Chapter 11: Dead Fight

This… it actually summons minions!

The sudden turn of events caught Li Yan off guard.

Plans can’t keep up with change; though he didn’t know how this Cold Altar Outlaw Soldier had done it, the situation had clearly shifted from one-on-one to a mob fight.

Looks like I provoked too much…

Li Yan had no time to regret—he rose instantly and drew his blade.

Clang!

In his right hand he held the blade, tip angled upward, crouching in a half-step stance; his left hand gripped the hilt backward, holding it horizontally before his waist as he retreated slowly.

This was the Pressing Blade Stance.

It could advance to attack or retreat to defend; the upward-angled tip could strike first at charging beasts, and the scabbard could serve as a blunt weapon for striking or defense.

Reaching the incense burner before the Earth God shrine, he stopped, crouched quickly, picked up the tassel from the altar offering, and tucked it into his chest.

The wolf pack was terrifying, but the greater threat was the Cold Altar Outlaw Soldier.

This tassel of the Three Talismans Suppressing Demon Coin was the key to victory.

Of course, he couldn’t use it recklessly yet.

Without a moment’s pause, the wolf pack launched its attack.

Roar—!

Three wolves in front suddenly lunged forward.

They bared their grotesque fangs; two charged from the ground, ferociously targeting Li Yan’s abdomen, as if to rip him open.

The third leapt high, jaws wide, aiming for Li Yan’s throat.

This was an extremely vicious pincer technique of the wolf pack.

Ordinary prey, even if they avoided the throat, would be knocked down, and the remaining two wolves could then tear open their bellies.

But Li Yan had already prepared.

He stepped forward in a half-step, his right foot still airborne when the blade flashed.

It gave the illusion that the blade moved faster than the man.

This was the secret of Guanzhong Fast Blade.

Ordinary users of the blade planted their feet firmly, drawing power from the ground, channeling force through waist and arms—whether chopping or sweeping, their strikes carried the weight of a thousand jin.

But Guanzhong Fast Blade released the strike before the foot even touched ground.

Powerful arm and wrist strength, combined with a sharp, fine blade, could compensate for the lack of full-body power.

What good is a powerful slash if your throat is cut first?

Guanzhong blade masters earned their great reputation through this one extraordinary skill.

Those skilled in this blade art moved so fast, opponents couldn’t react at all.

The charging wolves were no different.

Mid-air, the blade pierced their throats, driving straight into their skulls.

With unstoppable momentum and the razor edge of the Guanshan blade, it cleanly severed half their heads, spraying blood everywhere.

At the same time, the two wolves on the ground also attacked.

Li Yan retreated with the momentum, flipped his scabbard upward with his left hand, driving it into the throat of the wolf on his left, making it howl in pain; his right hand slashed the blade downward in a sharp flick.

Puff!

The wolf attacking from the right had one forelimb severed, instantly losing balance.

Li Yan stepped forward firmly in a half-step, delivered a Lanmakanzi leg strike, and kicked the legless wolf eight or seven meters away—it rolled several times, kicking up dust.

With one leg broken and its soft waist kicked, it whimpered, struggled, spat blood, and gradually fell still.

Only then did Li Yan whirl the blade in a flourish and thrust it downward.

The wolf on the left, with the scabbard still lodged in its throat, was frantically biting—this strike drove the blade straight through its nape, pinning it to the ground, motionless.

Puff!

Wolf blood sprayed, splattering Li Yan’s face.

He didn’t flinch; his cold gaze remained fixed ahead.

Wolf attacks followed patterns—they didn’t charge all at once, but sought weaknesses and attacked in waves.

Even if they failed, they’d find ways to wound the prey.

No matter how large the beast, under this relentless tide of attacks, both body and spirit would collapse swiftly.

The advantage was minimizing losses.

After all, injury in the wild often meant death.

The wolves’ tactics hadn’t changed, but they clearly hadn’t expected Li Yan’s blade art to be so lethal—he’d slain three wolves in the space of a breath.

Their follow-up assault was broken.

Sensing the killing intent radiating from Li Yan, the remaining wolves whimpered and circled, unwilling to leave but Yebugan advance.

Li Yan’s attention was entirely on the alpha wolf.

He could smell the familiar stench on it.

Clearly weaker than last night.

The widow Wang was right.

This Cold Altar Outlaw Soldier had been wounded repeatedly; even after devouring wandering souls within ten li, it had reached its weakest state.

Now, the wolf it possessed merely wandered beyond the shrine’s incense range, showing no intention to enter.

It seemed to want the pack to drag him out.

Li Yan’s face was cold and stern; he stood still, blade in hand.

He meant to eradicate this evil; the enemy coveted his soul and body.

Now, it was a test of who would break first.

Roar!

Perhaps fearing the coming crowing of roosters and rising yang energy, the wolf possessed by the Outlaw Soldier let out a sudden roar.

Its stench exploded; several wolves immediately urinated in terror.

Under its coercion, all charged toward the Earth God shrine.

“Kill!”

Li Yan roared, back pressed against the shrine, slashing left and right with the Guanshan blade, then added a Chaotiandeng kick that sent the lunging wolves flying.

Cold light exploded—two wolves died instantly.

But his lack of experience showed.

With so many wolves attacking at once, he couldn’t cover everything; after one round, his techniques grew stale, exposing openings, and he fell into disadvantage.

Even his right hand holding the blade was seized and bitten hard by a wolf.

The rest opened their fangs to tear at him.

Even when kicked away, they twisted back to attack.

Aowu!

Far off, another wolf howl.

It was the wolf possessed by the Outlaw Soldier—fearing the pack would damage Li Yan’s body—let out a roar, issuing orders. Instantly, the wolves stopped going for the kill, instead biting his limbs and dragging him away.

Li Yan’s body burned with pain, and rage boiled within him.

He knew this was the critical moment.

Even if he broke free, he’d exhaust himself under the wolves’ assault; even if he used the substitute statue to recover, after killing the remaining few, he’d still be doomed against the Cold Altar Outlaw Soldier.

The only chance now was to kill the Outlaw Soldier.

Thinking this, Li Yan endured the agony, clamped his grip on the Guanshan blade, and let the wolves drag him toward the possessed alpha.

Dust flew; a trail of blood marked their path, horrifying to behold.

Soon, he was dragged to the roadside.

Here, he was beyond the shrine’s incense coverage.

The wolf possessed by the Outlaw Soldier could hold back no longer—it lunged directly, planting its forepaws on Li Yan’s chest, baring grotesque fangs, hissing low.

!.

Li Yan clearly felt the icy sensation at his lower back surge violently and spread outward.

This chill was terrifying—it threatened to invade his five viscera and six bowels, numbing his skin, blurring his consciousness.

At this moment, the substitute statue began to act.

Li Yan’s judgment was correct: the curse targeted the spirit, but for the Outlaw Soldier to possess and steal his soul, it must alter the body.

If fully taken over, he might end up like the widow Wang described—black fluid seeping from his five viscera and six bowels.

The substitute statue’s repair restored Li Yan’s clarity.

Now, he hesitated no longer—he pulled the Three Talismans Suppressing Demon Coin tassel from his chest, pressed it onto the Guanshan blade, and thrust upward with all his might!

The Outlaw Soldier, mid-ritual, had no time to dodge.

A wet plop—wolf blood mixed with black fluid dripped down.

Roar—!

From within the wolf’s body came a strange, guttural scream.

It sounded partly animal, partly human, as if two voices overlapped, echoing endlessly around them.

The remaining wolves, seemingly freed from control, trembled violently, defecated and urinated everywhere, and bolted wildly into the undergrowth, vanishing.

But Li Yan, at this moment, had no attention to spare.

The instant the Three Talismans Exorcism Coin fused with the hilt, a bone-chilling cold spread along the blade, piercing through the wolf above.

What was pierced was not merely flesh.

Li Yan could clearly smell the cold, bloody stench released by the fusion of the Three Talismans Exorcism Coin and the blade, cutting through the foul odor of the Changbing .

The six yang roots correspond to the six senses, namely six supernatural abilities.

The ability he awakened was smell—clearly less direct than the Yin-Yang Eyes—but through scent, he felt the shifts in both sides’ power most acutely.

The plaque inscribed “Hundred Battles, Majestic Might” and the incense from the Earth God shrine were likely the same kind of force, radiating warmth, with a yang nature.

When it clashed with the Changbing ’s power, they canceled each other out.

But the Three Talismans Exorcism Coin’s power was yin—even colder than the Changbing ’s, like ice sinking into water.

It did not weaken; instead, it absorbed the Changbing ’s power.

Roar—!

The eerie howls grew fainter and fainter.

Finally, after the Changbing ’s foul stench vanished completely, the wolf above fell still, leaving only the odor of its corpse.

Thud!

Li Yan pushed with the momentum, and the wolf’s corpse rolled aside.

He gasped for breath, continuing to use the Substitute Spirit Statue.

Every wound on his body vanished with each breath.

Had it not been for his torn clothes and blood, one would never guess he had just endured a brutal battle.

The Substitute Spirit Statue could replace all physical ailments, including muscle soreness from exertion.

Thus, to some extent, it could restore physical strength.

Yet the fatigue from extreme mental tension after physical recovery could not be erased, so Li Yan lay still for a while before slowly rising.

At that moment, his expression froze.

Inside his dantian, the accumulated damage to the Substitute Spirit Statue had reached its limit—cracks, dense and countless, appeared, as if ready to shatter at any moment.

Huh~

On the statue’s left shoulder, a faint flame suddenly went out.

Like a reboot, the statue instantly restored, leaving not a single trace of damage.

So… that was one life lost?

Li Yan’s heart burned with anger; he couldn’t help spitting fiercely.

But he knew well: without the Substitute Spirit Statue, he would not have escaped this disaster.

The Wang Widow had worshipped a legendary Chu Ma Immortal—though its condition was odd, the thing hadn’t even dared show its face; one could imagine how terrifying the Changbing was.

Suddenly, he frowned, feeling the Guanshan Dao in his hand grow colder and colder, as if he held a shard of ice.

His bones ached with icy pain; his skin began to numb.

Li Yan quickly dropped the tassel from his hand.

On the yellow earth, the once-fine tassel knots, including the Three Talismans Exorcism Coin, were now soaked in wolf blood, radiating a bloody stench.

Absorbing some of the Changbing ’s power had strengthened this treasure!

This was no good thing.

It meant that in the future, using this treasure would grow ever harder.

He needed to find a way to resolve this.

Or rather—seek a master, learn the arts, and enter that mysterious world!

Thinking of this, Li Yan swept away the traces on the ground, carefully placed the Exorcism Tassel into a red cloth bag, and vanished into the night.

Soon, he arrived outside the Wang Widow’s door.

Before he even drew near, his expression changed.

The mingled stench of incense and foulness had vanished.

Indeed, after pushing open the gate and entering the courtyard, it was empty.

The offering table, the spirit tablet, the red strings, the incense burner…

All traces of the Wang Widow and the Chu Ma Immortal had been thoroughly cleaned away, indistinguishable from an ordinary peasant’s home.

Li Yan’s mind stirred; he looked around.

Indeed, the strange gate array formed by the jars had been carelessly scattered, and filth and dirty water flowed everywhere.

At this moment, Li Yan was certain.

The Wang Widow and her kind were fleeing from something…

(End of Chapter)