Chapter 474: Aberrant Demon Qi

Niu Youdao still had three Transmission Protective Talismans left behind by Dong Guo Haoran. He had never used them. They were his last-resort means of saving his life. Yet against an opponent as terrifying as the Holy Rakshasa, he never even considered activating them. It was not that he did not want to. They simply would not help against the Holy Rakshasa.

Worse, using them would interfere with his Qiankun Shift and prevent him from dissolving the incoming force. If Qiankun Shift had not dispersed most of the violence in that last punch, the Holy Rakshasa would already have smashed him into meat paste. Under circumstances like these, using a Transmission Protective Talisman instead of Qiankun Shift would be no different from seeking death. The Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword, the Transmission Protective Talismans—against an opponent with strength this horrifying, all of them suddenly seemed like children's toys.

They were not even worth bringing out. From the overwhelming momentum with which the Holy Rakshasa had broken Guan Fangyi's Heavenly Sword Talisman, Niu Youdao could even tell that she had not used her full strength. It was like an adult fighting a three-year-old child. Even when the adult became angry, at most she gave the child a slap. What three-year-old could possibly force an adult to open up completely and fight with everything she had?

This was the first time Niu Youdao had ever encountered a situation that left him so powerless and helpless. Inside, he could only lament bitterly. Even at the end of the road, however, he would not sit and wait for death. His palm, split and bleeding at the webbing, struck out once more.

Another Qiankun Palm.

Then the approaching fist abruptly stopped. In motion, she had been like rushing thunder. In stillness, like a maiden. The Holy Rakshasa simply allowed Niu Youdao's palm to land on her fist.

Bang!

The impact rang out.

That palm was nothing to the Holy Rakshasa. She stood exactly where she was without so much as swaying. Niu Youdao's palm remained pressed against her fist. Fist and palm stayed touching, neither side pulling away. Realizing that she had deliberately allowed him to strike and had no reaction afterward, Niu Youdao stared at her in astonishment. What was this supposed to mean?

He was not sure whether it was only his imagination, but the sinister silver markings across the Holy Rakshasa's face seemed to have shrunk slightly. Her features looked just a little more human. The Holy Rakshasa stared back at him with confused eyes.

Then she suddenly asked, "Who am I?"

There was no anger in her voice now.

Only endless bewilderment.

Who are you?

Would you believe me if I told you? Niu Youdao looked at her suspiciously. Earlier, he had tried to lead her by the nose and failed. Now she seemed to be stepping willingly into the very pit he had dug.

What did this mean?

Still, if there was a chance to ease the situation, he naturally would not let it pass. He slowly withdrew his hand, deliberately showing goodwill. The Holy Rakshasa slowly withdrew her fist as well. Niu Youdao had only just relaxed inwardly when he was startled again.

Whoosh!

The Holy Rakshasa suddenly threw another punch. Caught off guard, Niu Youdao hurriedly struck with another Qiankun Palm. Once again his palm hit her fist. And once again nothing happened, because the Holy Rakshasa deliberately stopped her punch at the instant of contact. After that, the two began trading one attack after another.

She punched.

He palmed.

Back and forth they went, almost as though the pair had suddenly developed perfect tacit coordination. Of course, it could hardly be called true coordination. Niu Youdao simply had no choice but to follow her rhythm and keep playing along. The longer it continued, the more surprised he became. This time he could see it clearly. Every time one of his palms landed, the sinister silver markings on the Holy Rakshasa's face faded a little.

Yuan Gang, still dizzy from the earlier blow and feeling as though his entire body had been torn apart, finally began to recover his senses. His legs were still trembling beneath him, barely able to support his weight. Propped against his saber and breathing hard, he raised his head toward the direction from which repeated booming sounds were coming. At first he did not understand what he was seeing.

Then he stared, speechless.

What was going on?

The Holy Rakshasa kept punching at Niu Youdao. Niu Youdao kept meeting every punch with a palm. The two of them simply stood there, exchanging blow after blow head-on. The sight genuinely shocked Yuan Gang. Had Master Dao's strength somehow become so overwhelming that he could now trade direct blows with the Holy Rakshasa on equal terms? But the more Yuan Gang thought about it, the less sense it made. He sparred with Niu Youdao regularly. He had a rough understanding of Niu Youdao's actual level.

Compared with the Holy Rakshasa, the gap was not merely large—it was heaven and earth. How could Master Dao possibly exchange direct blows with her this way? His angle was poor, and he could not see clearly. Yuan Gang tried taking a step closer to find out what was actually happening. His legs immediately went weak. He nearly dropped to his knees and managed to keep himself upright only by bracing on the saber. Agonizing pain surged through him. Every part of his body felt torn apart.

That wing strike had been far too powerful. Yuan Gang was secretly glad. Just as Master Dao had said, the Holy Rakshasa's mind truly did seem confused. She showed little deliberate thought when attacking. Her actions seemed random, governed mostly by instinct. She had struck him only with a flexible wing.

If she had hit him squarely with one of those heavy punches instead, his present flesh-and-blood body probably would have died on the spot. Yuan Gang looked again toward the two people still trading blows. Whatever the reason Master Dao could now exchange punches and palms with the Holy Rakshasa, Yuan Gang began regretting his own recklessness. So Master Dao really had possessed a way to handle the situation. His impulsive actions had not only harmed himself but dragged everyone else into danger too.

He looked back.

He had no idea what condition Guan Fangyi was in. Yuan Fang had fled so far there was not even a shadow of him left. His body ached as though splitting apart, and his legs were weak. He was in no condition to search for anyone, much less go help Niu Youdao. Leaning against the saber planted in the earth, Yuan Gang slowly adjusted the rhythm of his breathing. A hemispherical bulge gradually began rolling across his abdomen.

Red mist appeared between his mouth and nose, cycling in and out with each breath. His breathing sounded like a blacksmith's bellows. The exchange between Niu Youdao and the Holy Rakshasa continued.

Back and forth.

Punch after palm.

They truly looked as though they were cooperating perfectly. As it went on, Niu Youdao suddenly noticed tears shining on the Holy Rakshasa's cheeks.

A tear rolled downward.

The Holy Rakshasa raised her other hand and lightly caught the droplet on the tip of one sharp claw. Under the silver radiance, it glittered crystal-clear. Her gaze moved from the tear on her fingertip to Niu Youdao.

She murmured, "Why am I crying? Why does my heart hurt?"

How was Niu Youdao supposed to know? He wanted to ask her what exactly the two of them were doing right now. Every punch she threw was deliberate. Every palm he returned was him carefully waiting upon her like some honored lord. As long as she was happy, he would keep playing along. But Niu Youdao desperately wanted to ask one thing.

Have you had enough yet?

If this kept going, his spiritual power would not hold out. At this rate, even if she did not beat him to death, he might exhaust himself and die at her feet instead. Would that not be a thoroughly unjust death?

Boom!

Niu Youdao struck another punch with his palm. The overflowing force stirred the air and blew the tear from the Holy Rakshasa's fingertip. The hand Niu Youdao had pressed to her fist softened. His five fingers settled around that fist. Tentatively, he closed his grip. The Holy Rakshasa drew her fist back slightly, then paused. She seemed to sense that he meant no harm.

Her arm remained suspended.

She did not pull away and simply allowed him to hold her fist while watching him. Seeing that her emotions remained stable, Niu Youdao sent spiritual power through her fist and into her body, probing her internal condition. What he discovered surprised him. This demon was different from the demons of the outside world. At the very least, she was unlike Yuan Fang, whose body Niu Youdao had examined before. Yuan Fang could control his own demon qi.

The Holy Rakshasa's body, however, seemed filled with large quantities of demon qi that she could not control. And that demon qi appeared different from ordinary demon qi. Niu Youdao could sense normal demon qi stored throughout the Holy Rakshasa's physical body. But the abnormal qi seemed to be continuously mutating out of that normal demon qi. The normal demon qi remained stored in the flesh. The aberrant demon qi moved instead through meridians and a qi sea constructed differently from those of a human being.

Most surprising of all, the Qiankun Palm force Niu Youdao had sent into her body was consuming this uncontrolled demon qi. The interweaving of hot and cold force, the blending of yin and yang, seemed capable of wearing away that aberrant demon qi.

Yes.

Niu Youdao confirmed it.

The aberrant demon qi truly was being consumed.

At the same time, it was also neutralizing his Qiankun Palm force. Before long, the palm force was completely exhausted. Niu Youdao looked at the Holy Rakshasa. The Holy Rakshasa looked back at him.

Their eyes met.

In that moment, both seemed to sense the instant when the Qiankun Palm force inside her disappeared. Niu Youdao finally understood why she had kept exchanging punches with him. She apparently needed his palm force to help dissolve the aberrant demon qi in her body. She simply did not seem to know how to express what she wanted. Once he had formed that judgment, Niu Youdao immediately circulated the Qiankun Art. He guided the yin-yang force directly into her body and used it to consume the uncontrollable demon qi.

The Holy Rakshasa's eyes flickered.

She did not resist.

That let Niu Youdao relax. He began working without restraint, controlling his spiritual power to refine away the demon qi within her. With a continuous stream of yin-yang force, the aberrant demon qi disappeared far faster than it ever could under the brief impact of a single palm strike. Not long afterward, surprise appeared in Niu Youdao's eyes. The Holy Rakshasa's silver hair, which had flowed like liquid mercury, was gradually losing its sheen. The pointed tips of the ears protruding from either side of her hair were slowly shrinking.

The sinister silver markings across her face were fading away. As the aberrant demon qi diminished, the silver markings eventually vanished completely. The sharp claws on her hands and feet also began withdrawing. Little by little, the hard bone armor on her forehead and nose contracted. The silver bone plating growing across the surface of her body likewise began receding.

Her hair darkened.

Before long, it had become a long, lustrous fall of black hair... At some point, Yuan Gang, who had been leaning on his saber, had straightened his body. The rolling hemispherical bulge over his abdomen gradually disappeared. With one final inhalation, he drew all the red mist cycling through his mouth and nose back into his body. Yuan Gang's eyes snapped open. They had regained their sharp brightness.

He moved slightly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

His bones and joints popped throughout his body. Seeing Niu Youdao apparently locked together with the Holy Rakshasa, Yuan Gang hooked one arm around, snatched up his saber, and started sprinting. His powerful body drove forward like a hunting leopard. Saber in hand, he charged straight toward them, intending to help Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao's eyes flashed.

Using spiritual power, he forced his dislocated arm to rise. He urgently thrust the palm toward the approaching Yuan Gang, signaling him to stop and not act recklessly. This demon king was terrifying enough already. They had finally managed to calm her. If Monkey enraged her again, what use would it be for him to charge in and risk his life? The two of them together would not be enough for one slap from her hand.

Niu Youdao cursed inwardly.

Yuan Gang noticed the signal. His furious charge began to slow. Niu Youdao finally breathed easier. His dislocated arm gradually lowered again, and he continued concentrating on dissolving the Holy Rakshasa's aberrant demon qi. Even so, he could not resist glancing at Yuan Gang several more times. Inside, he was nearly speechless. Wasn't Monkey's physical body becoming a little too monstrous? Getting back up after taking a strike from the Holy Rakshasa was already outrageous. A moment ago, he had been half-dead and leaning on his saber.

Now, in the blink of an eye, he was lively enough to run and fight again as though nothing had happened. Did he really need to be this abnormal? Niu Youdao finally understood the feeling of being infuriated by comparing oneself to another person.

What was going on?

Yuan Gang, who had run closer, stopped in uncertainty. He too had finally noticed something strange. The Holy Rakshasa's long hair, once silver like flowing mercury, had actually turned black. And the lines of her body were becoming increasingly graceful and human.

[End of Chapter 474]