Chapter 143: The Emergence of Magic Energy, A Battle of Life and Death

In less than a moment, Rod saw a black figure approaching his hiding place. Its strength was as expected—on the upper stage of the quasi-saint level. It must be one of the members who had been chasing him earlier.
Holding his breath, he waited carefully. In just a short time, the figure arrived beneath the large tree where he was hiding. It seemed to have noticed something and stopped in its tracks.
Seeing this, Rod’s heart tightened. The fighting energy within him began to surge rapidly. He held his breath, waiting for the moment the opponent relaxed its guard to deliver a fatal strike.
He knew that since this guy could appear here, his comrades must be nearby. He only had one chance. Failure would bring huge trouble! If others were summoned, he would face another siege.
The man stood under the tree, looking around with a frown, seemingly sensing something but finding nothing. After some hesitation, he turned to head in another direction.
“This is my chance!” Rod thought, gripping his weapon tightly.
With a sudden burst of strength, he moved like a falcon pouncing on its prey, appearing right in front of the man in an instant. With a single sword strike, he pierced through the man’s skull.
The poor man never understood why he encountered this guy here. He had checked carefully and seen nothing, let alone any trace of this man. How could he appear out of nowhere!
His eyes gradually dimmed, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground. In his last moment, using his remaining consciousness, he activated the Nash family’s alert signal.
A sharp sound tore through the forest before disappearing momentarily. From afar, the other Nash family members heard it and changed expressions, rushing toward Rod’s location.
“Damn you!” Rod cursed inwardly, not expecting the man to be able to send such a signal before dying. He knew this signal would surely reveal his location.
As expected, he soon sensed several forces approaching rapidly.

Taking a deep breath and turning around, Rod planned to dash back toward the forest ahead.
“How, leaving so soon? We haven’t finished calculating yet!” At that moment, a cold voice came from somewhere, and five figures suddenly appeared from the forest on the side, blocking Rod’s escape route and speaking coldly.
“It’s you!” Seeing those who had appeared suddenly, Rod’s heart sank as he growled softly. The newcomers were members of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan! All five of them were quite strong, almost reaching the quasi-divine level—two at the mid-stage, one at the late stage, and two at the early stage. Their appearance filled Rod with dread. He hadn’t expected these guys to show up at such a time.
Their intentions were obvious. He had long guessed that this petty guy would cause him trouble, but not that it would happen so quickly and suddenly. Their appearance was undoubtedly meant to crush him further. Blocking his path was even more obvious—they surely planned to work with the Nash family to kill him.
Glancing at them coldly, Rod felt their auras rushing toward him at high speed. In the blink of an eye, they were less than a hundred meters away. Startled, he quickly turned and rushed in another direction.
“Trying to run?” With a cold snort and a sneer, the young man waved his hand, and the four people beside him swiftly chased after Rod.
At the same time, several more black figures appeared—led by Da A from the Nash family! Upon receiving the signal, the ones closest to the scene rushed here as fast as they could.
“Kid, don’t think you can escape!” With a roar, Da A slammed his palm into the air, creating a tangible black palm that rushed down like a storm toward Rod, who was fleeing toward the ground.
“Get lost!” With another roar, the Dark Dragon slashed through the air, unleashing a black sword energy that struck the palm. After a loud explosion, the palm shattered into pieces, creating a gust of wind!
Without looking back, Rod continued to run forward. He couldn’t be trapped here by these people; otherwise, he would face endless battles and certain death.
“Kid, don’t run away!” The members of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan also arrived at this moment. A thunder magic spell descended from the sky, and a lightning bolt the size of a wrist crashed down, blocking Rod’s escape route.
“The Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan is here to help!” the middle-aged man shouted at Da A.

“Thank you!~” With a hint of excitement on his face, Da said eagerly. These people were all strong, and having them join would surely help him complete this mission.
“Damn those mages!” Blocked by magic, Rod roared fiercely. Turning to face the group that had surrounded him once again, he glared coldly at the young man at the back who was sneering at him—Aoying, the young leader of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan. That troublemaker! If possible, Rod really wanted to kill him right away.
Looking at the seven Nash clan members surrounding him and the four from the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan, Rod realized that his enemies this time were even stronger than before. He inwardly groaned; breaking through seemed almost impossible today. His injuries were severe, his strength diminished, and his combat energy was barely enough to last long.
Feeling this, Rod’s heart grew heavy as he sighed. He had made up his mind: even if he couldn’t break through, he would drag that damned Aoying down with him!
“Dragon Roar!” With a furious shout, he couldn’t let the enemy take the initiative under such passive circumstances. With a flash of light, Rod disappeared from his original position, charging straight at Aoying with fierce momentum.
“Thunder from the Heavens!”
The members of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan naturally wouldn’t give Rod any chance. They unleashed “Thunder from the Heavens” simultaneously—dense and terrifying. Though its power wasn’t as great as that of the third elder he had faced before, their combined efforts expanded its range several times over.
Before Da and the others could act, those lightning bolts already enveloped Rod. Thunder rumbled, and a terrifying energy filled the air as the lightning gradually subsided.
With bloodshot eyes, enduring the lightning strikes, Rod’s focus was solely on Aoying, who stood in the distance sneering at him. All he could think about was killing Aoying.
“Boom… boom… boom…” Lightning struck Rod repeatedly, causing intense shocks throughout his body. Not only that, but his soul also suffered severe turmoil. Burnheaven appeared by Rod’s side once again!
Through life and death, through hardships, only he remained steadfast by Rod’s side. As the lightning struck, his colors faded, revealing signs of exhaustion. This was the first time Rod had seen Burnheaven tired.

“Ah… Proud Eagle, I, Rod, swear that I will take your head today!” Filled with rage—nothing else remained in his mind—Rod roared loudly. Under the relentless attacks of the thunderous lightning, he was already severely injured, barely recognizable as a human. His body was covered in blood, his eyes blood-red, his hair disheveled, and his clothes torn, revealing charred skin. Smoke emanated from him, making him resemble a demon from the depths of hell.

The members of the Nash family also stopped attacking. On one hand, they couldn’t advance due to the all-round assault by Thunder Nine Heavens. On the other hand, they had long heard of Thunder Nine Heavens’ terrifying power—something no ordinary person could withstand. Seeing the figure amidst the lightning, struck repeatedly by bolts that had reduced him to a barely recognizable shape, anyone could tell that he was doomed and had no chance of survival.

“Ah…” He no longer felt pain, having lost all sensation. Exhaustion weighed heavily on Rod, his consciousness fading as only hatred and resentment remained in his mind.

A black demonic energy, unseen for some time, began to surge within him. After absorbing the demonic energy from that middle-aged man earlier, this energy grew significantly stronger. It quickly spread throughout Rod’s body, while the core of his martial energy in his dantian began spinning at an alarming speed. His hair fluttered in the wind, and his gaze became unfocused. Yet none of this could be seen by those outside, as Rod was entirely enveloped in lightning, with hundreds of bolts striking him continuously. All that could be seen was his battered figure, on the verge of collapse.

As the demonic energy spread throughout his body, his wounded skin began to heal at a terrifying pace. Yet with each recovery, it was torn apart again, plunging Rod into extreme agony. The healing speed far lagged behind the damage, leaving his skin charred with horrific scars. His screams were terrifying, enough to frighten anyone who heard them.

After spreading throughout his body, the demonic energy flowed back into his dantian. This time, it wasn’t hidden—it directly entered the core of his martial energy and merged with it!

Perhaps sensing Rod’s peril, the core of his martial energy resisted briefly before accepting this energy and instantly integrating it. The color of the core changed, turning into a sinister dark red that was even more striking than before, as if it might drip blood.

At this moment, the core of combat energy flashed, and a purple light appeared instantly. It rushed out of the core of combat energy and flowed throughout Rod’s body, centered around his dantian.