Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 573 - 516: Buried
"From the look of it, you’ve been fused with an Alien for several years now."
Ghost Shovel sneered, "Let me guess, not many people in Yu Country know about this. You understand that once this is exposed, all the contributions you’ve made for your country and its common people will be scrutinized, questioned, and even overturned. People will treat you like they treat demons, driving you from your pedestal and locking you in prison."
"Perhaps." A deep, hoarse voice came from under Li Ang’s armor. "But one thing is certain."
"What?"
"I am not the same as you."
Before he finished speaking, the armor Li Ang wore sprouted numerous scythe-like mantis hooks, sweeping forward and slashing at Ghost Shovel. The latter did not dodge, tightening his grip on the Chopper and meeting the attack head-on. The blades collided, sending out a continuous spray of bright sparks. Most of the scythes were blocked. The few that hit Ghost Shovel collided with an invisible barrier of Martial Artist’s Qi Blood on his body, forcibly altering their trajectory.
BANG!
Ghost Shovel grasped a section of a scythe with his palm and snapped it in two with a crack. As it fell towards the ground, the broken scythe rapidly disintegrated into sand and floated back to Li Ang’s armor.
"Is this armor enhanced based on the Spiritual Power in your body?" Ghost Shovel stepped forward relentlessly, stating coldly, "Nice item, but unfortunately, you are too weak. It’s like a peerless sword in the hands of a three-year-old; it cannot display its power..."
His words were interrupted by a hook punch from Li Ang. Ghost Shovel frowned, catching the fist with one hand and stepping back half a step to dissipate the force. He was about to say something when a blast of blue flames suddenly erupted from the surface of Li Ang’s fist.
"Karmic Fire?" Ghost Shovel’s voice finally showed some alarm. His arm was quickly burned away by the Karmic Fire, revealing the ghastly white bones underneath. The fire continued its rapid spread along his body, eroding everything it touched.
"Devouring Heaven! Earth Devouring!"
Ghost Shovel had no choice but to halt. He opened the giant mouth in his abdomen, devouring the lingering blue Karmic Fire on his body like a whirlwind.
Seizing this chance, Li Ang hurled out all the Karmic Fire he had gathered. The mantis hooks on his armor dug into the ground, launching him high like a spring.
Then, the Mo Si Armor underwent drastic changes. It formed structures like wings, ailerons, elevators, and a vertical stabilizer, resembling a propeller-driven fighter plane without a cockpit. Telekinesis pushed the airframe forward. Once the propeller spun up from slow to fast, he withdrew the Telekinesis, relying solely on the propeller for power. Its sleek, laminar airfoil design reduced drag and generated lift in the wind. In the blink of an eye, it soared over the treetops and out of the dense forest.
Phew... Li Ang breathed a slight sigh of relief. Ghost Shovel was protected by Martial Artist’s Qi Blood, making him fearless of blades. Moreover, Radiant Crossbows, talismans, Thunder Technique, and other attacks would be absorbed by Devouring Heaven and Earth, making him extremely difficult to handle.
It’s hard to imagine what kind of scene it was when the Academic Palace Master fought two against one back then, intimidating Ghost Shovel and Yuan Sou into fleeing... Hm?
Li Ang sensed a disturbance in the Spiritual Energy of the earth and switched to the Mo Si view. He saw that in the dense forest, Ghost Shovel had already extinguished the Karmic Fire around him. The fire had inflicted significant injuries: his flesh was split open, revealing bone, and his entire left arm had been burned away, leaving only the skeleton.
Ghost Shovel stood still. From a dirty cloth bag tied to his waist, he picked out a red-and-white meatball and tossed it into the giant mouth in his abdomen. The giant mouth chewed frantically, splattering juices everywhere. Meanwhile, numerous flesh buds sprouted from Ghost Shovel’s shoulder, covering the bone and forming a new arm.
"What a waste of a Candle Cloud Realm-grade flesh ration."
Ghost Shovel muttered to himself, gazing at Li Ang, who was soaring farther and farther away in the sky. He thrust his Chopper back into its leather sheath, then spread his hands, palms facing the ground. The mouths in his palms opened again, but this time, instead of creating suction, they expelled a powerful blast of air.
BOOM!
He shot into the sky like a cannonball, chasing after Li Ang.
Is that even possible?!
Li Ang was utterly astonished. He desperately wanted to turn around and ask, "How can you fly too?!"
But he decided against it.
Throughout history, Martial Artists had always been mocked by other Daoist Practitioners for their inability to fly. Ghost Shovel must have endured many hardships while being hunted to develop this ability.
"Where do you think you’re escaping to?" Ghost Shovel’s voice, full and robust despite the howling wind, called out. "Cultivators from Taihao Mountain and the Turkic could arrive at any moment. Do you think you have any chance of survival? With a distance of four thousand miles, even if you notify Lian Xuanyao now, he can’t reach you in time to save you."
Li Ang ignored Ghost Shovel’s voice, desperately stimulating his Qi Sea to increase his speed again.
The two, one chasing and one fleeing, flew across the vast, sprawling prairie and skimmed over a boundless sea of forest. Li Ang could occasionally use an arbitrary gate to widen the distance, but this small gap was quickly closed by the difference in their Spiritual Energy output rates.
Gradually, Li Ang slowed down. His Qi Sea circulation couldn’t keep up, making it difficult to maintain his flight speed. He spotted a mountain hollow, dived down, and switched his Mo Si to a glider form in mid-air, landing somewhat unsteadily beside a canyon stream.
The icy river water covered the tops of his feet. Li Ang felt as if his entire body was being boiled, burning intensely.
"Why aren’t you running anymore?" Ghost Shovel closed the slits in his palms and slowly descended downstream by the stream. From the filthy cloth bag at his waist, he picked out a slightly darker meatball, tossed it into the giant mouth in his abdomen to replenish his energy, and said calmly, "Did you deliberately choose such an auspicious burial site for yourself?"
"..." Li Ang brushed aside his sweat-soaked, disheveled hair. "Back in Tongluo City, I overheard you talking to Yuan Sou. You intend to kill everyone in the squad except me."
"Correct." Ghost Shovel nodded, readily admitting, "The plan to intercept you all was conceived by Jun Qianzi. He specifically instructed us to spare your life, as he had other plans for you. But I’ve changed my mind."
He took out a Zhao Ming Communication Iron Plate, bent it with a CREAK, and said lightly, "Letting Jun Qianzi deal with you would just mean brainwashing you, making you truly join Zhao Ming and help him defeat Yu Country.
"That’s too slow.
"We’d have to wait for Lian Xuanyao to die of old age, leaving Yu Country unprotected. If Chen Danqiu manages to break through to the next realm before Lian Xuanyao dies, we’d even have to wait for Chen Danqiu to die of old age.
"Ten years, twenty years, thirty years.
"Perhaps we’d even have to wait for you to become the new Academic Palace Master, step by step.
"I’ve waited too long. I don’t want to wait any longer.
"So, I’m going to eat you."
Ghost Shovel stated calmly, "The Mutated Object on you is no less powerful than Devouring Heaven and Earth. With it, I might be able to glimpse the Lin Yuan Realm without relying on Jun Qianzi or You Qiong. I could annihilate Yu Country by myself."
"You Qiong... he’s the leader of Zhao Ming, right?" Li Ang gave a slight smile. "All these years, you’ve gathered so many Candle Cloud Cultivators, stirred up trouble, and incited wars, yet you still don’t dare to face the Academic Palace Master directly. So you can only choose this kind of opportunity, when I’m forced to leave Yu Country and the Academic Palace Master isn’t around, to make your move on me." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
He flicked the Mo Si spear in his hand. Its blade cut across the river surface, splashing up chilly stream water. "If you want it, come and get it yourself."
