Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 282 Night, Temple, Mountain Lord
Night, Dangshan, a dilapidated temple.

The night sky, like a vast black curtain, pressed heavily upon the mountains. The evening wind and rain had not yet dissipated, and the howling winds sweeping through the ridges still carried a chilling, bone-deep cold. In the depths of a dark patch of vegetation, pairs of gleaming green eyes would occasionally appear, only to vanish in an instant, followed shortly by a strange rustling sound coming from dozens of feet away.

"master."

"There seems to be something unclean around here."

A graceful figure landed gracefully in the air. The girl had bright eyes and white teeth, and was dressed in a blue-black silk outfit. Her exposed arms had skin as smooth as jade, and her slender fingers flashed with a cold light like a blade. She held a leaf between her fingers and shot it out like an arrow piercing the air. Soon, a mournful cry like that of a wild beast came from the grass and trees outside the dilapidated mountain god temple.

Inside the mountain god temple sat cross-legged a stunningly beautiful woman. Her face resembled that of a young woman in her late teens, yet her expression hinted at the mature allure of a married woman. She slightly opened her narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes, her gaze as clear as water, radiating a captivating charm, both restrained and passionate, like a demure yet alluring enchantress. The beautiful woman said in a deep voice, "It's alright."

"However, some mountain spirits and monsters dare not provoke us."

The bright young girl knelt on one knee before the beautiful woman. A red cinnabar mark appeared on her fair wrist, like an engraved curse mark. She asked cautiously, "Should I deal with them?"

"So as not to disturb the master's peace and quiet in the middle of the night."

The beautiful woman, dressed in a black palace gown, hesitated for a moment before saying, "No need."

"Sit down and rest."

"When a true dragon is born, two dragons will surely appear."

"I don't know if bringing you out here is a blessing or a curse. When we arrive at Jiaochi in Dangshan tomorrow, please be extra careful."

Upon hearing this, the bright-eyed girl was also deeply moved and respectfully bowed her head, saying, "Yes. This disciple will follow your teachings."

The night wind howled.

Suddenly, the eerie rustling sound returned. The beautiful woman in the black palace dress opened her eyes, her anger flashing, and coldly rebuked, "Insolence!"

"They actually dared to come again."

Her figure flashed through the air like a ghost in an instant. The moment she raised her hand, her slender fingers stirred up a gust of wind and waves. The grass and trees within a radius of more than ten meters in front of her were all shaken down. A clear palm print appeared on the ground, penetrating more than an inch into the soil. The enemy hidden in the grass and trees had all his bones shattered, and his whole body was smashed into a pulp, turning into a pool of blood.

"Mysterious Yin Palm?"

A deep male voice echoed through the mountains and forests, sounding like a human voice but not quite. The mountain wind howled, and in an instant, a fierce gale arose, black mist filled the air, and a beast-like roar resounded throughout the mountains and forests. Birds and beasts within a radius of more than ten miles took flight in fright, as if some enormous creature was approaching.

The bright-eyed girl inside the mountain god temple quickly followed. She drew the soft sword from her waist, and with the flick of a serpent, her movements were like a butterfly fluttering through the air. She swiftly pierced and killed several crows that had come flying by.

"Mountain lord?!"

The beautiful woman in black palace attire gradually became solemn. With a wave of her long sleeves, a shockwave swept away the grass and trees in front of her, revealing three or four men dressed as martial artists. All of them were already dead, merely mindless zombies being driven around. She turned to the darkness with lightning speed and said coldly, "Chang Gui."

"We have no enmity with each other, so why is the mountain lord disturbing us?"

The clouds follow the dragon and the wind follows the tiger.

The fierce mountain wind swept through like a blade, as chilling as sword energy. A fierce tiger with glaring eyes and a white forehead, resembling a giant beast, appeared, its expression vaguely humanoid, and it spoke in human language: "People of the Demonic Sect."

"You killed my beloved son, this debt must be repaid in blood!"

The mountain lord stood like a human, its figure nearly ten feet tall. With a wave of its sharp claws, the trees along the way were torn to shreds. An extremely domineering palm wind came, splitting mountains and cracking rocks. The beautiful woman only took one palm strike before she coughed up blood. She quickly retreated, and with a flick of her wrist, more than ten silver needles pierced the air, aiming at the mountain lord's vital eyes.

The tiger transformed into human form, blocked with its right arm, grunted, and used all four limbs to charge. Although its movement was not as fast as a human's, it was extremely swift and explosive, covering a distance of tens of meters, and then swept across with another palm.

boom!
Within a radius of several dozen meters, the grass and trees swayed wildly. The beautiful woman in palace attire shifted her form, vanished into thin air, and suddenly reappeared behind the mountain lord, her five fingers forming claws, aiming straight for his vital points.

But a tiger is not human; it is merely a creature in human form.

The tiger's long tail was like a whip, whistling through the air as it lashed out. The two exchanged several blows in mid-air, then simultaneously groaned and staggered backward.

Blood dripped from the tiger's claws, its fur soaked in blood, the cold, poisonous claws seeping into its body. The beautiful woman in the black palace dress had her bodice wide open, revealing her snow-white skin. Several claw marks nearly pierced her left chest. Although they were only superficial wounds, if she had been a step slower, the mountain lord might have ripped out her heart and lungs.

The mountain lord's move, Black Tiger Claws the Heart, is unremarkable and simple, yet its power is terrifying!

It suppressed all superior martial arts techniques.

"master!"

The bright-eyed girl quickly supported the beautiful woman who was breathing unsteadily. The mountain lord in human form was no match for ordinary people. Its palm wind was so domineering that it could split mountains and shatter rocks. Fortunately, it had only recently taken human form and had not yet learned the art of weapons. The martial arts it had acquired were all obtained by killing martial artists. It had not obtained any advanced or superior techniques or secret arts passed down from ancient times.

If it were to learn the art of weaponry and wield a mountain-splitting knife, with the strength of a tiger, even a top-tier master who has entered the Dao might not be able to defeat it.

This is the transformation of the Tiger (寅虎), the path to enlightenment through force.

The beautiful woman in palace attire won somewhat by chance. She first used silver needles to pierce the mountain lord's protective aura, then struck his vital point with a heart-shattering palm, causing the demonic energy within the mountain lord to fluctuate. She then secretly administered a potent poison, which finally forced the enemy to retreat.

Even though the mountain lord could transform into human form, his experience in combat was still somewhat lacking compared to that of a mortal.

"It doesn't matter."

The beautiful woman in palace attire stopped her disciple, her eyes fixed on the mountain lord ahead. The lord shook its fur, forcing out more than ten silver needles, but its internal energy was still turbulent and unstable, its breathing was rapid, and its pupils were slightly dilated. The poison had already invaded its heart and abdomen. It said hatefully, "As expected of a demonic cultist, its methods are insidious and vicious."

“I, Lu Shanjun, will remember this debt.”

After saying that, its massive body leaped into the ravine. As it soared, it was like a master swordsman, clinging to the cliff face and shattering rocks with its strength. It quickly disappeared into the vast darkness, leaving only a series of tiger claw marks on the nearby cliffs.

At this moment, the beautiful woman in palace attire was barely breathing. Her face turned pale, and her expression gradually became listless. The disciples beside her hurriedly helped her up, tearing off a corner of her skirt to cover her chest and bandaging her up. The beautiful woman said in a deep voice, "There is actually a mountain lord seeking revenge here. I'm afraid there are members of the Demonic Sect causing us trouble."

"Go quickly!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a strange laugh rang out. The voice was hoarse, and the person swooped through the air like a bat. The moment they raised their hand, corpse poison spread. The voice sounded like a Sichuan dialect, and it was playful: "Junior sister, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

"Why don't we join forces, slay that mountain lord, and take its demon core?"

The air currents surged.

The two exchanged a palm strike from a distance, causing cracks to appear in the ground beneath their feet. The beams and pillars of the nearby mountain god temple collapsed, raising clouds of dust.

In an instant, their speed was as fast as ghosts. They exchanged more than ten blows in the dust and mist. The hunched figure withdrew and retreated quickly, shaking his palm and saying with a dark blue face, "Junior Sister's Xuan Yin Palm is so domineering! It has some of the style of the Nine Netherworld Maiden."

The beautiful woman in palace attire was deathly pale, but her aura was not weak. She said coldly, "I dare not compare myself to the patriarch, but I am not afraid of your corpse poison and miasma."

"Where are the twelve blood children beside you?"

"They were all killed by the mountain lords?"

When this person appeared, she already knew who was plotting against her and trying to lure the Mountain Lord into making a move. The Blood Child that the other party was controlling with secret techniques would probably be mostly dead.

As they spoke, several figures appeared, all of them quite young, the oldest being only in his early twenties.

They were all dressed in black, their expressions stiff, like puppets. But one of them seemed a little confused. He was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with eyes like stars, deep and unfathomable. As if he had just woken up from a dream, he first glanced at the beautiful woman in palace attire, and then frowned as he looked at the hunchbacked monster in front of him.

what happened?

Isn't the Blood Child Secret Technique supposed to be able to manipulate minds?

Why did that blood child's expression appear no different from that of an ordinary person?

The beautiful woman in palace attire was surprised, but remained calm. It was rumored that some people in the Demonic Sect could break free from the secret technique of the Blood Child's immortality. The Demonic Sect had six branches, each with its own strengths. The strange man selected young men to be refined into Blood Children, teaching them external martial arts techniques but not superior internal martial arts, so that he could easily control their minds with secret techniques.

This strange man's cultivation technique is extremely bizarre. He can use the life of a Blood Child to die in his place and transfer internal and external injuries to the other party. It is no longer a conventional superior martial art, but rather resembles an ancient secret technique or incantation.

As the two were talking, the Blood Child had already returned to his expressionless state, his face stiff as if he were a puppet, and his eyes no longer held the deep gaze they once had.

The beautiful woman was surprised and guessed that the blood child that the other party had refined might have backfired, but she did not say anything and just waited for the right time.

"Senior brother, what about your youngest son?"

"Could it be that it was torn to pieces by the Mountain Lord? I heard that you had several sons with a Miao witch, and all of them were refined into blood children?" The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes slightly, but her words made the other party grit his teeth in anger.

This strange man was extremely cruel. In his early years, he was not well-known within the six branches of the Demonic Sect. It wasn't until he refined his sons into blood children that he shocked everyone with his ruthless methods. It is said that he had several sons. One son died in his place while fighting for treasure with someone from the Western Regions. Another son was smashed into a pulp by an outer sect master. A third son was turned into a zombie by curses during an internal power struggle within the Demonic Sect. He went berserk and even bit him, which drastically changed his appearance and personality, making him the hunched-over, inhuman creature he is today.

The beautiful woman was right. His last son was also torn apart by the mountain king, and now he is half-human and half-corpse, and is basically extinct.

A breeze blew by.

The Blood Child behind the strange man quietly took a half step back. The beautiful woman had been keeping an eye on him and was now more certain that the Blood Child had broken free of the secret technique. She just didn't know whether he had broken through the three top barriers with his powerful internal force or whether the Blood Child's immortality technique had left some flaw.

This kind of evil technique requires suppressing and refining the blood child, and it's best to start from a young age, directly using a tender teenager to transfer the power and cast the spell.

"what's the situation?!"

Why do I have so many negative feelings about me?

"Blood Child Substitute Curse?"

"Blood Refining Technique?"

"Is this some kind of martial arts or magic?"

Hang up!

God's-eye view, open.

A glint flashed in the handsome young man's eyes, and in an instant, everything around him came into his mind. It seemed that there were only a few people in front of him, but there were quite a few people watching the excitement nearby.

—Elder of the Xuan Yin Sect (Xuan Yin Hua Sheng) (Ming Jing Zhi Shui) (Five-pointed silver-gray).

This must be the beautiful woman in palace attire; she's quite powerful.

— Blood Pool Traitor Elder (Blood Child Immortal Body) (Heavenly Demon Power) (Curse of Annihilation of Self and Other) (Five-Star Gold).

This weirdo is even stronger.

Are they definitely martial arts practitioners?

Duncan zoomed in from God's perspective. On the cliff face of the mountain stream where the two were fighting, a burly figure clung to the cliff. It had a colorful coat of fur, a long tail like a whip, and claws embedded in the solid rock. It had quietly returned at some point and had reached the right side of the group.

——Lu Shanjun (Demon Beast) (Tiger Transformation) (Horizontal Qi Training) (Five-Star Gold)

This is definitely not the martial arts world anymore.

Such a huge tiger was lying on the cliff face, most of its body was already indistinguishable from a human's. Good heavens, it exuded a fierce and bloodthirsty aura, I wonder how much blood it had enjoyed.

—Dangshan Mountain God (received a title for meritorious deeds) (Purification and Unity Mantra) (Four-star silver-gray).

Not far away, in the mountain god temple, a middle-aged scholar-like man was trembling. Ordinary people could not see him with their naked eyes. He seemed to be attached to the temple like a spirit. He watched the fighting people outside without any intention of getting involved. He just looked at his dilapidated mountain god temple with heartache.

On the cliff opposite, there was another person, with a carefree and arrogant expression, holding a wine jug and carrying a long sword, drinking alone. He glanced at this side and shook his head and sighed, "The Crimson Dragon is born, and the Flood Dragon takes shape."

"They've really brought out all sorts of demons and monsters."

—Sword Immortal Lü Su (Sword Heart Clear) (Heavenly Gang Incantation) (Yin-Yang Eyes) (Six-Star Gold)

Good guy.

There's actually a sword immortal on the other side.

Duncan surveyed the entire Dangshan Mountain and soon discovered many strange and unusual things.

— Ghostly Spirit (3-star silver-gray).

—Mountain Monster (3-star silver-gray).

—Grass Spirit (Two-star silver-gray).

Ultimately, his perspective returned to himself. Everything on the projected page was different from the past, presenting an oriental color scheme and reflecting a nebula pattern resembling a yin-yang symbol in the dimensional space.

—Blood Fiend Palm, Heart-Shattering Palm, Tendon-Dislocating and Bone-Dislocating Hand, Groin-Striking Leg, Corpse Poison Sand, etc.

A bunch of martial arts, miscellaneous and not refined. The highest blue mark is somewhat like the initial mastery of sword stance. All these moves are aimed at the vital points of the upper and lower body, either gouging the eyes, striking the groin, or being poisonous.

When his attention was focused on his internal energy cultivation, a mark of 'internal energy disorder' was also displayed.

However, all Blood Children are three-star marked units.

Conversation room.

The two people directly in front clashed again. The beautiful woman in palace attire was clearly slightly weaker, and having already exchanged blows with the Mountain Lord, she was now at a disadvantage against the hunchbacked monster. A group of Blood Children rushed forward to attack, but two Blood Children, including Duncan, remained in place. At the same time, the negative status of the 'Blood Child Substitute Curse' on the projection screen lit up faintly.

The wind howled.

Just as the two were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle, a figure suddenly leaped into the air. It wasn't some kind of advanced lightness skill, but rather a second- or third-rate movement technique common in the martial arts world. However, it couldn't withstand the opponent's powerful inner energy. It broke through the air with pure brute force and struck down with a palm like a roaring tiger, startling the hunchbacked monster so much that his face changed drastically.

Mountain King!

Wherever the tiger's palm strikes, destruction is swift and devastating. A Blood Child is smashed into a bloody pulp, and the strange man coughs up blood and flies backward. A Blood Child next to Duncan instantly becomes listless and dies on the spot, and the Blood Child Substitute Curse on his body gradually disappears.

"A certain mountain lord, clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment."

The transformed tiger tossed a bright red fruit to the beautiful woman behind it, its bloodthirsty eyes fixed on the hunchbacked monster in front of it. Qi swirled around its tiger claws, and its strong muscles and bones crackled as it opened its eyes like a tiger, with the faint reflection of a ghost or god appearing behind it.

The cycle of sixty years protects me.

Jiaxu protects my form.

The year Jia-Shen (1644) is my destiny.

The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 guards my soul.

Jia Chen Town is my spirit.

The year Jia Yin nurtured me truly.

The power of the Tiger!

The Six Ding and Six Jia Protective Mantra!
The mountain lord returned with even greater momentum, now employing both martial arts and incantations.

Duncan's expression changed drastically.

Because the Blood Child Substitute Curse on his body gradually began to glow faintly.

This old bastard wants to use him as a substitute for dying.

Having finally descended upon the Eastern world, how could he easily die here? He hadn't even had a chance to enjoy himself in the East yet; this human form had invested a great deal.

His vast divine sense began to operate rapidly, and all the martial arts skills he had mastered in his human form were digested and transformed into moves.

Immediately afterwards, the most proficient martial arts techniques, such as the Tendon-Dislocating Bone-Breaking Hand, Heart-Shattering Palm, and Groin-Striking Leg, were loaded directly.

The demonic sect's techniques are extremely vicious.

But that's just right, if it hits, the opponent will be crippled or killed. First, they'll gouge out the eyes, then kick the groin and smash the balls. Duncan only has one chance to shoot.

………………

(End of this chapter)