Chapter 62: Someone Come Quickly! The Demon Invaders Can't Hold Out Much Longer!

Xie Jinhuan scolded the woman with his mouth, but his hands spared no effort; he lifted his sword, strode forward with long steps, and rushed straight at the cloaked elder opposite the roof ridge.

Tap, tap, tap...

But Tai Shu Dan had changed sides three times; some said he was treacherous for betraying his master and destroying his ancestors, others said he was short-sighted and greedy and stupid, yet no one ever said he lacked skill or was weak!

Facing Xie Jinhuan's unreserved direct attack on the center gate, Tai Shu Dan did not stop absorbing the blood qi of the hall; he merely hooked his left hand's five fingers lightly.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The five puppets standing motionless in place immediately sprang up, surrounding him in a crescent-moon formation, even displaying coordination details like living humans.

Ding, ding, ding—

Xie Jinhuan, sword raised and rushing forward, instantly collided with the five puppets, using his single sword to repeatedly strike in an attempt to pierce through the crescent formation.

But the moment he thrust his sword through a puppet's chest and abdomen, the puppet turned and twisted the long sword; a spear tip from behind pierced through the puppet's cloak, thrusting straight into its chest and abdomen.

"Whoosh—"

At that same moment, a whistle sounded from Tai Shu Dan's mouth.

The instant Xie Jinhuan's sword withdrawal was blocked, his soul trembled and he was stunned for a blink.

However, at the moment the spear tip pierced flesh, he still withdrew his sword, leaped backward to create distance, and brought up a few drops of blood.

Whoosh~

Tai Shu Dan raised his vine staff with his right hand; simultaneously, a puppet behind him flicked a single sword upward, striking the floating blood droplets, which then hit the forehead of the skull atop the vine staff.

Crack~

Tai Shu Dan then knelt on one knee, leaning on the vine staff, and a mysterious, murmuring chant rose from his mouth:

"Mee-mo-mo~..."

A cold wind howled across the roof ridge, and the cloak fluttered with the wind!

Under the spell, the wooden carved skull on the vine staff had dim red light welling up in its eyes!

Xie Jinhuan fought the five puppets with his sword, his entire body surging with qi energy, yet a sense of powerlessness came from the depths of his soul.

It was as if his soul was being extracted from his body by something, his limbs falling into numbness, and his techniques showing flaws.

But fortunately, a reminder followed in his ear:

"Soul-Seizing Curse: uses true qi to lock the Soul Gate and the Spirit Court."

Without the slightest hesitation, Xie Jinhuan condensed a wisp of true qi and locked the acupoints within his body!

Such delicate and minute operations were difficult for a Rank 4 peak practitioner to perform, but after entering Rank 3, they could be done with ease; this was the capital allowing martial artists of the same realm to contend with sorcerers.

As the true qi flooded into the acupoints, Xie Jinhuan felt his skull instantly torn open, and an indescribable, excruciating pain spread throughout his body.

But that sense of powerlessness originating from the depths of his soul instantly vanished like smoke and clouds.

Whoosh—

Xie Jinhuan pulled back, sheathed his sword, and顺势 drew a seven-foot leopard-tail spear; with a full-force爆发, he executed a spinning strike:

"Die for me!"

Boom—

The seven-foot long spear shattered into a crescent moon, drawing an arc across the rooftop!

The five puppets in the surrounding formation were instantly swept away; the already thousand-pierced roof tiles were almost all lifted up, turning into a towering wave crashing forward, revealing the framework below and the misty sea filling the hall!

Tai Shu Dan, realizing Xie Jinhuan had broken free of the Soul-Seizing Curse, stood up and pointed the vine staff forward:

Bang—

A black ink dragon gushed from the vine staff, colliding with the wave of tiles ahead; amidst the explosive sound of bricks and tiles shattering, it was pierced straight through, and black mist swallowed everything living behind it.

But Xie Jinhuan clearly feared no poison mist; after sweeping away the puppets, he spun the long spear, wrapping the churning black mist onto the spear tip, while a prominent sound of gathering qi rang out:

"Hiss~~~!"

?

Tai Shu Dan's face changed slightly; only then did he realize that Xie Jinhuan's martial arts techniques seemed applicable to all eighteen types of weapons.

Moreover, using different weapons yielded different combinations; this move was clearly 'Soaring Dragon Coiling Mountain' followed by 'Black Dragon Colliding with the Pillar'!

At the same time, he understood why Xie Jinhuan's protective aura did not cover his entire body.

It now appeared that 'Soaring Dragon Coiling Mountain' was a spear technique combining defense and offense, relying on an impenetrable spear wind to resist attacks.

After entering Rank 3, one could use the spirit to guide the qi, controlling the flow of energy without needing a long spear, which evolved into the aura surrounding the body just now.

Naming it 'Soaring Dragon Coiling Mountain' clearly meant the spear moves like a roaming dragon!

Xie Jinhuan's hands spun rapidly; when the qi energy was compressed to its limit, his body followed the spear and surged forward:

Boom—

The poison mist wrapped around immediately poured forward, blasting apart the flying broken tiles!

Then a point of cold light followed closely behind; Xie Jinhuan, holding the spear with both hands, thrust at full speed, even creating a thunderous sonic boom halfway through!

Bang!

The long spear, wrapped in wild, horizontal qi energy like a black dragon, lifted the tiles and wood along its path and, with lightning speed, crashed toward Tai Shu Dan directly ahead!

A sorcerer facing a martial artist's most lethal move, with his little ghosts banned, his spells dispelled, his poison arts unable to get close, his puppets unable to block, and his蛊 insects unable to be deployed frontally, was almost certainly doomed to die.

But Tai Shu Dan's strength lay in being a three-surname slave who had learned much; his current identity was not a Wu Sect mage, but a minor leader of the Demon Dao!

The Demon Dao's strength lay in a non-human physique more exaggerated than a martial artist's, and a terrifying regenerative power where as long as blood qi did not cease, one could not die or be destroyed.

Facing the terrifying spear thrust from which there was no escape, Tai Shu Dan did not dodge at all; instead, his entire body exploded with vibration:

Bang—

His cloak and robes tore into four pieces and five fragments, revealing the knotted muscles that had been swelling all along!

A black keratin layer welled up on his skin, and his entire body instantly expanded; his arms became like those of a long-armed black ape, and with both hands raised high holding the vine staff, he executed a 'Forceful Split of Mount Hua':

"Hah—"

In a thunderous roar, the vine staff, wreathed in a torrent of blood煞, slammed into the leopard-tail spear, snapping it instantly downward.

The unstoppable black mist dragon, as if its neck had been shattered, plunged downward into the cabin, then burst out through the side wall.

Boom—

In an instant, a massive diagonal hole opened in the cabin, pointing toward the river, spewing forth torrents of blood mist!

As Tai Shu Dan shattered the spear, he lunged forward, driving a headbutt straight into Xie Jinhuan's chest.

Thud—

Though a Wu Sect cultivator's technique is sloppy, "One Force Overcomes Ten Techniques" is a fundamental truth of martial cultivation!

Xie Jinhuan strained every ounce of strength to close the distance, only to realize his Qi had caught up—he could barely resist the spellcraft—but his physical body simply couldn't match this old bastard!

Facing this nearly unbelievable burst of speed, Xie Jinhuan planted his feet on the main beam like a "Panh Dragon Across the Ridge," every muscle swelling, Qi surging through all meridians, turning his entire body into an immovable boulder.

Yet the headbutt struck his chest—his ribcage didn't cave in—but his lower stance couldn't hold; his whole body shot backward like a cannonball, tearing through a vast stretch of roof, until he finally hooked onto a crossbeam at the far end of the cabin, barely avoiding falling into the river.

Splash—

After the strike, the turmoil paused briefly!

Tai Shu Dan's head bore a dark bruise, but it didn't hinder him—he twisted his neck, holding the vine staff, producing a "click-click" sound; his aged face, as muscles surged, transformed into a demonic asura visage, radiating overwhelming killing intent and ferocity:

"The Wu Sect is all show and no substance—no wonder they were driven to the southern frontier to hide in rat holes. The demonic arts are far more effective!"

Xie Jinhuan flipped up, gripping the beam with one hand, landing atop the main beam, and muttered:

"F**k, there's a second stage?"

"?"

Tai Shu Dan only understood the first half, but it didn't matter—he turned to glance at the river and saw several figures just emerging from the direction of the Peony Pool; the city's experts were still far off. He raised his left hand:

Hss~

Boundless blood Qi surged from the hall; Du Qingyi's headless corpse also dispersed into blood mist, all converging into Tai Shu Dan's arm. The dark bruise on his forehead visibly faded, and the Qi he'd expended recovered before their eyes!

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan tossed aside the broken spear shaft and strode swiftly along the massive beam, thick as two men could embrace.

Tap-tap-tap…

His footsteps accelerated!

Meanwhile, on the riverbank:

Linghu Qingmo sprinted full speed, sword in hand, his eyes wide with shock at the colossal arc of red mist shattered in the river's center, and the cabin's roof nearly torn open:

"So fierce! Could the demonic bandits already be dead?!"

The Princess of Changning, twin sabers hanging at her waist, scanned through flying debris and spotted two figures charging at each other again—her brows furrowed:

"Not yet. There are too many sacrificial offerings on the boat—the blood Qi flows endlessly. If Xie Jinhuan can't kill him in one blow, he won't be able to wear him down. He should still hold out a while."

Lin Wanyi, who had been filled with dread, now saw Xie Jinhuan even more ruthless than the demonic bandits—she felt immense relief:

"How could he possibly fail to kill him in one blow? At this rate, the demonic bandit won't last. If the elders in the city don't arrive soon, he'll slaughter all of us…"

Master Hou and Liu Qingzhi and others walked beside her; behind them followed ten Wu Zu and a few righteous volunteers.

Seeing the titanic Qi surging from the river's center, all of them wore expressions of shock—they knew this was a clash between cultivators of Rank 3 or higher, and not just any, but hardened veterans.

Liu Qingzhi turned, sword in hand, scanning the surroundings:

"Unclear. Should be coming soon."

"This demonic bandit better hold on a little longer—Danzhou's people's safety rests entirely on this bandit's shoulders…"

"True. If this bandit dies, who can hold back Young Master Xie?"

"Let's sneak closer. If the bandit can't hold out, we'll find a way to distract Xie Jinhuan and buy time for the experts."

After speaking, the Princess of Changning dove straight into the river, slipping beneath the water; those with her followed close behind.

Above the cabin, another thunderous explosion erupted!

Boom—

(End of Chapter)