Chapter 436: Shanglu Finally Defeated, Revealing His True Form

"Master, do you really think I can enter the Human Dao again?"

Zhanli finished a set of fist techniques, sat under the veranda to rest, and glancing at Lingxiang, who was sipping tea comfortably, asked the question that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

He truly did not believe that for a problem that had suppressed the Demon Race for hundreds of years, Lingxiang, having only been in the Demon Realm for three years, could have any solution.

"That is natural," Lingxiang put down the tea cup and smacked her lips, then as if she had thought of something else, she changed her words: "No, it is inevitable."

Watching Lingxiang's leisurely expression, Zhanli could not help but hesitate; he did not understand why—

Why Lingxiang was so persistent in letting him become a human.

It was not that Zhanli was unwilling—how could what Master said be wrong? It was just that he felt his current state was quite good; for some things, why be so persistent?

Zhanli inadvertently glanced at Adao, who was gnawing on a small fruit nearby; after all, he often said that there were not many "humans" who were good things.

Treacherous, cunning, selfish, greedy, incorrigible...

"But what is so good about being human..." At the thought of this, Zhanli could not help but mutter.

A sudden silence made Zhanli realize that he seemed to have said the wrong thing, and he hurriedly stammered to explain: "Master... I didn't mean that... I just..."

Yes, Master is also a human, but Master is so good...

Lingxiang raised her hand but did not speak, only slurping a sip of tea; the tea steam misted her eyes.

Lingxiang had not thought deeply about this question either; she just felt it was natural since she was born human, but Zhanli's question made her fall into deep thought instead.

Yes, what is so good about being human?

After a long while, Lingxiang finally put down the tea cup.

"Do you know why I named you 'Zhanli'?" Lingxiang asked with a sigh.

Zhanli shook his head; at first, he felt a bit awkward, but later he felt that having a name seemed quite nice, and he had not delved into it further.

"Then you must listen carefully to what I say next." Lingxiang sat up and straightened her expression.

Zhanli nodded, and Lingxiang pondered for a moment before continuing:

"In the vast world, the multitudes of people are all like a drop in the ocean, a tiny pebble; you are like this, and so am I."

"So, I cannot answer the question you asked me, because even I, having been born human for so many years, have not figured out why; after all, I have not seen everything there is to see."

"Sages all say one should not look at a leopard through a tube, nor view a pebble as a mountain, but I believe that a flower is a world, and a stone is a universe."

"All living beings have a hundred faces, only one can discern them clearly."

"Therefore, the so-called 'human suffering and the rise and fall of all things'—these are all things you must experience personally in the future; what others say does not count."

"At most, a person's life is only thirty thousand days and nights. Whether it is constant pursuit and searching high and low; or for the sake of the common people, or for one's own Dao, or even just for daily necessities."

"The seven emotions dwell in the heart; if one goes against them, they defy heaven and change fate, if one follows them, they nourish longevity; controlled by the six desires, greed, anger, and obsession cause self-harm, and seeking what cannot be attained leads to exhaustion."

"Many things, once experienced personally and understood in their principles, can be accepted calmly and faced with composure, regardless of whether they are good or bad."

"Admittedly, there is no lack of the pain of life and death, but there is also the strength of endless life, and one can also feel the heroism of a single call receiving a hundred responses."

"This is what it means to be human: struggling through rivers, exhausting the source of things, nurturing life to create spring, and gathering streams to form an abyss."

"We are all mountain pebbles, gathering to form a mountain, standing tall between heaven and earth; where there are orchids, there is fragrance, clear and bright."

Watching the Daoist Sect gathered below, working together to resist the enemy, Zhanli remembered what Lingxiang had told him not long ago, and for a moment, he felt a bit dazed.

This must be what it means to gather pebbles into a mountain and have a single call receive a hundred responses...

Lingxiang often said that in a journey of ten thousand miles, one sees oneself, sees the world, and sees all living beings. Actually, Zhanli was confused by her words at the time, but he understood one thing: one must experience everything personally before reaching a conclusion.

To conclude for oneself!

In a moment of distraction, two or three of the Daoist Sect members besieging Shanglu were already gone, and the remaining ones were in a precarious situation amidst the strong winds of the Bronze Men.

Yet even so, everyone did not retreat in the slightest, still resisting stubbornly while looking for opportunities to break the enemy.

If it were anyone else, they would have been moved by this persistence, but the one observing everything was Zhanli; he truly did not understand these people's "knowing it cannot be done yet doing it anyway."

But it did not matter; everything was to save Master.

That is what is said, but in reality, it was not that easy.

That group of Daoists could barely handle a few Bronze Giant Statues, let alone get close to Shanglu; even the two Bronze Men by his side were enough to handle.

Originally, when Zhao Wuyang was stalling, Zhanli intended to strike, but that Array Formation was truly strange; fearing that a rash move would lead him into a trap, he had no choice but to hold back.

Now it was worse; Shanglu had left two Bronze Men to guard his side, so there was no chance at all.

It is said that Shanglu should be impervious to blades and spears and immune to witchcraft, but now he was on guard; it seems his invulnerability benefited from the mechanisms on his back, and now that the mechanisms were all released, he would be much weaker.

Following this deduction, it made sense.

But how could one lure away the bronze statues by his side?

Just as Zhanli was pondering a countermeasure, he saw Xin Yi, alone and single-handed, leap in front of Shanglu.

What was this guy thinking?

Zhanli had heard Lingxiang say that this person was skilled in the Concealment and Assassination, and was not good at facing enemies head-on, but now he was provoking Shanglu—wasn't that going to his death?

In the blink of an eye, Xin Yi leaped up, held his Deer Horn Blade high, and slashed toward Shanglu.

Was Shanglu someone to be trifled with? He did not even frown, merely moving his finger, and a Bronze Man by his side raised a Long Halberd to stab directly at Xin Yi.

The Bronze Man came with fierce momentum, but Xin Yi showed no panic; he twisted his waist in mid-air, dodged with a few flips, and then used his blade to support himself on the ground, using the force to distance himself from the Bronze Man. There was only one bronze statue left by Shanglu's side, which seemed easy to deal with; Zhanli was about to strike, but he locked eyes with Xin Yi.

Did that mean the timing was not right yet?

Zhanli finally understood that Xin Yi was using himself as bait to lure away the guards by Shanglu's side.

It seemed he had been discovered by Xin Yi long ago; truly, it was a formidable Concealment and Assassination, and his own meager skills were really not enough to look at in front of him.

But how would Xin Yi deal with the remaining bronze statue?

Just then, with a loud boom, an earth hand rose from the ground, grabbed the arm of the Bronze Man guarding Shanglu, and then an Earth Man crawled out from the ground.

This Earth Man was the same size as Shanglu's Bronze Man, but mottled cracks covered his whole body, and broken stones and dust kept shaking off; he looked extremely fragile.

This was Shoucheng's method, the Earth Method of Spirit-Infusing Transformation; although it should have been a Stone Man, it was somewhat strenuous to use the power of a clone, and being able to manifest it was already quite good.

Moreover, Shoucheng had guessed Xin Yi's objective, which was why he let go and fought with all his might.

One way or another, the obstacles had to be drawn away; the method did not matter.

Please... you.... add to your collection 6... 9... books....!

As for those Daoist followers, there was nothing to worry about.

It was not that Shoucheng did not care, but he believed in the fellow sect members and Daoist friends who had come with him; after all, having cultivated for many years, none of them were useless, and their cultivation was solid and real.

Furthermore, everyone's determination to slay the demon was firm; it was not a whim or a hot-headed impulse that brought them here.

The Earth Man grabbed the Bronze Man's arm, turned his body, performed a shoulder throw, and flung the Bronze Man away, then leaped up and landed steadily on the Bronze Man's chest.

Watching all this, Zhanli could not help but click his tongue in wonder—to think that a mud figure as fat as a ball could be so agile was truly unexpected.

Both giant statues had already left Shanglu; now should be the time to strike, right?

Zhanli did not rashly make a move, but instead looked at Xin Yi; after all, he was not skilled at surprise attacks.

However, Xin Yi was only grappling back and forth with the Bronze Man and had no intention of looking over.

Could it be that he had misunderstood the meaning just now?

Zhanli was somewhat puzzled, yet he still hid, fearing that if the strike failed, all previous efforts would be wasted.

Shoucheng's Earth Man was, after all, made of mud and sand; although he gained the initiative, he was not as hard as the bronze blocks, so how could he be a match? After only two or three rounds, he was already a broken, mangled mess of limbs and torso, trampled fiercely under the Bronze Man's feet.

And Xin Yi was no better off; facing the hard, gargantuan object, he had already used all his strength just to dodge, let alone injure it in the slightest, and before long, he was gripped in the Bronze Man's hand.

Just as Shanglu's fingertips twitched, preparing to crush Xin Yi, the latter looked toward the place where Zhanli was hiding.

Now is the time!

Zhanli immediately understood; he was seen flying out, gathering Spirit Gathering at his fingertips, and taking advantage of Shanglu's lack of preparation, he struck straight for the crown of the head.

……

"How about I teach you a new technique today? Although it is not my specialty, if it is you, I imagine you will surely achieve some small success." Lingxiang was very proud of herself, as if this technique were something she had created herself.

"What technique?" Zhanli secretly rolled his eyes and asked back in a huff.

What else could he do? He couldn't leave this little master feeling cold, could he? Besides, learning a bit more would never be wrong.

"The solid rock is firm, the dripping water can pierce; gather the mountain's crags, and grass and trees can be split." Lingxiang said, putting her hands behind her back, looking just like a schoolteacher. "This is the Inch Technique, using the force of an inch to withstand ten thousand jun."

……

A finger pointed down, light flashed suddenly; another finger curled, the wind and waves dissipated; finally, a fist formed, and dust flew everywhere.

"Inch Technique! Stone-Breaking Flower-Blooming!"

Shanglu plummeted into the ground, instantly stirring up layers of dust waves that surged endlessly.

Just at this moment, the twelve Bronze Men collapsed with a boom, one by one like puppets with broken strings, their mechanical parts scattering everywhere, just like water droplets falling into a wok of oil.

Xin Yi leaped several times, escaping from the pile of parts, and after landing, he let out a long sigh.

That was close, I thought I was going to die here...

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was finally over, a figure crawled up from within the dust and mist—it was shockingly Shanglu, who had just been struck down!

This...

How is this monster so hard to kill?

Shanglu remained motionless, and when the dust settled, everyone discovered that Shanglu's body had actually developed cracks, spreading and intersecting from the top of his head; the whole person looked as if he were about to shatter.

It really worked!

Zhanli was preparing to land another blow, but just at this moment, a Thunder Method descended, striking Shanglu squarely on the body.

It was Chengkai.

With the strong enemy defeated, one must naturally cut the weeds and dig up the roots!

As the Thunder Method dissipated, Shanglu's body also turned into powder, but unexpectedly, within the powder, there was still a figure...

It was a little child!

So Shanglu's body was also a mechanism!

And they had actually been toyed with so miserably by a child!