Chapter 143: The Divine Needle That Calms the River (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Xu Yuan set down the Sword Pill; with a "whoosh," a cold gleam shot a hundred zhang away, striking the Black Cliff, yet leaving only a small notch.

For a hundred-zhang Black Cliff, this notch was almost negligible.

Moreover, after the Sword Pill was withdrawn, within a short while, the black-yellow mud river surged up in layers, repairing this tiny wound.

Xu Yuan retracted the Sword Pill; the small sword hovered in mid-air, inch by inch advancing toward Zhu Sili.

Zhu Sili did not understand the intent, but still swung the wolf-tooth mace, blocking it horizontally across his chest.

Ding!

The small sword pierced the wolf-tooth mace's egg-thick long shaft, cutting the iron-forged shaft in half!

The small sword stopped.

It was not unable to cut through completely; rather, Xu Yuan held back his hand.

What Xu Yuan wanted to do was make Zhu Sili recognize the gap between his own strength and the Black Cliff, not truly destroy the patrol commander's weapon.

Zhu Sili's old face flushed red; he understood Lord Xu's meaning: "With this single sword strike, you cannot block it at all, yet for the Black Cliff, it is merely a superficial scratch."

You are willing to risk your life in a desperate gamble; your bravery is commendable.

But if you were thrown over there, you would lose your life in vain and still not harm that Black Cliff.

The two understood each other; the Captains of the Zhancheng Office, however, saw a different angle.

One Inspector slapped his forehead: "Quick, quick, quick! The musket squad, advance!"

The Captains of the Zhancheng Office were divided into two groups for this operation.

One part guarded the well-ladders; the other followed Lin Zi. Among these Captains, a squad of twelve carried muskets.

This newest creation of the New Artisans strikes both far and accurately.

Lord Xu can injure that Black Cliff with the Sword Pill; we can also bombard it with muskets!

Regardless of how much damage it causes, first let Lord Zhu see that we have the ability to harm the Black Cliff; there is no need to gamble our lives.

Thus, twelve Captains stepped forward, aimed at the Black Cliff, and fired with a "boom, boom, boom"; "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," plumes of black gunpowder smoke rose up.

The bullets flew over a hundred zhang, scattering chaotically against the Black Cliff; it was impossible to tell whether any damage was actually caused.

The distance was great, and the bullets were too small.

That Inspector shouted again: "Zhou Leizi! Ride a fast horse back to the Xicheng patrol station and fetch the mother-and-son iron cannon to bombard it!"

Zhou Leizi's farming method had already been exhausted three times a day; staying here would be of little help.

"As you command!"

Zhou Lei leaped onto a horse, whipped the horse's hindquarters fiercely, and departed with a "clatter, clatter, clatter."

The Inspector ignored everything else; his two hands simply held Zhu Sili tightly.

Not long after Zhou Leizi left, Xu Yuan was already struggling to hold on; just as he was about to apply the dog-skin plaster, suddenly a scroll flew from afar, "whoosh," arriving above the black-yellow mud river, automatically unfurling into a calligraphy sheet bearing three large characters:

Break the Evil Qi!

As soon as this calligraphy sheet appeared, it whipped up a fierce gale; "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," blowing the surrounding yin qi apart.

It then blew across the black-yellow mud river; countless hidden yin ghosts within the river were directly scattered, leaving only a series of mournful, agonized screams.

The Black Cliff and the hundred-zhang Black Cliff had their momentum checked; for the first time, the mud river retreated actively, shrinking and avoiding Xu Yuan's fire wall.

Xu Yuan took a breath, closed his mouth, and withdrew the fire from his abdomen.

"Fifth Aunt!" Song Lu cried out in joy; he saw Fifth Aunt stepping on a calligraphy sheet, crossing through the air.

On that calligraphy sheet, written in flowing script, was a line of poetry: "Morning tour of the Northern Sea, evening of the Cangwu."

Upon arriving close, Fifth Aunt smiled at Song Lu, then turned her face to Xu Yuan with a deep color, solemn expression, asking: "How did this come to be?"

Xu Yuan shook his head; he could not explain.

"Senior, do you have a method to break through?"

Fifth Aunt carefully observed the evil mud river, pressed her lips together, and did not answer.

On the hundred-zhang Black Cliff, a face surged forth.

It was the Master's face, but at this moment, it was impossible to distinguish whether it was a human face or a snake head!

"However many come, however many die!"

"In this river of the Master, flesh and bone, mortal form, and the troubles of life and past lives can all be dissolved; what is the point of living? Come all and take a wash, hahaha!"

The black-yellow mud river rose again; this time, it directly lifted the hundred-zhang Black Cliff, rolling forward to press against the crowd of the Quhui Office!

Fifth Aunt grabbed with one hand, holding an exquisite brush; with the other hand, she spread out rice paper and quickly wrote a calligraphy sheet: River Embankment.

The calligraphy sheet flew out, landed on the ground, and instantly transformed into a phantom river embankment.

The black-yellow mud river rolled forward, blocked by the river embankment.

As the mud river continued to rise, the "River Embankment" rose with it.

As the mud river spread to both sides, the "River Embankment" extended to both sides as well.

But the mud river whipped up a turbid wave, slapping against the "River Embankment"; from the spray emerged countless ghost soldiers, climbing the "River Embankment" to flip over it and find the calligraphy sheet to tear it up.

The crowd of the Zhancheng Office immediately followed, charging onto the "River Embankment"; both sides fought again atop the embankment.

"You cannot stop me!"

"Today, 'Approaching the River' is not forbidden; instead, you have taken advantage!"

On the Black Cliff, the Master's ugly face writhed continuously.

The mud river pushed the Black Cliff rolling forward, like a huge warship, crashing straight toward the river embankment.

"Retreat quickly!" Xu Yuan shouted loudly; the Captains, terrified, retreated from the "River Embankment."

The hundred-zhang Black Cliff "boom"ed with a heavy impact against the "River Embankment"; the embankment shook continuously.

If anyone had still been standing atop it, they would certainly have been knocked off into the mud river below!

Fifth Aunt's figure trembled violently, as if the hundred-zhang Black Cliff had crashed directly into her.

"Fifth Aunt!" Song Lu cried out in alarm.

Fifth Aunt waved her hand: "I can hold on."

As long as Fifth Aunt can hold on, the "River Embankment" calligraphy sheet will not shatter.

Xu Yuan climbed onto the river embankment, pondered for a moment, then took out the human skin and blew into it.

That old evil spirit was right; if the riverbank is not forbidden today, then even with everyone combined, they could not stop it!

But if the riverbank is not forbidden today, what about tomorrow? The day after?

To deal with this thing, blocking or diverting will not work; one must seize today's opportunity to annihilate it!

The Old Master on the hundred-zhang black cliff saw him; he hated this fellow to the bone!

If not for this young man's sneak attack, severing his own finger and simultaneously breaking both his sinister technique and his serpent body at once, why would he have needed to merge with the Yin-Yang Barrier?

From now on, he is the Yin-Yang Barrier, and the Yin-Yang Barrier is him.

Having lost his body and being unable to transform into a serpent, he will become a complete evil spirit from now on!

"Roar—"

The Old Master roared; in the black-yellow muddy river, turbid waves surged up layer by layer, and hundreds of thousands of ghost soldiers emerged from the waves, climbing the river embankment to pounce on Xu Yuan.

"Protect Lord Xu!" Zhu Sili shouted loudly, wielding his mace and leading the Zhancheng Office personnel to charge forward.

He swung the mace fiercely several times, smashing seven or eight ghost soldiers, but the mace cracked with a creaking sound and snapped at the cut made earlier by the sword pill!

Zhu Sili paid no heed to that; his long weapon became dual-wielded, and he still danced it with fierce momentum, smashing the surrounding ghost soldiers until they wailed for their parents and fled like wolves and pigs.

The Old Master sneered; his laughter was like ten thousand steel needles, piercing the ears of everyone on the river embankment with excruciating pain.

But the Captains fought to the death and did not retreat.

Fu Jingyu and Song Lu stood guard beside Xu Yuan. Song Lu's small face was pale, her delicate body trembling slightly, yet she too refused to retreat even half a step!

Fifth Aunt stood on the calligraphy sheet, very much wanting to call Song Lu back.

With this "Morning Tour of the Northern Sea, Evening Rest in the Cangwu" calligraphy sheet gifted by a fifth-rate literary cultivator, she could safely take away at least four people.

But looking at Song Lu's expression, she knew Song Lu would definitely not leave.

Fifth Aunt's expression changed several times; finally, she gritted her teeth, spread out the Xuan paper once more, and wrote:

Dinghe Divine Needle!

Originally planned to finish this section in one explosive burst, but unfortunately my old stomach ailment flared up yesterday...

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(End of this chapter)