Chapter 125 – Battle Against Old Dog Zong, Su Xing’s Open Stratagem! (Third Update)

Su Xing frowned deeply at what he saw.

Old Dog Zong truly possessed a peculiar ability—he could sense danger and even detect Su Xing’s location!

And with Su Xing’s current strength, defeating Old Dog Zong head-on was virtually impossible.

“The only plan right now is to stall Old Dog Zong. Only by holding out until Luo Shuying arrives as reinforcement will there be any chance of killing him!”

Su Xing felt a surge of excitement.

From the very first time he’d encountered Old Dog Zong, he’d been treated like an ant to be crushed at will—nearly refined into a Human Pill.

Now, Su Xing finally had the chance to face Old Dog Zong in a real fight!

Though the odds of winning were slim… Su Xing still wanted to try.

“If it’s a fight you want, then let’s fight! Let me see just how terrifying a peak Spirit Transformation cultivator really is!”

Su Xing steeled his resolve and turned to the simulation panel.

【You realized that Old Dog Zong was heading straight for you, but this time you had no intention of running. You focused on adjusting your breathing, bringing your body to peak condition, then extravagantly took out two spirit stones and began restoring your spiritual power.】

【You sat cross-legged with eyes closed, conserving your energy, yet remained keenly aware of Old Dog Zong’s position at every moment. In your perception, the point of light representing Old Dog Zong was racing toward you at tremendous speed!】

【At a certain moment, you opened your eyes, drew the sword Blackice from your waist, and carefully wiped down the blade.】

【You knew that against a powerful enemy like Old Dog Zong, you absolutely could not hold back. You had to give everything from the very start! And your greatest trump card right now was the Human Sword from the Three Talents Sword Art!】

【The Human Sword—a sword that slays ten thousand! You silently recalled this line from the Sword Cultivation General Canon. Regarding the battle about to come, your blood ran hot, yet you felt little fear.】

【The spirit sword Blackice in your hand let out soft, ringing hums, as though sensing the thoughts in your heart.】

【A black dot appeared in the distance, rapidly growing larger in your field of vision, until it finally stopped a hundred meters before you.】

【The newcomer was none other than Old Dog Zong. The instant he saw you, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, along with a hint of relief.】

【Old Dog Zong let out a cold laugh. Without another word, he drew a bone sword and transformed into a streak of black light hurtling toward you.】

【Seeing this, you channeled your Blackice sword and charged forward to meet Old Dog Zong head-on!】

Su Xing slapped his thigh in frustration at this and complained:

“Damn it, novels really are full of lies! Aren’t villains supposed to talk trash before fighting, and then lose because they talked too much?”

“How come this Old Dog Zong just starts swinging without a single word! Is this what a real villain does? Ruthless and efficient, no time wasted whatsoever…”

Su Xing understood clearly that a veteran sly fox like Old Dog Zong would never waste time with unnecessary chatter, and that only made the situation feel more dire.

He continued watching the simulation panel.

【Old Dog Zong’s strength was formidable, and his swordsmanship was vicious beyond measure. Every strike aimed to kill. The bone sword emitted waves of anguished wailing, as though it contained the grievances of countless tormented souls, ceaselessly battering your mind.】

【Fortunately, your soul was powerful. Though you were only at the Nascent Soul stage, your divine sense already approached nine hundred zhang. Otherwise, under the assault of the vengeful spirits in Old Dog Zong’s bone sword, you would have instantly been reduced to a drooling imbecile.】

【But even so, fighting Old Dog Zong, you were heavily affected by the bone sword. Your divine sense felt as though insects were gnawing at it.】

【You endured the soul’s discomfort, wielded your Blackice sword, and parried Old Dog Zong’s attacks.】

【After barely a dozen exchanges, you sensed something was wrong. Not only were Old Dog Zong’s methods vicious and unpredictable, but his raw physical strength was no weaker than yours.】

【You immediately understood—Old Dog Zong was likely a dual cultivator of both qi and body. Not only was he at Spirit Transformation stage, Great Perfection, but his body tempering cultivation was probably that of a veteran Divine Power Realm powerhouse.】

【But you knew there was no retreat. The moment you showed an opening, your only fate would be death and the dissolution of your Dao.】

【You swung your sword with all your might, forcing Old Dog Zong back, then extended your left hand. A terrifying flame materialized in your palm.】

【It was the divine ability—Separation Fire Technique!】

【You gently tossed the Separation Fire toward Old Dog Zong. At first, Old Dog Zong wore a cold smirk, but upon sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the Separation Fire, his expression shifted instantly.】

【He seemed to recognize the origin of this flame. The gaze he directed at you now carried a trace of alarm.】

【But Old Dog Zong was no pushover. As a Spirit Transformation powerhouse who had lived for a thousand years, he naturally had his own trump cards. He extended his left hand, which had been concealed within his wide sleeve, and a surge of black qi rushed forth!】

【Your heart jolted when you saw Old Dog Zong’s left hand, for it appeared to have been scorched to charcoal—withered down to nothing but bone, entirely blackened, wreathed in terrifying black qi.】

【Massive amounts of black qi from Old Dog Zong’s palm instantly engulfed your Separation Fire. The fire flickered and shrank, as though about to be extinguished.】

【Seeing this, you hurriedly channeled your spiritual power, continuously feeding spiritual energy into the Separation Fire. With the infusion of energy, the fire gradually fought free of the black qi’s erosion and began to counterattack.】

【Old Dog Zong frowned slightly at this, then increased his own spiritual power output. The black qi seized the upper hand once more.】

【Refusing to be outdone, you poured spiritual energy in desperately, pulling spirit stones from your storage pouch to replenish your consumption even as you drove your power forward.】

Su Xing sighed softly at this.

“So this must be the legendary contest of magical arts between cultivators. I’ve no idea where that black qi comes from, but it can actually fight the Separation Fire to a standstill?”

But then Su Xing shook his head and said:

“In terms of grade alone, the black qi is clearly inferior to the Separation Fire. It’s only because Old Dog Zong’s magical power is more abundant than mine and his cultivation is higher that he can suppress the Separation Fire Technique.”

Having roughly assessed the situation, Su Xing turned back to the simulation panel.

【After more than a dozen rounds of this contest of arts, you clearly felt your spiritual power draining at an alarming rate. Even as a cultivator at Nascent Soul Stage, Grand Perfection, operating the Separation Fire Technique at full power still consumed an enormous amount of energy.】

【What alarmed you even more was that the black qi seemed to be continuously devouring the spiritual energy sustaining your Separation Fire Technique, doubling your consumption and forcing you to constantly absorb spirit stones just to keep up.】

【Seeing that the Separation Fire and his black qi were temporarily deadlocked, Old Dog Zong let out a cold laugh. He hurled his bone sword forward and formed a seal. The bone sword shot toward you at terrifying speed.】

【At that moment, you were still desperately maintaining the Separation Fire and had no time to react. The bone sword pierced your lower abdomen, inflicting a serious wound.】

【After being wounded, your spiritual power destabilized. Unable to maintain the Separation Fire Technique any longer, it was swallowed by the black qi.】

【You looked at the wound in your abdomen. Black qi clung to the flesh like maggots feeding on bone, ceaselessly devouring your blood, flesh, and spiritual energy. Had you not broken through to the Divine Power Realm, with your body’s formidable physical strength, this single strike alone would have killed you.】

【You hurriedly retrieved spirit dew from your storage ring, drank a portion, and applied the rest to the wound. The spirit dew took effect, and your injuries improved considerably.】

【Old Dog Zong gave a cold snort at this: “You’ve got quite a collection of treasures on you. No wonder you dare fight me.”】

【With that, Old Dog Zong extended his left hand. His blackened palm, wreathed in dark qi, formed into a claw and lunged at you.】

【Old Dog Zong moved with extreme speed. Knowing you couldn’t dodge, you could only channel all the primal energy in your body, coating both fists, and threw a punch straight at him.】

【Two deep gashes, cut to the bone, instantly appeared on your body. The black claw marks relentlessly devoured your flesh, and your life force was being rapidly consumed. Only by continuously maintaining your spiritual power could you barely prevent the black qi from worsening.】

【On the other side, Old Dog Zong clearly hadn’t expected you to have comprehended primal energy. Caught off guard, one of his arms was shattered by the blow and hung limp at his side. The look he gave you grew even more vicious.】

【But Old Dog Zong’s combat power wasn’t greatly diminished. He raised his bone sword once more and came at you to kill.】

【Having been struck repeatedly by Old Dog Zong and gravely wounded, you knew you had no more strength to fight. Your only option was to dodge desperately, one evasion after another.】

【In just one minute, several more wounds appeared on your body. Combined with the black qi invading your system, your life hung by a thread.】

【With no other choice, you summoned the Blessed Spirit Field and temporarily retreated inside.】

【Once inside the Blessed Spirit Field, you quickly took out several Healing Pills and swallowed them. After briefly regulating your breathing for a few moments, you left the Blessed Spirit Field.】

【Old Dog Zong, seeing you suddenly vanish and then reappear in the same spot, was clearly stunned for several seconds.】

【But then something seemed to click. His expression turned fanatical, and he began muttering about heaven-sent fortune.】

【Old Dog Zong had obviously deduced that you possessed a portable blessed land. Even for top-tier cultivators, this would be an extraordinary treasure and opportunity. For someone like him, stuck at the peak of Spirit Transformation, this was an immense stroke of fortune—enough to propel him one step further!】

【And so, he now intended to kill you and seize your treasure!】

Su Xing let out a sigh at this and murmured:

“As expected, the gap between me and Old Dog Zong is still considerable. Although I managed to hold him off for dozens of exchanges, I was clearly being dominated the entire time…”

“And Old Dog Zong’s combat experience is obviously far richer than mine. He even had a sword-controlling technique that critically wounded me…”

Su Xing felt reluctant to accept it. By his strength, although he was inferior to Old Dog Zong who had dual realms of Spirit Transformation and Divine Power, with his Human Sword, Separation Fire Technique, primal energy, and other means, he should have been able to stall for a while longer.

But his lack of combat experience had allowed Old Dog Zong to critically wound him in short order.

“It seems I need to improve my combat experience as soon as possible… I should find a chance to bring out twenty years of battle experience from Demon-Sealing Pass. With constant fighting every day there, the combat experience would surely boost my strength enormously!”

Su Xing pondered his next move.

“This Old Dog Zong has clearly set his sights on my Blessed Spirit Field. He’s been desperately searching for spiritual energy for years. If he truly obtained this blessed land, it could very well give him the breakthrough to the Void Return stage…”

“But that… is precisely his weakness!”

Su Xing quickly realized this and murmured:

“Old Dog Zong originally could come and go as he pleased—if he couldn’t win, he’d just flee. But now that he’s fixated on my Blessed Spirit Field, he can’t bear to abandon such a treasure. This gives him something to lose, and I can exploit this weakness to play a delaying game… until Luo Shuying arrives!”

Su Xing thought to himself that Old Dog Zong might not know Luo Shuying was also coming to hunt him down. So as long as he could stall, once Luo Shuying struck, it would be victory.

“With Luo Shuying’s strength, she could probably arrive within a quarter of an hour, right?”

“I hope… she doesn’t make me wait too long…”

Su Xing sighed quietly and turned to the simulation panel.

【You noticed the fanatical gleam on Old Dog Zong’s face, but in your heart you only sneered. You decided to change tactics—not a head-on assault, but a war of attrition!】

【And so, you wielded your Separation Fire Technique, continuously sending it flying at Old Dog Zong to disrupt his movements, while desperately dodging.】

【Old Dog Zong could fly through the air, and his speed far exceeded yours. Even with your intention to stall, the distance kept shrinking, and within just a few minutes, several more wounds appeared on your body.】

【As the black qi penetrated deeper into your body, your wounds grew more severe. The circulation of spiritual power within you became sluggish. You knew you had to find a way to expel the black qi soon, or it might even damage your cultivation foundation.】

【Looking at Old Dog Zong in relentless pursuit behind you, a flash of inspiration struck. You ducked into the Blessed Spirit Field once more, but you didn’t dare hide for too long—afraid Old Dog Zong might leave. After briefly regulating your breathing, you pulled up several Spirit-Gathering Flowers from the soil, then returned to the real world.】

【Sure enough, Old Dog Zong was already waiting outside. The instant you reappeared, he lunged at you. You narrowly dodged, preventing his attack from hitting any vital points.】

【Just as Old Dog Zong struck again, you casually tossed several Spirit-Gathering Flowers toward him and turned to flee.】

【Sure enough, upon sensing the aura of the Spirit-Gathering Flowers, Old Dog Zong froze for an instant, then snatched them up before pursuing you once more.】

【But the act of picking up the Spirit-Gathering Flowers cost him a brief moment. In that fleeting instant, you had already opened up several dozen meters of distance.】

Su Xing nodded slightly at this and murmured:

“No matter how cautious Old Dog Zong is, when faced with such treasures, he’ll instinctively want to grab them. These Spirit-Gathering Flowers might be nothing special in the cultivation world of old, but in this Dharma-Ending Era, for Old Dog Zong—for any cultivator—they’re priceless!”

“Because Spirit-Gathering Flowers represent an endless supply of spiritual energy!”

Su Xing marveled inwardly. Even someone like Old Dog Zong couldn’t resist such temptation.

He continued the simulation.

【Old Dog Zong pursued you relentlessly, and every time the distance closed, you tossed out more Spirit-Gathering Flowers. Though Old Dog Zong saw through your ploy, he had no choice but to reach out and collect them.】

【Because this was an unbreakable open stratagem. Spirit-Gathering Flowers withered quickly once removed from spiritual energy. If Old Dog Zong didn’t promptly store them in his storage ring, by the time he killed you and came back to collect them, the flowers would already have withered.】

【Watching such treasures be destroyed before his eyes was no different from a wanton waste of heaven’s gifts—something Old Dog Zong could not bear.】

【In this manner, you tossed out dozens of Spirit-Gathering Flowers, buying several minutes of time. Though Old Dog Zong wanted nothing more than to kill you, he was utterly helpless against this tactic.】

【Suddenly, Old Dog Zong’s expression changed. He stopped pursuing you and fled in the opposite direction.】

【At the same time, you sensed a powerful aura approaching rapidly. Knowing it was Luo Shuying coming to your aid, you immediately turned around, determined to hold Old Dog Zong in place.】