Chapter 772: The Shu Path Is Hard!

Li Bai stopped, lowered his head, and glanced—his clothes were torn open, a gash appearing on his chest.

Blood seeped out; he was indeed injured.

His reaction and evasion just now had been swift enough; otherwise, he might have been cleaved in two by a single sword.

"You're not Lü Bu, are you?" Li Bai wiped his hand across the wound, and the flowing blood quickly congealed.

"No, I am Lü Bu, and this is my Fang Tian Hua Ji, which has many forms." Tang Luò spoke earnestly while spouting nonsense, the Xuàn Biàn transforming into gauntlets as he threw a punch from afar.

Li Bai dodged the punch's force; he dared not bodily withstand the opponent's attack.

That force was truly terrifying.

One strike wounds, two strikes severely wound, three strikes—he'd likely be lying on the ground letting anyone deliver a finishing blow.

Li Bai did not have the giant serpent's damage-resistant physique; he still relied on agility and evasion.

Facing such a nimble foe, Tang Luò smirked: "Come hit me."

Taunting was no longer a skill of the Serpent Demon game.

Li Bai's expression shifted; anger flared in his heart like a raging fire, as if he had invited someone to drink, but they refused.

Not drinking would have been fine, yet they even knocked over his wine cup.

Other matters could be endured; this, absolutely not!

Sword in hand, Li Bai's body leapt like a fish, tracing a perfect arc as he thrust toward Tang Luò.

A sword comes from the west, a heavenly immortal flies from beyond.

It was not a technique, but Li Bai's sword perfectly interpreted this scene.

Tang Luò swung the Xuàn Biàn sword, meeting it head-on.

The two swords collided, force fully condensed with not a trace leaking out—only a hint of night wind brushed past.

Li Bai leaned back, then lunged forward, gripping the hilt with both hands, his robes and hair fluttering as a ferocious sword intent slowly seeped out.

Tang Luò chuckled, preparing to apply some force.

Above their heads, a terrifying pressure descended; the moonlight that had originally poured down from the sky vanished completely.

A mass of black vortex, accompanied by vast black voids, plummeted swiftly.

Li Bai and Tang Luò retreated apart; the black vortex slid between them and fell to the ground.

No imagined meteor-like explosion occurred; the black vortex landed silently at the last instant, not even rolling a pebble on the ground.

Only, the ground was suddenly shaved of a layer, grayish-white powder drifting up, inevitably evoking thoughts of bone ash or similar.

The great serpent that had flown into the sky returned.

He could fly, but not like some perfect creature that soars into the cosmos and then ceases thought there.

The black vortex dissipated, revealing the great serpent looking somewhat disheveled.

His arm was now only one limb; the other had been blown apart by Tang Luò's punch.

His head also looked somewhat strange.

Flat, sunken, an underbite—he had instantly fallen from a white-haired handsome man into the ranks of deformed performers.

The great serpent's eyes became serpent pupils; his cold, ruthless gaze swept over, making Li Bai feel a chill down his spine.

Taking advantage of the serpent's gloomy gaze, Li Bai seized the moment to extinguish the inner fire in his heart.

"You, not bad." The great serpent's gaze lingered on Tang Luò's face, as if praising, yet with a hint of irony.

On his chest, the silver-white pattern began to gradually darken, turning black and spreading toward his limbs and bones.

The entire person began undergoing violent change.

Bluish-black armor covered his body, its "patterns" like serpent scales.

At the positions of the two shoulder guards were a pair of serpent heads, with arms extending from the mouths of the serpent heads that had grown large.

Two thick tails protruded from behind, resembling serpent tails yet somewhat like crocodile tails, with a row of bone spines growing along them.

White hair was stained by "black mist," turning into a wild mass of black hair; on the chest armor, a pair of crimson serpent pupils were dotted.

The entire face showed a bluish-purple hue, lighter than the armor's bluish-black, with black patterns coiling across the face.

He opened his mouth, revealing a pair of fangs.

The armor on his body writhed like a living thing, scales opening and emitting a "hissing" sound.

Serpent Demon Form!

He reached out; black mist condensed in the Serpent Demon's hand into a black greatsword over two meters long, which he swept casually.

The black arc of matching silk surged toward Tang Luò and Li Bai.

Li Bai's flying sword shot out, shattering the matching silk.

Tang Luò reached out and grabbed it, crushing it with his fleshly palm.

In the next breath, the Serpent Demon appeared before Tang Luò and threw a punch!

Courtesy demands reciprocity, the situation reversed!

But the result was different.

Tang Luò's Xuàn Biàn sword struck precisely on the Serpent Demon's fist; the sharp scales on the armor shattered and flew, turning the surrounding scene into a thousand holes.

The blade pierced the armor, thrust into the Serpent Demon's fist, and advanced with unstoppable force.

The Serpent Demon's entire forearm was pierced through by the Xuàn Biàn sword.

However, the Xuàn Biàn sword thus sank completely into the Serpent Demon's arm.

The Serpent Demon's face, already somewhat inhuman, revealed a ferocious grin, using bone to utterly lock the Xuàn Biàn sword in place.

The black greatsword was raised high, descending toward Tang Luò's head!

Tang Luò did not abandon his sword to dodge; instead, he opened his left hand to meet the black greatsword.

Five fingers spread, then closed; the black greatsword was completely trapped in Tang Luò's hand.

The snake demon's face was ferocious, straining with effort, yet the black greatsword would not budge, unable to advance even an inch.

At that moment, Li Bai's flying sword swept past the two, leaving behind an extremely fine, extremely fine blade of light, which instantly retracted.

"Ah!"

The snake demon roared, swung his left hand, and flung out a spray of icy black blood; his forearm was severed in two by the Profound Transformation Sword.

He then moved to block the contracting sword light.

Tang Luo's Profound Transformation Sword followed through, slashing out and striking the sword light together with the snake demon's half-useless left hand.

Upon contact, the raging sword qi erupted, intertwining and filling the space where the two stood.

In an instant, this space was divided into ninety-six thousand three hundred seventy-two parts.

The sword qi vanished.

Wounds crisscrossed the snake demon's body, many deep enough to reveal bone, especially the left arm, which was nearly reduced to a mere flap of flesh still attached.

It looked extremely miserable.

One could also see that his armor was actually more like the body's "skin."

As for Tang Luo, he remained completely unharmed.

This defensive power caused both Li Bai and the snake demon to frown simultaneously.

The snake demon's ferocious and terrifying wounds healed completely within a few breaths, aside from losing some black blood, showing no greater damage.

The black greatsword in his hand shifted form, its blade lengthening with two curved, sharp edges, forming an even more ferocious and eerie weapon.

Tang Luo pondered, and the Profound Transformation Sword transformed into a massive hammer.

Compared to the boy's stature, it looked rather comically oversized.

Yet no one would dare underestimate it, thinking this hammer in "Lü Bu's" hand was a mere encumbrance.

The three prepared to resume battle.

From the other side came Qin Wushuang's roar as he arrived on the battlefield, leaping up with both hands gripping his shield, and came crashing down upon the snake demon.

Here, the snake demon's ferocious appearance made him the most conspicuous target.

"If not you, then who?"

"Where did this bug come from?" the snake demon muttered, swinging his restored hand to sweep across the large shield.

Qin Wushuang was flung backward, sliding across the ground like a water skimmer, repeatedly scraping and "jumping," leaving a faint trace.

"Huh?"

After sending Qin Wushuang flying, the snake demon instead turned his gaze toward him.

Qin Wushuang slowly rose to his feet, appearing unharmed, his frame noticeably bulkier than before.

Already reaching two meters, his tattered clothes strained tightly across his body.

Qin Wushuang freed one hand, tore off his clothes, and revealed a chest as broad and sturdy as the snake demon's.

Gripping with that hand, a long-handled axe appeared, which he seized; a distinct aura rose from Qin Wushuang.

Ancient, barbaric, unyielding—like some silent roar.

"Interesting."

Tang Luo laughed aloud.

Qin Wushuang, axe in one hand, shield in the other, charged once more at the three.

The long axe swept horizontally; this time, it was not solely aimed at the snake demon, but enveloped all three of Tang Luo's group within its "axe circle."

Of course, this was also a gravely mistaken decision.

The ferocious greatsword, the flying sword of flowing light, and the earth-shaking hammer faced off against the long axe.

Qin Wushuang flew backward again, but unlike before, he left a deep trench in the ground.

The kind that could be filled with water to serve directly as a moat.

At the trench's end, Qin Wushuang was buried underground, only his hands and feet exposed, still clutching the shield and long axe with a death grip.

"This is……" Li Bai said softly.

"A battle spirit." The snake demon said, "I don't know what kind of battle spirit it is, but perhaps it is worthy to join our fight."

"Let's see." Tang Luo said.

The three did not attack, simply watching Qin Wushuang.

Moments later, the Qin Wushuang buried underground erupted violently from the earth, his clothing utterly destroyed, leaving only tattered armor strips wrapped around his waist.

His body swelled further, becoming a small giant as tall as five meters.

The greatest change was——he had no head.

Upon his torso, there was nothing.

His bronze-colored body exuded an ancient aura; a pair of eyes slowly emerged on his chest, his navel split open to reveal a great maw.

"Roar!"

The war cry of battle rang out.

Shield and long axe danced, as if performing some ancient dance.

With nipples as eyes, navel as mouth, wielding shield and axe in dance!

Xingtian!

Qin Wushuang's sole battle spirit, and also an exceptionally unique one.

Xingtian cannot exist independently like other battle spirits; he can only manifest through Qin Wushuang's body.

"Those two minutes weren't wasted." Tang Luo said with a smile, quite relieved.

Li Bai scratched his head: "Feels troublesome."

"He is worthy to die by my hand." The snake demon said, as ever, arrogantly.

The dance of Xingtian's halberd and shield ceased; his eyes, devoid of pupils and filled only with white, fixed upon the three.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

The savage, untamed aura, the frenzied battle intent.

In an instant, Xingtian vanished from his spot; the serpent demon's ferocious great sword slashed out, colliding with the shield that had appeared in Xingtian's grasp.

The great sword shattered, the serpent demon flung backward; simultaneously, Xingtian swept his axe horizontally toward Li Bai.

Li Bai transformed into a blade of light to evade; the force of the axe blade surged skyward, leaving upon the thick clouds at high altitude a scar "visible to space."

"Clang!"

With a tremendous crash, the shield blocked Tang Luo's swinging fist.

Xingtian's body stalled; the shield involuntarily flung backward, he trod upon empty air, retreating three steps in succession.

His white eyes turned toward Tang Luo.

"This alone is not enough," Tang Luo said, "this cannot be your full strength, can it?"

"Ah, how perilous and lofty! The Shu Road's difficulty, harder than ascending to the azure heavens!"

Before Xingtian could respond, Li Bai's "song" echoed from the sky.

The earth trembled; a colossal mountain rose abruptly from the ground, and all present instantly found themselves amidst a range of peaks that was neither truly real nor illusory.

A timeless masterpiece, the Shu Road is hard!