Chapter 92: Spell Duel (Ninth Update)

Feng Xue had been pondering how to escape from this giant, but when he heard the shout from behind from Deng Gu Niang, he froze— he'd only been in Lu County for less than twenty days, he hadn't even figured out where the local black market was, let alone found a demonic cultivator.

Besides, he was the victim, wasn't he? He'd just rented a house, and a corpse puppet showed up; the county magistrate gave him a house, and then a malevolent spirit showed up; now, thank heaven he was trying to run, otherwise this Nian Beast might have chased him straight to the guesthouse!

At first, Feng Xue thought his own reckless cultivation had drawn the monster with his Qi, but today he hadn't cultivated at all after the Xu hour— this Nian Beast could not possibly be chasing his Qi!

But right now, explaining more would be useless; Feng Xue had already decided to flee, so he said nothing, channeling his cultivation energy to his legs, activating the Divine Step Talisman— his movement surged forward, shooting straight beneath the Nian Beast's feet!

"Don't think you can run!"

Seeing this, Deng Gu Niang's gray hair lifted slightly, her demonic aura— distinct from human Qi— mixing with yin energy to envelop her body, instantly transforming her into a streak of gray light as she chased after Feng Xue.

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, Li Maolin's expression suddenly cleared:

"How did I get exposed? Damn it, so the 【Heavenly Punishment】 revealing malevolence and clashing with the Rat was meant to happen here! I should've quietly… no, this guy's a known name in the city; even if I didn't kill him, his sudden disappearance would draw attention."

Here, Li Maolin's grim expression suddenly relaxed— Deng Gu Niang chasing Feng Xue meant the other hadn't locked onto him; in a sense, this "disciple" of his had truly taken the curse for him.

"So it seems my fate shifted the moment I genuinely considered taking him as a disciple— karma is truly subtle… Does this human spiritual spark truly lack sentience?"

Li Maolin looked up at the moonless sky, where faint, flickering starlight barely shimmered.

Concealing his form, he controlled the Nian Beast to draw the attention of the xuan cultivators, while he himself followed after them.

He had no intention of acting immediately—or rather, Feng Xue being suspected now better served his interests.

Because that girl's single testimony was insufficient to prove Feng Xue's collusion with demonic cultivators, and everything he'd done, Feng Xue knew nothing of— meaning that even if the City God or the Judges of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil were summoned, they'd find not a trace of his karmic debt.

But correspondingly, while Lu County investigated Feng Xue, he himself could calmly spend New Year's Eve, waiting until his spirit and body fully merged, then retrieve Feng Xue and use it as an excuse to take him as a disciple…

"I could even claim this was all a test— now that he's passed, I'll transmit to him the true secret of immortality…"

Li Maolin smiled inwardly, yet still followed after them— though Feng Xue was capable, that gray rat was a centuries-old spirit immortal; if he accidentally injured his precious disciple, that would be disastrous!

…

Meanwhile, Feng Xue saw that Deng Gu Niang's speed outpaced even his own Divine Step enhanced by high-level cultivation— his face darkened; he knew he'd be caught before reaching his target. He gritted his teeth, slapped his belt mid-run.

Colorless, all-elemental cultivation energy flowed along the Ren Meridian to his dantian, surging into the belt— each jade talisman strung with law-silver ignited, emerald-green cultivation energy spilling from the belt to fully envelop Feng Xue, flickering Lei Guang dancing across his body, subtly forming an opposing balance with the clear wind.

"The Divine Step Spell and the Transforming Thunder Spell actually complement each other perfectly?" Feng Xue felt the combo far exceeded using either 【Divine Step】 or 【Transforming Thunder】 alone— he immediately memorized this combination, planning to research related papers once safe; but his current goal wasn't there— with a sharp crack, his elevated over-the-shoulder vision had already caught a streak of gray light!

Under the Divine Step Spell's enhancement, Feng Xue's mobility had greatly improved; under Liu Yunxi's training, he was no longer the novice from half a month ago who could only bounce around like a rubber ball.

He lightly tapped his toe— the gray light swept past his side— but just as Feng Xue thought he'd evaded it, the gray light abruptly reversed midair and leapt toward him!

【Substitute Spell】!

His cultivation energy surged violently, instantly activating the Substitute Spell— a palm-sized white paper doll remained in Feng Xue's original spot, colliding with the gray light.

The paper doll turned instantly gray-green upon impact, but Feng Xue had no time to care— his immature Substitute Spell had flung him directly to within five meters of Deng Gu Niang!

"Ah!"

Deng Gu Niang was startled by Feng Xue's sudden advance, leaping two steps backward— luckily, her retreat gave Feng Xue enough reaction time; the Lei Guang on his body flared violently, his left hand pressed against his waist, pressing down two jade seals— one black jade, one green jade— each sinking with a distinct depth, followed by several sharp clicks, signaling the law-gold connectors had snapped tightly into place.

Cultivation energy triggered the switch, Qi flowing into his dantian in a ratio of three water to two wood, blending and ascending along the Du Meridian to his consciousness, forming a pool of emerald-black cultivation energy that flowed back along the Ren Meridian, finally pouring into the Transforming Thunder Jade Tablet.

The entire process completed in an instant— Deng Gu Niang, noticing Feng Xue hadn't launched an attack, was about to bind him with the Spirit-Binding Cord, when she saw him flick his finger— a murky black speck shot toward her instantly!

Though she didn't know what technique this was, given Feng Xue's previously grand and majestic thunder art, she dared not underestimate it— she unsealed her hand, and several gray specks materialized before her—

"Guardian Horses for Protection!"

The Guardian Horses, forged from ordinary rat spirits, slammed into the black light like interceptors— each collision paled Deng Gu Niang's face further; fortunately, the sacrifice of six Guardian Horses finally pulled her beyond the black speck's attack range— she regrouped, breathing heavily:

"What kind of demonic art is this? It just erased my Guardian Horses outright!"

"It's not demonic art— it's thunder art! Yin Thunder that corrodes bones!"

The voice echoed in Deng Gu Niang's mind— before she could respond, Grandpa Gray Nine forcibly took control of her body, his gray spirit filling the young frame, transforming her once-clear features into a sharper, more simian visage.

"Grandpa!"

Seeing Grandpa Gray Nine forcibly manifest, Deng Gu Niang was startled— but Grandpa Gray Nine now fixed his gaze— through her eyes— on Feng Xue, speaking with absolute authority:

"You're no match for him. Since the grudge is already set, don't make things worse for me!"

(End of Chapter)