Minglong

Chapter 179 Superb?

The sandstorm has subsided.

The autumn wind whipped up fallen leaves, covering the messy woods bathed in moonlight.

A man, covered in wounds, lay on the black earth, his blood seeping into the soil, occasionally letting out a weak cough.

"cough……"

Step, step...

Xie Jinhuan, dressed in sleeveless soft armor and carrying his sword, walked seven steps away and drew his Heavenly Mace.

Although there are no words, martial arts have no dogma, no tradition, and no pursuit of immortality. All that is sought is the skill of killing, and there is no need for words.

A horizontal line and a vertical line—that's the whole of martial arts.

Outside the ravaged battlefield, Nangong Ye, wearing a veiled hat and drenched in sweat, watched the two 'half-demon' warriors fight and couldn't help but sigh with admiration.

In the practice of martial arts, martial arts practitioners are often regarded as a low-barrier, unskilled profession. However, those martial arts practitioners who truly succeed are indeed terrifyingly strong.

It combines the explosive power of demonic sects, the protective capabilities of Buddhism, the lightning speed of Taoism, and the cunning and scheming of witchcraft, without the shortcomings of the other four sects.

He is perfectly balanced inside and out, not seeking to excel in any particular area, but only to have no weaknesses. He appears to be like a rock, and apart from overwhelming him with superior strength, it is impossible to know how to fight him.

No wonder top martial artists regard the other four as mindless mad dogs, immobile punching bags, flashy but fragile pieces, and loose rats that break at the slightest touch.

If all martial artists were as firmly rooted as Xie Jinhuan, then that would indeed be the case.

Fortunately, martial arts are indeed difficult to master. Ninety-nine percent of martial artists in the world only know one or two moves. Moreover, there is no second place in martial arts. The internal strife in martial arts is even more ruthless than that of witchcraft. Otherwise, the other four sects would really have no chance to stand out.

Seeing that the fight between the two had ended, Nangong Ye drew his sword and walked out of the forest toward Xie Jinhuan.

Xie Jinhuan stood seven steps away, looking at He Man, who was covered in blood, but didn't humiliate a rather formidable opponent:
"Who's behind this? Tell me quickly, and I'll give you some face, so you won't fall into the hands of the Imperial Observatory and suffer physical pain."

"cough……"

He Man's mouth and nose were covered in blood. He still tried to use his blood energy to heal his injuries, but his injuries were so severe that they had exceeded the limit of his blood energy's recovery. Without blood packs around, he could not recover any further. At this moment, his eyes were already somewhat unfocused. Looking at the figure not far away, he said hoarsely:

"It's...it's Monk Wuxin..."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"How would you know if you don't check? Go check it out... Hehe..."

Xie Jinhuan knew this was nonsense, and turned to look at Bing Tuozi who was walking quickly towards him, intending to ask what to do.

But at that moment, the ever-present ghost bride suddenly whispered a warning in his ear:

"Beware!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from the distant mountains and forests:
Boom——

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a dark shadow carrying a terrifying aura flying horizontally from above the forest, like a black meteor, crashing straight down where the ice block was!
Super quality?

Xie Jinhuan's expression changed drastically. In the blink of an eye, Zheng Lun Sword was drawn and he strode forward, piercing into He Man's brow, which furrowed sharply.

Click~!

Skull exploded!

Seeing the imposing presence of the newcomers, Nangong Ye was astonished and drew his sword to try and defend himself.

But the poison had already swept through his lungs and internal organs the moment he started, and he staggered as soon as he tried to gather his energy. He could only grit his teeth and urge on:

"Run!"

At the same time, they wanted to rush forward and risk their lives to intercept him.

But to her utter surprise, Xie Jinhuan killed the demon bandit with a single sword strike, and then lunged forward, unleashing a 'Black Dragon Crashes into a Pillar' that transformed him into a python that swept across the mountains and forests, appearing right in front of her.

At that very moment, the man in black, carrying immense power, crashed to the ground, and with a seemingly effortless yet skillful right-hand straight punch, attacked the two people in front of him!
bang——

This punch was of absolute superior power. Although it did not reveal any style or technique, the heavy punch shattered the fallen leaves and sand within several feet into dust!

The terrifying fist intent even made Nangong Ye behind him feel suffocated, as if he were facing a god or Buddha. He wanted to pull Xie Jinhuan away, but he was powerless to do so!

Faced with the sudden and powerful attack from the Superb, Xie Jinhuan had no chance to land and parry. While in the air, he used his Qi to protect his entire body and pushed the Panlong Henggang technique to its limit, forcibly using his soft chest and abdomen armor to withstand the injury. He didn't even dare to waste a single bit of his Qi to do futile dodging or blocking.

And the power of that punch did not disappoint him!
Boom!
The man in black, imbued with immense divine power, delivered a powerful single-arm punch straight to the chest and abdomen, instantly piercing through the protective aura and causing cracks to appear in the solidified Ice Soul Armor!

click -

Golden light emanated from Xie Jinhuan's brow, protecting his entire body, but it shattered in an instant!

The heavy punch pierced through three layers of protection in succession, and the remaining force still landed on the pectoral muscles, even causing some dents in the flesh supported by the Panlong Henggang!
The heavy blow spread throughout his body, and Xie Jinhuan instantly transformed into an arrow released from a bow, shooting backward and crashing into the woman behind him.

The impact sent the two flying backwards, tearing the fallen leaves in the forest apart. The trees in front of them were almost completely flattened, leaving a black earth groove more than ten feet wide that stretched for hundreds of feet until the two figures disappeared at the end of the dark forest!

Rumbling--

The man in black originally planned to kill the female cultivator with higher cultivation level first, and then turn around and kill Xie Jinhuan in an attempt to save the sect members.

The result was that the full-force punch failed to kill Xie Jinhuan, who was trying to silence them, but instead sent the two of them away, clearly stunned.

After all, the four layers of turtle shells, layered upon layered, are really absurd.

His sure-kill punch only managed to penetrate three and a half layers.

Soft armor, qi, and invincible body are understandable, but where did the Golden Light Mantra with such strong protective power come from?
After the man in black reacted, he tried to finish off the attacker, but before the sound of the attack had subsided, another roar echoed from the depths of the forest.
Boom boom boom...

When Nangong Ye saw Xie Jinhuan risking his life to shield her from the knife, he was heartbroken and tears streamed down his face!

Even though his body was struck and his lungs trembled violently, he ignored his own injuries and held Xie Jinhuan tightly, trying in vain to prevent his body from being torn to pieces and exploded into minced meat in front of her.

But this was clearly wishful thinking. As Nangong Ye flew backward, he crashed into tree branches and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the blond-haired man, whose chest and abdomen were likely completely shattered...

It turned out that Xie Jinhuan's chest and abdomen were intact. He was just staring at the man in black in front of him. When he realized that the distance had been created, he turned around in mid-air, grabbed her with his back hand, and stomped hard on the side of the tree trunk.

Boom boom boom——

Without pause, the black dragon crashed into the pillar and charged outwards at full speed, making nearly ten charges in the blink of an eye, covering a distance of no less than two or three miles!
As Nangong Ye dashed forward at full speed, the surrounding scenery blurred into a blur. His gaze fell upon Xie Jinhuan, his beautiful phoenix eyes filled with shock as he thought to himself:
What kind of indestructible body do you have?!

How come nothing happened?
Xie Jinhuan's two layers of protective charms were instantly pierced. He seemed unharmed, but his heart was bleeding!

But with death looming, he couldn't care less about his possessions. He simply grabbed the ice block and sprinted towards the capital.

Rumble... But in the eyes of the man in black, the scene was that he threw a punch, helping his opponent to increase his speed to the extreme, and then launched a series of "Black Dragon Crashing into the Pillar", creating a spiral tornado in the riverbank forest, which shot out of sight in the blink of an eye.

?

Such an escape speed is even more terrifying than the Xuanming Crow Transformation Technique of the Demonic Path.

The man in black, pursuing relentlessly, risked being intercepted by the Taoist and Buddhist sect leaders who had noticed the commotion. Therefore, he withdrew his gaze, glanced at He Man, whose head had already exploded, and quickly disappeared into the forest carrying the corpse…
-
Rumble…

The air currents along the Luo River surged like a powerful dragon attacking.

With a scalding hot block of ice between his arms, Xie Jinhuan charged out more than ten times without regard for the cost, almost emptying his Qi Sea on the spot.

To prevent being completely rendered incapacitated, Xie Jinhuan made his final dash and then vanished without a trace, landing near a busy official road. He stealthily moved about while having the ghost scout out the surrounding area.

The sudden appearance of a top-tier expert startled Ye Hongshang, who was now floating beside him, surveying the surrounding天地氣 (heaven and earth phenomena).
"It seems they haven't caught up."

"Huh...huh..."

Xie Jinhuan was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, but he didn't forget to check on the condition of the ice block while speeding along.

Nangong Ye made his move at Songhe Bay, and the Yang Poison had already fully erupted. He had no idea that a super-grade expert would suddenly appear before the Celestial Officials had even arrived.

Although Xie Jinhuan blocked his fatal punch, even a single impact was not pleasant, and he was already feeling dizzy.

Having barely escaped death, Nangong Ye dared not close his divine sense. At this moment, he even regretted why he had hesitated and not cleared the Yang poison as soon as possible.

If she were at her peak, she could at least have protected Xie Jinhuan's escape with her 'Ten Thousand Mile Divine Travel Spell,' even if she couldn't kill the man in black.

As a result, she ended up in this state, and a child risked his life to save her. If Xie Jinhuan hadn't had amazing resources, the two of them would have died here today!

Her death can be considered a martyrdom. How old was Xie Jinhuan? If she died to save her, it would be better for her to be disgraced and ruined, and to be looked down upon by her disciples and fellow Daoists, than for her disciples to hate her for the rest of their lives and for the righteous path to lose a valuable talent...

Now, being carried away to escape, Nangong Ye's eyes no longer held their usual sharpness; he simply gritted his teeth and said:

"Go quickly, don't worry about me..."

"I've already run away, and you're telling me to leave you alone? Can you even handle it?"

"I've taken some medicine, which is barely enough to suppress it... That man in black has already reached the Super Rank, but his identity is unknown. Don't turn back to the capital yet, hide him..."

……

Xie Jinhuan ran at full speed, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

After all, "super grade" and "first grade" are two different concepts.

The Super Grade is the path from mortal to immortal, and the difficulty of reaching it is extremely high. Without items like Tiger Bone Vine, Phoenix Feather Grass, or Blood Demon Pill to force a breakthrough, it would be as difficult as a 'sudden enlightenment' for a normal cultivator to reach the Super Grade on their own. Nine out of ten cultivators will never have the chance in their lifetime.

The scarcity of natural resources naturally limits the number of top-tier cultivators. In the thirty-two states of the Great Qian Dynasty, there are only one or two such individuals in each state, all of whom are sect leaders who monopolize the cultivation resources of their respective states.

The remaining people, such as Zhang Guan and Old Man Li, possess rare and precious materials and could actually reach the Super Grade level, but even if the sect has surplus resources, they can only save them for future generations and use them wisely, rather than pouring them into them.

If you're talking about using resources to forcefully create a top-tier bodyguard, then Cao Fo'er is the one Emperor Qian painstakingly nurtured at any cost. He's strong, but compared to other top-tier bodyguards, his abilities are clearly inflated.

Therefore, the top-tier Gu Kings in the world are basically those who have fought their way out by eliminating all competitors, and their backgrounds and foundations are all quite impressive.

Xie Jinhuan originally thought that the mastermind behind the demon bandits in the capital was a ruthless person who was half a step into the super grade. He really did not expect that a super grade would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Within a thousand miles of Jingzhao Prefecture, the known number of experts of the highest rank or above can be counted on one hand:

Lu Wuzhen, Monk Wuxin, Wei Wuyi and his son, Mu Yunling, Li Chimo of Xuanhu Temple, Abbot of Fanyun Temple, and Cao Foer.

Among them, the 'Three No' Ancestor can be ruled out; these three won't fail to deal with him.

The remaining five patriarchs are harder to guess. The man in black was clearly afraid of being exposed, so he simply used heavy punches and did not display any sect supernatural powers.

Xie Jinhuan couldn't figure out who it was, but luckily there was a ghost with him, who reminded him at this moment:
"Although he was dressed in black and his face was covered, he did not deliberately conceal his internal condition. He is not a demon, but seems to be a Buddhist."

"Buddhism?"

Xie Jinhuan frowned.

If it's a Buddhist superior grade, then it can only be the monk Jinghai of Fanyun Temple and Cao Fo'er.

Cao Fo'er, as the head of the Crimson Scale Guard, could have been killed by the Underworld God Cult as soon as he arrived in the capital if he were a member of the Underworld God Cult. There would have been no need to wait until today.

As for the abbot of Fanyun Temple, he didn't know him...

Xie Jinhuan couldn't figure out who it was for the time being, but he knew that if the man in black was determined to kill him, then turning back to the capital now would likely be walking into a trap.

If Bing Tuozi recovers his body, the two of them together will have a chance to escape; otherwise, they will surely die if they are ambushed.

Therefore, we must first restore some of the ice cube's fighting strength before we dare to run back...

The ice block was clearly telling him to hide, which was exactly what it meant.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan looked at the ice block he was holding:

Where do we hide?

Nangong Ye was also guessing the identity of the man in black. As the sect leader of Danzhou, she dared not trust any of the outsiders. She gritted her teeth and said:

"Go to Danyang. The academy and Zihui Mountain can't possibly be related to the Underworld Cult. It's safer than the capital. That man in black definitely wouldn't expect us to run north. Let's treat our injuries first and then come back."

Danyang was right at the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture. With Xie Jinhuan's current speed, it wasn't too far. He immediately flipped the ice block over and carried it on his back, hugged his legs, and activated his icy energy to help stabilize the Yang poison. He then changed course and sped towards Huaijiang.

"You suppress the Yang poison, leave the rest to me."

Nangong Ye was almost driven mad by the Yang poison. In the midst of the turbulence, he noticed that Xie Jinhuan's left arm was bleeding profusely and that he was panting heavily. His eyes were filled with heartache and guilt.

But she really had no other choice at the moment and could only lean on his shoulder:
"Thanks for your hard work."

"Alright, it's good that you're alive..."

……

stomping on...

Two figures dashed through the shadows along the riverbank, trying their best to keep their voices down, but they vanished from sight in an instant...

……

It was already past midnight when I woke up. I just finished writing this chapter. I'll write another chapter or two.
(End of this chapter)