Throat, heart, dantian – these are all vital points.
Jiang Liu was about to unleash the "Nine Heavens Thunder Orthodox Technique" when he was abruptly stopped by these three deadly arrows. He narrowly dodged the three arrows, missing them by the slightest margin, and even felt a chill run down his spine.
The skeletal horse charged forward, and a menacing spear appeared in the general's hand. He aimed it at Jiang Liu, using the horse's speed to pierce him through. The ghostly soldiers behind him also swarmed forward, and Jiang Liu was in grave danger.
In an instant, Xie Chou transformed into his demonic form, charging forward with the speed of a madman, even faster than the skeleton horse. The water buffalo rammed sideways, severing the ghost general with immense force, and with a shove of its head, the two horns embedded in the skeleton horse's body instantly sent the horse flying. The ghost general lost his balance and fell off the horse.
"Now!"
Taking advantage of this brief opportunity, Jiang Liu instantly drew a lightning talisman, and the lightning talismans on the thirty-six jade stones suddenly lit up!
"Heavenly Thunder, heed my command!"
Several terrifying bolts of lightning, as thick as buckets, suddenly appeared in the sky above, then merged together, forming a net-like canopy.
The might of the heavens roars, the thunder roars!
In this state, the egret dared not linger in the sky any longer and landed on the ground at an extremely fast speed.
"fall!"
Jiang Liu roared, and a tearing blue-white light slashed down!
In an instant, thick black mist spread around the ghost's body, protecting it completely. The ghostly aura swirled, making the cold night eerie.
Jiang Liu is not as strong as he was when he dealt with the Qingming Evil Path. Back then, he only had the power to strike once, and his ultimate move could not be stopped once it was unleashed. If he could not kill his opponent, he would die himself.
Now that Thunder is in hand, the situation can be controlled by him.
A terrifying bolt of lightning struck down from above the ghost general's head.
With a "crack," the ferocious blue-white lightning snake struck down!
"Click-clack..."
The menacing black aura was instantly cleaved apart by lightning, revealing the true form of the ghost general within. The ghost soldiers behind him, who had been unstoppable just moments before, were all startled by the sudden clap of thunder and took a step back in unison.
The righteous and yang thunder, imbued with the might of heaven, is the nemesis of all evil. These ghost soldiers, being only at the level of fierce ghosts and barely reaching the first or second stage of refining essence into qi, naturally felt deep fear.
Even the ghost general was powerless to retaliate under the thunder.
"Xie Chou, retreat!"
Even before Jiang Liu could remind them, the water buffalo had already retreated, its four hooves pounding the ground, carving out a furrow.
The ghost general was also deeply afraid. All things in the world are interconnected and mutually restraining. The thunder of the Awakening of Insects signifies that all things must lie dormant. With thunder rolling down from the sky, even demons and evil spirits must lie low. This heavenly thunder struck directly down, and the ghost general already felt the urge to retreat!
"If I abandon this army of ghost soldiers and flee, His Majesty the Ghost King will surely devour me alive!" The ghost general, recalling the Ghost King's cruelty and power, roared, "Retreat!"
But it was too late. The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Thunder Formation that Jiang Liu had set up at great cost was no joke. Just as the ghost general led his nearly one hundred ghost soldiers away in a gust of yin wind, the thirty-six jade stones were suddenly covered with arcs of electricity, and lightning from above struck straight down.
The area within a hundred meters was instantly and completely engulfed in the terrifying lightning!
"Master, you almost killed me! That was incredibly powerful!" Xie Chou, sporting a messy hairstyle, walked over. He too had been struck by lightning, but fortunately, he was on the edge and only suffered a single blow. Looking at the center, Xie Chou and Bai Lu both shuddered, secretly resolving that if they ever encountered Taoists or sorcerers in the future, they would definitely chop them down with an axe the moment they encountered them, giving them no time to cast spells.
Jiang Liu collapsed to the ground, his vital energy almost completely depleted. After swallowing a Profound Yuan Pill, he said, "As a legendary mage of level 30+, unleashing my ultimate move, how could a mere ghost withstand the Hellfire Lightning!"
Xie Chou was confused, but he could understand the words "Hell Lightning" and said, "So this move is called Hell Lightning!"
The lightning struck for a full thirty-six seconds before reluctantly dissipating. Immediately, a faint, peculiar, and refreshing scent filled the air. This was because the oxygen in the air was decomposed into ozone under the powerful influence of the electric current.
The moon rose above the willow branches, and the bright moonlight fell down, illuminating the clear sky. The ghost general and nearly a hundred ghost soldiers had vanished without a trace, and even the blood and flesh swamp was charred black, emitting the smell of burnt flesh.
Jiang Liu tried to pull the jade stones used to set up the formation from the ground, but they turned to ash as soon as he touched them, and all thirty-six pieces of jade were destroyed.
"Sigh! Unleashing a powerful move really does come at a price! My entire array of magical artifacts was destroyed just like that. Fortunately, I finally activated the Yangzhou Cauldron fragments, otherwise I would have really suffered a huge loss!"
At this moment, Jiang Liu held the bronze cup up to the moonlight and examined it closely, and he could see a hazy, fluorescent glow emanating from it.
"Master, what are you doing with that piece of scrap metal? Although this Fiery Purple Copper has some value, it's not as valuable as these Soul Beads! Especially the Ghost General's Soul Bead..."
Xie Chou held up a dark, thumb-sized round bead and said, "This is an excellent material for refining spiritual weapons!"
Jiang Liu frowned. The soul bead was the same as the soul jade that Jiang Liu obtained from the "Mr. Zombie" world, belonging to Dong Xiaoyu. He wasn't curious about the soul bead itself, but rather that Xie Chou couldn't detect the fluorescence on the bronze.
Without much explanation, he carefully hid the Nine Cauldrons fragments on his person, and sorted through his spoils: a small bag of Soul Pearls, plus a suit of armor destroyed by lightning, a large spear, and a large bow, all made of Yin Iron, which were of some value.
They dared not linger; the commotion they had just witnessed was far too great, and it wouldn't be long before the East Sea army would come to investigate.
Chapter 74 Besieged by wolves in front and tigers behind
"Oh! Who do we have here? It's Ugly Ox, who claims to be a retainer of the Xie family! What? Instead of enjoying a life of luxury in your Jinling City, you've come here to die?"
Blocking their path was a tall, thin man with pointed ears, sharp teeth, unusually long hands, and sharp, dark jade fingernails protruding from the tips of his ten fingers. His eerie green eyes darted around, scanning the man and the two demons before finally settling on Jiang Liu.
"Wolf King's poison!" Xie Chou uttered four words, his entire body tensing instantly, on high alert.
After the wolf demon appeared, another group of soldiers clad in wooden armor and bamboo helmets emerged. Only three or five squads were wearing iron armor of varying styles, some even resembling the armor of the Tang Dynasty's imperial guards, stained with blood. These were soldiers from various kingdoms of the East Sea, led by a lean man at the Innate Realm, holding a samurai sword. He stood with his eyes closed, revealing no trace of killing intent, clearly a master swordsman skilled in swordsmanship.
"Da da... da da..."
Another pure white horse emerged from the darkness, with an old man wearing a striking red and white robe and a pointed hat sitting on its back.
"Priests from the islands of the East China Sea?!"
Jiang Liu stared intently at the strangely dressed old man. He had heard of the East Sea God, but this was the first time he had met him.
The so-called "divine officials" were actually appointed by the evil spirits and monsters who occupied the island kingdom of Donghai to facilitate their rule over the human world. Earthly immortals could not directly control the mortal realm, but they could indirectly control the rise and fall of human dynasties through the hands of mortals.
Although the island nations of the East China Sea are small, they are still human lands, no exception. Thus, priests came into being, serving as shepherds for demons and monsters, collecting their faith and gathering materials for cultivation. To use an analogy, it's like the relationship between God and a bishop; in medieval Europe, Christianity reigned supreme, while the islands of the East China Sea were controlled by priests.
"Tudu, my lord is waiting for my reply. Hurry up and leave! I must see the Ghost King tonight. Don't waste any time! Kill this man and these two demons quickly, and don't reveal my whereabouts!"
The voice of this East Sea official was extremely eerie, as if it came from the deepest hell, sharp and chilling.
"Don't worry, there won't be any delay! Lord Ghost King's ghost soldiers are nearby, and no one can escape their attack in the dead of night!"
The Wolf King, Tu Du, gave a cruel smile, let out a long howl to the sky, and the wolf howled at the moon. Instantly, howls of wolves echoed from the surrounding darkness, one after another, and then countless green eyes appeared in the night, all of them giant wolves as tall as a man.
"Tudu, you defeated opponent, you are no match for me!" Xie Chou roared, raising his giant axe high, his killing intent boiling.
"Chou, be careful. The Wolf King's poison has become stronger..." Bailu whispered in Xie Chou's ear.
"Awooo..." The wolf king suddenly lowered its body and charged forward, while the giant wolves also rushed in. As the wolf king charged, its waist was already low, and in the end, it used both its hands and feet.
In close combat, one was a heavily armed infantryman, whose strength could overcome any skill; the other was a nimble assassin, as agile as the wind.
All martial arts techniques in the world can be broken, except for speed.
When the wolf king entered the battle, his mouth suddenly protruded forward, his ears grew longer, his teeth turned yellow and sharp, and his clothes were torn into pieces by his muscles, fluttering in the air like butterflies. His long gray fur floated in the air, and in an instant he transformed into a giant werewolf, letting out an extremely shrill roar from his throat.
The werewolf's roar seemed to share the same nature as a lion's roar or other sonic attacks; its piercing sound penetrated the eardrums, enough to deafen an ordinary person. Its agility was also terrifying; after leaping, its massive body slammed into a nearby tree, causing the waist-thick tree to collapse instantly. Using the force of this slam, the werewolf deftly twisted and pounced on the water buffalo, Xie Chou!
"Such speed!"
Seeing the wolf king's pounce, Jiang Liu was secretly startled. Without lightning magic, he would definitely be no match for this werewolf in terms of physical speed. Speed is sometimes more powerful than strength, and this pounce combined ferocity and agility. Its massive body seemed to stretch endlessly in mid-air, its long gray fur billowing like a horse's mane, its muscles bulging. While not as strong as a water buffalo, its strength was still considerable!
The claws, as black as jade, gleamed with a cold light, like ten sharp daggers. Judging from their color, they were clearly made with some kind of deadly poisonous magic. They ripped off the claws from top to bottom.
The water buffalo snorted coldly, and its Xuanhua axe blocked in front of it. Its wolf claws swiftly slashed down from top to bottom, drawing out indescribable sparks on the giant axe.
With a grab and a flick, the water buffalo easily released the giant axe from its hand. To outsiders, it looked like the wolf king had taken away its weapon, but only Jiang Liu and Bai Lu knew that Xie Chou was pretending to be weak while actually being strong.
A deadly move suddenly appeared.
It's important to understand that Xie Chou received the true teachings of Jiang Liu's martial arts. Fighting without his axe not only doesn't diminish his strength, but actually makes him even more dangerous.
In an instant, Xie Chou's hand seized one of the wolf king's arms. Li Xuanba, besides using a sledgehammer, also attacked by grabbing his opponent and tearing them to pieces.
Of all the styles of boxing, the essence of long fist strikes lies in its powerful and fierce punches, particularly the cannon and hammer techniques. However, in short-range grappling, the most important techniques are dislocating tendons and bones.
If you master short-range grappling, you can learn from Li Xuanba and tear a person to pieces in one go!
This is the most cruel, vicious, and natural survival-based tactic.
A sound that seemed like the roar of a bull burst forth from Xie Chou's chest.
His hair stood on end in fury, his arms were strong and muscular, and he was incredibly brave. He grabbed the wolf king's left arm with both hands.
In an instant, a split, a tear, a pull, a thrust, a collision, a close-quarters rush, his body trembling violently, his breath rumbling like thunder.
The wolf king let out a yelp like a dog being kicked in the nose, then retreated frantically. The priest narrowed his eyes; Xie Chou seemed to have torn something from the wolf king's body.
The wolf king retreated several dozen feet, his left arm and shoulder wracked with pain! Blood stained half of his body!
Upon closer inspection, he saw that his entire right arm had been torn off at the shoulder by Xie Chou, exposing flesh, bone, and tendons.
At Jiang Liu's feet lay the corpses of several giant wolves. When the wolf king let out a scream, the giant wolves that were about to attack all took a step back and then hid in the darkness, only revealing their green eyes.
"Impressive skills! Xie Chou, your martial arts have improved even more. Even I wouldn't dare say I can beat you without a doubt. But to say you can wipe out an entire army of ghost soldiers plus a ghost general, I simply don't believe it!"
A deep voice came from the darkness behind him, and then a big man walked over with a powerful stride. He carried a tiger-headed broadsword on his shoulder and looked directly at Jiang Liu, saying, "You set up that Heavenly Gang Thunder Formation, didn't you? It was indeed incredibly powerful. However... you have no chance to set up a thunder formation in front of me."
"A tiger demon?!" Jiang Liu frowned. This tiger demon exuded a terrifying aura, and its tiger eyes seemed to want to devour people.
Chapter Seventy-Five: Killing you is like slaughtering a dog
They were surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind, plus a high-ranking official from the East Sea whose strength was still unclear, and nearly a hundred warriors from the East Sea.
This is far more dangerous than dealing with that ghost general. Thunder magic is extremely effective against ghost cultivators, but its power is greatly reduced against demons with physical bodies. Moreover, the magical artifacts used to set up the thunder array have been destroyed, and Jiang Liu's strength is insufficient to deliver the strike that killed the ghost general with his bare hands.
Although the Hellfire Lightning is powerful, without the support of a lightning array, it is merely a weakened version, making it difficult to kill with a single blow, and it consumes a great deal of vital energy.
Jiang Liu immediately abandoned the use of wide-range lightning attacks.
"Kill the wolf demon!"
Jiang Liu roared, "Strike while the iron is hot! The Wolf King has just lost an arm and his strength has been greatly reduced. If we don't kill him first, who will we kill?"
The saying goes, "It's better to break one finger than to injure ten." Everyone understands this principle.
Xie Chou naturally understood as well, and the two of them rushed towards the wolf demon at the same time, like the fragrant elephant crossing the river.
With his legs tucked into his dantian, the True Martial Illusion suddenly appeared within him. He focused his strength on his legs, and in an instant, Jiang Liu's legs became noticeably thicker, like elephant legs. With a light step on the ground, his body felt as if it were floating.
One point! Two points! Three points!
The massive elephant legs touched the ground, yet they moved as lightly as dragonflies, perfectly embodying the meaning of "important and crucial"!
In the blink of an eye, the three dots of water, the river flowed silently to the Wolf King Tudu's front, and Xie Chou suddenly rushed in, accompanied by a whistling sound of wind breaking, and Xuanhua's great axe slashed towards the Wolf King's head!