The pale, jade-like fingers, tipped with red polish, were still twitching slightly in the pool of blood.
“Ah!”
The agony of her severed arm swept through her body like a tidal wave. Song Yanrong let out an incredibly shrill, agonizing shriek, her voice as hoarse as a night owl crying blood.
Yet Shen Xiuhan showed not a shred of pity!
Pressing his advantage, he suddenly swung his long leg like a steel whip, whipping it toward Song Yanrong with a screeching gale!
The color drained completely from Song Yanrong's face. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and she let out a piercing shriek, “No! Husband, save—”
Bang!
Before she could finish her plea, her entire body flew backward like a broken kite!
Thud, thud, thud!
Her body slammed onto the muddy ground, bounced, and rolled over and over like a discarded sack. After tumbling several times, she finally fell into a deep pit and fell completely silent.
“You little beast! Die!!”
Yan Xiao's eyes were blood-red. The wet mud exploded beneath his feet as he transformed into a dark blur, charging low across the ground!
His muscles and bones in his right arm chimed in unison, releasing a low hum like the vibration of a bowstring drawn to a full moon. The force from the nine opened acupoints within his body surged like a bursting dam, pouring unreservedly into his fist!
【Tongbei Fist: Demon Ape Collapsing Mountain】!
If this punch connected, even a thousand-pound boulder would be shattered into dust!
Yet Shen Xiuhan merely swayed, his legs weaving in a few steps like a nimble fish. At an almost impossible angle, he effortlessly dodged this incredibly heavy, lethal strike.
【Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon】!
This movement technique, which he had practiced tirelessly day and night, had finally reached the Great Accomplishment stage a few days ago. Unleashing it now, his robes fluttered with an indescribable, elegant ease.
Yan Xiao's full-force, fatal punch barely grazed the edge of his robes.
“Not good!”
Seeing his strike miss, Yan Xiao's heart skipped a beat. Years of combat instincts kicked in, and he reflexively pulled back his strike to defend, trying to cover his wide-open chest.
“Too late!”
A sharp light flashed in Shen Xiuhan's eyes, and a sinister grin curled on his lips. His right claw turned into an afterimage, whipping up a bloody wind as it went straight for Yan Xiao's exposed chest!
【Heavenly Eagle Wind-Tearing Hand: Heavenly Eagle Path-Finder】!
This claw strike was fast, precise, and ruthless!
Unable to pull back in time, Yan Xiao felt his soul almost leave his body in terror! He could only watch helplessly as that hook-like claw tore through the air, thrusting directly toward his heart!
Rip!
A strange, tearing sound suddenly erupted from his chest. Shen Xiuhan thrust his right hand forward and pulled it back; in his palm was now a bloody, faintly beating heart, with tendrils of steam rising from it.
His face as pale as paper, Yan Xiao looked down at the fist-sized hole in his chest, then at the heart. His lips trembled, and a raspy, broken sound squeezed out of his throat. “You... cough... you...”
Squelch!
The claw ruthlessly clenched. The beating heart instantly disintegrated into shredded meat, fresh blood dripping down through his fingers.
Thud!
Yan Xiao's burly body finally gave out, collapsing heavily to the ground and splashing muddy water in all directions.
Right at that moment, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the distance: “How dare you!”
Before the echo of the words could fade, a figure had already arrived before him like a ghost.
Cheng Du's speed was completely at odds with his massive build. The muddy water exploded beneath his feet as his long saber swept into the air. Reflecting the pale moonlight, the blade transformed into a white ribbon that slashed down with terrifying force!
Shen Xiuhan calmly watched the thunderous aerial slash, his body swaying slightly.
【Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon】!
Whoosh!
Under Cheng Du's disbelieving gaze, the biting wind of the blade grazed past Shen Xiuhan's cheek, yet failed to slice even a single strand of his hair.
Boom!
The long saber sank completely into the mud. The sheer power of the strike kicked up muddy water over twenty feet high, forming a curtain of mud that blocked the sky and the moon!
Amid the splashing mud, Cheng Du pulled up his saber, his murderous intent surging even higher. His saber style was wide and sweeping, every strike ruthless. In an instant, he slashed eighteen times in succession, the layers of blade-glow forming an impenetrable web like an eighteen-ringed chain!
【Yinsha Great Art: Nine-Fold Eighteen-Chain Slash】!
The net of blade-glow pressed down, accompanied by a blast of cold, murderous aura. Yet Shen Xiuhan's footwork was exceptionally agile. With his robes fluttering, he slipped effortlessly through the gaps in the blade-glow, completely untouched.
Just as Cheng Du's breath was running out and before he could pull back his saber, Shen Xiuhan's eyes flashed. He curled his fingers and lightly pecked at the blade!
【Heavenly Eagle Wind-Tearing Hand: Eagle Beak Snatching Snake】!
Clack!
The blade vibrated violently! Cheng Du's web of the hand went numb, and his entire arm went limp. The long saber slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground!
At the same time, a sharp whistling sound rushed toward his temple from left to right!
“In your dreams!” Cheng Du roared. Clenching his fist, which was as large as a sandbag, he punched furiously toward the incoming sound!
【Yinsha Great Art: Yellow Springs Straight Fist】!
This punch was laden with dark energy, carrying a bone-chilling coldness. Wherever the fist-wind passed, the air seemed to freeze, feeling as cold and oppressive as the Nine Underworlds of the Yellow Springs.
“Interesting.”
The corners of Shen Xiuhan's lips curled up slightly. At the very instant before their fists collided, he suddenly changed his move. A burst of icy energy instantly surged into his palm, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet!
【Mystic Ice Force】!
Boom!
Punch and palm collided violently!
Crack!
Cheng Du's gloomy fist force shattered like ice struck by a heavy sledgehammer. He stumbled three steps backward before barely stabilizing his stance.
A strange, intense coldness spread upward from his fist. Cheng Du instinctively looked down, his pupils shrinking violently.
Upon his thick forearms, patches of pure white frost were spreading upward at a speed visible to the naked eye, like vines wrapping around a tree or a cold serpent climbing a branch. Wherever the frost touched, his flesh seemed to lose all connection to his body, going completely numb.
Cold sweat broke out on Cheng Du's back, and he instinctively shook his hands. But the frost was like a maggot on a bone, clinging tightly to his arms without budging an inch!
“What on earth is this?!”
His scalp tingling, Cheng Du immediately mobilized the energy from his nine acupoints, attempting to use his massive internal force to forcefully shatter this bizarre ice.
However, the meridians beneath his flesh had already been frozen solid by the frost. The moment his energy entered his meridians, it was like sinking into a swamp—sluggish and extremely difficult to circulate!
“What a vicious ice force!”
Cheng Du was utterly horrified. Before he could think of a solution, the sharp whistling sound attacked his ears once more!
A long leg shot forward like an iron spear piercing the air, accompanied by a sharp, whistling wind as it thrust straight toward his face!
【Thirty-Six Paths Sky-Collapsing Kick: Spear-Thrust Kick】!
“Damn it!”
Unable to dodge in time, Cheng Du let out a furious roar, gritting his teeth as he crossed his frost-covered arms in front of his face.
Crack!
His arms had already been frozen solid by the profound ice, making them as brittle as dry bamboo. Under the force of the kick, they snapped completely, shattering into several chunks of frozen flesh that clattered onto the ground!
“Ah!!”
Cheng Du let out a terrified, agonizing scream. Because his arms were frozen by the profound ice, no intense pain came from the severed stumps, only a vast numbness.
Yet it was precisely this eerie lack of pain that sparked an overwhelming dread in his heart. Such a bizarre martial art was far beyond his comprehension!
Damn that Wind-and-Cloud Pavilion! They claimed this little beast was only at the mid-stage Anjin Rank, and that he specialized in swords, so his combat strength would drop by eighty percent without a blade. Eighty percent my ass!
Screaming curses in his mind, Cheng Du retreated in panic, wanting nothing more than to flee this death trap as fast as possible.
The moment he moved, the familiar whistling sound reached his ears again!
Too fast! He's in the air! I can't escape...
Cheng Du's pupils shrank as he desperately lunged left and right, trying to dodge the fatal strike. But the whistling sound was like a shadow clinging to him, pouring down from above with absolutely no way to avoid it!
Pfft!
Five hook-like claws sank effortlessly into the crown of Cheng Du's skull before being pulled back with casual ease.
Shen Xiuhan landed gracefully, blood still dripping from his fingertips.
Cheng Du's massive body ran forward a few more steps on momentum before collapsing heavily, face-planting beneath a carriage by the winding path.
Atop his skull, five finger-thick blood holes stared back hideously, red and white matter bubbling out and soaking into the mud.
Looking up past the top of his head, the severed head impaled on the carriage flagpole, which had worn a contorted expression and refused to close its eyes for so long, had at some point quietly closed its eyes.
Rate on N.U.
