Battle with Miss Lilac

"Damn it!"

Song Ankang felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Without thinking, he mobilized all the qi and blood in his body and unleashed the most powerful Tendon Injury Fist he could currently perform, smashing it fiercely into Miss Lilac's face.

Boom...

You have activated the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture. You are affected by the side effects of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture; the tendons throughout your body are damaged... The Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance has taken effect, absorbing external energy and about to transform the side effects. Please wait!

Yet this punch did not seem to have much effect. Miss Lilac's ugly face merely became somewhat blurred, and a hint of confusion surfaced on it, as though she could not understand why Song Ankang had treated her this way.

Could it be that she was not pretty enough? Or had Song Ankang seen through something at that critical moment between life and death? Otherwise, while she had turned back to enchant Song Ankang, she would already have been able to devour his yang energy and essence blood.

Only when she saw the terror on Song Ankang's face did Miss Lilac suddenly realize something. In her excitement just now, she seemed to have accidentally revealed her true face and let Song Ankang see it.

But she could not be blamed for that. Who told Song Ankang to be so handsome? Looking at him had left her stunned. It was only natural for a little mistake to happen.

Having figured out the reason, Miss Lilac gave a savage smile. No longer concealing her ugliness, she cackled strangely and pounced at Song Ankang.

Such a handsome man should merge into one with her!

Boom...

Song Ankang went all out. Ignoring the Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance's notification, he threw out another Tendon Injury Fist. Accompanied by pain from every tendon in his body, the Seven Injuries Qi and Blood blasted Miss Lilac into even greater blur. Clearly, the Tendon Injury Fist was still effective.

Unfortunately, the Seven Injuries Qi and Blood cultivated from the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture was not yang-dominant qi and blood. Otherwise, it would have been even more powerful against Ghost Spirits. Still, compared with ordinary cultivation arts, the Seven Injuries Qi and Blood was quite lethal to ghosts and monsters; only a few yang-dominant cultivation arts could surpass the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture.

However, when dealing with demons and monsters, the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture displayed considerable power. Many yang-dominant cultivation arts could not compare with it.

"Ah..."

Feeling the searing pain of the Seven Injuries Qi and Blood, Miss Lilac's ugly face became ever more savage. Roaring, she tried to pounce on Song Ankang, all her former elegance swept away.

If Master Dai Wangshu had seen Miss Lilac like this, he definitely would not have been able to write Rainy Alley.

Boom...

The third Tendon Injury Fist landed, making Miss Lilac even blurrier. By then, Song Ankang had regained his senses and consciously narrowed the fist's area of attack, allowing the Seven Injuries Qi and Blood to unleash even greater power.

Hiss...

Amid a strange sound, Miss Lilac's ugly face began emitting foul gray-black smoke, as though hot oil had been poured over it. The pain made her shriek miserably. Her charging motion halted, and the surrounding illusion weakened considerably.

Relying on the mental will that had greatly increased during this time, Song Ankang finally broke free of the illusion and saw his true surroundings. This was not a Rainy Alley at all, but a sewage ditch. Song Ankang had seen it before when he came to the cloth shop, but the Female Ghost had transformed it into a Rainy Alley.

Naturally, Miss Lilac knew nothing of Rainy Alley. She had merely stirred Song Ankang's inner thoughts and trapped him in the illusion of Rainy Alley.

If Song Ankang's mental will had been a little stronger just now, he would have noticed the anomaly, broken free from the illusion in time, and escaped to seek Jiang Yunhe's help.

Unfortunately, although Song Ankang's mental will had increased considerably, it was far too weak compared to Miss Lilac, who could conjure an entire Rainy Alley. He had been unable to break free of Miss Lilac's illusion.

Fortunately, Miss Lilac had been captivated by Song Ankang's looks and had actually exposed a flaw. Only then had Song Ankang managed to break free in time and severely wound Miss Lilac with three consecutive punches.

Seeing Miss Lilac clutching her face and screaming, Song Ankang, whose Seven Injuries Qi and Blood was nearly depleted, turned and ran. He did not want to see Miss Lilac again. He quickly fled beyond the illusion's range, then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Instructor Jiang, save me!"

Whoosh...

Hearing Song Ankang's cry for help, Jiang Yunhe instantly rushed out of the cloth shop from a hundred meters away and sped toward him. He quickly positioned himself in front of Song Ankang, blocking the charging Miss Lilac.

Bang bang bang, smack smack smack, clang clang clang...

Facing Jiang Yunhe of the Inner Refinement Realm, Miss Lilac had virtually no power to resist. Jiang Yunhe beat her until she fled with her head in her hands like a rat.

In Song Ankang's eyes, although Rainy Alley had vanished, Miss Lilac had regained her previous breathtaking beauty. Jiang Yunhe's punches and kicks at her seemed rather like destroying a flower with ruthless hands.

But having seen Miss Lilac's true face, Song Ankang did not find it excessive in the slightest. He retreated several dozen more meters, putting even more distance between himself and Miss Lilac.

"Son-in-law, are you all right?"

At that moment, Qiushi also arrived beside Song Ankang. She anxiously examined him from head to toe. When she saw the blood seeping from his body after using three Tendon Injury Fists in succession, her dark, bright eyes immediately reddened. Heart aching, she took out a handkerchief and wiped away the blood.

Song Ankang finally felt the pain as well. Just now, he had been focused only on striking Miss Lilac and escaping alive, temporarily forgetting the agony in his body.

Now that he was out of danger, he could finally feel the pain coming from every part of his body. Fortunately, he had not passed out this time. Perhaps it was because his mental will had improved again.

"Hiss..."

The pain made Song Ankang sink down onto the ground. The owners of several nearby shops hurriedly brought chairs, injury medicine, and other supplies to treat him, their concern plain to see.

Qiushi carefully tended to Song Ankang. Though Song Ankang felt it was unnecessary—with the Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance, these injuries would soon heal—he would not spoil the girl's heartfelt concern by refusing. He let Qiushi work on him, and she soon bandaged several ruptured areas.

Fortunately, Song Ankang had already made an initial entry into the Form Concealment stage of the Heaven Concealing Earth Absorbing Art. Otherwise, Qiushi might have noticed something amiss and discovered that he was a Muscle Tendon Realm martial artist.

"Stop crying. It is not a serious injury. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

Seeing Qiushi's crystalline tears falling without end, Song Ankang smiled and wiped them away for her. His palm brushed over the girl's cheek, smooth, tender, and resilient.

"If I had known Tongxin Town was this dangerous even in broad daylight, and that it would leave Son-in-law so badly hurt, we would not have come here today." Qiushi spoke regretfully, her heart filled with guilt.

Song Ankang smiled and comforted her. "If it is a blessing, it is not a disaster; if it is a disaster, you cannot hide from it. Even if you had not mentioned it, I would have brought you all to Tongxin Town these next few days. After all, the clothes I had been wearing were becoming more and more uncomfortable."

"So this was a tribulation destined to happen. Do not feel bad about it."

Qiushi felt a little better then. She looked Song Ankang over worriedly, wanting to see whether there were any other injuries on him.

The nearby shop owners also chimed in, comforting Qiushi along with Song Ankang.

"Little miss, do not be sad. Great Filial Son Song is absolutely right: if it is a blessing, it is not a disaster; if it is a disaster, you cannot hide from it. Great Filial Son Song is blessed by Heaven and has escaped this ordeal. After reaching the deepest valley, things will surely turn for the better."

"Actually, we should all thank Great Filial Son Song this time. If Great Filial Son Song had not discovered this Female Ghost in time, who knew how many more of us would have met with disaster? Little miss, we should be thanking you and Great Filial Son Song."

"That is right, that is right. Who would have thought a Female Ghost was hiding so close to us? She even dared wreak havoc in broad daylight. She is truly vicious. I fear no one in all of Tongxin Town could have resisted her."

"The strongest person in town is only at the Inner Refinement Second Layer, which is basically not enough to stop this Female Ghost. Only an expert like Instructor Jiang, at the Inner Refinement Fourth Layer, can deal with such a powerful Female Ghost."