Chapter 142: A Skill Worthy of the Gods

"Soul-Snatching Pursuit!"

Although Gu Qiuyou moved with great speed, the sudden opening of his mouth was truly bizarre. Qin Chuan had not let his guard down for a single moment. Seeing Gu Qiuyou open his mouth, he instantly flashed forward, unleashing his aura simultaneously.

"Deterrence!"

Gu Qiuyou was struck with sudden terror, his aura visibly stalling for a split second. More importantly, he realized that he had failed to control Qin Chuan. At this moment, the two were still five meters apart, and it would not be easy for Qin Chuan to land a basic attack. Gu Qiuyou’s movement technique was incredibly elusive; by the time Qin Chuan reached him, he would likely have already escaped, and a Flow Strike at this distance might not hit.

Gu Qiuyou was a veteran of many battles. Seeing his crowd-control skill miss, he immediately shifted his body, darting to the right. Yet, in the next instant, he saw a long sword swing toward him, the tip pointed exactly at the spot where he had dodged.

"This... impossible!"

At this moment, the corners of Qin Chuan’s mouth curled upward as he silently praised, "The third stage of Flash is truly comfortable."

The third stage of Flash had a base range of five meters, with an additional two meters per level. Having predicted Gu Qiuyou’s landing spot, Qin Chuan’s sword struck home without any suspense.

"Ah!"

A flash of steel cut across Gu Qiuyou’s chest, leaving a wound so deep the bone was nearly visible.

"Ding! 40% slow effect triggered."

With the slow effect applied, Gu Qiuyou panicked. Not only was he burdened with a 40% movement penalty, but he also suffered a 5% reduction to all attributes.

"What is happening?! Why have I suddenly become so slow?"

In an instant, Gu Qiuyou’s movement stat, which was over 2,000, plummeted to just over 1,100. This sudden deceleration left him feeling so wretched he nearly vomited blood. Under such circumstances, no matter how exquisite his footwork, he could not escape Qin Chuan’s grasp.

As their figures crossed, Qin Chuan turned and delivered another basic attack. Seeing the shimmering blade and knowing he could not dodge, Gu Qiuyou steeled himself, willing to suffer a grievous wound if it meant he could slay Qin Chuan. He lunged forward, thrusting his sword with a roar: "Skeletal Forest!"

Instantly, the phantoms of eight bone swords materialized out of thin air, slashing toward Qin Chuan. However, Qin Chuan did not even frown; instead, a perfect curve formed on his lips. This smile left Gu Qiuyou trembling with fear. He had no idea what was coming next, and his initial confidence evaporated into frantic anxiety.

The eight bone sword phantoms struck Qin Chuan simultaneously, yet they failed to stir even a ripple.

"No, how can it be an immunity effect?!"
"Heavens! To think he possesses such a heaven-defying skill!"

At that moment, Gu Qiuyou and the Bone-Forging Soul-Seizing Sword screamed in unison. Indeed, immunity skills were exceptionally rare, occurring with a probability similar to that of a red-grade spirit weapon. Though Qin Chuan had encountered a few spirit items with immunity effects, they were confined to the Mirage Jungle. Such skills were incredibly scarce throughout the entire Spirit Realm. Countless people would break their heads trying to find such items, only to fail. At least until now, Qin Chuan had never seen another spirit item with a similar ability.

Thus, the three stages of Qin Chuan’s Flash skill were truly god-tier.

In the next moment, Qin Chuan struck Gu Qiuyou again, dealing massive damage. At level 34, Qin Chuan’s sharpness stat, under the state of Deterrence, had reached over 2,770. Gu Qiuyou’s spirit defense had dropped to just over 2,180—a gap of nearly 600 points. In other words, these two strikes had already claimed nearly half of Gu Qiuyou’s life.

In this situation, Gu Qiuyou had nowhere to retreat; even running had become impossible. As their figures crossed again, Qin Chuan adjusted his position and landed another basic attack. Facing the threat of death, Gu Qiuyou made a shocking move. He flew backward to create distance while unleashing his ultimate skill.

"Sinking Sea of Bones."

In that instant, hundreds of bone swords shot up from the ground, attempting to obstruct Qin Chuan. In reality, little more than a second had passed since Qin Chuan activated the third stage of Flash. He still had about 0.5 seconds of immunity remaining, so the ultimate skill proved ineffective. However, that was not Gu Qiuyou’s only intention; after unleashing the skill, he threw the Bone-Forging Soul-Seizing Sword away.

"No, don't!"

The Bone-Forging Soul-Seizing Sword let out a terrified cry; it was clear it had been abandoned by Gu Qiuyou. The moment it left Gu Qiuyou’s hand, its durability dropped to just over 1,300. This meant that if Qin Chuan struck it once, the sword would be destroyed instantly.

And so...
"Clang!"
"Ding! Slew Bone-Forging Soul-Seizing Sword..."
"Ding! Activated Slaughter..."

Meanwhile, Gu Qiuyou, still in the midst of his backward leap, wore a triumphant smile. By using the obstruction of his ultimate skill and sacrificing the spirit sword, he had bought himself a sliver of time, successfully preparing his Soul-Extinguishing Art.

"Soul-Extinguishing Art!"

A beam of black light struck instantly; if it hit, Qin Chuan would at least be severely wounded, if not killed. In truth, Gu Qiuyou did not know that Qin Chuan’s true form was that of a spirit weapon. Even if he killed Qin Chuan with the Soul-Extinguishing Art, he would gain nothing. Regardless of whether the art hit or not, Gu Qiuyou was destined to suffer.

Because at that moment, what he should have used was the Spirit-Detention Art, not the Soul-Extinguishing Art. To put it simply, he had lost his wife and broken his army.

Because Gu Qiuyou had bought that 0.5 seconds of time, Qin Chuan’s immunity effect expired just as the attack landed. Gu Qiuyou had calculated well; he believed Qin Chuan’s immunity could not last more than two seconds. Such heaven-defying skills, when combined with a human body, would have their duration reduced—the same principle as his own Soul-Snatching Pursuit, which had been reduced from three seconds of stun to two.

At that moment, Gu Qiuyou smiled in victory, his heart filled with wild joy as he saw the black light strike Qin Chuan. "As long as I kill you and obtain the red spirit weapon, it will still be a massive profit."

However, in the next instant, he saw the look of calm confidence on Qin Chuan’s face.

"Dominator Body!"
"I have already prepared a popsicle for you."

Qin Chuan’s indifferent words sounded like a death sentence to Gu Qiuyou. In that instant, Gu Qiuyou felt a profound terror, not even understanding what a "popsicle" was. He felt an even more agonizing negative effect: all his attributes dropped by 15%.

*Whoosh!*

Qin Chuan’s speed increased by another 5%, and his sharpness stat climbed once more, nearing 3,200+. The aura of death permeated the area, scaring Gu Qiuyou out of his wits.

"No! Don't!"
"Ding! Triggered Freeze, duration three seconds."

A cold flash cut through the air, and with a single strike, Qin Chuan cleaved Gu Qiuyou in two. Before he died, Gu Qiuyou finally understood what a popsicle was.

"Ding! Obtained 160 Merit. Slew Outer Sect Elder of Black Wind Cliff, gained an additional 240 Merit."

Qin Chuan now relied primarily on Merit to level up; the experience points gained from kills were no longer enough to meet his requirements. Feats like the one where he took out dozens of supply depots in one go were hard to replicate. Unless, of course, he raided the main treasury of Black Wind Cliff.

By killing an Outer Sect Elder, Qin Chuan had gained 400 Merit, equivalent to 400 million experience points. However, compared to the hundreds of billions required for leveling, this was still a challenge. It meant he would have to kill many more people from the higher planes.

"Ding! Devour successful, obtained 40 points of Vitality."

As for Essence, Qin Chuan’s requirements were equally massive, and spirit crystals and earth crystals were his only options. Thus, his career as a bandit—robbing the rich to help himself—would continue in full force.