Chapter Eighty-Two: Resistance

When the blood aura around Luo Long had completely withdrawn, his presence underwent a sudden transformation, becoming incomparably powerful. Threads of primal energy surged forth from his body, coiling around him with a forceful intensity. The aura of a master at the Great Perfection of the Primal Realm was now fully unleashed.

Such overwhelming power pressed down on Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue, making them feel stifled and uneasy.

“I have to admit, your Nangong family has ruled Yongle City for so many years, and your influence is something my Luo family can only look up to from afar. However, even so, today you and this so-called genius of the Ye family will have to stay here. I don’t believe your Nangong family is truly so capable as to trace the death of your young mistress back to me, Luo Long.” Luo Long slowly raised his head, a cold laugh escaping his lips. “You have only yourself to blame for meddling in affairs that don’t concern you.”

With that, Luo Long’s figure suddenly blurred, turning into a shadow as he shot toward them with astonishing speed.

“What speed…” Watching Luo Long shoot forward like an arrow, Ye Cheng’s gaze sharpened. The difference between the Primal Realm and the Blood Aura Realm was laid bare in speed alone, the gap vast and daunting.

Before Luo Long moved, Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue had each taken a restorative elixir; as soon as the medicine touched their tongues, it melted, turning into gentle streams that nourished and replenished their blood aura. In just these few moments, the blood aura they’d spent in their earlier battle had already recovered by ninety percent.

To return fully to their peak was, of course, unrealistic. The elixirs they’d consumed were only of the third grade—hardly potent enough for total recovery. Only a fifth-grade or higher Rejuvenation Elixir could achieve such results, but those were far from easy to come by. Even the Nangong family, rulers of Yongle City, could not claim to have fifth-grade elixirs at hand. After all, only the most elite alchemists could concoct such potions.

Becoming an alchemist was not difficult; becoming a top-tier one, however, was exceedingly rare.

Luo Long’s speed had advanced another level beyond before, though it was not yet so great that Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue could not track his movements.

In his hand, Ye Cheng gripped his silver spirit spear. With a swift reverse swing, he struck a nearby ancient tree as thick as a grown man’s thigh, snapping it in half. Twisting his body, he delivered a spinning kick that sent the severed trunk hurtling toward Luo Long’s rapidly approaching form.

From behind the flying trunk, a dazzling sword light several yards long followed close behind, sharp and fierce enough to seem as if it would slice through space itself. Nangong Xue, having locked onto Luo Long’s figure, unleashed her sword light again, every attack flowing from the long sword in her hand.

“Mere child’s play.” Luo Long’s face showed only disdain at their attacks. With a flick of his sleeve, a thick stream of primal energy roared forth to meet the flying tree trunk.

With a resounding crash, the trunk was instantly reduced to a shower of splinters beneath the force of Luo Long’s energy. The attack was so overpowering that, after shattering the wood, it collided with the sword light that followed. A ringing clang echoed out as both attacks vanished before their eyes.

“Hmph, you underestimate me. Allow me to show you the true gap between the Primal Realm and the Blood Aura Realm.” Luo Long sneered, his hands weaving intricate patterns.

As his fingers shifted and intertwined, Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue saw clearly—threads of milky-white primal energy were being drawn from the very air, pouring into Luo Long’s palms. When his gestures finally formed a strange seal, he thrust his palms forward.

“Primal Spiral Thrust!”

With a barked command, countless streams of primal energy compressed into a vortex of terrifying density in Luo Long’s hands, spinning rapidly like a miniature storm, shaking the air with a low, resonant hum.

Hissing sounds filled the clearing as Luo Long watched Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue with a sinister grin, amusement playing at his lips. Suddenly, he changed his hand sign, and from the vortex, the primal energy surged even faster, transforming into countless sharp spikes that howled as they shot forth, their shrill whistle piercing the air.

This onslaught made Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue’s hearts pound with dread. Each spike radiated a deadly aura; if struck head-on, even a master of the Primal Realm might be riddled like a sieve.

Ye Cheng’s face hardened. He could sense the power behind Luo Long’s attack. Though those spikes did not look terribly impressive, he felt the pall of death within them—a chilling, fearsome presence.

He held nothing back. Gripping his silver spear tightly in one hand, he opened his other fist, then clenched it, sending all his blood aura surging through his arms. The veins on his arms swelled grotesquely, writhing like living worms beneath his skin.

Feeling the overwhelming strength in his hands, as if he could shatter mountains and split the earth, Ye Cheng let out a shout. He seized the spear with both hands, leapt into the air, then plunged headfirst toward the ground, driving the spear deep into the earth. Channeling all his blood aura into the weapon, he tore open the ground with a thunderous crack, wrenching up a slab of earth and positioning it before himself and Nangong Xue. He called out urgently to her, “Hurry, reinforce with your blood aura!”

Nangong Xue, seeing Ye Cheng’s actions, recalled how the golden-furred demon ape had once shielded itself from their attacks in the stone cave by using the earth. Her eyes flashed with understanding, and without hesitation, she placed her slender hand on Ye Cheng’s, channeling her blood aura into the spear.

The chill of her touch barely registered in Ye Cheng’s mind in this moment of peril—his entire focus was on controlling their blood aura.

Under his guidance, the combined blood aura of both surged into the slab of earth before them, forming a thick barrier of defense. Their actions were swift; in the span of a single breath, the shield was complete.

Just then, hundreds, if not thousands, of primal energy spikes fell upon them, crashing against the blood aura barrier with terrifying force.

“These Primal Realm attacks are truly uncanny,” Ye Cheng muttered as the countless spikes battered their defense. His hands trembled on the spear, the impact splitting the skin of his palms so that blood seeped out. But their shield had withstood the onslaught—they were not so easily turned into beehives.

“Oh?” Luo Long’s eyes narrowed in surprise. “You’re quick-witted, I’ll give you that. Ripping up the earth and using your blood aura to compress the soil into a solid defense—clever. But in the face of overwhelming strength, such tricks are meaningless.”