Death and the End of the Dao

At some point, the rain had begun to ease, but the mountain winds blowing in from every direction only grew stronger.

Heavy clouds shrouded the sky. The air reeked of dampness and mold, mingled with the heavy scent of earth, creating an indescribable sense of oppression.

Now that the monk had closed in and seized the initiative, he gave Xu Ming no chance to catch his breath. His towering figure flickered like a phantom, instantly circling behind Xu Ming. His voice was low but oppressive. "If I can't break through from the front, let's try the back and see if I can crack that shitty turtle shell of yours!"

They had already exchanged several moves, but they were so fast that only a few breaths had passed. Xu Ming neither dodged nor retreated. As a Hundred-Man Commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau, how could he hold his head up there if word got out that two mere mortals had forced him back?

He channeled all the spiritual power in his body. The Azure Phoenix Jade Pendant at his waist burst into dazzling light, and a nearly transparent blue-green barrier instantly appeared an inch in front of his body, just as it had when he took the monk's fierce punch head-on.

The Azure Phoenix Jade Pendant was no ordinary item, but a protective magical treasure exclusive to experts of the Demon Suppression Bureau ranked Hundred-Man Commander or above. This treasure was precisely why Xu Ming dared to be so arrogant and chose to take another of the monk's punches head-on. He refused to believe that this crude martial brute could break through the Azure Phoenix Ward.

Yet just as the monk gathered his strength and punched, a broad swath of darkness swept past him and shot straight toward Xu Ming!

"Sssss—"

The dark spray struck the blue-green barrier with a sound like cold water poured into boiling oil. The shimmering barrier instantly lost its luster, as though some uncanny force were eating away at it.

"How... how is this possible?!" Xu Ming's expression changed dramatically, his eyes filled with disbelief.

In that lightning-fast instant, Zhang Xuan's voice rang out from behind the monk. "Monk, now!"

At Zhang Xuan's warning, the monk froze for an instant, then snapped back to his senses. Without hesitation, he sank into a bow stance and drove a straight punch at Xu Ming's lower back!

The barrier, corroded by the dark red liquid, still stood before Xu Ming's body, but it was no longer the same. The last time, the monk's fist had struck it as though striking a thick city wall, like a mayfly trying to shake a mighty tree. But this time—

Crack!

The barrier held for only an instant before spiderweb cracks appeared where the fist struck, spreading rapidly in every direction. A breath later, it shattered completely, dissolving into motes of blue-green light.

When Xu Ming first used the Azure Phoenix Jade Pendant, Zhang Xuan had already discerned its purpose through his nether candle mystic eyes.

[Name: Azure Phoenix Jade Pendant]

[Category: Protective magical treasure]

[Function 1: Consumes the cultivator's spiritual power to form an Azure Phoenix Ward, capable of withstanding at most one full-force strike from a tenth-grade Foundation Establishment cultivator]

[Description: Produced by the Heaven-Opening Workshop. A protective magical treasure exclusive to field agents of the Demon Suppression Bureau, also serving as their identification token]

[Note: Classic of Mountains and Seas, "Classic of Mountains," Volume Two, "Classic of the Western Mountains": "Another two hundred and twenty li west lies Mount Sanwei, where three azure birds dwell. Noble birds of heaven, they shun filth."]

When he read the final words, "they shun filth," inspiration flashed through Zhang Xuan's mind. He suddenly remembered the monk mentioning his self-compiled Record of Strange Things during an earlier chat, which included an entry on black dog blood.

Dogs enjoyed eating filthy things, and among the twelve earthly branches and five elements, they corresponded to yang earth. Black dogs, in particular, represented yang energy at its strongest. Black dog blood was a substance of utmost yang and utmost filth, often used in folk practices to drive out evil and break spells.

Taking the approach of treating a dead horse as though it could still be saved, Zhang Xuan quickly rummaged through the bundle the monk had tossed aside and found a gourd filled with black dog blood. Without hesitation, he took a mouthful, aimed toward Xu Ming, and spat it out hard!

"Pfft—"

Black dog blood sprayed toward Xu Ming like a misty rain. The instant it touched the shimmering Azure Phoenix Ward, sizzling sounds of corrosion rang out. The barrier rapidly dimmed, then finally collapsed beneath the monk's iron fist.

Seeing the Azure Phoenix Ward, which normally sent ghosts and gods fleeing, actually broken, Xu Ming turned pale with shock.

Still, he was a Hundred-Man Commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau. After a brief moment of panic, he quickly steadied himself. Though the Azure Phoenix Ward had broken, it had bought him a little time.

He adjusted his stance, forming sword fingers with one hand to try to summon the Demon-Slaying Sword clamped tightly beneath the monk's arm, while raising his other hand in front of his body to block the incoming fist.

At Xu Ming's summons, the Demon-Slaying Sword trembled violently, yet could not escape the monk's grip. Though breaking through the barrier had robbed the monk's punch of some of its edge, it still carried ferocious force.

Where the wind from his fist swept past, raindrops shattered into mist, and clouds of white vapor burst in the air.

Crack!

A teeth-grating sound of breaking bone rang out. Xu Ming's left arm, raised before him, twisted at a grotesque angle. The force of the punch sent him flying backward, and he slammed heavily into the muddy ground.

He tumbled miserably through the foul-smelling mud seven or eight times before finally coming to a stop.

Covered in mud, Xu Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered to his feet. His broken left arm hung limply at his side, while his right hand remained in a sword-finger gesture, seemingly activating something. His expression was so dark it seemed water might drip from it, and murderous intent surged in his eyes.

"You lowly beasts! I'll kill you both!"

The blood Xu Ming coughed up did not fall to the ground. Instead, it gathered three feet in front of him, its bloody radiance swirling as it condensed into a small scarlet sword about a foot long. The sword seemed unremarkable, but as falling raindrops approached it, they instantly froze, turning into beads of ice that struck the ground.

As a martial artist, the monk had an exceptionally keen sense of danger. The instant the little sword pointed at him, every hair on his body stood on end, and his heart even stopped for a beat.

He shouted in a deep voice, "Daoist, run! This son of a bitch's move is no joke!"

As he spoke, the monk assumed a strange posture. He extended one hand forward and raised his right hand toward the heavens, bending his body slightly. The powerful muscles of his back bulged high, nearly bursting his tattered monk's robe. He looked like a vajra guardian incarnate.

"Namo!"

Just as the monk settled into his stance, preparing to take Xu Ming's lethal strike head-on, something suddenly changed!

A red thread shot out from the direction of the ruined temple like a spirit snake flicking its tongue. It wove through the dense rain without touching a single drop. Before Xu Ming, the monk, or Zhang Xuan could react, the thread pierced Xu Ming's neck with a hiss.

It all happened in a flash. By the time the three men registered what had happened, the bloodstained end of the thread had coiled around Xu Ming's neck several times like a venomous snake, then abruptly tightened!

"Pfft—"

Blood sprayed. Xu Ming stared in disbelief at the blood gushing from his own neck. He reached toward his throat with his left hand, almost choking beneath the constricting red thread, and stiffly turned his head toward its source.

A figure slowly emerged from the dense woods.

"Meng Changxi!?"