Chapter 73: A Duel with the Thunder Fusion King Beast

"Heh, I've always been a man of my word! Since I said before that I’d blow your head off, then I’ll blow your head off right now!" Chu Feng locked the Moon Piercing Pearl onto Liu Run and declared, "If you don’t want to die, answer one question for me!"

"Ask! Ask away!"

Liu Run was desperately dodging the attacks of the beast behind him while also dealing with Chu Feng. His wretched state was almost worse than death.

"I ask you! You’ve been hell-bent on sabotaging our mission, trying to stop us from dissolving the Tempest Tribulation—what’s your motive? Who put you up to this? Speak, now!" Chu Feng roared.

Now Chu Feng could finally be sure of one thing. In the Wind and Thunder Cavern, Liu Run’s opposition could have been chalked up to personal conflict. But as he escalated—first provoking the Thunderflood Beast, then ambushing the Thunder Sword Zither and Fan Qianjun—it was clear he was here to sabotage, and someone must be pulling his strings.

For a piece of work like Liu Run, he could be arrogant, but he’d never have the guts to act this recklessly on his own.

"Liu Run, are you deaf? Speak up!" Chu Feng shouted as Liu Run hesitated.

"This… I’d rather die than answer!" Liu Run, as if steeling his resolve, spat out these stubborn words.

"Fine, a true man helps others achieve their goals. Go die, then!"

Without further ado, Chu Feng activated the Moon Piercing Pearl. A shining orb flew forth, hurtling toward Liu Run.

Clang!

A metallic crash rang out! To Chu Feng’s surprise, the pearl missed Liu Run and struck the beast behind him instead.

Liu Run was not only slippery but also quick-witted in desperate moments. At the critical instant, he executed the Wind Sect’s peerless footwork to perfection, narrowly evading Chu Feng’s lethal attack.

A piercing shriek, like a dragon’s cry, erupted from the beast as the pearl struck it, reverberating through the air. Though unharmed, the creature was clearly enraged, and it suddenly charged straight at Chu Feng.

Boom! Boom!

Rocks flew, the earth shook.

Roar!

The beast opened its jaws mid-charge, unleashing a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm. Chu Feng ducked, and the lightning struck the stone wall, shattering it to dust and leaving it charred black.

Roar!

With another bellow, the beast unfurled its two fleshy wings. With a casual sweep, two wild gusts battered Chu Feng, forcing him backward more than thirty feet.

Luckily, Chu Feng stood atop the Swiftstride Giant Crab, which shielded him from the brunt of the beast’s wind attacks. Otherwise, those gales might have blown him clear out of sight.

"Haha!"

Seeing this, Liu Run, who had just caught his breath, burst into laughter. "Chu Feng, looks like you’re in for some fun! That’s a Thunderflood King Beast, the king among Thunderfloods! I lured it out here just for you. I almost got myself killed, but now the rightful target has shown up—it’s all yours! Take your time playing with it. I’ll be on my way!"

"Get lost, then! You’d better find a hole to hide in, because I’ll come for your life soon enough!" Now entangled with the so-called Thunderflood King Beast, Chu Feng truly couldn't spare the effort to stop Liu Run.

With a sneer, Liu Run slipped away down the narrow path between the Wind Cavern and Thunder Cavern. At the same time, the Thunderflood King Beast, its body crackling with blue-violet lightning, launched a fierce assault on Chu Feng.

Roar!

The beast opened its jaws, firing three violet bolts like arrows, flashing toward Chu Feng at lightning speed.

Roar!

It bellowed again, its nearly ten-foot-long wings beating furiously, sending white pillars of wind crashing toward Chu Feng. When these wind columns struck boulders, they pulverized them instantly.

Roar!

With another enraged roar, the Thunderflood King Beast—its body as massive as a warhorse—leapt high and came crashing down toward Chu Feng.

Chu Feng executed the Gale Step from the "Dragon Guard Whirlwind Manual," darting left and right to dodge the beast’s ferocious attacks. Even so, this onslaught pressed him as never before.

Though the Thunderflood King Beast was flesh and blood, its pounce was as overwhelming as Mount Tai crashing down. Even the very air grew heavy with tension.

Before the beast even landed, still more than thirty feet above the ground, the earth beneath Chu Feng’s feet sank under the pressure. Stones cracked and burst apart.

"What a terrifying Thunderflood King Beast—dodge!"

Chu Feng was not so arrogant as to meet the beast’s attack head-on with his own body. Using the Gale Step, he planted his left foot, shifted his right, and with a sudden twist, vanished in a blur, reappearing several yards away.

Boom!

The Thunderflood King Beast slammed down like a collapsing hill, shaking the ground so violently that massive boulders bounced as if they were beans.

"Now!"

Seizing the moment as the beast landed, Chu Feng fired the Moon Piercing Pearl again.

Clang!

The orb struck the Thunderflood King Beast, but with a resounding clang, it seemed unfazed, suffering not the slightest injury.

"Even the Moon Piercing Pearl can’t harm it? What monstrous flesh!"

Chu Feng was truly astonished. The beast’s body was harder than steel or gold, impervious to ordinary weapons.

Roar!

Raging from Chu Feng’s attack, the Thunderflood King Beast let out a furious roar, as if it would swallow Chu Feng whole.

After these exchanges, Chu Feng had gauged its abilities. Its jaws could unleash relentless lightning strikes, delivering linear attacks within a range of more than thirty feet. Its wings not only enabled flight but also whipped up devastating pillars of wind, capable of pulverizing stone.

Beyond that, its body was both nimble and ponderous—nimble enough to soar like a bird, yet heavy enough to crush an enemy beneath its mass.

Moreover, its bellowing was a form of sonic assault, and its thundering steps shook the ground, disrupting Chu Feng’s movements.

Most impressive of all was its defense—the beast’s flesh could withstand the Moon Piercing Pearl. This was true invulnerability.

The Thunderflood King Beast was a perfect balance of offense and defense. Hurting Chu Feng would be easy for it, but for Chu Feng to threaten the beast seemed nearly impossible.

"I’ve slain thousands of Thunderflood Beasts—am I really going to fall to this King? It must have a weakness, but where?"

While dodging its attacks atop the Swiftstride Giant Crab, Chu Feng pondered a way to defeat the monster.

The Thunderflood King’s might was beyond compare, far surpassing any mere group of lesser beasts. Even the golden battle python within Chu Feng was suppressed by its aura.

"For beasts with strong frontal offense and defense, the back is often their weak spot! But how can I attack both its front and back at once, and catch it off guard?"

At this thought, inspiration struck him. "Of course—the Divine Power Puppet!"

With a flourish, Chu Feng hurled the puppet’s primitive core. With a booming sound, the watermelon-sized artifact unfolded into a puppet over ten feet tall.

This time, Chu Feng adjusted the puppet’s height and attack range for a precise strike against the Thunderflood King Beast.

Roar! Roar!

The beast unleashed bolts of lightning at the puppet, but the puppet’s wood was resistant to both lightning and fire, easily withstanding the barrage.

While manipulating the puppet to pin the Thunderflood King Beast, Chu Feng circled behind it, seized his moment, and leapt onto the beast’s back.

Clutching the horse-sized beast with all his might, he wrapped his arms around its wings like a giant python constricting its prey.

Roar!

The Thunderflood King Beast, clearly uncomfortable, tried desperately to shake Chu Feng off.

But having locked his grip from behind, Chu Feng had no intention of letting go. Like a python, he only tightened his hold, squeezing with relentless force.

With Chu Feng no longer guiding it, the Divine Power Puppet ceased its attacks and stood motionless, leaving Chu Feng and the Thunderflood King Beast to battle one-on-one.

More precisely, it became a contest of pure strength between man and beast.

Chu Feng had no fancy moves. He simply wound his arms around the beast from behind and twisted with all his might, while the beast struggled to shake him off—its only hope of unleashing its other powers.