Chapter 318: The Perfected Three-Origin Method

The Array Eye was like a lake of light, completely submerging the figures of Yan Keling and the fox demon; they could only guess the situation based on the commotion outside, and it sounded as if the battle was not particularly tragic, at least not a single scream was heard.

"Daoist Jiang, are you holding up?"

"I'm holding up!"

"Do you need us to help you?"

"No need!"

"Oh! We are trapped and can't get out for the moment, you hold on for a bit longer!"

"I have no problem!"

After Jiang Lai finished answering, he immediately fell silent again.

At this moment, the Underground Palace was covered in blood, and there was not a single intact spot on his body, yet it seemed the heavier his injuries, the more resolute his gaze became.

The moment he spoke to the fox demon just now, he was distracted, and thus his opening was seized by the green-clad swordsman; the Long Sword thrust from the swordsman's hand bloomed with cold light, passing through the gap in his blocking arm to stab at his body.

In his haste, Jiang Lai had no choice but to avoid his vital heart, while simultaneously injecting Spirit Power into his Defense Rune.

"Pfft!"

The tip of the Sword easily pierced the outer layer of Spirit Power Defense, touched his body which was as hard as Star Iron, and after being slightly obstructed, it stabbed in.

It should have pierced his heart, but it shifted slightly, passing only through his left shoulder.

Jiang Lai, however, advanced instead of retreating, and even withdrew his defense.

Without a word, he used all his strength to raise his fist and strike.

In that split second, the swordsman's gaze passed over Jiang Lai's rapidly enlarging fist to look at his face and eyes, seemingly realizing that the opening just now had been deliberately exposed by this kid, but he could no longer dodge it at this time.

"Pfft!"

The heavy-armored soldier's spear also pierced Jiang Lai's body, causing his frame to tremble, but he only narrowed his eyes, the force of his fist not diminishing in the slightest.

"Boom!!"

The fist struck heavily on the swordsman's face.

At that instant, an incomparably hard sensation was transmitted; under the collision of immense power, both the fist and the swordsman's face were trembling violently, the facial bones deformed immediately, Jiang Lai's hand bones were also shattering, and his fist was already a blur.

The next second—

"Whoosh..."

Countless bright Sword Lights burst forth.

The Sword Light that could cover a large area condensed into one spot, easily tearing open the swordsman's defense and stirring his entire head, starting from his face, into a pulp of flesh.

"Boom!"

The spear swept across.

Jiang Lai's figure was swept away, crashing into the wall of the massive Underground Palace.

The earth rumbled.

The heavy-armored figure flew over to press the attack.

Jiang Lai gritted his teeth, ignoring the injuries all over his body, and dodged to the side.

"Boom!"

The spear plunged deep into the wall.

Like a Heavy Shield Tank crashing into a wall, the entire Underground Palace was trembling.

Jiang Lai turned his head to look—

The heavy-armored soldier held the spear with one hand and stepped on the wall with one foot, slowly pulling the spear out; from beneath his face mask, one could see a pair of cold eyes.

Their eyes met.

One was in the prime of his youth, having just entered the Sixth-stage, covered in wounds. The other had been sealed for a thousand years, experienced in a hundred battles, with less than twenty percent of his strength remaining.

No one felt fear, no one felt cowardice, no one spoke.

Jiang Lai glanced at the front with his peripheral vision.

The green-clad swordsman's Long Sword fell to the ground, and having lost his entire head, his body slowly toppled over, only just now hitting the ground.

"Whoosh..."

A cloud of dust was kicked up on the ground.

At this time, Jiang Lai had at least ten puncture wounds all over his body, countless injuries large and small, and who knew how many shattered bones; some muscles were completely unable to exert force because they had been severed, and if this were any normal Sixth-stage Martial Artist, they would not be able to stand up now.

Yet he remained silent, climbed up to stand straight, loosened his muscles and bones, and stared at the soldier.

With one less, it was much easier to fight.

"Boom!"

Both sides clashed again.

Jiang Lai used his arm bones to resist the spear and his fists to strike the heavy armor; he did not know how many hits his body had taken, nor how much blood he had shed or how many bones he had broken; the outline of the bones in his fists could no longer be seen, and the Spirit Power within his body had long since been exhausted.

The soldier's heavy armor had also become pitted and scarred.

At this moment, they seemed to be on a Battlefield.

Both sides were risking their lives.

But clearly, the soldier had more experience; with a beautiful spear-discarding technique, he took advantage of Jiang Lai defending against the spear to crash into him, knocking Jiang Lai to the ground. Before he knew it, the soldier had grabbed the spear again, and when Jiang Lai reacted, he only saw the soldier, his body like an iron tower, stepping on him with one foot, his eyes beneath the face mask staring at him, while at the same time, the spear in his hand was raised high, the tip aimed at his head.

Jiang Lai gritted his teeth and used both hands to grab the spear tip.

"Clap..."

His hands clapped together.

"?"

Jiang Lai focused his gaze.

The soldier held the spear but did not thrust it down, that pair of eyes beneath the face mask still staring coldly at him.

The next instant—

The spear body swept out horizontally.

"It's over!"

Jiang Lai's pupils constricted.

Bodhisattva protect me!

"Bang!"

Jiang Lai fainted directly.

I don't know how much time passed.

Jiang Lai opened his eyes, feeling that he was still in the Underground Palace. Before him were Yan Keling and the fox demon. In his mouth remained the mint-like, cool taste of the Earth Moon Milk Essence, slightly bitter; he figured the two had already fed him the medicine.

He had originally thought it was the Bodhisattva protecting him, but it turned out to be Brother Chen protecting him.

Thank you, Brother Chen.

Since entering the Forbidden Land, he had already had his life saved four times by this Spirit Liquid contained in Small Jade Bottles; there were six bottles in total, and now there were probably two left.

"Hmm..."

Jiang Lai frowned, forcing himself to sit up, and looked at the ground.

In the distance, a set of green robes and a Long Sword lay on the ground.

Nearby, a set of armor was scattered on the ground, and a long spear cast from Star Iron was stuck into the floor, the light of the Rune casting a rough circle of light on the spear body.

"Don't move, rest for a while," Yan Keling said to him. "Many of the bones in your body are shattered, and your muscles are torn. Be careful they don't heal crooked if you keep moving."

"They won't," Jiang Lai replied.

"Daoist Jiang is impressive," the fox demon said, looking down at him, speaking with a slight lisp. "These two Martial Artists must be the two personal guards of that general, right? Back then, they were likely among the best in the world of Martial Artists. Daoist Jiang just entered the Sixth Stage and was able to defeat them; no wonder you could enter the Forbidden Land."

"They had been sealed for too long."

"Daoist Jiang need not be humble. If not for Daoist Jiang blocking them, if they had broken into the Formation, we might have been trapped in the center of the Formation forever."

"Thanks to you two coming out in time to save my life..."

"Ah?"

"Didn't you defeat the two Martial Artists and sit here waiting for us, having fainted because your injuries were too severe?" Yan Keling was stunned.

"I was knocked unconscious," Jiang Lai also said, stunned. "Wasn't it you who came out and defeated them?"

"No, as soon as we came out, you were lying here," Yan Keling said. "And here were a Long Sword, a long spear, clothes, and armor, and on the side, one could still see the flying ash left behind by their bodies shattering."

"Ah..."

Jiang Lai widened his eyes.

Only then did he clutch his head, suddenly feeling as if something had been added to his mind.

That year, the world was in chaos, demons and monsters appeared frequently, and many cultivation sects were affected; martial arts sects and great clans were all the more impacted.

A young man just over twenty years old wore hemp clothes, carrying a Long Sword and a bundle, preparing to go down the mountain to venture out.

A young descendant of a prominent family in Long Prefecture also brought the long spear passed down by his ancestors, riding alone with a resolute face, heading toward the Capital to protect the peace of the home and country.

"Senior Sister, wait for my return."

"Child is unfilial and cannot serve by Mother's side."

"Haha, I am quite slippery."

"The war is not settled, the demons are not finished, the family is not prosperous, I shall not return..."

"What does it have to do with me that the northern barbarians have attacked..."

"Every man has a responsibility for the rise and fall of his country!"

"I still have to return to the sect to marry my Senior Sister..."

"General, I can be the vanguard!"

"..."

"..."

"Call me Yan San."

"Long Prefecture, Chen Qing."

These things flashed through Jiang Lai's mind one by one, as if letting him know two people. By the time he came back to his senses, it seemed someone was speaking in his mind.

"Hey, kid, what is your name?"

"Seems to be surnamed Jiang."

"Who are you?"

"You just beat your grandfather to death, and you've already forgotten?"

"Long Prefecture, Chen Qing, born in the year 3785, joined the army to pacify the world, fought across the north and south, and later followed General Luo to the Forbidden Land."

"Really good at bragging."

"Shut up!"

"How are you in my head?"

"Speaking of which, I'm angry. That General Luo couldn't live anymore and wanted to enter the Forbidden Land, but he insisted on dragging the two of us along. In the end, he got injured in the Forbidden Land and felt he could probably only live for a few more days, so he built a tomb and even dragged us along to be buried with him. Heh, and there was a dog that was willing."

"Don't listen to his nonsense! General Luo used a Secret Technique to seal the two of us with the goal of leaving behind the complete Three Origins Method for future generations!"

"Look, isn't there a dog that was willing?"

"Shut up!"

"Then..."

"Rest assured, we won't be able to stay for long before we disappear. That General Luo didn't have the ability to make our Spirit Soul last forever... Damn his ancestors!"

"Yes..."

"Hey, kid, is the White Jade Sect still around?"

"Never heard of it..."

"Damn it..."

"May I ask what dynasty this is now? What year is it?"

"It is the year 5023, Dayi."

"The year 5023, huh..."

The two voices in his mind both fell silent; whether frivolous or steady, they seemed to have lost their voices amidst the passage of time and life.

Chen Shu hid alone underground.

The battle of the Bodhisattva of Tribulation gradually drifted away from the center of the Forbidden Land and moved closer to their location, to the point that it affected this place.

Even from far away, there was still a momentum capable of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth.

One wonders how many opponents that Bodhisattva has; then again, those opponents of his must have been world-renowned figures while they were alive. To be able to fight until now under the siege of so many Ninth Stage powerhouses without showing signs of decline, just how powerful must this Bodhisattva be?

It was too far away; Chen Shu found it hard to imagine.

He could only focus his gaze on what was before him.

Of the twenty-two Spirit Bead Bracelet, only one remained, and it was a Seventh Stage one.

As for that tiger spirit...

Yesterday, when Chen Shu's Spirit Beads were about to run out, he had told her that staying in the depths of the Forbidden Land would likely be perilous, and asked if she wanted to take a risk or retreat to the relatively safer edge of the Forbidden Land. However, this tiger spirit was rather fond of courting death and chose to stay put, and Chen Shu had agreed.

And look at that? Last night they encountered an Eighth Stage powerhouse.

Chen Shu threw out a Spirit Bead and they fled in separate directions.

Obviously, neither the human nor the demon could run as fast as an Eighth Stage powerhouse, but relatively speaking, Chen Shu was still a bit faster than the tiger spirit. The Eighth Stage powerhouse, who had almost been burned away by the Great Blazing Sun Art, recovered and immediately went to chase her.

By now, she is likely gone.

Chen Shu felt very guilty about this.