Chapter Fifty-Two: Boots of Wind and Flame

“All the spirit stones have been handed over—why are you still chasing me?” As the azure mist drew back, a man in his fifties appeared, panting heavily.

A sinister, wild laughter echoed from the blood-red cloud behind him. “Chen Zhi, a few hundred spirit stones mean nothing to us. What the Blood Fiend Alliance wants is your other possession.”

Chen Zhi, who had just steadied his breath, lost all color from his face. “What… possession?”

The blood cloud dispersed, revealing two men dressed in identical crimson robes. They sneered together. “Feigning ignorance, are you? We’re after your Windfire Boots.”

Windfire Boots?

Lei Xiang’s heart stirred at the mention. He began to move closer, confident that with his Heaven Concealment Art, none of the three—Chen Zhi and his pursuers, who were all at the early Foundation Establishment stage—could detect his presence. He watched, waiting for an opportunity.

The boots on Chen Zhi’s feet appeared ordinary: deep gray, with faint crimson runes occasionally shimmering across their surface.

Chen Zhi coughed up blood. “Ouyang Ding, Ouyang Dang—have you no shame? So what if you’re from the Blood Fiend Alliance? Don’t forget about my sect’s Skysteel Pearl!”

He ignored the blood at the corner of his mouth and spat forth a round, egg-sized pearl wreathed in black phosphorescence, its metallic sheen glimmering.

At the sight of this, Ouyang Ding and Ouyang Dang grew serious. This was, after all, the treasured artifact of the Immortal Ape Sect. They exchanged glances, and Ouyang Dang stepped forward, forming a spell seal. A blood-red light shield enveloped both brothers.

Chen Zhi stared at the shield, but something about it was strange—his spiritual sense could not penetrate it.

Lei Xiang, however, saw everything clearly, his eyes gleaming blue. Inside, Ouyang Ding was hastily chanting incantations while Ouyang Dang guarded him.

Chen Zhi, an old monster who had survived countless years, guessed they were preparing a formidable technique. He knew he must strike before they succeeded.

Summoning his remaining spiritual power, he pointed at the hovering Skysteel Pearl. The pearl spun, emitting half a foot of black light, then vanished.

The next instant, the pearl appeared above the shield, unleashing hundreds of black rays like a storm upon it.

A metallic screech rang out as the shield trembled, shrinking in size. Seeing the pearl’s attack was effective, Chen Zhi poured even more spiritual power into it.

Lei Xiang saw with clarity that the Skysteel Pearl and the shield were evenly matched; the shield’s reduction was due to Ouyang Ding absorbing the blood mist.

What startled Lei Xiang even more was that after absorbing half the blood mist, Ouyang Ding’s cultivation surged to the peak of early Foundation Establishment. Lei Xiang dared not intervene recklessly.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only a third of the shield remained. Chen Zhi, invigorated, retrieved the Skysteel Pearl, then spat three breaths of azure essence onto it, making it even darker and more lustrous.

Without hesitation, he thrust both hands forward, sending the pearl as a black whirlwind crashing onto the shield.

With a thunderous boom, the shield was finally shattered by the Skysteel Pearl—but what greeted it was a bloodied fist.

Ouyang Ding’s right hand, now the size of a watermelon, glowed with bloody light and stank of gore.

The blood fist struck the Skysteel Pearl, which wailed and shattered with a series of cracks. Unimpeded, the fist slammed into Chen Zhi’s chest.

Chen Zhi barely managed to summon a small shield, but now a bowl-sized bloody hole opened in his chest, and he collapsed.

The Ouyang brothers laughed boisterously. Ouyang Dang flew over and unfastened Chen Zhi’s Windfire Boots.

Just as he picked them up, a fierce gust swept from behind. Ouyang Ding saw only a silent streak of blue lightning flash past—and then his brother’s large head disappeared.

As the blue lightning faded, a refreshing breeze swept through, and the Windfire Boots vanished as well.

Ouyang Ding stood stunned, unable to comprehend what had happened. His spiritual sense swept frantically, but he could not locate the enemy.

Meanwhile, from Ouyang Dang’s severed neck, a ball of yellow light emerged, drifting panic-stricken toward Ouyang Ding. Suddenly, a golden spear shot out from the void. The dragon’s mouth spat out its tip, piercing the yellow light. A scream echoed, and as the spear’s tip turned into a dragon tongue, it rolled and absorbed the light, which vanished instantly.

“Brother!” Ouyang Ding cried, seeing his brother’s soul destroyed so easily, powerless to save him. Enraged, he hurled his watermelon-sized blood fist toward the rear of the spear, covering an area three yards wide.

Space twisted, and Lei Xiang’s figure appeared. He braced his Eight-Treasure Dragon Camel Spear, its tip thrusting into the blood fist’s domain.

The blood fist paused, and Lei Xiang seized the moment to withdraw, escaping its range. He twisted the spear’s shaft, and countless dragon scales flew to him, forming a golden-scaled armor around his body.

Lei Xiang, gripping the spear in one hand, channeled his magic. From the dragon’s eyes, two brilliant beams of white light shot straight at Ouyang Ding.

Ouyang Ding sneered. He spun in midair, easily dodging. The white bolts struck the ground, forming two half-foot-deep pits.

Though they missed, Ouyang Ding’s fury soared. Lei Xiang saw him pull out a round, dark cymbal artifact, rimmed with a golden band. Ouyang Ding slammed his blood fist onto the cymbal.

A chorus of wailing ghosts erupted as winds howled from the cymbal, chilling the air. Ouyang Ding waved it at Lei Xiang, sending a jet-black beam straight toward him.

Without hesitation, Lei Xiang tossed out three beast-hide tents, wrapping himself tightly, then stepped on the Chrysanthemum Thorn and fled in a set direction.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Ouyang Ding, holding the cymbal, rode the black wind in pursuit. At the peak of early Foundation Establishment, he closed the gap to three yards in an instant. He raised the cymbal, and the golden band flashed wildly, detaching and smashing onto Lei Xiang’s beast-hide defense.

Lei Xiang barely had time to react. The golden band pierced through the three layers of beast-hide, landing a foot behind him. Lei Xiang managed to dodge halfway, but the band struck his right back.

With a loud cry, Lei Xiang crashed to the ground, the Chrysanthemum Thorn falling and burrowing into the earth, disappearing.

Ouyang Ding’s lips curled in a cold smile. He pointed to the cymbal above, which flipped over, its mouth facing the fallen Lei Xiang, shooting a black light in an attempt to absorb him.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred. Spiritual energy surged beneath Ouyang Ding, and the dark Chrysanthemum Thorn, glowing orange, shot up toward his backside.

Ouyang Ding was unconcerned, smashing it with his blood fist. Oddly, the fist inflicted no harm, and the Thorn was knocked back to the earth.

Meanwhile, Lei Xiang, lying motionless, suddenly shifted a yard sideways. His left hand, four fingers like blades, swung backward, unleashing a silent blue light blade.

Before Ouyang Ding could react, the blood mist before him was cleaved by the blade, which struck his forehead. Simultaneously, a yellow light ball rose from his crown, poised to escape.

But from afar, Lei Xiang formed a spell seal, and the blue blade crackled with thunder, firing a pinky-thick blue arc that instantly destroyed Ouyang Ding’s soul.

Lei Xiang, now relieved, slumped to the ground again, unable to lift his right arm.

To ensure a successful strike, he had resorted to a ruse, deliberately letting the golden band hit him. Relying on his thunder-tempered physique and the dragon scale armor, he endured the blow, lulling Ouyang Ding into carelessness. Using the Chrysanthemum Thorn as cover, he launched a surprise attack with the Divine Thunder Slash.

Yet Lei Xiang was badly wounded.

He knew he couldn’t linger. Forcing himself up, he summoned Ouyang Ding and Ouyang Dang’s storage pouches to his hand, stowing them without a glance. He then collected the golden band and cymbal, incinerated the brothers’ corpses with several fireballs, and released his Swift Step, crawling upward, preparing to fly away.

Suddenly, a voice called his name, “Lei Xiang!”