Human Hearts

What the hell, this scene is too brutal...

'Li Fan's mood dropped by 1 point'

I'm really mentally polluted. After the government officials left, Li Fan thought it was over, but who knew there would be another change. And that fake beard, either he was hesitant and slow, or he acted without explaining clearly. As a result, in the blink of an eye, a bunch of people died, with severed limbs, flying flesh and blood, and a massive amount of bleeding. It was simply...

But the most critical part wasn't this, but that Fourth Young Master's, he actually turned into a Sha corpse. Ripping and tearing, he turned several experts into minced meat with just a few punches. The fake beard not only screwed himself and his group, but also the slow-reacting bystanders around them.

Originally, everyone was just there to rest and eat. Stirred up by his clamor, they panicked and drew their swords to surround him, but the experts who rushed forward first were all dead. At this point, throwing away their swords and shouting, "It has nothing to do with me, we were just passing by!" What good would that do?

Then Fourth Young Master, with his neck twisted and his head caved in, lunged down the stairs into the crowd, punching and smashing people. Instantly, the inn turned into a hell of Asuras, with human fluids of red, white, and yellow splashing everywhere, and screams, wails, and roars echoing together.

Cold sweat beaded on Li Fan's forehead. He quickly formed a sword seal with both hands, holding Sword Qi in his hand, ready to strike but holding back. He raised his thumb, aiming at the Sha corpse, looking for an opening, but couldn't find one!

The movements of these martial artists just now were already extraordinary. They could jump two meters high with a standing jump, like rockets shooting into the sky. That's Olympic champion level! When they moved and dodged, Li Fan found it difficult to aim. Now that the corpse had mutated, its physical strength was even more terrifying, completely on par with or even surpassing wild beasts. It weaved through the crowd, making sharp turns without slowing down, so fast that its silhouette was barely visible. And it would tear people apart or rip off their heads at any moment, with blood and wind swirling everywhere. The scene was like a sentient meat grinder gone berserk, only describable as insane!

But for some reason, after killing a dozen people in an instant, the Sha corpse Fourth Young Master stopped again. It cupped a pile of minced meat in its hands and stuffed it into its wound, then hung itself by its neck. It removed its caved-in head and replaced it with Fifth Brother's head picked up from the ground. Then, from the wound that had been split open, black energy permeated, and countless tentacle-like flesh strips, mixed with blood vessels and nerves, grew out, regenerating itself and beginning to stitch up its wounds!

Damn it, this Sha corpse actually knows how to heal itself and regain health!

'Li Fan's mood dropped by 1 point'

But it stopped now, which was a good opportunity! Li Fan formed a sword finger and was about to make a move, but the surviving merchants and warriors were mere mortals. They had never seen such a bizarre scene. After a brief pause, they snapped back to their senses, and were so terrified by the gruesome sight that they were on the verge of madness. They seized the opportunity to flee, not only blocking Li Fan's line of sight but also nearly knocking him over!

Li Fan wasn't ruthless enough to unleash a Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword and blow away these civilian teammates. He had to dodge to the side again, letting the group rush towards the inn door to escape. Anyway, without these burdens blocking his view, it was a good time to use his ultimate move to kill the monster. It was good if even one of these unlucky civilians could escape.

But then, the bald man Ji Chang outside roared.

"Release the arrows!"

A series of crisp sounds of crossbow strings being drawn echoed. Immediately, a dozen people were shot down by a volley of arrows, letting out desperate wails.

The innkeeper, mixed in with the crowd, also cursed with red eyes, "You scoundrels! Didn't your government want to capture the Sha corpse! It's not moving, come and catch it quickly! Why are you blocking the way!

Xu Baldy! How many meals has your group of brothers eaten from me for free! Have I shortchanged you on your bribes over the years! Are you trying to kill us all!"

"This..." The bald man Ji Chang seemed to hesitate.

At this moment, the eunuch's effeminate laughter came from outside, "This official is on an imperial mission. On the way, I encountered a rampaging Sha corpse, killing countless people. Fortunately, with the help of the patrol guards and the brave soldiers, we have eliminated this great threat to the court. Xu Ji Chang, if this matter is handled well, this official will recommend you for the position of captain."

"Thank you, Eunuch, for the promotion!" The bald man immediately made his decision, "Tang Lao Liu! I'll take care of your wife for you, rest in peace! Fire the arrows!"

Another volley of crossbows rang out, piercing the doors and walls with clanging sounds, forcing those inside the inn to retreat.

The eunuch laughed again, "Don't rush. We have to let it eat more people and cultivate its Sha, so that our efforts to turn the tide will seem more significant. Please, everyone inside, sacrifice yourselves to feed it a bit more. Hahahaha!"

The innkeeper crawled back from the door, holding his head, and squatted under the counter with Li Fan, cursing in unison, "Damn eunuch! Can you be any more despicable!"

Then, they heard the eunuch outside stop laughing and shout, "Set fire!"

Li Fan, Innkeeper, "..."

A moment later, flaming arrows were shot in, and crackling flames leaped, setting the Dragon Gate Inn ablaze!

"Dog officials who trample on human lives!" "Ah! I won't let you go even as a ghost!" "Help! Help!"

People at the entrance were immediately shot and set on fire, wailing in agony. It was truly a human hell.

With powerful crossbows and halberds sealing the entrance, and now fire being set, it was clear that this eunuch intended to go all the way, killing all the bystanders caught in the crossfire inside the inn, and then blaming it all on that Sha corpse.

Li Fan was so furious his nose was practically smoking! Fine! He was here being cautious, worrying about not harming the innocent, not killing indiscriminately, but look at this! These soldiers were far more vicious than the Sha corpse! He wouldn't hold back anymore! First, kill the eunuch!

"Come on! Who's afraid of whom! Qiankun Flying..." Just as he was rolling up his sleeves to unleash a wave and blast a path, the innkeeper grabbed Li Fan's wrist and pulled him in front, using him as a shield as he walked towards the rapidly regenerating Sha corpse!

"Holy crap! Innkeeper, what are you doing!" Li Fan was grabbed by the wrist and collar and lifted up, completely stunned.

"Kid, don't blame me! I don't want to die! There's a secret escape tunnel under the stairs. If we're lucky, we'll all escape together! If not, I'll have to trouble you to block a claw for me!" The innkeeper held Li Fan up as a human shield, cautiously circumventing the Sha corpse, and moved towards the other side of the stairs.

Hiss... This guy! These people!

Li Fan was convinced. A problem that could have been solved with a wave of his sleeve had escalated to this point! These people's will to survive was truly strong, so strong that they would do anything to save their lives!

Even with Li Fan's good temper, he was speechless with anger at this moment, but instead, a surge of wicked fire in his heart and a coolness on his forehead restored his calm.

He could release sword energy to kill the innkeeper first, but there was no need. Killing him would only vent his anger, and it would alert the Sha corpse, making the situation even more difficult. Similarly, those outside were not a big problem; a couple of sweeps with Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword could break their formation. The only one who could threaten him was the Sha corpse transformed from Fourth Young Master.

If he missed the first strike, and the Sha corpse was alerted, it would start moving erratically, and Li Fan would most likely not be able to hit it. Therefore, the crucial thing was the first strike, the first strike of Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword, which must hit this evil creature covered in blood! At the very least, it had to cause fatal damage!

So Li Fan stopped making a sound, even stabilizing his breathing, and let the innkeeper hold him as a shield, gradually approaching the Sha corpse standing in the center of the field!

At this moment, the Sha corpse's body had been mostly reassembled with flesh and blood entwined with black energy. Fifth Brother's head was stuck on his fourth brother's severed neck, his eyeballs rolling, and he was making leaky sounds of "hehehehehahahaaah". The surrounding minced flesh and blood seemed to be attracted by a magnet, gathering towards the Sha corpse, enveloping its form and creating an armor of flesh, muscle, and bone.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..." The innkeeper panted heavily against Li Fan's neck, his hands covered in cold sweat, gripping Li Fan so tightly that it hurt. Clearly, facing this inhuman scene, facing a monstrous form that could turn him into a bloody mess in an instant, he was terrified to the extreme. His steps felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he could barely move. Lying in the blood and minced meat, he slowly traced an arc, trying to get around the Sha corpse.

Li Fan remained silent, his eyes fixed on the flesh-armored Sha corpse, scanning it with his divine sense, looking for its weaknesses.

The innkeeper had said earlier that the Sha corpse had skin as tough as copper and bones as strong as iron, impenetrable to blades and spears, but it hadn't been like that from the start. The first two foreign guards, with a hammer and an axe, had inflicted direct fatal damage on Fourth Young Master, but the axe had been caught by the blood and flesh contaminated with Sha Qi at the chest, preventing him from being split in two. In fact, it might have been the killing of Fourth Young Master that caused the Sha Qi within him to erupt, leading to complete loss of control.

Now, Li Fan could see that the Sha corpse's surface was gradually being covered by the gathered flesh armor, and this armor was also contaminated with black Sha Qi. It was probably similar in strength to lamellar armor, not breakable by ordinary swords. And these minced pieces of flesh were still gathering, and the Sha corpse, having absorbed the essence and blood of living people, was becoming stronger and stronger. It was likely to transform into a proper Devil Form soon.

Of course, if he were to use his Dragon Slaying sword, a sweep of its light would probably turn any kind of Sha corpse into dust. But to use something of that level against such a creature would be a disgrace to Li Fan himself.

It was fine. The current situation could still be handled with Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword. After practicing in the Source Spring, he had mastered it like his own arm, hitting wherever he aimed. The main problem now was where to aim.

Looking around, the weakest points of Sha Qi were the head and spine, which had been replaced after being broken, and the wound on the left side that had split open to the chest. If he could strike the sword energy into those two weak points, it should directly hit the weak spot and deal a critical blow.

However, conversely, if the attack from the previous weak points was not effective, there was a risk of counterattack. Thinking this way, it would be safer to first use sword techniques to sever its limbs.

Furthermore, if Li Fan remembered correctly, Fourth Young Master had initially suppressed his injuries and had not been infected by Sha Qi. What had injured him? The wound was on his waist and abdomen. Could the core of Sha Qi be there? Otherwise, why would he first use flesh armor to protect his front torso instead of strengthening his head and neck, which had clearly been injured?

Li Fan's mind raced as he spotted numerous openings for his sword. Just as he was intently considering where to strike, the situation shifted again!

"Fifth Brother! Is that Fifth Brother!" a pained cry rang out. A blood-red figure suddenly leaped from beneath the stairs. That woman, Xuan Niang, was still alive!

She had been ambushed moments ago, wounded in both legs, yet she had fought her way close and clawed her way back to life. Now, she bore several more cuts, her clothes ripped in many places, revealing clear sword marks on her back and a dagger still lodged in her thigh. A gash on her abdomen was clutched shut by her hand, her body drenched in blood. However, the other wounds were superficial and not fatal.

Seeing the grotesque amalgamation before her, Xuan Niang's spirit finally broke. She could no longer stand, her body slumping. She leaned on her sword and blade, kneeling on the ground and wailing, "Ah! Fifth Brother, Fourth Young Master! You! Ah!"

The Sha corpse turned its head to look at her, and for some reason, didn't attack immediately. Perhaps a shred of humanity remained.

But now it saw the secret passage leading into the stairwell. The shopkeeper also stopped dead in his tracks, unsure whether to advance or retreat. He glared at Xuan Niang, who had appeared at the worst possible moment, grinding his teeth in fury.

Xuan Niang's expression was one of despair, as if she no longer wished to live. She cried out from the ground, "It's all my fault! All my fault! If I hadn't trespassed into the tomb! If you hadn't tried to save me! Fourth Young Master, Fifth Brother, sob sob sob!"

Perhaps the Sha Qi hadn't fully corrupted it. The Sha corpse seemed to retain a sliver of humanity. It turned its body, as if to walk towards Xuan Niang, and the speed of its flesh and armor formation slowed.

An opportunity!

Li Fan channeled his true qi, about to strike!

Suddenly, a flash of gold streaked past his peripheral vision. He focused and saw a golden saber! It flew past from behind him and the shopkeeper, heading straight for Xuan Niang's head!

"Clang!" The Sha corpse swatted the golden saber away. It turned its head and saw the shopkeeper, whom Li Fan was holding like a human shield, staring blankly at the flying saber.

"Huh? What?" The shopkeeper froze, completely bewildered as to where the golden saber had come from.

"Roar ahhhhh!" The Sha corpse was now enraged! It charged forward at full speed, a straight line!

A straight line was perfect!

"Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword!!" Being held, Li Fan raised his hands and feet. "Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword technique! Four times output! Since I can't pinpoint it, I'll hit all the weaknesses at once!"

With a deafening "Boom!!" From Li Fan's taiyin and taiyang meridians in his limbs, it erupted like four turbochargers. The immense instantaneous acceleration sent the shopkeeper, now a human cushion, flying backward with a "Bang!" He slammed into the wall, his eyes rolling back as he fainted.

The powerful gust of wind and dragon's roar, the black and white dragons that exploded outward, and the eight sword energies, all accelerated directly towards the Sha corpse, which had opened its claws and fangs, unable to dodge!

The sound of swords humming and dragons roaring in the wind filled the air. The Sha corpse had no room to maneuver or evade. It was immediately engulfed by the eight swords, its five limbs severed instantly. The remaining torso became a ball of blood, torn apart by the charging dragons. The flesh ball spun a few times in the gale, its newly formed armor ripped to shreds. The Sha Qi at its core was struck by the sword energy and dispersed. In an instant, it was reduced to dust in the sword wind, vanishing without a trace!

But after shredding the Sha corpse before him, the power of the full-output Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword had barely been consumed. The berserk sword aura condensed into a swirling vortex, like a hurricane ball, instantly forming a tornado. In the blink of an eye, it had torn apart most of the inn's beams, threatening to spiral out of control and sweep across half the town!

Li Fan quickly jumped off the human cushion, raised his hands, and unleashed his sword power upwards!

"Go! Fly!"

With a tremendous "Bang!", a gust of wind erupted, tearing off the roof of the Dragon Gate Inn!

The sword wind surged into the sky, eight sword dragons ascending into the clouds! Blood and shattered wood rained down, scattering everywhere, even blowing away half the dark clouds in the sky.

After causing such a commotion, a silver light emerged from a wine jar and retreated into Li Fan's sleeve.

'Xuantian Sword Intent: What's going on? What's happening? Drunk? Throwing a tantrum?'

"Uh, it's my first time fighting someone. I was a bit nervous and couldn't control myself. I used too much force and shot too much... Cough cough! Never mind that, did you see the Kun?"

'Xuantian Sword Intent: The Kun was caught by that girl with the invisibility talisman and put into a brocade pouch. She's squatting to your right.'

Hmm--?

Although he saw nothing, Li Fan raised an eyebrow, glared beside him, and spread his hand, "Here you come again!"

As expected, in less than three breaths, Huo Shan Mo Lian removed the talisman, lifted her veil, and stuck out her tongue with a sheepish grin. She took out a red brocade pouch embroidered with gold cotton from her bosom, shook it, and the Kun, which had eaten itself into a ball, tumbled out into Li Fan's hand.

"Little master, please don't be angry. I was just playing a joke on you. Your skills are so formidable, you must be a true cultivator from Mount Mozhu, right?" Huo Shan Mo Lian suddenly knelt and kowtowed three times. "This humble girl, Huo Hongmian, sincerely seeks the Dao. I beg you to accept me as your disciple!"

Heh, I wouldn't believe a word you say!