It so happened that the Jiangshi Yang Zui, seeing Sun Busi manipulating the jade tablet and attempting to capture Yang Jin lying on the ground, flew into a rage. Abandoning the others, he turned and lunged toward the airborne jade tablet. Though the tablet was still several zhang away and suspended in midair, Yang Zui, driven by fury, exerted all his strength in one leap and astonishingly soared to its side. He stretched out his ten sharp fingers and reached for the tablet.
Sun Busi seemed to have anticipated this. With a wave of his hands, the jade tablet suddenly rose a few feet, narrowly evading the Jiangshi’s attack. However, this movement caused the originally extended tendrils of green light, which had been reaching toward Yang Jin like tentacles, to retract back like water drawn in by a whale’s breath. Instead of fully retreating into the tablet, the tendrils now twisted toward the Jiangshi.
The Jiangshi, whose mind was not as clear as a living person’s, seeing the green light daring to tease him, became even more enraged. His eyes flashed with ferocity, and his ten long nails twisted as though alive. Between his fingers, grayish mist visibly flowed. With a long shriek, he waved his ten fingers toward the green light.
Unexpectedly, the green light proved tricky. It feigned an attack, and the moment the Jiangshi tried to counter, it dodged away again. Since the jade tablet floated in midair, although the Jiangshi was swift, he had to leap each time he tried to grab it. Thus, Sun Busi kept maneuvering the tablet, constantly provoking and evading, and for the moment, the Jiangshi failed to land a hit.
The Jiangshi grew increasingly furious, ignoring everyone else and focusing solely on chasing the jade tablet with relentless attacks. His entire figure blurred into a streak of white darting back and forth. Under the moonlight, his ten long, sharp nails emitted a faint dark green glow. As his arms swung rapidly, the nails seemed like ten glowing fireflies dancing wildly.
Sun Busi, drenched in sweat and with bloodshot eyes, stood rooted to the spot, clearly straining. Under his command, the jade tablet fluttered like a butterfly, zigzagging unpredictably. The green tendrils swayed unsteadily, nearly caught by the Jiangshi several times. Fortunately, Sun Busi reacted quickly, and the Jiangshi was somewhat rigid in his movements, allowing them to narrowly avoid disaster each time.
However, the Jiangshi’s range of movement was indeed vast. Within the ancestral hall, dodging became increasingly difficult. Before long, the jade tablet was gradually forced into a corner, with no room left to retreat.
Just when it seemed only a few more moves would be needed to seize the annoying tablet, a faint glimmer of satisfaction appeared on the Jiangshi’s dark face. He opened his huge mouth, revealing four long fangs, and prepared to launch a full-force attack to bring the tablet down. Suddenly, a long dagger appeared abruptly beneath him!
The dagger was blood-red, seemingly materializing out of thin air. Right behind it emerged another, slightly shorter dagger. As soon as the two daggers appeared, they let out a sharp, piercing whistle, as if coming alive, and aimed straight for the Jiangshi’s abdomen. Instantly, a chilling, murderous aura filled the hall.
Then the long-unseen Hou Shen appeared at that corner, his arms crossed. The two daggers, one in each hand, moved straightforwardly without flourish, swiftly stabbing toward the Jiangshi’s lower abdomen.
At that moment, the Jiangshi had just leapt into the air. Facing the sudden appearance of the two daggers right in front of him, he had no chance to dodge. The longer dagger struck the Jiangshi’s lower abdomen with a metallic clang. To everyone’s shock, despite the dagger’s apparent sharpness and ferocity, it failed to pierce the Jiangshi’s body!
Hou Shen was also startled but did not hesitate. His right hand, with a flick of the wrist, guided the shorter dagger along the point where the first had struck. With a shout, he exclaimed, “Got it!”
Hou Shen had poured all his strength into this strike. First, the longer dagger hit the Jiangshi, then the shorter dagger, with a swift flick of the wrist, slashed along the same spot like a saw, finally breaking through the Jiangshi’s iron-hard body.
The Jiangshi let out a piercing scream, clearly in great pain. Then, his body stiffened midair and turned to lunge furiously at Hou Shen.
Hou Shen was ready. With a light flick of his wrist, he smoothly withdrew the dagger from the Jiangshi’s abdomen. Using the momentum, he rolled to the ground and vanished once again.
The Jiangshi, unable to spot the one who had wounded him, flew into a rage. Without pausing, his ten long nails struck downward from midair onto the floor of the ancestral hall. The impact shattered the stone tiles, sending dust and debris flying everywhere, and left a large crater in the ground.
“Hou Shen, aim for its forehead!” Mei Qing had been mentally tracking the Jiangshi all along. When Hou Shen’s dagger wounded it, Mei Qing sensed that although there were three talisman marks within the Jiangshi’s body, the primary one was located at its forehead. After the dagger struck, the forehead talisman flared up first, followed by a surge of dark energy rushing downward, activating the other two marks. The three streams of dark energy flowed together toward the wound in the abdomen, quickly healing it.
Upon hearing Mei Qing’s words, the Jiangshi hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned its head to glare coldly at Mei Qing. Its icy, cruel gaze carried a faint glint of blood-red fury.
Just as the Jiangshi was about to launch itself at Mei Qing in a rage, suddenly a sharp cry rang out: “Wuxing Zhongfen, Zhenlie Qianxing, Lin!” At once, a giant copper bowl appeared above Yang Jin’s body, emitting golden light that trapped Yang Jin within.
Originally, the brothers Sun Busan and Sun Busi had great coordination. Initially, Sun Busan was on defense while Sun Busi went after Yang Jin. However, when Sun Busi was intercepted by the Jiangshi, they quickly changed tactics. Sun Busi lured the Jiangshi toward Hou Shen’s corner, drawing it away from Yang Jin. Meanwhile, Sun Busan seized the opportunity to move behind his brother and, taking advantage of the Jiangshi’s injury, captured Yang Jin.
Seeing Yang Jin in Sun Busan’s grasp, the Jiangshi Yang Zui trembled and let out a sharp shriek.
The Jiangshi often emitted cries during its attacks, but this one was particularly piercing, causing everyone’s heads to reel. Then, it turned around and lunged furiously back toward Sun Busan.
Sun Busan was prepared. Earlier, when the Jiangshi had shaken his protective barrier, he had realized its immense strength. He knew that capturing the Jiangshi’s son would provoke a fierce counterattack, so he had already set up a protective barrier in front of himself. This time, since he only needed to defend himself, the barrier was smaller and thus more tightly controlled.
Yet, the Jiangshi’s attack this time was even fiercer, fueled by hatred. There was a dull thud as the barrier shattered instantly under the impact. Sun Busan himself was clearly affected, his face turning deathly pale. He staggered backward several steps, and the copper bowl above emitted a mournful hum, wobbling precariously in midair.
“Chi!” At that moment, Sun Busi’s deep voice rang out again. The brothers worked in perfect harmony. Although Sun Busan was injured, the Jiangshi had also suffered from its all-out strike. Its entire body of white fur bristled, and it let out a howling roar. Sun Busi, an expert in ambush attacks, seized the moment. A hazy green light appeared suddenly from behind the Jiangshi’s head and struck its back of the head with a loud bang, sending the creature crashing to the ground.
Yang Zui shrieked and rolled around on the ground a few times, pushing himself up with both hands, preparing to rise, when Mei Qing unleashed his thunder talisman once again: “Yinyang Fenpan, Leisheng Jinhang, Ding!”
This time, Mei Qing directed his spiritual sense precisely at the Jiangshi’s forehead. Though he knew his cultivation might not be enough to subdue the creature completely, the Jiangshi had already suffered multiple injuries. Taking advantage of this sudden attack, he believed he could at least immobilize it briefly. That would give Hou Shen enough time to strike with his daggers.
As Mei Qing had predicted, the Jiangshi’s forehead was indeed its vital point. With a full effort, Mei Qing halted the talisman mark there. As the other two marks sent dark energy rushing upward, Mei Qing quickly sealed the forehead with a restraining talisman.
The Jiangshi froze. Two streams of dark energy surged upward, and Mei Qing trembled as he struggled to suppress their counterattack, trying to buy as much time as possible.
The two blood-red daggers appeared again, emerging from above the back of the prostrate Jiangshi Yang Zui. Hou Shen had already leapt into the air, his two daggers carving two blood-red arcs of light as they plunged downward toward the Jiangshi’s head.
In Mei Qing’s spiritual perception, he could almost feel the Jiangshi’s immense fear. The daggers emitted a piercing, mournful whistle, which rang in everyone’s ears like a joyous cry heralding an imminent kill.
Yet just at that moment, a sudden, aged, and furious voice rang out in everyone’s ears: “Stop!”
Then, a streak of white light flew in through the broken window, tracing a curved path. It was heading straight toward Hou Shen’s daggers.
Yao Dingguo and Zhou Chang, who were standing near the window, heard the command to stop and saw the white light rushing in. They both raised their swords and slashed from either side toward the light. However, the white light was too fast. Their blades, though swift, were a moment too slow and struck only empty air. The light continued unimpeded toward Hou Shen.
At that moment, Hou Shen was midair, unable to change course. Mei Qing was locked in a spiritual struggle with the Jiangshi and could not turn to look. The Sun brothers, one heavily injured and the other still recovering from his last move, were also unable to intervene. The white light passed Yao and Zhou, then dodged past a stunned Zhao Dayou, with no one left to block its path.
Yet just then, a pair of hands suddenly appeared, striking downward from midair and hitting the white light squarely in the middle. With a single blow, the light was sent flying off at an angle.
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