One person: Orochi, starting with Feng Baobao's Eight Heroes.

Chapter 271 Headless Shuten-dōji

"It's that kid..." The old Celestial Master suddenly burst into laughter, and the Yin Five Thunderbolts in his sleeve erupted with a deafening roar.

"Shuten! Behold the lightning!"

The pitch-black lightning, like a giant python, pounced on the demon, but Shuten-dōji, unusually, did not dodge.

He reached up and grabbed the horns on his head, amidst the horrified gazes of everyone—

"Crack!"

He actually twisted his own head off!

"Let's die together!"

The headless body tossed its head high into the air, the cracked head emitting a blinding red light.

Just as Chen Qi was about to move, he discovered that the ground beneath his feet had somehow turned into a viscous swamp of blood.

"boom--!!!"

The moment the skull exploded, an area of ​​100 meters in radius turned into a sea of ​​fire.

It is not ordinary fire, but the Netherworld Fire that can burn the soul.

The closest shikigami vaporized before they could even scream, and the crowd watching from afar was overturned by the shockwave.

"Chen Qi!"

Lü Ci's eyes were bloodshot.

A golden light suddenly appeared in the sea of ​​fire.

At first it was only the size of a pinhead, but in the blink of an eye it spread into a hemispherical light shield.

Chen Qi stood in the center, the East Wind Greatsword planted in the ground, his hands forming a hand seal that no one had ever seen before.

Even more terrifying is the headless Shuten-dōji.

This demon was still alive. Instead, like the legendary Xing Tian, ​​it used its nipples as eyes and its navel as a mouth, wielding a bone knife to frantically slash at the light barrier.

With each cut, thick, black blood spurted from the cut, corroding the ground and creating a pit several feet deep.

"Useless trash!"

The demon's roar came from its abdomen.

"I'm going to devour your soul!"

Chen Qi finally spoke his first words. His voice wasn't loud, but it strangely drowned out all the noise.

"I accept your Yellow Springs."

He released the hand seal and spread his five fingers, aiming them at Shuten-dōji.

The demon's body suddenly froze, and for the first time, fear appeared in its chest "eyes".

Wisps of black energy were forcibly extracted from his severed neck, condensing in mid-air into a miniature phantom of Shuten-dōji.

"No! This is the result of my thousand years of cultivation—"

The moment the phantom was completely torn from the body, Chen Qi clenched his fist.

With a soft "poof," the thousand-year-old demon soul vanished into nothingness.

The headless body crashed to the ground, and the splash of blood evaporated before it even touched Chen Qi's clothes.

silence.

Deathly silence enveloped the battlefield.

Until Zhou Sheng suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, the Qimen Manifestation Technique automatically dissipated.

The old Taoist priest slumped to the ground, still smiling.

"What a brilliant display of inner vision... what a defying fate..."

Wu Gensheng's lips twitched beneath the mask.

He was suddenly very glad that he hadn't made a move earlier—that method of extracting souls was clearly a more domineering form of plunder than even the spirits of gods!

Zhang Shoucheng strode towards the center of the battlefield, but stopped three zhang away from Chen Qi.

The old master's expression became extremely complicated.

"you……"

Chen Qi turned around, the golden light in his eyes gradually fading.

When he saw who it was, he suddenly gave a tired smile.

"Uncle-Master, I'm back."

These five simple words instantly brought tears to the eyes of the seasoned master.

He opened his mouth, but in the end he just patted the young man on the shoulder heavily.

"Just come back."

Lu Jin arrived with Lü Ci and the others, and just as he was about to speak, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.

A loud noise came from afar. Everyone turned around and saw that the entire mountain peak was slowly sinking in the direction of the Qishan Horn Camp!

"When cause and effect are resolved, illusions will naturally disappear."

Chen Qi said softly.

The Dongfeng Greatsword in his hand emitted a clear and melodious sword sound, and the mottled blood rust on the blade peeled off layer by layer, revealing the gilded Big Dipper pattern underneath.

Master Hutu was still kneeling on the ground and had not gotten up. At this moment, he kowtowed his head repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, spare my life! I was blind and did not recognize your greatness..."

Chen Qi shook his head helplessly and reached out to help.

"Please rise, senior. My name is Chen Qi, but I am merely—"

His words stopped abruptly.

A thin black line suddenly shot out from the remains of Shuten-dōji's corpse and instantly disappeared into Chen Qi's brow!

"careful!"

Zhou Sheng's warning came a step too late.

Chen Qi staggered back two steps, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Even more terrifying, the Dongfeng Greatsword in his hand suddenly became incredibly heavy, and the tip of the sword slammed to the ground with a clang.

"poison?"

Zhang Shoucheng quickly helped him up.

The young man shook his head, his face unusually pale.

"It's a curse... Shuten-dōji's final move."

As if to confirm his words, a horn suddenly sounded from the direction of Qishan, which was already mostly submerged.

Dark clouds gathered again, and countless shadowy figures could be vaguely seen arrayed in formation.

Chapter 272 Fulfilling the Promise

At the very front row stood three hundred Manchu cavalrymen riding skeletal warhorses!

Wugensheng suddenly laughed.

"Interesting. It seems it's not just Shuten-dōji who needs to be killed."

Chen Qi forced himself to straighten his back.

He tried to lift the East Wind Greatsword, but found that even such a simple movement had become incredibly difficult.

The curse travels through the meridians, causing stagnation of Qi and blood wherever it passes.

"how long it takes?"

Zhou Sheng suddenly asked.

"what?"

The old Taoist pointed to the approaching ghost soldiers.

"How long will it take you to break this curse?"

Chen Qi gave a wry smile.

"At least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn..."

"That's enough."

Zhou Sheng flicked his whisk, and the Bagua formation lit up beneath his feet.

"Everyone, form the battle formation!"

Lu Jin was the first to respond, and the Golden Light Mantra instantly covered his entire body.

Lu Ci sneered as he removed his gloves, revealing his palms covered in runes.

Even Master Hutu picked up the peach wood sword with trembling hands.

Zhang Shoucheng did not move.

Yin Wulei was poised to unleash his power, yet he remained by Chen Qi's side throughout.

"Can it be done?"

Chen Qi looked at the swarming Yin soldiers, then at the crowd blocking his way, and suddenly laughed.

"Senior Uncle, do you still remember the first question you asked me when I first became an apprentice?"

The old Taoist priest was stunned.

"Of course I remember. I asked you why you practiced Taoism."

"At that time I said..." Chen Qi slowly raised the Dongfeng Greatsword, and a golden light suddenly appeared on the tip of the sword.

"To eradicate all injustice in the world."

The moment the golden light surged, the Eight Banners cavalry at the forefront suddenly fell to the ground.

They weren't knocked down, but the legs of their skeletal horses were all broken off at the knees!

"Now.

As Chen Qi took a step forward, the sluggishness caused by the curse seemed to lessen somewhat.

"It's time to keep the promise."

"boom--"

A deafening explosion resounded through the sky, and Shuten-dōji's hideous head burst open on its own, with blood and flesh flying everywhere, and black and red demonic energy spreading in all directions.

Zhang Shoucheng's pupils shrank suddenly, and golden lightning had already condensed in his hand.

"Oh no! That kid Chen Qi is still inside!"

He roared, his figure flashing like lightning, enveloped in blinding golden light as he charged straight at Shuten-dōji's rapidly regenerating head.

Just as the golden light was about to strike the writhing mass of flesh, a fire dragon suddenly burst out from the broken neck of Shuten-dōji, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced on Zhang Shoucheng.

"Watch out, Lao Zhang!"

Lu Jin flashed forward to help.

Suddenly, a hand with distinct knuckles blocked his way.

Wugensheng had appeared beside him at some point, his eyes gleaming with an inexplicable light.

"Don't worry, that kid won't die."

"fart!"

Lu Jin glared at him angrily.