Chapter 377

Li Miao opened his eyes.

The armor, flesh, and the ferocious murderous intent of the black-clad eunuchs lying on the ground all disappeared from his sight. Everything within his gaze remained only a touch of profound black, with no other colors.

After ten months, he stepped onto this beach again.

The soft sensation from the soles of his feet, the blowing wind, the rolling waves, and countless tiny water droplets falling on his face—everything was so real and familiar.

Only, compared to the time he entered during the Mausoleum battle, this time, Li Miao had a faint feeling.

This feeling was extremely strange, without reason, without basis, and not clear, but in his heart, he was incomparably certain. No matter how much his reason felt it was suspicious, this feeling did not waver in the slightest.

Li Miao looked at the pitch-black storm slowly swirling on the distant sea.

He heard himself saying to himself.

"Come."

Li Miao's mouth curled up, and he walked toward the sea ahead.

————————

"Wrong!"

Cun Dong slid down from the wall, staring fixedly at Li Miao, who had closed his eyes. He didn't even have time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression suddenly turning terrified.

"He... is cultivating the Xuanlan!"

The other black-clad eunuchs' faces suddenly turned as heavy as water.

"What!?"

"But! He clearly didn't... could it be because he killed Zheng Zheng Anqi?"

"But he just deduced the technique! In the Mausoleum affair, he could break through because he had already cultivated the three paths of life... can he also reach perfection in the heat of battle for the Xuanlan, which he has never even practiced!?"

The words were in the air, and the people were in the air too.

Cun Dong and the other four black-clad eunuchs were all charging toward Li Miao without the slightest pause.

Shock was shock, but their choice had always been only one: to kill Li Miao before he opened his eyes. They wouldn't stand there sighing and let Li Miao do as he pleased.

Rather, in the previous Mausoleum battle, there was Ji Tianrui to protect Li Miao, but now the area in front of him was empty—no friends, only enemies.

Now was actually the best opportunity to kill Li Miao!

With true energy driving the high-level light-body technique hidden in the palace, in just an instant, Cun Dong had reached Li Miao and slapped his palm toward his chest!

————————

The seawater covered his feet.

Li Miao stepped into the pitch-black seawater.

He reached out and scooped up a handful of seawater; the liquid rippled in his palm and then flowed through his fingers, returning to the sea.

He walked forward dozens of steps more; the sea was now level with his chest, and tiny white foam bubbles were born and extinguished on his clothes.

The ink-like seawater blocked his vision. With a sensation from the soles of his feet, Li Miao stepped onto a cliff. Any further, and he would fall completely into the sea.

Just at this moment, a sharp pain came from Li Miao's chest.

He looked down and saw that a palm print had appeared on his chest at some point, sinking into his flesh.

"Heh."

Li Miao sneered.

Just by looking at the shape of the palm print, he knew it was Cun Dong's.

It seems this beach is not an isolated place; everything that happens in the outside world is reflected on him. This is a good thing; it saves Li Miao from having to guess the time to leave the illusion.

As for whether his body, which had no reaction in the outside world, would be killed by the black-clad eunuchs... Li Miao was still confident for at least seven or eight moves.

The second martial art Li Miao deduced after the Mausoleum battle.

"Golden Body."

A pure defensive technique that operates automatically once activated. But the prerequisite is that one cannot move, nor can one perform other moves or internal energy techniques.

Although under the conditions where Heaven-Man battles in the Great Ming are generally strong in offense and weak in defense, this technique cannot be overused—it can only withstand seven or eight moves at the same realm, making it seem like a chicken rib in others' hands—but it was just right in Li Miao's hands.

After all, Ji Tianrui wouldn't be there to protect him every time.

Sure enough, the next instant, several wounds appeared on Li Miao's body.

Li Miao didn't care about these wounds.

But suddenly, he frowned.

Li Miao raised his left hand and reached toward a sword wound on his right rib. The wound wasn't deep—it must have been the work of the black-clad eunuch with the short sword—two inches into the flesh, not yet touching the internal organs, not fatal.

Li Miao, however, extended two fingers and dug into the wound without hesitation.

A sticky sound of water.

After a while, he pulled his fingers out and held them in front of him.

His fingers were pitch black.

The pitch-black liquid dripped from his fingers, falling into the ocean below, which was identical to the one he was in.

Li Miao suddenly looked up, scanned the slowly swirling seawater around him, and laughed.

Without a hint of hesitation, he took a step forward.

He submerged into the seawater.

————————

"Wrong!"

Cun Dong slapped his palm onto Li Miao's chest, and it actually made a sound like metal clashing, as if he had slapped a piece of raw iron.

The rebounding force was transmitted from his arm to his whole body. He staggered back several steps to dissipate the force and looked up at Li Miao in astonishment.

"What kind of evil martial art is this!"

"He's standing still, his mind is absent, and my full-strength palm could only break his skin!"

The other four black-clad eunuchs also had faces as heavy as water, saying nothing, just attacking Li Miao's body relentlessly.

When Liu Jin made the arrangements, they only thought Liu Jin was cautious; this plan could be said to be secure for dealing with a three-path perfection enemy.

But Liu Jin was frowning tightly at the time, pacing back and forth, constantly adding more stakes. If it weren't for the fact that the Shuntian Prefecture matter was more important, and the other eunuchs kept dissuading him, he would have pushed all his chips into Nanjing.

Now, the black-clad eunuchs finally understood Liu Jin's caution.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard Pacification Commissioner in front of them, who was closing his eyes, was a monster that could not be measured by any common sense.

Cun Dong lunged forward and slapped his palm toward Li Miao's crown.

Rebounded again, he didn't retreat, taking all the force head-on. The flesh on his palm burst open, but Cun Dong only raised his palm two inches before striking toward Li Miao's head again!

Bang!

A sharp pain came from Cun Dong's palm, but a glimmer of joy appeared in his gaze—a wisp of blood was sliding down Li Miao's forehead.

It can be broken!

It can be killed!

The short sword and hook carved a patch of fine wounds on Li Miao's body. Two black-clad eunuchs suddenly raised their hands and stabbed toward Li Miao's eyes!

The broken blade slashed toward Li Miao's back of the neck!

The fist smashed toward Li Miao's crotch!

Perhaps this move, perhaps the next—could break Li Miao's protective technique! The five black-clad eunuchs were already splitting their eyes, squeezing all the true energy from their dantians and pouring it into this move!

The hook and short sword were already an inch from Li Miao's eyes!

Cun Dong's palm was already pressed against Li Miao's crown!

But the next instant—a chill climbed up his spine.

A pair of eyes opened at close range.

The blood flowing from his forehead outlined scarlet patterns at the corners of his eyes. A gaze containing brutality and mockery stared into Cun Dong's eyes, causing the force in his hands to dissipate by thirty percent involuntarily.

Fear.

Fear pushed to the limit gripped Cun Dong's heart.

The sound of metal shattering rang out suddenly. The short sword and hook that had reached his face were smashed by a punch. Metal fragments grazed Cun Dong's cheeks, leaving several long, narrow wounds.

Cun Dong's arm was torn off.

At the same time, he heard that person say.

"Yo, are you having fun?"

"Now it's my turn."

(End of chapter)