Chapter 13 (1/2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A figure rushed forward, dressed in a gray, hemp garment, and wearing a conical bamboo hat on his head. He was traveling so fast that his figure seemed to twist and turn. Around him, a light-gray layer of light appeared.
The web of Strong-Pupil Three-Headed Spiders could only detect this aura.
According to Li Changshou’s observation, this person was quite strong. There was a long sword hanging from his waist, which was probably a top-notch, killer weapon. A violent aura engulfed the man. Li Changshou guessed that he was used to licking the blood off the tip of his sword.
He sucked in a deep breath and adjusted his aura. Then his speed began to increase.
A moment later, the attacker sped up as well. What’s more, he adjusted the angle at which he was advancing. Li Changshou confirmed that he was the target for sure.
The other party was probably in the Sixth or Seventh Stage of Void Return. However, he could have been hiding his true cultivation level. On second thought, Li Changshou predicted that the man was approximately in the Sixth Stage of Dao Requital.
This was because the person was using a movement technique to catch up to Li Changshou, instead of flying, which was much more efficient. There was a low chance that the person was an immortal.
Li Changshou frowned. He had indeed been sucked into a strange situation.
How should he deal with this?
Li Changshou’s first reaction was to use his escape techniques, but he quickly realized that he had been under surveillance for the past two days. This meant that his follower had ways to track him down.
If he escaped this time, and the other party remained relentless in attacking him, Li Changshou would be in even greater danger.
2.5 kilometers in front of Li Changshou was a huge plain, filled with poisonous herbs, and devoid of trees.
Li Changshou groaned softly in his heart. His right hand grabbed onto two small paper dolls, as the aura in his body gathered in that palm.
“The five elements take turns; there is huge value in metamorphosis. In muddiness, there are no obstacles. The Earth remains the center!”
Creases and folds appeared in the gray-white ground in front of him. Once again, Li Changshou employed Earth Escape. However, before his body made it underground, his right hand turned into a burst of light.
The man chasing Li Changshou frowned. He tutted and felt the fast-traveling aura underground. Once again, he jumped away and sped up, chasing after him as fast as he could.
A moment later, Li Changshou appeared among poisonous herbs. He shook the poisonous dirt off his body, frightening off a few poisonous insects at the same time. Then, he raised his hand and changed a few of his Miasma-Repelling Talismans. Immediately after, he had to resume sprinting once again.
At that moment, he heard the hiss of a sword beside him!
A cold light beam proved to be 30% quicker than the hissing. It was headed right for Li Changshou’s neck!
Li Changshou turned around at once, but he had no time to react at all. The thin and long Dharma sword hit him in the neck, causing his head to fly backward!
There was a wisp of smoke, gently twisting around. The cultivator, who had on the conical bamboo hat and was dressed in gray, appeared behind Li Changshou. The veil in front of his bamboo hat floated upwards, revealing a cold smile on his lips.
“He is indeed in the Soul Formation Realm. Without any effort at all— You!”
He stopped mid-sentence, looking down suddenly at his own legs.
‘Li Changshou’, who had just been beheaded, was now holding onto this man’s ankles!
The a.s.sa.s.sin reacted swiftly. At once, he jumped backward. Then, his vision became blurry. It was almost as if all of the energy had been sucked out of his body—his Dharmic powers and aura became extremely idle. It felt impossible to activate them!
At that moment, the a.s.sa.s.sin looked closely at the corpse’s belt, which was still hanging onto his ankles. There was an opened pot…
He had fallen for his trick!
The man tried his hardest to bite his tongue so that he could sober up. Yet, he could not even muster up enough energy to bite his tongue. His vision was becoming blurry!
It was a self-created incapacitating agent, the Soft Immortal Disperser.
At that moment, a beam of light flew on top of the a.s.sa.s.sin’s head and hovered there. It was a strange-looking paper umbrella, embedded with spirit stones of various colors.
The paper umbrella turned slowly. The spirit stones embedded in it flew out in all directions. An isolation array formation measuring 150 feet in diameter suddenly appeared, with the umbrella as its base. The area that it covered was isolated entirely from the rest of the world!
It was a self-made Dharma treasure, the Heaven-Changing Treasure Umbrella.
Li Changshou slowly emerged from the ground with his right hand raised. The three paper dolls expanded in the wind. Two crus.h.i.+ng sounds were heard, as they took on Li Changshou’s form and charged forward.
That was a Dao Sect technique, the Man-Forming Paper Cutouts.
The paper dolls had not even reached the a.s.sa.s.sin when Li Changshou held out a short, bronze crossbow in his left hand. Without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger of the crossbow and caused a wooden arrow to shoot out, aiming straight for the area between the a.s.sa.s.sin’s eyebrows!
The bamboo hat flew upwards, revealing a skinny, sinister face.
The arrow pierced through the a.s.sa.s.sin’s forehead, causing the light in his eyes to slowly dissipate.
“You—”
The a.s.sa.s.sin let out one last furious roar, but it sounded powerless. His mouth remained open until the three paper dolls reached him.
Paper Doll One produced three long nails, which pierced the a.s.sa.s.sin in his three dantian points—top, middle, and bottom. This locked his three immortal souls and fixed his seven mortal forms!
Paper Doll Two used both of its hands to conjure a seal. It also opened its mouth, producing pure-white flames, which engulfed the a.s.sa.s.sin’s body. These flames instantly ignited the a.s.sa.s.sin’s flesh. Like a snowman, it turned into liquid and dissipated.
That fellow did not even have the energy to cry out in pain.
Paper Doll Three kept muttering words under its breath. It was using a curse that would subdue souls and extinguish demons. Waves appeared in front of the doll, causing the shadow, which appeared in the white flames, to disappear!
At that moment, the a.s.sa.s.sin’s soul was completely destroyed. All that was left was a handful of remains that were still being consumed by the white flames.
Li Changshou still could not relax. He tossed out a pearl as big as his thumb. The pearl spun around, absorbing light-green wisps of light. Not a single bit of the a.s.sa.s.sin’s soul remained.
Li Changshou carried his bronze crossbow and walked forward. Carefully, he picked up the pearl. The white flames had already been extinguished. Only black ashes, half of a sword, and a small ring, remained on the ground.
The three paper dolls sat on the ground cross-legged. At once, they started to chant sutras.
The first paper doll recited the Dao Sect’s Salvation Sutra, the second recited the Western School’s legendary Rebirth Curse, and the third recited the Dao Sect’s Blessing-Destruction Curse.
Li Changshou picked up the jade and stone ring and held it in the palm of his hand. He felt no urge to break the restrictions on the ring. Instead, he used his Dharmic powers to form layers around the ring, before tossing it into the storage Dharma artifact marked ‘Heaven Number Four’.