Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 581 - 523 God Demon
Li Ang stomped heavily on the ground. As the earth beneath him caved in, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bowstring, throwing a punch at Ghost Shovel.
Ghost Shovel took half a step forward, raising both arms and crossing them in front of his body to block.
A muffled THUD sounded as Ghost Shovel’s form was flung backward, his feet plowing through the earth, leaving two narrow, parallel trails.
Li Ang gave him no chance to rest. He stomped on the ground again, closing in, his demonic palm descending from above to heavily smack Ghost Shovel’s head.
Ghost Shovel rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the blow. Simultaneously, he kicked out with his left leg, leveraging the momentum of his falling body to strike Li Ang’s neck.
CREAK—Li Ang’s shoulder suddenly collapsed inward. Expressionless, he lifted his shoulder, trapping Ghost Shovel’s left leg, while his left hand transformed into a Hand Blade and slashed diagonally forward.
The demon’s body was even bulkier than Ghost Shovel’s, and accordingly, its arms were longer.
As the wind from his palm strike surged, Ghost Shovel twisted his arms, palms facing downward. He emitted a stream of air from the slits in his palms, launching himself into mid-air and barely avoiding Li Ang’s Hand Blade.
He then closed the slit on his left palm, leaving only one stream of air, and whirled violently to the left like a striking crocodile.
His left leg broke free from Li Ang’s shoulder. His right leg, taking advantage of the swinging motion, kicked heavily against the side of Li Ang’s forehead. Thanks to his extreme body control, he once again created distance between them.
BOOM! Perhaps the time was ripe, or perhaps the coal dust sprayed from an exploding plane had catalyzed the clouds. Thunder rumbled from within the massing clouds on the horizon.
"HUU..." Li Ang slowly exhaled a turbid breath. The Mo Si around his body continuously drew Spiritual Energy from the heavens and earth, swiftly repairing the collapsed and indented areas on his shoulder and forehead.
"What is... this?" Ghost Shovel slowly straightened, squinting as he asked hoarsely.
His left leg had been impaled by thorns on the surface of the demon’s body, and broken fragments of Mo Si spikes were embedded within his calf.
These spikes were rapidly being expelled by granulation tissue.
Martial Arts Grandmasters possessed profound vital energy, and after merging with an Alien, Ghost Shovel’s Life Force was far beyond what most people could imagine. In a short while, his eye, which had been mangled, was almost completely repaired by granulation tissue.
"Good question!" Li Ang said in a deep voice. "This is a Cultivation Technique created by a Nameless hermit from Ancient times, called the Divine Demon Nine Transformations.
Its transformations are poetically described: ’The Cow Demon’s might struggles in the muck, the Tiger Demon’s bones are forged as its heart runs wild, the Divine Turtle steadies the sea foretelling omens, the Phoenix achieves Nirvana with an undying heart, the Monkey Demon reaches for the moon in vain, the Qilin steps lightly with empathy for all life, the Heavenly Dragon moves, bringing forth all creation, the Serpent Demon devours the sun and immolates this life.’
The Divine Demon Nine Transformations resonate in pairs, divided into four God forms and four Demon forms, with the ultimate being the Divine Demon Transformation.
And this is merely the first stage, the Cow Demon Transformation. There are still eight transformations to follow."
The voice from Li Ang’s demonic form was deep and hoarse, like countless voices overlapping. Paired with Li Ang’s resolute tone, it somehow sounded convincing.
Galuo was dumbfounded, shocked by the sheer grandeur of this Cultivation Technique.
Lu Yunan, on the other hand, had a peculiar expression, her lips twitching as if she wanted to speak.
Ghost Shovel remained silent for a moment before suddenly looking up. "How could such a majestic and grand Cultivation Technique be created by an obscure nobody? And how could no one have ever heard of it? You’re just spouting nonsense, trying to buy time to recover your strength and complete your transformation."
"HAHAHA." Unfazed by his lie being exposed, Li Ang continued profoundly, "That you don’t know only proves your ignorance. I am one of the youngest Academic Palace Patrols in history. It’s perfectly reasonable that I’d have access to the top-floor secrets of Dongjun Tower and learn a hidden Cultivation Technique unknown to the world."
"HEH." Ghost Shovel shook his head, no longer bothering to argue. "Fine. After I devour you, I’ll know everything."
He raised his palm, and the slit in its center casually sucked inward, summoning the Chopper.
The second round began.
Both vanished simultaneously, colliding like barbaric wild beasts. The earth beneath their feet cracked and shattered.
Galuo’s eyes widened, her gaze barely keeping up with the faint afterimages of their movements.
She instinctively reached for the quiver at her side, only to grasp at air—all her arrows were spent.
Damn it! If only I had brought more arrows!
"The situation is not in our favor," Lu Yunan’s calm voice sounded beside her. Galuo turned her head sharply to see Lu Yunan holding a delicate telescope, watching the two figures battling in the far distance.
"Though Ghost Shovel has suffered grave injuries, he is, after all, a Martial Arts Grandmaster. The Taihao Mountain Cultivators and Turkic Practitioners he devoured earlier are rapidly being digested in his stomach, replenishing his spent energy. Moreover, Ghost Shovel’s ’Devouring Heaven and Earth’ can consume Li Ang’s Mo Si, but Li Ang has no way to deplete Ghost Shovel’s reserves. If this continues, Li Ang will lose."
"..." Galuo pressed her lips together, drew her scimitar from her waist, and sprinted forward.
"Where are you going?" Lu Yunan floated after her, speaking indifferently. "You can’t even see their movements clearly. Going there won’t help."
Without looking back, Galuo said, "I can’t just do nothing."
"HMM... Actually, you might still be able to help with something." Lu Yunan rubbed her forehead, then suddenly asked, "Do you have any jewelry on you?"
Galuo took a moment to respond. "What?"
"Jewelry. Anything made of gold or silver will do."
"I do. What are you planning to do?"
"Give them to me." Lu Yunan extended her hand. "I’ll make some arrows."
Galuo hesitated for a moment but then stopped and began disassembling her Wolf Head Armor—the armor, connected to her skin and muscles, could be detached with a mere thought.
She took off her earrings, necklace, rings, hairpins, and other jewelry, handing them to Lu Yunan.
Lu Yunan deployed the Iron Melting Skill and Iron Casting Technique to melt the jewelry. Then, she collected a few scattered aluminum scraps from the self-destructed fighter jets and forged an arrow interwoven with gold and silver.
"Wait for my signal. You only have one chance. Aim just above Ghost Shovel’s head."
Lu Yunan tossed the scorching hot arrow to Galuo and flew ahead without turning back, her voice still calm. "Remember to aim carefully. If you miss, he and I will both die."
Galuo watched Lu Yunan’s receding figure, re-sheathed her scimitar, then took a deep breath to compose herself by regulating her Essence Qi and spirit. Her mind swirled with questions.
If she herself was striving to assist Li Ang for the sake of both their countries’ fate and the love in her heart, then what was Lu Yunan’s reason?
BOOM! Rolling thunder echoed from the Sky Dome. Lu Yunan stood beneath the Thunder Cloud, took a deep breath, and stretched out her arms.
Electricity formed in her palms, jumping and weaving through her fingertips, growing stronger with time.
More and more fine lightning gathered around Lu Yunan. Her Taihao Mountain Master robes billowed intensely, their edges already showing burn marks from the generated voltage.
Ghost Shovel looked up at the anomaly in the sky, reaching one hand upward to unleash ’Devouring Heaven and Earth’ at Lu Yunan. But Li Ang seized the chance, grabbed his body, and immobilized him.
Now!
Galuo held her breath and focused her mind. She released the bowstring.
The golden and silver arrow streaked across the sky, a blur above the grasslands, arriving above Ghost Shovel.
BOOM!
Lu Yunan brought down her arms forcefully. The lightning filling the sky converged into a single, massive bolt, guided by the arrow, and smote Ghost Shovel’s head.
