Translator: GodBrandy Editor: Kurisu
I’ll fight for some time at full strength, then follow the script, allowing Senior Brother Gao Sheng’s character to complete its sacrifice smoothly, Song Shuhang thought to himself.
If an ordinary cultivator of the Third Stage fought against a crowd of demons of the Third and Fourth Stage rank, they would get defeated immediately.
Yet, Song Shuhang was confident that he would resist for a short time while fighting them, making Senior Brother Gao Sheng’s death look a little cooler.
Amidst the cultivation techniques and martial skills he practiced, there were several that were very effective against demons.
In addition, he could also rely on the light of virtue covering his body. If he was careful enough, he might be able to kill one or two demons before ‘dying’.
The ❮Steel Hands Technique❯ had the capacity to strengthen his body and arms.
The ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ and the ❮Celestial Sprint❯ footwork could help him dodge attacks and make sudden accelerations.
The ❮Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Technique❯ allowed him to condense a special type of liquid true qi, permitting his true qi to have some of the properties that the ‘innate true qi’ of cultivators of the Fourth Stage had even though he himself was still in the Third Stage Realm.
Needless to say, both the ❮Holy Light Sword Technique❯ and the ❮Demon Subduing Buddhist Fist Technique❯ were very powerful against demons.
“Come,” Song Shuhang said as he grasped his treasured saber tightly.
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The demons roared, and charged toward him.
The one in the forefront position was a demon with the head of an ox, holding a huge axe.
Just as it was about to arrive in front of Song Shuhang, the ox-headed demon moved his arm and flung its axe toward him. The secret passage was narrow and crowded, and it was impossible for the ox-headed demon to use its axe properly there. Therefore, it used it as a throwing weapon and got rid of it before the start of the battle.
The surface of the huge axe was even bigger than Song Shuhang’s body. He would surely turn into a pulp if he got hit.
“❮Inverted Scale Saber Technique—Dragon Dance!❯” Song Shuhang wielded his saber and slashed horizontally.
The saber danced like a dragon, and a dragon cry reverberated in the air.
Song Shuhang had no intention of meeting that huge axe head on. As such, he used the ❮Dragon Dance Style❯ to hit the side of the axe before it could hit his body.
The trajectory of the huge axe changed. It spun for a while, and finally cut into a stone wall behind Song Shuhang.
“Boom~” The whole secret passage shook, and the axe got stuck into the wall.
In the meantime, the ox-headed demon arrived in front of Song Shuhang, and punched toward his head with its fists, which were bigger than a pressure cooker each.
Aside from the ox-headed demon, other ten or so humanoid demons speedily came over. They were all holding sharp swords in their hands.
As one might have guessed, Fairy Lychee was secretly pulling the strings from behind the scenes. After all, Senior Brother Gao Sheng’s body was supposed to be pierced by thirteen swords during the scene of his heroic sacrifice, which would take place in a while.
Good, come!
Song Shuhang spun his wrist and slashed toward the incoming fist of the ox-headed demon.
The ox-headed demon was a demon of the Third Stage rank. It had tough skin and incredible physical strength. In comparison, its attack speed was rather low. It was a sandbag-type demon that looked very powerful on the outside, but was slow and with a relatively weak fighting power.
The reason it appeared in the forefront position and attacked Song Shuhang was due to Fairy Lychee’s arrangement. Everything was in order to allow Senior Brother Gao Sheng, who was just a cultivator of the Third Stage Realm, to get a moment of glory before his death.
Fairy Lychee had really given much thought to the matter.
“Whoosh~” Flames started to burn on the blade of the treasured saber Broken Tyrant.
It was Song Shuhang’s first time using the ‘Flaming Saber Technique’ that Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven had passed onto him after advancing to the Third Stage Realm.
While displaying the technique today, Song Shuhang tried to copy once again the heaven burning saber intent that Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven showed him in the dream back then.
Strangely enough, the heaven burning flames of the ‘Flaming Saber Technique’ were a little less overbearing but sharper this time around.
The Flaming Saber Technique was the most mysterious among the techniques that Song Shuhang practiced, to the point that he was unable to increase its level even after borrowing Young Master Phoenix Slayer’s cheat-like CPU. Thereupon, Song Shuhang would pay attention to this technique the most during his daily practice.
Although the technique he displayed today was still a copy of Daoist Priest Scarlet Heaven’s saber intent, Song Shuhang had mixed in some ideas of his own.
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“Boy, die!” The ox-headed demon was really confident in the strength of its fists. Therefore, it completely ignored the sharpness of the blade and the flames burning on it, using its fist to meet the treasured saber directly.
“Boom~” Broken Tyrant and the fist of the ex-headed demon collided.
Song Shuhang felt his arm turning slightly numb. The sheer amount of power that was transmitted from the fist of the ox-headed demon made him retreat half a step.
However, the ox-headed demon was in a far worse situation. After all, Song Shuhang’s treasured saber Broken Tyrant could cut even the body of a cultivator of the Fourth Stage.
After meeting head on Song Shuhang’s slash, the hand of the ox-headed demon got smashed as a result.
As if that wasn’t enough, the flames burning on the blade of the treasured saber exploded with all their might as Song Shuhang’s slash connected.
The flames swallowed the fist of the ox-headed demon, and instantly spread onto the rest of its body.
These flames made of saber qi were very different from ordinary flames. After sticking to the body of the ox-headed demon, they burned like crazy.
“Aaaaaah~” the ox-headed demon called out pitifully, and fell to the ground.
It continuously rolled on the ground, and the evil qi of the Netherworld Realm also continually gushed out of its body in the attempt to suppress and extinguish the flames.
But right at this time, the flaming saber qi apparently reacted to the evil qi of the Netherworld Realm, suddenly rising up.
A tremendous and awe-inspiring strength appeared within the flames.
Thanks to this newly added power, the ox-headed demon was immediately reduced to ashes!
The ten or so humanoid demons in the rear that were rushing over were dumbfounded as well.
An instant kill!
The Flaming Saber Technique of that human cultivator of the Third Stage instantly killed the ox-headed demon! Although it was a bit stupid, the ox-headed demon possessed a strong body and tough skin; its defense was quite good amidst demons of the Third Stage.
Even a cultivator of the Fourth Stage would find it hard to instantly kill it with a slash.
Was it possible that this human cultivator of the Third Stage was a Fifth Stage Spiritual Emperor in disguise?
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Let alone the demons, even Song Shuhang himself was dumbfounded, and couldn’t recover for a while. F*ck, since when has my Flaming Saber Technique become so powerful?
Even if his understanding of the ❮Heaven Burning Flaming Saber Technique❯ had gotten better, which allowed him to put his own will into the saber intent, there was no way its power would have increased that much!
Song Shuhang recalled the flames that reduced the ox-headed demon to ashes. He felt a very familiar aura coming from those flames… it was the aura of the heavenly tribulation!
Since he had just transcended the tribulation, Song Shuhang was really sensitive to the aura of the heavenly tribulation.
Shuhang couldn’t help but glance at the treasured saber Broken Tyrant he was holding in his hand…
Was it possible that the cause of everything was his treasured saber Broken Tyrant?
Song Shuhang still remembered that Broken Tyrant had quietly absorbed a little bit of lightning of tribulation while he was transcending the tribulation.
The ‘lightning of tribulation’ that the heavenly tribulation generated was the greatest enemy of the demons of the Netherworld.
Such being the case, there was a chance that the slash of the Flaming Saber Technique he’d used just now contained some of the energy of the lightning of tribulation that the treasured saber Broken Tyrant had stored within its blade, causing that ox-headed demon of the Third Stage to be instantly killed.
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After the temporary shock, those ten or so humanoid demons returned to their senses, their eyes turning red once again.
One of the humanoid demons clenched its teeth, and said, “This human cultivator is only at the Third Stage Realm, but pay special attention to the blade in his hands. There is something wrong with that saber. Anyway, we don’t need to fear this human as long as we keep dodging his saber! Increase the frequency of the attacks and prevent him from activating those flames again!”
After saying these words, those ten or so demons of the Netherworld resumed their march toward Song Song Shuhang.
When they were at a distance of eight meters from him, the demons made their move. Some of them threw out their hidden weapons, others shot out their needle-like hair, and others again sprayed venom out of their mouths, launching their various attacks toward Song Shuhang. They decided to use this method to prevent Song Shuhang from ‘activating’ those flames.
❮Inverted Scale Saber Technique—Dragon Dance Style!❯
Song Shuhang calmly waved his treasured saber and slashed out. The slash was like a huge dancing dragon, and one could faintly hear the cry of a dragon emitted by the blade.
All the attacks that the demons of the Netherworld launched against Song Shuhang were swept away.
Those ten or so demons of the Netherworld took advantage of this wave of long-range attacks to pull the distance between Song Shuhang and them closer.
“Now is the time!” the demons of the Netherworld roared, the long swords in their hands thrusting toward Song Shuhang from all directions.
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It’s almost time! Song Shuhang thought to himself. It was time for Senior Brother Gao Sheng to complete his mission and die after getting pierced by thirteen swords.
After his death, it would be time for Senior Brother Gao Sheng’s wife, the ‘White-Clothed Swordsman’ Fan Bai, to get into action.
Song Shuhang was really happy that Senior Brother Gao Sheng was going to die before Fan Bai. It was truly great to end his suffering by dying quickly and swiftly entering the circle of reincarnation. There was no need for him to act like Medicine Master, who had to hold Miss Riverly Purple Mist’s corpse and reveal his true feelings, crying loudly during the scene.
Song Shuhang mentally calculated the safe distance.
Then, he waited for those ten or so demons of different sizes to attack him from different angles with their sharp swords, and activated the hidden mechanism concealed in the sleeve of his daoist robe.
In the next moment, his body emitted a dazzling radiance that covered both him and the ten or so demons.
Afterward, a row of sword hilts popped out from the front of his daoist robe, with several blade tips popping out from the back, making it seem as though tens of swords had pierced through his body.
Song Shuhang lay on the ground and looked for a comfortable position, making it so that the thirteen swords that had ‘pierced through his body’ wouldn’t trouble him while lying down.
“Done,” Song Shuhang muttered to himself, very satisfied. Since he was able to take advantage of the dazzling light to adjust his position, his posture while lying down was much more natural than that of the seniors of the Nine Provinces Number One Group.
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After fixing his posture, Song Shuhang waited for that transparent barrier to appear and block the sharp swords headed toward him.
However, that transparent barrier that should have appeared by now to protect him… didn’t appear.
Is there something wrong with the mechanism? Song Shuhang was startled. Or perhaps he didn’t have that protective equipment with him in the first place!?
F*ck! I got duped!
Why the hell am I the only one without the barrier?!
As expected, it was too naive of me to think that the defensive mechanism was incorporated in the daoist robe!
Nonetheless, what kind of joke is this?! I’ll die if I don’t have that protective barrier to save me!
Whatever, now is not the time to complain!
In less than a second, the swords of those ten or so demons would really stab his body.
What could he do?
He didn’t have time to use the ❮Inverted Scale Saber Technique❯ at this moment, and he wasn’t wearing the daoist robe he got from the western monk, either.
In addition, since he was lying on the ground in a rather comfortable position after he started to ‘feign death’, he didn’t even have room for dodging. He would be able to dodge the incoming attack only if he could teleport away.
It was a desperate situation!
Song Shuhang tried to keep his calm and think of a plan. Perhaps he could try to erupt the liquefied true qi in his body and form a barrier of true qi around his body? However, the enemies were demons of the Third and Fourth Stage, and a hastily formed barrier of true qi wouldn’t be able to block their sharp swords!
Wait, I still have those armor talismans with me!
Nevertheless, the armor talismans were in his size-reducing purse, and he would need some time to take them out and activate them.
After pondering for a moment, he concluded that the best plan for now was to use the ❮Steel Hands Technique❯ and the treasured saber Broken Tyrant to protect the vital parts of his body, taking those ten or so swords head on.
It wasn’t a big deal if he got injured somewhere else. As long as he didn’t die on the spot, the nearby Fairy Lychee and Senior Phoenix Slayer would quickly get a gist of what was happening and protect him.
He hadn’t expected that he would encounter this much danger while shooting the movie!
Earth was really a dangerous place.
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The dazzling light that the daoist robe emitted was able to affect the demons of the Netherworld only for an instant.
As soon as they recovered their sight, they noticed that Song Shuhang was lying on the ground in a strange position. He was covered with blood, and many swords had pierced his body…
Was this one playing dead as well?
The demons of the Netherworld had already gotten used to it.
Eh? Wait a moment… there is no protective barrier around the body of this human cultivator!
The eyes of the demons of the Netherworld lit up.
Although they didn’t know why there was no barrier around the body of this human cultivator, the sharp swords in their hands wouldn’t stand on ceremony. They immediately seized the opportunity and thrust their swords toward Song Shuhang without any hesitation.
As the blades were getting closer and closer to Song Shuhang, the latter activated the innate skill of his Eye Aperture.
After the activation of the innate skill of his Eye Aperture, he could clearly see the angles from which the sharp swords of the demons were coming.
Therefore, he started to calculate whether each place they were going to hit was a vital one or not.
At the critical moment, he would use the ❮Steel Hands Technique❯ and the treasured saber Broken Tyrant to protect his vital parts.
The words ‘golden-bell cover’ and ‘iron shirt cloth’ 1 resurfaced in Song Shuhang’s mind at this time.
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“Clang, clang, clang~”
The demons thrust their swords forward!
But Song Shuhang, who had clenched his teeth and was preparing himself for pain, didn’t feel anything.
At this time, a shining armor had appeared around his body.
It was the power of the armor talisman!
“Lady Onion, thank you!” Song Shuhang immediately understood what had happened.
“Hmph! If you really want to thank me, you should set me free.” Lady Onion’s lovely snort echoed from within his clothes. At the critical moment, Lady Onion activated the armor talisman in the size-reducing purse in Song Shuhang’s stead.
The energy of the armor talisman covered Song Shuhang’s body and blocked the sharp swords of the demons.
Unfortunately, this armor talisman was of the Fourth Stage rank, and it wouldn’t last long given the situation.
Song Shuhang didn’t hesitate and opened his mouth, using the ❮Roaring Lion’s Technique❯ he had just finished preparing.
The sound of the ❮Roaring Lion’s Technique❯ reverberated throughout the surrounding area like a raging thunder. The innate skill of Song Shuhang’s Mouth Aperture, the ‘Illusory Sound’, was also included in the technique. This caused the demons that were approaching to attack him to be stunned for three milliseconds.
Three milliseconds were enough for the current Song Shuhang to turn the tide.
Song Shuhang sprang to his feet, revolving the ❮Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Technique❯ at full strength.
“Flaming Saber Technique!” Song Shuhang spun his wrist and activated the Flaming Saber Technique, performing a pirouette afterward.
The Flaming Saber Technique spun together with his body, forming a ring of fire all around him. In the next moment, the flaming saber qi shrouded all the demons surrounding him.
Although thirteen swords had pierced through his body, Senior Brother Gao Sheng stood in place while holding his saber, looking truly tyrannical.
In a distant place, Director Jacob furrowed his brows, and said, “Tell Mister Song to stop showing off and drop dead quickly! Tell him not to return to life again!”
