Art of Witchcraft and Nuo

The green mist drifted away like a green haze.

Xu Ying fell from the air, landing with a thud, both feet planted firmly on the ground, standing steady as a mountain.

Ding Quan froze in shock. A man whose bones had been ground to pulp couldn't possibly land on both feet, let alone stand so steadily!

Yet Xu Ying stood perfectly still!

But this was Nu Art!

The Nu Master opens the secret vaults of the human body, comprehends heaven, earth, and nature, elevates his inner cultivation, and unleashes Nu Art!

Just now, with a single green vine, Ding Quan had snapped a tree in two!

How could Xu Ying withstand that blow and survive?

Even a god forged from iron would have been riddled with holes and crushed into mud by that strike!

"It seems that even as Magistrate Zhou's dog, he never taught you the true Nu methods and Nu arts."

Xu Ying took a long breath, his bones cracking and popping. He lifted his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled. "If the Zhou family had taught you the real Nu methods, I should be dead by now. But you've opened your secret vault, seized the advantage, and still failed to kill me."

Ding Quan's pupils narrowed slightly. He had thrown in his lot with the Zhou family, who had helped him open his secret vault and become a Nu Master. But since he wasn't a Zhou by blood, the techniques they taught him were only low-grade, and the Nu arts they passed on were equally low-grade!

Despite believing his talent was outstanding, he couldn't cultivate to higher realms or improve his strength!

Xu Ying drove his blood and qi with near-frenzied force, thunderous sounds rumbling from within his body, merging into a single line that transformed into an elephant's trumpet!

Behind him, his blood and qi condensed into Sha, forming the phantom of an Elephant-Headed Deity.

Xu Ying fixed his gaze on Ding Quan, standing in the pool. Suddenly, he stomped down hard, sending dirt flying, and took a single step forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. In the next instant, he was right in front of Ding Quan!

"Whoosh—"

He threw a punch, and the Elephant-Headed Deity behind him struck as well, unleashing the Elephant Strength. The water's surface exploded, and a gale swept up waves that surged toward Ding Quan!

With a rustling sound, countless vines rose from the water, intertwining and weaving together. In an instant, they formed a massive Vine Shield, blocking Ding Quan's front!

Xu Ying's Fist Wind swept through, shattering the vine shield.

At the same time, Ding Quan threw a punch of his own. Vines coiled around his fist, swelling larger and larger, while countless more wrapped around his arm like taut, explosive muscles!

"Boom!"

Nu Art clashed with martial arts, sending waves of water hurtling into the air, swaying wildly as if dragged by a gale!

The vine fist cracked and broke apart. Ding Quan's body drifted backward. As he moved his feet, the vines connected to his body and his Vine Armor were yanked from the ground, tearing countless roots!

Then, the vines rooted themselves again, absorbing the force of Xu Ying's punch.

Ding Quan swung his left fist. Countless vines shot forward with a sharp hiss, entwining his left hand to form a massive fist.

Other vines clung to the surface of his body, their roots wrapping around his torso, tightening, storing power like drawn bowstrings, granting him unparalleled strength!

Though he hadn't trained in martial arts, his Nu Art was so exquisite that it gave him strength no less than Xu Ying's, who had cultivated the Elephant Strength!

"Boom!"

Their fists clashed again. Ding Quan took another step back, and more vines tore from the ground, serving as his muscles and sinews!

Xu Ying was only a mortal body, with the same number of muscles and sinews as any normal person. But Ding Quan, as a Nu Master, could multiply his muscles and sinews dozens of times over, compensating for any lack of raw power and rivaling the gods!

At the same time, vines from all directions lashed toward Xu Ying!

Xu Ying stepped on one of the vines, his fists and feet flying, shattering the vines. His blood and qi erupted, and he threw another punch!

Ding Quan took over a dozen punches, retreating over a dozen steps, out of the pool and into the forest.

Xu Ying pursued relentlessly, pushing the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to its limit. His blood and qi blazed, casting light from within his body like a great sun rising from his dantian, transforming into immense power that accompanied his fists and feet as he struck his enemy!

His momentum grew stronger, but the trees around him seemed to come alive, attacking him from all directions, even from beneath his feet!

Xu Ying was convinced that he could now easily kill a being like the Green Robe Deity. Yet facing a Nu Master like Ding Quan, he had all this strength but couldn't land a blow!

Ding Quan's Nu Art always managed to deflect his power by the narrowest margin!

Ding Quan, too, was secretly alarmed. Every punch he took felt like being rammed by a ten-thousand-jin elephant. His arms and legs ached and trembled!

Though Xu Ying was only a fourteen-year-old youth, he had refined an inhuman strength within him, and that strength was still growing!

Still, with these vines, even Xu Ying's monstrous elephant power could be withstood!

"And this is a mountain forest—my battlefield. Here, the trees, the grass, the flowers—they're all my weapons!"

Ding Quan's eyes flickered. As he faced Xu Ying's attacks head-on, he thought to himself, "I can wear you down at my leisure!"

He took another punch. Countless vines exploded, and then more vines twisted in to connect with his right fist.

But at that moment, one "vine" that had come close to him moved with unnatural agility. Instead of landing on his fist, it coiled around his neck.

Ding Quan froze in confusion, and then the "vine" opened its mouth wide, revealing gleaming fangs on its upper jaw, and bit down on his neck!

"Xu Ying, I got him!"

The "vine" slithered quickly down from his body, calling out joyfully. It was the Snake Demon, Yuan Qi.

"Snake demon?"

Ding Quan was startled. He waved his hand, and countless vines coiled around the large serpent. Then, his mind went suddenly dark, and blackness swallowed his vision.

"Such a potent poison?"

Ding Quan, dazed and disoriented, quickly steadied himself, channeling all the power of his Secret Treasury to fight the snake venom with everything he had, struggling to stay alive!

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was nearly strangled to death by the Green Vine. Ding Quan's loss of strength gave him a chance to escape. He turned back and shouted at Ding Quan, "My poison is Fifth Under Heaven—you're done for!"

Ding Quan ignored him. The flesh on his neck rotted at a terrifying speed, as if it would eat through the entire neck, leaving his head dangling precariously. But the next moment, a mysterious force erupted within him. The rotten flesh sloughed off, and new flesh grew at an astonishing rate!

He seemed to have broken free of the Snake Demon Yuan Qi's Fifth Under Heaven venom!

But Yuan Qi, known as the Strange Snake, had venom not so easily dispelled.

Ding Quan's neck rotted again, the decay spreading with alarming speed!

Light blazed from Ding Quan's forehead, a green aura rose from his face, and the flesh on his neck grew and rotted in turn, as if poison and vitality were locked in a tug-of-war at his throat!

Xu Ying smashed through layers of Green Vine, charging in like a Mighty Elephant, and drove a fist into Ding Quan's chest!

Ding Quan grunted and spat a mouthful of blood. Xu Ying's hand clamped onto his ribs, fingers flying across his body, dislocating every joint in a flash!

This was the Snake Catcher's signature technique!

Ding Quan hit the ground, unable to move, as countless Green Vines surged wildly, burying him!

Xu Ying punched again and again, tearing through the vines, only to find that the vines had tunneled through the earth, creating a passage that carried Ding Quan away!

Following the tremors underground, Xu Ying leaped up, raining punches downward, smashing huge craters into the forest floor!

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi followed nervously behind him, watching as Xu Ying, like a madman, threw a hundred punches in succession, leaving a hundred craters in the ground!

"Judicial Assistant Ding Quan!"

A shout came from officials in the distance. "Are you using Nu Art? Have you found that thief Xu Ying?"

Xu Ying's face changed slightly. He threw a few more punches, and blood began to seep from the craters.

"Xiao Ying, if we don't leave now, it'll be too late!" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi urged in a low voice.

Xu Ying abandoned any thought of checking whether Ding Quan was dead, immediately slipping into the forest with Yuan Qi, heading far away.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi called out, "Jump on my back! I leave no tracks when I slither!"

Xu Ying leaped onto his back, and the Snake Demon Yuan Qi sped over mountains and ridges, evading the pursuing officials.

"That Nu Master... is he dead?" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi asked, his tone uncertain as he raced through the woods.

Xu Ying recalled Ding Quan's terrifying regenerative ability and felt a chill in his heart. "With your Fifth Under Heaven snake venom and all those punches I landed, he's definitely dead!"

Even as he said it, he had little confidence.

Ding Quan's neck had rotted through and still healed in an instant—Xu Ying had never seen anything like it!

He had heard that Nu Masters were terrifying, but this was his first direct confrontation with one, and it was even worse than the rumors!

"Yuan Qi, thank you," Xu Ying said suddenly.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi paused, then laughed. "You thought I ran away? I'm not that kind of disloyal demon. You avenged the villagers, even risking your life to kill a god. As demons, we live by honor! You upheld righteousness, so I couldn't just abandon you and flee."

Xu Ying was moved, but reminded him, "I'm human, not a demon."

"Don't be so sure. What if you're not?"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi chuckled. "I've never heard of a human mastering Demonic Arts so quickly."

Xu Ying suddenly felt a pang of doubt. Could he really not be human?

"No, I'm definitely human! I'm from Xu Family Village, and both my parents were from Xu Family Village!" he told himself silently.

Elsewhere, several young officials rushed to the pond, following the trail until they found Ding Quan.

Ding Quan was not dead.

Countless broken Green Vines had shielded him, pushing him up from underground.

The officials were shocked by Ding Quan's condition. His limbs were shattered, countless ribs broken, and his internal organs were severely damaged!

On top of that, his neck was a mass of black, rotting flesh, reeking of foul poison—clearly he had been poisoned!

Yet he was still alive!

He had opened the Ni Wan Secret Treasury, a human Secret Treasury brimming with boundless vitality that sustained his body, making him nearly immortal!

Of course, Ding Quan had only opened the First Layer of Ni Wan Secret Treasury. Once the vitality of that first layer was exhausted, he would die.

Ding Quan was already close to death, his breath faint, and the vitality of the First Layer of Ni Wan Secret Treasury was nearly spent!

The officials quickly administered first aid, cutting away the rotten flesh and setting the broken bones. One of them, dressed in black and red robes, pressed a finger to Ding Quan's brow, channeling vitality from his own Ni Wan Secret Treasury to help Ding Quan suppress the poison.

The other two officials also transferred their vitality to aid in healing his broken bones.

As for the internal organs, they were too delicate for external treatment. Ding Quan would have to heal them himself once his condition stabilized. Others intervening could easily cause mistakes.

Ding Quan's breathing gradually steadied, but his joints were all dislocated, leaving him unable to move or speak.

The black-and-red-robed official, experienced and sharp-eyed, immediately realized Ding Quan's joints had been dislocated. He quickly reset them and asked, "Brother Ding, who did this to you?"

Ding Quan sighed in relief and recounted his encounter with Xu Ying and the Snake Demon's ambush, saying shamefacedly, "That Xu Ying practices Demonic Arts, and with the Snake Demon attacking from behind, I ended up in this sorry state..."

The officials exchanged glances, a hint of amusement in their eyes. They had been worried Ding Quan would claim the top credit, but with injuries this severe, he was out of the running.

"Brother Ding, just focus on recovering from your injuries. Leave the capture of Xu Ying to us!" The three men laughed heartily and departed.

Ding Quan felt a twinge of displeasure at their words, but there was nothing he could do. He sat down in a full lotus position, intending to heal his wounds, when suddenly he reached into his robes. His expression shifted instantly.

"Damn it!" Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Tucked inside his robes was a scroll of the Ni Wan Hidden Scenery Qi Refining Method, a cultivation technique the Zhou Family had taught him after he pledged allegiance to them!

The Zhou Family strictly forbade any copying or unauthorized dissemination of their cultivation methods. One could learn and practice them, but any violation—recording them, leaking them—would result in the extermination of one's entire clan, the destruction of the Three Souls, and the scattering of the Seven Spirits!

Any outsider who so much as laid eyes on the method would have both eyes gouged out, their mind erased, and be reduced to a drooling idiot!

Ding Quan, driven by selfish motives, had secretly transcribed the Ni Wan Hidden Scenery Qi Refining Method from memory. And now, that scroll had vanished without a trace!

"Could I have lost it during the fight with Xu Ying?"

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He struggled to his feet, retraced his steps, and searched everywhere, but found nothing.

"Could it be..."

He recalled how Xu Ying had dislocated every joint in his body, and a chill ran through his heart. "Did he steal it from my robes back then?"

His vision went dark, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

If the Zhou Family's cultivation method were to leak out, he would face their most brutal and merciless punishment!

"I have to kill Xu Ying and get that method back!"