Taotie!
At the sound of that name, Xia Baoguo's heart seemed to explode with the crash of a mighty thunderbolt. His fingers rapidly formed seals, reconstructing the barrier He Piaojian had shattered with a single sword strike.
In an instant, countless tender shoots sprang up from the ground, coiling and tangling together until they stood five zhang tall in mere breaths. They wound around and clung to every part of the hemispherical barrier. Outside it, the Azure Dragon Guards all wore solemn expressions, gathering their strength and ready to strike at any moment.
"What a magnificent sight." Dao Er, who called himself Taotie, looked up in admiration, his voice tinged with a trace of excitement that was hard to detect. "There's really no need to be nervous. I mean no harm."
He took a leisurely step, using Shrinking the Earth to an Inch to appear instantly at He Piaojian's right.
"Because..."
Before Dao Er could finish, He Piaojian swung his sword in a horizontal slash without hesitation. Sharp sword qi swept bricks and tiles off the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Dao Er took another step and instantly opened the distance, his figure appearing like a ghost to He Piaojian's left.
"Killing you would be as easy as turning my hand over," Dao Er said slowly.
The next second, Dao Er's body was divided into several pieces so quickly the naked eye couldn't see it happen. Pieces of flesh and limbs spilled across the ground, with only the mask still on his face.
"My, my." His lone remaining head chuckled, without a trace of panic in his voice. "That single sword strike actually contained countless strands of sword qi. I underestimated you."
Fine threads sprouted from the flesh, and the severed pieces slowly began to draw together and reassemble. His two arms reformed and felt around for the remaining pieces on the ground. Only when everything else had been put back together did they pick up the head and set it back atop his neck.
The sword wounds on his body rapidly healed themselves, and Dao Er stood before them once more, completely intact, as though everything that had just happened were nothing but an illusion.
He Piaojian's gaze hardened. With such a bizarre self-healing ability and that Shrinking the Earth to an Inch footwork, Taotie was far stronger than he had imagined.
"All right, I'm done fighting." He Piaojian let down his guard and turned to leave.
"Done fighting?"
"Done fighting!?"
Dao Er and Xia Baoguo spoke at the same time, their shock plain to see.
"What else?" He Piaojian said matter-of-factly. "I can't beat him anyway. Should I wait here for everyone to die? Oh, right, Taotie, do whatever you want. Don't mind us."
"Ah, no, I only just started showing... making my entrance." Dao Er stood rooted to the spot, his expression inexplicably unpleasant. It was as though a burst of anger had risen in his chest, but he had no reason to let it out.
After turning his back, He Piaojian looked over his shoulder every three steps and asked Dao Er, "You said you meant no harm, right?"
Dao Er's mouth twitched. He glanced at Fan Daoyi, who stood watching the show from afar, then gritted his teeth and admitted, "Yes."
"Then that settles it. Let's all go home and find our own mothers."
As He Piaojian spoke, his steps grew lighter and quicker, and before long he had walked out of the villa. Xia Baoguo and Dao Er were left inside, staring blankly at each other.
"What about you? Do you have any questions?" Dao Er stared at Xia Baoguo, his tone holding a hint of anticipation.
Xia Baoguo concealed his shock at He Piaojian's outrageous move and seized the chance to sound Dao Er out. "Even if you mean no harm, you must have some purpose."
Using Shrinking the Earth to an Inch once more, Dao Er returned to the monster's side. By now, the cross section where the monster had been wounded by the sword qi had regenerated.
Dao Er stood before the monster and spread his arms, ready to put on another show. But before he could speak, the monster behind him suddenly let out a whimper.
Dao Er turned back in a daze. The monster's expression was twisted and... satisfied? He looked farther back and saw He Piaojian, who had supposedly left the villa, standing behind the monster with a wooden stick poked into a rather remarkable place.
"I suddenly decided I wasn't happy about leaving just like that. This young master is invincible!"
[Clear Water Has No Fish, Shameless Men Are Invincible] activated, and he combined it with [One Heart of the Sword] to deliver this sword strike.
Dao Er's expression changed, and he hurriedly dodged to the side. Wherever the sword's force passed, earth and stone flew apart, and a bottomless trench appeared in the ground.
"Something's wrong..."
A strong sense of unease welled up in Dao Er's heart. Before his eyes, the scene appeared to rewind. His body returned to the position where he had first dodged.
That sword qi was already hanging above his head, about to fall.
Shrinking the Earth to an Inch!
He hurriedly used Shrinking the Earth to an Inch and stomped a foot forward, but nothing happened. The surrounding space was locked in time, and his body was instantly annihilated in the surging sword qi.
"Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous," Dao Er remarked softly, his voice full of astonishment and helplessness.
He Piaojian's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes filled with disbelief. Under his gaze, Dao Er's body reconstructed itself, and he soon appeared beside him again.
Dao Er patted his chest and let out a long breath, acting as though he had narrowly survived a disaster. In the blink of an eye, he was beside the monster, placing a hand on its remaining half-body.
Poor stele—it had vanished from the world. The entrance to Guixu, which could originally have been opened with the stele, would now have to be opened by Dao Er himself.
Dao Er focused and calmed his mind, and the space around him began to ripple as though being torn apart. Before long, a crimson entrance slowly emerged behind him, radiating a mysterious and dangerous aura.
At Dao Er's signal, the monster shifted its enormous body and squeezed into the opening. But things didn't go as planned: half of the monster's lower body got stuck outside.
Beneath the mask was a helpless expression. Dao Er muttered, "Can't I just show off perfectly for once?"
The show couldn't stop. He gritted his teeth and kicked the monster in from outside. Unfortunately, his foot landed right on the wooden stick. With a piercing scream, the monster's enormous figure finally disappeared into the entrance.
Then he tilted his head and narrowly dodged another sword thrust from He Piaojian. The sword qi brushed past Dao Er's hair and sliced off a corner of his mask.
"Hey, you were the one who said we'd stop fighting," Dao Er said mildly, his back to He Piaojian.
He Piaojian kept his sword moving, a smile on his face. "I changed my mind."
The sword in his hand flashed with a cold light as he swung it again.
Dao Er crouched, braced himself on both hands, and swept a leg out to trip He Piaojian. He Piaojian lost his footing and swayed slightly, but quickly regained his balance.
Yet in that moment of distraction, half of Dao Er's body had already entered Guixu. He waved to everyone outside. "Everyone, the Four Fiends Cult's goal is very simple: to let the terror of Guixu descend upon the world once more. Praise the coming of Guixu.
"The next time we meet, make sure you don't let us off."
As Dao Er's figure disappeared completely into Guixu, its entrance slowly closed, and the mysterious, oppressive aura gradually faded. Peace returned to the ruins of the villa, but the devastation strewn across the ground silently told of the ferocity of the battle.
He Piaojian had his mouth open for a long while before finally asking Xia Baoguo what puzzled him. "What did he just say?"
"Let Guixu descend upon the world... Could it mean that Guixu creatures will descend like they did today?" Xia Baoguo answered after giving it serious thought, his brow tightly furrowed and his eyes full of worry.
"No, I mean the last thing he said. Did I hear him wrong?" He Piaojian weighed his words. "Did he mean they wouldn't let us off, or that we shouldn't let them off?"
Was that really what he should be focusing on?
Xia Baoguo was somewhat at a loss for words, though it also made some sense, given that He Piaojian was the one asking.
He fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Whatever the case, we must be prepared. With the Four Fiends Cult resurfacing, I fear it may bring a great calamity."