Chapter 362: Alone Against the Leopard King

"Looking for death?"

A deep, booming shout.

The light was dim, and the distance great; it seemed the giant leopard merely turned its body, then reshaped into a human form, gripping a long-handled great knife.

Thump—

No shadow of the leopard leapt down, but a cloud of dust rose from below the cliff, and in the next instant, the dust stretched into a line, connecting the cliff's base to his own position at incredible speed.

A slash of blade-light flashed through heaven and earth.

Yet in the raging wind, the Daoist's body was as light as air—not only did his feet stir the wind, but his entire body generated wind; when he sidestepped, all the wind in heaven and earth seemed to push him, allowing him to evade the demon king's slash entirely.

"Ssshh!"

A path was cleaved into the ground.

The leopard king had just swung his blade and missed; he was about to chase, when suddenly he heard wind whistling in the air—he immediately halted, sidestepped, and raised his great knife to block.

It was a dozen flying swords, swift as thunderclaps.

Around him, a chorus of clinking rang out.

Half the swords dodged him; half were knocked away by his great knife.

But when he turned his head again to face the Daoist, clenched his grip on the hilt, and prepared to charge forward and split him in two, his body suddenly froze.

He glanced sideways—

The swords he had dodged circled far away, then flew back, equally swift as thunderclaps, flashing through the air almost instantly.

The leopard king pushed off the ground, leaping into the air, raising his long-handled great knife as he spun his body mid-flight.

Several flying swords pierced beneath him.

Before he had even landed, his bright yellow, bean-sized eyes turned left—four more flying swords shot toward him from that side, while the blade in his hand, gleaming like a mirror, reflected the scene behind him: more sword-light flashed through the air, straight toward him.

They were the swords he had previously knocked away.

The blade also reflected the Daoist's figure.

"Shhh!"

The leopard twisted its body, swung its hips, and swung the great knife—seemingly borrowing force from the air, as if riding the wind itself, displaying abilities no ordinary leopard possessed, its massive body continuing to spin in midair.

Dust on the ground whirled wildly in response.

The flying swords adjusted their angles; he adjusted with them.

When the flying swords arrived, the leopard king swung his great knife.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Several flying swords were knocked away again, some even embedding themselves deep into the ground.

When the leopard king landed, dust rose again in the air.

His figure vanished outright.

Yet in the next instant, he reappeared—this time directly above the spot where Lin Jue had stood moments before.

Earth-Travel Technique!

"Shhh!"

Lin Jue vanished into the earth.

The great knife slashed the ground, its blade-qi cleaving a path several zhang long.

The leopard king landed, gasping heavily.

He looked left and right—no sign of the Daoist.

He raised a hand, touched his waist, looked down—and saw a thin red line had appeared on his ribs, likely from a flying sword he had barely dodged.

These flying swords were sharp indeed, able to cut through his body so easily.

And these flying swords were sturdy too—struck by his precious knife with such force, they were merely knocked away, not bent into lumps or even deformed.

Where did this Daoist come from? How could he possess such skill!

No wonder the Wolf General fell to him.

"Hm?"

The leopard king's thoughts moved swiftly—these ideas flashed through his mind in an instant—but then his brow furrowed.

Why did his back suddenly feel itchy?

Whoosh—

He held the great knife in one hand, swung it around his head like a turban, moved the blade to his side and rear, then twisted his neck to peer at his back through the mirror-bright steel.

Somehow, tender sprouts had grown on his back, even piercing through his robe.

"?"

The leopard king's brow tightened further.

The itch turned to pain.

As the pain intensified, the sprouts grew rapidly—by the time it became agony, they had become small branches, lifting flower buds that burst into bloom.

Peach, plum, apricot, pear, azalea, magnolia, and common roadside wildflowers—gorgeous beyond measure.

The leopard king sensed these flowers were draining his life force, and his cultivation energy was rapidly leaking away.

"Instant Blossom?"

A flicker of shock appeared in the leopard king's eyes.

He had heard of this technique.

Only a few plant spirits could awaken such a power, but such plant spirits mostly relied on innate talent, rarely advancing beyond shallow stages. Yet if mastered deeply, under comparable cultivation levels, this technique was terrifying—deadly even against opponents of higher cultivation.

Recalling now—he had indeed seen the Daoist exhale toward him just before he vanished underground.

But the breath had been gentle; the leopard king, confident in his bronze skin and iron bones, had not feared it much, thinking even if he took the breath, as long as he killed the Daoist, it was worth it—and so he hadn't dodged.

"This Daoist…"

But now was no time for further thought.

The Daoist had not yet emerged from the earth, yet the dozen flying swords were approaching again—even those buried in the ground had burst forth, shooting toward him.

"Hmph!"

The leopard king let out a cold snort and shattered the flowers on his back.

The blood geysered, then instantly stopped.

The leopard king ignored the pain entirely, stomped his foot—and stones around him erupted upward, forming a barrier against the flying swords.

"Ding! Ding! Ding…"

Sparks flew through the air.

Some swords grazed the stones' edges and veered off course; others pierced through the stones, then kept flying toward the leopard king.

Sword-light crisscrossed in midair, forming a net.

But the demon king had already vanished from the center.

At that moment—

A flash of fire appeared in the sky.

The fire struck something, exploding into a shower of divine flame, then a figure crashed down from above.

A deep crater formed on the ground.

"Heavenly Fire General! I've heard that before you ascended to heaven, you were a famed warrior of the mortal realm, fond of duels—when did you start playing the 'one-vs-many' game?"

The demon king rose swiftly from the crater, roaring. "That's warrior versus warrior, exterminating demons and purifying evil—how can you compare? Even pigs need several men to kill."

The Heavenly Fire General spoke lightly.

"General, leave this one to me. You have the power to fly and ride clouds—I do not. So I ask you to watch this battlefield. Chaos approaches; do not let righteous mortals suffer too many losses. If other demons try to flee from here, please stop them." A young Daoist's voice came from afar.

Both the General and the demon king turned to look.

On a small hill, wind swirled, dust and stones flew—there stood a Daoist, sword in hand, at its center.

"No help?"

"If you wish to assist, make the heavenly fire burn brighter—so we can see clearly."

"Fine!"

The General did not hesitate—he waved his hand.

Boom!

The fire in the sky brightened further.

Previously, the clouds above had been like a furnace, glowing red with the General's fire; now, it was as if someone had pulled the bellows—the flames surged violently.

Please... collect... 6... 9... books...!

The Heavenly Fire General rose upward, yet fire rained down.

Demons and monsters below screamed in agony.

Lin Jue turned his gaze back to the leopard king.

His long sword shrank into a bean, which he tucked into his robe.

Against this giant demon king and his knife, taller than a tree, the long sword was of little use.

This demon king possessed boundless strength, moved like the wind, reacted instantly, was naturally a predator, had lived through constant battles since childhood, and his cultivation path was surely forged through relentless killing—no one, not even many immortals who had achieved true Dao, would dare meet him head-on.

His advantage lay in his techniques.

He must focus entirely—use technique to break force, use prediction to replace reaction, allow no mistake, to strike the enemy's weakness with his own strength.

The leopard king turned his head as well, staring straight at him.

Both sides were thinking, both were sizing each other up.

Far away, humans and spirits were locked in battle, others were fleeing or chasing one another, and countless eyes turned toward this place—this would decide the humans' victory and the spirits' survival.

If Master Lin were defeated, even with the Heavenly Fire Divine General present, it would be impossible to trap all these demon soldiers and officers here, and greater casualties might occur during the demon-slaying.

If the Demon King were defeated, every single spirit and monster who came here today would die here.

Master Lin raised his right hand; no subtle manipulation was visible, yet the flying swords scattered across all directions instantly gathered, as if controlled by him, or as if they possessed their own spiritual resonance, swirling through the air to form a sword array. Then, with a flick of his left hand, a thick red wooden staff materialized in his grasp.

It was the weapon of the previous Treasure Lantern General.

A fine piece of spiritual wood indeed.

The Leopard King gritted his teeth; the screams of his demon soldiers pierced his ears, filling him with anguish, while the young Daoist's contempt fueled his rage.

"Youngster! You're too green!"

The Leopard King spat out a thick, impenetrable cloud of black smoke, hurling it toward Lin Jue.

The Daoist swept his right sleeve.

Twelve flying swords shot out in unison, forming a wall that pierced the black smoke.

At the same time, his sleeve stirred the wind, aided by the surrounding gusts and the Lightness Pill, propelling him sideways in an instant.

The flying swords plunged into the black smoke.

A clang echoed—the swords were deflected.

This revealed the Demon King's movement path.

Lin Jue immediately spat out a breath.

"Huu!"

The Demon King burst through the smoke, and the East Wind followed.

"Hm?"

Even the Demon King dared not directly receive the Daoist's current East Wind; instead, he swiftly sidestepped, changed direction, and continued charging toward Lin Jue with his great blade.

Seeing the Daoist continue evading with the wind, muttering incantations and pointing at him—

Transformation of the Coiling Dragon!

The long-handled great blade in his hand suddenly twisted into two serpents, each as thick as a bowl.

"?"

Illusion?

Leopards naturally feared no serpents, let alone one who had attained Demon King status—how could he be frightened?

So the Leopard King shook his hand.

But instead of reverting the serpents back into the blade, they writhed violently in his grasp, as if trying to escape.

Swish!

The Demon King, sprinting at full speed, abruptly halted, staring at his "weapon," utterly bewildered.

Yet in the next instant, he made his decision—he let go of the serpents, allowing them to flee, then took a step forward and transformed into a massive spotted leopard, its shoulder height over three feet, charging toward the Daoist faster than before.

Tigers and leopards are natural predators, born with claws and fangs—who would think removing their weapons would diminish their combat power?

The Leopard King sprinted at blinding speed, his form swift and fierce.

Behind him, the black smoke had not yet caught up, when suddenly a cloud of yellow smoke rushed toward him.

The spotted leopard was drenched in the yellow smoke; its fur turned the dull yellow of ordinary stone, and as it raced forward, chunks of stone dust and fragments began to flake off.

But this could not halt its advance or alter its essence—it affected only the fur.

"Stagnate!"

It could only freeze it for an instant, briefly unbalancing it.

With its agility, as soon as its body shifted and regained balance, it resumed its charge without slowing.

In the blink of an eye, everything happened in a single moment.

The spotted leopard reached the Daoist's front.

The enormous beast seemed ready to swallow the Daoist whole, to crush him into pulp with a single claw; the thick black smoke behind it made it appear boundless in power, and it had already extended its foreclaws, nails bared, slamming down with lethal force.

The Daoist drew a deep breath, his chest swelling.

In an instant—

The claws flashed with cold light.

East Wind: A Thousand Flowers Blooming at Night.

"Boom!"

The leopard struck the Daoist—but lost its balance, toppled forward, kicking up a mound of dirt several feet high, howling in agony.

The Daoist was flung through the air like a severed kite, crashing heavily to the ground.

Countless hearts tightened.

"Aoo~~"

The entire valley echoed with the leopard's screams.

Yet moments later, the Daoist rose again, propping himself up with half a wooden staff, his body nearly unscathed.

He looked down—

The thick red wooden staff in his hand, once level with his eyebrows, was now only waist-high; the upper half had been pulverized.

This was precisely the "Transferring Disaster" technique.

(End of Chapter)