Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 401 - 352 Imprisoned Dragon

Is this really something a human could do?

Yuan Sou’s heart was filled with terror. The higher one’s realm, the more one could realize just how horrifying Lian Xuanyao’s seemingly nonchalant flick and sweep, deflecting all the talismans, truly was.

It required precise knowledge of every talisman’s design details, its activation principles, and the trajectory of its Spiritual Energy. Then, in the shortest possible time, one had to use the appropriate Spiritual Energy to perfectly stifle its activation process. The slightest deviation would directly detonate the talismans, endangering the common people within Chang’an City. This was equivalent to single-handedly suppressing over a hundred High-Order Cloud Patrol Realm Talisman Masters simultaneously.

This was completely beyond Yuan Sou’s scope of imagination.

Not to mention, Lian Xuanyao also had a sword...

Yuan Sou clenched his jaw, hurling the last few talismans Jun Qianzi had given him towards his rear. Simultaneously, he shouldered Ghost Shovel and flew towards the northwest of Chang’an City.

These talismans were all Divine Talismans of the Candle Cloud Realm. There was the Yang Flame Talisman, capable of incinerating ten miles; the Extreme Land Talisman, freezing all things; and the Thirst Blood Talisman, which confused all living beings, causing them to lose their sanity and attack each other.

The great fire in the city continued, and the Chaotic Wind grew stronger. Lian Xuanyao couldn’t possibly pursue him at the expense of the city’s common people—this could at least temporarily stall him.

"Damn that Ya Jiu, damn that Jun Qianzi!"

Yuan Sou passed through valleys and crossed fields, continuously grinding his teeth and roaring in a low, furious voice, wishing he could tear Jun Qianzi to shreds.

His activities had primarily been in the Zhou Kingdom. He held no deep-seated hatred for the Yu Country, unlike some in Zhao Ming who considered the destruction of the Yu Country their life’s goal. This surprise attack on Chang’an was merely an order from You Qiong, coupled with his own whim to accompany Ghost Shovel in tasting the Demon Cultivators imprisoned in the garrison.

He never expected to be reduced to such a pathetic state, fleeing Chang’an like a stray dog.

But finally, he had escaped.

Yuan Sou glanced back, confirming no aura pursued him, then immediately dove into the mountain forest with Ghost Shovel. He quickly retrieved a spider silk-like cloth from his Brocade Bag and began to bandage Ghost Shovel’s wounds—though calling it "bandaging" was a stretch.

As a Candle Cloud Cultivator, Ghost Shovel’s body had been subjected to a thousand hammers and hundred refines; ordinary swords and blades couldn’t injure him. Therefore, any injury capable of leaving a mark on his body appeared exaggerated and terrifying.

SPSHH—

The moment the spider silk cloth covered a wound, it was washed away by a gush of blood.

Ghost Shovel’s face turned deathly pale. "Let me," he said, then opened the large mouth on his abdomen. Using his long tongue, he took the spider silk bandage and wrapped it layer upon layer around the severed wound. The spider silk cloth could stanch bleeding and absorb blood; tightly wound, the bleeding indeed lessened significantly.

"It seems we’ve been thoroughly beaten this time," Yuan Sou said grimly. "Damn it, Jun Qianzi’s intelligence was wrong. Lian Xuanyao looks nothing like he’s sick and on death’s door.

"Slaying Candle Cloud cultivators is like killing chickens to him.

"And this is after he’s aged, his cultivation has declined, and he’s been single-handedly supporting the Academic Palace for years!

"If this were thirty years ago—no, even twenty years ago—we probably wouldn’t have survived a single exchange."

No wonder. No wonder that You Qiong-kun, the shadowy ruler of Zhao Ming, had always been afraid to reveal his true form. He was probably just like me, terrified of Lian Xuanyao’s overwhelming power, daring only to scheme in the shadows.

"As long as Lian Xuanyao lives, the Yu Country will not fall." Ghost Shovel, who had lost an arm and both legs, had an unnaturally flushed red face—an aftereffect of his dismemberment and the chaotic surge of his vital energy and blood. "Let’s escape first, leave the Yu Country, and rendezvous with the others elsewhere. We’ll devour some cultivators to recover our strength..."

"Elsewhere? Where do you mean?"

A flat voice suddenly echoed through the dense forest. Yuan Sou’s body stiffened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lian Xuanyao slowly approaching from a distance.

The assumption was wrong.

Lian Xuanyao hadn’t been delayed by those Divine Talismans at all. On the contrary, he had deliberately feigned being held back, allowing me and Ghost Shovel to escape to this uninhabited mountain forest outside the city.

There was no Imperial Palace here, no crowded workshops, no Yu Country’s citizens. Naturally, there was no need for him to hold back.

RUSTLE. RUSTLE.

Lian Xuanyao’s steps were composed as he trod on the fallen leaves, advancing step by step towards the two from Zhao Ming. In his left hand, a Divine Talisman flowed into existence; from his right, his Longsword pulsed with brilliant light. The birds and beasts throughout the dense forest fled in a mad scramble, as if sensing an impending cataclysm.

Yuan Sou’s face grew even paler, his teeth nearly shattering from how hard he clenched them. He gripped his Longsword tightly.

To hold back any trump cards now would be no different from awaiting death.

He quickly crushed his last protective Divine Talisman, forming an invisible barrier around them to briefly obstruct Lian Xuanyao’s advance. Then, he pulled an ancient, worn leather wine sack from his breast, uncapped it, and drained the thick, fragrant liquor within in a single gulp.

"Monkey Wine?" Lian Xuanyao said with interest, standing before the barrier. "Was that a gift from your adoptive father, the White Ape Demon? Others invite gods to possess them; are you inviting a monkey?"

BURP—

Yuan Sou let out a belch, not deigning to reply. His eyes turned blood-red, his fearful expression instantly calming. Dense, dark gold fur sprouted around his already somewhat simian face. His human hands began to change; the knuckles elongated, transforming into monkey-like claws.

Beside him, Ghost Shovel gave a hideous grin. He opened his abdominal mouth, extended his long tongue to support his body, and with his remaining left hand, gripped the hilt of the Frost Cold Blade.

"Nothing tasty to eat, so I might as well eat myself," Ghost Shovel murmured. His abdominal mouth expanded to its limits, like a python swallowing large prey, revealing ghastly and terrifying innards. Then, the enormous mouth continued to split open towards his sides, wrapping around his own back in reverse to commence digestion.

Ghost Shovel exhaled a long, turbid breath. The agony of devouring himself blended with the joy of satisfying his hunger. These two sensations mixed, causing his Divine Soul to tremble involuntarily. His aura rapidly returned to its peak, even surpassing it.

The Mountain Master watched as the duo’s condition fully recovered and their auras returned to their zenith. With a faint smile, he lightly sketched the final stroke of the talisman with his fingertips.

Divine Talisman·Prison Dragon.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

A metallic grinding noise filled the air. The surrounding atmosphere blurred and twisted as translucent chains formed above the dense forest. Each chain was thick enough for several people to encircle, extending straight from the ground to the clouds. They intertwined, weaving together an unimaginably vast cage, a net that blotted out the sky.

This was a Divine Talisman passed down from ancient times, said to have been used to imprison the oldest and most sacred of Exotic Beasts—the Dragon.

This attack on Chang’an during the Qixiao Festival was too precise and malicious; it couldn’t have been mere chance. Behind these two, there must certainly be a secret organization that had remained hidden from the Yu Country’s sight.

Therefore, I must not only defeat them but also capture them alive.

Lian Xuanyao thrust his sword into the invisible barrier and, with a gentle pull, tore the obstacle in two.

Meanwhile, Ghost Shovel and Yuan Sou—one with a blade, the other a sword; one a Demon, the other a monkey—attacked from either side.