The man in the black robe found himself on the defensive, caught off guard by Leng Chi’s series of peculiar maneuvers.
"The Qi Sect's mastery of true qi is truly formidable," he muttered.
Just as he dodged a flying blade of true qi that erupted from the ground, Leng Chi’s palm strike closed in. He retreated swiftly, gathering true qi in his palms as he moved. Leng Chi's attack was upon him.
He met it with both palms.
*Boom!*
The two torrents of raw true qi collided, unleashing countless minute explosions.
"Hmm?" Leng Chi felt the power in her palm suddenly become incredibly viscous, as if she had plunged into a bottomless quagmire, being slowly consumed.
"Explode!" A ferocious glint flashed in Leng Chi’s eyes, decisive. She curled her five fingers inward, transforming her palm into a claw, and clenched her fist with brute force.
*Rumble!* With a muffled roar, the true qi condensed in her palm forcefully detonated. She extricated herself from the strange mire of true qi in this manner, though it was a tactic that cost her dearly to injure the enemy. The explosion repelled both of them. The man in the black robe stumbled back nearly ten paces before regaining his balance. Leng Chi, however, only retreated six steps.
"Ruthless!" The man in the black robe’s expression grew grave as he felt the turmoil of true qi within him.
"Senior Sister, we can’t hold on much longer," Liu Lin, who was being suppressed by Zhuang Jian and Bu Qingyu, gasped. Tian Meng was in a similar predicament. Individually, neither of them was a match for Zhuang Jian or Fan Tian. Now, with Bu Qingyu and Fan Di, both at the early Wu Wang stage, their defeat was only a matter of time.
"Hmph!" Leng Chi glanced at them, fury burning within. "Useless wretches." But she had to end this quickly. Someone might be lurking in the shadows.
"My lord, this is your last chance. Hand over the Dao Heart Jade," Leng Chi said, taking a deep breath, two faint lights flashing in her eyes. "Don't force my hand!"
The man in the black robe suddenly felt Leng Chi's aura subtly shift. Yet, the pressure she exuded did not increase. Instead, it seemed to diminish.
Meanwhile, Tian Meng and Liu Lin, engaged in their own battles, also noticed this.
"This… Senior Sister is condensing her Qi Core!" Liu Lin and Tian Meng gasped, their blood running cold. None knew better than they how terrifying Leng Chi was in that state.
"You are finished!" Tian Meng sneered, looking at the Fan brothers.
Around Leng Chi, any discernible aura had vanished. Externally, she appeared no different from an ordinary person, with no trace of true qi flow detectable.
"Give me your answer!" Leng Chi demanded, her voice strained, locking her gaze on the man in the black robe.
He met her gaze, a sense of impending doom washing over him despite her lack of detectable aura. Yet, he could not surrender the Dao Heart Jade.
"I cannot comply!" With that, the man in the black robe readied himself, his eyes fixed on Leng Chi's every move.
Zhuang Jian and the others also ceased their fighting, realizing the situation had surpassed their capabilities.
"Seeking death!"
*Bang!* Before anyone could react, the ground beneath Leng Chi shattered. She had vanished from her original position and reappeared before the man in the black robe.
So fast! It happened in an instant! The man in the black robe had no time to react before a punch sent him flying. But before he could even hit the ground, Leng Chi appeared before him like a phantom.
*Thump!* "Argh!" This time, a swift leg whip met him, no wasted movement. Taking the full force of the blow, his mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood, and he grunted. Fortunately, he managed to channel all his true qi to block the attack from behind. Even so, in that brief moment, his body had endured two severe blows.
"Pfft!" He could no longer contain it, and a stream of blood trickled from his lips. Two or three ribs had been broken by the previous impacts.
"This…" Zhuang Jian and the others watching were stunned into immobility. Leng Chi's speed was now terrifying. Even Tian Meng and Liu Lin, who had witnessed her transformed state before, were shocked by her current velocity. It wasn't just shock, but fear. She was faster than before. And this was only her speed. They had no idea how much her other abilities had improved. After all, Leng Chi with a condensed Qi Core was beyond their comprehension.
"I was careless," the man in the black robe thought to himself, stabilizing his injuries. With his strength, even with Leng Chi’s greatly increased speed, he shouldn't have been so easily grievously wounded. But his vigilance had faltered, giving Leng Chi an opening. Now, gravely injured, he was no match for her. He could only fight with all his might.
"Next, you will pay the price for your foolish choice," Leng Chi stated, her eyes filled with chilling killing intent. "And that price is your life. And yours as well!" she added, looking at Zhuang Jian and the others. A hint of madness flickered in Leng Chi's demeanor.
"Liu… Senior Brother Liu, perhaps we should retreat!" Tian Meng, perhaps recalling something, said nervously, glancing at Leng Chi not far away.
"This…" Liu Lin dared not make the decision. He was internally panicking.
Leng Chi moved again, but this time, her pace was not as frantic. She walked towards the man in the black robe, step by step. A subtle ripple of air emanated from her right palm, barely perceptible unless one looked closely.
"Die!" With a soft cry, she vanished from her spot.
"Come on!" The man in the black robe roared, his face contorted. He clasped his hands together, then thrust them apart, revealing a vortex of true qi between his palms. With all his strength, he spun and hurled the true qi vortex forward.
At the same instant, Leng Chi reappeared. The ripples of air from her palm struck towards the man in the black robe. As the true qi vortex and the air ripples collided, everything around them seemed to freeze. But this tranquility lasted less than a second. For the next moment, a raging storm erupted.