Chapter 1659: [Sword Demon] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian's exceptional eyesight let him see objects underwater; his first reaction was to lift his leg and kick at the opponent, but unexpectedly this ankle was also grabbed by the opponent. Hu Xiaotian stared intently; the person dragging him underwater was indeed the Sword Slave. The Sword Slave was no better off than Hu Xiaotian—his chest had been slashed by Hu Xiaotian's sword qi, leaving a wound about a chi long that continued to bleed, and his tumor‑covered face grew ever more ferocious.

Hu Xiaotian twisted his body and threw a punch at the Sword Slave's head. In a life‑and‑death struggle there is no room for mercy; being kind to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

The Sword Slave actually took the punch head‑on, but in water Hu Xiaotian's punch lost much of its power. Seizing the moment as Hu Xiaotian threw his punch, the Sword Slave grabbed him, their limbs entwined, faces close. Hu Xiaotian stared at the Sword Slave's grotesque face up close and felt nauseous—how could anyone look so ugly? Their inner strength was comparable; tangled in the water they grappled, and for a moment neither could break free.

In the struggle, Hu Xiaotian's light sword slipped from his hand and fell; the Lan light on the sword flickered as it drifted downward.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help feeling anxious; that light sword was his hope of escaping the predicament, but the Sword Slave's inner force was overwhelmingly strong, and Hu Xiaotian, entangled hand and foot, could not break free in a short time.

At that moment a bright silver figure rose from the seabed, snatched the flashing light sword, then swam to the Sword Slave's rear, raised the dagger in hand and stabbed it into his back. The comer was Qin Yutong; her dagger cut iron like mud, a rare treasure blade. The dagger plunged into the Sword Slave's hunchback but did not inflict a mortal wound. The Sword Slave bent his right arm and slammed an elbow hard into Qin Yutong's chest. Qin Yutong was struck so hard she nearly blacked out, her body slowly sinking into the water.

Hu Xiaotian took advantage of the Sword Slave's distraction to finally seize his pulse gate, activate the Void Grand Technique, and draw his inner force. The Sword Slave's body shuddered; he clearly felt his inner force flowing steadily through the pulse gate into Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian rejoiced, believing he had finally found a way to utterly defeat his foe, but unexpectedly after absorbing only a portion of the inner force he could draw no more—the Slave's inner force seemed to have shut its gate suddenly.

The Sword Slave's grotesque head snapped back and then slammed hard into Hu Xiaotian's face at such close range. Hu Xiaotian could not avoid it; the blow left him dazed, he opened his mouth and gulped a large mouthful of water, while the Sword Slave seemed to feel no pain. He lifted his head again and struck Hu Xiaotian's face, sending a spray of blood from his nose. At this life‑and‑death moment there was no time to think; Hu Xiaotian opened his mouth and bit down hard on the Sword Slave's neck.

At the same time the Qin Yutong who had just been knocked away swam back, wearing a tight‑fitting armor. Her posture was graceful, moving through the water like a mermaid; this time she actually activated the light sword, because her dagger was still embedded in the Sword Slave's hunchback and she had not yet had time to pull it out. Although the light sword's blade was only an inch long, its killing power exceeded that of her dagger.

The light sword pierced the Sword Slave's shoulder again; Qin Yutong pressed down hard to cut, while Hu Xiaotian gripped the Sword Slave's arms tightly and clamped his legs around the Slave's lower limbs, preventing him from freeing a hand to harm Qin Yutong.

Qin Yutong succeeded with her sword, secretly delighted, but after the light sword pierced the Sword Slave's body its blade quickly dimmed, making it impossible to use the light sword to cut him open. The Sword Slave, still clutching Hu Xiaotian, spun like a top in the water, using his body as a weapon to slam heavily into Qin Yutong; this impact was heavier than the previous elbow blow, and Qin Yutong's delicate body tumbled like autumn leaves in the water, drifting far away.

When the Sword Slave struck, the pulse gate he had just sealed reopened, and his inner breath surged like a burst river into Hu Xiaotian's meridians. Although Hu Xiaotian worried about Qin Yutong's safety, he could only first think of how to free himself from the Slave's entanglement. The Void Grand Technique ran to its limit, steadily drawing the Slave's vast and powerful inner force into Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea. After years of cultivation, and with the Shooting Sun True Classic strengthening his meridians to emit true qi, Hu Xiaotian had long since passed the danger of deviation into demonic deviation, yet he normally would not dare to absorb another's inner force lightly; but now, at a life‑and‑death juncture, he naturally had no scruples.

Their inner forces waxed and waned oppositely; the Sword Slave sensed his own inner force draining rapidly and struggled desperately to break free. Their situations had reversed—just moments ago he had been entangling Hu Xiaotian unwilling to let go, now it was Hu Xiaotian who held the Slave fast.

Underwater the two clung together in a melee that allowed no technique; the Sword Slave's grotesque head kept striking Hu Xiaotian's face. Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, thinking today the old monster would almost certainly be disfigured, yet he could also feel the Slave's impact force gradually weakening, knowing the Slave's inner force was rapidly declining because he kept drawing it away.

The Sword Slave could not break free of Hu Xiaotian's entanglement; perhaps out of rage, the tumors on his face began to swell, doubling in size compared to before, and these tumors turned semi‑transparent, ready to burst at any moment.

Hu Xiaotian watched in horror; sure enough, the tumors on the Sword Slave's face burst one after another. He quickly shut his eyes, feeling as if his face were being pelted by dense rain, his heart both nauseated and afraid. He loosened his grip, and the Sword Slave seized the chance to break free.

Hu Xiaotian swam to the side, vigorously rubbing his face in the water to make sure no bodily fluids remained, then opened his eyes. Seeing a flicker of blue light not far ahead, he hurried over and indeed found Qin Yutong floating there, still gripping the hilt of the light sword. He lifted Qin Yutong and swiftly rose toward the surface, all the while warily watching the surroundings, fearing the Sword Slave might ambush him from somewhere.

Fortunately the Sword Slave's whereabouts were unknown at this moment; perhaps he had lost much of his inner force to Hu Xiaotian and, frightened, fled without a trace.

Hu Xiaotian carried Qin Yutong to the shore, found a flat rock and laid her down, then removed the lifelike human‑skin mask. The mask was riddled with holes, clearly corroded by the venom the Sword Slave had sprayed. Hu Xiaotian felt his own face, finding nothing unusual. He was about to perform CPR on Qin Yutong when he heard her cough repeatedly; she sat up on her own, lying on the ground and vomiting several mouthfuls of cold water.

Seeing Qin Yutong unharmed, Hu Xiaotian finally relaxed, stepped up to her, pointed at his own face and said, "Look, is there anything wrong with my face?"

Qin Yutong lifted her gaze; this rascal had already recovered his former appearance, still that carefree smile, and said coldly, "What's there to look at? It's not like I haven't seen it before."

Hearing her say that, Hu Xiaotian took it as proof his face was fine—truly a blessing in misfortune. He gazed at Qin Yutong, intending to ask if she was hurt, but instead saw a face of surpassing beauty; although her complexion was pallid from injury and cold‑water soak, her features were flawless. Hu Xiaotian stared blankly at Qin Yutong's pretty face, for a moment forgetting where he was.

Qin Yutong saw his gaze and realized that her mask, stained with phosphor fire, had been discarded just now. Though she had known Hu Xiaotian for many years, this was the first time she faced him with her true appearance; had she not fallen into this predicament, she would never have let him see her real face. She bit her cherry lips and said indifferently, "What are you staring at? It's not like I haven't seen it before."

"Pretty, that's why I'm looking! I really haven't seen it before!" Hu Xiaotian said, then without warning reached out and touched Qin Yutong's pretty face.

Qin Yutong snapped, "What are you doing?" This guy is really rude!

Hu Xiaotian replied, "No other meaning—I'm just checking whether you're wearing a mask."

Qin Yutong could neither laugh nor cry; to take advantage of others and still sound so righteous—only Hu Xiaotian could do that. Her gaze fell on the wound on his chest; seeing it still bleeding, she whispered, "You're still bleeding."

Hu Xiaotian, reminded by her, recalled that he had been wounded by the Sword Slave's sword qi earlier, and his chest began to ache. Qin Yutong helped him remove his clothes and inner armor, only to see a wound running from his left chest to his abdomen, about a chi long. Upon examination she found the wound had not pierced his chest cavity—it was merely a flesh wound.

Qin Yutong asked, "Are your inner organs injured?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head. "It's fine, probably just a superficial wound. Without this armor I'd probably be off to see King Yama today."

Qin Yutong bit her cherry lips, also feeling a pang of fear for him, took out the Golden Trauma Medicine and treated his wound. Hu Xiaotian hissed as he drew in cold air, obviously in great pain.

Qin Yutong lifted her water‑cut eyes and asked solicitously, "Does it hurt?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It was a bit painful, but seeing a beautiful woman makes me forget everything."

Qin Yutong's pretty face flushed, but she said nothing, continuing to lower her head to tend to his wound.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Qin Yutong before him, a warm feeling rising in his heart. "What merit do I, Hu Xiaotian, have to be cared for by so many beauties? It's best to stay right here—I, the old man, will go nowhere, reign supreme over this domain, live at ease, and spend my days with a bevy of beauties like immortals. That's true carefree bliss; whoever tries to spoil my good fortune is my enemy…" "Ouch!"

But Qin Yutong's hand pressed a little harder. "Bear with it," she said, "I'll apply Mo Jade Regenerating Ointment to your wound so you won't be left with a scar."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, but said, "It doesn't matter— a few scars make a man more manly."

Qin Yutong said, "I don't like that!" Having spoken, she instantly felt she had misspoken and lowered her head even further.

Hu Xiaotian heard her clearly and whispered, "If you don't like something, I won't do it, okay?"

Qin Yutong's pretty face grew warm as she pondered how to reply, when suddenly she heard the sound of water from behind.

Third Update delivered, the seventh is not far off—brothers, swing your monthly tickets; your vote will help Zhangyu achieve this breakthrough! (To be continued…~^~)