CHAPTER 229: FOUR VISCERA, OPEN!

As if reading Liu Ziqi’s thoughts, Chen Tianjing laughed again.

"You were right—that one over there is Chen Qingyu."

With those words, he clenched his fists and unleashed a strike: the Big Dipper Seven-Star Fist.

He had grasped this combat technique during the last Grand Rite of the Divine Tree. Though "grasped" might be too generous—a better term would be "bestowed" by the tree itself.

After all, due to the clan’s innate talent and comprehension, it was nearly impossible to fully decipher the patterns etched into the Tree’s trunk. At most, they could glean fragments of residual essence.

Unlike ordinary techniques, the Big Dipper Seven-Star Fist is a high-grade, profound-rank martial art. Although Chen Tianjing had only recently entered the Innate Realm, he could still fight without yielding an inch with this technique, though it was not yet perfected.

Likewise, Liu Ziming was entangled by Chen Qingyu and unable to break free. They were both mid-stage Innate Realm cultivators. Although Chen Qingyu hadn’t used his Earth-Tier technique, he could not claim victory against Liu Ziming, despite his mastery of the Taizu Long Fist and the Profound-Rank technique, Frost Like Moonlight. However, holding Liu Ziming in place was no problem at all.

With the two Innate Realm experts locked in combat, Chen Tianyu rampaged through the crowd like a tiger descending the mountain.

He unleashed a strike of Taizu Long Fist with his left hand and formed the Taiyi Seal with his right hand, a technique he had painstakingly learned.

Every time he struck, a Liu Clan member at the Blood Coagulation Realm fell. Those who managed to evade his blows were quickly besieged by other Chen warriors and put at a disadvantage.

In less than a moment, the Liu Clan’s warriors had suffered heavy losses.

If the fight continued, their defeat would be inevitable—perhaps even complete annihilation.

Watching his clansmen fall before his eyes, Liu Ziqi’s vision burned red.

They were the few martial artists of his clan—the very hope of its future prosperity. Yet now, he couldn’t save them. Even the slightest distraction would earn him Chen Tianjing’s merciless iron fists.

"Damn it! Why aren’t you coming out? What are you waiting for? For every last Liu clansman to die?"

Fury surged through Liu Ziqi as he roared toward the sky.

His shout drew the attention of Chen Tianjing and the others. Their eyes sharpened, and they launched a relentless assault, giving Liu Ziqi no chance to breathe. Every strike aimed straight for his chest and skull.

After Liu Ziqi's roar, however, the surroundings remained eerily silent. No unexpected reinforcements appeared.

Just as Chen Tianjing and the others assumed it was a bluff, a masked figure suddenly fell from the sky.

With two casual punches, he sent two Liu clansmen flying several meters!

Landing amidst the crowd, the newcomer carved a bloody path, his speed surpassing Chen Tianyu's.

As he struck, he shouted:

“Clan Leader, I’m here to aid you!”

Seeing help arrive, Liu Ziqi’s stern expression eased slightly. However, when he noticed the newcomer ignoring the beleaguered Liu clansmen and focusing solely on slaughtering the Chen warriors, anger flared in his heart. 𝘳₳𐌽ŏʙƐᶊ

This man claimed to be here to help the clan, but his actions were actually weakening both families.

If not for the allure of the natural Blood Spring, Liu Ziqi would have gladly allied with the Chen Clan to eliminate him on the spot.

Still, his intervention eased the pressure on the Liu warriors considerably.

Not far away, Chen Tianyu let out a cold snort. He stopped attacking the Liu clansmen and turned to face the masked intruder.

Though the man wore a mask, Chen Tianyu knew without a doubt that he was not a Liu clansman. Most likely, he belonged to the Shi family.

Blood energy surged through Chen Tianyu’s hands as he hurled a Taiyi Seal toward the masked figure.

With a casual swipe of his palm, however, the stranger shattered the blood-forged seal into fragments.

After that effortless counter, however, a trace of surprise slipped from the masked man’s lips.

To outsiders, his strike seemed effortless, but only he knew its true force.

Judging from the clash, his opponent’s technique was clearly advanced.

Still, the masked man showed no fear. After shattering the Taiyi Seal, he pressed the attack, driving straight for Chen Tianyu’s heart. His eyes blazed with undisguised killing intent.

If I can take down a few of the Chen Clan’s Innate Realm experts here, all the better. Ideally, he would wipe out every Chen clansman on the battlefield and pin the blame squarely on the Liu family.

The outcome would be inevitable: the Liu Clan, cowed by the Zhou family, would flee in disgrace, and his own clan would claim the Blood Rice without contest.

He had come alone this time, but the Chen Clan’s arrogance in launching an offensive without their clan totem's protection was laughable.

One man was enough to deal with them, and he didn't even use the divine stone he had brought along.

This thought flashed through the masked man’s mind, deepening the killing intent in his eyes. After his initial palm strike, his left hand shifted into a claw. In an instant, a surge of powerful blood energy erupted from his body and condensed into a crimson eagle talon that tore toward Chen Tianyu’s head.

In the span of a heartbeat, he had executed two combat techniques, one of which he had fully mastered.

The overwhelming force of his blood energy crashed down like a raging storm, engulfing Chen Tianyu in a suffocating pressure. A chilling sense of imminent death surged through his mind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The next moment, several cracking sounds erupted from within Chen Tianyu’s body.

Four viscera burst open!

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, Chen Tianyu held nothing back, unleashing the Five Viscera Ascension Technique to its fullest extent.

The terrifying surge of qi and blood that burst forth from the four viscera positions instantly propelled Chen Tianyu’s cultivation to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm.

Yet it still didn't feel like enough. Without hesitation, he crushed the locust leaf he had been holding for a long time. A dense vitality force rapidly repaired the damage his body had sustained from the earlier organ rupture.

This was done for one reason only: to restore his state to its peak.

With his cultivation elevated, Chen Tianyu did not retreat. He formed seals with his hands, and the surging qi and blood condensed into a massive seal. He hurled it forward in a ferocious strike.

Seeing that the masked man with the strange locust leaves hesitated for a brief moment, his movements lost a fraction of their force, though the sheer might behind them remained undiminished.

BOOM!

As both sides unleashed their surging blood energy, Chen Tianyu’s chest was instantly pierced, spraying blood in all directions.

Gazing at the fallen Chen Tianyu, the masked man let out a cold snort. Even with the aid of such a battle technique, so what? He was still nothing more than an ant trying to stop a chariot.

But the next instant, the masked man’s eyes widened as Chen Tianyu, gravely wounded, swiftly scrambled to his feet and retreated to the side.

Upon closer inspection, the gaping hole in his chest was closing at a visible speed.

Because Chen Tianyu had dodged at the last moment, the claw strike failed to land on his heart.

The masked man quickly grasped the reason—it must have been the effect of the locust leaf he had just eaten.

This realization darkened his expression slightly. Totemic power cannot be judged by common sense.

Not far away, Chen Tianjing, locked in combat with Liu Ziqi, felt his face blanch. Yet, upon seeing that Chen Tianyu had not died from the blow, he sighed with relief. Still, the masked man was terrifyingly strong. Even Chen Tianyu, whose four viscera had exploded, was no match for him.

How can the family possibly stop this man?!

For a moment, Chen Tianjing regretted his earlier impulsiveness toward the clan.

If only we had the family’s Divine Tree to back us up right now, perhaps we could use its power to grind him down.

But now, even though the clansmen carried locust leaves, they were still far inferior to the power within the family grounds.