Chapter 44: Melting Your Life Away with the Skill-Melting Art

"Senior, this place is not far from our stronghold. Aren't you worried someone will discover you if you strike here?"

Chen Xuan suddenly forced a smile and looked at the gray-robed elder.

"Just two small fries, easily disposed of with a wave of my hand."

The gray-robed elder's expression was indifferent as he continued walking forward.

"Senior, what is your honorable surname?"

Chen Xuan smiled.

The gray-robed elder's gaze turned cold. He kept moving forward and said, "Don't bother stalling for time. When I make a move, I am always decisive."

"Grandpa, actually you might just be my long-lost biological grandpa. The more I look at you, the more we resemble each other."

Chen Xuan said with a solemn expression.

The gray-robed elder sneered and said, "I have no such nephew as you. Go to hell!"

Whoosh!

Channeling his palm force accompanied by a fierce gale, he struck out instantly, whistling through the air straight toward Chen Xuan's chest.

Chen Xuan cursed inwardly and had no choice but to channel his internal energy, meeting the attack head-on with the Heaven-Absorbing Demonic Art. In an instant, his palms turned as black as ink and emitted a pungent odor.

"A poisonous art?"

The gray-robed elder's eyes chilled as he accelerated his strike.

Bang!

The palm forces of the two collided solidly.

The elder possessed profound internal energy, like surging, endless river waters. In a split second, his internal power burst forth in dozens of consecutive layers, each layer more terrifying than the last, resembling towering waves crashing one after another—endless and unstoppable.

Knowing the terrifying nature of the Five Poisons Sect's toxic arts, he believed the only way to counter them was to use superior internal energy to force all of the opponent's toxins back into their own body. Only by doing this could he avoid being contaminated even a fraction and turn the tables to kill his opponent.

However, the moment his internal energy surged out, the elder's expression changed, and he sensed something was wrong.

Though his palm force was fierce and surged continuously, once it entered the opponent's body, it was like a clay ox entering the sea—vanishing completely without stirring up the slightest ripple.

Not only that, but the internal energy in his dantian and chest was also leaking out at an alarming rate.

In a single instant, he had lost three to four years of internal cultivation.

How is this possible?

Panic gripped his heart.

The opponent could absorb his internal energy?

The elder let out an angry shout, hurriedly guarding his dantian with his mind while violently shaking his arms. Using an advanced method of energy circulation, he forcefully shook Chen Xuan's palms away, tapped his feet on the ground, and instantly retreated backward, landing in the distance with his body swaying.

He looked at his palms in shock and horror.

His palms were pitch-black and purplish, and wisps of potent poison were actually tracing the path of his receding internal energy, flooding into his body.

Damn it, what kind of demonic and bizarre martial art is this?!

In just a brief moment, he had lost nearly five years of internal energy!

And he had been poisoned?

He hurriedly sealed the meridians and acupoints on his arm, running his internal energy to force the toxins out.

Chen Xuan was also swaying, his arm stinging with pain.

He had only just cultivated the Heaven-Absorbing Demonic Art to a superficial level, and the specific meridians required for the art had not even been opened up to thirty percent. The elder's palm force just now had been too ferocious; even with him desperately dissolving it, some of the force still leaked through, leaving his arms aching and his chest heavy from the impact.

However, after this initial clash, he had roughly estimated the elder's true strength.

The man likely possessed fifty or sixty years' worth of internal cultivation.

If he clashed a few more times, he should be able to dissolve the man's strength until it was roughly on par with his own.

Chen Xuan took a deep breath, using his internal energy to soothe the sharp pain in his chest and arms, and looked at the elder.

"You little bastard, what divine art is this? Leaving it in your hands is simply a waste of heaven's treasures. You'd better pass it on to me and let me carry it forward!"

Greed flared intensely in the elder's eyes.

Whoosh!

He abruptly lunged forward again, moving with extreme speed and kicking up a violent gale. In a flash, he appeared behind Chen Xuan. Daring not to strike him with palm force again, he hooked his fingers like swords and jabbed directly at the vital acupoints on Chen Xuan's back.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, he struck three times in succession, each hit landing on a crucial point of the human body. The blows caused Chen Xuan to grunt, his body staggering as he nearly pitched forward onto the ground.

The elder's fingers went numb and ached, his eyes filled with shock.

"External martial arts training! How is this possible?"

He blurted out.

Chen Xuan gave a ferocious grin, turned around, and tossed out a bottle of low-concentration Five Poisons liquid.

The elder's expression shifted. Hurriedly throwing out a palm, a mighty gale blasted the bottle of poison away.

Taking advantage of the opening, Chen Xuan lunged at the elder once more, launching both palms straight toward him.

Daring not to meet the attack with his own palm force, the elder tapped his feet and retreated wildly, while channeling his internal energy to ready a Split-Air Palm to finish him off.

Yet Chen Xuan's speed suddenly accelerated, shifting as fast as an afterimage.

Eight-Step Cicada Chase!

Within eight steps, none are faster than I!

Swish!

He closed the distance to the elder in a split second, executing a twin-dragon-out-to-sea movement as both palms struck out together.

"Scoundrel!"

The elder roared in anger, but he had no choice but to block.

If he didn't meet the blow head-on, those two palms would inevitably land squarely on his body. Though his internal cultivation was profound, he didn't dare to take such a blow unprotected.

Bang! Bang!

Four palms crashed heavily against one another, producing a muffled boom, though without creating any swirling gales or dancing fallen leaves.

The elder's face contorted as he let out continuous angry shouts, desperately trying to vibrate his body.

The moment his palms connected, he was hit with the exact same sensation as before—his entire body's internal energy surged outward uncontrollably, like a breached dike, terrifying and unpredictable.

The meridians and flesh in both of his arms swelled up, throbbing rhythmically as if airflow was battering through them, while his clothes whipped around wildly.

"Hahaha..."

Chen Xuan laughed maniacally, his hands gripping the elder's palms tightly as he frantically circulated the Heaven-Absorbing Demonic Art.

Of course, throughout this process, his arms and chest still suffered excruciating pain. The elder's internal cultivation was so profound that its impact felt as though thousands of steel needles were pricking his chest and meridians.

But that couldn't diminish the sheer thrill in his heart!

The process of dissolving someone else's internal energy was simply explosively satisfying.

The elder's expression grew even more horrified.

His internal energy surged outward crazily, and in a flash, he lost another nearly ten years of internal cultivation.

"Get lost!"

He screamed in terror, kicking out violently and landing a blow straight on Chen Xuan's chest. The impact sent Chen Xuan flying backward, allowing the elder to leverage the recoil to break free. He landed in the distance, his body swaying unsteadily, head spinning, with both hands and arms turning pitch black.

Wisps of toxic substance were continuously invading his body along his palms and arms.

He was gripped by absolute terror.

What kind of bizarre, evil martial art was this?

In just this short while, he had lost nearly fifteen years of internal energy?

How long of bitter cultivation would it take to earn that back?

If this continued, wouldn't he be sucked dry and left a complete cripple?

Although the function of the Heaven-Absorbing Demonic Art was to dissolve another's internal energy, the energy rushed outward during the process, leading those afflicted to rarely realize their internal power was being dissolved, most often assuming it was being absorbed.

At this moment, the elder looked at Chen Xuan as if gazing upon a demon or monster.

Overwhelmed with terror, he turned and fled.

Seeing the elder attempting to escape, Zhou Qing on the side eagerly hoisted his sword to give chase. But after just a few steps, his limbs suddenly went limp, feeling utterly devoid of strength, and he collapsed forward onto the ground.

"Soft... Soft-Boned Powder..."

He stammered in shock.

When had he been exposed to the Soft-Boned Powder?

Having fled a dozen meters away, the elder also suddenly plummeted from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the ground and groaning in agony.

With a strange smirk, Chen Xuan leaped forward and landed right beside the elder.

Did you really think you could run that far?

Did you really think you wouldn't fall for the trap?

"Did you honestly think I was just making idle chatter with you earlier? Well, it was idle chatter, but it was also meant to let the Soft-Boned Powder seep into your body imperceptibly. How is it? Old man, does it feel good?"

Chen Xuan sneered.

"You... you... Demonic scoundrel, you are utterly despicable!"

The elder trembled as he spoke, his face a mask of terror.

He had been poisoned with Soft-Boned Powder without even realizing it!

Since when had the Five Poisons Sect nurtured such a youthful prodigy?

"I am a demonic scoundrel, but old man, you're no good yourself, are you?"

Chen Xuan smiled.

"Bah! I knew long ago you were people of the demonic path, which is why I deliberately came to hunt you down."

The elder cursed.

Damn it!

Chen Xuan flew into a rage.

What shamelessness—he was finally witnessing it firsthand.

"Call me 'Daddy'! If you don't call me 'Daddy', I'll flay you alive!"

Chen Xuan snapped angrily.

"Death is preferable to humiliation! Demonic scoundrel, you will meet your retribution!"

The elder cursed.

"Courting death! I'll finish you!"

Chen Xuan brought a palm down toward the elder's forehead.

A look of terror crossed the elder's face, and he shrieked in panic, "Wait!"

Bang!

The palm force descended, instantly shattering the elder's skull and causing him to bleed from all seven orifices as he died.

"You say wait and I have to wait? What are you, the director?"

Chen Xuan said disdainfully.

He produced the Five Poisons liquid and poured it over the elder. In no time, the elder's corpse dissolved rapidly, turning into a puddle of pus.

This body could not be left behind; otherwise, clues might be left that would expose his identity.

In the distance, Zhou Qing wore a look of utter shock as he struggled laborantly.

Though he hadn't seen the specific details of the process, he had heard quite a bit of what the elder had said just moments ago.

Hero Jian was from the demonic path?

Chen Xuan turned his gaze to Zhou Qing, hesitated for a moment, then walked over, squatted down, and fed him the antidote for the Soft-Boned Powder. With an expressionless tone, he asked, "Brother Zhou, did you hear everything?"

Zhou Qing's expression flickered. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hero Jian, rest assured, I won't speak of this. Righteous or demonic, those are just labels defined by men. Some people wear the skin of the righteous while committing demonic acts—worse than pigs and dogs. Meanwhile, others reside in the demonic path yet perform the deeds the righteous path ought to do!"

Chen Xuan looked at him deeply.

It seemed that through this ordeal, Zhou Qing had truly grown quite a bit.

But was leaving him alive really safe?

"Brother Zhou, you should leave. Never return to this Righteous Alliance again. Before long, major events are going to transpire here."

Chen Xuan said.

"And what about you, Hero Jian?"

"I still have important business to attend to. You go."

Chen Xuan stated.

Once this matter was settled, he would leave this place entirely.

Right or evil, they could all go to hell.

He would only be himself!

If others don't cross me, I won't cross them. Whoever dares to provoke him, he would deal with them!