Chapter 69: Inferno

The blade flew through the air like a rapidly setting sun. The Heavenly Wolf let out an enraged howl.

Zhang Sheng’an gazed at the Heavenly Wolf as it continued to howl bleakly, a confident smile on his face.

“Do you think I’m that easy to kill?” he said.

He raised his hand, and a piercing ray of light began to shine from a ring on his finger.

The image of a ferocious tiger slowly began to appear. It also let out a furious howl as it charged towards the Heavenly Moon-Swallowing Wolf, becoming entangled with it.

Su Chen’s powerful blade strike had been nullified just like that.

Next, Zhang Sheng’an pulled out another item. It looked to be a vial of some sorts.

He slammed the vial onto the ground, and a cloud of fog instantly mushroomed, expanding in all directions. Unexpectedly, Zhang Sheng’an also possessed a vial of Fog Medicine.

Zhang Sheng’an was concealed by the expanding fog as he laughed, “Did you really think that you would win as long as you got close to me? How naive! The battle has just begun!”

The only reply he got was a large Firehawk flying towards him.

Zhang Sheng’an hurriedly dodged, but the Firehawk unexpectedly chased after him, its beak tearing a large chunk of flesh off his shoulder. The pain sent him reeling. He gestured, and a patch of thistles reached out towards the Firehawk, but it exploded on the spot, the flames burning the thistles to a crisp.

In terms of terrain, Zhang Sheng’an had an inherent advantage in the forest, but in terms of Origin Skills, fire-type Origin Skills were super effective against plant-type Origin Skills.

The flames continued to expand, washing over Zhang Sheng’an. Before he had time to respond, two more Firehawks swooped towards him followed by a wave of Origin Energy Bullets that accurately rained on Zhang Sheng’an. Su Chen was not affected by the fog at all - as someone who had been blind for a number of years, adapting to the sound of the wind was something he was very good at.

Zhang Sheng’an was sent flying through the air by two large explosions.

The barrier he had just set up had already been blasted into smithereens, and he himself had been scorched in certain places.

“Bastard!” Zhang Sheng’an cursed in anger.

Again, the only reply he received was another Firehawk soaring towards him.

Zhang Sheng’an had used the vial of Fog Medicine to deal with Su Chen, but it had only aided him.

Zhang Sheng’an forcefully resisted the pain and touched the necklace he was wearing, causing it to emit a gentle light that covered his entire body.

As he blocked the wave of attacks, Zhang Sheng’an gently rubbed a small statue in his hand.

When he threw the statue into the air, it flew off into the distance.

At that moment, Su Chen sent another Firehawk flying, but Zhang Sheng’an suddenly disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already much farther away, and the statue had reappeared in his original location. It was struck by the Firehawk and shattered upon impact.

The statue was a substitution statue. Upon use, the user could swap places with the statue. It was a treasure that archers could use to increase the distance between them and their opponents.

Zhang Sheng’an was quite wealthy. Not only was he quite powerful, but he also had a wealth of treasures that could perform a variety of functions.

After increasing the distance between them again, he applied a vial of wound healing medicine to himself before pulling out a different object.

An arrow!

However, this was not an Anguish Arrow formed by the Tree Demon, but a real, bona fide arrow.

He drew the bow and nocked the arrow towards the patch of fog.

He wanted to take Su Chen’s life with a single arrow.

He had already drawn the bow; all he was waiting for was Su Chen to poke his head out.

However, the fog remained still. Su Chen did not appear.

Zhang Sheng’an was a bit surprised and didn’t know what to do.

Although he was merciless and malicious, he was still a youth. The amount of battle experience he had could not be considered extensive. In fact, given his age, it was already extremely impressive for him to be able to adapt so well.

But at this moment, he was faced with a sudden calm after being fiercely locked in battle for a long time. He was somewhat at a loss.

As he stared intently into the dense fog, Zhang Sheng’an felt a trace of uneasiness begin to well up in his heart.

He realized that the situation was not in his favor.

Why hadn’t his opponent made a move yet? Why was the Fog Medicine lasting for so long? It wasn’t dissipating, but rather slowly expanding…...

Expanding…...

Something’s off!

Zhang Sheng’an suddenly remembered that Su Chen had also used Fog Medicine against the Clay Giant.

Su Chen also had Fog Medicine, and he was constantly using it to expand the fog. He was within the fog, scheming something.

Zhang Sheng’an suddenly began to feel fear.

He hurriedly retreated, the tip of his arrow wobbling slightly as he yelled, “Come out! Su Chen, if you’re a man, come out!”

There was no reply.

Zhang Sheng’an finally began to feel fear.

This could not continue, otherwise he would be in great danger.

He released the tension in the bow and turned around to run away.

In the instant he lowered bow, however, a figure suddenly charged out of the fog.

Su Chen!

He had been waiting for the moment when Zhang Sheng’an lowered his bow.

He charged forwards at full speed!

When Zhang Sheng’an heard the noise, he knew the situation was not good.

He hurriedly turned around and reaimed his bow.

But in the instant that he pulled the bowstring, he suddenly felt a wave of pain assault his brain. Zhang Sheng’an had been struck by Su Chen’s Soul Eye.

He could not control the arrow in his hand, and his right hand let go of the bowstring.

Whoosh!

The long arrow took flight.

However, the arrow was not accurate at all.

It flew through the air like a shooting star, flying past Su Chen’s left. It carried an aura of absolute destruction as it flew through the forest. Finally, it exploded with a shocking brilliance, wiping out seventeen or eighteen massive trees in the blink of an eye. The powerful momentum it carried even caused a deep crack to appear in the ground.

Even though the arrow had missed him by more than ten feet, Su Chen had sensed the arrow’s frightening power. If he had been hit head-on by it, even with seven or eight Meg’s Guardians protecting him, the arrow probably would have still taken his life.

“Whew!”

Even Su Chen couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

He knew that the power of that arrow wouldn’t be ordinary as soon as he saw Zhang Sheng’an pull it out.

Thus, he had been willing to allow Zhang Sheng’an widen the distance instead of choosing to forcefully chase. Instead, he concealed himself within the fog, patiently wearing down Zhang Sheng’an until he could find the appropriate opportunity to strike.

Indeed, the strange calm after their fierce clashes had been too much for Zhang Sheng’an to handle.

In the instant he lowered the bow, Su Chen had charged forwards. His powerful attack would definitely put a lot of pressure on Zhang Sheng’an, and he would instinctively draw his bow. Su Chen used that opportunity to activate his Soul Eye right when the bow was half-drawn and the arrow half-aimed, resolving the situation with one blow.

The end result was that this arrow had been released prematurely, causing it to lose its accuracy.

Although the situation seemed precarious, Su Chen had read Zhang Sheng’an’s attitude and behavior like a book.

The miss of his arrow dealt a huge blow to Zhang Sheng’an. He stood there in a daze, not able to believe what had just happened.

Su Chen took advantage of the opportunity to charge forwards.

The distance he had managed to create between them instantly disappeared because of his brief moment of confusion. In the blink of an eye, Su Chen closed more than half of the distance already.

Thankfully, Zhang Sheng’an didn’t wait until Su Chen had completely caught up with him to snap out of it. He instantly sized up the situation and turned to run.

This time, he really was just trying to run away.

He had used everything he could - Origin Tools, props, talismans, scrolls, and medicines - but none of them were useful. Continuing to battle was to seek death.

Zhang Sheng’an was very clear of this point. There was no reluctance in his heart to leave.

As he ran, he pulled out an item. It was a light pink gauze.

He tossed the thin gauze into the air, and the gauze became a red cloud that descended to the ground. Zhang Sheng’an stepped on it and began to fly away.

Zhang Sheng’an laughed. “Su Chen, you won’t be able to catch me. See you later!”

This Red Earth Gauze was his last life-saving treasure. It granted him temporarily the ability to fly. However, because it was a low-grade flying tool, there was no way for him to attack while flying. In addition, because its color was too beautiful and feminine, Zhang Sheng’an was unwilling to use it.

But now that his life was in danger, he naturally wouldn’t pay any attention to such matters.

Upon seeing Zhang Sheng’an attempt to escape, Su Chen flipped his hand over, another Firehawk taking form in the palm of his hand.

Zhang Sheng’an harrumphed. The Red Earth Gauze had its own protective capabilities, so he wasn’t frightened at all.

Boom!

Su Chen’s Firehawk flew towards him, slamming into the Red Earth Gauze. Although the sky was filled with a large explosion, it was not able to penetrate the barrier and wound Zhang Sheng’an.

Zhang Sheng’an waved his hand at Su Chen and said in delight, “Goodbye!”

“Not yet!” Su Chen coldly replied.

He pulled out an item. It was the hawk that he had carved into the Flame Crystal.

He then formed another Erupting Firehawk, but this time he sent all the energy into the Fire Crystal.

A much more powerful Erupting Firehawk!

Su Chen had yet to perfect this Origin Skill, so he used this small Fire Crystal to realize his creation.

A new, more powerful hawk with flaming wings appeared.

It was completely made out of flames, as if it was a flaming bird that came flying out of the sun. The aura that it carried made it seem as if it could burn everything. As soon as it appeared, the environment’s temperature went up a few degrees.

“SCREEECH!”

After letting out a long cry, this Flame-Winged Divine Hawk swung its long, fiery talons through the air, unleashing a seemingly boundless swathe of flames. The vast waves of flames rushed towards Zhang Sheng’an.

Zhang Sheng’an stood on the Red Earth Gauze, staring blankly at the scene as the reflection of flames in his eyes grew larger and larger.

“NO!” he howled, his expression one of despair.

An instant later, he was engulfed by the flames.