Heaven Refining physique-Chapter 93: Despair of the Beast

Both of them were separated once more. The turtle beast did not attack again; it was focused on recovering its horn. The process was slow, but the horn was gradually returning to its original size.

This would be a little tricky, but it seemed that using a nihility sphere while being close to the beast was the only option to defeat it.

Jiang Hao moved again. He was not going to wait for the beast to fully recover its horn. The beast moved too, but instead of charging, it began to float, retracting its body parts into its shell.

Jiang Hao halted when he saw this. The only thing visible to him was the turtle’s shell, which was now hurtling toward him at great speed.

He conjured two nihility spheres in his hands and waited for the beast to come close. He was uncertain if this would be effective, but it was worth a try. The turtle, however, seemed confident that his attack would not harm it.

From the moment the turtle retreated into its shell and charged toward Jiang Hao, to the moment he created two nihility spheres in his hands, not even a second had passed before the turtle was upon him.

Jiang Hao extended both hands in a grasping motion, each holding a nihility sphere. The instant they collided, the impact was engulfed by the two nihility spheres.

No sound could be heard from the collision, as it was shrouded within the nihility spheres. But in mere milliseconds, Jiang Hao was hurled backward from the impact zone. Both of his hands were broken, and both shoulders were dislocated.

Even as he was flung through the air due to the force of the collision, his eyes remained fixed on the two black spheres, which were now dissipating.

Once they vanished, he saw that the turtle was still intact, though the area where his nihility spheres had struck was not in good condition.

The ice on the shell was gone, and the shell itself was corroded, yet it remained intact. Jiang Hao sighed; finally, something had withstood his nihility sphere.

He had anticipated this outcome, as he had sensed a great deal of spirit qi when the ice on the shell was struck. This meant the beast had used its own qi to reinforce the ice on its shell, not to mention the shell itself was exceptionally thick.

Although the nihility sphere was stronger than Primal Essence, it was not by much. Moreover, it did not remain active for long.

The shell of this turtle beast might be as strong as grade 5 ores while being reinforced by spirit qi.

There was one thing noticeable, however: the area where both of his nihility spheres had struck together was more damaged, almost as if it would have broken through the shell had the technique persisted for just a fraction of a second longer.

Jiang Hao crashed into a tree and fell to the ground.

"Reeeeeekkkk!..."

He heard the beast’s scream. The shell might not have been refined to the point of destruction, but the damage was sufficient to cause the beast excruciating pain.

Jiang Hao stood up. His broken bones were already mending, and the tears in his skin had already healed. Only the bones remained to fully recover.

The beast was not attacking him; it was already in poor condition. The shell was not like the ice, which could be restored easily. Although the beast could still cover its shell with ice, that would not alleviate the pain it was enduring.

In mere seconds, Jiang Hao’s bones healed as well. He moved immediately again. When the beast saw that he had already recovered, it was stunned.

This moment of shock was enough for Jiang Hao to close the distance once more.

Jiang Hao did not want the beast to escape by flying away, as it would be impossible to pursue it then. Although there was already ice covering the area where its shell was corroded, it would not be enough to stop him.

Now that he was this close, it was already too late for the beast to flee. Jiang Hao directed both of his hands toward the shell, and two nihility spheres materialized before his hands made contact.

In a desperate move, the beast opened its mouth. Jiang Hao knew what was coming but paid it no heed. As he placed his hands on the shell, icicles struck his stomach, and he was sent hurtling through the air once more, this time even faster than before.

A sharp icicle had pierced through his stomach, easily penetrating to his back. This time, the tree he collided with shattered into two pieces.

He did not even grit his teeth. The pain was unimaginable, no doubt, but the ice had numbed his senses, rendering it bearable. Besides, such pain was not enough to make him flinch. He looked toward the beast, which had been struck by two nihility spheres in the same spot as before.

As expected, that area was now completely destroyed. Along with the shell, one of the turtle beast’s legs had been refined as well. With this, one side of the beast was thoroughly crippled, leaving only the bottom shell, which was also corroded.

"Krrrrreeeeeeee..." The beast thrashed about in agony.

Jiang Hao stood up. The icicle in his body broke into two pieces and fell away. His body could naturally expel foreign objects.

His wounds were already closing. Jiang Hao could see despair in the beast’s eyes as it gazed upon his healing injuries.

Jiang Hao paid no mind to its despair. He created another nihility sphere and hurled it with all his strength, aiming for the injured area.

Though the beast was wounded and missing one leg, it was still swift enough to tilt its body to the right, avoiding the black sphere’s strike on the injured area. However, its massive frame could not fully evade the attack. The sphere struck the middle of its shell, inflicting immense pain once more.

The beast finally resolved to flee. Its opponent was utterly unconventional—how could this be an attack from an early-stage Grade 3 cultivator?

Just as it prepared to take flight, it saw four more nihility spheres hurtling toward it. Two had already reached it, while the other two had just left Jiang Hao’s hands.

The beast despaired once more, powerless to avoid the onslaught. It could only brace itself, gritting its jaw and twisting its body to the other side. But it was not fast enough to evade the first two spheres.

The first two spheres struck the same spot where the previous sphere, which it had just dodged, had landed.

Even a single sphere would have been enough to refine that area completely. Two was simply overkill. As expected, the entire side was refined, creating a gaping hole.

The beast clenched its jaw, still twisting its body, as two more spheres were approaching. If it did not move enough, those spheres would enter its body, and that would surely be its end.

It barely managed to avoid the other two spheres, which landed just behind the area where its shell was fully exposed.

This did little to improve its situation. The pain was so overwhelming that it could no longer scream properly.

The beast knew escape was impossible. It would surely perish here; its struggles were futile.

Just as it looked toward Jiang Hao, hoping that this was his final attack—surely such techniques consumed vast amounts of spirit qi—its eyes widened. Jiang Hao was standing mere arm’s length away, a black sphere hurtling toward its open wound while a hand enveloped in strange qi reached for its neck.

Jiang Hao gazed at the beast’s neck. Though the creature was lying on the ground, its massive size meant that, even as it raised its head to look toward his previous position, he could only reach its neck. But since this was his intended target, he did not mind.

His hand landed on the neck and immediately pierced through its skin. His hand burrowed deeper inside while the nihility sphere struck the open wound, refining another chunk of flesh from within.

Jiang Hao understood from the beast’s lack of response that it was dead. Its neck began to slump toward him. He stepped aside, allowing it to collapse.

This was the first time he had nearly depleted all of his spirit qi.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind, one that seemed worth attempting.

He took out at least fifty spirit stones and placed them on the ground. Standing close to them, he unleashed a nihility sphere upon them.

The moment the nihility sphere landed, he sensed an abundance of spirit qi within the zone. He attempted to absorb it but could only draw in the spirit qi closest to his body. More than ninety percent was wasted.

Once the nihility zone dissipated, he saw that the spirit stones remained, though they were much smaller and significantly dulled.

Using a nihility sphere did not seem a viable method for cultivation. Moreover, he would need to be unclothed to even attempt it properly.

He shook his head and returned to the beast. That ten percent of qi had been sufficient to restore a portion of his qi reserves.

Now it was time to search for the blood core of the beast. But first, he retrieved some garments and donned them.

"Must you always disrobe? Or do you secretly wish for me to gaze upon you?" a voice teased.

"Senior, you jest. It is all due to this beast and that technique of mine. I did not do so intentionally," Jiang Hao replied.

"That is why techniques are troublesome as you can’t control them. No matter. The beast’s core resides within its head." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Jiang Hao nodded. This would make his task far easier.