The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1523 779: Fierce Battle in the Night (Part 2)

Alarm bells roared in Li Yan's heart; with a single thought, the Arm Guard Thousand Thoughts instantly clattered to life.

This treasure was originally woven with warp and weft to simulate a Cave Heaven Spirit Aperture, made in hopes of nurturing a true treasure—but how can man overcome Heaven? By Li Yan's estimate, it would take at least a hundred years.

Its greatest use, instead, was similar to a magic platform, helping him rapidly gather Astral Bane Energy.

After being reforged at the Qiankun Academy, it could also store thunder.

Combined with the original function of the Soul-hooking Thunder Lock, his Thunder Technique no longer needed any time to prepare.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan lowered his body into a Hidden Blade Style; thunderlight crackled wildly along the Duan Chen Blade. Then he twisted his waist in a snap and, relying on his Spiritual Sense, slashed out with a move: "Draw Sword and Cut Water."

"Die!" he shouted coldly.

Boom!

Thunderlight exploded, like a miniature bolt of Heavenly Thunder crashing down.

A huge pit appeared on the ground, dirt and stones flying, while a black shadow rapidly retreated.

Bang!

The shadow smashed straight through a sapling as thick as a bowl, snapping it, then contorted in midair in an eerie flip before landing.

It was the ronin possessed by the Snake God!

His face was twisted, a harsh hissing sound spilling from his mouth. A blade mark gaped across his chest, electric sparks crackling over it, the smell of scorched meat and burnt stench wafting out.

Though the black fog around his body billowed and wavered, it was still dense.

Li Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, somewhat surprised.

This Snake God did have some skill—taking a direct Thunder Technique and still not dying.

Hissss~

The ronin possessed by the Snake God flicked his tongue, slowly crawling along the ground.

He seemed to have noticed that Li Yan was deadly in close quarters, and no longer approached. Instead he slowly backed away, melded into the black fog, and with a rustling sound, rapidly shifted positions through the tall weeds and dense forest.

Whoosh~

Suddenly, a foul, fishy gust of wind rushed in.

The ronin thrust his head out of the darkness; his mouth split open, nearly tearing back to his ears, and a surge of green poisonous mist spewed from his throat, spreading rapidly.

Wherever it passed, the wild grass on the ground sizzled and began to wither.

What vicious poison!

Seeing this, Li Yan's expression changed.

He himself, of course, was not afraid; at that rate of diffusion, the poison mist could never catch up to his movement technique.

But that Snake God was extremely cunning, attacking from the rear, with those children as its true target.

If Li Yan retreated, not a single one of those unconscious children would survive.

"Nuogao, left carry Three Stars, right carry Three Prisons, Heaven overturns, Earth reverses, the nine paths are sealed, let you lose your mind, take east for west, take south for north…"

With no time for more thought, he raised his left hand and began reciting the Magic Spell.

He had plenty of experience dealing with poisonous mists.

This North Emperor Protection Spell could raise a howling gale and blow the fog away. The Divine Tiger Token he had gotten from the Tiger Taoist had already been given to Wang Daoxuan, so he used the Arm Guard Thousand Thoughts in its place.

In an instant, with him at the center, a wild wind roared outward.

The surging poisonous mist rolling toward him was blown apart and scattered away.

And the unexpected gain didn't end there.

"Mm~"

A muffled groan of pain sounded from the distant darkness.

The North Emperor Protection Spell had a spell-reflecting effect; the one who had been humming a little tune and cursing him—the Ghost Theater Troupe's Qingluo Lady—was immediately hit by backlash, her head spinning, unable to stand steady.

Soon, she began to shriek miserably.

But this time, it wasn't because of Li Yan.

Qingluo Lady rolled on the ground, her sharp nails madly clawing at her own body and face, as if wishing she could tear off her own flesh. Very quickly she became a mass of mangled blood and meat, barely clinging to life.

And a slim, white figure stepped slowly out of the darkness.

It was Long Yan'er.

Her gaze was icy cold. With a flick of her wrist, flea-like little black dots swarmed out from Qingluo Lady's body, then silently dispersed in the direction of the Yellow Springs Wanderer.

Squelch!

As she passed the struggling Qingluo Lady, she casually drove her sword straight into the woman's skull.

In the distance, the corner of Li Yan's mouth curved up slightly.

Divine Transformation Technique, Astral Order summoning yin soldiers, Bing Ding Ghost Talisman…

Even though he had fallen into a dangerous situation, he hadn't used a single one of these trump cards, because he wasn't here alone. He had to save them for the Mountain Immortal Chen Hui lurking in the dark.

Not good!

The Yellow Springs Wanderer saw this and cursed inwardly.

Gritting his teeth, he actually abandoned the others and tried to turn and dive into the tomb.

Boom!

Far off, a burst of fire flared; the Yellow Springs Wanderer's head burst like a smashed watermelon, spraying blood and flesh everywhere. His body staggered forward two more steps before finally crashing to the ground, his path and Dao both severed.

A hundred meters away, up in the treetops, Sha Lifei chuckled darkly and quickly adjusted his gun.

Creating your own Magic Method was unimaginably difficult. Even though he'd chosen the right path, he was still far from the realm of Man and Gun as One—but his Spear Technique already surpassed that of ordinary Divine Archers.

The newly modified Revolving Fire Gun could even fire five shots in rapid succession.

Boom!

Another thunderous blast—the Onmyoji in the middle of casting a spell lost the entire upper half of his body.

"Roar!"

A frenzied beast-like howl rang out from within the blood-colored thick mist.

Li Yan didn't say a word. He stomped down hard underfoot.

With a boom the ground exploded, earth and stones flying as he shot up like a cannonball, soaring high above the mass of thick mist. His left palm pressed downward.

Crackle crackle—the Soul-breaking Blade blazed with thunderlight, revealing the phantom of the Soul Hook.

The thunderlight chain bound the blood-colored mist in an instant.

As Li Yan landed, his left palm gave a tug; that ball of blood mist was yanked apart into pieces in a heartbeat.

Crack!

The wooden monkey in the Onmyoji's corpse's hand split in half as well.

Having freed up a hand to destroy the Shikigami, Li Yan wasn't worried about the children left behind, because a figure had already appeared at their side, hands clasped behind his back, feet stepping the Seven Star Step, seven shadows trailing behind him.

It was Yangzhou's Astral Force expert Zhang Tiankui.

These children were the Zhang Family's only remaining distant bloodline, so of course he had to protect them.

Swish!

A shadow lunged from the darkness—it was the ronin possessed by the Snake God.