Chapter 29: Li Sheng Defeats Mei Chao Feng

  Ling Yun and Mei Chao Feng exchanged blows at an extremely fast pace, often with a dozen or so moves passing in the space of a single breath. The speed was dizzying, making it difficult to keep track, and even a slight lapse in attention could lead to vastly different outcomes. However, this level of combat was also extremely draining on one's internal energy and mental focus.

  At this point, the effect of Ling Muyun's previous calculation was revealed. Mei Chaofeng could still fight him evenly at first, but as time went on, her movements gradually slowed down. By the time they had exchanged over a thousand moves, Mei Chaofeng was already drenched in sweat, and her whip techniques began to slow down. Mei Chaofeng also knew that if things continued like this, the situation would not be good for her. However, after the previous long pursuit and then such an intense battle, the true energy inside her body had been consumed by more than half, and it was really difficult for her to maintain the high-frequency attacks as before.

  As Mei Chao Feng's strength began to wane, Ling Mu Yun seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. His sword moves became increasingly swift and agile, his techniques more mysterious and unpredictable. He was like a shadow dancing around Mei Chao Feng, his sword flashes almost suffocating Mei Chao Feng's whip curtain, enveloping him entirely. The whip shadow that had once covered an area of about two zhang now only managed to cover a range of several feet around his body. Often, he could barely swing out one whip before being forced to change moves under Ling Mu Yun's pressure, and his whip techniques were becoming increasingly difficult to fully deploy.

  Under Ling Muyun's pressure, Mei Chaofeng was getting more and more tired of responding, and could hardly keep up with Ling Muyun's speed. After barely supporting dozens of moves, she was finally found by Ling Muyun to break through the gap, a sword broke through the whip net and reached Mei Chaofeng's back, the sharp sword tip pierced towards Mei Chaofeng's back.

  At this moment, Mei Chao Feng's White Python Whip technique had been broken, the long whip was isolated outside, and it was already too late to come back to support. Just as Mei Chao Feng was about to be injured by Ling Mu Yun's sword, he suddenly shifted his body slightly to one side, without turning his head, and with one hand at an unbelievable angle, reached out from behind him to grab the treasure sword that Ling Mu Yun had thrust out, attempting to enter White Blade with empty hands.

  A metallic scraping sound, Mei Chaofeng's palm swiftly grasped the sword blade that was about to pierce her own back, and with a flick of her wrist, it seemed as if she would snap it in two. However, before she could exert any force, the sword blade that had already been grasped began to writhe and struggle free under Ling Piaoyun's internal energy infusion, like a living snake, rubbing against her palm and producing a trail of sparks.

  "What a formidable Nine Yin White Bone Claw, it can actually cultivate a pair of human palms to this extent." Ling Mu Yun's sword was ineffective and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. His sword was made of refined steel and had his internal energy infused into it, so even if it were a steel plate, it could easily pierce through it. But this swift sword was caught by Mei Chao Feng with just one palm, and almost snapped in two. This showed just how formidable Mei Chao Feng's Nine Yin White Bone Claw was!

  "Little one, lend me your paw."

  Mei Chaofeng's body suddenly twisted around, her five fingers formed into claws and swiped down at Ling Yun's head. Before her claw even landed, the sharp wind generated by it already made Ling Yun's scalp ache as if it was about to be torn apart.

  Ling Yun's body leaned back and dodged a foot, just avoiding Mei Chao Feng's Nine Yin White Bone Claw. At the same time, the sword light in his hand flashed, drawing out a bright trajectory that swiftly stabbed at Mei Chao Feng's throat. He dodged and counterattacked in the same instant, adapting extremely quickly.

  But who would have thought that just as Ling Mu Yun's sword light was halfway through, Mei Chao Feng swung his whip with one hand and blocked the sword path. At the same time, the other arm, which seemed to be about to fall empty, suddenly grew an inch longer and clawed down at Ling Mu Yun's head again. Ling Mu Yun's face changed, and in a moment of crisis, he displayed his skill of moving sideways in mid-air, his body shifting several feet to the side in an impossible space, barely avoiding this claw.

  Mei Chaofeng's reason was not to be forgiven, and with a flick of his long whip, he coiled it back around his waist. His two hands transformed into claws, swinging out in all directions, tearing through the air towards Ling Muyun with a fierce slash, as if wanting to rip him to shreds. Ling Muyun fearlessly swung his long sword, unleashing a brilliant flash of light that clashed with the claw shadows, "Clang clang clang" A dense series of collision sounds rang out, the sword light and claw shadows canceling each other out, disappearing together.

  It seemed like a evenly matched exchange between the two, but that was because Ling Muyun lacked specific understanding of Mei Chaofeng's Nine Yin White Bone Claw, and was caught off guard. On the other hand, Mei Chaofeng had already given it her all in this fierce attack, and after this unsuccessful assault, she was almost exhausted, making it difficult for her to pose a significant threat to Ling Muyun again.

  In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of moves again. Mei Chaofeng's body was covered in even more wounds, and her appearance became somewhat disheveled. As her internal energy approached exhaustion, Mei Chaofeng found it increasingly difficult to withstand Ling Muyun's offensive. If not for her mastery of the Horizontal Practice skill, which allowed her to narrowly avoid fatal blows, she might have already fallen under Ling Muyun's sword.

  Just then, Ling Mu Yun stabbed the air with his sword and suddenly punched towards Mei Chao Feng's face. Mei Chao Feng almost instinctively swung out a claw to counterattack, and after making her move, she still felt a hint of joy in her heart, thinking that Ling Mu Yun would unexpectedly expose his weakness in such a favorable situation, abandoning his sword to use his fists and feet. Wasn't this clearly giving her an opportunity? As long as she could disable one of his hands with the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, she might even be able to turn defeat into victory.

  A loud "thud" echoed, and Ling Yun's fist collided with Mei Chao Feng's claw. Before Mei Chao Feng could put her previous thoughts into action, her face suddenly changed color. As soon as their palms touched, she felt a surge of powerful and scorching internal energy transmitted from the point of contact between the fist and claw, and her heart was shocked: "You want to compete with me in internal energy?"

  The thought had just risen in her mind when she felt Ling Yun's inner power approaching. Although Mei Chao Feng had already sensed the depth of Ling Yun's inner power through their exchange, even at her peak she wouldn't have been a match for him, let alone now that her energy was depleted. She was already in a precarious situation, and apart from using her inner power to defend herself, there were no other options left.

  The internal force contest has always been the most dangerous, and it has always been taboo for martial artists. Unless one is absolutely sure of winning, they will not engage in an internal force contest with others, because once they lose control, their opponent's internal force will surge into their body, injuring their internal organs and leading to certain death. Ling Mu Yun had also undergone various tests and considerations, and only with absolute confidence did he dare to directly compete with Mei Chao Feng in internal force.

  Mei Chao Feng felt Ling Mu Yun's inner power was like the Yangtze River's waves, endless and surging forward, one wave higher than the other. The depth and vastness of his inner power was truly frightening. However, her current situation was as if she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff, where retreating one step would mean certain death. Although she knew she had no chance of winning, she couldn't help but mobilize all her internal energy to fight with all her might.

  After a brief stalemate, Mei Chao Feng's face turned even more unsightly, with wisps of white vapor emanating from his head, which was the sweat evaporating directly into steam, an indication that his internal energy consumption had been too massive.

  Ling Muyun was delighted to see this, and he hastened to intensify his inner energy, accelerating the depletion of Mei Chaofeng's strength. At this moment, Mei Chaofeng also guessed Ling Muyun's intentions, but she was now using all her might to resist Ling Muyun's invading inner energy, not daring to relax in the slightest. Besides intensifying her own inner energy to counterattack, she couldn't even move a single finger, and although she knew that Ling Muyun was trying to exhaust her, she was completely helpless.

  After another brief struggle, Mei Chaofeng felt her internal energy was completely depleted, while the opponent's internal energy continued to surge in like a raging tide. She couldn't help but secretly sigh and give up resisting, closing her eyes to await death. But who would have thought that just as she had exhausted her internal energy and given up resistance, Ling Yun's internal energy did not take advantage of the situation to invade her body, but instead suddenly retracted, causing their palms, which were stuck together, to separate with a shock.

  Mei Chao Feng was now exhausted and his internal energy depleted. As soon as their palms parted, he collapsed to the ground, soft and weak, his face pale as paper, his limbs numb and unable to move.

  Looking at the limp Mei Chao Feng on the ground, Ling Mu Yun let out a long sigh. This battle was the most difficult one he had experienced since his rebirth. Although Mei Chao Feng's martial arts were only on the same level as those of the evil Luo Han that he had killed earlier, but because Mei Chao Feng himself was also a speed-type master, the threat he posed to him was much greater than that of Luo Han. Now that he had finally subdued Mei Chao Feng, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over him.

  After catching his breath, Ling Yun turned his gaze to Mei Chao Feng who was lying on the ground with a pale face, and a hint of pity flashed in his eyes. To say that Mei Chao Feng was also a pitiful person, except for the time he spent learning martial arts on Peach Island which was relatively good, after escaping from Peach Island, he never had a good day again. Although he practiced half of the Nine Yin Manual and acquired extraordinary martial skills, he was afraid of being found by his master Huang Yaoshi, and also had to guard against many enemies in the Jianghu world. Later, he even lost his husband and became disabled, lonely and helpless, which was extremely tragic.

  Ling Mu Yun's martial arts skills were high, but he was not yet a qualified Jianghu person because his heart was not hard enough. Although he knew that Mei Chao Feng had betrayed her master and stolen the scriptures, killing countless people over the years, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she was extremely evil. However, seeing that she was a blind woman alone and helpless, Ling Mu Yun couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy and didn't have the heart to kill her. Mei Chao Feng's martial arts skills were exceptionally high, making him dare not show mercy in battle, lest he lose his own life due to a momentary lapse of compassion. Therefore, he chose to engage in an internal force contest with Mei Chao Feng, which was the only way to subdue her without harming her.