Chapter 171: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell

Seeing the woman who appeared beside Li Lin, Xiao Chunzhu felt his scalp go numb.

He didn’t even need to look—he knew this woman was a demon.

Or rather, a domesticated True Lord.

The Lotus Brothers, however, merely frowned slightly; their senses were not as terrified as Xiao Chunzhu’s.

Li Lin said: “Yan Jing, you handle the Blackie for Xiao Chunzhu. I’ll take this golden lump.”

At the same time, Li Lin called out to the surrounding crowd: “Everyone, fall back. Do not engage these two criminals directly—just block the exits and prevent their escape.”

The government office runners and village soldiers obeyed without hesitation, immediately retreating a dozen steps.

Yet the archers still kept their arrows aimed at the two criminals.

Lian Hua glanced at the retreating “miscellaneous troops,” then smiled at Li Lin: “County Wei , you truly are a good official—to face my brother and I directly while safeguarding your subordinates’ lives.”

Li Lin replied calmly: “I have confidence in defeating you, so I need no more casualties.”

“County Wei , you’ve merely achieved minor mastery in spear intent,” Lian Hua smiled. “I have perfected the Vajra Body. You are no match for me.”

“We’ll see once we fight,” Li Lin chuckled.

As soon as he spoke, he thrust his spear forward.

Lian Hua’s right palm, now golden, pushed forward directly, a faint golden thread humming in its center.

The spear tip struck the center of his palm.

Ding!

A sharp clang, like iron striking a great bronze bell.

Li Lin stepped back three paces, while Lian Hua retracted his palm and stared at its center.

A small wound had opened there—tiny, yet black, oil-like blood slowly seeped out.

His expression froze for a moment, then he looked at Li Lin and said gravely: “County Wei , you are far from ordinary.”

Li Lin said nothing more, activated his Light Body Technique, and moved like a leaf caught in a breeze—rising, falling, turning, shifting—each motion ending in a spear thrust.

Thanks to relentless training, Li Lin’s Light Body Technique had now reached perfection.

Thus his movements were especially ethereal and agile.

Lian Hua could not accurately predict Li Lin’s directional changes—he could only continuously block the spear tips with both hands.

As a result, the wounds on his palms multiplied rapidly; soon, both palms were covered in jagged lacerations.

Now, every time he swung his palms, black blood flew out.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiao Chunzhu was locked in combat with the thin man.

But the man’s hard qigong was formidable—every stab failed to pierce his skin.

Li Yanjing watched for a moment, then covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed: “Hold him still for ten breaths, and I’ll kill him.”

“Really?”

Xiao Chunzhu, though deeply afraid of Li Yanjing, still asked.

Li Yanjing smiled but said nothing.

Seeing her expression, Xiao Chunzhu gritted his teeth, retracted his forked swords, and slipped iron claws onto both hands.

Then he lunged forward again.

The thin man swung both fists; Xiao Chunzhu’s claws hooked strangely around the man’s arms, then he used the momentum to flip backward, landing behind him, and clamped his iron claws onto the man’s arms—while the tips of his shoes extended small iron hooks that latched onto the man’s legs.

The two rolled together on the ground.

Though restrained, the thin man roared and strained with all four limbs to break free.

Xiao Chunzhu’s legs and claws were slowly being pried apart.

At this moment, Xiao Chunzhu’s face flushed crimson: “Hurry! I can only hold him for about ten breaths!”

As he spoke, his clothes began to tear apart piece by piece, his muscles bulging violently.

Li Yanjing extended her left hand toward the thin man’s body.

In her palm glowed a red light.

Aaaahhh!

Xiao Chunzhu held his breath and screamed, veins bulging on his forehead.

His strength was no match for the thin man’s—then his right leg let out a wet pop as a vein beneath the skin burst, spraying a mist of blood.

He was about to collapse.

But at that exact moment, Li Yanjing’s hand suddenly held a throbbing, black heart.

“Got it!”

Xiao Chunzhu felt the man struggling against him suddenly go limp, his strength gone.

He quickly rolled away, retreating to the side, gasping for breath.

Then he saw the black heart in Li Yanjing’s hand—and instinctively felt a chill run through his body.

The ability to silently pluck out a heart from afar, without a sound, was truly terrifying.

The thin man’s body trembled a few times, then went still, his eyes fixed on the sky, unblinking.

“Brother!”

Lian Hua let out a roar from the side.

He flipped both palms forward and shoved them toward Li Lin.

A terrifying force erupted outward.

To ordinary martial artists, such an aura would be terrifying.

But the Thirteen Drifting Willow Leaves technique is inherently superior against large-scale aura attacks.

Like the wind… the wind can blow leaves around, yet never harm them.

Li Lin rode the force backward, floating gracefully.

Lian Hua rushed to the thin man’s side, lifted him up, and stared with grief.

Seeing this, Li Yanjing dropped the heart and, without drawing attention, raised her palm again—where a red glow reappeared.

But this time it failed. Lian Hua merely shifted his body slightly, and the red glow vanished from her palm.

Li Yanjing sighed helplessly—this demon technique is powerful, but severely limited.

Li Lin used his Light Body Technique to drift back into position.

He raised his spear and pointed it at Lian Hua: “Surrender.”

Lian Hua slowly rose to his feet: “County Wei , do you realize the grave mistake you’ve made?”

“I don’t think so.”

“The Outworld Demons have appeared—though their whereabouts remain unknown, their presence is certain,” Lian Hua said, standing, bowing one hand in Buddhist greeting while gently turning his prayer beads with the other: “Few in this world can confront Outworld Demons. We, the Ksitigarbha Monks, are among the few who carry the lineage. You have killed my brother—now our strength against the Outworld Demons is diminished by one.”

“A power that drains the blood of common folk, killing them—better to have none of it.”

“Without us, the Outworld Demons will kill far more in the future,” Lian Hua said, gazing at the dead thin man, his eyes filled with sorrow: “When the dead number in the tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—why can’t you understand the necessity of sacrifice?”

Li Lin snorted: “I don’t care about Outworld Demons. I only know these are my subjects under my governance—I have the duty to protect them and to hunt down their killers and deliver justice. That’s all. No need for complex reasoning.”

Lian Hua snorted: “Womanly mercy will never accomplish great things.”

“I don’t need to accomplish great things,” Li Lin said, stepping forward slowly. “I only know you’re an accomplice—and you deserve to die.”

“I’ll remember this,” Lian Hua said, looking at his mangled hands, then at Li Yanjing approaching from the side. “County Wei , you’ve won this time. But mountains and rivers will meet again—we’ll see each other another day.”

With that, Lian Hua sat cross-legged on the ground.

Then his head drooped, motionless.

Li Yanjing watched for a moment, then said: “He’s gone.”

Xiao Chunzhu’s expression was grim: “The Golden Cicada Shell Shedding Technique—one of the Ksitigarbha Monks’ signature methods. Few can master it.”

(End of Chapter)