Chapter 173

Bai Lang also wasn't seriously attacking Jiang Tiansheng; if he just pinched this guy to death that quickly, Mao Dongshan might not come out at all. He has to create some opportunity for Mao Dongshan to come out, otherwise this guy would see the situation as impossible and run off, leaving Bai Lang nowhere to find him. Anyone who can cultivate this martial art to reach the Innate realm certainly has a ruthless mindset—ruthless toward others and toward oneself; breaking this pillar doesn't matter, worst case he just keeps hiding or simply goes straight to abducting boys and girls to cultivate......

Bai Lang now completely has the upper hand—if it weren't for his reason of wanting to lure Mao Dongshan and the fact that his two martial arts and the Golden Bell Shield Divine Skill haven't made much progress yet, otherwise a single wave of his hand would have doomed everyone here. An Innate Expert should be able to do exactly that; this is also why ordinary experts who haven't entered the Innate realm, lacking divine skills and miraculous techniques, can't match an Innate Expert.

Even those guards, who were pragmatic and didn't want to work for Jiang Tiansheng, now have no choice but to serve him—because Bai Lang's attack has already brought them within its range. Although Bai Lang's martial arts still lack the wide‑range attack moves that an Innate Expert should have, a rudimentary form has emerged: the vast storm domain brought forth by the White Tiger Phantom Form. Centering on Bai Lang, it directly spreads a wind circle covering dozens of zhang in radius.

These winds have no discernible direction; they simply blow, shifting direction at any moment like a living thing. They don't smash walls or break houses, but they permeate every opening, entwining each fighter and guard on the spot, and in the next instant turn into a blade‑like storm. Many can break free, a few are sliced until blood flows—this isn't Bai Lang's deliberate control, but rather a domain unintentionally emitted by his own martial arts.

Someday, once this storm domain matures, Bai Lang will likely become like other Innate Experts and Exterior Experts—a walking natural disaster... probably even ordinary Innate Experts don't yet possess such might.

Almost three or four minutes have passed; if Mao Dongshan were to come out, he should have done so by now—if not, he's probably fled. Bai Lang shifted his stance, instantly summoning a gale that tore apart the poison‑laced dagger Jiang Tiansheng had flung, then came down from above and pinned Jiang Tiansheng firmly to the ground. When Bai Lang pulled back his hand, a yellow‑tinged strand of blood and flesh, already cleaned by the wind, trailed a spinal bone.

At that very moment, from among the guards being swept up by the wind against their will, a coiling yin‑yang fish like a grindstone directly shattered the wind and came crashing down toward Bai Lang. "You're the one I've been waiting for!" Bai Lang exhaled sharply, raised a single hand in a heaven‑supporting posture, and slammed his palm into the center of the yin‑yang fish. This place is originally the strongest point of the yin‑yang grindstone, but Bai Lang is skilled and bold—he unleashed the innate internal force of the fourth level of the Golden Bell Shield Divine Skill, which struck like a bronze bell protecting his body.

"The internal force of the Golden Bell Shield is mighty and overbearing—I'd like to see how your yin‑yang grindstone wears down!" Bai Lang's voice carried a ringing metallic tone, and the White Tiger's killing intent drifted out. The double fish of the yin‑yang grindstone scattered in a single strike, apparently a feint, while a person suddenly appeared close to the ground, palms—one yin, one yang—joined together and slapped toward Bai Lang.

This person met Bai Lang's tiger eyes beneath his raised brows and the smile curling his lips. The point where his palms struck was still several inches from Bai Lang's body, yet it felt as if it had struck solid substance—that was the protective gangqi of Bai Lang's Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield cultivated externally. Bai Lang was enveloped in a doubtful‑real‑false tiger‑patterned bronze bell, and he coldly stared at this guy. The bell trembled, and a cracked pattern appeared on its surface.

The yin‑yang fish suddenly swelled, directly encircling the bronze bell and spinning it; yet each time it wore down a fraction of the bell, the reborn bell instantly sprang back open. As it expanded and contracted, Bai Lang's grin grew ever more arrogant: "You must be Mao Dongshan... how can you still not see the marvel of this yin‑yang grindstone?" Bai Lang gazed at the person clad in a black robe.

Bai Lang furrowed his brows, sizing up the thin‑looking figure before him; his eyes then flashed with divine light as they fixed on the head hidden beneath the cloak. "Is Mao Dongshan a woman?" he said, uncertain. He recalled that the documents described Mao Dongshan as a man, yet the person standing before him was female.

The woman gave a cold snort; with a flick of her hand she dispelled the yin‑yang grindstone's technique, her palms parting to summon tiny thunderbolts and boundless resentment, and a mournful ghostly wail echoed within Bai Lang's storm. The double fish reappeared, and with a single tremor it utterly shattered Bai Lang's nascent domain, turning the sky into a demonic realm; an obscure gray mist swirled around the yin‑yang fish, devoid of any trace of yang warmth.

"Under the bright sky it has become a demonic realm. Mao Dongshan, your wickedness ends here!" Bai Lang straightened his body, his joints cracking loudly; as he spoke and breathed, the bronze bell on him gradually faded, replaced by the apparition of a ferocious tiger. Tiny whirlwinds began to coil around his arms, his breath grew lighter, and he had readied himself for slaughter.

"Why must you insist on capturing me?" Mao Dongshan spoke in a cold, clear voice, lowering her cloak to reveal an unexpectedly beautiful face. Bai Lang's brow twitched slightly, his mouth curled as if pointing at the gray mist dancing in the air—"Is that even worth mentioning?" Amid the ghostly wails, his words rang with resonance. Having said that, he didn't linger; he launched himself forward like a massive tiger, kicking up a gale as he lunged at Mao Dongshan.

But Mao Dongshan floated up lightly on the wind, the yin‑yang fish swimming beside her like real fish, stirring the somber ghostly qi that emitted a piercing wail to erode Bai Lang's mind. Yet, under the influence of the Golden Bell Shield's internal force, a distant bell tolled from Bai Lang's body, instantly sweeping away the resentful ghostly qi near him. However, this bell could not dispel all the resentment in the sky, for it was quickly ground to dust by the yin‑yang fish.

Sound and will can also grind things down; this yin‑yang grindstone is profoundly strange. Mao Dongshan made no move—the yin‑yang fish instantly turned into a gigantic yin‑yang diagram that covered everything within dozens of zhang, and with a single turn it reduced all to powder, even the living among them could not escape. As soon as a person died, the yin‑yang fish turned again, pulling out those dead souls and transforming them into layered surges that struck Bai Lang from afar. "This is no longer a yin‑yang birth‑and‑transformation martial art!" Bai Lang thought to himself.

These attacks were of little use to him—who let his claws carry the White Tiger Battle Array's grim killing intent? Clearing such dead souls was as easy as chopping vegetables. Mao Dongshan also floated over, drawing a long bone whip and a slender treasure sword, and engaged Bai Lang in combat.