Chapter 556 - 319: The One Who Kills You!

Liu Lang was entirely unconcerned. The two figures brandished their long blades from the left and right, slashing toward Yan Jingchen.

"Ghost Blade: Double Kill!"

"Hmph!"

Yan Jingchen snorted coldly, reaching out with both hands to catch the two blade lights.

CRACK! CRACK!

Following two crisp sounds that rang out almost simultaneously, the blade gleams shattered.

Instead of being pleased, Yan Jingchen was infuriated. "What audacity!"

Before he could make another move, another blade shadow came slashing right in front of him.

The blade body was half black and half white, striking precisely at the weakest point of his Fist Dao Realm.

However, Yan Jingchen was ultimately an expert of the Upper Three Grades. His Protective True Gang erupted at just the right moment.

CLANG!

The long blade sank three inches into the bamboo hat before it was blocked by an immense force.

Liu Lang had anticipated this. In the gap where the two figures crossed paths, they unexpectedly split into two once more.

A full four figures surrounded Yan Jingchen.

Two in the front, two in the back.

Yan Jingchen didn’t even look at him. His eyes were fixed on the bamboo hat that had been cleaved into two by the Sword Intent and slid off. He laughed out of sheer fury:

"Good, good, good!

"It seems I’ve underestimated you, and underestimated the Ghost Blade as well!

"Rumor has it that the ’Ghost Blade’, Chu Xiudao, can transform into thousands of incarnations—striking with one blade causes ten thousand to fall, possessing the unpredictable might of ghosts and Gods.

"Looking at it now, the rumors are true. No wonder Chu Xiudao managed to carve out such a massive reputation!"

Compared to his anger, Liu Lang was much calmer. "If my master were here, you wouldn’t be able to withstand even a single strike from the old man."

Facing an old Jianghu monster who had been famous for decades, he had no choice but to deal with him carefully.

He no longer harbored the delusion that he could be like Chen Yi—using Fifth Grade Cultivation to overcome the Upper Three Grades and emerge victorious. He only wanted to stall for time as much as possible.

Without pausing, Liu Lang struck out with his blade once more.

The four figures moved in perfect unison, half-turning and slashing out diagonally. Looking down from above, the distinctly black and white blade lights slashed inward. Like a spinning windmill, they thrust straight toward Yan Jingchen.

—Ghost Blade: Four Kills!

But this time, Yan Jingchen didn’t just let him attack freely. Shifting his footing, he continuously thrust out his palms.

In just the blink of an eye, four palm shadows shattered Liu Lang’s four blade gleams.

The tyrannical Palm Force even penetrated right through the blade gleams.

Out of the four figures Liu Lang had transformed into, three illusory copies shattered. His true body raised his blade to block in front of him.

SMACK.

Amidst a crisp sound, Liu Lang was uncontrollably sent flying backward at an angle.

Furthermore, a slightly foul-smelling aura traveled along the long blade in his hands, invading all the way to his arms. Before he could react, that aura landed on his fingers and the back of his hands.

Immediately following, Liu Lang felt waves of agonizing, heart-piercing pain emanating from his hands.

"Ah—!"

Caught off guard, Liu Lang cried out.

After landing, before he could steady himself, he looked at his hands. His skin and flesh were already torn open. The blood flowing out was not dark red, but pitch-black. Moreover, streaks of blackness were tracing along his blood vessels and meridians, invading his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Liu Lang gritted his teeth, forcing himself to endure the intense pain. Forming his fingers into a blade, he slashed a wound onto each of his wrists. At the same time, his True Essence circulated and sealed the vital acupoints at the crooks of his arms, forcing that Poison Power out.

Gouts of pitch-black blood sprayed out. As they landed on the ground, they corroded it, forming pitted holes.

However, even though the majority of the Poison Power had been expelled, Liu Lang still felt the severe pain in his hands had not diminished in the slightest.

He was in so much pain that sweat rained down his body, and his facial features were scrunched together. But even so, Liu Lang still tightly gripped his long blade, glaring fiercely at Yan Jingchen.

"The White Jade Skill is nothing more than this!"

Yan Jingchen glanced at him and tore off the black cloth covering his face, revealing a face as flawless and white as jade, completely devoid of any traces of old age. Coupled with his bright, pitch-black hair, one couldn’t tell in the slightest that he was an old Jianghu monster past his fifties.

"Your mouth is harder than your blade.

"However, being able to cleave off my bamboo hat with just Fifth Grade Cultivation means you do have some skill."

Yan Jingchen shook his head after speaking. "What a pity.

"Chu Xiudao should have had a fine disciple capable of inheriting his mantle, but alas, you...

"You reckless fool!"

The killing intent on his face grew thicker. Facing Liu Lang’s direction, he brought his hands together.

Following his movement, Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism frantically compressed toward Liu Lang. At the same time, gouts of black qi drifted out from his jade-like, translucent fingers, gradually spreading into the surroundings.

"Later, I will spread word throughout the Jianghu to deliver a message to your master—this day next year will be the anniversary of your death, and he should come here to pay tribute to you!"

Liu Lang looked at the howling black qi but gave no response.

The White Jade Skill was domineering, its Poison Power ferocious. Combined with Yan Jingchen’s Cultivation and Technique Realm, it made it utterly impossible for him to evade.

Therefore, before that black qi could encircle him, Liu Lang fiercely took a step forward, the True Essence within his body erupting tumultuously as he condensed all of it onto the long blade in his hand.

Following that, his figure disappeared from his original spot.

In the blink of an eye, phantom-like figures materialized, completely surrounding Yan Jingchen.

His long blade quivered slightly, stirring and shattering the river-like Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism around him. Although it was only a portion of it, it was enough for Liu Lang to unleash a strike.

"Ghost Blade: Thousand Kill!"

Thousands of illusory figures, their faces pale and their eyes icy cold, simultaneously swung their long blades. Thousands of pitch-black blade lights shot forth, covering an area of a hundred zhang and enveloping Yan Jingchen within.

A smile crept up the corners of Yan Jingchen’s mouth. "A foolish imbecile who overestimates his own strength!"

Then, he lifted one hand upward.

The black qi that had surged and spread out earlier instantly formed two massive hands, guarding his body from above. No matter how the surrounding blade lights slashed against them, they couldn’t break through even the slightest bit—let alone harm his physical body.

Watching this scene, a bitter smile appeared on Liu Lang’s face. Ultimately, the gap in their strength was just too vast. It was an even more powerless feeling than when he had sparred with Chen Yi back then.

His strongest blade strike had been executed, yet it failed to stir up even the slightest ripple.

However—Liu Lang still had no intention of giving up.

Even though his figure was already swaying unsteadily under the oppression of that Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism. Even though his earlier actions had caused his body to be tainted by a trace of the Evil Poisonous black qi, leaving the flesh on his face and body torn open.

Intense pain swept through his entire body.

"You old bastard, who the hell are you looking down on?!"

Liu Lang clenched his jaw, wringing out the last drops of True Essence in his body, frantically connecting with Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism.

Faintly, a pitch-black blade gleam up to ten zhang long could be seen floating in mid-air. Its imposing aura spread out, unexpectedly dispersing all the surrounding black qi.

Seeing this, Yan Jingchen was slightly moved. He looked at Liu Lang in astonishment. "You... actually have one foot in the Perfection Realm?"

Liu Lang acted as if he hadn’t heard him. Or rather, at this moment, his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose had all lost their senses under the invasion of the Evil Poisonous aura.

Liu Lang could only rely on instinct, opening his mouth wide in a silent roar as he slashed his final blade strike at Yan Jingchen.

—Ghost Blade: Unity!

The pitch-black blade gleam fell straight down, following his movement.

It was deceptively slow but lightning-fast.

The solidified Sword Intent, wrapping around the Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism within a ten-zhang radius, aggressively cleaved into the Fist Intent surrounding Yan Jingchen. Even the black hands he had condensed above himself earlier were unable to block it in the slightest.

Witnessing such a scene, Yan Jingchen retracted all his expressions, sighed, and dodged out of the way. It wasn’t that he couldn’t block it, but with his strength, he would still suffer some superficial wounds from this strike.

After he shifted laterally, the blade light landed on his original position.

HISS—

Amidst a sound so faint it was almost inaudible, the blade light sank straight into the mountain rocks.

As if slicing through a block of tofu.

Only then did a rumbling sound ring out. The mountain rocks within a ten-zhang radius were split in two, sent flying outward by that Sword Intent.

BANG! BANG!

The booming echoed endlessly.

Yan Jingchen quietly stood by and watched the Sword Intent wreak havoc, his gaze then landing on Liu Lang.

At this moment, Liu Lang was still maintaining his posture of gripping his blade with both hands. Fresh blood flowed across his body, and his aura was no longer as sharp as it had been before.

Yan Jingchen looked at him for a long while before smiling and shaking his head. "A Swordman with decent aptitude. What a pity..."

After speaking, he waved his hand, and a Qi Blade slashed straight toward Liu Lang.

"From this moment on, there will be no more ’Sword Madman’ in the Jianghu."

Little did he know, before he could see Liu Lang beheaded, a cold snort rang out from the distance:

"Who permitted you to say such a thing?"

"Hmm?"

Before Yan Jingchen could make a move, a blurry phantom approached from afar. In the blink of an eye, it traversed a distance of several dozen miles, arriving just in time as that Qi Blade fell in front of Liu Lang.

Merely the aura radiating from his body shattered that Qi Blade. What followed was a domineering, sharp aura that frantically churned the surrounding Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism.

Even Yan Jingchen’s Fist Dao in the Perfection Realm was uncontrollably suppressed by that imposing might.

Yan Jingchen’s face turned solemn as he stared at the back of the figure blocking Liu Lang—wearing tight black martial attire, with long hair fluttering in the wind beneath a bamboo hat. His facial features couldn’t be clearly seen.

"Who goes there!?"

The newcomer did not make a sound. Instead, he flicked out several Silver Needles, piercing them into vital acupoints on Liu Lang’s body. As True Essence surged, he forced the black blood out of Liu Lang’s body and neutralized it.

Two breaths later, once Liu Lang’s aura had recovered slightly, the newcomer finally turned around, staring straight at Yan Jingchen with icy cold eyes.

"The one who will kill you!"

It was none other than Chen Yi!