The Unrivaled
Foreword:
The sword was as dark as water, its surface slightly red with lingering blood.
--Wen Tingyun
[Part 1: Death as Retribution]
The next morning, sunlight streamed into Guanyin Cave, and the little demon guarding the gate slipped inside— Xue Ming knew then that Wu Xiuwen had successfully stalled the Buddha Sculptor.
Although we don't know what tricks the kid used or what lies he told, the Buddha Sculptor didn't come looking for him is the best outcome.
Like most demons in myths and legends, the Blood-giving Monster enjoys doing business. Its weakness lies in its attempt to disguise itself as human and don a mask of benevolence and morality.
It is precisely because these monsters need to put on a show and make people willingly give up their essence that Wu Xiuwen has the opportunity to deceive the devil—this clever boy is eloquent and will surely come up with a way; he just needs courage, a lot of courage.
The unimportant characters have left the stage, and it's time for Xue Ming to get to work in the next phase.
The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord went to find a scapegoat, intending to follow the Imperial Physician's instructions to confront him with Zhuzhu's arm and the Imperial Physician's fake head, to make a scene and catch the Buddha Sculptor off guard. However, he couldn't find Jin Xu anywhere. He asked his way to Yuehe Pass, where the little demons all said that Daoist Jin Xu had already gone down the mountain, along with the Guling and Jingguai and Xiangxiang.
Bai Mu tensed up and, instead of returning to the demon cave immediately, chased after them.
At this very moment, Jiang Xueming, far away in Guanyin Cave, began his next move.
He said to Pearl Fairy, "I need to sleep for a while; I'm so tired from traveling these past few days."
Without thinking much, Zhuzhu pointed to the stone platform beside the alchemy furnace room. "You'll sleep with me here, and you're not allowed to go far. A Zhen! A Hui!"
The two little demons guarding the cave immediately obeyed.
"Exist!"
Pearl Fairy commanded, "Serve the Imperial Physician, keep a close eye on him, and don't let him wander around."
Jiang Xueming made a request. "Your Majesty, I need to relieve myself."
Pearl Fairy: "Unravel it before me."
Jiang Xueming said, both amused and exasperated, "I'm afraid that's inappropriate. What if the Demon Lord finds out about this?"
"How dare he know?!" Zhuzhu's expression completely changed, glaring fiercely at the two little demons. These words were clearly meant for her personal maid.
But after much deliberation, Zhuzhu still felt that opening the champagne too early was inappropriate.
--Hyakume isn't dead yet! Wake up!
Thinking this through, Zhuzhu composed herself and spoke to one of the maids.
"A Hui, go with him. Don't let him escape."
The maid in green, who was near the right side of the cave entrance, responded and followed closely behind Jiang Xueming.
As the two disappeared from sight, Zhuzhu waited for a while. Half an incense stick's time passed, but she was still worried. Just as she was about to call A Zhen to go look for them, Jiang Xueming returned.
"Your Majesty has arrived!"
Pearl Fairy was naturally suspicious, and she saw the Imperial Physician sit down by the stone platform, gradually shifting into a semi-paralyzed posture.
The spider monster asked, "A Hui, besides healing, what else did the Imperial Physician do?"
A Hui immediately replied, "I just need to relieve myself."
Zhuzhu pressed further, "Were you keeping an eye on them?"
A Hui: "I'm keeping an eye on them."
Zhuzhu laughed and said, "Where's his precious Ruyi? Did you see it clearly?"
A Hui lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed.
"--I dare not look closely, those are Her Majesty's things."
"Hahahaha!" Pearl Fairy was very satisfied with this answer. "Good servant! If you dare to look closely, I'll gouge your eyes out!"
Before long, the Imperial Physician fell asleep.
Zhuzhu felt an itch to do something, and moved her swollen and clumsy limbs, wanting to touch and grope Zhang Congfeng.
A Hui quickly said, "Your Majesty, shall I bring him here?"
Zhuzhu shouted, "It's alright, I'm strong. Just don't get the Imperial Physician's clothes dirty. If they get your bee demon smell, he won't smell good."
When Zhuzhu climbed to the edge of the stone platform, with half of its body dangling in the air, it suddenly felt a chill run through its body.
The Imperial Physician stopped breathing.
--To be specific, his face looked dead, and he had no heartbeat!
The original sweet aroma and vibrant blood energy had all vanished! It was a corpse!
"A Hui! A Hui! How did he die!?"
Zhuzhu screamed in surprise, completely baffled as to why.
"She was perfectly fine just a moment ago! She was even talking! How could she die in the blink of an eye?! She became ice-cold after she lay down!"
"A Hui! You're the one who ruined him?!"
A Hui stood to the side, too afraid to speak.
--Goddess Zhuzhu glared fiercely at A Zhen again.
"This mortal was burned to death by the evil fire of the poison? He clearly consumed fresh honey!"
A Zhen also looked completely bewildered. "I don't know either! Your Highness! The Noble Lady did drink the Immortal Honey, taking only a small sip after entering the cave."
"A small sip is not enough! You all deserve to die! You harmed my doctor who was trying to save my pregnancy! I will make you pay with your lives!" Goddess Zhuzhu was furious. She grabbed A Zhen's hair and slammed her down with all her might. Immediately, a pool of bright red blood and mud appeared on the wall.
The butterfly monster revealed its true form, and A Zhen breathed her last, dying with her bones shattered and flesh torn apart.
Zhuzhu turned around, ready to take her anger out on A Hui.
At this moment, Zhang Congfeng had been lying stiffly, straightened up again.
"Your Majesty! Don't harm it!"
Zhuzhu was immediately filled with astonishment and horror. Just what kind of deity or monster was this Imperial Physician from the Nine Realms? How could he possibly know the art of reviving the dead and holding one's breath without even a heartbeat?
It lay prone on the ground, chest out, head up, turning its body to see what was going on, but still couldn't sense Zhang Congfeng's aura—he looked like a dead man no matter how you looked at him!
The enormous demon with three faces and three heads suddenly felt an excruciating pain! A burning pain shot through its back!
It panicked and shoved aside the obstructing Imperial Physician, causing the corpse to roll to the ground, its neck broken, unable to speak.
It was only then that Zhuzhu noticed that silver and iron wires were emerging from Zhang Congfeng's spine, vest, throat, torso, and limbs, like ropes holding the puppet in place!
It panicked, unable to discern such supernatural power, only feeling the surge of spiritual energy and overflowing sword qi in the painful area of its back! Looking up, it saw that the little maid who had previously obeyed it—that "A Hui"—now had murderous intent in her eyes, grabbed one of its arms, stepped firmly on its spine, and placed it in the middle of its gourd-shaped abdominal joint, holding a red and shiny boning knife covered in sticky, foul-smelling blood!
"You dare!"
In the short time it took him to pee under the pretext, Xue Ming used the Peeling Tree to change his face, and casually killed the little monster guarding the cave, replacing it with his own face—this was a simple ambush and assassination, and the knife sent by the enemy was easy to use.
The Pearl Fairy's primordial essence is strong and powerful. The alchemical materials from the Imperial God Cauldron are inside her, which also bestow upon her extraordinary spiritual energy and physique. To kill this monster, one must completely shatter her heart and defeat her fighting will.
Using the Fragrant Dream to manipulate A Hui's corpse, making her appear as "Zhang Congfeng" and die in front of Zhuzhu, is a form of intimidation.
Using Zhuzhu as a pretext, they killed A Zhen, venting their anger and rage.
Finally, release the decoy bomb, then launch a sneak attack disguised as A Hui. The creature will be completely disoriented, its soul and spirit will be gone from its body.
In that instant, no matter how fast Zhuzhu's mind worked, it had no time to think or have a chance to sort out these complex calculations in the face of the threat of death.
Even the slightest hesitation will cost it its life!
Having suffered repeated blows to its body and mind, its eight limbs were practically tied in a bow; it flailed its arms wildly, frantically trying to climb onto the large bronze bed, only to be stabbed several times after taking a few steps.
--Not enough!
That witch has too much blood on her hands!
Xue Ming grabbed a tuft of Zhuzhu's hair, trying to pull the demon's neck back to slit its throat for a fatal blow, but the monster was too strong! He couldn't find the Gate of Death at all!
Berloberg repeatedly plunged his blade into the soft flesh of the old hag's nape, tearing open clumps of blood, trying to create an open wound with a horizontal slash. But the blade had barely left the blood vessel; the dark red blade, over 600 degrees Celsius, couldn't completely destroy its circulatory system! The wound wasn't big enough!
Its regenerative ability is too strong!
Climbing to the edge of the bronze bed, Zhuzhu finally found her protective weapon, and her six eyes gradually cleared, regaining her fighting spirit!
"You bastard!"
It still doesn't know who the assassin is.
"A Hui! I've treated you well! You want to kill me? You actually dare to kill me?!"
The giant spider monster rolled over lazily, trying to crush the enemy on its back.
Xue Ming flipped and jumped onto the backrest and pillars of the bronze bed, but was thrown off by the strange force and landed back on the layered platforms inside the cave, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
In the blink of an eye, the pus and blood gushing from Pearl Fairy's throat had completely stopped, and the dozen or so stab wounds had healed on their own. She lifted the sword box from beside the bronze bed, stood upright on two legs to gather weapons, and held a sword in each of her six arms.
This is also Yuzhenzi's swordsmanship, the Asura Swordplay created by Goddess Zhuzhu herself.
"I'm asking you! Why didn't you answer?! Are you too guilty to answer?!"
Jiang Xueming's expression was cold and stern as he observed the weapon's length and calculated the range and attack speed of the Zhuzhu.
"Why do you say that, Your Majesty?"
"You killed my Imperial Physician! And you tried to harm me?! I know!" Goddess Zhuzhu raised her arm and snorted coldly. Suddenly, the six swords emitted a whistling sound, and this subtle and hidden force produced a strange and inexplicable sword cry.
Jiang Xueming tilted his head to the side--
He was deeply shaken, thrown off balance by the sword's roar, and felt a sharp pain in his ears.
Zhuzhu sneered, "Hmph! You must have gotten greedy! You heard about my good deed with the nobleman! You want to take my head and claim the reward from Bai Mu? You must want to be a fairy? Take a piss and look in the mirror! Do you even deserve it?"
[Part ② - Execution by Immediate Strike]
Xue Ming was panting heavily. The sound wave had damaged his vestibular organs in his ears. He felt dizzy and unable to move. If Zhuzhu hadn't been talking nonsense and if he hadn't been protected by Fragrant Dream, he probably would have been turned into pieces of minced meat!
This powerful swordsmanship, like the Pankrasin unleashed when Fragrant Dream's spirit and body merge, possesses terrifying destructive power!
He needed a little time, so he just made something up on the spot—
"--You love your husband, and I love your husband too, shouldn't we be friends?"
"What a joke!" Goddess Zhuzhu charged forward, sword in hand.
In an instant, the chaotic swordplay stirred up a bloody storm. Xue Ming initially wanted to use Berloberg to block the sword, having witnessed Yuzhenzi's martial arts routines, and wanted to find space to set up a wire trap.
But when he saw six slender arms above his head unleashing a torrent of sword energy, his sense of balance was completely lost, and his fingers were still hidden inside A Hui's skin, making it impossible for him to use the hypnotic power of Fragrant Dream!
Zhuzhu was enormous, and the weapon she wielded was not as small as Yuzhenzi's. To ordinary people, the weapon in the hands of this six-armed Guanyin Bodhisattva was five feet long, and each attack was powerful and heavy, like the force of a hammer or axe!
In an instant, crisp sounds rang out from Xue Ming's body as it was whipped around. Fragrant Dream dared not leave her body and turned into an iron turtle rolling around on the ground.
After twelve attacks, Zhuzhu finally reached the critical point where the Asura Swordplay it to pause and recover its strength. Its face was filled with disbelief, and even with its many arms, it could no longer see the person beneath its sword—how could the splashed sword light and shadow still leave behind a complete human body?!
The stone platform and rock walls were riddled with cracks, gaps, and slashes. A Hui's skin was torn in half, and Xue Ming's face was covered in blood. He had just escaped with his life from Zhuzhu's powerful slashing and dragging technique.
He had abrasions on his face and a shallow, inch-long cut on his temple.
Berloberg was sent flying, embedding himself in the cave wall. He was long gone; the spider demon's strength was unbelievable, even Fragrant Dream couldn't match it.
Xue Ming was clear-headed; without a suitable weapon, he was no match for this demon.
As the gateway to the enemy, his right arm was the most severely injured. In those short twelve rounds, in those short thirty seconds, this arm was struck, stabbed, dragged, and slashed more than fifty times. Occasionally, one could even see a nimble stabbing attack that resembled a whip bending the sword's blade— Goddess Zhuzhu had already mastered the weapon in her hands to perfection. This venomous snake-like sudden turn of the head and thrust was something that even Fragrant Dream could not stop or block!
If it weren't for the defensive stance that allowed for recovery in this sword technique, given the stamina of the Blood-giving Monster, Xue Ming would have had no chance to rest. After losing her balance, she would have been forced to passively endure the beatings until she died.
"Pfft!"
Blood spurted from Xue Ming's arm, tearing open the skin and flesh of the wound.
When Zhuzhu finally saw the half-face revealed beneath "A Hui's " skin, she was speechless with shame and anger.
--The person you'd chosen, the one you were set up to share your bed with, turns out to be an assassin?!
Zhuzhu's dream was shattered, and she was extremely angry. If the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord really listened to Zhang Congfeng's nonsense and started fighting the Buddha Sculptor, Black Wind Ridge would surely be in great danger!
It shouted angrily.
"Son of a bitch!"
Jiang Xueming didn't respond; he couldn't hear him.
Both ears were completely blocked with blood, but the good news is that the vestibular organs seem to have regained some function.
He had no time to search for Universal Elixir to heal his injuries; in this high-speed environment, any unnecessary action of taking medicine would only lead to death.
Seeing the six swords attacking again, Xue Ming made a move!
This time he changed his fighting style, summoning Fragrant Dream to pull his limbs together and running away. He dared not step into the sword circle again, keeping a close eye on the two legs that Zhuzhu used to maintain her upright posture. That step distance was the distance between life and death, and it was his only advantage.
To maintain her upper body balance, this old hag had to sacrifice the speed of her advance, and she rarely made any desperate attacks, just like the spherical sword she used after Yuzhenzi tore open her skin. Perhaps it was very efficient at killing, but it was very slow at chasing its target. At least in Xue Ming's eyes, it was much slower than Fragrant Dream.
This combat technique is like a spider web; the prey grows weaker and weaker once it enters. Zhuzhu's swordplay is incredibly skillful. The sword techniques she weaves, executed with coordinated movements of all six arms, repeatedly assess the prey's attack dynamics and thus its position, without resorting to any sweeping, all-out strikes to simultaneously kill the prey, as such an action would throw it off balance.
"--SD!"
Xue Ming loudly called out to the deity within his body.
A piece of silk emerged from the palm of his hand; it was fabric woven from the fur of the giant steel cat.
The heavy sword danced gracefully in Pearl Fairy's hands, following Jiang Xueming's retreating figure—she saw Xue Ming pulling on the spiritual cloth as she slid down to the four pillars of the bronze bed. Behind Xue Ming, a cold, eerie wind blew out from the jagged blades, and danger lurked everywhere.
Zhuzhu pressed forward again, almost circling around, and just as she was about to catch up, she angrily drew her sword and struck—but her arm suddenly broke!
Instantly, it broke out in a cold sweat and dodged repeatedly, unlike Yu Zhen who had stubbornly followed a dead end. Only when it saw the fine silver threads inside the silk curtains did it realize it had been ambushed, and it learned its lesson.
Its severed arm healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, its Five Fingers grew back, and it sneered, "A mere trick!"
Xue Ming remained silent. He tore off the last bit of human skin, discarding the disguise of the bee demon A Hui. Finding an opening, he searched his undergarments for Immortal Honey, smeared it on his arm, and at the same time kicked up Zhuzhu's severed arm to retrieve the two-handed sword.
"Come!--"
He met his opponent with a level sword stance, raising the sword to eyebrow level and slightly bowing, not adopting a full, straight stance, and taking very small steps, indicating that he had no intention of running away.
This challenge immediately enraged Goddess Zhuzhu.
It couldn't care less about the immortal fetus in its womb. At this moment, this strange Imperial Physician before it was a laughable human—how could it possibly try to kill a deity with its mortal body?
This is like an antelope actively seeking out a lion to wrestle! They're asking for trouble! It's an unforgivable insult!
Zhuzhu didn't understand.
--It had never been to the other side of the sea and did not know how terrifying the gunsmith would be after obtaining the weapon, so of course it would be puzzled and angry.
This bug was just beaten and crawling all over the ground, so why does it suddenly have the courage?
In the second round, Zhuzhu drew her sword and closed in, but Xue Ming neither dodged nor yielded.
The Six-Armed Asura, lacking one sword strike on the right flank, chose the left flank and launched a barrage of three sword strikes.
--In an instant, a gust of wind arose, and thunder roared.
A white rainbow pierced through its three arms, then plunged into the wrist of its left arm, piercing its elbow, and finally snapped the upper arm closest to its head in two! The King of Hell kicked open its Gate of Death!
The supple cartilage was exposed, with no visible damage! It was completely dissected along the tendons! Not a single bone fragment came out!
Zhuzhu's eyes widened in horror. When she came to her senses, she switched to the left flank and won in just one round!
The ferocious god had already followed the sword's momentum, stepping on its belly and climbing its waist and hips, its body moving with the sword like a swimming dragon—a deity in silver helmet and iron mask emerged from its back, took the greatsword from the Yama King's hand, and cut off its head!
Zhuzhu felt dizzy and everything seemed to be spinning around her.
It found its own body stiff and lifeless beside the bronze bed, unable to move.
Before it even hit the ground, it saw the straight yet slender sword blade hurtling towards it!
Xue Ming stabbed the head completely to death on the bronze bed, thrusting his sword three times in succession, causing pinkish brain matter to sprout from all three layers of the skull, preventing it from reviving.
He was covered in blood, and he coughed up a clump of murky, blackish blood from his throat, clearing the dirty blood from his trachea. Finally, he dared to breathe loudly, though he continued to cough.
Looking again at the spindle-shaped golden threads beside the bed, the bloated spider's body suddenly collapsed, instinctively curling up like a lotus platform.
It's completely dead!