***
In the midst of his fury, a cold gleam flashed into being!
A streak of white light suddenly split from the sleeve of Daoist Master Songfeng. It was astonishingly sharp—and unbelievably fast!
Of the countless martial arts techniques under heaven, only speed was truly impossible to overcome. Cultivators could certainly use spiritual energy to protect themselves, but first they had to have enough time to react!
Daoist Master Songfeng’s sword was already thrusting toward Wu Guanyue’s brow!
The sword-light arced like a rainbow!
Wenren Ying gave a thunderous shout, and his blade flashed into view!
Shadow-Splitting, Sky-Rending!
But Wu Guanyue’s provocation had come far too suddenly, completely beyond his expectations. He was standing some distance away from her, while Daoist Master Songfeng’s speed was actually no slower than his own!
As a result, he was too far away to come to her rescue!
“Get out of the way!” Wenren Ying roared.
But it was already too late!
The sword-light had arrived! That icy gleam seemed to have grazed across her brow—
At that instant, when everything hung by a thread, the player’s superhuman reflexes came online once again!
[Using Proficiency Skill—Pickpocketing!]
Her body suddenly shot backward like a kite being yanked by its string.
Daoist Master Songfeng’s sword-light clung to her like a parasite, pursuing her relentlessly!
A pitch-black blade descended through the air, intercepting the sword-light. Daoist Master Songfeng let out a strange cry, his sword trembling as it became entangled with Wenren Ying’s saber!
“Shhk!”
Wenren Ying’s cloak had been pickpocketed by Wu Guanyue!
[Obtained: Wenren Ying’s Cloak ×1]
[Wenren Ying’s Cloak: Very rough, but softened by long use…]
Wenren Ying: “…………”
While speechless, Wenren Ying had already exchanged more than a dozen blows with Daoist Master Songfeng.
Daoist Master Songfeng executed a “Cloud-Turning Flip,” drifting several yards away. With his left hand forming a sword seal and his right hand holding his sword aloft, he balanced on one leg and assumed the opening stance of “Pine Welcoming Guests.”
His expression, however, was hideous with rage as he demanded, “You! When did you discover me?!”
Wenren Ying stood with his saber in hand.
His figure was tall and powerfully built. Simply standing there, he radiated an oppressive presence impossible to ignore.
Beneath his bamboo hat, his eyes fixed coldly on Daoist Master Songfeng. Then he suddenly smiled, revealing teeth as white as snow.
“You smell of blood.”
Fresh blood.
Wenren Ying was more sensitive to the scent of blood than most. The moment he saw Old Man Azurewood, he had immediately realized that the man had killed someone not long ago—and not a cultivator, but an ordinary civilian.
Cultivators who embarked upon the path of martial enlightenment and gained the ability to resonate with heaven and earth did not do so in order to bully ordinary people.
A cultivator who had just killed a mortal—could he really be a righteous man? Why had he come up the mountain with them to rescue someone?
To claim he had no ulterior motives? Wenren Ying wouldn’t believe it even if his toes did the thinking.
He smiled. “Our little shopkeeper, Wu, also thought there was something wrong with you from the beginning… Didn’t you, Shopkeeper Wu?”
Although he had no idea how she had figured it out… Old Man Azurewood had already crossed paths with Wu Guanyue before he went to the inn. Presumably, she had noticed something was off even then.
Wu Guanyue: “…………”
Wu Guanyue wore an expression of sudden realization and could not help sighing. “So that’s how it is. The undercurrents are truly surging.”
Wenren Ying: “…………”
Wait, you didn’t notice?!
So just now, you had genuinely been planning to use feces to heal Old Man Azurewood and bring him back from the brink of death…?
Wenren Ying: “………………”
A huge cold-sweat bubble appeared above Wenren Ying’s head.
Daoist Master Songfeng sneered. “Hmph… Today, I’ll send you underground to accompany Wang Er!”
Since he had been exposed anyway, he might as well fight them to the death!
It wasn’t that he could not fight. He simply had not wanted to, fearing that a battle would leave him seriously weakened.
But if they truly forced him into a corner, he had nothing to fear from anyone!
“Waaah—!”
Daoist Master Songfeng let out a bizarre cry. The tip of his sword trembled, sending out ten thousand blossoms of sword-light, like a torrential white rain sweeping down from the heavens and crashing straight toward Wenren Ying and Wu Guanyue!
Wenren Ying shouted, and his blade-light flashed like black lightning!
Everyone said, “Though you draw a saber to cut the water, the water continues to flow.” But Wenren Ying’s saber had already cleaved through that dense curtain of rain. With a single stroke, it was capable of taking his opponent’s head!
That was precisely why he could roam across the Nine Provinces despite being a cripple with a shattered spirit palace: his perception of spiritual energy and his grasp of the perfect moment to strike had both been honed to the pinnacle.
The cold edge of his saber had already brushed against Daoist Master Songfeng’s throat…
Yet a strange light flashed through Daoist Master Songfeng’s eyes.
Not good!
The instant the blade sliced across Daoist Master Songfeng’s throat, Wenren Ying sensed that something was wrong. He immediately twisted his body and performed a “Hawk-Turning Flip,” but it was already too late!
The sword-light pierced through Wenren Ying’s shoulder, spraying blood like an arrow.
And yet Daoist Master Songfeng’s head… remained perfectly intact atop his neck.
The saber had indeed cut into his throat—but what it had struck was not human flesh.
The skin on Daoist Master Songfeng’s face and neck had transformed into patches of tree bark.
The bark was so coarse and so tough that even Wenren Ying could not sever it with a single stroke.
Wenren Ying stared coldly at his neck.
There was indeed a gash there, but what flowed from it was not blood. It was sap.
The wound was slowly healing. Suddenly, the soil beneath their feet began to tremble, as if poisonous snakes were writhing beneath it…
But what emerged from the earth were not snakes. They were roots—gnarled, twisted roots coiling over one another!
Dense masses of roots spread outward from Daoist Master Songfeng, driving deep into the soil and drawing nourishment from the earth.
Daoist Master Songfeng burst into laughter. “Wenren Ying! So what if they call you the Number One Saber of Mount Mei? Go on, try breaking my Tree-Skin Technique! And even if you manage it… I have plenty of ways to recover!”
Wenren Ying stared coldly at Daoist Master Songfeng.
Blood was still flowing from his shoulder.
His shattered spirit palace prevented him from circulating his energy to heal his wounds. It also left him unable to use protective qi to shield himself.
Suddenly, he spat on the ground with an extremely vulgar “Ptooey!”
In the next instant, his blade-light surged forth like an angry tide!
Daoist Master Songfeng cried out, and another storm of white light erupted like driving rain!
Before the player could even act, the NPCs had already started fighting among themselves!!!
This was Wu Guanyue’s first time experiencing the game’s combat style firsthand. Her previous battle with the living pine tree did not count. The game’s combat style was actually more like Hollow Knight…
It featured dazzling martial techniques and spectacular footwork, while the full-dive gaming experience gave this real-time combat an even greater sense of impact!
Blades flashed and swords clashed! Thunder boomed like a cataclysm!
Within the depths of the forest, the leaves shuddered and fell from the trees beneath the force of the blade-wind, only to be shredded by sword-light in the blink of an eye. The fragments whipped toward Wu Guanyue’s head and face, bringing the icy, murderous atmosphere right against her skin!
Blood sprayed through the air! The crimson gleam was… hauntingly beautiful.
The blood had soaked Wenren Ying’s clothes, making the fabric cling heavily to his body. It displayed with brutal honesty the rhythm of his breathing and the contraction and expansion of his muscles, filling her with a strange, feverish rush of adrenaline.
Cold and heat. Death and life. An icy blade and blazing flesh…
That was the combat style of this game.
【[Old Man Azurewood] used [Spell: Tree Bark Technique]. Armor +100!】
【[Wenren Ying] was afflicted by [Negative Status: Spirit Mansion Shattered]. Armor reduced to zero!】
【[Old Man Azurewood] was hit by [Wenren Ying]’s [Horizontal Chop]. HP -158!】
【[Old Man Azurewood] used [Spell: Earthly Rejuvenation]. HP +160!】
【[Wenren Ying] was hit by [Old Man Azurewood]’s [Sword Art: Verdant Waves, Pine Wind]. HP -130!】
But this was no time to appreciate the style… His teammate was already on the verge of being beaten to death!!!
Granted, in terms of combat ability and the style of his techniques, Wenren Ying was definitely superior. But—
Daoist Master Songfeng laughed loudly. “Gotcha! This old man can heal!”
Without even turning his head, Wenren Ying shouted sternly, “Get out of here!”
This Old Man Azurewood was no ordinary tree demon!
Its roots had burrowed deep underground, drawing nutrients from below and allowing it to heal its wounds at any time. Wenren Ying had indeed considered severing its roots… but they were buried deep beneath the earth. In the middle of a battle, how could he possibly find the time to dig them up?! It wasn’t as though he had an earth spirit root!
So all he could do was tell Wu Guanyue to leave!
The girl was still very young. She was nowhere near the age at which she ought to die.
But how could Wu Guanyue possibly leave?
How outrageous! This NPC had started a group fight without bringing the player along and was trying to solo the boss!
And did he even have what it took to solo it?!
After witnessing the fight just now, the player had already gained a complete understanding of Old Man Azurewood’s characteristics—
Disgusting! That was the only word for it!
It was the kind of disgusting boss that combined high attack, high defense, and self-healing! The kind of disgusting boss players would sum up on the forums with one piece of advice:
The best strategy is not to fight it!
There were only two ways to deal with a disgusting boss like this. The first was to break through its defenses. The second was to interrupt its self-healing.
And the player’s plan was crystal clear!
Interrupt the self-healing!
Wu Guanyue remained calm and composed as she shouted, “Brother Wenren, I’m coming to help!!!”
Wenren Ying’s expression changed instantly. “Don’t come over!”
But it was already too late!
Wu Guanyue had already made her move!
Suddenly, countless hidden weapons flew from Wu Guanyue’s hands like flowers scattering from the heavens!
The projectiles were brown, square-shaped…
Those—those were—!
【[Wu Guanyue] used the skill [Rapid Food Delivery], sending [Square Feces] ×100 to [Old Man Azurewood]!】
【[Wu Guanyue] performed the [Job Action: Fertilizing] on a plant, triggering the [Passive Effect: Rapid Fertilization]!】
It was poop! It was actually poop!!!
But it had arrived at exactly the right moment!
Under the effect of [Rapid Fertilization], the square feces were refined the instant they came into contact with the soil!!!
“AAARGH!!!!”
Daoist Master Songfeng suddenly let out a scream that shook heaven and earth!
【[Wu Guanyue], having failed to perform the prerequisite action [Composting], triggered the [Root Burn] effect!】
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