Chapter 363: The True Person Surpasses the Leopard King

The massive leopard continuously howled in agony, rolling on the ground, kicking up countless clods of dirt and flinging shards of rock into the air.

Merely its thrashing pain was a fatal disaster to the surrounding spirits, demons, warriors, and Daoists, who dared not approach lightly.

At that moment, a dozen streaks of sword light shot through the heavens.

Twelve flying swords came from different directions, all as swift as lightning; fearing the swords might not be enough, Lin Jue also hurled out three long swords.

These flying swords and long swords were no longer merely reforged with superior gold essence—nor were their control methods merely the original ones; Lin Jue had cultivated them for nearly two years, and they no longer required his constant, individual command. A single thought alone could turn them into sword-lightning, cleaving his enemies apart.

Taking advantage of the leopard king's blinded struggles, the flying swords arrived in the blink of an eye.

"Aoo~~"

The leopard let out another cry of pain.

Fifteen swords, all razor-sharp and far heavier than before, struck with immense force from their high-speed flight. Most pierced its body—some long, some short. The long swords, with hand guards, embedded up to the guards; the streamlined short swords plunged entirely into the leopard king's flesh.

A glance revealed that at the mountain pit's breach, a divine general already led heavenly soldiers in defense; Lin Jue shouted:

"Mountain God, brave one!"

"Come aid me!"

Three stone giants in the distance—one raised a stone arm to smash the demon soldiers before it, one charged sideways, one blocked the fire spewed by demons from the bean soldiers—heard the cry and all turned their heads at once.

A group of bean soldiers instantly reverted to beans, blown by the wind into the sky, then transformed midair into armored warriors, crashing down around Lin Jue.

"Return!"

Lin Jue shouted again to the flying swords.

It wasn't necessary to speak aloud—truly, when heart and mind were one, and thought reached its peak strength, the cry slipped out involuntarily.

The long swords and flying swords, long cultivated, seemed to share his will; sensing his urgency, they returned with even greater speed and force—some trembled free from within the leopard king's body, others, already buried deep, pierced clean through and tore out fresh blood holes.

As the leopard king thrashed, blood splattered across the ground.

The flying swords returned at different times; mid-flight, they turned upward, carving arcs through the air, ascending to great heights, then plunging down again with the momentum, striking the leopard king anew.

Warriors in the distance also shot arrows at it.

But now, the rolling black smoke behind the leopard king had already spread upward, obscuring its location.

In the final instant, Lin Jue could only see the blood-soaked leopard raising its head in a furious roar, as if invisible force rippled around it—flinging back the flying swords and arrows, sending them spinning skyward, then the black mist swallowed everything, erasing the scene entirely.

And the black mist continued rolling forward.

As if it meant to devour even the ground beneath his feet.

Even now, Lin Jue dared not approach the demon king or enter the black mist; he merely gestured, and the chaotic winds around him aligned, lifting him swiftly backward.

He spat out a breath—spring wind surged into the black mist.

Then he pointed upward—

The flying swords, still spinning skyward or beginning to fall, instantly stabilized, their tips downward, streaking through the air in blazing trails, striking once more at the leopard king's former position.

Shush-shush-shush! The flying swords pierced the black mist, unstoppable!

"Puh…"

But only the sound of earth being pierced echoed.

The flying swords had struck the soil.

The spring wind passed straight through the black mist to the other side.

The demon king was no longer there!

Lin Jue's expression hardened.

Wall-passing technique!

The ground before him sank slightly; the swirling dust seemed to outline an invisible wall.

The next instant, the wall shattered.

The demon king, drenched in blood, burst forth.

As expected—

This beast was cunning!

Now it was a mess, its once-beautiful fur mostly gone, its golden hue replaced by crimson blood, making it appear even more ferocious and bloodthirsty.

But the Daoist had already Dun ed back into the earth.

"Boom-boom-boom…"

The three stone giants strode forward, their heavy frames and frantic strides radiating unstoppable force.

"Aoo!"

The leopard king merely opened its mouth and spat out three streams of black smoke.

If one looked closely, one could see they were three soul-ghosts.

The three souls immediately slammed into the stone giants.

Yet no soul shattered, no giant was pushed back, nor did the souls pass through—they silently slipped into the giants' bodies.

One stone giant halted instantly; the other two collapsed to the ground.

Lin Jue's figure appeared from afar, witnessing this, his brow twitched in surprise.

He recognized it at once—

Soul-transfer technique!

The demon king had treated the stone giants he summoned as mere statues, and the souls it spat out were battling the spiritual essence within the stone bodies for control!

Who would have thought the method of gathering stones into warriors could be undone this way? Clever indeed!

Lin Jue immediately turned to the bean soldiers.

"Peng…"

A chorus of bowstrings snapping.

Ten arrows shot forward in sequence toward the leopard king.

"Aoo!"

Under its roar, the arrows were all deflected.

Some armored warriors rushed forward, reaching its very front.

But the leopard merely spun in place, swept its tail—and all the warriors were flung away.

The demon king's body was simply too strong.

The leopard king opened its mouth again, and dozens of dark shadows flew out.

"No good!"

"Recall!"

Lin Jue acted instantly, gesturing with his hand.

All the bean soldiers reverted to beans and flew back toward him.

The dark shadows behind them gave chase.

But the beans all vanished into the Daoist's sleeves, and what awaited them was a roar of flame and a wave of solar spiritual fire rushing toward them.

The air filled with shrieks, thick with stench.

Lin Jue exhaled half his breath, then immediately closed his mouth and exhaled again—

"Hu!"

A gust of east wind surged into the flames.

As expected, the golden fire had not yet died when a blood-soaked leopard burst through it, charging straight at him.

The flames had become its cover!

But Lin Jue had long since grown accustomed to this trick since learning the Anti-Fire Art.

Now, these flames were merely his own cover.

The leopard immediately collided head-on with the east wind.

The massive claw reached the Daoist's face.

In such a fleeting moment—lightning-fast—Luo Luo Gongceng might still react, but Lin Jue had no time to dodge. "Peng!"

The Daoist was flung backward again.

The last half of his thick red wooden staff turned to dust, scattered by the wind, lost somewhere.

Yet the giant leopard howled in agony once more on the spot.

Still airborne, Lin Jue continued casting spells and exhaling.

"Mountain crushes the crown!"

The leopard king crashed heavily to the ground.

"Bind!"

As it tried to rise again, it froze once more.

"Hu…"

Before the pain had numbed, before the flowers had shattered, another east wind arrived, urging new buds to sprout across its body, new blossoms to bloom.

Please… collect… 6…9… books… now…!

Yellow smoke was also blown over by the wind.

"O vast heavens, boundless earth, great mountains hold power to surpass dragons and tigers. The primordial yin-yang essence, now fully unleashed—become the Mountain God, aid me!"

Huge boulders rolled thunderously toward them.

The leopard had just straightened its body when a massive rolling rock smashed it down; as it rose again, another boulder struck from the side, pinning it once more.

"Aoo…"

"Hu Yan! Aow!"

"Hu Yan!!"

The leopard dared not let him continue chanting; through gritted teeth and cries of pain, it shouted.

"I now have a treasure sword!"

"Its merit lies in slaying demons!"

The Daoist, teeth clenched, recited a poem he could not recall the origin of.

Following this, a treasure sword erupted from the ground, humming, initially dragging dirt and grass clumps; mere zhang above the earth, it accelerated until it gleamed pure white.

Half pierced straight through, flashing silver light across heaven and earth; half spun and whirled, wailing as it became a bright moon, reflecting the heavenly fire above and the carnage below, slicing toward the leopard.

"Aow!!"

The Leopard King's body was immediately pierced with many blood holes, which quickly sealed; cut open with deep wounds, which swiftly healed.

Yet each seal was pierced again, each healing cut open anew.

Even its tail was severed, its limbs chopped off—yet they regrew, as if employing the legendary art of regeneration.

Yet the flying sword continued its dance.

Even if it regrew! It was cut again!

Coupled with the rapid growth of fresh blood across its body, the leopard rapidly weakened.

Several attempts to resist all ended in failure.

For a moment, demons, ghosts, humans, and gods alike could scarcely believe it—the Demon King was gradually losing to the Daoist.

Seeing the tide turn, the leopard roared again.

"Aow! Return and guard me!"

"Hm?"

Lin Jue turned to look.

In the battlefield, every remaining stone statue and bronze idol—whether battered to rags or half-melted by fire—turned its head toward this direction. Even the colossal Long Bo changgui, besieged by heavenly soldiers, spun around, gazing painfully this way, then ignored the soldiers beside it, dragging its iron chains forward in heavy strides, followed by a host of changgui.

All the strange masters, warriors, Daoists, and heavenly soldiers rushed to block them.

In an instant, talismans flew wildly, arrows crisscrossed, strange masters unleashed their arts, lightning and fire erupted in succession. Especially on the Long Bo's legs, a crackling storm of strikes erupted—but it was too massive; though these attacks inflicted wounds and caused pain, they could not halt its advance.

For its entire body was bound in chains, its will not its own; its greatest torment came from the Demon King ahead.

In merely dozens of steps, it crossed the battlefield and reached Lin Jue's side.

All the changgui in the sky followed, flying over.

"Hu!!"

Lin Jue spat out a torrent of Solar True Fire, illuminating the ground.

Some changgui screamed in agony; others dodged.

Only the Heavenly Fire General shouted:

"Watch out! This beast is fleeing!"

The Long Bo changgui bent low and roared, one hand swiping toward Lin Jue.

Lin Jue felt only a chilling, icy aura.

A gust of chaotic wind hurled him backward, barely avoiding the blow.

He also heard the Heavenly Fire General's voice and saw the General approaching from afar.

Looking ahead, black mist once again spread, engulfing the leopard's location.

The flying sword, which had been spinning and slicing there moments before, suddenly struck nothing, producing a sharp clang.

"Hm?"

Lin Jue knew the Demon King was to him as a tiger or leopard is to ordinary men—no matter how weak, it could still crush him with a single paw—so he avoided the ink-like spreading black mist.

Then divine fire rained from above—

The Heavenly Fire General's fire seemed to suppress the black mist, instantly burning it clean.

Yet unexpectedly, a giant falcon flapped its wings out of the black mist and fire, still aflame, shooting toward the distance like an arrow.

Lin Jue acted instantly, chanting and pointing.

Mountain presses down! The falcon's body plunged downward yet still beat its wings desperately, flying forward.

"Don't run!"

The Daoist's mind stirred, and twelve flying swords chased after it.

"Puh!"

Black feathers rained from the sky.

The falcon fell to the ground, transforming back into the leopard—but still it did not look back, sprinting wildly toward the distant woods.

The General caught up and slashed with his sword.

But the leopard twisted, dodging frantically.

"Steady!"

"I urge you to frown."

The leopard's form hesitated again and again, yet could not alter its course.

Lin Jue and the General joined forces, determined to annihilate it here.

Yet even at the final moment, though the leopard was riddled with wounds, limbs severed, it transformed into a streak of light, abandoning its flesh as the former Treasure Lamp General had done, fleeing swiftly from its body.

(End of Chapter)