Subduing the Demonic Blade

Watching the Higa ninja make their arrangements, Indra's expression did not change in the slightest.

Unhurried, he picked up the damaged Invisibility Haori and tossed it to the Tang Sect group, who were cut off by the sea of white flames.

"Hold onto this for me for now."

Before Indra had even finished speaking, Makino Ittosai, Aoyama Yohei, and Nikaido Eita drew their blades and charged in, slashing from three different directions.

Kimura Okataro, the beast tamer who controlled snakes, also commanded the swarm known as the "Black Dragon Horde" to pounce on Indra from all sides, cutting off his retreat.

Indra stomped one foot against the ground, and a tyrannical force erupted in an instant.

Boom!!

The ground caved in and exploded at once. The surging force swept out like raging waves, flinging every black snake that had surrounded him into the air.

The scattering stones shot precisely toward the three men swinging their blades.

Makino Ittosai and Nikaido Eita neither dodged nor blocked, allowing clusters of bloody blossoms to burst across their bodies.

Aoyama Yohei panicked and hurriedly swung his blade to parry.

After a frantic scramble, he could no longer keep up with the others' attacks.

Standing where he was, Aoyama Yohei could only watch helplessly as Indra extended both palms and effortlessly clamped down on their weapons.

Makino Ittosai's eyes lit up as true qi flooded into his sword.

The weapon in his hand was called the Phantom Sword. Its blade could turn fluid, producing the effect of a soft whip and leaving enemies unable to guard against it.

In an instant, the Phantom Sword in his hand shattered, transforming into countless tiny blades that sliced toward Indra's neck!

Buzz!!!

Invisible psychokinetic force burst forth, firmly locking down those tiny blades.

Seeing Makino Ittosai's attack blocked, Wakasa Shobei did not look disappointed. Instead, a flicker of delight appeared on his face.

Aoyama Yohei's performance, heh, had been entirely within his expectations!

"It's far from over, you damned monster!"

"Shimabara's Grudge!"

Amakusa Unsai, dressed as a ninja, seized the chance to attack as well.

Hideous flaming skulls flew from his body and gathered around Indra, wrapping him in undead spirits and forcibly binding him in place.

"Dual Force!"

Wakasa Shobei seized the opening and thrust forward. The front half of his body instantly vanished into thin air.

The next moment, his upper body emerged from Nikaido Eita's chest, and he viciously stabbed out with the sharp blade in his hand!

Clang!

The instant the blade collided with the psychokinetic barrier, it emitted a crisp, low ring.

Veins bulged across Wakasa Shobei's face as he shoved the blade forward with all his strength. In the end, it completely pierced through Indra's body!

He had succeeded!

Watching the blade sink in completely, Wakasa Shobei's smile froze on his face before it could fully bloom.

What was going on? There was absolutely no sensation of hitting anything solid. It was as though... he had stabbed into a mass of air.

Wakasa Shobei raised his head and watched with his own eyes as the tiny blades of the Phantom Sword passed straight through Indra's head.

White qi clouds flowed from the places where the blades had passed.

But the next second, the white qi clouds gathered and reconstructed Indra's body.

"Excellent coordination. Too bad that was all you had."

Indra dismissed the psychokinetic barrier himself, golden flames burning in his eyes.

Sizzle—!!!

Dazzling laser beams burst forth, instantly blasting Wakasa Shobei's torso to pieces.

The next moment, the heavily injured Wakasa Shobei vanished together with Nikaido Eita, emerging from Aoyama Yohei's back some distance away.

Indra paid them no mind and simply swept his gaze over.

Before Makino Ittosai's stifled, despairing eyes, his head was instantly blasted apart.

Then came Amakusa Unsai, Kimura Okataro the snake handler, and Aoyama Yohei, who stood there dumbly.

Thud!

When Aoyama Yohei's upper body fell before Wakasa Shobei, Wakasa Shobei smiled in relief.

He could even turn his entire body into qi and evade any physical attack.

That was completely unfair!

If you'd told us earlier, I would've just lain down and let you kill me!

Looking at Indra approaching through the air, Shobei understood at last. From beginning to end, they had been toyed with. They never had any hope of winning.

"I'll go on ahead, Eita..."

Wakasa Shobei quietly closed his eyes and stopped breathing for good.

Nikaido Eita, who had climbed up from the ground, had eyes full of unwillingness.

"I'm not going down there with you! I won't die!!"

True qi surged throughout Nikaido Eita's body as he gripped Demon Blade Hirumaru and drove it into the ground.

Overwhelming force spread outward through the earth, stabbing toward the approaching Indra like countless tentacles.

"Our Lü family's Ruyi Force!?"

Seeing this from afar, Lü Ci was instantly consumed by rage.

Demon Blade Hirumaru's trait was to devour the qi of those it slew, allowing its wielder to use the original owner's abilities.

Clearly, this Ruyi Force had been taken from his murdered elder brother!

Before everyone's eyes, the Ruyi Force passed straight through Indra's body, still failing to harm him in the slightest.

"Die! Die!!"

Nikaido Eita swung the demon blade like a madman, but the result did not change at all.

"This is... the Three One Sect's Reverse Birth Triple Layer."

Tang Bingwen stared blankly at the horrifying sight, unable to help but marvel at the terror of the Three One Sect's ultimate art.

Indra, who flew through the air and could disperse and reform his body, was no different from the immortals of legend!

Ignoring all of Nikaido Eita's attacks, Indra willed it, and the chakra short sword hovering behind his back instantly flew from its sheath.

"Senior Indra, please leave him to me! I want to tear him apart with my own hands!!"

"This is my only request. I, Lü Ci, will surely repay you in the future!"

With a thud, Lü Ci dropped to his knees, pleading with Indra in the humblest manner possible.

The chakra short sword's edge shifted and, in an instant, severed both of Nikaido Eita's arms.

Grabbing his head, Indra gave him a light toss and threw him over.

"I'll leave the head to you. Remember what you said."

Indra answered casually. He did not care who killed Nikaido Eita.

In any case, Demon Blade Hirumaru in his hand, along with the bladed weapon Phantom Sword and the Invisibility Haori, all belonged to him now.

"Thank you! I, Lü Ci, will remember today's promise!"

Lü Ci eagerly caught Nikaido Eita, his vicious gaze fixed firmly upon him.

"Hehe~ I won't let you die too easily!"

Lü Ci pressed both hands against Nikaido Eita's severed arms, stopping the blood from spurting out.

Having lost Demon Blade Hirumaru, Nikaido Eita could only watch helplessly as Lü Ci, wearing a sinister grin, knocked him unconscious.

Lü Ci intended to take Nikaido Eita back to the Lü family, turn him into a human swine, and torment him properly.

At that moment, seeing Indra directly grasp Demon Blade Hirumaru, Tang Bingwen still nervously warned him, "This is a demon blade that beguiles the heart. It is said to control its holder's mind, making him bloodthirsty and murderous!"

"Oh~ I think it's pretty good."

Indra gripped the hilt tightly and stared at the restless Demon Blade Hirumaru.

The evil spirit dwelling within it radiated sinister power, attempting to erode Indra's mind.

But before Indra, whose cultivation had soared after entering the Reverse Birth Triple Layer, the spirit dwelling within the demon blade was clearly not worthy.

Still, if this continued for long, his temperament would inevitably be affected.

"Pure bloodlust is not the intense emotional fluctuation the Sharingan needs."

After sensing it, Indra revealed a look of disgust.

Indra held the Sheep Talisman and lightly flicked the blade.

Bzzzz—!

Amid a deep hum from the blade, the evil spirit dwelling within Demon Blade Hirumaru was knocked out.

The swordsmith's evil spirit, having landed on the ground, looked blankly at Indra standing before it.

What was going on?

Wasn't he inside Demon Blade Hirumaru?

Before the swordsmith's evil spirit could react, Indra controlled his sword with qi and pierced its spirit body through with a single strike.

The swordsmith's evil spirit roared in outrage, "It shouldn't be like this! You were supposed to fight me with your consciousness. If you won, you would become my master; if you lost, you would become my puppet!"

"You noisy thing, why should I play along with you?"

Indra looked disdainfully at the swordsmith's evil spirit, pressed the Sheep Talisman against the chakra short sword, and swung again, killing it completely.

The previously restless Demon Blade Hirumaru had now become a lifeless object, completely under Indra's control.