Chapter 58: A Hair's Breadth Away, the White Fox Arrives

Chiyanzi hurried along, not even caring that the surrounding branches had torn his Daoist Robe, running for his life.

Ever since parting ways with Lingxiang last time, he had come to Manzhou alone, all because the twin-blade assassin he had fought then had aroused his suspicions.

Although that assassin was said to be a mortal and used mortal techniques, the two blades in his hands were Demon Blades; even in the brief moment they clashed, Chiyanzi had sensed the Evil Qi unique to Demon Race weaponry.

Yet, his arrival this time had truly yielded results—the Demon Race, which had vanished over a dozen years ago, had not been completely wiped out, but were lurking within the borders of Manzhou.

But his own cultivation was ultimately insufficient; he had been discovered by a Demon General and chased until he was fleeing in all directions.

Chiyanzi's yellow robe was torn beyond recognition, yet he suddenly stopped—not far ahead stood a person in black, and what that person held in their hand was the same weapon as the assassin from before, only…

Only the one before him was a member of the Demon Race, and also the Demon General who had been chasing him from behind all this time!

It seemed a fierce battle was inevitable today!

Chiyanzi snatched up his whisk and charged over; when dealing with the Demon Race, striking first was the best policy.

Yet the person in black was unhurried, only drawing their blade to parry when the whisk was right before their eyes; in an instant, they had sliced the whisk's bristles into scattered pieces.

Chiyanzi was shocked at the sight. This whisk was his Dharma treasure, its bristles made from the tail of a Flood Dragon, possessing extraordinary resilience; that this person could destroy it so easily showed just how dangerous the weapon in their hand was.

He retreated rapidly, gazing at the blade shimmering with green light in the other's hand, unable to help but fall into deep thought: his master had gifted him this Jiaowei Whisk to purge the world of filth, yet he had not expected it to be broken in a foreign land. It was not to say he had no other Dharma treasures besides this, but after many years, this item was the most intuitive to use; if he switched to another, he would certainly be no match for the person before him.

Chiyanzi felt his clothes soaked with sweat, yet a chill rose within him.

He feared he would lose his life here today!

The person in black did not give him any room to ponder, leaping forward in a spin; with a flash of cold light from the blade, it slashed toward Chiyanzi.

Chiyanzi ducked and rolled, barely dodging, and hurriedly took a Gold Coin Sword from his Storage Bag. The sword was made entirely of copper coins, forty-nine of them bound together with red cord, about a foot long; it was a Qiankun Dharma Sword crafted by Chiyanzi's master himself.

Once he stood firm, he hurriedly bit his index finger, smeared blood onto the Gold Coin Sword, and chanted a mantra:

"Heaven and Earth, Profound Sect, the root of all Qi. Vastly cultivate through the kalpas, verify my divine power!"

As the voice fell, the tiny Gold Coin Sword suddenly glowed with golden light, and in a moment, it transformed into a long sword!

Chiyanzi lunged forward with the sword, his left hand forming a seal, using a Falling Flowers Flying Leaves technique to stir up wind from the ground to attack the person in black, while his right hand thrust the sword.

Yet the person in black did not move a muscle amidst this Witchcraft; as Chiyanzi approached, they turned and easily dodged, then turned back and kicked him aside.

Chiyanzi felt a pain in his waist, slammed hard into a nearby tree, and then collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The transformed sword also lost its enchantment, reverting back into a tiny Gold Coin Sword.

This Demon General's strength was extraordinary; with his own ability, it would be difficult to escape. If he didn't bring out some of his trump cards, he might well lose his life at the Yellow Springs here.

Chiyanzi suddenly sat up cross-legged, his hands flying as he formed the Heavenly Dipper Hand Seal, loudly chanting the incantation:

"Five stars suppress the colors, light shines upon the profound darkness. Thousand spirits and ten thousand saints, protect my true spirit. Giant heavenly ferocious beasts, subdue the five weapons. Five heavenly demons and ghosts, perish in body and form. Wherever I am, ten thousand spirits shall bow and welcome!"

Following the shout of "Jiji Ru Lüling," the red cord knots on the Gold Coin Sword unraveled on their own, glowing with red light and transforming into a long rope that flew toward the person in black, binding them tightly. At this moment, the copper coins glowed with golden light and scattered, landing around the person in black and forming a golden Dharma Array beneath their feet.

Seeing this formation, the person in black thought to themselves that it was bad and wanted to leap out, but they were restrained by the red rope on their body and could not escape.

As the last copper coin fell, the Dharma Array instantly erupted with golden light, and before long, several bolts of lightning struck down within the array.

For a time, the sound of thunder echoed across the sky, only ceasing after a moment.

Hmph! How does the taste of this Heavenly Thunder Subduing Demon Array feel?

But when the surroundings calmed down, the person in the array was still standing in the same spot; although their clothes were damaged and their flesh torn, it seemed they had not been struck in any vital areas.

And that person's entire body was now radiating a chill like thorns, their eyes flashing with a ghostly light as they stared fixedly at Chiyanzi.

Having consumed too much vital energy summoning the lightning array, Chiyanzi was unable to move for a moment, yet the person in black dragged their long blade, filled with killing intent, and walked slowly toward him. The blade scraped against the stones on the ground, dragging out a trail of sparks.

Oh no! It seems I really am going to perish here today!

The person in black took heavy steps, one after another, as if stepping on Chiyanzi's heart, and Chiyanzi could do nothing at all.

Just as the person in black raised their blade to strike, a gust of wind passed, and a flash of white appeared before Chiyanzi's eyes; the person in black was sent flying into a tree.

"You old man, you're not that old, yet you're quite good at getting into trouble!"

The newcomer was dressed in white, back turned to Chiyanzi, leaving him unable to recall who it was for a moment.

Hearing no movement behind them, the person turned to look at Chiyanzi. Seeing his dazed expression, they squatted down and pointed at their own face, saying:

"Such a handsome, extraordinary, and dashing person, and you actually don't remember? Could it be that your memory has gotten worse with age?"

The person who had come was none other than Wu Yuan!

……

Lingxiang had not been coming to Bamboo Garden these days, and Maidong had disappeared without a trace; this made things miserable for Zhao Wuyang, as it was now Liu Xia and Xin Yi who changed his bandages every time.

It wasn't that he disliked the two of them, but they were men after all, and they were heavy-handed; either they would tear off the scabs that had finally formed while applying medicine, or they would wrap him up like a rice dumpling when applying the fine cloth.

Only now did he truly appreciate how good Lingxiang and Maidong were; although those two women were a bit fierce, they were always careful when changing his dressings, and when Maidong wrapped him up, she would even tie a little knot, which looked extremely cute.

Long Qi had not been having an easy time these past two days either; besides having to endure the torment of Liu Xia and Xin Yi, he also had to endure inner turmoil.

That day, Lingxiang had slapped him and run out with a flushed face, and she had never come again.

Besides, he hadn't done it on purpose; it had already been three days, so her anger should have subsided by now, right?

Whenever he thought of this, Long Qi couldn't help but lick his lips, his mind wandering: Lingxiang's little mouth was truly soft, and it even had a medicinal fragrance; it seemed… even a little sweet…

Just as he was lost in his wild thoughts, he heard Zhao Wuyang limping into the room.

"Brother Qi, what did you do to Miss Lingxiang that day? Why was she so angry?"

Long Qi looked at Zhao Wuyang, who was wrapped up like a rice dumpling and looked completely innocent; he stammered with a flushed face for a long time, and only after a long while did he shout loudly:

"Adult matters, children shouldn't ask so much!"