Longtu kept a calm expression, scrutinised Xu Lingyin for a moment, then walked over and vigorously ruffled her hair.
His palm was bigger than Little Pea’s head.
“You’re too weak right now.”
Longtu’s voice was deep yet calm. He lifted Little Pea high and set her on his shoulder.
“As your master, I will take you to watch the battle and let you witness the sights of the beyond-mortal realm. If your big brother dies, remember their faces and put your life on the line to cultivate.”
For this style of teaching, several elders frowned, yet felt there was nothing wrong with it.
Elsewhere, Xu Qi’an retreated thirty li in one breath, stopping in a deserted valley.
No sooner had he steadied himself than Youshi shot over like an arrow, his cloak billowing violently.
Facing the menacing, unstoppable figure in the cloak, Xu Qi’an grinned and said,
“I only let you have the first move. Look how pleased you are with yourself. Do you really think, relying on this beyond-mortal corpse, you can compete with me?”
Instead of withdrawing, he advanced, meeting Youshi head-on. He pressed down on the cloaked man’s head with one arm. The fire ring behind his head suddenly exploded like the thrusters of a rocket, sending a jet of Qi blasting out of his palm.
With a resounding clang, Youshi was knocked backwards, flying through the air, the skin on his forehead ripped open and bloody, though no fresh blood flowed out.
As Youshi arched backwards, he landed on both feet, and retreated several paces, each step causing a thunderous shockwave.
He had only just regained his footing when Xu Qi’an appeared behind him and chopped at his neck with his hand like a sabre.
“Whoosh!”
A shrill piercing sound suddenly came from the side, a purple shadow shooting at Xu Qi’an’s face faster than an arrow.
He leaned back, tilting his head to dodge the purple shadow. It brushed past his nose.
Sizzle~ the purple shadow shot diagonally into the ground, turning into a puddle of venom that instantly corroded a deep pit.
A faint layer of purple tinged the tip of Xu Qi’an’s nose.
Baji, some distance away, was puffing out his cheeks, preparing a second mouthful of venom.
At the same moment, Youshi reacted. He lunged forward and executed a fierce back kick straight at Xu Qi’an behind him.
Bang!
The kick landed squarely on Xu Qi’an’s abdomen, sending out a ripple of Qi.
Whoosh… The second venom arrow shot in, aiming at the exact spot where Xu Qi’an had been knocked back.
Escape was impossible.
At this moment, the advantage of a Transforming Force martial artist became clear, Xu Qi’an’s body twisted into an unnatural arc, letting the venom arrow miss once again.
Bang bang bang!
Youshi seized the opportunity to close in, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks on Xu Qi’an, the impacts ringing out like a bell.
At the same time, Baji kept launching venomous arrows. With a splat, as Xu Qi’an violently broke Youshi’s onslaught, Baji finally succeeded, one venom arrow struck Xu Qi’an on the knee.
The fabric was instantly corroded away, and Xu Qi’an’s dark golden skin was stained with deep purple.
The dark purple mark remained confined to the knee by the protective golden light, unable to spread any further, but the golden light could not expel the poison, either.
As the most powerful teechnique of the Poison Gu tribe, if their poison could not kill experts of the same level, it would be meaningless.
Of course, third rank martial artists would not be easily poisoned to death, Baji’s goal was clear: to grind him down in a battle of attrition.
Death by a thousand cuts.
At that moment, six figures rushed from the mountain, all cloaked and hooded, each holding a bone sabre.
“They’re here!”
Baji grinned upon seeing this.
The six cloaked figures did not immediately join the fight, but instead dashed to Baji’s side.
They lined up in front of Baji, laying down their sabres.
These sabres were of ancient design, fashioned from bone, their surfaces covered with dark spots and yellow stains, a testament to their age.
These bone sabres had a remarkable origin. Approximately thirteen hundred years ago, there had emerged a beyond-mortal Gu beast from the Abyss. Like an insatiable pit, it left nothing alive in its wake.
The leaders of the various shaman clans joined forces to battle the beast on the northern plains of the Southern Marches. After ten days of fierce combat, they finally slew it.
This beast was a Strength Gu beast, with a body so formidable and regenerative that even martial artists of the same level could not match its healing. Its stamina was inexhaustible.
The six bone sabres were carved from the six toughest bones of the Gu beast’s body, a labour that took sixty years to complete.
The quality and sharpness of the bone sabres rivalled legendary weapons.
Baji took up one bone sabre, lightly ran it over his skin, smearing his blood along its edge.
He repeated this for the remaining five bone sabres.
“Go!” Baji said gravely.
“Hmm, today let us offer his blood as a sacrifice to the Six-Star God.”
The voice that came from the cloaked figure’s mouth belonged to Youshi.
The six bone sabres entered the fray.
In an instant, Xu Qi’an felt murderous intent coming from all directions, yet the warrior’s danger sense gave no response whatsoever.
The Heart Gu Master Chunyan said softly,
“Seven men as one, one as seven men, and they’re armed with weapons like the ‘Six-Star God’ bone sabres. Even without our aid, Youshi’s strength now surpasses an ordinary third rank martial artist.”
Luanyu licked her red lips and said coyly,
“Youshi, you aren’t allowed to kill him. I want to plant a Desire Gu in his body, so he belongs only to me.”
Who’s speaking, the one with the amazing figure, or the big-eyed beauty with the two snakes hanging from her ears?… Xu Qi’an’s ears twitched.
Bang!
Two cloaked men swept past Xu Qi’an on either side, their bone sabres leaving shallow purple marks on his waist.
The purple streaks clung to the flesh like maggots on a bone, they would not fade.
What kind of blade is this? Not quite as sharp as the Taiping Sabre, but definitely in the class of legendary weapons. Although it cannot pierce my Vajra Body, it does hurt… Xu Qi’an frowned, feeling the burning pain on both sides of his waist, losing interest in watching any beauties.
The initial pain came from being cut, but the lingering burning was due to the poison.
As the two black-robed men swept past his waist, two more rolled across the ground, their bone sabres swinging at his knees.
Xu Qi’an ignored the foe on his left, letting him strike at his knee, while raising his right leg to fiercely stomp down on the enemy to his right, infusing his Qi to shatter the corpse.
To his surprise, though his foot sank into the foe’s chest and broke the ribs, it failed to destroy the zombie outright.
Other than the one that fought barehanded, the rest of the cloaked figures did not have beyond-mortal auras.
Xu Qi’an suddenly recalled the events at the Chai family, where Chai Xian collected and refined zombies, gathering their vitality, planning to use the shaman clan’s secret arts to create a beyond-mortal puppet.
He immediately realised that these six new zombies had been refined using such forbidden methods. Their combat prowess might not be beyond-mortal, but the toughness of their bodies already exceeded fourth rank.
“Big brother has been cut!!”
In the distance, Xu Lingyin, perched on Longtu’s shoulder, had a perfect view of the fight in the valley below.
Even further away, Mu Nanzhi watched from behind a tree, brow knit with worry. At her feet, Baiji lay looking listless.
Longtu stroked his little disciple’s head, then looked at the elders and rumbled,
“Even I would struggle to quickly break Youshi’s Seven Corpses Formation. When combined with Baji’s poison, it’s ideal for death by a thousand cuts, slowly wearing down a martial artist’s vitality.
“And that’s when Baji is not going all out, the shadow is still hiding, Luanyu is standing by, and Chunyan is not interfering with beasts.”
The eldest elder spoke slowly,
“It’s not too late to run now…”
Suddenly his face changed. “They’re making a move.”
Luanyu, who had been standing by, suddenly walked forward and softly blew a kiss from her rosy lips.
As if blowing into a lover’s ear.
The entire valley was immediately filled with an aphrodisiac mist. There was a constant rustling as insects hidden underground crawled out and began their mating calls.
Birds on the branches shrieked excitedly and desperately, while larger animals’ eyes turned blood-red, driven mad, they sought mates, coupling without regard for species or gender, as long as size permitted, thrusting away in a frenzy.
“I’m coming too!”
Baji strode forward and blew out a thick, misty blue smoke.
The blue smoke was heavier than air, curling around the mountain hollow like a light veil, enveloping Xu Qi’an and the seven puppets controlled by Youshi.
This poison was different from the purple poison arrows, it only targeted living creatures. For those who accidentally inhaled it, the poison would travel with the blood throughout the body, killing all the organs and viscera.
In the hollow, the mating calls of insects quietly faded away. Males in the midst of copulation fell from the females, twitching and dying together.
Any living creature that inhaled the poison, whether snakes, insects, rats, ants, birds, or beasts, was killed instantly.
Luanyu and Baji exchanged smiles, and the latter shouted loudly,
“Shadow, get ready, if that kid tries to escape, force him back in immediately.”
Unless he stopped breathing, as long as he dared to take a breath, he would have to endure both the aphrodisiac gas and the deadly poison.
Neither could kill a beyond-mortal martial artist in a short time, but both would wear Xu Qi’an down and weaken his combat power.
As for the walking corpses, they were dead people to begin with, unaffected by lust or poison.
Even Lina, usually carefree and cheery, could not bear it any longer and stamped her feet anxiously.
“Grandma, Grandma…”
She hurried over to Heaven Gu Grandma, tightly grasping the old woman’s arm, pleading,
“Please ask them to stop. I’ll take Xu Qi’an back to the capital, isn’t that enough? He’s my friend, please don’t kill him.”
Lina had never expected matters to reach this point.
Initially, she had thought to use Xu Qi’an’s reputation to help the elders and her father accept Xu Lingyin. Lina had secretly congratulated herself on her wit.
Had she known things would turn out like this, she would never have brought Xu Qi’an, no matter what, even though coming to the Southern Marches to meet the shaman clans had been Xu Qi’an’s suggestion.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
Heaven Gu Grandma patted her hand, smiling with calm kindness,
“An arrow notched must be loosed. This fight will happen no matter what, otherwise their resentment will never be vented. There is a saying in the Central Plains, the first drumbeat rouses power, the second weakens, and the third is spent.
“The shaman clans want to ally with Yunzhou, but Xu Qi’an does not agree, so he has chosen to fight.”
She paused and hinted, “The shaman clans will only sit down to negotiate with the strong.”
Lina failed to understand the hint at all, and stomped her feet hard, shouting,
“They’re bullying. If they have guts, why don’t they fight him one on one!”
Seeing that even Heaven Gu Grandma could not be relied on, Lina was completely at a loss. At this moment, she suddenly felt a familiar lurch in her heart, someone from the Heaven and Earth Society was sending a message.
The Heaven and Earth Society, if there’s a problem ask the Heaven and Earth Society… Lina fumbled hastily in her robes and retrieved her Earth Book fragment.
【SEVEN: Your Highness, do you have any armour or weapons at hand? I want to arm my men and lead them to war in Qingzhou.】
Li Lingsu had sent a message.
Before Huaiqing could reply, Li Miaozhen sent a message scolding him,
【TWO: Delusional! Military supplies are short in wartime, how could they be given to that rabble of yours. If you want weapons and armour, go to Qingzhou and kill the enemy yourself. Besides, a certain someone is only a powerless princess.】
And took the chance to mock Huaiqing.
Huaiqing did not reply, seemingly unwilling to entertain the Heaven Sect’s whelps.
Lina calmed herself, used her finger as a brush, and sent a message,
【FIVE: Help! Xu Qi’an is going to die, the clan leaders of the shaman clans are killing him.】
【ONE: What happened?】
Huaiqing messaged first.
【FIVE: Yunzhou wants to ally with the shaman clans to attack the Great Feng. Xu Qi’an just happens to be in the Southern Marches, and the clan leaders are besieging him…】
Lina gave a messy account of the events.
After a quiet ten seconds or so, Li Lingsu messaged,
【I spent some time in the Southern Marches. The shaman clans have seven tribes, and each leader is beyond-mortal. Their methods are extremely bizarre. To kill a third-rank martial artist is not hard. The longer it drags, the harder it will be for him to escape.】
【TWO: No… no worries… he’s a third-rank martial artist and he has the Stupa tower. If he wants to leave, even the clan leaders wouldn’t be able to stop him.】
Li Miaozhen had realised the situation was dire. The clan leaders of the shaman clans surrounding Xu Qi’an, anyone who knew their power would know what this meant.
【ONE: Lina, what’s the current situation?】
【FIVE: The clan cheifs have tangled him.】
Huaiqing’s message followed immediately: 【ONE: That’s strange. With his wits, he wouldn’t allow himself to be cornered to death. Did the shaman clans use Lingyin as a hostage to force him to stay?】
The perceptive Huaiqing had instantly sensed something was amiss.
【FIVE: Xu Ningyan wants to prevent the shaman clans from allying with Yunzhou and save the Great Feng.】
Number one, Huaiqing, suddenly fell silent.
【Are you shaman clans looking to die, are you? Are you? Do you believe I won’t swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao to annihilate your clan!】
Li Miaozhen was furious.
Lina had never seen Number Two so out of control and was at a bit of a loss.
With Huaiqing silent and Li Miaozhen furious, Chu Yuanzhen felt he had to step in and send a message:
【Lina, are you seeking our help?】
【FIVE: I don’t know what to do either.】
【FOUR: Tell me about Lingyin’s situation, and also the princess consort.】
He still habitually referred to Mu Nanzhi as princess consort.
【FIVE: Lingyin is beside my dad, she’s his disciple, very safe. Who’s the princess consort?】
【FOUR: The woman with Xu Qi’an, the, erm, ordinary-looking one.】
Lina understood and replied, 【She’s safe too.】
【FOUR: Don’t panic, it’ll be fine. There are very few things or people that could make Xu Qi’an fight to the death. If it really was certain death, he’d have escaped already. And it’s impossible for him to fight blindly, he probably knows the shaman clan’s tricks better than you do. You must have forgotten the Sevenfold Gu.
【Since he’s chosen to fight, he must have some confidence.】
Even as he said so, Chu Yuanzhen was still uneasy, and added,
【Let us know when the battle ends. We’re waiting.】
That’s right, the Sevenfold Gu… Lina was delighted, finally recalling this trump card.
…
The poison of the Poison Gu tribe chief is far stronger than mine. As expected of a professional.
They haven’t used the “deception” of the Dark Gu on me. If I were merely a third-rank martial artist, I would certainly be worn down and die here… Having evaded the six bone sabres swinging at his head, and after testing the skills of Youshi, Luanyu, and Baji, Xu Qi’an no longer held back.
Desire Gu or poison, neither had actually affected him.
The techniques the clan leaders were so proud of could do little harm to someone who was just as skilled in Gu techniques as they were.
As an experienced martial artist, it was standard practice to hold back some techniques and test the enemy’s strength.
Twisting aside and sliding his feet, the muscles of his right leg tore his trousers apart as they swelled, doubling in size with a crack, slicing the air, and lashing viciously at the walking corpse to his left.
The walking corpse was snapped in half at the waist.
Berserk!
The Vajra body, combined with rage, was truly unstoppable.
Compared to the time when he fought al-Asura alone at Nanfa Temple, his strength had soared again.
Having taken out the first walking corpse with a single whip-kick, the fire ring behind Xu Qi’an’s head exploded. It burnt a cloaked assailant holding a bone sabre, who had tried to sneak up on him, setting him ablaze.
The fire ring behind his head was the firmest and purest yang, especially harmful to spirits and the evil. Even a Daoist fourth-rank Yin Spirit would be severely injured if burnt.
Walking corpses also belonged to the evil.
Xu Qi’an spun, swinging his arm, and his exaggeratedly muscular arm burst his sleeve. The walking corpse’s head behind him exploded instantly, splattering bone and greyish-white brain matter everywhere.
“Strength Gu?”
Youshi roared in fury, caught off guard. He sent the third-rank walking corpse he controlled to grapple with the enemy, trying to suppress him.
Xu Qi’an stretched out his hand and seized the third-rank walking corpse’s neck. It looked as if it had rushed into his grasp voluntarily.
The fire ring behind his head erupted, his dark gold body bulged out as if he were a deformed giant of muscle, and the energy within him surged through his arms like a tide.
With a crack, Youshi’s neck snapped, and he was hurled away.
Xu Qi’an did not pursue, but weaved elegantly among the walking corpses. Without inertia to hamper him, his movements were nimble and light, as if he were dancing the tango or ice-skating.
The remaining four walking corpses fell one after another, some had their heads torn off, some had half their bodies smashed, some lost both legs…
At this point, Youshi’s third-rank walking corpse, having been thrown a distance, only just landed.
Xu Qi’an’s knees bent and the ground collapsed with a bang. He became a dark shadow and leapt on the just-stabilised third-rank walking corpse.
Straddling the body, Xu Qi’an’s arms bulged with muscle, veins protruding in utter deformity.
Bang!
He smashed his right fist savagely onto the third-rank walking corpse’s cheek, snapping it to the right, and teeth flew out.
Bang!
The left fist followed, slamming its face to the left.
Bang bang bang!
He rained punches left and right, venting his violence, beating the third-rank martial artist’s face to a bloody pulp.
Watching from outside the field, Luanyu, Chunyan, Baji, the other clan leaders, and in the distance, Longtu and his group, were all momentarily dazed.
“Strength Gu…” Luanyu suddenly looked toward Longtu and the elders, raising his voice,
“Strength Gu!
“Longtu, your Strength Gu tribe actually taught beyond-mortal secret techniques to outsiders!”
The elders stared in disbelief, and Longtu was stunned for a moment. Then, together, they all turned their sharp gazes toward Lina.
“It, it wasn’t me…”
Under the pressure of all those sharps glares, Lina shrank back, waving her hands desperately to plead her innocence.
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