Demonic Possession

Ning Chang'an was confident, but the Brocade Blind Man seemed even more so. With a sudden low growl, he charged again, his speed more than double what it was before.

Ning Chang'an's pupils contracted, and he thrust his long sword forward with all his might. This sword strike was incredibly fierce, like a desperate counterattack, like the final roar of a tiger king on the verge of death, its last bite. In that moment, honor, status, ambition, and schemes were utterly meaningless. All that remained was a cruel and savage final blow, regardless of success or failure, consequences be damned, all for the sake of wounding the enemy.

This was a move of utter fearlessness, a desperate ultimate technique—the Netherworld Strike. This move emphasized a disregard for death, a heart already set on the underworld while still in the mortal realm, using one's entire life force and final strength to push oneself and the enemy into the depths of the nine hells.

"Ah, break for me!"

Ning Chang'an roared, but louder than his shout was the sword's cry, a sound like a tragic howl, domineering and cruel, yet tinged with an unyielding and unavoidable desperation.

The Netherworld Strike, this sword strike, went straight for the Brocade Blind Man's protective True Qi shield. The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword didn't even bend. The sword remained perfectly straight, its tip piercing forward. The Brocade Blind Man's protective True Qi shield deeply caved inward, making his entire chest seem to collapse, creating a gaping hole.

But in the next moment, something Ning Chang'an could never have imagined happened.

The Brocade Blind Man suddenly thrust his chest forward, and the True Qi shield surrounding his body expanded, generating an incredibly powerful recoil force that sent Ning Chang'an flying backward.

This display of immense strength caused Ning Chang'an to spit out a mouthful of blood as he retreated. However, the Brocade Blind Man was not unscathed by this fierce resistance. After landing, his purplish-red face flickered between green and white. He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on Ning Chang'an with extreme gravity, and said in a deep voice, "Is this your strongest move?" His voice trembled slightly. Perhaps Ning Chang'an didn't realize the threat that sword posed to him, but the Brocade Blind Man knew it all too well. In that instant, by a hair's breadth, his protective True Qi shield had almost shattered, pierced by the sword.

A wave of lingering fear washed over the Brocade Blind Man.

Ning Chang'an wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes equally grave as he stared at the Brocade Blind Man. Only after catching his breath did he shake his head and ask, "What kind of Qi Gong is this?"

The Brocade Blind Man said, "You're qualified to know! This Qi Gong is called Innate Golden Toad Qi, a Peerless Qi Gong." Mind Methods and martial arts have conventional classifications to distinguish their quality, such as lower, mediocre, upper, and peerless. Peerless refers to something unprecedented in history. All peerless martial arts and mind methods possess mysterious and unfathomable aspects, far surpassing the upper tier, representing a transformation and sublimation of the upper tier, reaching another realm. If upper-tier martial arts are on the ground, then peerless martial arts are in the heavens; there is a world of difference between them.

Ning Chang'an said with some bitterness, "Peerless Qi Gong?" He finally understood why he couldn't break through the Brocade Blind Man's protective True Qi shield. This was the marvel of a peerless cultivation technique. The marvel of Innate Golden Toad Qi likely lay in this very protective True Qi shield. With this shield, it almost concealed all the flaws in the Brocade Blind Man's martial arts, allowing him to act with impunity and without reservation, increasing his combat power tenfold or even a hundredfold.

Yang Qingling and Yang Taiyi had once said that the Great Wheel Swordplay was actually a quasi-peerless martial art, surpassing upper-tier martial arts. Based on internal and external Qi and Primordial Spirit, it belonged to the category of quasi-peerless martial arts. Unfortunately, it was incomplete, and its power was less than a tenth of its original when executed, lost with the passing of Ning Shengdao.

The fact that this battle had reached this point could already be considered a miracle.

The Brocade Blind Man let out a cold laugh. Golden patterns began to appear on his protective True Qi shield. The Innate Golden Toad Qi had been pushed to its extreme, constructing a formidable defense, as solid as a golden fortress, impervious to all attacks. The Brocade Blind Man closed his eyes again, his Qi locking onto Ning Chang'an, and he shouted, "You know what you need to know, you can die now!"

The Brocade Blind Man's body surged forward, like a golden meteor crashing towards Ning Chang'an.

Ning Chang'an's expression was resolute, golden light seeming to erupt from his eyes. Seeing the Brocade Blind Man's deadly technique, his fatal assault, he advanced instead of retreating. If he didn't want to leave, he would never back down. If he hadn't fallen yet, he would never fear.

Ever since he saw Liu Ruyan's painting "Tiger Sniffing Orchid Fragrance," he had suddenly gained enlightenment, grasping the essence of the Tiger Aspect Nine Moves, and he had experienced the might of the tiger.

Vigorous spirit, majestic bearing of the tiger.

The might of the tiger was not in its ferocity and dominance in killing, but in the spirit of looking down upon the world from the peak of the mountain, witnessing the sun rise and set, the moon wax and wane, the clouds gather and disperse, the fog clear and the sky brighten. It could bow its head to awe all beasts, or quietly sniff the fragrance by the stream.

The tiger's dominance stemmed solely from its unyielding nature, its pride.

Ning Chang'an had always possessed a proud competitive spirit. If someone wanted him dead, he would absolutely not comply. He resisted because he wanted to win, he killed because others wanted to kill him, he simply retaliated in kind.

Ning Chang'an drew his sword.

A tragic move, a spirit of facing death as if returning home, domineering and fierce.

Clang, clang, clang...

Sparks flew. The Brocade Blind Man's protective True Qi shield caved in again, but this time it didn't shatter. By the time Ning Chang'an's sword force had waned, the Brocade Blind Man's chest thrust forward again, intending to push Ning Chang'an away once more. He believed that few could withstand such immense recoil force twice. The first time might be barely manageable, but the second time would surely cause severe internal injuries, especially since he had already noticed that Ning Chang'an had old injuries.

The Brocade Blind Man judged that Ning Chang'an would surely die after this strike.

But he didn't know what Ning Chang'an was good at, nor did he understand that proud and unyielding heart.

As the recoil force reached its peak, Ning Chang'an suddenly let out a furious roar, spitting out a cloud of blood. The long sword in his hand actually stabbed forward. Immediately, two violent forces collided again, causing both of them to change color drastically and spit out blood.

Ning Chang'an crashed into the wall again, while the Brocade Blind Man was sent flying backward, cursing, "Madman..." He spat out several mouthfuls of blood. Even though the Brocade Blind Man had killed countless people, he was startled by Ning Chang'an's sheer recklessness at that moment. Still reeling from the shock, he saw a dark, black sword whistling towards him like a dragon.

Behind the sword was a frenzied figure.

The Brocade Blind Man roared and leaped aside. The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword slanted into the ground beside him. The next moment, Ning Chang'an reached him, grabbed the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword in a reverse grip, spun around, and began to retreat. The Brocade Blind Man shouted, "Where do you think you're going!" and charged forward. He knew Ning Chang'an was at the end of his rope, his final sword throw having missed, and had already decided to retreat. There was just one thing he didn't understand: why did this person care so much about this sword, wanting to take it with him even in the face of death? It didn't matter if he didn't understand; he was certain that this fatty would die in the next moment.

But in the next moment, he understood why.

Ning Chang'an actually used retreat as a feint. At this critical juncture, he deliberately exposed a major opening to the Brocade Blind Man. As the Brocade Blind Man lunged forward, Ning Chang'an suddenly spun around and thrust his sword.

Returning Horse Sword Strike, one of the Nine Moves of the Horse Aspect.

Thwack! The Brocade Blind Man's already precarious protective True Qi shield was instantly pierced. The powerful sword suddenly plunged into his chest.

Ning Chang'an had fallen into a frenzy, entering a state of demonic possession. He suddenly shook the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword in his hand, flicking it upward. He forcibly tore open the wound in the Brocade Blind Man's chest, flinging him into the air.

Blood rained down.

Ning Chang'an's eyes turned blood-red. He grabbed the Brocade Blind Man's large body as it fell.

His hand plunged directly into the wound in the Brocade Blind Man's chest, as if striking the heart directly, and squeezed his heart. The Brocade Blind Man let out a tragic howl. With his heart grasped, he was already halfway to the underworld, yet still alive. Filled with resentment, he questioned, "Is this your strongest move? Is it? Is it...?"

Ning Chang'an shook his head.

The Brocade Blind Man, still unwilling, asked, "Is it? Is it...?"

A blood-red light flashed in Ning Chang'an's eyes. "You don't understand. My strongest move is called 'recklessness'!" Streams of Innate Golden Toad Qi were absorbed by the gray lotus pattern on Ning Chang'an's palm. Ning Chang'an's hand tightened, and the Brocade Blind Man's heart was crushed bit by bit.

The blood-red light in Ning Chang'an's eyes intensified. With a roar, he suddenly swung the Brocade Blind Man's corpse and smashed it onto the stone-paved ground in front of him.

With a dull thud, the area in front of the back door of the Master's Tower became a bloody mess.

Ning Chang'an suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes looking at Linglong. He managed to force out two words from his throat with difficulty: "Go quickly..."

Linglong was confused and said anxiously, "You're so badly injured, I can't leave you..."

Ning Chang'an, his blood-soaked hand now holding the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword.

Linglong suddenly felt a chilling, brutal killing intent. She shivered, and a trace of fear entered her gaze as she looked at Ning Chang'an. Ning Chang'an let out a strange laugh, like a demon, and charged towards Linglong with the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword.

At this very moment, his mind was filled with the desire to kill. All he saw was a world of blood, and the sharp stench of gore filled his nostrils.

The entire world seemed to be filled with the smell of blood, dripping with gore, and echoing with the sounds of slaughter.

Evil thoughts had taken control of his mind, causing him to lose himself and begin to fall into the abyss of killing, down the evil path leading to demonic possession.

The "demon" within Ning Chang'an began to awaken.

The Brocade Blind Man's lifelong Innate Golden Toad Qi was transformed by the Three Pure Nine Nether Wonderful Dharma Lotus Heart Sutra into a majestic torrent of heat, flowing throughout Ning Chang'an's entire body. This powerful and violent force was fueling Ning Chang'an's demonic might at this moment.

"Ah, you, you're possessed?!"

Linglong screamed involuntarily, her pupils widening. Her fair little hands trembled as she covered her mouth, too astonished to speak. At this moment, she had even forgotten to flee, like a little girl facing a monstrous beast, so fragile and vulnerable, unable to resist her predetermined fate, waiting in despair and helplessness for the arrival of cruel destiny.

That destiny was death!

Linglong knew she couldn't escape, yet for some reason, she didn't even have the slightest thought of fleeing. Endless sorrow surged within her heart, and countless memories flashed before her eyes, one after another, like sparks in a fire. It was said that when a person is about to die, all the scenes of their life flash through their mind.