Chapter 647: Everyone Loves Butterflies, Who Would Love a Fly? (Part 3)

If Yu Sicheng was rewriting his own body in order to open this door, then he had to be killed before the rewriting was complete.

Seeing Pei Ye was not yet prepared for this, but this was not the first or second time; as early as when he was learning Wu Gong in his childhood, he had been taught the simple truths of the Jianghu.

"Accidents are often more frequent."

The sword must be kept ready at all times.

The moment before he flew over, Seeing Pei Ye raised his left hand, his little finger curled up, his hand seal lightly pinched under his chin. The sounds in his ears suddenly elongated, and 【Quail Head】 had already spread out within his mind.

Then, his sleeves burned simultaneously without hesitation. Seeing Pei Ye knew that when facing this enemy, he had to be in his peak state at every single moment.

"I already said last time, if we meet again, I will definitely kill you." With the sharp tip of the sword pressing against his eyeball, Yu Sicheng said indifferently without moving.

Blood exploded from his left eye like a fountain. The tip of the Jade Tiger sword cut entirely into his eyeball, and then, with a metallic 'Clang!', the sword's momentum was choked off by the eye socket.

Yu Sicheng was expressionless when his eyeball was crushed, but the next moment he gritted his teeth, roaring fiercely. Boiling colorless steam suddenly exploded from every joint in his body. Sound, high temperature, and expansion ruled the entire water area in an instant. Seeing Pei Ye's body suddenly lost control, and he was sent flying like a scrap of paper several zhang away.

In the next instant, the purple-robed Eunuch swept out from the endless boiling and cooling white steam, his iron spear raised high. He hung above the youth, whose limbs were out of control, and smashed down with all his might. The water area exploded again!

Before the spear even arrived, a fishy sweetness had already been pressed out of Seeing Pei Ye's throat. His right hand raised the sword for 【Drifting Returning Wind】 once more, while his left hand opened its five fingers and raised them. Dozens, even hundreds, of flame flowers grew in the surrounding space.

The spear and sword seemed to have a momentary contact, and then his entire body was smashed toward the ground like a cannonball. Before landing, Seeing Pei Ye twisted his waist and turned. The force borne by the sword in his hand was poured entirely into the ground. Soft grass and peach blossoms were sent into the sky under the tearing force like a continuous gale. Seeing Pei Ye, meanwhile, skated across the grass like he was ice skating, barely unloading the immense gravity of the second spear strike.

But Yu Sicheng, who had completely opened 【Mercury Flower Gonghua Gonghua Gonghua Fucha】, was terrifyingly fast.

Although this speed had already exceeded Seeing Pei Ye's own limits, in just a blink of an eye, he was hanging above Seeing Pei Ye again.

Seeing Pei Ye met his indifferent, cold, and fierce right eye.

No words were spoken; the iron spear smashed down again, fast and silent!

Very inexplicably... Seeing Pei Ye felt as if he had seen this scene somewhere before.

Yes, not in some life-and-death peril, but in the Zhu Jing side hall in the evening, on that table with the marionettes. The puppet on the north side had used six breaths to smash the one on the south side until it couldn't move.

Overbearing spear technique, disparate power, crushing offense... The weak one arrived in a hurried rush, while the strong one stood before the door, spear in hand, waiting.

Zi Liang.

After twenty-three years, Seeing Pei Ye felt as if he had arrived in the body of that Zi Liang, and was facing the same situation.

Yu Sicheng's spear was simple and overbearing, and his fighting style was also very simple. In their last engagement, both had fought with all their might to kill the other, exchanging most of their trump cards. Yu Sicheng had already learned of this youth's ability to maneuver and create miracles in cramped situations, so he no longer exchanged moves with him. The method to kill him without failure was a powerful, lightning-fast, and unceasing offense.

The 【Mercury Flower】 that had only erupted once to block the Chi Dragon last time was now opened directly facing Seeing Pei Ye. The youth's sword edge was completely ignored; even if he lost an eye because of it, Yu Sicheng still chose to strike out with the spear in his hand with all his might.

The so-called "I will definitely kill you" was such a heart-palpitating determination.

But in fact, Seeing Pei Ye had also already tried putting his own soul into that marionette many times.

During the two days and nights Li Xizhou had saved for him by reading and inquiring, Seeing Pei Ye had been thinking about this inevitable battle every moment. Now, the scene was like a vision coming true.

The moment the iron spear smashed down, Seeing Pei Ye, with blood overflowing from the corners of his mouth, stared at Yu Sicheng and raised his left hand high toward him, clenching it into a fist!

Within the water area, hundreds of flame flowers turned crimson simultaneously. The high temperature stimulated more bubbles and white steam, and the entire water area turned into a boiling snowstorm.

Seeing Pei Ye's long sword braced against the spear, and then he was completely crushed. The sound of bone cracking and blood flowers exploded in the water at the same time. Meanwhile, hundreds of Vermilion Lotus fires flew toward Yu Sicheng. Yu Sicheng puffed his Qi outward to block them, doing nothing else to intercept, his pair of yellow eyes still locked tightly onto Seeing Pei Ye's out-of-control afterimage in the white curtain.

The released Qi blocked a large number of flame flowers, but many still landed on Yu Sicheng's body. The characteristic of Chi fire penetrating matter and the terrifying high temperature of the Vermilion Lotus were impossible to guard against, like maggots on rotting bones. Yu Sicheng crashed out from the shattered fire and flowing flames. During their first engagement, he had relied on his fire-repelling purple robe to be immune to that damage, but this time, the flames stuck directly to his skin!

The Mystic Gate spirit body also received considerable damage at this moment. In the explosion from inside out, half of Yu Sicheng's right sleeve was shattered. On his vigorous arm, charred-like burn marks were revealed, along with some older, strange, tearing-like scars—as if a piece of skin one chi long had been stretched into one and a half chi.

The collision between man and fire passed in a blink. The next instant, Yu Sicheng thrust his spear again, forcing his way before Seeing Pei Ye, whose figure was unbalanced.

It was already the fourth spear.

Seeing Pei Ye's left shoulder was shattered into bone fragments again, soaking his clothes in blood. He had studied the power of 【Mercury Flower Gonghua Gonghua Gonghua Fucha】 by looking at the blueprints, and he had prepared to take that last spear strike, but he still almost lost his left arm—Yu Sicheng's explosion was more heart-palpitating than he had expected. He didn't know if it was the gain from his cultivation, or if he had mastered this skeleton more profoundly over the past twenty years.

But regardless, Seeing Pei Ye stared at Yu Sicheng, who was pressing before him, his eyes already elongated into golden vertical pupils.

"What kind of nightmares do you always have?" Seeing Pei Ye asked in a low voice.

Yu Sicheng's movements stiffened for an instant. At this distance, Seeing Pei Ye could see this powerful, ferocious, and ugly body with absolute clarity. The Yu Ziliang on the left side only had half a body left, scales and flesh wriggling together at the junction. His consciousness, which had originally seemed somewhat muddled, suddenly had his eyes split with rage when Seeing Pei Ye passed down the false edict, and he froze in the air with a reaction even greater than Yu Sicheng's.

In the next instant, Yu Sicheng's iron spear smashed down, but at the same time, the Chi Dragon's angry roar broke through the bubbles from the side. The black jade scales were even softer and brighter in the washing of the high temperature. Its mouth, large enough to swallow a person whole, opened, and facing the mercury steam, it bit tightly onto half of Yu Sicheng's body.

Yu Sicheng's fourth spear exploded in the water. Just like ignoring the Vermilion Lotus fire, he actually ignored the black Chi as well. Mercury steam surged and agitated in the water, and he stood against the Immortal Hunt's collision like a mountain.

Chi blood flew out in large quantities, and the long spear broke through the Chi's mouth, stabbing toward Seeing Pei Ye, who had no room to breathe, once again.

Seeing Pei Ye, however, had already slightly closed his eyes.

It was only for an instant.

His figure swayed lightly like flying catkins, and he avoided this spear like a ghost. The small false edict and the black Chi pulled out a gap just large enough for a sword for him. Seeing Pei Ye completed one defense and one attack within a single sword strike.

Seeing Pei Ye had read that blueprint of the dismantled machine very carefully, and he had personally contacted and verified the previous three spear strikes with his sword. His understanding of 【Mercury Flower Gonghua Gonghua Gonghua Fucha】 was released entirely at this moment. He accurately grasped the "breath" that flashed by after Yu Sicheng's continuous explosions—in most situations, the transport and release of the Mercury Flower Gonghua Gonghua Gonghua Fucha were balanced, but if you wanted to withstand the Chi Dragon's full power in an instant, and not diminish the force on the spear in the slightest, then the "Dragon Swallowing Pearl" on the spine had to pump twice more after the explosion.

It was certainly only for a split second, but Seeing Pei Ye was waiting for its arrival.

Yu Sicheng clearly did not expect that he had reached such a subtle level of understanding of 【Mercury Flower Gonghua Gonghua Gonghua Fucha】 within a few days. At this moment—or perhaps an instant earlier—he smelled where the youth was exerting his force.

But he still did not defend.

The long spear swept horizontally toward Seeing Pei Ye's chest and abdomen in the cramped space. The explosion of just one forearm also set off countless water waves, and with their minds connected, the Chi Dragon's tail had already descended before him like a black curtain, helping the youth block this strike.

Seeing Pei Ye was pushed back two zhang away. By this time, he no longer had a sword in his hand.

The sharp whistling of breaking water was covered by the boiling and explosions. 【Jade Tiger】 was like a yellow flash of light, streaking directly toward the upper part of Yu Sicheng's spine.

Yu Sicheng, who had been greedy for another spear strike, absolutely had no time to intercept this sword. Two months ago, in the sword field of the Sword Academy, when Cui Zhaoye was studying "Sword States" with him and Yang Zhenbing, when Yang Zhenbing's sword edge pressed against his face, Seeing Pei Ye, in a cold shudder, had used 【Drifting Returning Wind】 and 【Holding Xian Xinshi】 on the upper and lower segments of a single sword strike, nearly cutting Yang Zhenbing's back neck in a flash.

—After avoiding the offensive with 【Drifting Returning Wind】, where the body follows the sword, he took advantage of the momentum to release the sword hilt, and relying on the tiny residual force of the sword following the body, he suddenly startled a 【Holding Xian Xinshi】 within three zhang.

Later, he pondered it for a long time, and now, for the first time, he reproduced this sword strike that seemed to cut off time.

But the next moment, Seeing Pei Ye saw an incredible scene. Even through the obstruction of heavy chaotic curtains, he still constricted his pupils—the Yu Ziliang at Yu Sicheng's side seemed to have suddenly come to his senses. He reached down with his only intact right arm and pulled the sword from Yu Sicheng's waist.

Then he turned his head back, his gaze locked onto that yellow streaking shadow—everything took no more than a blink. With a "Ding" sound, Jade Tiger crashed into the horizontally sealed sword face.

"Damn it! Daring to play dirty with your old man." Yu Ziliang turned his head and stared gloomily at Seeing Pei Ye, the anger in his pair of beautiful eyes hard to suppress.

Seeing Pei Ye couldn't help but be stunned for a moment at this instant, but he had no time to look more. Yu Sicheng's black dragon-like iron spear had already whistled over from the water again. The Eunuch still had an indifferent expression, and the newly filled mercury steam pressed until his heart and lungs were suffocated for an instant.

The black cat had already bitten his spine to swallow it into its mouth at this instant, but after an exchange of thoughts, it released the youth's clothes. Seeing Pei Ye burst out with his waist and abdomen, supporting himself on its head to flip and step, instead leaping into the high air where there was no foothold. Then he reached out and grabbed from the air, as if grasping something.

His long arm retracted fiercely, and Jade Tiger, which had been knocked flying four or five zhang away, actually streaked into a golden light once again.

Yu Ziliang turned back in shock and anger to intercept again, but this time it was not the 【Holding Xian Xinshi】 with extremely light power. The two swords clashed with a metallic 'Clang!', and Jade Tiger swung up again. But this time, it was not drifting away; instead, it was as if there was a silk thread tied to the hilt end, and it maintained its posture while swinging back.

But Yu Ziliang's sword was truly and solidly slanted. In the way of sword technique, the two were like clouds and mud. Seeing Pei Ye, who had hit his gap, absolutely did not need a second sword.

Following the sudden tightening of that invisible silk thread, Jade Tiger streaked out a straight, startling shadow once again, and amidst Yu Ziliang's cursing, it smashed heavily into the area below Yu Sicheng's back neck!

"Great Vertebra - Spirit Path Bone Pivot. If it's not the very last cervical vertebra, then it's at the fifth thoracic vertebra. There should be a general pivot for the mercury liquid circulation. Its shape is probably like an inverted funnel, using the momentum of the Dragon Swallowing Pearl to press the mercury liquid into the entire body's meridians, similar to a human heart."

Seeing Pei Ye had confirmed it with Guo You several times, and he himself had thought about the execution and landing point of this sword strike countless times. Chasing and fleeing like on a stage certainly wouldn't work; Yu Sicheng was already faster than him, and his turning was even faster than him circling behind someone.

Only by condensing Qi into silk.

Seeing Pei Ye had also confirmed the confrontation between the marionettes and that fragment he had found several times.

After Yu Sicheng re-cast his skeleton, he would certainly make up for the damage, but the characteristics of the material would not change. From the marionette's performance, a spear tip stained with Qilin fire would cut into Dragon Gold like hot iron cutting into tofu, and the fragment also confirmed this point.

So this sword strike was enough to pierce the Bone Pivot.

There was only one chance for a sword strike, so when the solid feeling of hitting was transmitted back, he ignited the smeared Qilin true blood, and hunting golden fire suddenly rose on the sword blade!

The purple robe was dissected before the sword tip, the spirit body also split before the sharp sword fire, and then it was the exposed purple-gold machine pivot, like a bulging, smooth round ball.

But Jade Tiger failed to pierce into it.

Or rather, it didn't even leave a single scratch. The scorching high temperature of the Qilin fire shone on the purple-gold mirror surface, but it was helpless against this kind of material, not being any more special than the Vermilion Lotus fire.

"..." Seeing Pei Ye was truly stiff in the air at this moment. He had not lost his perception of the battle situation, but he had indeed exhausted his room for maneuver for this sword strike just now, and Yu Sicheng's iron spear had already crashed over from below, carrying wind and thunder, like a dragon rising from the deep abyss.

At the critical moment, the black Chi coiled its body to block below him and took this spear strike hard. This spear was enough to pick Seeing Pei Ye into two halves from bottom to top, and it also cut a huge gap on the black Chi that revealed the bone. Seeing Pei Ye vomited a mouthful of blood with a "Wow" in the huge shock, his left hand grabbing the black Chi's neck mane tightly, his right hand pulling lightly, and Jade Tiger returned to his hand again in the drifting turn.

"Hehehe, no matter how cunning you are, you still drank the foot-washing water." Yu Ziliang turned his head and stared at him with a hateful, sinister smile, shaking the sword in his hand again, his face seemingly still pale from being scared just now.

Yu Sicheng still looked at him expressionlessly. The purple robe on his body was already somewhat tattered. The damage caused to him by the first wave of fully activated Chi fire was greater than imagined. The exposed skin was shocking—charred, tearing-like scars, and even exposed purple-gold parts.

But the muscles were still vigorous, not to mention he relied on his skeleton to exert force. ===== CHAPTER 648 =====