Twenty-Nine: Uncertain of Life and Death, Part Three
"Hahaha," the cracks in the black sphere first transformed into a mouth, and they all burst into laughter, "That's great, that's great!"
"You're lucky. I looked around, but nobody noticed you."
She sheathed her spear and stood near the edge of the platform, a breeze beginning to stir around her. She was surprised to find herself speaking with an unbelievable hint of amusement.
The black balls were bulging and bulging, like boiling water overflowing from a pot, all squeezed together. Then, one by one, starting from the front, they gradually grew their upper bodies, swinging their eyes and overly long upper arms as they charged straight at Ming Jin.
"The Southern Mountain stands tall and majestic, the wind blows fiercely."
The black spheres, crammed together, kept tearing themselves apart, trying their best to scatter outwards, but something unseen was pushing them all together. This force was irresistible to these incomplete beings; their grown arms, hands, and fingers could only clench and tug at each other in indescribable movements, gurgling water as they spewed from their mouths.
There seemed to be a sliver of a way out directly ahead, and with the added pressure, all the black spheres were forced forward without any freedom, their eyes peering ahead and behind within their chaotic bodies.
"The mountains of Nanshan stand tall and majestic, the winds blow gently and softly."
Countless wind blades, inextricably linked, occupied every inch of space, slicing from the front of the black sphere inwards. Each blade, after being split in two, was thinned further and further until it could no longer continue. The typical black mist that appeared and disappeared as the evil spirit vanished was cut down slower than it dissipated, its presence seemingly endless.
Completely defenseless yet possessing the instinct to speak, each mouth began to scream in astonishment upon witnessing the fate of its comrades. The sounds, carried by the wind, took on an extra layer of shrillness, and the wailing was the first to reach the ears of the four warriors battling below the platform.
Jiang Chao and Zhou Wei hadn't realized anything yet, but the third and fourth brothers were more familiar with the commotion. Their hearts trembled, unsure what was happening, and that guy was always prone to overreacting. These conflicting thoughts created an opening for Zhou Wei.
The previously balanced back-and-forth was shattered in the gap. In that instant of instability, the spear pierced through the third brother's throat, then swung upwards, splitting his head in two.
The dead demon was untouchable, and the remaining one could only stare at it. Then, grief and anger turned into rage, and with a low growl, the demon adjusted the length of its arms and charged at the two of them.
My mind was unsettled, and my steps were unsteady.
Jiang Chao deployed a sword formation.
"The lightning flashed, causing unrest and disorder."
Dozens of long and short swords, flashing with lightning, hurtled towards the demon. The two long swords clashed fiercely with the demon's two excessively long arms, but the uneven length of the arms made it difficult to maintain balance, which was exactly the opportunity for the short swords to appear. The short swords could slash, cut, and slice at almost every part of the demon's body with almost no restraint, bringing with them the consistent, intermittent cries of pain from the demon.
Such a one-sided situation naturally wouldn't last long. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, accompanied by a mournful cry, his severed arms could not grow back, and his massive body dissipated before he even fell to the ground.
The two of them caught their breath.
"There is a sound."
Zhou Wei suddenly stopped Jiang Chao's movements, and Jiang Chao immediately stopped as well, looking around.
“‘Save me…’” Jiang Chao said with some doubt.
"Could something have happened to Tian Guang?" Zhou Wei quickly grabbed his weapon and prepared to charge forward.
"Calm down, something's not right with this sound."
But the two did not relax at all. They quickly used wind magic to rush uphill. Halfway up, they suddenly heard a deafening scream, which startled the two who had not fully recovered from the battle. They almost lost their magic and fell down.
"Help me!!!"
A scream, incredibly hoarse and piercing, heart-wrenching and filled with an overwhelming urgency to survive, terrified both humans and ghosts, yet also invigorated them once more.
Amidst the rising winds and surging clouds, this sound echoed far and wide in the south.
"Help me!!"
The second note was weaker.
In the main hall of the palace, Fuxia, leaning against the wall, could only see outside through the paper window, her view extremely blurry. These two sounds, piercing through the centuries-old wallpaper, reached the ears of the three pairs of people inside the hall, first startling Fuxia into a fright.
She recognized the voice; it belonged to a mischievous spirit that played with Gong Sha. Its magic could create puppet spirits, which was why Gao Lang valued it.
"Don't open the windows."
"What's that noise?"
Gongsha, who had been observing the battle closely from the sidelines, immediately knew who had caused the problem upon hearing the commotion. If things went wrong here, it would be much more difficult to slow down the cultivators, so he could no longer enjoy himself and hurried back.
Feng Wu rolled his eyes at the voice, but he couldn't relax his hands and his attention didn't linger for long.
Qianli, on the other hand, was able to temporarily loosen his grip for a short while, judge the location of the sound and the person making the sound, and suddenly gained a clearer understanding of the current situation.
"Are they one of ours?"
Having just been hit in the chest by a broken walnut, Guo Hao was quickly resting against a shady spot on the city wall. The injury was quite severe, causing impaired hearing.
"How could that be?" Zhuo Yongli, still healing Guo Hao's wounds, pressed against the boundary between shadow and light.
“That cry was truly piercing,” Zhang Xuping said, holding his sword and crouching on tiptoe. After saying this, he turned his gaze to Qianli. “Could it be a premonition?”
"Do you want me to surrender?" Qianli's smile remained, a genuine and comfortable one. "I am the defender of the city and will not retreat another step. Besides, I was thinking that perhaps the enemy would give up on their own. It seems you've also encountered difficulties."
He exhaled, leaned on his sword, and stood up again, looking calmly at Qianli: "You are indeed a formidable opponent. It's quite unexpected; I've never heard of you outside the barrier."
“Even evil spirits have their duties,” Qianli said, his beloved walnuts now reduced to dust in the fight. He was heartbroken and could only draw a longsword from his sleeve, a sword heavier and longer than any ordinary blade. “If I were not here today, wouldn’t this city have been destroyed by you?”
"Let's leave this idle talk behind," Zhang Xu said, gripping his sword tightly and looking firmly at Qianli. "Today, one of us will lie here forever."
"That sounds good too."
They hurried to the high platform, but all Zhou Wei and Jiang Chao could see was black smoke flying everywhere. The ghostly energy was extremely stagnant. They couldn't believe how many evil spirits had perished in such a short time, but the number should not be so huge.
Turning their gaze away from the insignificant surroundings, they looked straight ahead and saw Ming Jin holding a long spear, facing them sideways. Opposite her was a ghost with only half a body.
Ordinary demons would be nearly dead at this point, but this one seemed to still have a breath left, as his wounds were constantly healing. Even more clearly, there were occasional glints of light around him, and the dense sounds became exceptionally clear as the distance closed.
Countless wind spells were devouring the body of this evil spirit.
"It's dawn, be careful."
The wails of the evil spirits were altered by the swirling wind, making it difficult for Meng Sheng and Li E to identify the source when they heard the noise from a distance. They quickly extinguished the evil spirits around them and rushed towards the source of the sound. Standing in mid-air, powered by wind magic, they saw several black and white spheres flying from afar, heading straight for Ming Jin.
"The wild goose gradually approaches the rock."
Ming Jin did not back down and easily deflected the two moves using his mountain-like technique.
However, since some of her attention was diverted, only the half-body of the evil spirit recognized the spell and knew there was a chance. So it seized the opening and quickly escaped. After rolling twice on the ground, its legs grew back, and after groping around for a bit, it started running.
"Second brother, save me!" Seeing the figure that landed there, the crippled ghost finally found a reliable support and quickly hid behind Gong Sha, hoping to take the opportunity to restore his body as soon as possible. "Third brother and fourth brother were killed by them."
The mountain technique ended, and the wind blade, regaining its strength, slashed out again.
"Sister," Gongsha instantly teleported to Mingjin's side under the cover of magic, which made the four people on both sides very worried. So they gripped their weapons and gradually approached, "Why are you so angry? Can you spare this poor person's life?"
"Slippery".
Mingjin, already in a bad mood, became even more annoyed upon seeing Gongsha's state. Too lazy to argue with him, he simply thrust out a gun, which he happened to have in his hand. The timing and movements of the gun strike were somewhat familiar, making Gongsha, who had been hit before, wary and prompting him to retreat decisively to dodge the blows.
The group that arrived recognized Gong Sha's identity and quickly surrounded him.
"hateful."
Originally intending to avoid direct confrontation with these forces, Gongsha couldn't help but curse as he saw all sorts of weapons laid out before him.
"Don't go."
The demon's body was almost fully recovered. Seeing that the current situation was unfavorable, the demon decided to seek refuge further inside. So, without hesitation, it turned around, broke away from Gongsha's back, and ran further north.
Where are you going?
Determined to come and provide support, Gong Sha found that the other side had run away first, and he shouted angrily.
Ming Jin sheathed his spear and used his wind magic to chase after them.
"I'll go take a look."
The enemies Meng Sheng and Li E had just dealt with all bore a resemblance to this newly grown face. They had already sensed the opponent's cunning, and now, seeing this, they were even more worried. So, she exchanged a glance with Li E and quickly went after them to investigate.
Having fully recovered his physical body, the evil spirit used his last remaining spells to fly away in order to escape quickly.
In the air, the chase is difficult, but places where the wind blows are even more swift than on the ground. Moreover, her anger did not affect her cultivation level; instead, it made it easier for her to use wind magic to surround and intercept the evil spirit, preparing to strike it down from the sky.
The evil spirit naturally sensed this oppressive aura and, in its panic, failed to notice Meng Sheng, who had changed direction in advance to block its path. In its panic, cold sweat poured down its body, and then a vine flew out from nowhere and bound its upper body. Without its arms to maintain balance, and with the white-clad figure catching up behind, in its final moments, the evil spirit was no longer the same person it once was.
Meng Sheng was still unable to let go of the other end of the vine, as it was being pulled into the air by another huge pulling force.
The opponent's flight path was erratic, and its speed suddenly more than doubled. Meng Sheng could only stabilize her wood magic on one hand and adjust her wind magic on the other. However, the speed of the evil spirit had now completely exceeded Meng Sheng's usual wind magic level, and she could not control it; she could only do her best to stabilize the situation.
Pausing briefly in mid-air, Ming Jin estimated that the evil spirit wouldn't be free for long after seeing the vines Meng Sheng had unleashed. So he let the evil spirit go for the time being, caught up with Meng Sheng, grabbed her, and used his wind magic to stabilize her.
The evil spirit is acting like it's gone mad.
"Grab me."
Meng Sheng held Ming Jin with one hand, and Ming Jin's speed could keep up with the evil spirit, but now that the palace was nearby, even with a vine, they couldn't see where the evil spirit was.
Meng Sheng then shortened the length of the vine to close the distance between them, striving to quickly bring an end to the evil spirit.
As a result, in the final moments of his life, the evil spirit suddenly flew directly upwards.
But the power it unleashed in the final stage was exhausted, and it could not go any further, so it could only fall. Before losing consciousness, a thought suddenly floated into its mind.
This thought gave it extra strength, and it immediately adjusted its direction, rushing downwards and to the side.
Mingjin, who was following it, couldn't immediately determine its location, but suddenly heard a breaking sound, as if a pillar of the house was cracking.
Suddenly, the other end of the vine loosened, and Meng Sheng sensed something was wrong. He told Ming Jin to slow down quickly.
"Oh no."
Unable to resist the direction guided by the evil spirit, the two slid along the large hole it had created into a house high up in the palace.
They fell to the ground, but the two quickly recovered and prepared to get up.
At the other end of the vine, the evil spirit was already dead. The upper body that was originally bound by the vine had now disappeared, leaving only a head, with no power to reverse the situation.
But his eyes were still fixed on the center of the room.
Seeing several figures suddenly pass through mid-air, thinking that cultivators were about to break in, Fu Xia, who was originally just trying to find out what was going on, quickly returned to stand next to Gao Lang.
First, a malevolent spirit entered.
Fuchsia was unaware of the situation.
After smashing a section of the ground, its eyes began to glaze over, and its body started to disappear. In the end, the only part of its body that could still move was its head. Before dying, it raised its eyes from the ground and saw a pale face, a figure with a knife sticking out of its chest, sitting on the main hall of Yishan City. Upon hearing the intruder, the previously closed eyes slowly opened, coldly staring at the head on the ground.
The head can no longer think.
After that, everything was empty.
The vines that had been binding it were also removed.
The two monks who had unexpectedly stumbled upon the place had no time to celebrate the death of their previous enemy.
It's her.
Although he was still suffering from aches and pains all over his body due to the evil spirit, Meng Sheng was able to recognize the evil spirit's identity at the first moment based on its appearance.
Sitting on the steps below Gao Langzheng, Zhe Gui had a relaxed expression, wore loose clothes, and had a deep gaze as he looked at the two guests who had arrived later.
Mingjin had a bad feeling.
Reinforcements have not yet arrived, and there are two enemies of unknown strength standing before them.
She immediately gave a signal.
Seeing the two women rise from the ground without uttering a word, the hospitality could not be neglected, so he slowly moved from sitting to standing, his steps light, and walked to the center of the main hall, his gaze never leaving the two young women.
“Since the construction of Yishan City, there have been few guests visiting this main hall, let alone cultivators,” Zhe Gui echoed. “You two have come from afar, which truly makes our humble abode honored.”
Mingjin found it strange that Zhegui had been awarded the laurel wreath.
The ghosts on Mount Yi each have their own peculiarities, but being ghosts, they cannot be criticized. However, even when Mingjin was in the same room as Zhegui, he did not feel any pressure. Her ghostly aura was perfectly concealed, and her human form was exquisite. If Mingjin were to encounter her on the street, he would think that this woman's appearance was a gem among gems, a masterpiece beyond human capabilities.
What's that strange feeling?
That is, Zhegui is more like a ghost than any other ghost.
It is the ghost that looks most like a human.
Even if she has the most perfect appearance, the moment you see her, you know that the part of her body that's responsible for making decisions is likely flawed.
For example, it was very polite to the two cultivators who broke into the main hall. Normally, it should have been like the two evil spirits behind it, one of them taking out a weapon and ready to attack, and the other with angry eyes, very dissatisfied with outsiders intruding into its territory.
Here we are high in the air, and the wind keeps blowing in through the holes in the wall.
Gao Lang forced out a cough.
The broken wood and dust on the ground suddenly began to vibrate, then flew into the air and returned to their original positions on the wall, putting everything back in its place.
“Unfortunately, the Palace Master does not wish to receive guests today,” Zhe Gui heard with displeasure amidst Gao Lang’s cough. “Then I can only obey and have the two of you disappear.”
After he finished speaking, a long sword gleaming with white light appeared in Zhegui's hand.
Zhegui raised his hand, pointing his sword at Mingjin and Mengsheng, who were standing side by side. The other two also took out their spears and short knives and held them in their hands.
Please enlighten me.
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