Chapter 6 Strength

"Heaven is vast, earth is vast, but nothing is more profound than principle. Today, this old man will properly discuss principle with you!"

Gu Jinlai drew his sword from its scabbard.

"Oh, then let me experience the swordsmanship of a demon like you!"

True Qi surged around Zhang Buxi's body.

"Clang!"

The divine sword sheathed on his back vibrated and shot towards the void, then was caught in the rise of his right hand.

"I've practiced swordsmanship since childhood, mastered the thirty-six forms of Yunxiao Swordsmanship, and for fifty-two years, countless evil-doers and fiends have perished under my blade, including three Hugging Pill Demons..."

"Too much nonsense!"

Before Zhang Buxi could finish, Gu Jinlai took a large step forward; the sword in his hand seemed like a white chain slashing through the void, thrusting out in an instant.

With this thrust, all of his Essence Qi Spirit concentrated to a single point, True Qi whirled, Sword Gang burst forth, perfectly melding together, making this thrust seem like the first burst of sunlight suddenly blooming at noon, illuminating everyone's horizon so much so that their vision was filled with the first dazzling light of the world.

Sword Gang!? Sword Qi!? Sword Intent!?

No!

This was merely a special effect created by the combination of swordsmanship and the reflection of sunlight!

Metallic reflection.

Even elementary students understand it.

Yet this ability, refracted and amplified through True Qi, rendered the light so intense it could blind one's eyes.

Fully focused, Zhang Buxi hadn't even had the chance to unleash his might when he felt the world overwhelmed by the sword light!

The colors of all things in the world were stolen by the sword light, a dazzling white!

"Ah! My eyes!"

Zhang Buxi let out a cry of shock and fury.

"Be careful!"

Without any hesitation, True Qi exploded within Ma Zheng who stood by his side.

He used his fist!

A fist infused with the blood essence of Fierce Beasts and even demons!

If Gu Jinlai's sword was a resplendent sword light that brightened the world and shone in all directions, then the aura emanating from his being was like a terrifying demon lurking in the darkness, awakened by the bright light that shone upon it, suddenly stretching forth a hand, throwing a punch, a Fist Force so huge it seemed to cover the sky, directly shattering the first beam of light that broke through the noon darkness...

A punch!

Facing Gu Jinlai, said to have deviated in his cultivation to the extent that only one-tenth remained, Ma Zheng held nothing back and threw his strongest punch!

"Boom!"

True Qi roared!

Surging True Qi, like a meteor falling from heaven into the sea, created visible ripples in the calm void, scattering as they expanded into a hurricane, grinding the debris within dozens of meters into dust!

Gu Jinlai's sword was dazzling and reached the sky, Ma Zheng's fist shattered the void.

The initial collision was between their respective Sword Gang and Fist Gang.

"Bang!"

The Sword Gang and Fist Gang collided in the void, just as the first ray of light at noon was obscured by a punch from a terrifying demon hidden within the darkness.

The fierce Sword Gang erupting from Gu Jinlai was completely covered and shattered by Zhang Zheng's Fist Gang.

"Worthless!"

Having obliterated Gu Jinlai's sword light, Ma Zheng bravely advanced, Fist Gang trembling with the power that pierced the void, a punch like a burning meteor falling from the sky, heavily slamming onto Gu Jinlai's sword!

"Boom!"

Fist and sword collided in the void, exploding with the dull roar of thunder, as if ten kilograms of explosives had detonated at the point of impact, spewing forth rolling waves of energy mixed with shattered Sword Gang, compressing the air and forming shock waves that plowed the ground within tens of meters, sending earth and debris flying.

Fist Force vibrated!

It recklessly swept through Gu Jinlai's protective True Qi.

Even as a Hugging Pill expert with a flawless True Body, he still felt severe pain in his arm under the terrifying vibrations of the Fist Force, his sharp sword nearly slipping from his grasp. His ulna and radius bones creaked ominously as if they were about to be shattered by the Fist Force.

However, before Ma Zheng's full Fist Force could erupt to break and crush the sword-bearing arm, a stream of invisible Sword Qi, gentle as spring rain yet chilling as a breath from the netherworld, climbed up the arm delivering Ma Zheng's thunderous punch.

His fist...

It was as if his entire being had charged headlong into a room strung with countless strands of fine, invisible wire.

"Sss! Sss! Sss!"

Blood marks!

Trails of blood!

Sword cuts!

Fissures!

And finally...

"When did..."

Ma Zheng's eyes widened in disbelief.

It was light!

That burst of light!

As the glow erupted, countless strands of fine, invisible Sword Qi had already spread out, weaving through the void.

If he had looked carefully, or if the power of these Sword Qi had been astonishing, he would surely have been alerted.

But he was eager to help Zhang Buxi escape from danger, and his wariness of the Demon Path monster, Gu Jinlai, meant that when he acted, he used his most powerful Killing Move – a thunderous, irreversible strike.

So he had not noticed these details that he otherwise would have perceived.

"Devil..."

"Szzz!"

The fissures spread.

Blood burst forth from them.

Ma Zheng did not have the chance to utter another half of his last words before his body was carved into dozens of pieces by the ten-plus strands of invisible Sword Qi.

His body shattered, and a strong, pungent scent of blood wafted through the air!

"Old Ma!"

"Elder Ma!"

It was only then that Zhang Buxi and another man, Fang Yichen, finally awoke from their shock, letting out sorrowful cries!

Zhang Buxi, whose sight had not yet recovered, roared angrily and, relying on telepathy through Qi, sent sweeping Sword Qi directly toward Gu Jinlai.

"Your life is mine!"

Gu Jinlai's attention might have been on Ma Zheng, but he had not let his guard down in the slightest against Zhang Buxi.

As Zhang Buxi unleashed Sword Qi, Gu Jinlai's sword moved swiftly, its Sword Gang vibrating and piercing the void, rolling up a high-frequency air pressure that shook the void and collided with Zhang Buxi's Sword Qi.

It felt like using missiles to bombard a tornado!

"Boom!"

At the point where the Sword Qi met, a visible shock wave blasted out, hurling stones and debris wildly in all directions, forcing Fang Yichen, who wanted to join the fight, to repeatedly retreat.

Keep in mind, he was a Gang Condensation Level Expert!

In his most glorious battle, he alone, with a sword, had wiped out three hundred and nine Yunshan Mountain bandits, paying the price of only two saber wounds.

But now, he found it hard to even get involved!

"Peak of Hugging Pill! This is definitely the power of the Peak of Hugging Pill!"

Fang Yichen screamed inside his heart.

Wasn't it said that the Zhengyi sixth son of the Zhengyi Dao could chase down the Ancient Demon and force him to cut his hair and discard his robe?

Wasn't it said that the Star State Four Fierce could chase him for a hundred and thirty li?

Wasn't it said that until now he hasn't been able to kill any Gang Condensation Level Expert of the Zhengyi Dao?

Conspiracy!

Conspiracy!

This is simply a conspiracy!

The Ancient Demon, cunning and sly, showed weakness to the enemy; eight or nine out of ten times, he wanted to lure out the experts of the Lin Xiao lineage and catch them all in one net.

Even the Sect Leader of the Zhengyi Dao had been deceived by him.

Even...

The Zhengyi Dao and him might already be in cahoots, having performed this grand play together, deceiving everyone in the world!

"Retreat! I must inform the sect of this matter, else more people will fall for the old demon's trickery and send their lives away for nothing!"

With that thought, he took advantage of the punch's force to withdraw explosively.

"Golden Wheel Mystic Light!"

Suddenly, a sound like the tolling of a great bell filled with smoke and dust, the sound waves scattering and imbued with a sense of majestic sanctity.

It was Zhang Buxi, after clashing with a move and channeling his thunderous rage, who condensed a golden sword wheel and ferociously smashed it downwards, filled with the sharpness that could cut through everything.

"Good!"

Gu Jinlai felt the relentless, self-sacrificing belief to fight demons within the golden sword wheel conjured by Zhang Buxi and his eyes flashed intensely with divine light.

He was in need of an opponent to verify his true level.

Even though Zhang Buxi wasn't at the peak within the realm of Hugging Pill, he was still considered top-tier.

Otherwise, he would not have been able to slay three Hugging Pill experts of the same realm as himself.

With this thought in mind, a bunch of True Qi inside Gu Jinlai's body that resembled a golden core suddenly exploded, and the violent power surged through his body under the operation of the Great Sun Devilish Brilliance Skill, then poured into his sword and thrust out ferociously.

In the instant he thrust the sword, a dazzling Sword Gang burst towards the sky as if it was a Giant Sword ripping through the sky dome, obliterating all things, and crashed mightily into the descending golden sword wheel...

"Boom!"

The epicenter of their battle was as if it had been hit directly by an explosive, the force of the explosion spreading violently, countless dust and broken stones swept in all directions like arrows, completely enveloping an area several dozens of meters in radius, even breaking a large tree ten meters away, with wood chips flying everywhere.

If there had been any ordinary person within twenty meters of the two combatants at that time, they would surely have been shaken to death on the spot by this explosive force.

Even thirty meters away, one would have their insides burnt and receive serious injuries.

If even the bystanders were in such a state, what about the two who were directly engaged in battle?

The True Qi trembled.

Even though every Hugging Pill practitioner had gone through Body Refining, refining the organs, and blood exchange to toughen their physique and could nourish their internal organs with True Qi, in the face of such a trembling and colliding force, they would still feel all their muscles and bones crying out as if they could no longer bear the load.

Gu Jinlai's arms, which had already been hit by Ma Zheng's Fist Force, now showed even more cracks in the bones.

"Crack!"

Fractured!

"Blood Lotus!"

Almost simultaneously, Gu Jinlai let out a low roar, and behind him, a round of blood-colored lotus blossomed, like the emergence of a crimson blood light!

The Killing Move from Red Lotus Sword Qi!

Zhang Buxi, who had studied him before chasing Gu Jinlai, recognized it immediately.

With the Blood Lotus invoked, within tens of meters, all living things would be annihilated.

"Thunder Sword!"

Facing Gu Jinlai's massive attack, Zhang Buxi's eyes flashed with a touch of madness, and the sword in his hand turned into thunder, thundering into the Blood Lotus formed by Gu Jinlai!

He wanted to crush it before Gu Jinlai's massive attack took shape.

"Boom!"

The void roared.

Lightning flashed suddenly.

The phantom Blood Lotus manifested by Gu Jinlai's True Qi had not yet condensed, which Zhang Buxi tore apart on the heels of its formation. In a violent tremor, it exploded and turned into sword lights scattering in all directions.

"Die!"

The sword light was like thunder, immensely powerful.

Zhang Buxi's sword carried a terrifying edge and continued unabated towards Gu Jinlai's body.

However, just as he was about to tear through Gu Jinlai with his Sword Qi, he discovered something a moment sooner.

Invisible Sword Qi.

The Invisible Sword Qi that was all around him.

He immediately thought of Ma Zheng's fate.

"Not good!"

Zhang Buxi's face drastically changed, and his sword light quickly pivoted to strike at the Invisible Sword Qi.

But as his sword blade turned, Gu Jinlai had already taken the initiative to move forward, attacking bravely and ferociously. The True Qi from every cell in his body was squeezed out, turning into a surging torrent, pouring into the long sword, thrusting out, and resulting in an extremely sharp burst of Sword Qi.

In the void, it was as if a Blood Lotus blossomed again, turning into twenty-six Sword Qi that howled and broke through the air.

Only, different from the Red Lotus Sword Qi of the past.

This time, out of the twenty-six Sword Qi that burst forth, sixteen were tangible, but ten were hidden through optical concealing, invisible and traceless.

And after being amplified through oscillation...

Faster!

Stronger!

Zhang Buxi, despite sensing the difference in these Sword Qi, his swiftly swung sword was simply incapable of effectively defending against them.

"Break! Break! Break! Break!"

His hair stood on end, and he let out a frantic long howl, with his True Qi boiling to the extreme.

The sword in his hand stabbed out nineteen sword shadows in an instant, intercepting all of the sixteen visible Sword Qi. Even then, he still shattered three of the ten invisible Sword Qi!

Every clash of sword light in the void created ripples visible to the naked eye, forming explosive shockwaves that tore through the air waves and rolled up dust.

But...

The remaining seven formless and shadowless Sword Qi, like ghosts traversing the void with bone-chilling coldness, pierced through Zhang Buxi's body.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

Blood splattered.

Arms, thighs, heart, lungs, chest...

One after another, blood caverns perforated and exploded on his body.

The Protective True Qi could only ensure that their bodies weren't torn apart instantly in the face of these Sword Qi.

His figure was enveloped and forcefully pushed back nine steps by the power within the Sword Qi.

Finally...

He stopped.

He looked at Gu Jinlai and his mouth trembled, "What... what swordsmanship is this... "

Then, before Gu Jinlai could answer, he fell backward limp and powerless.