Chapter 76

Ding Chunqiu, having been ambushed by Tang Bohu, was filled with rage; now suspended in midair and seeing Jiang Sishui charging to kill him, he flung a sleeve of poisonous powder.

Jiang Sishui let out a mighty roar; the Northern Dark True Qi surged wildly within his body, his body-protecting True Qi expanding outward, so that not a single feather could add to it, nor could a fly or insect land upon it.

In an instant, it repelled the poisonous powder outward.

Ordinary True Qi fears poison, but the Northern Dark True Qi fears nothing!

"Falling Sword Style!"

Jiang Sishui slashed diagonally downward with his sword; True Qi attached to the blade, cleaving Ding Chunqiu directly from his right shoulder down to his waist, splitting his entire body into two halves!

"Aaaah――"

A shrill scream nearly burst the eardrums of the crowd; they saw Ding Chunqiu suspended in midair, his internal organs and intestines gushing wildly from the severed wound, crashing toward the ground.

The sky seemed to pour down a torrential rain of blood; the scene was cruel and bloody, and many women were frightened away, averting their gaze.

Ding Chunqiu crashed to the ground, but since his head remained unharmed and the life force of a Grand Master was so powerful, he did not die immediately, writhing in pain and wailing endlessly on the ground.

Seeing him struggle half-dead with half his body, a chill shot from the tailbone up the spine straight to the crown of the heads of the crowd; their scalps tingled, and their hands and feet turned ice cold.

Shen Lang and Chu Chu Liuxiang, upon seeing this, both shook their heads.

In their view, Jiang Sishui's sword strike was far too cruel, clearly intending to torture the victim.

After splitting Ding Chunqiu in two, Jiang Sishui did not look at him again, but instead reversed his sword to block!

Almost at the same moment, several falling leaves struck the blade.

Though the falling leaves were light, the immense force they contained knocked Jiang Sishui, who had nowhere to leverage, flying twenty zhang away!

"Flower-Plucking Finger!"

Those with broad knowledge identified this Shaolin ultimate technique.

This Finger Technique specializes in training the pinching force of the fingers; although it belongs to the Yin-Soft category, its practice requires cultivating both internal and external forces, combining Yin-Softness with Yang-Hardness.

Once mastered, pinching an object with three fingers can shatter even the hardest stones at the touch of the finger; it can also injure people invisibly, making it extraordinarily formidable.

And this was already the third Shaolin ultimate technique employed by Bimo Zhi!

For a moment, many people subconsciously turned their gaze toward Wuhua and Hearing Xu Zhu.

Regrettably, these two showed no intention of pursuing the matter, which greatly disappointed the crowd of heroes who thrived on chaos.

Seeing that his strike failed to save Ding Chunqiu and did not even injure Jiang Sishui, Bimo Zhi hesitated not at all, turned, and fled.

Duan Yanqing was no fool; seeing the situation turn unfavorable and realizing he could not hold out alone, he immediately forced Zhao Tianhao back with a staff strike and departed gracefully.

Ye Mengse, the South Sea Crocodile God, and the numerous Xingxiu Sect disciples watching from afar, already terrified out of their wits, rushed down the mountain in a swarm.

Jiang Sishui, unwilling to let them go, shouted sternly: "Stop them! Kill them all!"

083 Cruel Methods? Confronting Shen Lang

Before the words had fully faded, Jiang Sishui stepped on the "Wave-Stepping Micro-Step" and took the lead in pursuit.

Bimo Zhi was one of the "Four Absolutes of the Heavenly Dragon," possessing high Wu Gong, numerous methods, and extremely rich combat experience; he was not so easily killed, so if he ran, he ran.

The grudge of today could only be settled on another day.

But the others must remain!

Jiang Sishui intended to establish the prestige of the Xiaoyao Sect in a single battle!

Su Suxinghe and the "Hangu Eight Friends," upon hearing this, rushed forward to block the way.

Zhao Tianhao also engaged Duan Yanqing.

Jiang Sishui charged straight through, his sword light flashing continuously; wherever he passed, numerous Xingxiu Sect disciples instantly bore bloody wounds at vital points, either their necks or their chests.

Blood sprayed outward; the scene was extremely bloody.

Jiang Sishui wove through the crowd, yet not a single drop of blood stained his body.

This was because before the blood could fall upon him, he had already gone far away.

His movement was light, graceful, elegant, and refined; his Sword Technique was sharp yet remained dashing, leaving viewers refreshed and delighted.

Twisting and turning, he was like a butterfly dancing among flowers in the crowd, perfectly embodying the two characters "Xiaoyao."

Ethereal and vast, he seemed like an immortal among men.

Yet although his figure floated like an immortal, his methods were cruel as an Asura; he hacked through them like melons and vegetables, showing no mercy.

It was as if what he killed under his sword were not humans, but pigs and dogs, making onlookers shudder with fear.

Amidst the wails of the crowd, Jiang Sishui headed straight for Ye Mengse!

Ye Mengse realized she was being targeted by Jiang Sishui; knowing escape was impossible, she drew a thin blade and slashed directly at Jiang Sishui.

Although she knew she was no match, it was impossible for her to surrender and accept death.

Jiang Sishui executed a "Broken Blade Style," striking her wrist directly; with a diagonal slash, he severed her hand tendons.

Ye Mengse cried out in pain, and the thin blade fell from her hand.

Jiang Sishui circled his long sword once more and actually sliced off Ye Mengse's right hand at the wrist!

Before the intense pain could reach her brain, her other hand also flew off her body, tossed high into the air.

Immediately after, Jiang Sishui swept his sword horizontally across her lower body, cutting off both her legs.

In an instant, Ye Mengse's four limbs were severed; the wounds gushed forth like four blood-spring orifices, spewing boiling hot blood without cease.

Not only that, Jiang Sishui did not forget to deliver a final sword strike to her Dantian Qi Sea, rendering her completely useless, unable even to sever her own heart meridian to end her life.

Thus, amidst the wails of the scene, another mournful female voice arose that no one could ignore.

Jiang Sishui coldly glanced at Ye Mengse, who could neither live nor die, paid her no further mind, and turned to kill those Xingxiu Sect disciples.

These people were nothing but scum and traitors who only knew how to flatter and suck up; each one deserved death, and Jiang Sishui had no objection to sending them underground to continue serving Ding Chunqiu.

"Big Brother! Third Brother! Kill me! Kill me quickly!"

Ye Mengse screamed, wanting Duan Yanqing and the South Sea Crocodile God to grant her a quick death.

However, neither of the two responded to her.

Duan Yanqing was so entangled by Zhao Tianhao that he could not break free and had more than he could handle.

The South Sea Crocodile God was stubborn; he went to clash head-on with Suxinghe, and was sent flying off the cliff with a single palm strike.

Watching Ye Mengse unable to die no matter how she begged, suddenly a pebble shot through the air and in an instant pierced through her brow.

A look of relief flickered in Ye Mengse's eyes as she breathed her last.

Jiang Sishui flew into a rage, leapt out from the crowd, his long sword pointed straight at Shen Lang, and said coldly, "Who asked you to meddle?"

Shen Lang had never meant to interfere in the private grievances between them; he had simply been unable to bear the pitiful sight of Ye Mengse, and had acted to end her suffering.

Seeing Jiang Sishui come up to question him, Shen Lang was not afraid either. He frowned and said, "Killing a man only requires a single stroke to the head — your methods are a little too vicious."

"Vicious?"

Jiang Sishui burst into laughter, as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world, and retorted, "Do you know what kind of person she is?"

"Ye Mengse."

"Then do you know what her nickname is?"

"…'Commits Every Evil.'"

"Then do you know how she got that nickname?"

Shen Lang fell silent.

Jiang Sishui gave a cold smile: "Ye Mengse, 'Commits Every Evil,' has been active for over twenty years. During that time, every single day she stole babies from other families to toy with, and once she was done playing with them, she killed them."

"Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, over twenty years — that's seven or eight thousand babies who died by her hand alone. And how many families lost their children because of her? How many mothers went mad with grief for their sons, or even took their own lives?"

"At that time, where were you?"

"For all these years, Ye Mengse has lived free and easy. Now that I'm dealing with her, you come along to show off your Bodhisattva's merciful heart."

"Why don't you ask yourself what the mothers whose children were stolen would think? Whether those dead babies would resent you?"

Jiang Sishui's words were sharp and aggressive, pressing hard, leaving Shen Lang utterly speechless.

When he had struck earlier, he truly had not thought that far; now, mocked by Jiang Sishui like this, he had no way to retort at all.

Tang Bohu, seeing the situation turning bad, hurried forward to smooth things over: "Oh, a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! Brother Shen was simply overcome by emotion for a moment and didn't think things through so thoroughly. I hope Brother Jiang will be magnanimous and grant little brother here some face — I would be endlessly grateful."

Jiang Sishui looked at Tang Bohu, recalled how he had previously helped block Ding Chunqiu, and said, "¨「 Fine, I'll give Brother Tang some face."

Having said that, he no longer paid Shen Lang any heed, turned around, and charged back into the battlefield.

And the very first thing he saw was Duan Yanqing racing down the mountain at top speed.

It turned out Duan Yanqing, seeing the outcome of the battle becoming clear, had seized the moment when Jiang Sishui was questioning Shen Lang, and — not caring to trade injury for injury with Zhao Tianhao — had temporarily broken free of the entanglement.

However, Duan Yanqing had led his men in attacking Zhao Qiying — that grudge had yet to be settled. How could Jiang Sishui possibly let him go?

He immediately unfolded "Lingbo Weixu" and gave chase.

Duan Yanqing was already crippled, and now wounded as well. Seeing there was no escape, his gaze, which had been darting about in panic, suddenly turned vicious.

The next moment, he ran to the edge of the cliff where the South Sea Crocodile God had previously fallen, and leapt off.