Chapter 81 Life and Death in a Single Thought

The dark-blue flame was scattered in an instant by the man in black.

Tang Yan took a step back. Seeing the man in black remain completely unmoved, he sighed inwardly. The gap in strength was too great. He was no match at all.

The Heaven and Earth Creation Flame consumed True Qi at a terrifying rate. Tang Yan did not know how long he could last. He glanced at Lin Dongxue, who was still standing where she was, and roared, "Run!"

"None of you are leaving!"

The man in black let out a shrill, strange laugh. Earlier, he had still been somewhat wary of Tang Yan's Heaven and Earth Creation Flame, but after realizing the flame could not truly threaten him, his heart settled completely.

He pressed forward and lunged at Tang Yan once more.

"If you could enter Cangyun Mountain to kill me, then you must be from the Liu Family!" Tang Yan suddenly said.

The man in black's heart tightened.

That fleeting trace of alarm in his eyes did not escape Tang Yan.

"Trying to sound out this old man's background? As long as this old man refuses to speak, you can rack your brains to pieces and still never guess it."

As the man in black spoke, his palm wind had already arrived before Tang Yan.

Tang Yan drew in a deep breath. His Vortex Dantian spun to its limit, True Qi continuously transforming into the Heaven and Earth Creation Flame. Facing the man in black's palm wind, he sent out Thousand Mountains Fist once more.

"You don't dare use martial skills. You only use simple attacks. That means you don't want us to know your origins. If you have such concerns, there is only one possibility-we know each other!

"When you attacked Lin Dongxue earlier, there was hesitation and fear in your eyes. That means you know her identity.

"You know us, and you also knew our whereabouts. Other than the City Lord, only Liu Zhi should have known that. It must have been Liu Zhi who tipped you off and revealed where we were.

"And with your strength at Black Rank fifth grade... Second Master Liu, you have quite the nerve! You even dare ambush and kill the City Lord's precious daughter!"

As Tang Yan spoke, he had already exchanged several moves with the man in black.

The difference in strength was still too great. Tang Yan only felt the Qi and blood within his organs churning violently.

"Pfft!"

A thin line of blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.

Hearing Tang Yan's analysis, cruelty flashed through the man in black's eyes. He tore away the cloth covering his face, revealing his true appearance.

"Liu Jing!" Lin Dongxue cried out when she saw his face.

"I originally planned to kill Tang Yan and merely knock you unconscious. But now that you know, you also have only one road left today-death. Don't blame me for being ruthless. If you want to blame someone, blame Tang Yan for exposing my identity."

Liu Jing's voice returned to normal. The aura around him changed, and an even sharper attack struck toward Tang Yan.

"I'll hold him off! Run!" Tang Yan shouted, his eyes turning blood-red as he looked at Lin Dongxue still foolishly standing there.

Lin Dongxue's heart trembled hard.

She knew very well that Tang Yan was extremely fast. He could have abandoned her and fled on his own.

But he had not.

Lin Dongxue felt her eyes grow faintly hot. Under the surge of emotion and unwillingness in her heart, she, who had already reached the peak of Black Rank first grade, suddenly felt heat bloom within her Dantian.

It was as though a barrier had been broken open. A thicker, more abundant stream of True Qi flowed freely through her body.

Black Rank second grade!

Having just advanced, Lin Dongxue's heart filled with sudden joy. Borrowing the momentum of her breakthrough, she gave a clear shout and rushed into the fight.

"If we leave, we leave together! If we fight, we fight together!"

Tang Yan was so gloomy he nearly spat blood.

My dear lady, why are you trying to be brave now? If you ran, I could still look for a chance to escape too!

Liu Jing, who had been tied down by Tang Yan all this time, had also been worried Lin Dongxue might suddenly flee. Seeing her return to the fight, joy flashed through his eyes.

Tang Yan felt the True Qi in his Dantian pouring away like a flood, emptying at a dreadful speed.

The moment Lin Dongxue charged over, Tang Yan swiftly opened the porcelain bottles on him and swallowed the Pills inside in one go.

Damn it. Since death is hard to avoid anyway, this young master will stake everything against you!

Meridian Tempering Pills, High Spirit Pills, Qi Recovery Pills... any Pill beneficial to cultivation was swallowed by Tang Yan in the span of a breath.

A vast amount of Spiritual Qi began to grow within his body. Immediately after, it erupted like a volcano, rushing outward from his Dantian.

Feeling the violent Spiritual Qi within him surge up like a fountain, Tang Yan's heart turned bitter.

Damn it, I got carried away and ate too many!

His Dantian and Meridians simply could not endure it.

But Tang Yan did not abandon his will to live. A man could die gloriously in battle, but he would never sit down and wait for death.

His Vortex Dantian spun rapidly, trying to control the speed at which the Spiritual Qi was growing.

Liu Jing and Lin Dongxue were both watching Tang Yan closely. When Liu Jing saw Tang Yan's skin turn red as though burned by fire, and saw small bulges constantly shifting beneath the surface of his body, he stopped attacking as well. Pointing at Tang Yan, he threw back his head and laughed.

"Hahaha! As expected of Yun City's number one wastrel. Even the way you squander your fortune is different from everyone else.

"Other people swallow poison to kill themselves, but Young Master Tang truly knows how to find a new path-swallowing Pills directly!

"To tell the truth, this Second Master has lived for so many years, but I've never seen anyone eat Pills until they burst to death. Young Master Tang has truly opened my eyes today!"

Hearing Liu Jing's mockery, Lin Dongxue's gaze filled with worry. Her delicate fists clenched tightly.

This fellow usually looks quite clever. Why is he so stupid at a time like this?

Tang Yan had bitterness he could not speak. Although he was doing everything he could to suppress the Spiritual Qi, the Spiritual Qi contained within the Pills was simply too much.

His body was swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye. If he still could not find a solution, Tang Yan knew he would only burst apart and die.

A ninth-grade Alchemist dying because he swallowed too many Pills-if this spread to the Inner Jianghu of his previous life, wouldn't everyone laugh their heads off?

Intense pain struck him. Tang Yan's consciousness gradually blurred. What faintly reached his ears was only Liu Jing's cold ridicule. Then his thoughts began to scatter.

He thought of his previous life. He thought of Huaxia civilization. Pangu splitting heaven and earth. Nüwa mending the sky. Yu the Great controlling the floods...

Wait.

Yu the Great controlling the floods?

Tang Yan's consciousness was already growing hazy, but he seemed to grasp a trace of insight. A sliver of clarity returned to his mind.

Yu the Great controlling the floods?

What exactly was he trying to find?

Blocking was worse than channeling!

Boom!

Tang Yan, who was about to faint, suddenly had a flash of inspiration at the very instant his body could bear no more. At last, he found the answer he sought.

He bit the tip of his tongue to regain a trace of clarity. Madness flashed in Tang Yan's eyes.

He stopped trying to restrain the growing Spiritual Qi. Standing where he was, he stared at the mocking Liu Jing with blood-red eyes.

Since he could not contain this Spiritual Qi, then he might as well release it with all his strength. As long as he released it faster than the Pills could refine and drive it out, he would have a thread of life.

Tang Yan did not know whether this method would work.

But he had no way back.

Liu Jing had still been relaxed, but when he sensed the madness in Tang Yan's eyes, his heart suddenly trembled.

What was this brat trying to do?

Before Liu Jing could think further, Tang Yan gave him the answer with his actions.

Tang Yan's aura rose layer by layer. Stepping with Phantom Step, he charged toward Liu Jing.

The Spiritual Qi inside him was like a mountain, leaving Tang Yan no need to consider consumption at all.

His right fist traced complex arcs through the air. The dark-blue Heaven and Earth Creation Flame wrapped around his fist, and the surrounding air seemed to be drawn away, giving rise to a suffocating pressure.

"Flame Burst Palm!"

Tang Yan shouted in a low voice, and an incomparably powerful aura soared upward.

As though pushing a great mountain, Tang Yan drove his fist forward.