Hanyu Fights Asura

This was no time for the Glazed Bottle to cause trouble, so Little Glazed used the authority of the Artifact Spirit to forcibly suppress the bottle.

"What a mess—aren't you two supposed to be one? Now you've each got your own ideas."

Little Glazed could only reply in a childish, milky voice, "That's its devouring instinct, not an idea."

Cousin had already opened the umbrella again and called out. Hanyu snapped back to attention and followed.

After passing through the Corrosion Channel and the Fire Channel once more, the two arrived again at that tomb chamber.

This time, the Scorpion Tail was much smarter. From far off, it caught the scent of its natural predator smeared on the umbrella and didn't dare come close at all.

Cousin sat down by the well, completely dismantled the Iron Bone Umbrella, and then poured out the remaining iron pieces from his bosom.

His hands moved nimbly, piece by piece snapping together. Soon a silhouette took shape, and after another moment, a black short sword was assembled.

He kept going. When the iron pieces ran out, he hurriedly pieced together two more.

"In a bit, I won't be able to split my attention. I'll need to control three Flying Swords to face the Old Bald Donkey head-on, so you'll have to watch yourself."

After putting away the Flying Swords, Cousin spoke with a grave expression.

Hanyu nodded solemnly, and Cousin jumped into the well first.

They walked straight along the return path for a while until they reached the Dungeon again. The scene there made both of them change color.

In the corridor outside the cells, dried corpses lay scattered every which way—thirty or so by the look of it. Their robes marked them as monks, each face frozen in the terror of their final moments.

Hanyu recognized one of the Little Novice's faces and said darkly, "This Old Bald Donkey killed all the monks from his own temple."

Cousin's face was equally grim. He nodded and sighed, "He must have been caught using living people to cultivate the Hungry Ghost Path. He doesn't plan to stay here. Now he'll kill us two and then flee far away."

"Exactly right!"

A sinister voice echoed through the corridor.

An aged monk drifted into view, walking slowly from the depths. Wasn't this the very Old Bald Donkey they'd been talking about?

Cousin looked at the old monk and suddenly spoke, "I remember when Senior came to our house back then, there was a big monk named Xuan Yin with you. That was you, wasn't it?"

The Old Bald Donkey—no, Xuan Yin—looked up at Cousin, somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect it to be the descendant of an old acquaintance."

Cousin cut him off with a sneer, "You're not worthy of calling our house an acquaintance. You betrayed your master, robbed his grave, and used living people to cultivate your powers."

Xuan Yin seemed struck in a sore spot. His emotions flared, and he growled, "What did I do wrong? I was his only disciple. He never taught me the Hungry Ghost Path cultivation method. He wouldn't give it, so I took it myself."

Cousin, as if deliberately provoking him, taunted, "Because he knew your heart was crooked. The Hungry Ghost Path method is still gathering dust at our house. Senior entrusted us to find a worthy successor—just not you. How does that feel?"

These words stabbed into Xuan Yin's heart like knives. Left to gather dust rather than given to you. The phrase echoed endlessly in his mind, and for a moment, he seemed possessed.

Cousin shot a glance, and Hanyu understood. Three black short swords shot out simultaneously, aimed at Xuan Yin's head, chest, and groin.

"Bold!"

By the time Xuan Yin reacted, the short swords were already at his face. He quickly pressed his palms together, and a golden light enveloped him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After three collisions, Xuan Yin was unharmed. Cousin's face showed regret—so close.

Xuan Yin was now enraged. Buddha chants rang out, Sanskrit notes filled the air, and a Hungry Ghost Diagram materialized behind him. Skeleton after skeleton crawled out of the diagram, howling.

Cousin's expression shifted wildly. He hastily recalled the Flying Swords, but dozens of skeletons surged forward in a frenzy. For a moment, Wailing Ghosts filled the air, and a chilling wind blew.

Hanyu held the Sarira, waiting for an opening, but the old monk gave no flaw. Cousin, alone against dozens of skeletons, gradually faltered. In an instant, three Flying Swords were pinned by several skeletons, and Cousin was in mortal danger.

Facing the tide of skeletons surging like a flood, he would be devoured in moments.

Cousin's face went pale, despair creeping in. He had underestimated the Old Bald Donkey after all.

One skeleton lunged first, its hand about to pierce Cousin's chest—when it suddenly froze.

Hanyu's figure burst through from behind the skeleton. With a loud crack, the skeleton was blasted into pieces.

After hastily saving Cousin, a wave of skeletons surged from behind.

"Be careful—these skeletons can strike the soul and drain blood essence."

Cousin clutched his wildly pounding heart and quickly warned.

Hanyu nodded, charged forward, and threw punches. Explosions rang out as skeletons shattered and scattered one after another.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three blows struck Hanyu from behind. He whirled around to see three skeletons wielding bone blades hacking at him.

Pain shot through him, and he grimaced. These skeletons are vicious—they hit hard!

What a monstrous body—taking the attacks of the Hungry Ghost Path's hungry ghosts head-on.

Behind him, Cousin stared in shock.

Hanyu, oblivious to all that, clenched his fists in fury and first blew apart those three ambushers.

The skeletons seemed endless. Even as white bones flew everywhere around Hanyu, their numbers never dwindled.

Hanyu, wincing in pain, kept swatting skeletons away.

"No good—these hungry ghosts are conjured by the technique. They're endless. We have to destroy the source!" Cousin saw the trick and shouted loudly.

Hanyu was swinging a skeleton leg to sweep in all directions, and at those words, he glanced at the old monk. Xuan Yin pressed his palms together, and behind him, the Hungry Ghost Diagram continuously spawned skeleton after skeleton.

A surge of ruthlessness rose in his heart. He flung the skeleton in his hand, smashing a cluster around him, then stamped his foot and shot forward like an arrow. Xuan Yin heard the roar of wind and thunder and saw Hanyu charging at him; he quickly retreated, ducking behind the Hungry Ghost Diagram.

Hanyu kicked aside several skeletons that had just emerged from the diagram, reached the Hungry Ghost Diagram, and the Sarira in his hand suddenly blazed with light. Xuan Yin's expression twisted in shock.

"You took the Sarira!"

Xuan Yin stared at Hanyu's fist, glowing with radiance, his face dark.

"Break!"

With a soft shout, Hanyu's right fist, bearing the Sarira, slammed heavily into the Hungry Ghost Diagram. In an instant, Wailing Ghosts arose; the skeletons and hungry ghosts shrieked in miserable cries as if facing a dreaded natural enemy.

As the Hungry Ghost Diagram began to dissolve under the Sarira's light, Xuan Yin's body convulsed as if struck by lightning, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood.

The surging tide of skeletons vanished without a trace. Xuan Yin knelt on one knee, his face ashen.

"He was too biased. He'd rather leave a Sarira to restrain me than trust me."

Xuan Yin's face was bitter, his expression mournful.

"What a colossal joke. If your heart weren't crooked, how could the elder's Sarira have harmed you at all?"

Cousin walked up, his face full of relief at having survived, and scolded him.

Xuan Yin's mournful face gradually twisted into a snarl. "He was too biased. He thought himself merciful, but he showed me no mercy at all. I want you all dead..."

A strange ripple emanated from his body. His face withered, turning bark-like in just a few blinks, and then his neck and hands grew dark and shriveled.

"He's making a sacrifice!"

Cousin shouted in terror, pulling Hanyu back as they retreated.

A new Hungry Ghost Diagram appeared, but instead of countless hungry ghosts, it showed only a twisted, blank stretch of barren land.

A heavy footstep echoed across the land, each step unbearably weighty.

Gradually, a pair of blue bare feet emerged in the Hungry Ghost Diagram, as if walking from afar.

When a blue human figure fully materialized, Cousin's face went deathly pale.

"How dare you sacrifice an Asura!"

Cousin screamed at the top of his lungs.

Xuan Yin's voice rasped like a broken bellows. "I'll take you all with me..."

The blue figure had a human head but only a single eye at the center of its brow. Its body was massive, and it held a huge Curved Blade as it slowly stepped out of the diagram.

As soon as the Asura appeared, it turned its head to look at Xuan Yin, let out a cold laugh, revealing a mouthful of fine teeth. With a light inhale, Xuan Yin crumbled into a pile of dust.

Hanyu sucked in a cold breath, a tremor of unease running through him.

The sound of chewing continued. The Asura seemed to savor the taste, its expression pleased. After swallowing, it turned its greedy gaze to Hanyu and Cousin.

"Eat!"

The Asura uttered a single word, and its massive blade swung swiftly toward Hanyu. Before the blade arrived, the wind of its edge surged ahead.

Hanyu's clothes flapped loudly as the icy blade arrived in an instant.

He dodged by a hair's breadth, but another strike came fast. The Asura's bulky frame belied an astonishingly quick swing.

Hanyu could only scramble to evade. "Think of something, fast!"

Cousin's face flickered with uncertainty. At the words, he quickly pulled back, dismantling three short swords and then reassembling them with a pile of iron pieces at lightning speed.

The Asura's blade grew faster. Hanyu twisted aside but was a fraction too late—a blade-graze cut into his waist.

The searing pain nearly made him cry out. He looked at his bloody waist, where the flesh was split open, soaked in blood.

Hanyu was stunned. His sixty-year tempered body couldn't withstand a single strike from the Asura!

"Don't let it cut you. The Asura Blade specifically breaks through flesh."

Cousin shouted from behind, then tossed out a massive sword.

"Use this."

The black greatsword landed in Hanyu's hand. His heart steadied as he gripped the hilt. The Asura's blade came again, carrying the force of wind and thunder.

Hanyu charged forward with both hands on the sword, and man and Asura clashed.

The gap in strength was still too great. After a few exchanges, his hands went numb from the shock.

Little Glazed quickly reminded him.

"Asuras fear fire. Use fire."

Hanyu understood. He freed his left hand, palm open, and a scorching flame gathered there. He wiped it across the sword, instantly coating the blade in fire.

They clashed again. The Asura truly feared flames, and Hanyu began to press it back step by step.

"Suck!"

The Asura glared angrily at the ant before it, then let out a sudden roar.

A powerful suction force felt like it would rip out his very soul. In his mind, the Glazed Bottle shook violently.

Little Glazed let out a delicate shout. "Fix."

The Glazed Bottle steadied in an instant, and Hanyu felt much better as well.

"Will the Sarira work on it?"

Hanyu stared at the gaping maw and suddenly asked.

"Yes, but it has to be driven into its belly," Little Glazed replied.

"Then that's perfect. Release the Glazed Bottle's control and let me through."

The pressure around him vanished, only for the suction to seize him again. Hanyu gripped the Sarira tightly and, instead of retreating, charged forward.

As the blood-red maw loomed before him, Hanyu hurled the Sarira without hesitation. Caught in the powerful pull, the Sarira shot straight into the Asura's mouth.

"Fire!"

The flame was summoned. Without a second thought, Hanyu shoved his hand into the gaping mouth.

Seemingly struck by immense pain, the Asura's body jolted as it tried to spit the Sarira back out. How could Hanyu give it that chance? He leaped forward, fed it a mouthful of fire, and clamped its jaws shut with all his might.

The Asura's eyes bulged as it struggled violently, dropping the Asura Blade to claw at him. Hanyu let go of his greatsword as well, using both hands to seal the Asura's mouth, refusing to let it open.

Man and monster rolled across the ground, locked in a brawl. Blow after tremendous blow hammered into Hanyu's back, but he never let go.

The smell of burning began to drift through the air. Flames spread from the Asura's belly, soon splitting it open with a crack. The fissure widened, racing up to its skull.

"Die!"

The Asura let out a wretched howl. Its raised hand suddenly went limp, and the fire engulfed it entirely.

Hanyu collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

The fire burned only briefly before dying out along with the Asura's dissipation. After all, the Asura was merely a product of a summoned divine ability, with no true physical form. Once it crumbled, the ability was naturally broken...

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