Divine Strike!

Zeng Shiyong, Gu Rou, and the other White Lotus Disciples were left dumbfounded when they saw Bai Wuji beaten to the point of coughing up blood.

But they quickly came to their senses and rushed toward Su Que, intending to help Bai Wuji.

"You lot, get in there too!"

While Su Que and Bai Wuji had been exchanging blows, Zhan Qing Tian, the magistrate of Jade Water City, along with his Advisor, the Constable Captain, and the Constables from the Jade Water City Yamen, had also arrived.

When Zhan Qing Tian saw that Su Que had actually beaten Bai Wuji until he vomited blood, tears of joy immediately welled up in his eyes.

For days now, he and his family had been living beneath Bai Wuji's threats of death.

Now that there was unexpectedly a turn for the better, how could he not be overjoyed?

Seeing Zeng Shiyong, Gu Rou, and the others step forward to aid Bai Wuji, Zhan Qing Tian feared that Su Que would be hindered and fail to kill Bai Wuji. He hurriedly ordered the Constable Captain and Constables under him to go help Su Que.

At Zhan Qing Tian's command, the Constable Captain and Constables of the Jade Water City Yamen drew their blades and charged at Zeng Shiyong, Gu Rou, and the other White Lotus Disciples!

Before long, the Yamen's Constable Captain and Constables were locked in battle with the White Lotus Disciples. Force collided, weapons clashed without cease, and the scene descended into utter chaos.

Meanwhile, the battle between Su Que and Bai Wuji continued.

Bai Wuji believed that after training the Seven Injuries Fist to such a level, Su Que's internal injuries must be severe. Surely, he would not be able to take much punishment.

A thought stirred in his mind, and he unleashed the White Lotus Sect's Divine Strike technique.

The White Lotus Sect's Divine Strike was precisely "Spirit Possession," through which one's strength and resistance to blows greatly increased.

Not every White Lotus Disciple could learn Divine Strike, nor could every disciple who learned it master it.

To even learn the cultivation method of Divine Strike, one had to at least offer three sticks of incense within the White Lotus Sect—in other words, become what the sect called a Three-Incense Disciple.

The Hall Masters under Bai Wuji, such as Fan Wuyang, Jing Sha, and Luo You, whom Su Que had killed, were all Three-Incense Disciples.

Bai Wuji, meanwhile, stood one rank above them now. He was a Four-Incense Disciple.

Only they had the opportunity to come into contact with Divine Strike.

Su Que had once seen an incense hall in Jing Sha's residence, where there were statues of deities such as the Immortal Mother.

Jing Sha had cultivated the White Lotus Sect's Divine Strike by visualizing those divine statues.

However, although Hall Masters such as Fan Wuyang had cultivated Divine Strike, they had not yet succeeded in "Spirit Possession." Otherwise, they would not have been so easily killed by Su Que.

As for whether they could achieve "Spirit Possession" if they continued cultivating, no one could say.

After all, some within the White Lotus Sect knew the method of cultivating Divine Strike, yet remained forever unable to grasp the art of "Spirit Possession."

Though Divine Strike could greatly enhance one's power, it also had two weaknesses.

First, using it affected the mind. Some White Lotus Disciples who overused it became madmen who knew only slaughter, while others turned into witless fools.

Second, it consumed immense amounts of both body and mind.

Therefore, even those in the White Lotus Sect who knew Divine Strike would not use it lightly.

Seeing that he had encountered a formidable enemy today—and that he still had hope of victory—Bai Wuji gritted his teeth and unleashed Divine Strike.

As Bai Wuji focused his mind and performed Divine Strike, at the instant he "invited the Immortal Mother to possess him"—

A phantom appeared behind Bai Wuji.

It was a female bodhisattva seated upon a white lotus, kind-eyed and benevolent in appearance, yet wearing an eerie smile.

Her form closely resembled the statue of the Immortal Mother Su Que had seen in Jing Sha's incense hall that day.

Then, the phantom flashed and merged into Bai Wuji through the crown of his head.

Immediately afterward, a bizarre power arose from Bai Wuji's body.

Bai Wuji's body suddenly swelled, growing to roughly two meters tall, nearly level with Su Que.

His Daoist robe bulged outward in an instant. The sound of cloth tearing rang out continuously as rents split open across it.

At the same time, an overpowering aura surged up from Bai Wuji's body.

Struck by that aura, Bai Wuji's Daoist topknot abruptly came undone.

His long hair and beard streamed upward with the rising aura.

The muscles on his face bulged, and his expression turned strange and savage, like the wrathful Vajras in temples.

His brows stood on end, his eyes were wide and round, and his pupils dilated.

"Could the Immortal Mother truly have manifested herself?"

"That White Lotus monk we beat to death wasn't lying?"

The townsfolk watching from afar were utterly astonished at the sight.

As Three-Incense Disciples, Zeng Shiyong and Gu Rou could also cultivate Divine Strike.

But they had never succeeded in "Spirit Possession," nor had they previously seen Bai Wuji use Divine Strike.

They had always known of its might. Now that they saw Bai Wuji unleash it, their hearts could not help but soar.

The people from the Yamen were likewise shocked to see Bai Wuji undergo such an extraordinary transformation in the blink of an eye.

Zhan Qing Tian's heart began to tremble. He feared that after undergoing such a change, Bai Wuji would immediately turn the battle around.

The instant Su Que saw Bai Wuji undergo such a transformation, he was shaken as well.

He had always believed this was a world of martial arts, but after seeing the phantom emerge behind Bai Wuji, a doubt arose in his heart: Could this world also have ghosts and gods?

Yet with an enemy before him, Su Que quickly came back to his senses. His right fist still blasted toward Bai Wuji!

Bai Wuji thrust out a palm to meet Su Que's fist!

Bang!

Fist and palm collided, their force turning into a gale that spread in all directions.

The force of Su Que's Seven Injuries Fist still carried four streams of true qi as it bored into Bai Wuji's body.

He could feel that the moment his fist force and true qi entered Bai Wuji's body, a power unlike the true qi of Bai Wuji's Minor Self-Harm Skill surged forth, obstructing his fist force and true qi.

This power was quite strong, able to cancel out most of his fist force and true qi.

Good. It hasn't canceled all of it!

Rather than worrying at this sight, Su Que was delighted. His spirits surged as he assumed his stance and unleashed the Seven Injuries Fist at full strength.

In an instant, fist shadows filled the sky, shrouding Bai Wuji.

After using Divine Strike, Bai Wuji's mind was exhilarated and his reactions became faster.

He received Su Que's punches one after another.

But every time he exchanged a punch with Su Que, fist force and true qi invaded his body.

Though most of it was canceled away, drops filled a bucket. After several dozen blows, a great amount of Seven Injuries Fist force, carrying four kinds of true qi, crashed and ran rampant through Bai Wuji's internal organs.

Blood mixed with fragments of organs spewed from Bai Wuji's mouth.

Bai Wuji's face instantly turned as pale as gold paper.

Yet even so, Su Que saw that Bai Wuji still wore an exhilarated expression, with not a trace of pain on his face.

It was as though the man could not feel pain at all.