Chapter 935: The Truth?

"With such little strength, you still think you can take on three? A fool's dream!" Shi Zhanfeng sneered upon seeing this.

With that, he stomped the ground, his figure flashing forward as he raised an arm, forming his hand into a blade and chopping down at Shi Chuankong's head.

A series of dense apertures lit up along his arm, and white light surged on his palm, making it truly resemble a sharp war blade, emanating waves of unsettling fluctuations.

Shi Chuankong seemed to sense the threat of this strike, struggling to withdraw his blade and counter, but with the woman and Du Yuan flanking him, he was pinned in place and unable to break free.

Han Li inwardly cried out in alarm, making as if to rush out of the tower.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

A black light flashed on Shi Chuankong's chest, and a pendant-like object fell from him, shattering with a "pop."

Immediately after, a vortex of black light burst forth, and a strange beast emerged—a demonic ape ten zhang tall, covered in dense spikes and scale armor—charging headlong at Shi Zhanfeng.

"Clang..."

A sharp sound like metal striking metal rang out. Shi Zhanfeng, using his hand as a blade, struck heavily on the demon ape's head, only to be sent flying backward by the impact.

Han Li was momentarily stunned.

The demon ape looked exactly like the one trapped in the exquisite miniature carving shaped like a black cage that Shi Chuankong's third brother had given him years ago.

After knocking Shi Zhanfeng away, the demon ape turned and swung a palm at the seductive woman.

She withdrew her bone whip and leaped lightly to dodge, not engaging head-on. Meanwhile, Du Yuan flashed to the right side of the demon ape and threw a punch.

Despite its massive size, the demon ape reacted swiftly, twisting its waist and throwing a punch back.

"Boom!" A loud crash.

The two fists collided, unleashing a violent impact. The void trembled, and a burst of wild energy swept in all directions.

Shi Chuankong leaped up, using the force to fly backward, attempting to escape.

But just as he jumped into the air, a roar came: "Where do you think you're going!"

A white light flashed above, and Shi Zhanfeng descended from the sky, again striking down with his hand as a blade.

His speed was extreme; Shi Chuankong had no time to raise his blade to parry and could only lean back instinctively.

A white light swept past his face, sliding down his chest.

"Sss..."

A strand of white hair drifted away. A long bloody cut appeared on Shi Chuankong's cheek, the bone armor on his face shattered with a crack, and blood spurted from his chest as a deep, bone-deep wound opened.

He fell to the ground, crashing heavily. Shi Zhanfeng pursued relentlessly, stepping onto his chest.

"Boom!"

The earth shook violently, dust rising.

Shi Chuankong's body was embedded in the ground, vomiting blood. The ground beneath him was covered in cracks like a spiderweb.

Shi Zhanfeng stepped on the wound on his chest, kicked away the star weapon blade he could no longer hold, caught it with his toe, swung it, and gripped it tightly.

"Compared to Shi Pokong, I don't actually dislike you much. It's just... well, blame your poor judgment..." He looked at Shi Chuankong's face, not with mockery but with a hint of sorrow.

With that, he swung the long blade, aiming to cut off Shi Chuankong's head.

On the ground, Shi Chuankong seemed to have given up resistance, a helpless smile on his face. His left hand, which had been clenched, suddenly opened, revealing a bloodstained leaf-shaped jade token.

It was the seal token given to him by the Third Prince!

The token was stained with his blood essence, seemingly already activated. Thin veins on its surface lit up one by one, emitting a dazzling light.

"This is..."

Shi Zhanfeng cried out in alarm, abandoning the kill and retreating swiftly.

From afar, Han Li saw the air around Shi Chuankong suddenly contract, gathering around him, and then a white sun rose.

"Rumble..."

A violent explosion sounded, and the blazing sun turned into a towering cloud of energy, blasting a hundred zhang into the sky.

The entire white stone plaza was engulfed in a blinding white light, making it impossible to see.

A ring of violent air surged in all directions, instantly lifting large slabs of stone, spreading like a sandstorm.

Standing on the high tower, Han Li felt a wave of scorching heat rolling toward him, stinging his face and nearly blinding him. The stone tower trembled violently, dust falling in showers as if it might collapse at any moment.

This astonishing momentum lasted for over ten breaths before gradually subsiding and calming down.

The outer layer of the stone tower seemed severely eroded, peeling off a thick layer, making it even thinner.

Han Li leaned against the noticeably thinner windowsill, his brows tightly knit, his eyes gloomily fixed on the white stone plaza.

But it was now empty, leaving only a pit dozens of zhang deep and a hundred zhang wide. The surrounding stone ground, houses, and palace walls had all turned to ash, completely gone.

In the center of the pit lay a broken figure covered in black blood, motionless, unknown whether alive or dead.

Just then, the figure's chest heaved violently, as if coughing, and he actually regained consciousness.

The matted hair on his head fell aside, revealing a face covered in blood—it was Shi Chuankong.

For some reason, using the seal token given by Shi Pokong had not teleported him back to the demon realm but instead subjected him to such a violent blast.

Shi Chuankong struggled to sit up, but as soon as he moved, a heart-wrenching pain surged from every limb, forcing a suppressed, agonized groan from him.

"To survive the power of the Voidburst Talisman is nothing short of a miracle..." Shi Zhanfeng, accompanied by Du Yuan, walked slowly to the edge of the pit, clapping in praise.

His clothes were half torn, the inner armor mostly shattered, and his right arm and shoulder were a bloody mess, with bones exposed in many places.

When Han Li heard the words "Voidburst Talisman," his brow twitched. His hand, which had been rubbing the leaf-shaped token, stopped abruptly, and a shadow passed over his eyes.

If he had used that talisman when crossing the Black Abyss and spatial storm to enter the Great Ruins, most of the people from Xuan and Wei cities would likely have perished.

Lying in the center of the pit, Shi Chuankong ignored the First Prince's words, still struggling to sit up.

But his entire body was almost completely immobile, only his neck could twist with effort, shaking his body and causing some of the charred marks to fall off.

However, as the blood, clothes, and bone armor ash fell away, beneath the charred marks, patches of snowy white appeared—a thin, delicate white garment.

"Is this... the Star Fox Feather Robe? No wonder you survived such a powerful explosion; you had this treasure to protect you. We all thought your vixen mother favored Shi Pokong and would leave this heirloom to him, but it seems she gave it to you." Shi Zhanfeng marveled, sneering.

Hearing this, Shi Chuankong's mind conjured the image of that gentle, smiling woman, always softly calling his and his third brother's names, and the look on her face when she bequeathed the feather robe to him on her deathbed.

That gentle fox woman, even in death, never spoke a word of resentment, only hoping that her two sons would look after each other and survive in this dangerous world.

"Third brother, was the 'Voidburst Talisman' really your doing?"

Shi Chuankong slowly closed his eyes, a single crystal tear silently sliding down the corner of his eye.

"Roar..."

Just then, a beastly roar rang out.

On the slope of the pit, dust flew as the demon ape suddenly burst out, unharmed, charging toward Shi Zhanfeng and the others.

"Dispose of it!" Shi Zhanfeng said with a look of disgust, giving a light order.

Du Yuan and the petite woman simultaneously flashed out, one on each side, engaging the demon ape and fighting it away to the side.

Meanwhile, Shi Zhanfeng slowly walked into the pit, stopping beside Shi Chuankong and crouching down.

He casually tugged at the Star Fox Feather Robe covering Shi Chuankong, and it dissipated like smoke, vanishing completely.

"Ah, ruined. What a pity..." he sighed softly.

Then, he turned his gaze to Shi Chuankong, a look of sorrow in his eyes. He lifted the war blade and placed its tip on Shi Chuankong's chest.

"Big brother, what do you think of our third brother?" Shi Chuankong suddenly opened his eyes, his expression calm, asking a seemingly irrelevant question.

Shi Zhanfeng frowned, pondered for a moment, then replied seriously: "He... I've never been able to see through him."

"They say your enemy knows you best... If even you, big brother, can't see through him, then I've truly been shortsighted all along." Shi Chuankong sighed slowly.

"Enough. Time to send you on your way." Shi Zhanfeng, not immediately grasping the meaning of Shi Chuankong's words, said slowly.

Shi Chuankong smiled faintly and closed his eyes again.

Shi Zhanfeng's eyes hardened, dispelling the inexplicable melancholy that had arisen in his heart. He twisted his wrist slightly, ready to thrust down into Shi Chuankong's heart.