Chapter 450: Whether Man or Demon, I Shall Decide

The Wind-Fixing Auspicious Cloud Qilin let out a roar, its divine nature natural, and with a graceful leap, it charged toward the Grand Marshal.

The Grand Marshal remained calm and composed; with one hand he drew a circle, conjuring ice blades, and with the other he gripped a whip, meeting the charge head-on.

Unexpectedly, the moment the blades made contact, the Auspicious Cloud Qilin transformed into a mass of mist, and the Grand Marshal passed straight through its body.

"Hmph! So it is merely an illusory object," the Grand Marshal mocked.

That mass of mist gathered back into shape, floating in mid-air, its mane drifting without wind, looking truly majestic.

Just then, the Auspicious Cloud Qilin let out a long howl, and streaks of flying blades shot out, aiming straight for the Grand Marshal's face.

Thinking it was nothing more than an illusion, the Grand Marshal had not taken it to heart, but as the flying blades drew near, he instinctively sensed danger and hurriedly raised his whip to block.

The flying blades struck the ice sword and whip, emitting a series of "clanging" sounds, forcing the Grand Marshal to retreat again and again.

They were actual, solid Wind Blades!

The Grand Marshal's expression darkened; he shifted his stance and plunged the ice sword into the ground.

An ice wall immediately rose from the ground, blocking all the Wind Blades, but the Wind Blades came one after another, and before long, several cracks appeared in the ice wall.

After a short while, as the final Wind Blade struck, the ice wall finally could not bear the burden and collapsed with a boom.

However, there was no sign of the Grand Marshal behind the ice wall.

In the distance, Lu Ying's brows were locked tight; he had been staring intently without a moment of slack, terrified that Xunfeng Zhenren might suffer a mishap.

Although the Wind Blade strikes had stirred up some mist, no one had ever emerged from it.

When did that old man escape?

Just as Lu Ying was bewildered, the form of the Wind-Fixing Auspicious Cloud Qilin flickered twice, then dissipated into a cloud of smoke.

This big lion looked quite imposing, why was it so fragile...

Lu Ying muttered to himself, only to see that Xunfeng Zhenren's two clones had been dealt with—one had its body pierced, the other had its head shattered.

Fortunately, these two clones were merely formed from the Sleeve Wind; after a momentary look of astonishment, they turned into two gusts of wind and vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared at all.

And the one who had done all this was the now-vanished Grand Marshal.

No one knew how he had disappeared, nor how he had arrived behind the clones; they only knew that by the time he appeared, both clones had already completely dissipated.

Along with the clones, Xunfeng Zhenren had also vanished, and even the Grand Marshal did not know his whereabouts.

"Your Excellency truly has a keen eye to be able to discern the key to this technique."

Xunfeng Zhenren's voice came from all directions, as if he were nowhere, yet everywhere at once.

Hearing this, Lu Ying felt another wave of inner muttering:

Ha, anyone who couldn't see it would have to be blind; he started off with such fanfare to create two clones, as if he were afraid others wouldn't know they were the key to the Witchcraft.

What is Uncle-Master Xunfeng trying to do? Others aren't fools; saying something like that makes even him feel embarrassed...

Little did he know that all of this was merely a smokescreen by Xunfeng Zhenren, intended only to cover his next move, and the praise just now was merely to mock the Grand Marshal.

But the Grand Marshal seemed unaffected; seeing that Xunfeng Zhenren had disappeared, he charged straight toward Lu Ying's side.

His goal, from beginning to end, had only ever been Chiyanzi.

Seeing the Grand Marshal coming on so fiercely, Lu Ying was startled; in an instant, he had cycled through a thousand countermeasures in his mind.

He couldn't just abandon Chiyanzi and run; he was his savior, and even without that connection, there was no reason to abandon anyone else in such a situation.

But with his own strength, how could he possibly be a match for this old monster?

However, the Grand Marshal did not get his wish; instead, a zhang away, he was pulled back by an unknown force, unable to advance even a fraction.

Just as Lu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, the Grand Marshal was dragged away and smashed heavily into the ground.

The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, especially Lu Ying, who didn't even know what had happened.

By comparison, the Grand Marshal appeared much calmer; after all, anyone who could summon the Wind-Fixing Auspicious Cloud Qilin must have some tricks up their sleeve.

The blow just now looked powerful, but the Grand Marshal was unscathed; after getting up, he simply brushed off the dust and began to assess the current situation.

The old Daoist who had just arrived did not have deep cultivation, but these strange techniques and odd arts were difficult to deal with; wanting to bypass him to kill that person would likely not be easy.

To deal with this person, ordinary means would likely not suffice, unless he transformed into his Demon Body again.

But if he transformed into his Demon Body, his weakness would be exposed once more, which would inevitably give others an opportunity to exploit.

The Grand Marshal stared in the direction of Chiyanzi, weighing the pros and cons in his heart—there was still that little Daoist lurking nearby, and he knew where his weakness lay.

But compared to the stability of the Demon Race's nation, what did his old life matter!

Mist regenerated, wild winds rose again, swirling and gathering, like a swimming dragon, the sound deafening and incessant, the strange beast descended once more.

This left Lu Ying completely confused; this old man was actually transforming into his Demon Body and exposing his own weakness...

How could he dare...

The Grand Marshal, having transformed into his Demon Body, moved his giant claws up and down, and in an instant, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, with wild winds blowing incessantly.

Following the tremors in the surroundings, streaks of mysterious Spirit Qi wandered continuously, gradually gathering into the likeness of Xunfeng Zhenren.

Only, this Xunfeng Zhenren was but a half-body phantom, like mist, and where it was mottled, it was even burning with flames.

The move just now was Xunfeng Zhenren's life-saving skill: dispersing Spirit Qi, spreading it all around, and using his Primordial Spirit to precisely control every wisp of Spirit Qi.

This method was extremely dangerous; one careless slip could damage his Primordial Spirit, not to mention the damage to his physical body.

Unless it was an absolute last resort, Xunfeng Zhenren would never use it.

But since he was currently using a Blood Talisman, there were not so many scruples.

It was just that, in doing so, the Blood Talisman clone would likely not be preserved. However, being able to restrain such a powerful opponent was not too much of a loss.

"Shaoying, Uncle-Master can only help you this much; the opportunity is rare, do not hesitate."

As soon as the words fell, Xunfeng Zhenren's half-body began to dissipate, and the Spirit Qi continuously drilled into the scales of the Grand Marshal.

Lu Ying was stunned at first: Is Uncle-Master trying to sacrifice himself? For this monster, surely not...

But with a momentary recovery, anger surged; he snatched up his twin maces and roared as he charged toward the Grand Marshal.

The Grand Marshal was about to make a move, but discovered that he could not move at all; his entire body felt as if it had rusted shut.

Lu Ying leaped up and smashed his mace down onto the Reverse Scale, causing Grand Marshal to howl in endless pain.

The roar, like a thunderclap, entered his ears, but Lu Ying ignored it, simply raising his hand to strike with the mace again with all his might.

Blood foam instantly splattered from Grand Marshal's mouth, and the Reverse Scale was driven deep into his flesh.

Yet just as Lu Ying prepared to deliver the final blow, ice spikes suddenly erupted from Grand Marshal's body.

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At the critical moment, two vines suddenly shot out, tightly binding Lu Ying and pulling him away from the danger.

But how could Lu Ying be willing to stop? With bloodshot eyes, he roared incessantly, "Let me go! Let me go..."

His master was dead, and his martial uncle had just sacrificed himself for the Dao before his eyes; how could he not be driven mad?

Chiyanzi dared not let go, shaking his head helplessly: This brat is truly too reckless...

Just a moment ago, when Xunfeng Zhenren had blocked the path in front of Chiyanzi, the two had already communicated extremely quickly.

Therefore, regarding what Xunfeng Zhenren did, Chiyanzi showed not the slightest panic, but calmly gathered his strength on the sidelines, waiting to deal Grand Marshal a heavy blow.

Xunfeng Zhenren had anticipated that Lu Ying would lose his reason because of this, which is why he spared no effort to execute this move that appeared to be a desperate gamble.

Everything was done solely to create an opportunity for Chiyanzi's final strike.

Just then, mist filled the air once more, and Grand Marshal transformed back into human form.

Only this time, Grand Marshal knelt on the ground, spitting blood foam, completely stripped of his former majesty.

Along with this change, a Talisman burned and fell from mid-air, eventually turning into a pile of ash.

But how could the blinded-by-rage Lu Ying see any of this? He roared as he tried to go and kill Grand Marshal.

Chiyanzi, helpless, slapped Lu Ying on the forehead and pointed at the ash, saying, "Silly boy, look closely, that is a clone!"

Lu Ying did not react at first, still struggling in anger, but after Chiyanzi's words turned over in his mind, he slowly calmed down.

"Ah?"

Lu Ying stared blankly at the pile of ash, unable to speak for a long while, until Chiyanzi released the Wood Formula, at which point he collapsed onto the ground, drained of strength.

So his martial uncle did not sacrifice himself for the Dao...

Why didn't this old man make things clear, causing him to make such a fool of himself...

Seeing Lu Ying settle down, Chiyanzi gave another helpless smile, then pulled the Gold Coin Sword from his sleeve, bit his finger to draw a line across it, and it transformed into a long sword of golden light as he slowly walked toward Grand Marshal.

Grand Marshal did not even lift his head, only letting out a laugh, desolate and cold.

A life spent on the battlefield, has it reached its end today?

The yellow hem of a robe entered his vision; Grand Marshal leaned on his Flood Dragon whip and struggled to lift his head.

"As a member of the Demon Race, to consort with mortals, do you not feel shame!"

Chiyanzi stared at the wretched old man before him, his face showing not a hint of emotion.

Demon Race, so he was of the Demon Race.

Thinking back, his master must have known, which was why he asked that question that day.

"Ayan, if one day you suddenly discovered that you were different from others, would you mind?"

Chiyanzi had known since he was small that he was different from others, but so what?

Tumi Xianzi treated him as her own, cared for him meticulously, and taught him the principles of the Dao; like a mother, she was the person he respected most.

"Why would I mind?" Tumi had said almost reflexively, "No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, you are my disciple. What is there for me to mind?"

His master never cared who he was or what he was; his master would only say, "As a disciple, you must listen to your master and not listen to the idle gossip of others."

"Ayan, remember, who you are is not important; who you want to be is what matters. What others say never counts."

He would always be his master's disciple!

The long sword pierced straight through Grand Marshal's throat without the slightest hesitation.

After the Gold Coin Sword gifted by his master was repaired, it had never been unleashed; today, it shall be blooded by your Dragon Race blood!

Grand Marshal's eyes widened, filled with nothing but unwillingness.

Chiyanzi lowered his head to Grand Marshal's ear and said coldly:

"What of being human? What of being a demon? How the path ahead is determined depends entirely on my heart!" Having said this, he slowly withdrew the sword.