Chapter 1151 - 304: Silk Skirt Sweeps Waves of Emotion, Brocade Sleeves Meet the Wind’s Depths (Part 3)

Lu Dechu neither dodged nor evaded; the Celestial Spirit Palm technique "Vajra Bodyguard" surged forth in an instant, his fleshy palm swatting the silver needles away like flies, yet the poison scorched his palm, leaving charred black marks. Xuanming Left Elder’s Judge Pen gave a light shake, and the Ice Silkworm Silk suddenly loosened from Jin Liufu, then coiled toward Lu Dechu’s neck like a Spiritual Snake.

Lu Dechu twisted his body aside in a hurried dodge, swinging the wine gourd in a sweeping arc; the cold-iron gourd body clashed with the Ice Silkworm Silk, ringing out with the sound of metal striking metal.

That collision actually shook the Ice Silkworm Silk into a faint tremor, but it also numbed Lu Dechu’s tiger’s mouth, and the gourd almost flew from his hand.

"A fat pig from Jiangnan dares to block a chariot with a mantis arm? Hmph!" Xuanming Right Elder’s sinister, cold laughter spread out along with the poison mist, and his Duster suddenly turned into thousands of black streaks of light—this was none other than the Kunlun Sect supreme art "Ten Thousand Poisons Return to Origin."

Lu Dechu let out a thunderous shout, and unleashed the Celestial Spirit Palm’s killing move "Creating Heaven and Splitting Earth" with a crashing strike, the calluses in his palm bulging like little hills.

The force of his palm collided with the poison streaks, and the explosive wave of air heaved the surface of the Sword Pool into ten-foot waves, while an ancient pine on the shore was cut cleanly in half.

The two Xuanming Elders exchanged a look, then simultaneously executed the "Profound Nether Divine Palm."

Two streams of yin-cold qi took shape as Profound Nether phantoms, the left palm freezing the throat in ice, the right palm locking the heart in poison mist.

Lu Dechu’s palms spun and flew, the Celestial Spirit Palm move "Turning Rivers and Overturning Seas" unleashed to full power, palm shadows overlapping in countless layers, yet he felt a chilling cold surge along his meridians straight for his heart pulse. Forcing his True Qi up, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of strong liquor; the wine condensed into ice crystals in mid-air, but the instant it touched the Profound Nether phantoms it was shattered into fine powder.

All of a sudden, the Ice Silkworm Silk coiled around Lu Dechu’s ankle and yanked him violently to the ground. Xuanming Left Elder’s Judge Pen struck out like a venomous serpent flicking its tongue, stabbing straight for his face. At that hair’s-breadth moment, Lu Dechu rolled along the ground, his wine gourd sweeping sideways and whipping up a flurry of snow mist.

With a muffled "bang," the gourd smashed into Elder Zuo’s calf, making the old man howl like a night owl in agony, but at the same time it left three deep bone-baring blood grooves across Lu Dechu’s back. "Barrel Brother, watch out!" Jin Liufu finally caught his breath, struggling to pick up a half-broken saber and hurl it—but it was easily swept aside by Elder You’s Duster.

Lu Dechu seized the chance to twist and leap back to his feet, firing off the Celestial Spirit Palm move "Chasing Stars, Catching Moon" in rapid succession, the gusts from his fleshy palms blowing the Western Regions minions tumbling all over the place. Yet the two Xuanming Elders clung to him like a festering bone sore, Ice Silkworm Silk and venomous Duster weaving together into a deathly snare, adding several more wounds to his body.

Blood slid down Lu Dechu’s round, plump cheeks, dripping onto his worn coarse-cloth shirt.

He wiped his face, then suddenly hurled the wine gourd high into the air, and thrust out both palms with the most forceful move of the Celestial Spirit Palm: "Yu Gong Moves Mountains."

The palm wind came down like mountains collapsing and seas overturning, yet the two Xuanming Elders simultaneously swung their palms, Profound Nether Divine Palm crashing head-on with the Celestial Spirit Palm.

Where the blast wave passed, the cliffside inscription by the Sword Pool, "Wind Gorge, Cloud Spring," was shaken into a shower of shattered stone; Lu Dechu spat out a great mouthful of blood, his fat body flung backward like a kite with a cut string.

But at the very instant he hit the ground, he borrowed the force to spring up again, hurling himself once more at the two Xuanming Elders.

By now his clothes were in tatters, his body covered in countless wounds, yet he still swung the wine gourd, each Celestial Spirit Palm move faster than the last.

Every attack carried a desperate, mutually-assured-destruction momentum, forcing the two Xuanming Elders to temporarily shy away from his sharp edge.

The Cao Bang disciples gazed at this blood-soaked, battling fat man, and blazing battle spirit surged in their eyes. The Miao Blade Array once more erupted in a heaven-shaking roar, sweeping toward the Western Regions crowd. At the time of Waking of Insects, Huqiu Sword Pool steamed with a sickly-sweet bloody mist, and the millennia-old cliffside inscription "Wind Gorge, Cloud Spring" was soaked to a dark red by blood.

Qi Meizhen stood on the high platform clad in Golden Armor of linked rings, the three thousand elite Cao Bang disciples’ Miao Blade Array forming a copper wall and iron bastion, the blade aura glinting with a ghostly blue chill in the dusk.

Venerable Poison Dragon was bare-chested, a giant python coiled across his back, flicking a purple-black tongue.

His withered, stick-thin palm smacked heavily on the python’s seven-inch point as he rasped with a laugh, "Brats, taste the flavor of Ten Thousand Serpents Gnawing the Heart!" The giant python raised its fist-sized head high, and a foul, reeking poison mist surged toward the Cao Bang disciples like a tide.

The three men in the front rank had no time to retreat; in an instant, their skin festered and rotted, and they rolled on the ground screaming in agony. "Clear a path!" Jiang Huotian’s figure shot out like lightning, stepping on the shoulder of a stout, round disciple to borrow force and leap up. The forked iron staff in his hand flashed cold light, stabbing straight for the giant python’s eyes.

This move, "Two Dragons Play with a Pearl," was a variation of one of the Jiangnan Cao Bang Seventy-Two Styles of Pointing Acupoint Hand, specialized for breaking ferocious giant beasts.

The python shrieked in pain, its bloody maw snapping shut; Jiang Huotian’s toe tapped on the python’s nose as he executed "Yan Qing’s Eighteen Flips," flipping three times consecutively in mid-air, barely dodging the sweeping python tail.

As that tail swept across the ground, the bluestone was instantly corroded into a pit more than ten feet deep, poison smoke curling upward.

To rescue Lu Dechu, Gongsun Ren’s Wu Yue Hooks turned into a skyful of black shadows, entangling Xuanming Right Elder’s refined-iron Duster.

Their Inner Strength clashed, and the Sword Pool’s surface boiled at once, water splashing in all directions. A cold chuckle echoed from beneath Elder You’s bronze ghost mask: "You dare flaunt petty tricks before a master’s gate?" His Duster gave a flick, and thirty-six Bone-piercing Poison Needles shot forth, their tails gleaming with ghostly blue poison light.

Gongsun Ren bellowed, executing the "Loach Technique," rolling and twisting along the ground, his movements agile and serpentine. But a Cao Bang disciple behind him failed to dodge in time and was struck in the throat by a poison needle; blood gushed from his seven orifices, and in mere moments his corpse melted into a puddle of foul-smelling black water.

"Cyan-faced Beast" Yang Feng saw this and his eyes bulged with fury, the blue markings on his face writhing like earthworms.

He swung his Ghost Ring Saber, blade wind roaring like a tiger, cleaving straight toward the three great Western Regions experts.

"Take this!" The saber, carrying the might of Mountain-Splitting Rock-Breaking, hacked down toward the opponent’s head, yet that man neither dodged nor retreated, and scorching heat suddenly flared in his palm—this was the Western Regions supreme art "Red Sun Palm." Blade and palm collided, sparks flying, and Yang Feng felt his saber edge suddenly stall, his tiger’s mouth numbing.