Chapter 186: The Last Piece

Lu Lu Yunsheng couldn't figure out for the moment why the old man would release such a True Qi technique? What about that powerful fire?

The other party's casting was earlier than his own membrane formation, indicating that what he buried from the beginning was this set of air blades rather than fire. These two True Qi techniques were far apart, and there was no reason to change halfway through based on his own reaction.

If he hadn't mistakenly thought it was that kind of fire, this technique wouldn't have caused him any harm.

Things were a bit wrong, but regardless, the cold light had already reached his body. This was not the time to think about these things.

【Hundred Birds】, a True Qi technique that could be learned in Heavenly Mountain after a little effort.

There were many techniques that could achieve effects similar to it, but 【Hundred Birds】 was only available in Heavenly Mountain. It didn't have many unique features, just being more flexible, faster, simpler, and more casual.

To achieve these "mores," the effort paid had to be measured in multiples. Except for true famous sects, no one would invest a large amount of resources to improve these basic things without cost-effectiveness.

Heavenly Mountain did it, so now Lu Lu Yunsheng had this technique in his hand that could be released with a lift of his hand and was born for contingency.

This was a True Qi technique that needed to leave the body, and now 70% of Lu Lu Yunsheng's True Qi was outside the body.

The shattered True Qi membranes were floating one by one in the surroundings. There was no need to condense them again; they turned into "clips" of different sizes, totaling hundreds.

This technique was simple enough, so the release was fast enough. It took shape in the blink of an eye, and then these clips of various sizes swarmed toward the nearest True Qi sword blades.

Like a group of bats hunting birds, True Qi bloomed and collided, like snow waves. Every sword blade was pressed by several clips.

This was an operation that consumed a lot of mental effort. Every piece was at a critical moment. Lu Lu Yunsheng's spirit was tense, without any leeway. This sudden and cramped contingency made his heart tightly clench—

Heart.

When the man's thoughts were placed on his heart, this thought froze. His heart contracted tightly, and he felt a cold, sharp pain.

Lu Lu Yunsheng lowered his head. At his heart, a cut had been opened by the True Qi sword blade, and blood was flowing out.

This was a flesh wound. He had mobilized True Qi to the top the moment it touched his chest. Now, except for the pain, there was no other influence.

What made the man's expression stiff was another kind of pain. It came from a very light, very thin transparent sword tip that was piercing through his heart.

Lu Lu Yunsheng was seeing this sword for the first time, but he had known about it in Elder Qinghuang's mouth.

Hidden Serpent.

Meng Meng Chuyuan still had the power to attack, Lu Lu Yunsheng knew, but his three arms were clearly still locked in his own True Qi.

This was his fourth arm.

He hadn't used the third True Qi arm to pull out the Hidden Serpent when facing Elder Qinghuang because this serpent had already hidden one layer deeper.

After ten years of painstaking pondering, the True Qi technique · 【Six Arms】 had been pushed forward one step again at some unknown time.

This step made the outcome reverse again.

Lu Lu Yunsheng stiffly gripped this sword tip.

He hadn't anticipated the old man's strange True Qi technique, just as Meng Meng Chuyuan hadn't thought of the 【Chasing the Sun and Surpassing Shadows】 attacking from behind; he hadn't thought that Meng Meng Chuyuan had advanced 【Six Arms】 again, just as Meng Meng Chuyuan hadn't thought of it just now.

It turned out that heaven was fair and hadn't favored either side. The Seven Serpents' various misunderstandings led to the current situation, and their understanding of the Seven Serpents was actually not all-knowing.

If they could reach the current situation of both sides suffering losses with weaker strength, it was all the credit of human effort.

The Hidden Serpent sword tip in his hand didn't transmit any resistance. Lu Lu Yunsheng turned his head back; Meng Meng Chuyuan had already breathed his last a step earlier, that terrifying single eye still staring. This evil serpent had walked through a life that was strong enough.

Lu Lu Yunsheng didn't pull out the sword in his chest. He stiffly sat cross-legged on the ground, the scattered True Qi in the surroundings surging back into his body rapidly, trying to save this endangered body.

Even at Eighth-Life, the heart was still a fatal weakness, but unlike Meng Meng Chuyuan's being shattered, the man wasn't declared dead for the moment.

But at this time, the only one standing on the field was the black-robed old man.

There was no need to hold any fluke; he would never let go of this opportunity.

The moment Lu Lu Yunsheng sat down with a pale face, the old man flew over, the long sword in his hand shining with True Qi. He braced his withered arms on the ground, and in the dust, the old man's speed accelerated again. The long sword that Elder Qinghuang had discarded had already been fished into his hand.

One sword slashed straight at Lu Lu Yunsheng's neck.

Lu Lu Yunsheng clenched his teeth and braced his sword. In the clanging sound, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Exerting force, the heart had to beat. He had already tried his best to suppress his power.

Afterward, the old man's other sword pierced into his abdomen.

The situation now was very clear—if you want to save your life, you will die.

But if you don't save your life, your life is gone.

Lu Lu Yunsheng didn't lack the courage to fight to the death, but now in Bowang, if he died, it meant Heavenly Mountain was cleared out from here. Even if he perished together with this old man, he had to weigh it carefully.

It was just that there was no chance for him to choose now. With one sword piercing the abdomen, if he didn't resist, the old man would win without shedding blood.

True Qi surged onto the sword. He was about to explode with a decisive sword strike, but a sword light flew from behind, hitting the old man's right chest that hadn't been blocked by him faster, carrying the person out for more than a zhang.

Lu Lu Yunsheng looked back and saw Elder Qinghuang lying on the ground with three limbs, one hand slowly putting down, and his body also tilted and fell to the ground.

He had thrown his short sword.

Just like Meng Meng Chuyuan's sword strike, Elder Qinghuang's remaining Eighth-Life strike couldn't be underestimated either. Half of the old man's body was knocked crooked by the huge force, almost falling directly to the ground.

He reacted by jumping out a few zhang again, panting heavily.

Lu Lu Yunsheng got a chance to breathe, holding his sword and looking at him, breathing slowly, preparing to meet his next arrival.

The old man stared at him with white eyes, but didn't move forward again, pressing on the sword on his shoulder, and began to retreat slowly.

The old man decided to end this battle here.

Because Lu Lu Yunsheng and Elder Qinghuang clearly had no ability to fight anymore.

If this battle had broken out before tonight, he would have risked his life to try to kill them, but tonight, there was no need for this.

The old man's mouth corners slowly hooked up, revealing a bloody smile. On the old face that had been pampered for many years, the bandit spirit of his early years reappeared. He looked at Lu Lu Yunsheng and sneered, spitting out a mouthful of blood phlegm.

Heavenly Mountain is bullshit!

His figure became further and further away, five zhang, ten zhang, twenty zhang... until the edge of the North City, he retreated again and submerged into the black shadows of the buildings.

Lu Lu Yunsheng watched silently, his heart slowly sinking.

From his perspective, the old man didn't dare to carry the collision of the "General" to the end, so the final outcome of this battle fluctuated up and down.

But no matter how the casualties on both sides compared, for them, as long as they couldn't hold this culprit in their hands, it was equivalent to failure.

A sharp pain in his chest again, the man groaned, and blood overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

Then he suddenly remembered something, turned his head to look, and the small building was empty.

——

Under the night, people were sleeping, and the houses were also sleeping. Li Li Piaoqing walked under the eaves, her body tense to the point of stiffness.

When the two generals met, she had rushed over here. Those on the field might not have been able to attend to it, but she had always remembered that there was still one person on the Seven Serpents side.

That heavily injured black robe who appeared first.

She had seen with her own eyes that he disappeared here, but no one knew if he had completely left. When the final balance of victory began to shift, her side couldn't bear any more weight.

Li Li Piaoqing searched and was vigilant on the edge of the battlefield, hoping she could step on this mine in advance, or block a move when it exploded.

She didn't know where the small sword at her waist had been removed to. She tried hard to hide herself, even though she knew this likely wouldn't be of much use in front of a Seventh-Life.

Suddenly, the young girl's gaze froze. Her feet stepped on a tile that had been stepped off. She raised her head and saw a gap in the eaves above.

A Seventh-Life was actually unsteady on his feet; he was indeed heavily injured.

But a sick tiger's casual strike was enough to slap a rabbit to death. Li Li Piaoqing clenched her fist with one hand and steadily held the unsheathed Lost Jade Sword with the other, continuing to follow the trail with her body tense.

After walking a few steps, more obvious traces appeared before her eyes, simply glaring.

Bloodstains, large patches of bloodstains.

He had spat blood here; his injury had erupted again.

Further ahead, blood drops began to form a clear trail. Li Li Piaoqing slowly traced it, and then discovered that the blood line had made an obvious detour.

It was originally straight away from the battlefield, but after walking a distance, the wounded person stopped in place, seemingly having roughly treated the wound, and then changed direction.

It began to run parallel to the edge of the battlefield.

He really hadn't completely left.

Li Li Piaoqing's heart suddenly tightened. She looked along the new direction, and the blood line was still intermittent, submerging into a quiet darkness.

The young girl stepped forward slowly.

That was a small alley, the end connecting to the lakeside, an excellent place to observe the battlefield.

The young girl stood under the moonlight, but the small alley was shadowed by the building walls. She gently pulled the Lost Jade Sword and stepped over.

When she walked to the alley entrance, she stopped her steps, and her hair slowly stood up.

In the deep darkness ahead, it seemed a pair of eyes had fallen on her.

Li Li Piaoqing didn't move, stood still for a moment, and then took another step forward.

In the darkness, it seemed a cold light could sweep over at any time. The young girl knew it would definitely be very fast; perhaps by the time she realized it, it would already be in front of her throat.

But she was still moving forward. She had to find that person and couldn't be blocked here by a piece of darkness.

Deepening step by step, her vision gradually adapted, and the darkness was pushed away by her bit by bit.

And the feeling of being watched became more distinct, and the sense of danger pricked her skin like needles. Another perception was also gradually knocking on her brain, reminding the young girl to pay attention—that was... the smell of blood.

The smell of blood was thickening... and it was a bit too thick.

This was clearly... its source!

The young girl stepped in, and the alley had reached its end. She pushed away the last piece of darkness, her sword walking in front of the person, launching an attack on the enemy first.

And then this sword strike paused in mid-air, followed by the young girl's slightly open mouth.

At the end of the alley, under the faint light of the bright moon, that Seventh-Life wearing a black robe lay here, blood flowing into a pool beneath him.

His face-covering attire had been picked open. This face rarely appeared in front of people, but Li Li Piaoqing still recognized it—Sixth Cave Master Lin Lin Shuiying, the spider sitting at the center of the spider web of Seven Serpents' assassination and investigation.

He was clearly already dead.

And beside this corpse, a small black cat sat quietly, its temperament quiet and cold, its body like black jade, its eyes like emeralds, a pair of pupils falling on her.

This isn't... that one of Pei Ye's...

Li Li Piaoqing was dazed for a while, then returned the sword to its scabbard and tried to slowly extend a hand toward this beautiful little beast.

The black cat looked at her, but didn't come forward, stood up, turned its head, and nimbly leaped into the darkness.

Li Li Piaoqing was dazed for a while again, then walked up and simply checked this corpse with her sword.

No more external injuries, as if the previous injuries hadn't been controlled, and he died of blood loss here.

For a Seventh-Life, this was a somewhat unbelievable way to die.

But regardless, with the corpse placed here, this hidden danger was indeed resolved.

Li Li Piaoqing crossed this corpse, leaped onto the wall at the end of the alley, and took the entire battlefield into her eyes.

It was at this moment that she saw a scene that made her hands and feet cold.

——Lu Lu Yunsheng was pierced through the heart by a sword and fell to the ground powerlessly; the old man rushed up and stabbed a long sword into his body from a high position, and then retreated suddenly.

Elder Qinghuang seemed to want to do more, but could only collapse powerlessly.

The young girl couldn't hear the sound the old man made, but saw the corners of his mouth coldly hooked up.

He left the battlefield calmly.

Li Li Piaoqing didn't know why things had become like this.

She had clearly left for less than half a quarter of an hour. In the scene of her last glance, Lu Lu Yunsheng was piercing a sword strike that was irresistible into Meng Meng Chuyuan's chest. In the vastness of that sword strike, it seemed to carry the wind and snow of Heavenly Mountain. The man had said he could win against that soul-snatching culprit. At this moment, the young girl believed it incomparably.

And then the old man struck, and sure enough, he was turned into an attack by the man in the second move.

The outcome should have been clear, which was why she came to block this Seventh-Life who might be an accident.

Why... did it become like this?

Wasn't it said that as long as it was one-on-one, he could capture him? Martial Uncle... Senior Elder Qinghuang, they had handed over all the advantages bit by bit without any reservation to you... Why?!

The person who could answer her was lying on the ground powerlessly at this time, life or death unknown.

And for the young girl, what she was about to lose was something a hundred times heavier than life.

Heavenly Mountain lost, the Joyous Death Tower retreated completely, and the one finally being cleansed would be the Green Feather Sword Gate.

The young girl's body was as cold as a corpse.

Absolutely not.

——

The old man left the lakeside and submerged into the shadows of the houses.

They had come together, and the direction of departure was also consistent—exactly the same as Lin Lin Shuiying's.

The True Qi in his body rushed up to bite the wound tightly. The old man gripped the sword hilt in front of his chest and then pulled it out in one go.

The blood line sprayed out suddenly, and the next instant was cut off by the muscle contraction. The old man took a deep, heavy breath.

First eating half a 【Trampling the Earth and Desolating the Land】, and then bearing the desperate throw of an Eighth-Life cultivator, if not for the fact that they were neither exhaustive nor accurate, each move would have been fatal. The injury on the old man's body at this time had also approached the most serious moment of his life.

But without a doubt, he was still the winner tonight.

Although the chariot, horse, and cannon were all lost, they won the duel of the Generals, and thus won everything.

Certainly, losing wouldn't affect the overall situation, but the consequences would all have to be borne by the Seven Serpents.

The Seven Serpents had already paid too much tonight.

He himself had also lived too long a life of cautiously showing his face.

Fortunately, after tonight, everything would end.

The old man wrapped a cloth strip around his body. The almost severed collarbone, red flesh, and exposed internal organs made his movements strange and slow.

Then he suddenly paused and slowly raised his head to look forward.

A young girl with a pale face, dry and cracked lips, and wet, messy hair stuck to her forehead walked slowly toward him. Her left hand was hanging loosely and empty, and her right hand was dragging a green sword on the ground, the sword tip scratching a harsh, sharp hiss on the stone slab.

The young girl hadn't moved much tonight, but the intense consumption and fluctuation of emotions made her voice sound weak and powerless.

"You have to... die here." She said hoarsely.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 187 =====