Chapter 75: 72 Siege

72 Siege

The blood-light erupted from underground; it was not light, but fine, blood-colored crystals, sharper than blades, faster than arrows, and more insidious than needles!

The white-haired man's Sword Art was brewing, and a white fish was already halfway out of the blade. In an instant, his entire body was swallowed by the blood-color, and the fragmented blood crystals flew high into the sky, turning into Blood Qi and dissipating.

A figure flew out from the ground, stabbed several times in the direction of the white-haired man, and only then retreated.

Si Liyu!

He was still wearing clothes covered in bloodstains, the blood on his body already dry, looking like mottled rust. He held his long blood-colored sword horizontally in front of him, his expression as cold and stern as a sword edge.

Pei Shoujing had never seen him before; she tilted her head to look, thinking: Who else is this?

Then she heard someone beside her say, "Here!"

She saw that Tang Zhao was already standing behind her, looking composed and uninjured.

Pei Shoujing realized, saying in surprise, "How did you escape? Didn't he seal off all your directions?"

Tang Zhao said, "That..."

It is difficult if you say it is difficult, and simple if you say it is simple. Flames and light-shadows have always been good friends. Besides his Sword Technique, the Lihuo Sword has another Sword Art: Flame Phantom Body.

He had long since left his original spot, leaving behind only a phantom body to attract firepower for him. After it was broken, he revealed his true self. This phantom body cannot conceal one's aura; it is fine for fooling Sword Images in a pinch, but it is not very useful when facing an enemy head-on.

At this moment, the blood-color dissipated, and the white-haired man reappeared from the blood mist. He was more than just disheveled; his body was covered in bloodstains and even more cuts, almost comparable to Si Liyu from last night, with a white fish dancing in front of him.

The white fish was now emitting a hazy light. Suddenly, hazy red marks appeared on its belly, just like wounds cut into internal organs.

As the wounds on the white fish increased, the wounds on the white-haired man gradually disappeared, and even the bloodstains on him vanished. In the end, only his clothes remained slightly messy, while he himself was completely unharmed.

It was just that the fish behind him had turned entirely red, its belly as large as a drum, with only the outer layer of skin remaining white, much like a hawthorn rice ball with a massive amount of filling.

If Tang Zhao had seen this fish for the first time, he would definitely have guessed it was a whale.

Pei Shoujing said, "This fish can even swallow the wounds on his body. It can swallow anything: True Essence, Gang Qi, blood, damage..."

Tang Zhao added, "And will, and people themselves."

Speaking of this, he saw the exquisite plum blossom pattern on the ground again.

Suddenly, the plum blossom pattern began to shake. In an instant, countless thin white lights rose from the plum blossoms, converging into a pale white fish. The plum blossoms seemed to break free from their shackles, instantly rising from the flat surface, shifting continuously, and recovering into a flexible plum blossom array.

That thin white fish swam back to the white-haired man's side and merged with the previous big-bellied white fish. Its size was clearly a circle larger, and its belly was a bit flatter, but the red mass inside was still faintly visible.

"He is reaching his limit," Si Liyu said calmly. "The more powerful his ability, the scarcer the space. Once his white fish's belly is burst, he will have no more moves."

Pei Shoujing said, "That doesn't seem very difficult."

This white fish did not seem to have a large capacity; the damage from a single Sword Guest could actually fill it up. One only needed to cut a few more wounds on him, and sooner or later it would burst.

She beckoned with her hammer, and the plum blossoms on the ground turned into silver light and returned to her hammer, making the giant hammer a circle larger. She made the same choice as the white-haired man: recall all power to strengthen oneself.

Tang Zhao confirmed, "Rather than calling it swallowing, it is better to call it sealing."

Combining the names of the white-haired man's several moves, Tang Zhao had already confirmed a more suitable term to describe his sword.

Sealing.

The Yin-Yang Taiji could originally also be called a sealing diagram. The white-haired man only had half of the Yang fish, yet he possessed the ability to seal.

The capacity does not matter; what is important is the sealing ability itself. It can seal too many things that should be impossible to strip away, and it does not need to absorb them; it only needs to spend a little power to seal things many times its own size.

Reviewing the things he had sealed along the way, plus his traveling thousands of miles to plunder the Sumeru Sword, Tang Zhao had another guess—those sealed things were all related to people themselves. Could it be that it only works on people?

True Essence, will, and injuries are all parts of a person.

And Ping Jiangqiu's Sumeru Sword is the exact opposite; it can contain all things, and space and time are no issue, yet it cannot contain any life. It is simply the other side of the white-haired man.

If the two were combined, wouldn't all things be under their control?

If Sword Intent and Sword Art could be plundered, then the combined Sword Intent of the two on one sword might truly deserve to be called "Taiji."

It is a pity that the Sumeru Sword's Sword Image is a Time Jar, not some black fish, so it cannot verify Tang Zhao's conjecture.

Therefore, one cannot rule out that the white-haired man simply coveted the large capacity of Ping Jiangqiu's Time Jar sword and wanted to take it to increase his own belly capacity.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhao still wanted to complain about Ping Jiangqiu—Sir, I heard you are a Sword Hero!

Isn't this white-haired man just a Sword Guest?

Isn't a Sword Hero a level higher than a Sword Guest? Isn't it a realm above a Sword Guest?

Aren't you a veteran expert who has lived for hundreds of years?

Good heavens, being carried around like a jar, tied up by a few white hairs counts as being sealed, and you even have to throw a little note to ask for help—aren't you ashamed, old man?

It seems like there wasn't even a battle before, otherwise Si Liyu wouldn't have failed to mention it. Is this just sitting and waiting for death?

Even if you are a lifestyle-type, non-combat-type, does this world not have the concept of realm suppression?

Tang Zhao felt that his future prospects of learning cultivation from him were worrying.

Si Liyu nodded slightly and said, "This kind of Sword Intent is hard to deal with head-on. He can seal all direct moves; one must move circuitously. I will try other Sword Arts."

Clearly, as a military officer of the Land Inspection Division, his personal resources were quite abundant.

Although the white-haired man's physical condition had recovered, his mental state was clearly not good. He could no longer maintain his indifferent expression; his eyebrows slanted up and the corners of his mouth pulled down, looking as ferocious as a hanged ghost. He said, "Very good, very good, all of you coming to die. People from the Land Inspection Division? If you don't want to show respect, then go to hell."

"General Pei? The dirty bloodline of a beast in human clothing should be uprooted."

"And you, you are not bad, truly a perfect sword slave, I will certainly cherish you well..."

Hearing the words "sword slave," Tang Zhao's heart skipped a beat. In his mind, he suddenly pictured that night at the desolate mountain inn, the group of emaciated children beside the fat human trafficker.

He had never understood why someone would traffic children in large quantities from Yinhuo Township. As Black Widow said, it certainly wouldn't be to let them seek a bright future in a major power.

These two words, "sword slave," seemed to tear open a corner of the bloody truth.

Hearing the words "sword slave," it wasn't just Tang Zhao whose face changed; Si Liyu's expression suddenly turned ugly. He pointed his sword and said, "You actually keep sword slaves? Are you a rebel from Wangliang Mountain?"

The white-haired man sneered, "Stop with the hypocritical righteousness; it's fake, disgusting, and nauseating. How many people has the Imperial Court bought from Wangliang Mountain, and how many have they sold? I'm afraid your Land Inspection Division is no exception, right?"

Si Liyu said grimly, "People from Wangliang Mountain—must die!" As he spoke, bloodshot veins began to fill his eyes again.

The white-haired man said, "You are the one who must die—" The Yang fish behind him suddenly expanded, its mouth enlarging a hundredfold, turning into a huge cave!

Something was about to come out!

Pei Shoujing reacted almost instantly, raising his great hammer; a massive hammer shadow rose vertically, suspended in the air, before plummeting downward with the Momentum of a dive!

"Strike again—Desolate Earth Momentum!"

Before the hammer shadow even fell, the land for several miles already showed signs of sinking; loose sandy soil was pressed down and compacted, stones were crushed into grit, and the ground subsided!

The figure of Si Liyu suddenly vanished; not far from the white-haired person, within the hole left by Si Liyu's previous sneak attack where countless drops of blood were still scattered on the ground, the blood suddenly twisted, and a scarlet Si Liyu leaped out from within, holding the Blood Sword to thrust directly at the white-haired person's chest and abdomen!

Almost at the same time, the flames that had been swallowed, leaving only small flickers burning quietly in the nooks and crannies, suddenly exploded, transforming into golden birds that swarmed from all directions, crashing toward the white-haired person like mercury pouring onto the ground!

In an instant, a fierce assault, a group attack, and a sneak attack were all launched together!

At the same time, the white fish had already spat out an object from its mouth—a mass of black, shapeless, weightless, possessing only pure blackness, pure Shadow.

Having spat out this object, the white fish suddenly grew thinner, no longer having that bloated feeling; although it had no expression, its posture was graceful, and it actually gained a touch of agility.

Tang Zhao, the only one left in place, felt his hair stand on end; the ball of flame he had been clutching in his hand, waiting to deliver a finishing blow, suddenly flared up like a great Lamp.

That Shadow... is extremely dangerous!

The now-agile white fish did not attack but instead circled back, immediately surrounding the white-haired person, head to tail, its form gradually blurring until it became a spiraling white iron wall, circling to block all surrounding flame attacks.

Si Liyu's nearby sword strike, by a hair's breadth, happened to pierce the white fish; he immediately felt a portion of his power lost, swallowed by the white fish, and he instantly withdrew his sword.

The white fish blocked the Blood Sword, and at the same time opened its mouth, swallowing the hammer shadow in one gulp, devouring the immense power filling the sky—

In the blink of an eye, the triple attack was completely neutralized!

The white-haired person watched coldly, watching the aggressive enemies return empty-handed, their faces filled with unconcealable shock and frustration; the original ferocity gradually subsided, returning to an indifference as if nothing mattered.

In truth, he also felt some unease in his heart, not because of the battle before him, but because he had just released a colossal entity.

At the time, his hatred had reached its peak, and he had almost harbored the intent to perish together.

But now that his Blood Qi had subsided and he had calmed down slightly, he secretly felt regret.

Since he had released that thing, it was destined that he could not return safely; what he would face was the overwhelming pursuit of the imperial court and the public, as well as the powerful arch-enemies of Wangliang Mountain...

He no longer hoped to return safely, only wishing to...

Pfft!

A chill in his heart.

This is—

No explosion of power, no intense light or shadow, no warning whatsoever.

The white fish still surrounded him tightly, providing an absolute defense a few feet in front of him.

It was in the few feet of defensive space between the white fish and him.

A sword took advantage of the gap to pierce his heart precisely from behind.

Silent and soundless.

Wei Zhangle.

72 Siege