Fierce Battle

Beneath the tranquil full moon, there were surprisingly no cricket chirps on the summer night's grassland. Only the night wind swept through, setting the leaves swaying with a distinctly clear rustling friction.

In the moonlight, the two faced each other in a delicate standoff.

You Su had managed to land that sneak attack only through sheer luck. He dared not initiate another assault, and could only assume a ready sword stance and wait for a counterattack.

True Man Ling's pupils were red as he glared fixedly at You Su, wishing he could hack him into a thousand pieces. His originally kindly features had twisted into something savage and terrifying.

Yet True Man Ling had not been blinded by rage. Quite the contrary—in this moment, he was exceptionally calm.

Recalling the youth's sequence of movements just now, one could not help but marvel at his acting. First, he had pretended to be weak and let his guard down. Then he had found a way to make me approach him. Finally, he had launched a sneak attack when my hands were extended and my defenses at their weakest. This scheme could hardly be called anything but sinister. I, who am always plotting against others, had actually been successfully plotted against one day.

True Man Ling tapped three times in rapid succession—"pa pa pa"—stanching the blood flowing from his chest. The sword had not yet injured his internal organs, but it had still caused considerable damage. True Man Ling did not rush to attack. He gave a cold laugh and asked,

"When did you see through me?"

"The first time I saw you." You Su tightened his grip on the sword hilt and stood ready.

"Oh? Why?"

"I raised a dog before. When the Lantern Ghost saw you, it didn't look like it was seeing an enemy. It looked like it was seeing its master."

"Heh, is that all?" True Man Ling shook his sleeve.

"The person the Lantern Ghost ate was someone I knew. It was Uncle-Master He of the Sky Guard Sect."

True Man Ling paused, apparently not expecting that answer. He exclaimed, "Weren't you blind from birth? How could you have seen that fool?"

"I am indeed blind, but Uncle-Master He wasn't always a fool. When he was seven, he offended my master and came to apologize. My master called him Little Bald Bug at the time, because he was not only bald, but also had a dragon tattooed on his head. I had never seen him, but I remembered that." As You Su spoke unhurriedly, he tilted his head, trying to hear every tiny movement True Man Ling made more clearly. "I imagine your junior brother wouldn't happen to be called Little Bald Bug as well, would he?"

True Man Ling suddenly laughed in relief. He truly had never imagined that, in order to minimize the impact, he had deliberately captured an antisocial fool of a cultivator to put on an act—and that You Su would happen to recognize him. This also proved one fact: the blind man had seen through his true identity at their very first meeting and had been acting along with him all this time, all for the sake of turning against him today.

"Boy, you've certainly given me plenty of surprises."

"You flatter me, True Man. Compared with the surprises you intend to give me, this is nothing." You Su remained neither servile nor overbearing.

"You Su, do you know that if you had obediently listened to me, your whole family would have suffered little more than some hardship before dying soundlessly in this soundproof Formation Technique? But now, you won't be getting off so easily."

True Man Ling's smile turned sinister. His face suddenly went deathly pale, the corners of his mouth and eyes splitting slightly at once. An aged layer of skin peeled away, revealing a withered face beneath, covered in pitch-black blood vessels like leeches crawling all over it.

"I'll turn you into a human pig. No! I'll leave your ears intact! I'll make you listen day and night—listen to the screams of your junior sister and Mistress as those lowly evil entities violate them. How mov—"

You Su gave True Man Ling no chance to continue. He had been gathering power for a long time, and now his full-strength sword thrust forward amid the sound of splitting wind, aimed straight at True Man Ling's heart.

True Man Ling did not stop his wild laughter. The torn corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears. With his left hand, he formed a seal with fingers as withered as twigs, and invisible force burst forth, making You Su's body pause for an instant. Then he joined the index and middle fingers of his right hand into a sword and knocked aside You Su's mighty strike from the flank.

In the blink of an eye, the fingers True Man Ling used to deflect the sword began to sting slightly. He was astonished. This boy's sword was actually of a quality no worse than a spirit sword. He was becoming less and less able to see through this blind man.

Yet his face still wore a smile as though victory were already in his grasp. "What? Can't stand listening anymore? You'll have plenty to listen to from now on. I once saw your junior sister from far aw—"

Before he could finish, You Su's next sword strike had already followed.

You Su was not foolish. He could tell that True Man Ling was deliberately provoking him, and he had to admit that True Man Ling had succeeded.

True Man Ling hurriedly retreated and prepared to form a spell seal, but You Su understood the advantage of a Sword Cultivator all too well. He pressed forward step by step, leaving him not the slightest opening.

When True Man Ling had first taken the sword from him, he had assumed You Su merely possessed a bit of talent. Only now, when he was being forced into a difficult defense, did he realize that You Su with a sword in hand was absolutely not to be underestimated.

True Man Ling flipped out a sheet of talisman paper with his right hand and shouted, "Explode!"

A powerful explosion erupted between them, blasting up clouds of sand and broken grass. Once the dust settled, True Man Ling's originally gaunt body had suddenly become astonishingly massive. His entire body was covered in explosive crimson muscles, and paired with his narrow head, the sight was grotesque beyond words.

True Man Ling felt the power surging through his body, his expression both pained and intoxicated.

He had raised three evil entities in total. The Lantern Ghost and the Dream Centipede were both dream-type entities, which he used to bewitch people's minds. As for this Flesh and Blood Type Red Meat Ghost, he had hidden it inside his own body and nourished it daily with his flesh and blood, all so that, at a critical moment, it could possess him and grant him a powerful physical form. This body could even conceal his own aura.

True Man Ling grew somewhat angry. He shifted his feet lightly, yet his person vanished at once. His speed was several times faster than before!

Before You Su could react, an iron fist carrying a fetid stench had already reached his cheek, sending his entire body flying backward. You Su hurriedly steadied himself and spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. He could not understand why True Man Ling had suddenly undergone such a drastic change. Even his perception could not keep up with him. Just moments ago, everything had still been within his calculations.

But True Man Ling gave him no time to think. A violent storm of fists continually shattered You Su's defenses. No matter how sharp the sword was, it was useless now, and You Su was beaten back step by step.

In an instant, You Su was startled to discover that a mighty blood-red figure had appeared within his murky vision, exactly like the moment he had first seen the Lantern Ghost! He knew this was True Man Ling. He truly was an evil cultivator who raised and exploited the power of evil entities!

True Man Ling stopped and looked down at You Su with contempt, as if gazing at a lamb awaiting slaughter. For his next punch, he decided to control his strength properly and make certain the boy could never rise again. Yet this seemingly unstoppable fist failed to land solidly on You Su.

You Su had actually dodged it! By then, You Su had already flipped behind True Man Ling and swung his sword at the True Man, but the strike seemed to land on steel and failed to cut in even the slightest.

True Man Ling swept out a great hand, sending You Su flying while stirring up a sheet of sinister wind. He had no intention of giving the youth another chance. His fierce attacks poured forth like mountains roaring and seas howling.

Yet You Su was like a grasshopper in the weeds, always nimbly evading his attacks. True Man Ling could not understand it. Why had this boy suddenly become so agile? It was only when even his secretly yin-laden punch was dodged by You Su that he could not help asking,

"Can you fucking see me?"

Only then did True Man Ling realize in astonishment that You Su's eyes no longer showed any distinction between pupils and whites. They were entirely pitch-black.

Under the dim starlight of the night, True Man Ling felt that he was the truly eerie one.