate!

Zhou Heng’s eye sockets flashed with a brilliant light, like lightning streaking across the night sky, echoing with an incredibly ferocious momentum.

Han Yiyao stared dazedly at the man—a mere skeleton now—who was just inches away, her heart turbulent with indescribable emotions. She knew Zhou Heng was fighting for his own life, but that did not cover up the fact that he was likewise saving her!

She had no idea how much pain Zhou Heng was enduring, but she could imagine. Even with Zhou Heng’s protection, she still had to bear a part of the impact and intense heat, driving her to the point of wishing death over such agony.

This man was indeed incredibly resilient!

Han Yiyao had experienced his toughness once before, but this time the impact was undeniably stronger, causing her mind to waver. For a moment, she didn’t know what she was thinking, contemplating the absurdity that dying this way might not be so bad.

If she couldn’t obtain the Peerless Magical Instrument, she’d escape from death. And if a man was willing to protect her at the cost of heading to the afterlife together, it didn’t seem too bad either!

While she was lost in her erratic thoughts, Zhou Heng ignited his fighting spirit. The Purple Flame covered his bones completely, combating the high temperature of the white flames. Drip drip drip, his bones were still dissolving under the high heat, turning into countless streams of liquid.

But still unbroken!

He controlled his own body with great perseverance, and on the other hand, the Purple Flame Bloodline was playing a significant role, furiously devouring the white flames, maintaining his thin line of vitality.

That’s right, devouring!

The Purple Flame Bloodline did not naturally possess such a function, but all paths lead to the same destination in the vast cosmos. If metal could devour, and Life Essence Qi could devour, why not flames?

Others might not be able to achieve this, but geniuses can do what others cannot!

Zhou Heng’s understanding of the Martial Path far surpassed his Realm. Faced with the pressure of life and death, he didn’t collapse or give up, but instead pushed his comprehension to the extreme.

Of course, his devouring couldn’t compare to the abilities of the Gold Devouring Clan. The Purple Flame Bloodline didn’t grow stronger as a result, but it merely reduced the damage he took. To expect him to create the abilities of the Fire Devouring Clan in such a short amount of time was simply impossible!

Refine a hundred times, and one becomes immortal!

His bones had turned to flowing gold, but they hadn’t been destroyed. Instead, it was as if they were being remelted and recast, becoming purer and advancing towards higher levels.

The prerequisite was that he survived!

The flames shot up a hundred zhang high, completely enveloping Zhou Heng and Han Yiyao within. Outsiders couldn’t see the situation inside, but everyone knew that the man and woman inside were certainly done for.

Such an impact, such high temperatures, even Experts of the Spirit Sea Realm might not be able to survive!

Boom!

Huge rocks flew by, like thunder and tidal waves, with a terrifying impact force, they plunged into the layer of the lake!

At this moment, if one were standing on the shore of the Wind Fire Dead Lake, they could see the originally boiling surface of the lake suddenly surging up with waves hundreds of zhang high, furiously smashing towards all sides of the lake, nearly hiding the sky!

After experiencing another violent collision, Zhou Heng’s bones, in their gold-like state, nearly shattered completely. The flame, meeting water, didn’t extinguish due to its incredibly high temperature, instead it completely vaporized the invading lake water, breaking through the water like a giant fireball, shooting up into the sky.

It was truly like a dazzling meteor, drawing a long arc across the sky, before crashing to the ground with a loud bang.

Bang!

After such intense burning, the huge rock had shrunk to at least a quarter of its original size, but the remaining part was still incredibly large. As it fell, it created a giant deep pit in the ground that was deep enough to reach a mile and about thirty miles wide!

Dust and dirt were hurled into the sky, forming a gray-black mushroom cloud.

Snap!

A slender hand reached out from the earth, revealing the dirt-covered face of Han Yiyao, who was holding the unconscious Zhou Heng. Shaking, she stood up.

She and Zhou Heng... had actually not died!

Han Yiyao looked down at Zhou Heng, her heart skipping a beat, but she immediately shivered and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her condition was better than Zhou Heng’s, but she was also gravely injured.

"Hahaha, this is the consequence of offending me!" The Black Donkey ran like the wind, quickly arriving at the scene. Seeing Zhou Heng reduced to a skeletal state, it couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"I am a creature of fortune between heaven and earth, one to be respected and sincerely worshipped, otherwise, it is tantamount to defying the heavens and earth!" The cheap donkey proclaimed in a shaman-like manner, then glanced at Han Yiyao, "Don’t worry, this kid’s life is tougher than a cockroach, he won’t die!"

Han Yiyao remained silent, still not fond of Zhou Heng, but after all, he had saved her life. She knew she had to be grateful, so she grabbed Zhou Heng’s spine, looking for a safe and quiet place to recuperate.

Both she and Zhou Heng needed it.

The Black Donkey felt rebuffed, grumbling "lousy goods" under its breath as it followed behind Han Yiyao.

Han Yiyao found a small mound with an abandoned burrow underneath, where a Demon Beast might have once lived. She took out a Pill and swallowed it. As for Zhou Heng, she was at a loss and didn’t know how to deal with him.

"You needn’t worry about him!" the Black Donkey chimed in, "This kid is actually blessed by misfortune this time. His bones have been tempered by the Earth Fire and will become even more indestructible!"

Han Yiyao nodded, not wanting to bother with the despicable donkey, and sat down cross-legged to refine the medicine’s power and recover from her injuries as quickly as possible.

...

Zhou Heng hadn’t been unconscious for long. The world of Martial Artists was too dangerous; no one dared to be unconscious for too long, as their subconscious would urge them to wake up quickly.

But his injuries were too severe for him to stand up immediately.

The Azure Dragon Bloodline began to circulate, initiating self-healing. But this Bloodline Power had just started to operate when it immediately stopped—his bones were like flaming torches, easily evaporating the Water Attribute of the Azure Dragon Bloodline.

To heal his injuries, he needed to quell the flames in his bones first!

He concentrated, focusing on the flowing gold-like state of his bones.

Due to the high humidity, his bones couldn’t solidify, remaining soft and flaccid, but their toughness had increased to an unprecedented level.

This was because in order to save his own life, he had devoured White Fire with his Purple Flame Bloodline. But he wasn’t a member of the Fire Devouring Clan. He had swallowed the fire, but he couldn’t refine it!

Unless he expelled these flames, his bones would remain in a high-temperature state and unable to recover. Over time, it would surely damage his meridians and internal organs!

Zhou Heng’s mouth couldn’t move, his eyes couldn’t open, he could only rely on himself.

Purple Flame, emerge!

Zhou Heng continuously reflected on the Gold Devouring Clan’s ability to devour metal in his mind, bit by bit, forming an incessant comprehension.

The flame was too powerful; he couldn’t drive it away!

If he couldn’t drive it away, then he would devour it. It could solve the problem just the same and even strengthen his own body!

If there’s a Gold Devouring Clan in this world, why couldn’t there be a Fire Devouring Clan, or a Water Devouring Clan? All laws of the world lead to the other shore and are infinitely possible!

Zhou Heng calmed down, pouring all his focus into this new path.

If he succeeded, then without a doubt, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with a grandmaster, creating a Peerless Technique! (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)