Chapter 146

The Lu Ye Guard's Iron Cavalry Unit, deservedly the most elite warriors of Western Shu, reacted swiftly despite the sudden ambush—over a dozen warriors simultaneously raised their reinforced, elongated heavy crossbows and unleashed a furious barrage at Xiao Yu at the center of the encirclement.

"Sssshhh—Ting ting ting ting!"

The alley named "Baxia Baxia Hutong" was not particularly narrow, measuring five to six meters wide, but since Xiao Yu stood at the center, the bolts inevitably veered off-target and struck the armored cavalrymen opposite.

Some steel crossbow bolts ricocheted outright, leaving tiny sparks on the iron armor.

Others struck at perfect angles and pierced deep into the armor.

Yet all the armored warriors remained utterly motionless, continuing their relentless firing.

They had no fear, for beneath their iron armor lay another layer of black iron chainmail.

Xiao Yu nearly gave in and unleashed the "Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun Technique" from Wen Wen Danxia's "Yin Feng Bao Yang Jian."

In an instant, she entered the "Xin Hai Gao Jue" state, seeing not only the formidable "Gang Qi adept" Ge Qing, whom she remembered well, the somewhat familiar Chi Miao, and another unfamiliar ghost-god (Zhang San, whom she'd never met), and behind her, not far off, the Duty Officer of the Guan Chenghuang Temple lingered persistently.

She didn't know whether Ge Qing could see the Duty Officer, but she clearly sensed the General Guan Family's Officer of the Guan Chenghuang Temple's shock.

Clearly, even he had not detected Ge Qing's ghost-god ambush in advance.

—Better not expose the "Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun Technique" before the General Guan Guan Chenghuang. At least not fully reveal her hand.

Xiao Yu still had the mental bandwidth to consider this.

Like a skyward firework, she executed the "Hearth Pull" maneuver, leaping over ten zhang into the air in an instant.

Her speed was like instantaneous teleportation.

It was not the Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun Technique, yet the effect was nearly identical.

Whether Ge Qing, Zhang San, Chi Miao—the three ghost-gods—or Zhu Tong, Sun Laoqi, Xiao Long, and the armored warriors—all lost sight of Xiao Yu in an instant.

The only one who fully witnessed what happened was the distant Duty Officer, Wen Jiaju. Oh, this fellow had finally recovered from his injuries and returned to duty—General Guan Qiong had just finished her shift.

"Huh? This move resembles our Wen family's 'Yin Feng Ba Shi Yi Yang Jian' technique—'Feathered Crane in Heaven.' Not just the form—it seems…" Wen Jiaju's ghostly face twisted in confusion.

He knew Wen Wen Danxia had taught "General Guan Yu" the heart Gao Jue and sword techniques, but General Guan Yu had never practiced the "Yin Feng Bao Yang Jian" before, and the energy signature felt off—like Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun, yet clearly not Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun.

Even Wen Jiaju was baffled.

The "Yin Feng Bao Yang Jian" resembled the "Jiu Yin Zhen Jing"—it had a general outline and a vast array of miscellaneous martial arts.

It contained methods for fists, claws, swords, spears; breathing techniques; heart Gao Jue; healing methods; footwork and body maneuvers; even disguise arts. In short, it was an encyclopedic compendium, hence the name "Bao Yang Jian."

The Yin Feng Eighty-One Swords was merely the sword section within it.

Wen Jiaju wielded a blade, not a sword, and wasn't certain whether he'd misremembered or misseen.

While the Duty Officer wrestled with doubt, Xiao Yu had already leapt beyond the encirclement—like a meteor hurtling earthward, she angled sharply toward the one-armed Zhu Tong.

"Zhu Tong, watch out!" Ghost-gods were still ghost-gods—the first to react.

Yet before the bolts could strike, Xiao Yu vanished again, as if teleporting, before all eyes.

"Sssshhh!"

She landed beside "Sun Laoqi" opposite Zhu Tong, her right index and middle fingers forming a sword, spewing blade-light that effortlessly pierced through the steel helmet, her crimson sword-energy bursting through his temple.

Without internal force, she'd had to seek weak points, avoiding armored defenses.

Now, before the Investiture of the Gods-level martial blood-slaughter aura, their armor was barely sturdier than paper.

"Sun Laoqi!" Zhu Tong's eyes turned blood-red, his fury wild and uncontrollable.

Xiao Yu's left index finger lightly hooked the guard of the halberd.

"Clang~~" The halberd at Sun Laoqi's waist leapt upward.

She withdrew her sword-finger from the helmet, spotless of blood, and casually seized the hilt.

With the long blade in hand, her aura transformed utterly.

"Roar~~~~"

As if a ten-foot-tall ferocious tiger had replaced her position.

The tiger opened its bloodied maw and unleashed a deafening roar at all men and ghost-gods.

The two warriors nearest her were instantly paralyzed.

Not from fear—purely because their souls could not withstand the tiger's divine might; they could not think, could not move.

"Puch, puch!"

Blade-light flashed like a ribbon, like lightning—before the wind's whistle faded, heads rolled.

"Kill, kill this little barbarian dog!"

The remaining warriors, far from cowering, snapped back to clarity through rage and drew their blades, charging toward Xiao Yu.

Even the three ghost-gods on the wall—wait, only two remained; the fat ghost-god Chi Miao was truly a startled bird—he shuddered at the tiger's roar, his legs buckled, and he toppled backward off the wall.

"Kill!"

Ghost-gods Ge Qing and Zhang San drew their blades, becoming two gray phantoms—faster than Xiao Yu's blade-light.

"You've got guts!"

Xiao Yu kept her left hand behind her back, her right arm extended straight downward, flicking it twice—blood on the blade formed a thin crimson thread.

Once the thread dried, she gracefully spun around, evading a warrior's downward slash, while simultaneously lifting her right blade upward.

As her blade seemed poised to clash with another warrior's, her wrist turned—the broad, heavy halberd suddenly felt as supple as a vine.

The Ruo Cao Sword Art: Soft as a Finger.

The two blades, meant to collide, slipped past each other.

The warrior's blade grazed Xiao Yu's back, while her long blade pierced his throat.

"Puchhh~~~"

Her body spun like a top, elegant as a fairy among flowers, rising two meters lightly to avoid the geyser of blood spurting from the warrior's throat.

Her embroidered shoes tapped lightly, her silk skirt spun in a circle, her long hair fluttered.

She leapt over the two warriors' heads, arriving precisely before the two ghost-gods hurtling toward her.

"Ghost-God Slash!"

With the motion of the "Jiu Hua Yang Jian," her movement was as graceful as a dance—her long blade became a crimson ribbon in the dancer's hands: a blood-red blade-light, palm-wide and four to five meters long, sweeping toward the two ghost-gods.

"Aaaahhh! Wang Xuan Wu True Gang Qi!"

Ge Qing screamed, contorting his face, spreading his arms wide—"Wummm… wummm wummm~~~~"

An invisible yet tangible wall of energy rose from his body, enveloping his entire ghost-form.

His signature technique—the Gang Qi Barrier.

He had used Gang Qi earlier, but not for defense—instead, he'd infused it into his blade-light to enhance lethality.

Xiao Yu was unimpressed. "I just praised your progress, and now you're being an idiot again?"

She activated the modified "Yin Gui Yang Jian Dun Technique," derived from "Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun," shifting from the human path to the ghost path—her body vanished as if teleporting—in the eyes of Zhu Tong and the living, she appeared behind Ge Qing with a "whoosh."

Strangely, Ge Qing matched her "speed," turning swiftly and slashing before she could stabilize.

"Fool, I am a ghost-god. Using ghost-path evasion before me? Are you showing off in front of your master?" Ge Qing laughed.

The Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun Technique was derived from the celestial "Wind Evasion" immortal art.

The instant disappearance was the swordsman briefly merging with the wind.

Xiao Yu did not wish to expose the secret of Yin Feng Yang Jian Dun before the General Guan Guan Chenghuang—revealing her hand to Zhu Tong and Ge Qing, mere trash, was not worth it; she still had to save a surprise for the Western Eight Immortals' assassins!

She did not enter the wind—she entered the ghost path (she had previously evaded Kong Zan's Eight Trigrams Heavenly Blade using this method; the General Guan Guan Chenghuang already knew).

Briefly entering the ghost path, her form did not vanish.

In daylight, Zhu Tong and the others might have glimpsed a gray shadow.

But Ge Qing was himself a ghost-god.

He could not only see Xiao Yu—he could follow her movements, even move faster than her.

He was more adapted to the ghost path than she was.

"Fool, why use 'Shadow Evasion Sword Art' to kill you?"

Xiao Yu sidestepped, swung her blade with her right hand to block Zhang San's wild slash, and finally extended her left hand, which had been behind her back, and lightly tapped Ge Qing's Gang Qi Barrier.

"Puchhh~~~" The Gang Qi Barrier burst like a soap bubble.

Ge Qing's ferocious expression, his blade raised with all his strength—froze as if paused.

He stiffened for an instant—"Puchhh~~~"

His arms went limp, his demon-headed blade clattered to the ground, blood gushed from his mouth, turning into a black hurricane that rattled the roof tiles around him.

His internal Gang Qi had been shattered.

A so-called "Xuanwu Gangqi master" is one who has perfected breath control to the level of true qi, allowing internal breath to exchange with primordial natural energy, forming the Great Circulation, then drawing a thread of Xuanwu Gangqi from the fierce winds of the Thirty-Three Heavens and integrating it into true qi.

Heavenly qi is Gang Qi; earthly qi is Sha Qi.

Gang Qi is clear; when fused with true qi, it creates a Gang Qi adept. Sha Qi is turbid; when fused with true yuan or internal force, it creates a "Sha Qi adept."

The blood-slaughter qi Xiao Yu cultivated through the "Hu Po Qi Sha," and the martial blood-slaughter qi drawn from the Investiture of the Gods, were both "turbid" sha qi.

Now, Ge Qing's Gang Qi, disrupted by Xiao Yu's expert strike, leaked out and reverted to a single thread of Gang Qi.

One thread of Gang Qi equals a hurricane—hence, it blew the roof tiles off nearby houses.

The Xuanwu Gangqi in his body was scattered.

A "Xuanwu Gangqi master" is one who has perfected the breathing technique to the level of true qi, allowing internal breath to exchange with natural primordial energy, forming the Great Circulation, then drawing a thread of Xuanwu Gangqi from the thirty-three heavens' fierce winds and integrating it into true qi.

The qi above heaven is Xuanwu Gangqi; the qi below earth is sha qi.

Xuanwu Gangqi is pure; when fused with true qi, it creates a Xuanwu Gangqi master. Sha qi is turbid; when fused with true essence or internal power, it creates a "sha qi master."

The blood-sha qi cultivated by Xiao Yu through the Tiger Soul Seven Killings, and the military-ominous sha qi drawn from the Investiture of the Gods, are both "turbid" sha qi.

Now, Ge Qing's Xuanwu Gangqi, breached by Xiao Yu with effortless precision, was instantly released and reverted to a single thread of Xuanwu Gangqi.

A single thread of Xuanwu Gangqi equals a hurricane, thus lifting and flinging off all nearby roof tiles.

"Why is the Xuanwu Gangqi I re-cultivated with ghost-god power so utterly weak?"

This was Ge Qing's final thought.

Unfortunately, he never got to voice it—Xiao Yu's Ao Feng Xian Dao slashed him and Zhang San, who charged roaring toward her, into bloody pulp.

Before the body fragments even hit the ground, they turned into clusters of pitch-black yin wind.

Some yin winds landed in the air or open ground and were swiftly scattered by the natural night breeze.

Only the yin wind that landed in the corner of the wall, shielded from the natural wind, kept swirling, emitting mournful wails like ghostly weeping.

"No, Brother Qing~~~~"

Zhu Tong's chest clenched in agony, his tiger-like eyes turned bloodshot, and teardrops the size of beans rolled down, soaking his thick beard.

"Old Zhu, run! We're no match for this little barbarian dog!"

Someone instantly regained composure and dragged Zhu Tong into a mad sprint toward the alley's exit.

"No! I'll fight her to the death!" Zhu Tong struggled.

"Chief Zhu, it's hopeless—run now!"

Xiao Long shoved him hard and let out a furious roar as he leapt through the air toward Xiao Yu.

He abandoned all defense, throwing away his life, using only attacks meant to kill them both.

As Xiao Yu sighed and slashed off his head, another roar came from the side, then another.

"Old Zhu, you idiot, run!"

Xiao Yu tightened her lips, dragging her blood-dripping long blade, stepping slowly out of the alley.

On the street beyond the alley's mouth, a half-dead corpse lay on the ground, still barely alive.

It howled in grief, writhing and crawling, dragging a long trail of blood until it reached Xiao Yu's feet—then was kicked flying again by her foot.

"Ah! Old Luo~~ Ah, Old Luo, I'm sorry—I'm sorry to you all~~~"

Seeing the half-body, its intestines spilling across the ground, slam against the wooden door of the "Xinglong Noodle Shop," Zhu Tong shattered.

He dropped his horse saber, rushed to the corpse, hugged Luo Kai—whose eyes were glazed, lips still whispering "Run"—and wailed uncontrollably, tears and snot soaking his beard.

"Sigh, why did you come to provoke me? Fine. I am merciful—I'll send you to the Netherworld to reunite with your brothers. A 'happy ending,' you might say."

But remember one thing: ghosts can die too!

When you reach the underworld, don't be foolish—don't come back.

In your next life, don't let some 'big brother' fool you again."

Xiao Yu raised her hand, ready to end his suffering with one slash.

"Stop!" A commanding roar suddenly came from above her: "How can you bear to slay such a heroic soul, full of noble sorrow?"

"Who are you, daring to stand up for someone in front of me?"

Xiao Yu was startled—she hadn't sensed his presence at all until he jumped out.

And since he descended directly above her with clear hostility—and even an attacking motion—she instinctively unleashed her strongest Ao Feng Xian Dao, along with her maximum internal qi.

The weapon's lethal aura coiled around the gleaming iron blade like a crimson "cotton candy."

When she swung hard, the "cotton candy" exploded into a roaring crimson tide that swallowed him whole.