Laughing

Counterattacking from a desperate position, he used the other man's weapon to brutally shove it into his backside.

Wu Zhong's thrust had not actually gone deep. After all, the man was wearing pants.

It had only entered a little, barely getting in, but... it was enough.

The human body had the "Seven Gates," referring to seven key parts of the digestive tract.

They included the Flying Gate, meaning the lips, the first gateway through which food entered the body.

The Household Gate, meaning the teeth, the second gateway for food.

The Suction Gate, meaning the epiglottis, which opened during breathing and closed during swallowing to prevent food from entering the airway.

The Cardia Gate, meaning the upper opening of the stomach, which prevented stomach contents from flowing back into the esophagus.

The Pyloric Gate, meaning the lower opening of the stomach, the gateway connecting to the small intestine.

The Barrier Gate, meaning the junction of the large and small intestines, which blocked the passage of refined substances.

Finally, the Po Gate, meaning the anus, the final gateway for excretion.

Wu Zhong's strike had used the other man's sword blank to pin his backside shut, locking his Po Gate.

It did not matter that it was not deep. Closed was closed, just as the half-shut door Wu Zhong had used before would be welded shut. Plugging a leak with a sheet of paper was still plugging it.

The important thing was not how open or closed it was, but whether it had been used.

Any "gate" Wu Zhong had used could no longer have its open-or-closed state changed by anyone else.

Only Wu Zhong could interfere with it.

"What Chongyang Iron Sword? How does it compare to my Seven Gates sword? Hmm?" Wu Zhong's "Seven Gates" sword technique had finally made Feipeng break down.

"Urgh..." Feipeng was in excruciating pain, his cold and arrogant expression completely gone!

He had barely been able to endure the front before, but now he was taking a heavy hit from both ends!

Still, he was a tough man. Grabbing the wooden stick, he tried to yank it out by force.

But no matter how he pulled and tugged, aside from triggering agonizing pain in his muscles, the stick remained as if welded in place.

It was lodged there solidly, without retreating even an inch!

The three-foot wooden stick had pierced through his pants behind him and been welded in place, sticking out like a raised tail.

"Urgh, urgh, urgh..." Feipeng's eyes bulged with rage. His lips were clamped shut, his features twisted as he let out muffled, humiliated groans.

Why would it not come out? Why would it not come out?!

He was ruthless and decisive too! He actually poured true qi into it, gripping the wooden stick as sword radiance buzzed and burst forth!

He intended to cut away the flesh and pull it out!

A quick blade cuts through a tangle; better brief pain than prolonged suffering!

But he had badly misunderstood. It was not flesh holding it in place, but an absolute property.

Even after the sword radiance shredded his own flesh, the wooden stick would not move an inch.

Instead, it only made him suffer more. Blood streamed down as his whole body trembled and weakened.

"Feipeng!" Arborvitae stared stupidly.

Feipeng was one of their mercenary group's main combatants. His host body had once been a famous martial arts big shot from some world's weapon rankings.

His swordsmanship and movement techniques were both exceptional, yet he had been brought down by a newcomer using such a lowly move and could not get back up for the moment.

"Hmph." Having dealt two consecutive heavy blows, Wu Zhong hurriedly pulled away.

This man was no weakling. He did not dare stay close for long, afraid of being taken out in return, and he had no intention of keeping that wooden stick.

He did not know what the stick was, but even his energy blasts had not left the slightest mark on it.

It was presumably indestructible, a good item.

But Wu Zhong discarded it without the slightest hesitation. It was the other man's weapon, after all, and he had no idea what tricks it might have. Keeping it in hand was too dangerous.

Better to leave it with its owner. Let it stay stuck there...

Following the momentum, Wu Zhong continued rolling across the ground. Though the hard earth scraped his severed arm until it throbbed with pain and shattered stones pierced his flesh, he rolled to his severed arm in just a few movements.

His free hand grabbed the arm and pressed it against his shoulder in one smooth motion!

"Hiss..." Flesh tendrils wriggled from Wu Zhong's shoulder, followed by a numb, aching pain in his arm.

If he could feel pain in his hand, that meant the nerves in his arm had connected again.

This was living biotech armor, equipped with a severed-limb reattachment function.

"So it can reconnect... but... not yet..."

Sweat poured from Wu Zhong. His fingers twitched, and purple light began to gather in his palm, but he still could not lift his arm.

The nerves seemed to have reconnected, but the severed arm was still severed. Clearly, even with the reattachment function, such an injury could not heal in a short time.

He even had to use his left hand to keep his right arm pressed against his body. The moment he let go, it would fall off again.

"Lift up! Lift up already!"

Pinching his right arm with his left hand, Wu Zhong finally raised it. But that seemed to misalign the cut slightly, disconnecting the nerves again. The signal was cut off, and the glow in his palm dimmed.

That delay cost him his chance to blast Feipeng and finish him off.

Because the enraged Arborvitae had already arrived, lashing out with a whip kick like a thunderbolt. The air howled mournfully.

"You brat, you're dead!"

His whip kick carried killing intent, headed straight for Wu Zhong's head.

The attack was simply too terrifying. Wu Zhong had gone from losing an arm to counterkilling to retrieving his arm in one fluid sequence, but he was already showing signs of exhaustion.

Taking down Feipeng had already been an outburst of strength. Yet he was fighting two opponents alone, and now Arborvitae had come to kill him. He could already picture his brains bursting apart.

But at the critical moment, a stone stele suddenly rose up!

Boom!

The stele blocked the kick, only to be shattered by it.

Flying rubble struck Wu Zhong, sending him rolling away, covered in blood and torn flesh.

"Fire the cannon!"

Yang Chunsha cried out. At this crucial moment, she was the one casting the spell.

The illusion had long since been lifted from her. And with Arborvitae desperate to save his teammate, he had no attention to spare for her, finally allowing her to join the battle.

A cold gleam shone from the woman's chest as the pages flipped.

Magic caused the ground to shift. Soil sank, and rocks rose.

Arborvitae's legs sank into the mud as rocks squeezed his body. It was the perfect opportunity.

Wu Zhong grabbed his arm and raised it, sinister purple light flickering in his palm.

"Fire! Fire already!" Wu Zhong was anxious too. The Purple Molten Bomb only flickered and would not shoot.

Arborvitae's eyes bulged as he realized he could not take that hit. In an instant, scarlet blood energy erupted around his body, and he launched himself from the ground.

With one palm, he shattered the rocks, then kicked the fragments toward them like bullets.

Crack crack crack! Bloodstains appeared all over Wu Zhong's body. His cheek took a particularly heavy blow, making all the flesh on his face wobble as blood sprayed from his lips and teeth.

He fell backward, and the Purple Molten Bomb command was interrupted again.

Ever since losing his arm, this thing had become far too difficult to use, no longer as responsive as before.

"Damn it, I can't fire it!"

Wu Zhong was frantic, but the more frantic he became, the less he could fire the cannon. The purple light in his palm flickered erratically, working one moment and failing the next.

"I'm taking your life!"

Arborvitae had long stopped caring about capturing Wu Zhong alive. Scarlet energy flared around his body as he charged like a bulldozer, smashing steles and splitting rocks with terrifying force.

This guy had suffered such heavy injuries, yet he was still so ferocious?

Wu Zhong had not felt it before, but only when his Purple Molten Bomb malfunctioned did he truly understand how formidable Arborvitae was.

Arborvitae and Feipeng were different types of powerful fighters. Arborvitae's strength lay in his incredibly vigorous vitality.

"Haah!" Arborvitae charged wildly.

Even with Yang Chunsha casting spells repeatedly, she could not stop him.

The earthen walls she raised were large but soft, while the rocks were hard but loose.

"Debiao! Use Triple Rashomon Gates, now!"

Wu Zhong retreated again and again, reluctantly giving her a hint.

Fortunately, Yang Chunsha understood immediately. The pages flipped rapidly as she shouted along with him, "Spirit Summoning: Triple Rashomon Gates!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three layers of stone gates with demonic faces rose in succession between Wu Zhong and Arborvitae.

They stood over two meters tall, broad, thick, and solid.

And Yang Chunsha understood well. She was one of the few who knew the properties of Wu Zhong's gates, so what she created was truly a gate, with a demon head in the middle. Wu Zhong could push it open with a single shove.

"Ninjutsu?" Arborvitae's voice was hoarse.

Yang Chunsha was delighted. She had fooled him.

Arborvitae, meanwhile, stared at Wu Zhong. Their clothes had been damaged in the battle, revealing Wu Zhong's true appearance as well. Combined with Yang Chunsha's use of Multiversal Force...

"So you're Wu Dong?"

Arborvitae growled, charging in like a bulldozer, smashing steles and splitting rocks as he barreled toward him.

He easily broke through two layers of gates in succession.

Wu Zhong's scalp tingled as he immediately shut the third stone gate.

Boom!

Arborvitae cracked the stone gate with a single palm strike!

But though it cracked, this time it did not burst apart. The fragments still maintained the shape of a gate.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Arborvitae struck three times in succession, but it remained the same. He could not break through the gate.

"Huh?"

Arborvitae was shocked. He moved around the gate in a flash, his whip kick sweeping in.

But Wu Zhong reacted quickly and ran around the gate!

Arborvitae's kick missed, leaving another crack in the stone gate.

He pursued fiercely while Wu Zhong frantically circled the pillar—or rather, the gate.

Wu Zhong was weaker than his opponent, but in this tight circular movement, he was not much slower than Arborvitae.

Scarlet energy swirled around the latter. He possessed tremendous brute strength and great speed in a straight line, but he was not as agile as Feipeng. He remained blocked by this single, lonely stone gate.

"Ahhh!"

Arborvitae flew into a rage. He suddenly flipped over, leaping across the stone gate, and stomped down from above with a heavy kick!

But at that moment, Wu Zhong's arm finally responded. Purple light had already gathered, ready to fire.

Grabbing his right arm and raising it, he fired the cannon with a roar.

Boom!

It was utterly brutal. Arborvitae was airborne and had just descended in front of Wu Zhong's chest, unable to dodge. The blast struck directly beneath his buttocks.

Squelch! His butt exploded!

His organs and intestines spilled out in a mess. A hole had been blown open below him like a breached dam.

The lingering force of the Purple Molten Bomb splashed against the stone gate as well, destroying it.

But Arborvitae's foot still came down on Wu Zhong's chest. The Purple Molten Bomb could not stop that heavy stomp!

"Urgh!"

Wu Zhong blocked with his severed arm, but he was still kicked brutally in the chest. He vomited a mouthful of blood, having no idea how many bones had broken.

Had the arm guard not cushioned the blow somewhat, his chest cavity would have caved in completely.

Even so, he was severely wounded, and even breathing became incredibly difficult.

Blood also sprayed from his shoulder. The severed arm pressed against it had been torn open once more by the tremendous force.

Thud! Arborvitae likewise fell to the ground, trembling all over.

With a hole in his chest, his buttocks blown apart, and one arm severed, he was actually more heavily injured than Feipeng.

"Debiao! Kill him!" Wu Zhong roared hoarsely.

Yang Chunsha softened a patch of earth and rock, directly sinking Arborvitae into it and burying him alive.

Wu Zhong let out a breath of relief, but just as he stood up, he heard a muffled pop. A large hand burst from the soil!

"Huh?"

Wu Zhong was stunned to see Yang Chunsha burying Arborvitae while Arborvitae clawed his way out.

He decisively pulled out a Laughing Grenade from his chest, pulled the pin, and threw it.

He had used this thing three times already and was thoroughly familiar with it, having a sense for its thirty-meter range.

This time, he deliberately threw it farther away, only wanting to catch Arborvitae at the edge of the blast. If it was too close, he would be affected as well.

Yet after a surge of blood energy flared forth, the pit exploded.

Arborvitae actually burst out of the ground and leaped high into the air.

The force of his eruption from the ground flung the grenade away.

Feipeng was still sticking his butt out. He had just gotten to his feet when he saw the grenade land before him.

"Oh ho?"

He was not afraid of grenades, but he was cautious. Still sticking out his backside, he unleashed a fierce blast in midair and dodged away somewhat.

Unfortunately, he was not cautious enough.

Bang! The grenade exploded, and its range still covered him.

The moment he heard the sound, he knew something was wrong. There was not even any flash of fire.

"What? How does he have... AHAHAHA!" Feipeng burst into horrified laughter.

His entire face twisted beyond control. "Oh ho ho, a Laughing Grenade! Oh ho ho ho, it's a Laughing Grenade! Hahaha!"

He was furious inside. He had never expected Wu Zhong to still have this trick up his sleeve.

Everyone knew how dangerous this thing was, but it was also common knowledge that Laughing Grenades were unique products of 985. Perhaps a few had made their way outside, but they were exceedingly rare. Who would have guarded against one?

This thing looked exactly the same as an ordinary grenade!

Not a single molecule composing it was abnormal. 985 had studied it for more than a decade, tested it countless times, and still could not distinguish it from an ordinary grenade.

Yet once it exploded, it infected everyone within thirty meters with uncontrollable laughter.

"Feipeng!"

Arborvitae was shocked and enraged. Feipeng was in too miserable a state—he had been hit by another Laughing Grenade.

Feipeng's face was twisted, his body hunched over. One hand gripped a wooden stick while the other braced against the ground, his butt stuck out as he laughed wildly.

The scene was as bizarre as could be.

"Debiao, why can't your earth escape kill anyone?" Wu Zhong wasn't doing well either.

Arborvitae was covered in bloody flames, with one arm missing, a hole in his right chest, and his backside blown wide open.

His entire body was a mangled mass of flesh and blood, like a vicious ghost crawling out of hell—yet he was still standing!

Not only that, he took out a scarlet, jelly-like substance and slapped it directly into his wound. It melted away at once.

"Phew..." He exhaled a breath of stale air and fixed Wu Zhong with a grim gaze.

Yang Chunsha shouted, "He ate Kun Blood!"

"Run!" How the hell were they supposed to keep fighting?

Wu Zhong turned and bolted, staggering to Yang Chunsha's side. "Get in the car!"

Yang Chunsha understood immediately. After raising one final earthen wall to block Arborvitae, she slipped into the driver's seat.

She hit the gas, gripping the steering wheel with one hand as she sped off. "I'm driving? I've got one hand missing..."

"Like I don't? My chest is caved in too." Wu Zhong panted weakly.

He had lost an arm as well, and had to use his remaining hand to hold the severed arm in place so it would not fall off.

"Then hold on..." Yang Chunsha clenched her teeth and drove through the agonizing pain.

"Vroom!"

Dust billowed as the car crested the hill and sped into the distance.