Chapter 5: Survival in Desperation

Li Hongjun gripped the ancient sword tightly, its simple aura emanating from his palm as his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the massive black vortex swirling in the sky. Though anxiety gnawed at his heart, it was overpowered by anger and unwillingness. “You coward, hiding in the shadows, only daring to try and frighten people. If you’ve got the guts, show yourself and let’s have a real fight—don’t cower like a turtle in its shell!” Li Hongjun shouted up at the black vortex, hurling insults in an attempt to provoke his adversary into revealing himself.

A cold, disdainful snort echoed from the vortex. “Hmph. Do you really think you’re worthy of seeing my true form? Hand over the ‘Universal Spirit Manual’ and the ancient divine artifact, and I might grant you a swift death. Otherwise, you’ll find neither life nor death an escape.”

A sneer curled Li Hongjun’s lips. “Big words for someone who won’t even show his face. Do you think I, Li Hongjun, am so easily frightened? I struggled through countless dangers to obtain these treasures—why should I hand them over to a fool like you? If you don’t come out, I’ll study this ancient artifact until I understand it completely, and you’ll be the first to be destroyed, body and soul.”

The black vortex churned violently, clearly riled by Li Hongjun’s taunts. Suddenly, a shadowy figure shot forth from the swirling darkness, appearing before Li Hongjun in the blink of an eye. Cloaked entirely in black, his features were hidden; only a pair of eyes glinted eerily from beneath the hood, exuding a chilling, sinister aura.

“Since you refuse to toast, you’ll drink the forfeit instead,” the figure intoned coldly, hands moving rapidly in a complex pattern. Black streams of energy surged from his palms, twisting like serpentine shadows as they swept toward Li Hongjun.

Li Hongjun dared not be careless. He swiftly activated the ‘Chaos Devouring Heavens Divine Manual’; spiritual power surged through his body, forming a protective shield before him. The black energy struck the shield with sizzling sounds, sending ripples shivering across its surface, threatening to shatter it at any moment.

“Not bad, you have some skill. But you’ll have to do better than that to hurt me,” Li Hongjun retorted, though he knew full well the black-cloaked man was no ordinary opponent. While maintaining his shield, he quickly conjured several fireballs and hurled them at his foe.

With a cold laugh, the black-cloaked figure vanished instantly. The fireballs flew harmlessly past, exploding on the ground and casting up clouds of dust. Alarmed, Li Hongjun started to turn, but a powerful force crashed into his back. He barely managed to dodge, but pain seared his shoulder—a deep wound now bleeding freely.

“Foolish and overconfident,” the figure sneered from a short distance away, eyes cold as ice.

Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, Li Hongjun gritted his teeth. “Don’t get cocky. I was just careless. Watch how I deal with you now.” With that, he cast a gravity spell, attempting to pin the black-cloaked man down. But his foe was prepared; black radiance shimmered around him, neutralizing the spell’s effect.

“That’s the extent of your tricks, and you still dare face me?” mocked the black-cloaked man as he launched another attack. This time, a black scythe appeared in his hands, exuding a terrifying aura. He brandished it, sending slashes of dark sword energy speeding toward Li Hongjun, their speed blinding.

Li Hongjun hastily raised his sword to block. Metal clashed against energy, ringing out in a sharp, rapid cadence. The force of the blows numbed his arm; the enemy’s strength was overwhelming, and he was struggling to hold his ground.

This won’t work, Li Hongjun realized, feeling desperate. Suddenly, inspiration struck—he recalled the ‘Universal Spirit Manual’ he had just obtained. Though he hadn’t studied it thoroughly, he could try using its principles for manipulating spiritual power to alter the energy around him and perhaps find a weakness.

While parrying the enemy’s strikes, Li Hongjun began to probe the surrounding spiritual currents. He discovered that the black energy wielded by his foe seemed to repel the natural spiritual power of the environment.

There’s my opening! Joy surged in Li Hongjun’s heart. He focused, guiding the natural spiritual energy to surge against the black energy. The two forces collided, unleashing violent waves that unsettled the black-cloaked man’s rhythm.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Hongjun unleashed his most powerful Wind Palm, infusing it with the surrounding spiritual energy. The resulting blow was several times stronger than before, roaring toward the black-cloaked man.

His opponent’s expression changed; he hurriedly raised his scythe to block, but this time the defense failed. The Wind Palm struck his arm, tearing a wound from which black blood oozed.

“You…” the black-cloaked man was both shocked and enraged, stunned that Li Hongjun had found a counter so swiftly.

“How about that? Impressed now?” Li Hongjun taunted, not letting up as he gathered energy for another attack.

The black-cloaked man snorted. “Don’t be too pleased with yourself, boy. This is only the beginning.” As he spoke, the black light around him blazed even brighter, his aura becoming all the more terrifying.

He’s about to unleash his strongest move, Li Hongjun realized, tightening his grip on the sword and focusing all his attention.

The black-cloaked man raised his scythe high overhead, chanting incantations. The vast vortex above spun wildly, sending down beams of black light that converged on his weapon.

“Die!” he roared, hurling the scythe at Li Hongjun with devastating force. It became a streak of darkness, imbued with annihilating power, surging toward him.

Li Hongjun felt the oppressive force bearing down, knowing this attack was no ordinary threat. He poured all his spiritual power into the ‘Chaos Devouring Heavens Divine Manual’ and, using his newfound understanding of the Universal Spirit technique, tried to alter the scythe’s path. The black weapon wavered slightly but continued its deadly course.

Gritting his teeth, Li Hongjun raised his sword high, bracing himself for the collision.

With a thunderous boom, the scythe and sword clashed, erupting in a blinding flash. The impact shattered the ground, sending dust billowing in all directions.

A tidal wave of force surged through Li Hongjun; pain shot up his arms and his sword nearly slipped from his grasp. He planted his feet, gouging deep furrows in the earth.

Coughing up blood, his face pale as paper, Li Hongjun refused to yield. He glared at the black-cloaked man with unwavering resolve.

The man, surprised Li Hongjun had survived his full-strength attack, narrowed his eyes. “You’re tougher than I thought. But how many more can you withstand?”

Wiping blood from his mouth, Li Hongjun grinned, teeth stained red. “I’ll take as many as you can throw, you ugly freak. You’re truly unlucky to have run into me today.”

Enraged, the black-cloaked man laughed coldly. “Very well, let’s see how long you can keep that bravado.” He prepared for yet another assault.

At that critical moment, Li Hongjun suddenly felt a warm power surge from the ancient sword into his body, rapidly healing his wounds and greatly boosting his spiritual strength.

Delighted, Li Hongjun realized the artifact had revealed its power at this decisive juncture. Seizing the moment, he launched fireballs and spiritual missiles, their power now many times greater thanks to the artifact’s blessing.

A barrage of fiery blasts and energy bolts rained down on the black-cloaked man, who hastily formed a shield of black energy. But Li Hongjun’s attack was relentless, and the shield trembled under the onslaught.

“Is this all you’ve got? And you wanted to steal my treasure? Dream on!” Li Hongjun mocked loudly as he pressed his advantage.

Frustrated and desperate, the black-cloaked man realized defeat was imminent. His eyes flashed with savage resolve, and with reckless abandon he burst through the storm of attacks, hurtling straight at Li Hongjun.

“Damn!” Li Hongjun was caught off guard by the suicidal charge. As his foe closed in, a bold plan formed in his mind.

He sheathed his sword, forming seals with both hands as he cast another gravity spell, this time channeling the full power of the ancient artifact. Gravity multiplied around the black-cloaked man, crushing him and slowing his movements.

Seeing his chance, Li Hongjun lunged forward and unleashed a full-force Wind Palm at the man’s chest, channeling all his spiritual power and the artifact’s might into the blow. The black-cloaked man couldn’t dodge; the strike hit him squarely, sending him flying like a severed kite. He crashed heavily to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of black blood, clearly gravely wounded.

“You’re still too green to challenge me,” Li Hongjun said, looming over his fallen adversary.

The black-cloaked man glared up at him, eyes brimming with malice. “Don’t get complacent, boy. I won’t let you off…” But before he could finish, he dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.

“Trying to escape? Not so easy,” Li Hongjun started to give chase, but the man had vanished without a trace, as if he’d never existed.

Li Hongjun finally let out a long breath and collapsed to the ground, utterly spent. The battle had been harrowing; had it not been for the artifact’s timely intervention, he doubted he would have survived.

After resting for a while, Li Hongjun rose, gazing at the ‘Universal Spirit Manual’ and the ancient artifact in his hands, his heart full of emotion. “That was truly close, but the rewards are worth it.” He knew well that the path of cultivation was fraught with danger and challenge, but instead of fear, his resolve only strengthened.

Summoning his spiritual power, Li Hongjun attempted the teleportation spell again. This time, the space around him was no longer sealed. With a flash of light, he left the battlefield behind.

When he returned to his dorm room, only an hour had passed; his roommates were still out. Lying on his bed, Li Hongjun replayed the events in his mind, unable to calm his racing heart. “Clearly, I’ll need to train even harder. The world of cultivation is far more dangerous than I imagined.”

From that day on, Li Hongjun attended classes during the day and secluded himself in cultivation at night, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the study of the Universal Spirit Manual and the ancient artifact. Each day, he experimented with merging the Universal Spirit Manual and the Chaos Devouring Heavens Divine Manual, while probing the deeper mysteries of the ancient artifact.

As time passed, his understanding of the Universal Spirit Manual grew ever more profound. He could now wield the Universal Spirit energy with ease, unleashing a variety of powerful spells. The artifact, continually refined, became ever more attuned to his spirit, its power growing with each passing day.

With his strength soaring, Li Hongjun broke through the bottleneck of the seventh level of Qi Refining, advancing to the eighth, then the ninth, and finally stepping into the early stage of Foundation Establishment before pausing his ascent.

One Saturday morning, he took a bus to a secluded spot in Spiritual Mountain to practice the art of sword flight. At first, he wobbled unsteadily, struggling to keep his balance, but after two days, he was soaring at will with practiced ease.

By then, winter break had arrived. Li Hongjun decided to use the holiday to travel to the major jade trading cities across the country, purchasing raw jadeite stones to set up spirit-gathering arrays, amassing funds to buy cultivation resources.