I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield Chapter 683 - 502: Thunder Ancestor, Demon Lair (Part 2)

The backside of the Profound Iron Armor was violently ripped open, creating a gash half a foot wide with edges curled like scorched leaves. Scratches marred the armor's surface, the deepest ones nearly piercing through the chest.

Blood had crusted on his lips, and every breath sent a jolt of intense pain through his lungs. Chaotic Spiritual Energy clashed within him, making his steps falter.

Hot on his heels was a fearsome Bone Demon.

It was entirely composed of ink-black bones, joints articulated without any flesh. Within the hollow of its chest cavity, two clumps of eerie green soul flames flickered, radiating a chilling avarice.

Noticing Taishi Feng's pace falter, the Bone Demon's throat produced a dry, scraping sound of bones grinding. Its right arm suddenly stretched like elastic, its finger bones rapidly fusing and hardening into a bone saber about a foot long. The blade gleamed with a venomous darkness, slicing towards the back of Taishi Feng's head.

"Buzz—"

A potent sense of danger struck like a sledgehammer to his brow, Taishi Feng felt his temples throb violently, as if they might burst.

Without looking back, as if guided by instinct, he twisted around, precisely positioning the Crescent Blade of his Heaven-piercing Halberd behind his neck.

"Ding!"

A sharp metallic clang echoed through the entire ice tunnel, causing it to resonate. The moment the bone saber met the halberd blade, a ferocious force surged through the weapon into Taishi Feng’s body. The ice beneath his feet fractured under the impact, spreading in a spiderweb pattern for hundreds of meters, forcing him back three steps. His Qi and Blood churned like boiling soup, old, suppressed injuries flared anew, and a mouthful of fresh blood erupted from his lips, staining the ice before him.

Even stranger was the fresh blood, upon contact with the Bone Demon's black bone, was instantly drawn in by an unseen force, seeping into its body through the bone joints.

The soul flames within the Bone Demon's eye sockets suddenly flared brighter, its already ferocious aura now imbued with a grotesque hint of bloodthirsty frenzy. It opened its jawbone maw, emitting a piercing shriek, and lunged once more with its saber.

"Ding ding ding!"

The clash between the bone saber and the Heaven-piercing Halberd was as relentless as a torrential downpour. Taishi Feng's martial prowess was exceptional, his long halberd weaving a defensive net that was virtually impenetrable. Metal-element spiritual energy flowed along the weapon, emitting a sharp, cold light.

However, the Bone Demon's seemingly delicate bones possessed the hardness of divine weapons. Each impact sent tremors up Taishi Feng's arms, his Qi and Blood churning violently within his chest like a tempestuous sea, nearly forcing him to spit up blood multiple times.

He clenched his teeth, the sharp pain on his tongue serving as a painful anchor to consciousness. Yet, the Bone Demon, seemingly inexhaustible, attacked with even greater ferocity, its saber moving so swiftly it left behind afterimages, offering him no quarter.

With another violent clash, Taishi Feng felt a wave of numbness course through his arm, his grip on the halberd shaft involuntarily loosening by half.

This minuscule opening was instantly exploited by the Bone Demon’s soul flames, which flared intensely as they detected this fleeting vulnerability.

The bone saber, like a streak of black lightning, bypassed the halberd’s guard, descending in a direct line.

Taishi Feng’s heart lurched. He hastily tried to retract his halberd to defend, but it was a fatal half-beat too late.

"Squelch!" The bone saber struck true on the shoulder of his heavy armor. The Profound Iron Armor disintegrated like parchment, the sharp bone blade slicing downward, ruthlessly cleaving his left arm from the shoulder.

Hot blood spurted forth, only to be entirely consumed by the suction force erupting from the Bone Demon.

The demonic qi enveloping the Bone Demon gradually took on an eerie crimson hue, its soul flames pulsed with increased fervor, and even the edge of its bone saber acquired a faint reddish tint.

Taishi Feng grunted, using his Heaven-piercing Halberd to support his reeling form. The searing pain threatened to plunge his vision into darkness. Yet, as he raised his eyes to meet the advancing Bone Demon, there was no trace of fear, only a blazing ember of resolute madness.

"It’s time to fight with all I have! Whether I live or die rests on this one move!"

Taishi Feng tightened his grip on the Heaven-piercing Halberd, his entire body suddenly erupting with blinding golden spiritual energy.

This spiritual energy was no longer pure; strands of crimson were now interwoven within it – a secret technique unleashed by burning his true blood essence.

His previously chaotic aura instantly solidified like tempered steel, an oppressive wave of iron-blooded sharpness exploding outwards, causing ice stalactites high in the ice tunnel to break free and fall.

Gripping the Heaven-piercing Halberd with one arm, its shaft glowing hot from concentrated Qi, Taishi Feng resembled a taut bowstring, unleashing a desperate, decisive strike against the Bone Demon. His resolve was absolute, aiming for a fatal blow.

Within the Bone Demon’s empty eye sockets, soul flames flickered erratically as it raised its bone saber in a desperate defense.

"Clang—!"

The deafening sound of metal on bone reverberated, a clash of power far exceeding any previous encounter. The bone saber instantly fractured into countless pieces, shards of black bone scattering. The Heaven-piercing Halberd, unstoppable, cleaved directly into the Bone Demon's skull, bisecting it.

The spectral green soul flames within sputtered violently, like dying embers. The two halves of the demon's skeletal form clattered to the ice, life extinguished.

Taishi Feng stumbled back a couple of steps, his back hitting the icy wall. He gasped for air, his body trembling.

The hand that held the halberd shook uncontrollably. His spiritual Qi was almost depleted, and the wound on his severed arm continued to bleed profusely, his vision beginning to cloud.

"Fortunately... it's dealt with..." he whispered, his tightly strung nerves finally beginning to loosen. However, his gaze drifted forward, and his body instantly froze.

On the ice, the two separated halves of the Bone Demon began to tremble independently. The fractured bone edges were drawn to each other as if by a magnet, fragments flying from the ground to fill the gaps. In mere moments, the skeletal structure reformed into a complete Bone Demon.

The nearly extinguished soul flames surged anew, burning with an intensity greater than before. The demon rotated its jawbones, emitting a chilling 'grin' directed at Taishi Feng. Though it possessed no face, a palpable sense of mocking hunger emanated from it.

Taishi Feng's heart plummeted into an abyss of cold dread. A bitter expression settled upon his face.