Chapter 1564: Monkey, There's a Pit Ahead

Once the golden mist appeared in Yuan Gang's breathing, the man who had been trembling violently from agony visibly calmed.

The pain seemed to ease.

Wu Chang had never seen or heard of such a thing.

Shock and fury surged through him.

For the first time, the exalted Sacred Venerable Tianmo truly conceived the thought of retreat.

He had to leave.

If he stayed and continued this war of attrition, they could grind him to death even if they achieved nothing else.

Seeing that the demonic qi was useless against Yuan Gang, Wu Chang abruptly stopped spewing it.

The tentacle-like demonic claws extending from behind him suddenly launched a frenzied assault, forcing back the surrounding attackers.

In the next instant, Wu Chang shot into the sky, dragging Yuan Gang up with him.

Blood ran from Yuan Gang's eyes.

He tilted his head slightly.

He was blind.

He was deaf.

But his other senses remained.

With movement this violent, there was no way he could fail to feel what was happening.

The instant he was hauled into the air, he lashed out with a savage kick.

Wu Chang was locked in Yuan Gang's grasp and could not dodge.

The blow landed solidly in his abdomen.

Bang!

Wu Chang's cheeks bulged.

A thread of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He had finally learned what kind of brute force Yuan Gang could unleash with his fists and feet.

The kick had already inflicted a serious injury.

Wu Chang immediately answered in kind.

He kicked back.

Bang!

Yuan Gang, struck heavily in return, also bled from the corner of his mouth.

Yet he still clamped both hands around Wu Chang's wrists and refused to let go.

Then he kicked again.

After the two similarly built men traded another round of brutal kicks, Wu Chang, blood now running from his mouth, plunged back toward the ground.

He had no choice but to return urgently.

Faced with Yuan Gang's absurdly durable body, which could endure even more punishment than his own, Wu Chang realized that if he remained in the air any longer, the surrounding attackers might not be the ones who killed him.

Yuan Gang might simply kick him to death.

Two kicks had already taught him exactly what that felt like.

The moment he landed, an emotion Wu Chang had not felt for who knew how many years welled up inside him.

Fear.

He poured spiritual power downward and pinned Yuan Gang firmly, refusing to give those legs any chance to attack again.

The countless Crow Generals had already withdrawn and assembled throughout the surrounding sky, leaving the battlefield open.

Niu Youdao and the others had emerged from the house as well.

From far away, Niu Youdao saw blood pouring from Yuan Gang's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

His jaw tightened.

Then he turned and looked at Ao Feng beside him.

Ao Feng became awkward at once.

Without waiting to be told, he flashed out and joined the siege.

The moment Ao Feng entered the attack, the situation changed sharply.

The black radiance erupting from his body could actually pierce Wu Chang's demonic qi.

One needle-like streak of black light punched through a demonic claw and struck Wu Chang in the back.

The wound hissed and smoked.

Ao Feng was delighted that his attack had succeeded.

Then Wu Chang suddenly looked back at him.

The killing intent blazing in those eyes made Ao Feng's heart sink.

Not good.

Wu Chang abruptly reduced the strength of his attacks in every other direction.

The demonic claw Ao Feng had pierced suddenly thickened and lashed toward him with thunderous force.

Ao Feng was shocked.

It was too late to withdraw his attack, so he could only defend with everything he had.

Bang!

At the collision, blood erupted from Ao Feng's mouth.

He flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

After crashing to the ground, he kept choking up blood.

The false face covering him had been blasted away.

He tried to stand and discovered he could not.

Among everyone Wu Chang had injured in his fury, Ao Feng had taken the heaviest blow.

Panic spread across his face.

He immediately began crawling painfully across the ground, trying to get farther away from the battlefield.

The others seized the opportunity and attacked Wu Chang with everything they had.

In that brief instant, Wu Chang nearly lost his life.

He saved himself in desperation.

Pouring out all his power to resist the attacks from every direction, he made the demonic claw that had struck Ao Feng explode into mist.

The black fog spread and swallowed everyone around him.

The sounds of battle quickly subsided.

Then the demonic qi condensed again.

One demonic claw after another closed around the attackers.

Purple qi boiled around Yuan Cong and Gong Lince.

Firelight blazed around Kunlin Shu.

Everyone poured out their cultivation to resist Wu Chang.

The battlefield abruptly entered another stalemate, an entire group locked in a direct contest of spiritual power against one man.

Those watching were shaken.

Wu Chang alone could contend in cultivation with so many people at the same time.

That fact by itself proved he had not disgraced the title Sacred Venerable Tianmo.

Niu Youdao looked at Yin'er, still unconscious beneath his arm.

Then he looked at the Crow Generals filling the surrounding sky.

He was weighing his options when Guan Fangyi suddenly shot forward.

On the way she swept up a treasured sword from the ground.

She rushed into the air and brought the sword down toward Wu Chang with the full force of her cultivation.

Niu Youdao and Yun Ji immediately stared after her.

Caught in the deadlock, Wu Chang jerked his head upward.

He saw Guan Fangyi descending.

A savage look crossed his face.

"AAAH!"

He suddenly roared at the sky.

His long hair whipped wildly.

At the instant Guan Fangyi's sword came down, a thick demonic claw surged upward from his body and grabbed toward her.

Yuan Cong and the others immediately felt the pressure on them ease substantially.

They also realized Guan Fangyi was in danger.

Almost without exception, everyone poured out the full strength of their cultivation at once, trying to suppress Wu Chang.

Guan Fangyi, alarmed, tried to dodge.

Too late.

The demonic claw seized her arm with speed beyond the eye.

The ferocious power flowing through it was far beyond anything she could resist.

The claw twisted the arm violently.

Crack!

Pain flashed across Guan Fangyi's face.

Then the demonic claw wrenched her sword arm around and used the blade still in her hand to slash back toward her own body.

Fortunately, Yuan Cong and the others had increased their suppression at the critical moment.

The demonic claw slowed.

That gave Guan Fangyi the fraction of an instant she needed to dodge the fatal cut.

Her vital points escaped.

The arm locked in the demonic claw did not.

Sword-light swept past her body.

A spray of blood burst through the air.

One severed arm spun away with it.

At that same instant, Zhao Xiongge seized the loosened pressure on him.

Both hands rose.

His ten fingers flicked repeatedly.

Dozens of blood-red finger shadows from the Fierce Demon Finger spread through the surrounding pressure.

Zhao Xiongge exploited the openings and shot free of the demonic claws.

With a shout, he cried, "Hold him down!"

Everyone looked up.

Zhao Xiongge had already shot straight toward the clouds, rapidly shrinking into a black speck high in the sky.

Guan Fangyi landed unsteadily.

One hand clamped over the shoulder where her arm had been severed, blood pouring between her fingers.

Her eyes were desolate.

Yet her gaze remained fixed on the trapped Wu Chang as though she still intended to fight to the death.

Niu Youdao glanced at her.

Then he abruptly raised a hand and stopped Yun Ji, who had been about to attack.

Yun Ji looked at him.

Then she followed his gaze upward.

Wu Chang was looking skyward too.

A streak of blood-red light came racing down from the Ninth Heaven like a meteor from beyond the sky.

Its descent already carried the rumble of thunder.

Wu Chang immediately contracted the demonic claws around him, intending to break free.

Yuan Cong and the others looked up, understood what Zhao Xiongge intended, and realized their chance to kill Wu Chang had arrived.

They took advantage of Wu Chang's withdrawal and instead pressed inward with all their strength.

Several cultivators combined their power.

Different colors of spiritual force compressed around Wu Chang from every direction.

"AAAH!"

Wu Chang twisted violently like a mad demon, dragging everyone around him into fierce shaking.

Blind and deaf, Yuan Gang finally felt an opportunity at his legs.

The instant the pressure loosened, he kicked again with everything he had.

Bang!

Blood exploded from Wu Chang's mouth and splashed across Yuan Gang's face.

Together with the combined pressure of the others, the blow nearly drove Wu Chang to his knees.

Before Yuan Gang could kick a second time, Wu Chang forced spiritual power downward and suppressed him again.

The others immediately seized the opening created by that new injury and poured everything into restraining Wu Chang.

Guan Fangyi, now missing one arm, flashed forward again.

Her remaining arm thrust out.

Dense spiritual power joined the suppression around Wu Chang.

Wu Chang's eyes burned with hatred as he stared at Yuan Gang.

He looked as though he wanted to swallow the man alive.

He had taken several solid blows from Yuan Gang already.

The injuries were too severe.

Against the combined restraint of this pack of vermin, escaping had become extraordinarily difficult.

Then Wu Chang abruptly raised his head and stared into the sky.

Blood-red color flooded rapidly through his eyes.

His eyes turned crimson.

Worm-like patterns began surfacing beneath his skin, as though tiny snakes were racing underneath it.

He lifted his face toward Heaven.

A savage grin appeared.

His eyes were full of madness.

Watching with his Dharma Eye, Niu Youdao was horrified.

Wu Chang had actually cultivated the Body-Detonation Art from the Demon Canon.

That lunatic had cultivated a suicide technique!

Niu Youdao immediately poured spiritual power into his voice and roared, "Withdraw! Quickly!"

Withdraw?

Several people turned their heads toward him, not understanding.

It was already too late.

Only Guan Fangyi reacted instantly.

She had followed Niu Youdao for too many years.

The moment she heard the warning, she did not ask why.

She flashed away at full speed.

High in the sky, Zhao Xiongge was descending like a meteor from beyond the heavens.

Only when he neared Wu Chang did he finally see Wu Chang's face clearly.

Shock seized him.

In that instant, he too understood what Wu Chang intended.

But the distance was already too short.

His speed was too great.

There was no longer any way to avoid it.

The others saw Guan Fangyi flee the instant Niu Youdao shouted and grew wary.

They scattered in every direction.

But at that very instant, Wu Chang's body suddenly tore apart.

The gigantic blood-red amber sword descending from the sky shattered at the same time.

Boom!

The exploding shockwave and dust swallowed almost everyone.

Yun Ji immediately cast a spell and threw herself in front of Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao spun around just as quickly and placed himself in front of Shang Shuqing, using his power to shield both her and Yin'er.

The entire town was flattened in an instant as though swept away by a devastating force.

The Crow Generals filling the surrounding sky were blasted outward by the violent winds.

The roar of the gale gradually passed.

The dust rolled on.

At last the enormous commotion subsided.

Yun Ji turned and swept her sleeve.

The world before them seemed drowned beneath suspended dust.

"Are you all right?"

As the haze gradually thinned, Niu Youdao looked down at Shang Shuqing, whom he had protected against his chest.

Terror filled her eyes.

She shook her head.

Niu Youdao had shielded her well.

She was unharmed.

Only then did he turn around.

The town had vanished.

Nothing remained.

A gigantic crater yawned in the earth.

Not a single human figure could be seen.

Everywhere was desolate.

On the far side of the enormous pit, one figure staggered out of the settling dust.

From the shape, it was Guan Fangyi, who had fled a step ahead of everyone else.

Yun Ji immediately flashed across and caught her.

Niu Youdao lowered the unconscious Yin'er to the ground.

Slowly, he peeled the false face from his own features.

Then he walked to the edge of the crater and swept his gaze across the wasteland.

His face was expressionless.

Deep in his eyes, however, lay a trace of grief.

Shang Shuqing came to stand beside him, disbelief filling her gaze.

Yun Ji flew back supporting Guan Fangyi and called, "Master Dao."

Niu Youdao did not look back. "Hongniang, are you all right?"

Still shaken, Guan Fangyi said, "I won't die. Good thing I reacted quickly. That technique Wu Chang just used..."

Niu Youdao cut her off. "Commandery Princess, mobilize every Crow General. Search for everyone."

"Alive, I want to see the person. Dead, I want to see the corpse."

"Mm." Shang Shuqing nodded repeatedly and was just about to close her eyes when she suddenly stared toward the far side of the crater.

Niu Youdao and the others followed her gaze.

A figure was climbing out of the dust.

His clothes were in tatters.

His long hair hung loose.

But he stood steadily once he rose.

Yuan Gang.

"It's Monkey!" Yun Ji cried out in delight.

She had never imagined that after being locked together with Wu Chang at the very center of the explosion, Yuan Gang would be the first of all the missing people to climb back out.

Niu Youdao seemed remarkably calm. "Go check on His Highness and the others."

Yun Ji's heart tightened.

An explosion of this magnitude could easily have affected Shang Chaozong and the others hidden underground.

She vanished at once.

Niu Youdao flashed across the crater and then walked toward Yuan Gang at an unhurried pace.

He stopped before him.

Only at close range could he see clearly.

Yuan Gang's body was actually a mass of torn flesh and blood.

The dust covering him merely concealed how severe the injuries were.

Yuan Gang clearly had no idea anyone was approaching.

He moved forward slowly, testing the ground with each step.

Both hands reached ahead of him, feeling through empty air like a blind man.

He groped right past Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao saw that Yuan Gang's blood-caked eyes had sunk deep into their sockets.

He saw the blood filling both ear canals.

Yuan Gang was about to walk straight toward the crater.

Niu Youdao looked back at him and said calmly, "Monkey, there's a pit ahead."

Yuan Gang could not hear.

He continued groping forward.

Niu Youdao slowly walked around in front of him and stopped at the edge of the crater, blocking the way.

Both hands rested on the sword planted upright before him.

Yuan Gang reached him.

His hands touched a person.

He paused.

Then he felt downward and found the pair of hands resting on the upright sword.

In a hoarse voice, he called, "Master Dao."

[End of Chapter 1564]