Chapter 79: Let the Devouring Evil Devour Evil

Just as Nie Longding noticed this card.

Chu Tianshu’s abdomen suddenly trembled, and the colorless card shot out.

This card was meant to pierce Chu Tianshu’s chest.

Chu Tianshu twisted slightly, letting it embed in his abdomen, and retracted his stomach in that instant.

Thus, only a tiny corner of the card lodged in the seam of the golden-threaded treasure armor, never truly harming Chu Tianshu.

Now, with a burst of force, Chu Tianshu blasted it back out.

Yet Nie Longding made no attempt to dodge—he let the card pierce his belly, cutting in at one corner.

Blood immediately soaked through his shirt.

“Hah!”

Pain unleashed his strength; he swung his blade, shattering Chu Tianshu’s stance.

The blade’s tip extended forward, level.

Nie Longding drove power from his waist, as if a cannon mouth lay there, and his grip on the blade erupted from that point.

Man and blade surged forward together in a single thrust, advancing two meters, leaving a brief afterimage.

Chu Tianshu lurched violently, shifting left, barely avoiding the thrust, then swung his arm in a horizontal slash.

The longsword whipped like a whip-lash, yet its blade, cutting through air, held far greater advantage than a human palm.

At that moment, the swordtip’s speed carved a white line through the air.

Nie Longding’s reaction, honed to perfection, flipped his blade at the same instant and slashed out.

As he struck, he stood alone, slender, leaning his weight to the right.

He did not resemble a man with full limbs.

He resembled a warrior who had lived for over a decade without an arm, daily refining one-armed sword techniques.

Clang!!

This time, both blade and sword executed long-range horizontal sweeps.

Upon collision, they emitted a metallic shiver that hurt the ears and gnawed at the teeth.

Both men instinctively stepped back, creating distance.

Chu Tianshu felt a sharp ache in his sword-hand’s tiger’s mouth; he saw fine cracks whitening—just a hair’s breadth from splitting.

Nie Longding’s tiger’s mouth bled a thin thread of blood, sliding down his hilt.

But when Chu Tianshu observed, Nie Longding’s tiger’s mouth had already healed.

“So it’s you.”

Nie Longding flicked his left hand, and the colorless card fell from his belly.

Chu Tianshu noticed the wound on Nie Longding’s abdomen had nearly healed too.

Such powerful self-repair?

“You’re Fang Jun’s temporary partner—the one who killed Zhu Heng. I’ve seen your photo.”

Nie Longding said gravely, “But the Five Viscera Jade’s connection is severed—you shouldn’t be able to track me here.”

The altar’s statue—old man’s head, infant’s body—fell into eerie silence after Chu Tianshu’s arrival; its two eyeballs turned, fixed on Chu Tianshu’s sword.

Chu Tianshu’s gaze swept, taking in the altar twenty meters behind Nie Longding.

“The Five Viscera Jade can’t track you, but this city isn’t that big—and your crimes… are numerous!”

Chu Tianshu spoke his name: “Nie Longding, right?”

He had seen this old man’s photo too.

During his search of the Macau district, online.

“I heard you had a brain tumor—was that why you turned to spirit cults? Or was it earlier?”

“Hehehe!”

Nie Longding laughed, “The brain tumor wasn’t important—I cured it long ago.”

“I study ghosts and gods not because illness drove me to desperation, but because I smelled the tide of a new era.”

“Each era has its own character: scholars’ nobility, soldiers’ brutality, money’s supreme authority.”

“After the world wars, society had begun to harden; money’s power grew ever stronger. I achieved great success on this path—but was also suppressed by those who walked it before me…”

Nie Longding had a strong urge to speak.

He was normally cautious, but this was an overflow zone.

Whether he spoke more or less, his enemies inside remained unchanged.

“Now, the spirit realm and reality interact more frequently; the sprout of the new era is within reach.”

“With such an opportunity, I must become the pioneer on this path!”

Chu Tianshu sneered, “Your idea of a pioneer is rushing to become a dog of the spirits?”

“Wrong. I seek to obtain the bloodline of ghosts and gods—to become a hybrid.”

Nie Longding removed his glasses and crushed them in his hand.

“Spirit realm creatures need luck to enter reality, and even then, whether they can return is another gamble. That may become easier later.”

“But ghosts and gods still cannot easily intrude into reality.”

“Only successful hybrids gain the ability to stealth into the spirit realm, slipping in and out at will.”

Nie Longding’s pupils turned green, glowing with longing.

“Boy, do you understand? This is the first batch of tickets to the new era. Those who claim them will make ghosts and gods need us—and reality worship us!”

“Now you see me as a criminal, but then, the hundreds of lives used today will vanish as footnotes in the biography of a great figure.”

His words echoed through the dusty, Yuanqiliaorao floor.

From the hole punched through the floor, a staff tip rose.

Chu Tianshu and Nie Longding’s eyes met.

The staff-bearer hesitated; the tip halted there, not rising further.

“You build your throne on the lives of the people, flaunting your achievements—then tell me, this new era you speak of…”

Chu Tianshu asked calmly, “What’s the difference from the old era?”

“Before, those above ate people—but at least they cooked them. Now, servants prepare them finer, and you just inhale from afar—soft on the tongue, smooth down the throat, right?”

Chu Tianshu raised his sword; fine purifying flames danced along its edge, uttering a joke too grim to laugh at.

“I thought our era was at least better than many in history books—where nightmares showed beasts eating people, not humans eating humans.”

“Yet here you are, desperate to leap into that age.”

“You people are disgusting—don’t you care how others will dream when they sleep?!”

The flames on the sword surged instantly, burning up Chu Tianshu’s forearm.

Transparent fire wrapped his right forearm, yet left his clothes and skin untouched.

That was because Chu Tianshu’s killing intent had surged again.

He lunged forward with his sword, attacking Nie Longding.

Though the flames only wrapped his forearm,

the thrust felt like a whole human-shaped blaze rushing toward them.

No man could be seen—only fire.

Not ordinary fire, but a transparent, bright-white flame that triggered primal fear.

Mindforce is born from spiritual perception; its intimidation can exceed actual damage.

Chu Tianshu never learned illusion arts, but this sword thrust, fueled by his extreme emotion, perfectly expressed mindforce’s greatest trait.

When Nie Longding first met this sword, for an instant he felt the ceiling, floor, pillars, even distant potted plants—all vanished.

All color drained away, leaving only a swelling, blinding white flame crushing toward him.

His eyes widened in horror; he instinctively shifted right, raising his right hand—and his body followed.

He moved entirely with his right hand and blade, darting right at full speed.

Nie Longding fully evaded Chu Tianshu’s lunge, and even in that instant of change, retained room to counter and maneuver.

But Chu Tianshu took two giant strides, sword leading, piercing through wind, reaching the altar.

The jade statue leapt like a pebble bounced from a trampoline, landing on Wang Zifang’s back.

Liu Tianxu, holding back until now, screamed with unbearable hatred.

“Li Shizhen, Li Sanqi—your sword is indeed yours!”

“It’s your grandfather’s.”

Chu Tianshu flicked his wrist; the sword hummed and changed direction, stabbing forward.

Wang Zifang’s face twisted in terror, yet his hands glowed crimson as blood—his entire body’s strength seemed manipulated by the statue’s mindforce, channeled into his palms, squeezing inward.

He deeply regretted it—why had he joined such a grand ritual with his pitiful strength? But now, regret was too late.

Even with all his strength unleashed, his hands shattered the instant they touched the blade.

The sword pierced his body, then his entire form exploded.

Amidst the blood mist, the blade continued forward.

The statue’s mindforce resistance shattered into concentric ripples.

This old bastard must be the Dragon Flower Sect Master—reduced to this state, still daring to appear, acting as the ritual’s core.

Truly, he deserves to die!

Fire burned in Chu Tianshu’s eyes; veins like lightning crawled from his forearm to his handback; the blade vibrated, its path still perfectly straight.

Ding!!

Amid the statue’s shriek, its forehead struck, cracks spreading across its entire body until it shattered—each fragment smaller than a human fingernail.

Yet the speed at which the shards flew apart seemed even slower than Chu Tianshu’s turn.

He had already spun back, his sword Hengwo , blocking the desperate thrust.

Klang!!!

The clash of blade and sword, the rush of wind, and the clatter of falling fragments merged together.

Nie Longding’s blade, nearly straight, had charged forward in pursuit; Chu Tianshu’s sword had turned to defend.

Whose force flowed more naturally was obvious.

Yet Chu Tianshu’s feet only recoiled an inch before his heel sank into the ceramic tile and concrete, locking him in place.

The hand gripping the horizontal sword showed protruding knuckles, fingertips pale and flat, skin as if about to split from its own power—yet the arm did not budge.

Nie Longding’s blade, nearly straight, bent visibly under the pressure of Chu Tianshu’s crosswise sword.

In that moment—between the long, unimpeded thrust and the sudden crosswise block—Chu Tianshu deeply understood what qi intent truly meant.

The fury of wind and thunder sweeps away all corruption under heaven!

Even in defense, such will remained.

Qi intent is forged through fist techniques, but to unleash its ultimate physical potential, one must personally embody the will behind it.

Nie Longding’s strike halted, his eyes bulging as he stared at the glowing fragments of the statue: “My ritual!!”

Chu Tianshu stared at the old man across from him.

You want to stir up chaos? Fine. But don’t you have even a shred of Dixian ?

Must you trample on everyone’s heads, turning their dreams into nightmares, making those who suffer nightmares feel even more sickened?

Then I’ll shatter your dreams first!!

My token devours only evil spirits.

And here I am…

Wherever evil appears, I devour it!!

(End of Chapter)