Chapter 88: One Qi for a Thousand Years

Inside the Immortal Machine, the program urgently restarted. In the world beyond the True Machine, the Rock Blade struck relentlessly. The killer uttered no words, not even a sound. He was like another humanoid machine, his actions driven solely by ruthless killing.

The rock blade lightly slashed across the armor, and the Immortal Machine retreated a meter to allow ample distance. Its three needle-like legs suddenly rose up, the perfect alloy elongated and deformed into blades. The rapid vibrations transformed the foot blades into a sharp weapon that could kill on contact. Ankle, heart, head, the three blades aimed at vital points simultaneously slashed, weaving a deadly blade net. Chu Hengkong leaned back slightly to avoid the attack, stepped forward with his left foot to hit the needle-like leg below, and at the same time, holding the rock blade in his backhand, blocked the blade that pierced his heart!

At the outset of the battle, Chu Hengkong would have been slain without even a moment to react, but now was different. He could react, he could counterattack, he could understand the Immortal Machine's swift movements. An inexplicable power coursed through his bones, transforming him almost completely. In the moment of stalemate between the blade and the needle, he wordlessly struck out with his tentacle. The burning tentacle lashed out, catching the needle that hadn't been able to strike, burning the posture-regulating nozzle that was about to unleash its force.

The Immortal Machine sheathed its blade and shifted sideways, using the momentum of the blow to adjust its position. Its left limb lashed out like flowing water, its pincer-like armor gleaming with golden brilliance. A heavy blow, imbued with a phantom annihilation field, would scorch the enemy's spirit upon impact. Chu Hengkong thrust his rock blade into the ground, bracing himself against the hilt with one finger as he leaped upward.

The Immortal Machine's punch barely grazed his shirt. He spun in midair, his legs twitching, and launched a powerful side kick that struck Akame, denting the pure white armor. His attack power surpassed the limits of the program's simulation, and with his mere flesh and blood, he could injure the perfect alloy.

A resounding bell-like roar echoed through the valley. In a flash, Chu Hengkong unleashed three kicks, sending the Immortal Machine reeling. It urgently adjusted its program, activated its reflective armor, and its deformed needle legs slashed at the buried rock blade. Chu Hengkong flicked his right hand, unsheathing the rock blade and dodged the needle leg's attack with a backflip. Five green shadows flashed through the swirling air currents, and five bladed flying knives flew out of his hands. Four of them shattered by the armor's recoil, but the last one broke through the defense and pierced the Immortal Machine's needle leg.

There's no such thing as true invincibility. The Immortal Machine's mechanism for reflecting physical attacks is a combination of an integrated energy shield layered on the armor's surface and the high-frequency vibrations it generates in reverse. Having been attacked twice in a short period of time by the Green Burning and Dragon Marked Spears, the integrated shield has been temporarily breached. At this point, the armor's energy supply efficiency has decreased. By disrupting the armor's surface vibrations with an opposing frequency, even mortal swords can damage the indestructible metal!

The fire of ambition burned fiercely, infiltrating the machine's interior along with the wounds on its needle feet. The Immortal Machine activated its repair function, ignoring the wear and tear on its external armor and prioritizing the legs that provided its mobility. The verification program was still under adjustment, and the combat logic was initially repaired, increasing the nozzle output and speed. The sudden increase in speed reduced the Immortal Machine to a blurry white shadow. The silent Chu Hengkong also gave chase, the fire of ambition wafting behind him like a cyan meteor burning in the dust.

They fought, dodged, chased, and grappled. Light flickered from the bottom of the Wind Tunnel to the nearly vertical mountain wall, then swept over Yingluo Peak to the plains to the west. The people in the town had long since lost sight of any trace of battle, only two streaks of light flashing rapidly in the distance.

The people were stunned, delighted, yet baffled. The man's bravery was like that of a god descending to earth, but there were no gods or salvation here. A scene that defied fundamental logic unfolded, and the townspeople murmured unconsciously.

"How did he... do that?"

Low threat. Extremely high threat. Low threat. Extremely high threat. Contradictory alerts echoed in microseconds, generating a flood of junk files, hogging computing resources along with the restarting verification program. The Immortal Machine simply shut down the combat capability assessment module and performed a secondary check using the local database.

All data showed Chu Hengkong's combat effectiveness increasing by the second, a rate far exceeding the normal fluctuations of a martial cultivator, even approaching a straight line. The ghostly body's tampering attack severely disrupted the verification process, preventing it from detecting this significant abnormality. It parried the blow with its pincers and feet, repairing only the necessary areas and preserving the demon-resistant coating to the greatest extent possible. As its crimson eyes flashed, all the enemy's information flowed into its computing center: blood pressure, heartbeat, temperature, and respiration.

A significantly abnormal indicator appeared. Respiration rate was 0. The enemy was not breathing...

In the 150 seconds since the start of the battle, the enemy has not taken a single breath.

A silent enemy. A threat rising in silence. No need to search, the corresponding alert pops up instantly from the offline database. Similar anomalies have been observed numerous times in previous combat data. This is the hallmark of Sephiroth 3, the Heart Sword Monk!

The giant pincers closed, and a powerful blow, like a bow to the Buddha, grazed the rock blade, sending Chu Hengkong flying a hundred meters. He stretched his limbs in mid-air, the energy in his eyes and ears feeding his brain with information about his surroundings. He smashed through three large rocks and crashed into the jade-colored mountain wall. The blow broke four bones, but his powerful energy reconnected the shattered bones, preventing his posture from collapsing.

Stab. Slash. The impending ray. Chu Hengkong's vision shifted, taking in every sign of the attack. He stomped his foot hard against the mountain wall, charging forward like a sprinter. In that brief moment, his speed increased again, and by the time the attack arrived, he was already beside the Immortal Machine.

Sheathing his rock blade, he unleashed thirty slashes in the instant they passed. Bladelight crisscrossed into sharp lines, as if a swordsman were striking from an infinite distance. Countless slashes shattered the entire area into fragments!

"Chu Hengkong, hurry up!" Fander said anxiously, "There are only 189 seconds left. If you slow down any further, it will be too late!"

Impatience eroded his spirit like a poison, and Fan De was consumed with anxiety. Others only saw Chu Hengkong's single-handed confrontation with the True Machine, a divine weapon descending from the heavens. But only he knew the heavy price that lay behind this power. Forgetting mere dexterity, Chu Hengkong's strength and speed now surpassed the limits of a Particle 2 martial artist. This unreasonably powerful power came at a price, a price bordering on death!

His breathing stilled. His blood ran cold as ice. His vision was nearly shattered, layers of blood depicting the enemy's movements. His heart swelled unnaturally, as if a bomb were expanding inside him, his body poised to shatter at any moment. He couldn't hear Finder's voice; a piercing cacophony overwhelmed his nerves: the sound of broken bones being pieced back together, the clatter of torn muscles being forcibly connected.

He felt as if he had split into two people: one a silent killer battling the real weapon, the other already fallen, drowning in the bottomless ocean. A man's voice echoed from the silent seabed. It was Ji Qiufeng's teachings from not long ago.

——Hengkong, why are martial artists so powerful?

Because of pride.

Yes, because of intention and qi. The secrets gained through ascension allow us to realize our potential. Through exhaustive martial arts practice, we can crystallize intention within our moves. Intention is the essence of martial arts, and qi is the foundation of a warrior. Ultimately, they are both life force. Therefore, you can ignite blood and generate will and qi. And when do you think life is at its strongest?

A life-or-death moment.

—This is the secret technique you will learn today. At the moment closest to death... you must unleash your strongest will!

That was the most agonizing training Chu Hengkong had ever experienced. He nurtured a breath of willpower in his chest, then stopped breathing, suppressed his heartbeat, and fought in a near-suicidal state. Death loomed ever closer. He blacked out again and again, was awakened, and then continued the brutal battle.

All he had to rely on was this meager wield of willpower, fueled by his instinct for survival, pushing himself beyond his limits. Initially, he couldn't hold out, but gradually, he gained control of his dying body. On the fifteenth day, he managed to maintain his willpower for the first time, and on the twentieth, he mastered its flow. The closer he got to his death, the stronger his willpower grew, and the greater the pain, the faster his strength increased. He repeatedly pushed his limits, deepening his practice. Before leaving Huilong City, he could only hold out for an hour at most. After completing the initial bone forging, he knew his limits had been reached, so he devised this simple yet maddening plan.

Concentrate all your strength on the first strike of the battle, using the once-only Green Burn attack as a grand deception. Focus the important formation blessing on Finder, seizing the opportunity to hypnotize the Immortal Machine.

Vander only gave the simplest hint.

——Chu Hengkong is very weak.

——Chu Hengkong posed no threat.

Then, he stalled for time, doing whatever he could, using the time Qisu had bought to enhance the effects of the secret technique. Until his life reached its critical juncture, a surge of will and energy pushed him beyond his limits. Will and energy would support his broken body, providing him with boundless strength, a power that grew as his death neared. The longer he persisted, the closer he came to death, the more pronounced its effects.

Fifteen minutes after his breathing stopped, Chu Hengkong's overall strength, including strength, speed, and reaction ability, doubled.

After thirty-five minutes of cessation of breathing, it becomes three times as strong as before.

Fifty minutes, five times...

And now, he had held his breath for one hour, thirty-six minutes, and eight seconds. His spirit surged from his bones like a long dragon, his limbs and bones instantly repairing any damage. His reflexes and precision were incredible. Never before had a low-level cultivator been able to hold his breath for so long, nor had a battle afforded cultivators such ample preparation time. Under this unprecedented opportunity, Chu Hengkong had already surpassed his theoretical limits, his overall strength returning to normal...

Thirteen times!

This is a unique skill that only Heart Sword cultivators are qualified to practice. Longquan Township's Secret: One Qi, a Thousand Years!

The wind roared, the murderous aura blinding. His sinking consciousness flew from the seabed, bound by pain as it returned to his body. He held his sword horizontally to block the attack, waiting for an opportunity to strike at the true weapon. The rock blade was deflected by the reflective armor, and the pincer-like steel fist smashed into his chest. Ribs shattered, his heart stopped, and blood and organ fragments rushed into his throat. The man took a step back.

He swallowed the blood, swallowed the sound, and retreated, his tentacles transforming into spears as he thrust forward. Death approached, and the man's spirit surged, his speed and strength increasing once again. At this moment, his speed surpassed that of a true machine. The Heavenly Spear penetrated the wound of the Immortal Machine, preventing it from repairing. The influx of the fire of ambition ignited a dance of electric sparks.

The attack was interrupted, its internal components damaged, and the Immortal Machine retreated one meter. A red light flashed in its single eye, indicating that the verification program was about to restart and that the existing computing resources were sufficient for a preliminary self-check. Energy reserves were at 49.4%, with the goal of replenishing resources. Range verification completed, target locked, and energy concentrated. The matter-disruption ray was fired.

A destructive red light ignited, annihilating all matter in front of it with an untouchable divine might. Nothing could survive this radiance; even the body of a martial artist was reduced to nothing more than wasteland before the rays. The warrior was engulfed in the red light, his silhouette instantly evaporating, but it was only a shadow left behind. The real Chu Hengkong ducked forward, dodging the rays at an angle almost touching the ground.

He gathered his strength and swung a heavy punch, which hit the Immortal Machine's chassis right in the middle, sending the machine flying backwards and sending beams of destructive light shooting into the sky!

When basic qualities reach the same level as a real machine, one's vision is elevated. The design of the ultimate real machine is indeed perfect, and its functions are sufficient to handle all situations. However, this conclusion requires a presupposition: the purpose of the "Immortal Machine" model.

The Ultimate True Mecha, the Immortal Machine, was designed with the purpose of "recycling resources." It was a tool, not a weapon, a craftsman, not a soldier. As a result, its attacks were powerful but lacked precision. When an enemy possessed the strength to compete with the Immortal Machine, this difference in status became its weakness.

Once again, the calculations failed; the energy-intensive ray failed to recycle sufficient resources. Chu Hengkong vanished from the front. The Immortal Machine loaded the latest data and revised its attack pattern. It didn't extinguish the fission ray; instead, the red light intensified. Hundreds of fine threads ripped from the light, twisting, swirling, and folding, like a thousand deadly blood needles piercing the warrior on the ground.

Matter disintegration ray·traversal mode.

Needle-thin beams of light rained down, and a green shadow emerged, escaping the pursuer. Chu Hengkong decisively sheathed his blade and abandoned pursuit. He dodged the beams by a hair's breadth, and the ground vanished where he passed, leaving behind a hollow, empty void. The Immortal Machine remained motionless, maintaining its beams. Its pincer-like limbs shimmered with golden light, and the compressed force field transformed into a missile, hurtling straight towards Chu Hengkong's face.

The forward momentum halted instantly, and the warrior turned 90 degrees to climb the side slope. The red rays turned back in unison, forming a series of sharp angles that followed. The rock blade had reached its limit in the previous clash, so Chu Hengkong stopped using it. He continued to throw leaves as he ran, maintaining the offensive with falling leaf flying knives.

However, the Immortal Machine had already recalibrated its reflective armor, ripples surging across its white hull, sending all its blades flying. Chu Hengkong looked out, witnessing a blanket of crimson light, golden missiles piercing every pore. Each strike was a lethal blow, each one irreversible. He knew he could be faster, but in reality, there was no room for evasion.

The previous evasion had reduced the surroundings to a void, a murderous aura shimmering across the sky and earth. The Immortal Machine was 50 meters away, a distance completely emptied by the matter-disintegration ray. Even at his swiftest speed, he couldn't escape. Intuition preceded his thinking. He heard Finder roar.

"Hurry up! Only 10 seconds left!!"

One hour and forty minutes. This was Chu Hengkong's estimated limit for his endurance, the final deadline for this battle. In ten seconds, regardless of the Immortal Machine's condition, he would either die from the collapse of his body or be defeated by the dissolution of Yi Qi Qian Qiu. With nine seconds remaining, the attack remained relentless. He charged towards the Immortal Machine, his foothold behind him being shattered. With eight seconds remaining, attacks came from all directions, and the warrior's body was engulfed in light.

A green leaf stood up and wrapped Chu Hengkong like a shield!

The Falling Leaves' secondary effect lasted for one second, a "return to one's roots." The leaf between Chu Hengkong's fingers returned, but its elusive afterimage was shattered by the golden light. The Immortal Machine's attack went far beyond conventional range; its ethereal annihilation field could even annihilate thoughts. The shield formed by the fallen leaves was instantly destroyed, but the warrior's presence was gone amidst the red light. He appeared fifty meters away, behind the Immortal Machine, in the shadow cast by the light.

Iron Spider Gauntlets, Shadow Move.

Seven seconds later, the Immortal machine discontinued its fission beam and ceased firing missiles. It turned to retreat, but the control nozzle was destroyed by a heavy punch. Chu Hengkong's fist trembled violently, and ripples swirled across the Immortal machine's body. At this moment, the verification program's restart was finally completed, and a long-overdue alarm was raised to the highest level of the response sequence.

374 energy reactions detected in the body——

Chu Hengkong twisted his fist, exerting force, injecting a final burst of strength into the steel. All the energy he had previously injected was simultaneously unleashed, like a chaotic stream of stars crashing down upon the sky. Nearly a third of the Immortal's armor shattered, and the burst of electric sparks resembled starlight.

The secret of Longquan Township: Chaos Stars!

Fander's hypnosis was intended to both give Yiqi Qianqiu time to gather strength and to plant the seeds of Chaos Star in the process. They knew from the outset that the Zhenji's defenses were difficult to break, so Chu Hengkong staked his victory on this secret technique, using the same unique skill he had used to finish off Besen's clone as the decisive blow.

Six seconds. The armor shattered, revealing its internal structure. The Immortal Machine's crimson eyes swirled chaotically. This was a single chance, the only chance of survival in this battle. Chu Hengkong retracted his tentacles, and as the Sky Spear shot out, he saw a flash of pure white light.

It was a fragment of the Immortal Machine's armor, sent flying in an illogical trajectory, like an extremely thin sword shadow. The moment the sword shadow entered his sight, he lost sight of everything. The fragment passed by like a blade, completely destroying Chu Hengkong's eyes!

(End of this chapter)