Chapter 25: Qi and Blood Like Beacon Smoke

At this moment, Wei Yan truly revealed the strength of the second-ranked person on Maple Forest City’s Dao Merit Ranking. Leading the charge deeper into Little Forest Town, he practically crashed straight into the mass of wandering souls.

But every wandering soul was destroyed with a single strike. Anything that blocked him scattered.

His body seemed wrapped in a layer of cold light, the manifestation of metal-element origin energy gathered to an extreme degree. His footsteps did not pause for even an instant, as if nothing in the world could stop him.

His long saber chopped and slashed, shrieking again and again, as though even the air itself would be cut apart.

Everyone followed behind him and only needed to prevent the ghosts on both sides from closing in, greatly reducing the danger.

Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng stayed to the left and right, intentionally or unintentionally protecting Ling He and Du Yehu in the middle. Ling He was fine with it, but Du Yehu’s large face flushed red. Still, he knew this was not the time to act out of pride, so he could only lower his head and move forward.

After an unknown length of time, within the slowly gathering dense fog, directions became difficult to distinguish, and even time itself seemed blurred.

The wandering souls they had encountered so far were not powerful. They belonged within the scope that ninth-grade transcendent cultivators could handle. But for these eighth- and ninth-grade cultivators, the dao essence within their Heaven-Connecting Palaces was not abundant. They could not endure a prolonged battle. If they held on for a while longer, they would likely be unable to cast dao techniques anymore. Otherwise, they would damage their dao vortices and harm their foundations.

It was at this moment that Wei Yan stopped.

Judging by the approximate location, they should soon reach the center of Little Forest Town. Jiang Wang remembered that there was a marketplace there. Whenever market day arrived, people from the nearby villages would gather there, and it would be extremely lively.

Wei Yan stopped before reaching it, not because he did not want to continue forward, but because a wall of mist blocked the path ahead, forcibly stopping his blade.

Unlike the dense fog that filled the way around them, this wall of mist already had a tangible sense of existence and was extraordinarily tough. With the sharpness of Wei Yan’s saber, even a wall of bronze or iron should have been cut open, yet this mist wall stood unmoving.

No matter how many attacks landed on it, they vanished like stones sinking into the sea.

Wei Yan was extremely anxious. He keenly sensed that behind this mist wall, something improper was happening. It was not merely a simple evil deed. It might even affect his entire life.

But at this moment, with his saber pointed forward, he was caught between advance and retreat!

“If any of you have a way to break this, feel free to try!” Wei Yan said in a deep voice. “The situation is urgent and cannot tolerate delay. All responsibility will be mine.”

Immediately, one disciple walked straight to the mist wall and began undoing his belt without a word.

“Hey, what are you doing?” someone beside him grabbed him.

“Don’t stop me!” the man vowed solemnly. “There are many ghosts here, and the yin energy is heavy. Virgin urine can ward off evil and suppress ghosts. Since I have not yet lost my primal yang, naturally I must step forward!”

This person was named Huang Azhan, an inner academy disciple selected in the previous class. He was a drinking friend of Du Yehu’s. His personality was decent, but his brain did not work very well.

Wei Yan frowned and waited for him to finish urinating. The mist wall did not move in the slightest. Only the pungent smell that briefly filled the air reminded everyone of what had happened.

“That’s not right. Was there not enough?”

The man held himself back for a while before turning around and calling out, “Are there any other virgins among you? Come join me! Of course, Zhao Rucheng doesn’t need to come. Your yin energy is too heavy. Du Yehu, hurry up! Don’t be shy. With that face of yours, you’re destined to remain a virgin until old age, so your yang energy must be plenty!”

In one sentence, he mocked two people at once. If the situation had not been urgent, Du Yehu would have already punched his dog head apart.

Zhao Rucheng bared his teeth and said, “Azhan, think again. Maybe virgin urine isn’t enough, and what we need is virgin blood?”

Huang Azhan stroked his chin and fell into deep thought, as if he were genuinely considering the possibility.

Wang Changxiang, who had remained somewhat weak ever since using Breath Tornado, said, “When the tornado blew open the fog earlier, I observed Little Forest Town. The wandering souls inside have formed a simple Nine Palaces formation. I wasn’t certain at the time, but now that we’re obstructed here at the central palace, I’m sure of it.”

“How do we break it?” Wei Yan asked directly.

“The one who arranged the formation did not put too much care into it, and with this many ghosts, it is very difficult to command them as easily as one’s own limbs. So the method of breaking it is also simple.”

Wang Changxiang smiled bitterly.

“Break the formation eyes in the other eight palaces, and this central palace will collapse without needing to attack it.”

Wei Yan immediately said, “Wang Changxiang will remain here to observe the situation. Four others will stay and obey his command, ready to support each route at any time. I will go to the Kan Palace. The rest of you split into seven groups and break one palace each. Finally, we gather here again before the central palace.”

In the great division of heavenly numbers, yang emerged and yin entered. Yang began at Zi, yin began at Wu. Thus, Taiyi descended through the Nine Palaces, beginning from the Kan Palace.

The Kan Palace lay due north and belonged to water among the five elements. For Wei Yan, it was not the easiest palace to deal with, but with his strength, he did not need to consider such things.

“I need to remind everyone,” Wang Changxiang added. “The ghosts we cleared along the way were ordinary, but at each formation eye, there will definitely be resentful ghosts or vengeful ghosts. Everyone must act according to your ability.”

Zhao Lang followed Wei Yan’s lead in everything, so he was the first to respond.

“In that case, I’ll go to the Kun Palace.”

Li Jianqiu was even more straightforward. With his hand on his sword, he was already heading west.

“Leave the Zhen Palace to me. The rest of you can divide the others yourselves.”

Those with strength stepped forward and shouldered responsibility on their own. This was the spine of cultivators.

Jiang Wang exchanged glances with Ling He and the others, then spoke.

“The four of us brothers will take responsibility for the Xun Palace.”

He was not overestimating himself. Along the way, everyone had already displayed some measure of their combat strength. Although he had not completed foundation establishment, with the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword Manual, his strength was faintly above ordinary ninth-grade cultivators.

And the Xun Palace belonged to wood among the five elements. Metal cutting wood was perfectly suited for the moment. The remaining wood palace, Zhen Palace, had already been taken by Li Jianqiu. If Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng went to any other palace, it would be harder for them to display their strength.

From another perspective, since such a situation had appeared in Little Forest Town, its impact would certainly not be small. Their contributions during this mission would all be recorded. Ling He, Du Yehu, and Zhao Rucheng were all at the crucial point of accumulating dao merit to exchange for Meridian Opening Pills. If they could resolve one palace this time, it would surely push them forward by a large step.

Everyone’s choices strictly followed the order of the Nine Palaces. In the Nine Palaces, two and four were the shoulders, six and eight were the feet, three stood left and seven stood right, nine crowned above and one trod below. From one to nine, they were Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Center, Qian, Dui, Gen, and Li.

Having fought and advanced all this way, Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng’s transcendent swordsmanship had already gained everyone’s recognition, so no one said anything more. The remaining twenty Dao Academy disciples happened to form four groups of five, choosing the last four palaces.

It had to be said that Wang Changxiang’s earlier Breath Tornado had contributed greatly, allowing everyone to regain their sense of direction within such thick fog. This was the prerequisite for breaking the entire ghost formation.

The Xun Palace lay in the southeast. Jiang Wang carried his sword forward through the dense fog. When he faintly saw the restaurant ahead, his heart settled. Little Forest Town’s only restaurant was in the southeast. They had not taken the wrong path.

“Be careful,” Ling He suddenly said. “I feel there is something extremely dangerous ahead.”

Ling He’s intuition had always been accurate, so none of them dared take it lightly.

Jiang Wang nodded.

“That should be the resentful ghost Senior Brother Wang mentioned. It also represents the formation eye of the Xun Palace. Rucheng, how many killing forms of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword have you mastered?”

“I’m already fully proficient in all of them,” Zhao Rucheng said.

Jiang Wang had nothing to say about this fellow’s talent. He immediately commanded, “I’ll make the first move in a moment, and you follow up. Use your strongest attack immediately. We must destroy the target in the shortest time possible. Big Brother and Second Brother, watch the surroundings. Don’t let the other wandering souls rush in. If necessary, do not hesitate to erupt your blood energy.”

Before foundation establishment, if one had not mastered a transcendent method like the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword, the only way to harm ghosts was to erupt one’s blood energy. But qi and blood were the root of a person. Erupting blood energy placed a tremendous burden on the body, so Ling He and Du Yehu had restrained themselves carefully all along the way.

But toward Jiang Wang’s command, they showed not the slightest hesitation.

This was the tacit understanding forged through countless battles fought side by side.

Although they could not see far in the fog, the four brothers quickly marked out the target range and spread out as they approached.

At that moment, a sharp screech suddenly rang out, as if right beside their ears.

Before Jiang Wang, a streak of sword light abruptly lit up!

Clang!

Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword, first killing form!

A scarlet claw was just blocked by the long sword, and the resentful ghost of the Xun Palace appeared before the four of them.

The wandering souls along the way had not differed much from living humans in appearance, except that their bodies were faint and their color deathly pale.

But this resentful ghost was completely different. It already looked like another kind of creature.

It had a blue-green face and fangs. Its height was nearly twelve feet, tall and powerful. Muscles bulged across its body, while its pair of claws were scarlet. One claw tip was still dripping blood.

Jiang Wang had long known that within the dense fog, the resentful ghost’s senses would definitely be stronger than theirs. Therefore, he had been waiting in full readiness, his sword momentum drawn but unreleased. Only because of that was he able to block the resentful ghost’s ambush at the first instant.

But he had still underestimated how powerful this resentful ghost was.

During the brief interval created by Breath Tornado, had they not seen more than a thousand wandering souls?

Yet only eight vengeful ghosts had emerged to guard the Nine Palaces. Whether cultivated artificially or born through natural slaughter, these resentful ghosts had to be extraordinary.

Although Jiang Wang blocked the first attack, the other claw still grazed him and tore a strip of flesh from his left arm.

The blood dripping from the resentful ghost’s claw tip came from his wound. Fortunately, the wound was not too large.

At the same time Jiang Wang was ambushed and counterattacked, Zhao Rucheng’s sword also moved!

The first killing form of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword emphasized speed above all. Only then could offense strike like thunder and defense flash like lightning.

When the emperor’s thunderous wrath moved, it burst forth in an instant and shook the world!

The resentful ghost had not yet had time to taste the strip of flesh it had torn off when Zhao Rucheng’s sword pierced into its abdomen.

Zhao Rucheng and his sword stabbed into the resentful ghost’s body together. Because of the difference in size, he looked like a monkey hanging off a person.

The resentful ghost howled in pain and abruptly lowered its head.

Not good!

Zhao Rucheng’s heart jolted. He kicked off the claw the resentful ghost swung at him and flipped backward in midair, abandoning his sword and retreating. The resentful ghost still wanted to pursue, but Jiang Wang’s figure had already flashed past before its eyes like startling thunder.

Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword, second killing form. Its essence lay in precision.

Jiang Wang had already gone far, yet that streak of sword light had sliced perfectly across the resentful ghost’s eye.

In that instant, green-black liquid exploded like bursting pulp, and the resentful ghost let out an incomparably shrill scream. This creature, which had originally possessed muddled intelligence, now stared fiercely at Jiang Wang with its remaining right eye, hatred surging like waves.

It simply did not cover its eye, letting the green-black liquid flow down. Zhao Rucheng’s swaying sword still remained embedded in its body as it strode toward Jiang Wang!

Ling He, who was driving away wandering souls outside the battle circle, threw his sword toward Zhao Rucheng amid the chaos.

“Catch!”

Zhao Rucheng leapt up and caught Ling He’s sword in midair. His whole body shot forward like a meteor chasing the moon, once again bursting toward the resentful ghost’s back.

This sword pierced through the back of its neck, and the tip emerged from beneath the resentful ghost’s chin, pressing against its chest!

The resentful ghost roared and swung its claw back. Because of the angle, this claw would certainly be slower than before. So Zhao Rucheng braced both feet against its back, wanting to use the force to pull out the sword and retreat. But unexpectedly, the blade was clamped tightly by the resentful ghost’s muscles. He failed to pull it free at once and was delayed for an instant.

It was that instant that the resentful ghost’s huge claw swept fiercely into him, sending Zhao Rucheng flying four or five meters into the dense fog, his survival unknown!

One had to know that within the dense fog, countless wandering souls still roamed!

At this moment, Jiang Wang was opposite them, while Ling He was still tangled with wandering souls after throwing his sword. Only Du Yehu, who had also been guarding the battle circle, was closest.

And he had long since been unable to hold himself back.

He had come on this mission to punish evil and cleanse the world, absolutely not to be protected while scraping together dao merit, much less to become a burden!

A furious roar rang out like thunder.

Du Yehu’s entire body erupted with qi and blood at full force. The blood energy on his body surged toward the crown of his head as if it had become tangible.

In that instant, it was like beacon smoke rising!

Qi and blood like beacon smoke!

Only martial artists whose qi and blood were powerful to a certain degree could ignite qi and blood like beacon smoke. Even Jiang Wang could not do this.

And Du Yehu’s full-force eruption proved that he was inferior to no one.

Wrapped in qi and blood that seemed almost solid, his body looked as if it had been draped in a blood-colored battle robe. With speed several times faster than usual, he reached Zhao Rucheng’s side in just a few steps!

(End of Chapter)