Chapter 1562: Body-Infusion Grand Art

In an underground chamber beneath a distant hillside outside the town, Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming both stared at Lü Wushuang.

They could feel the enormous commotion from the battle.

Above the small town, the black mist hanging in the air suddenly contracted and poured into one man's body.

Wu Chang appeared, suspended in the sky.

He discovered that daylight had dimmed. His cold eyes flickered as he quickly looked around.

The Crow General commander was the first to take human form. He drew his sword, pointed it toward Wu Chang, and issued a low droning command.

Countless Crow Generals burst into mist and transformed into human figures.

Like heavenly soldiers and generals standing upon black clouds, they blotted out the sky over the town until even the daylight fell into gloom.

Within that darkness, dense yin qi floated through the gathered Crow Generals.

Countless pairs of eerie red eyes stared toward Wu Chang, enough to make anyone's scalp crawl.

The Crow Generals had finally appeared.

Gong Lince and the others, whose courage had plainly been shaken, finally found a trace of reassurance.

They had all just watched four people get injured almost instantly.

And that had happened while everyone attacked together and coordinated with one another, without any of the four taking a solid direct hit from Wu Chang's true body.

If they had, they feared the victim might not have been able to get back up at all.

Wu Chang himself knew how to refine Crow Generals and had done so before.

With one glance, he could judge roughly how strong these were.

The eerie intensity of the red light in their eyes alone told him that these Crow Generals were far beyond the ones he had refined himself.

They had existed for many years.

The armor worn by some of them showed the same thing.

It had plainly been soaked in yin qi for decades. Even its color had turned dark and gloomy, and yin energy drifted from its surface.

Wu Chang's gaze immediately locked onto Zhao Xiongge.

His first instinct was to assume this was Zhao Xiongge's handiwork.

Other than Zhao Xiongge, who else knew the method for refining Crow Generals?

And Zhao Xiongge had been beneath Wu Chang's eyes all these years.

How had he failed to discover anything?

But when Wu Chang looked again at the scale of the Crow General force, he realized this could not possibly have been accomplished by Zhao Xiongge alone.

These Crow Generals were arrayed with full military order.

The weapons in their hands were plainly military arms.

Then an old rumor flashed through Wu Chang's mind.

A hundred thousand Crow Generals.

Under Niu Youdao's urging, Shang Shuqing stood with her eyes closed in concentration, murmuring under her breath.

The Crow General commander pointed his sword toward Wu Chang and issued another deep droning cry.

A vast answering drone shook the heavens, as though it meant to drown out every other sound.

Murderous intent surged skyward, almost enough to crush everything before it.

All the Crow Generals roared and swept forward in rolling waves.

Like an army of thousands upon thousands launching a charge, they surged toward Wu Chang with the force of mountains collapsing and seas overturning.

The sheer momentum shook the heart.

Wu Chang's face twisted slightly.

Then he suddenly looked down and fixed his gaze on Kunlin Shu, who was raising one hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

A figure had rushed to Kunlin Shu's side.

Yuan Gang.

He lifted the Three-Roars Saber and pointed it directly at Wu Chang in the sky.

Yuan Gang possessed a certain instinct for battlefield tactics.

At Qiyun Sect, he had noticed that Wu Chang's primary target when attacking had been Kunlin Shu.

Now, Wu Chang's first target here had once again been Kunlin Shu.

Yuan Gang had understood that Wu Chang was deliberately targeting him and had rushed over immediately to provide support.

The lifted saber pointed upward like a challenge.

Dare you take one slash from me?

Wu Chang understood.

He had used the Boundless Demon Domain to help these people eliminate Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu.

Now they had brought out this immense flock of Crow Generals specifically to slow his escape and create an opportunity for Yuan Gang to strike him with that saber.

Before this, Wu Chang had never understood one thing.

If this truly was a trap, why had neither the Holy Rakshasa nor Luo Fangfei appeared?

Without those two assisting them, what did these people intend to use to kill him?

Now he understood.

Their reliance had been these countless Crow Generals all along.

And that confirmed something else.

There really was a problem with the Holy Rakshasa and Luo Fangfei.

Neither was part of the force intended to fight him.

The surging Crow Generals from below also swallowed Yuan Gang and Kunlin Shu from sight.

Wu Chang had delayed only for this brief moment while he judged the situation.

Yet in that tiny span of time, Yuan Gang and Kunlin Shu had already vanished from his vision.

The Crow Generals had cut off the line of sight between the two sides.

Wu Chang did not flee immediately.

He had not yet tested the depth of these Crow Generals by killing a few.

How could he be willing to run without first understanding what he was facing?

Countless sabers and spears arrived with howling wind.

Wu Chang struck with palm after palm in rapid succession.

Every palm blast shattered dozens of Crow Generals into smoke.

As the dispersed figures broke apart, weapons and armor clattered down from the air.

After this first exchange, Wu Chang understood.

With his strength, these Crow Generals were not especially difficult to deal with.

But they had no fear of death.

They continued attacking without pause, charging again and again without the slightest hesitation.

Wu Chang immediately blasted away another wave and dropped rapidly toward the ground.

Once he reached it, he discovered that Crow Generals still filled his vision in every direction.

He could no longer see a single human figure.

Facing attacks that came like a tidal surge, Wu Chang slaughtered wildly, blasting Crow Generals apart so quickly that almost none could approach his body.

Now that he understood the enemy's intention, he did not rush around blindly.

Instead, he remained highly alert to his surroundings.

His gaze flickered when he saw the yin qi drifting from the Crow Generals.

Suddenly his shoulders shook.

Rolling demonic qi burst from his body.

Using the rising and falling yin energy all around him as concealment, he quietly spread that demonic qi through the surrounding area.

He was secretly laying down a small field of demon mist around himself so he could sense any enemy approaching.

The Boundless Demon Domain could not be used here.

There were simply too many Crow Generals.

With so many of them filling the domain, the formation could not operate at all.

Wu Chang deliberately remained in one place, slaughtering without pause and creating enormous noise.

He was waiting for Yuan Gang to attack...

Yun Ji and Guan Fangyi used spiritual power to keep the house from collapsing.

Niu Youdao watched the turbulent mass of Crow Generals outside the window and listened carefully to the sounds of battle.

Suddenly several people rushed into the room one after another.

Aside from Yuan Gang and Kunlin Shu, once the Crow Generals created enough cover, nearly everyone else had slipped back to Niu Youdao's side.

They had known his hiding place from the beginning.

Niu Youdao's voice sank. "What are you all doing back here?"

Gong Lince shook his head. "With our strength, we can't stop Wu Chang."

Niu Youdao's anger flared instantly. "This is what you call joining forces?"

His glare especially swept over those who had been too afraid to make a move.

Xi Haitang said heavily, "Niu Youdao, it isn't that we're unwilling to do our part. Wu Chang's strength simply isn't anything like what you told us."

"Those men couldn't even withstand a single move from him."

"Do you really think that even if we mixed ourselves among the Crow Generals, we could slow Wu Chang down when he can come and go as he pleases?"

"If we rush up to obstruct him, that's no different from throwing our lives away!"

Zhao Xiongge said heavily, "We truly can't stop him. Wu Chang is stronger than your estimate. Forcing it means dying for nothing. We need another method."

Yuan Cong silently nodded as well. "A casual strike from him was enough to injure us. His strength is more than just a little beyond what you described."

Niu Youdao frowned.

He had sensed something abnormal while watching the battle too.

Blood still marked the corner of Zhuge Chi's mouth.

He said, "Something really is strange. Back when I was responsible for contacting Zhao Ting, Wu Chang ambushed me by the lake. I fought him face-to-face then."

"I was certainly no match for him, but at least I could exchange several moves. I wasn't so helpless that I collapsed instantly."

Niu Youdao asked, "You mean he concealed his strength before?"

Zhuge Chi shook his head. "It didn't feel like that."

"When he captured me, I resisted with everything I had. Our spiritual power met directly and struggled against each other."

"His foundation didn't seem this deep then."

"It feels more like his cultivation suddenly surged."

Yuan Cong said, "How can someone's cultivation suddenly surge like that?"

Then he frowned.

"But it really is strange."

"At Qiyun Sect, when Wu Chang tried to kill Kunlin Shu, Kunlin Shu used his fire escape and got away easily."

"This time, Wu Chang broke through Kunlin Shu's escape technique in one move and caught him completely off guard."

Zhao Xiongge's and Niu Youdao's brows twitched at the same time.

Their eyes met.

Both spoke the same words simultaneously.

"Body-Infusion Grand Art!"

Everyone turned toward them.

What Body-Infusion Grand Art?

Neither man explained.

Neither mentioned the Demon Canon.

The others did not know, but Niu Youdao and Zhao Xiongge had both read the Demon Canon.

They knew clearly that it recorded an unorthodox art by which one person could pour his own cultivation into another.

Zhao Xiongge had experienced this method personally.

Back then, when he was still young and his cultivation was far lower, the Demonic Sect Saintess had used the Body-Infusion Grand Art to transfer her entire cultivation into him.

His cultivation had surged dramatically at the time, reaching the peak of the Golden Core Realm in a single leap.

Zhao Xiongge said heavily, "Who would willingly hand over an entire lifetime of cultivation to him?"

"To make a Nascent Soul cultivator like Wu Chang advance so violently, a few ordinary Golden Core cultivators wouldn't be enough to fill that gap."

"Looks like more than just a handful of people sacrificed all their cultivation to him."

Niu Youdao's voice was equally grave. "If they didn't know the Body-Infusion Grand Art, how did they transfer their cultivation to him?"

Zhao Xiongge naturally understood the implication.

Who knew what method Wu Chang had used to make other people cultivate the Body-Infusion Grand Art and then offer up their spiritual power and cultivation to him?

Niu Youdao said, "No wonder Lü Wushuang was so surprised when she heard Wu Chang's control of the Boundless Demon Domain had become much more refined."

"She said his cultivation seemed to have advanced substantially."

"Looks like that has everything to do with this sudden increase in strength."

Yuan Cong stared. "Such a bizarre art exists in this world?"

Zhao Xiongge said, "A crooked and unorthodox method."

"The more spiritual power you accept, the more the different cultivators' powers clash inside your body and the greater the suffering."

"The time required to recover and harmonize them becomes longer as well."

"If you take too much, you may even destroy your own cultivation outright."

"That bastard truly spared no cost in order to eliminate us!"

Yun Ji, standing nearby, suddenly asked, "Commandery Princess, what's wrong?"

Everyone looked over.

Shang Shuqing stood with her eyes closed, silent tears streaming down her face.

At the question, she opened tear-filled eyes. "I'm fine."

In truth, she had seen it.

Somewhere in that mysterious connection, she could see Crow Generals being annihilated one after another.

She saw countless Crow Generals obeying her command and throwing themselves at Wu Chang without fear of death.

She saw them charge forward to die, one after another, without a single retreat.

The sight hurt her.

Niu Youdao swept his gaze around the room.

Then his expression abruptly changed.

"Where are Monkey and Kunlin Shu?"

Everyone exchanged looks.

Zhao Xiongge said heavily, "They should still be outside, using the Crow Generals as cover to maneuver around Wu Chang."

Niu Youdao listened intently for a moment.

Then his face changed.

"Not good."

"Wu Chang is playing a trick. The fighting noise has stayed in the same place this entire time."

"He has a way to deal with Monkey and is deliberately luring him into attacking."

"Quickly. Go warn them and have them withdraw immediately!"

Everyone was startled.

Without another word, they flashed out one after another and vanished into the endless torrent of Crow Generals outside, searching for Yuan Gang and Kunlin Shu.

Niu Youdao hurried to the table and tucked Yin'er under one arm, preparing to leave.

Yun Ji asked, "We're giving up just like that?"

"I have another method."

That other method was Niu Youdao's fallback.

If they could not kill Wu Chang, then he would have to lure Wu Chang into the Fifth Domain, sever the passages connecting the different domains, and trap him permanently inside it.

But this was a last resort.

Using it would leave endless trouble afterward.

For now, however, they had to distinguish what was urgent from what could wait.

As for Yin'er, this double-edged sword whose transformed form might kill Wu Chang or might instead kill them, Niu Youdao would not use her unless there was truly no other choice and they were driven into a dead end.

"ROAAR!"

"ROAAR!"

Two consecutive tiger roars exploded outside.

Niu Youdao whipped his head around in alarm.

The instant he heard them, he knew.

He had reacted too slowly.

Wu Chang's deception had succeeded.

Yuan Gang had attacked!

[End of Chapter 1562]