Exhausted and Reluctant

As the demonic qi condensed to form the body of that pouncing demon monster, Jiang Che had already observed it.

When it truly lunged forward, he reacted instantly. Borrowing the unstoppable momentum of the pouncing demon monster, he immediately executed the counter-attack sword form, "Returning Tides Fold Greenery"!

As long as he intercepted and borrowed the force, the fiercer and more violent the enemy's charge, the more turbulent and surging his counter-attacking successive thrusts would be!

Following a succession of blows, every single sword stroke caught the residual momentum of the monster's fierce lunge, striking precisely at the demon monster's neck, head, and other vulnerable spots.

Borrowing the enemy's own force, a pouncing demon monster at the Transforming Force level was killed by him in that exact instant!

This was precisely the easy part about such things as demon monsters.

Although they possessed the strength of Transforming Force, after all, they were not like cultivators who mastered numerous techniques, accumulated vast combat experience, and possessed wisdom and brains. Things like demon monsters were rigid and inflexible. Once one understood their behavioral patterns, dealing with them was much simpler than dealing with cultivators of the same rank.

Of course, demon monsters also had their advantages, and that was their utter disregard for death.

The seven monsters completely ignored the gap in strength between themselves and Jiang Che, nor did they care that he had just slain a powerful demon, still lunging forward fiercely. Seizing the opening, he executed seven consecutive sword strikes, every single one sealing the throat, claiming the lives of these demon monsters in succession, killing them until the horde stuttered to a halt.

Yet that was as far as it went.

Another three demon monsters at the Embryonic Breath level swarmed up, blocking his path. Jiang Che's internal force was consumed quite heavily in the successive battles, and his arms had already begun to feel heavy.

He was not reckless either, knowing when to quit while he was ahead. His figure whirled abruptly, and he gracefully retreated back within the golden light.

The three demon monsters lunged too late and could not check their momentum, crashing headlong into the barrier of light and turning into ashes.

Yet it did not matter, for this was originally their objective.

Without his obstruction, those monsters began to crash against the Golden Blossom Protective Boundary one after another, turning into ashes while wearing away Chunji's magical power.

Jiang Che sighed softly, unmoved. He simply sat down cross-legged in peace, harmonizing his internal breath with the "Azurefall Wind Dew". This technique emphasized an endless cycle and was most adept at recovery.

Waiting until his internal force returned by a few fractions, he lifted his sword and sortied out once more.

For the hour that followed, he fought entirely in this manner.

Ordinary demon monsters naturally fell to a single sword strike from him. Yet among the horde, the number of mixed-in Embryonic Breath level entities was truly not small. He used "Azure Flow" to defend, hugging the boundary's edge, circling and engaging in melee, occasionally spying an opening to counter-attack with a sword. He could kill one or two, but would always be forced to retreat in exhaustion due to being unable to withstand the encirclement.

He rested for a moment, let his strength recover somewhat, and sortied again.

Going back and forth like this, he fought for a full hour. The demon monsters that died beneath his sword were no less than thirty, among which those at the Embryonic Breath level numbered a full seven.

The Golden Blossom Protective Boundary provided the greatest assistance.

In normal combat, how could there be a situation where one fought whenever one wanted, and if one didn't want to, the enemy had no way to pursue?

Yet, compared to the overall situation, Jiang Che's battle achievements were still far too insignificant.

In this past hour, how could the demon monsters that crashed against the Glazed Golden Boundary and were granted immediate transcendence by Master Chunji's Buddha light number merely three hundred?

Compared to that, what Jiang Che killed was truly not enough.

More crucially, for these thirty kills, the price he paid was indeed not small.

The last time he retreated back inside the boundary, he could barely grip his sword hilt.

Of his whole-body internal force, ninety-five percent out of ten parts was gone, and his entire body was overdrawn. It was truly difficult to recover in a short time even by relying on "Azurefall Wind Dew".

His left shoulder bore a savage claw wound, skin and flesh flipped outward with blood flowing unceasingly; his right leg was swept by the iron tail of a beast-shaped demon monster, and he walked with a slight limp.

Even at the most critical moment, he had used up that "Blazing Fire Spirit Talisman".

He sat down leaning against the hall doors, longsword laid horizontally across his knees, gazing at the endless sea of blackness still outside the boundary, remaining speechless for a long time.

The extent of this Demon Sword was still far too beyond imagination.

It could not create demon monsters at the Qi Refining level, that was true, and he couldn't even catch sight of many in the late Embryonic Breath realm, but it was simply able to endlessly condense monsters and then hurl them over.

Human strength had its limits, and Jiang Che truly had no other methods left.

"Patron." Master Chunji's voice came from before the Buddha statue, still gentle. "In my decades of cultivation, the secular experts I have witnessed are not few. To achieve what you have while at the mid Embryonic Breath realm is also quite rare."

"This sword skill, this strength of mind-this poor monk admires it."

"Master flatters me." Jiang Che smiled bitterly. "I am merely taking advantage of your golden light to win through cleverness."

"Winning through cleverness is also wisdom. Reckless bravery to court death is easy; cherishing oneself while being adept at battle is hard... Yet patron, let it end here. You are already drained of oil and lamp dry. To step outside again now is no longer killing the enemy, but feeding the enemy."

This time, Jiang Che did not press the issue.

He was very clear that if he stepped outside the boundary again right now, he would simply be throwing his life away.

There was no need.

He wasn't afraid of death, but if he could avoid dying, he still shouldn't die.

The rating for this trip, bought with thirty points of Transmigration Energy, was clearly not going to be high. The instance dungeon's main plot was mostly tied to the success or failure of Master Chunji's demon suppression, and given the present situation, an mid Embryonic Breath cultivator like him could not help with the fundamental matter.

That being the case, rather than dying a futile death, he might as well live a little longer, observe as much as possible, and commit to memory whatever he could of the dungeon's subsequent progression, Master Chunji's end, and the Demon Sword's foundations.

It didn't matter if the rating wasn't high this time; all the gathered intelligence would serve as groundwork for entering the next time.

"Sorry to have troubled the Master. I shall watch from right here; if the Master has any commands, just say the word."

The master closed his eyes once more: "Patron, just rest."

As for Puxin, he crept over to his side, dug out half a dry flatbread from his bosom, stuffed it into his hand, and whispered, "Patron, eat something... The way you were fighting outside just now was truly majestic! When dawn breaks, will you teach me how to wield a sword? Master only teaches me to chant scriptures, and chanting scriptures can't beat demons..."

Jiang Che stroked the little monk's shaved head. "If Master Chunji agrees, I naturally have no problem with it."

Another two hours passed.

Jiang Che watched in silence, watching Master Chunji's magical power become unstable fraction by fraction. Beneath the Buddha throne, the struggling of the Demon Sword grew increasingly frantic.

This was bad.

Although he had been mentally prepared long ago, guessing that the final outcome would be Chunji's failure, Jiang Che still inevitably felt his mood sink.

It was not just him; little novice monk Puxin had also perceived it. At first, he still had the heart to circle around Jiang Che and chatter about this and that, but by this current moment, he had entirely lost that mood, watching his master with worry and tension instead.

The only fortunate thing was that it was already close to dawn.

Once daylight broke, the Demon Sword's might would be greatly weakened.

Success or failure would perhaps be decided at this very hour.

At this moment, as the sky was about to grow bright yet remained murky, without warning, the golden light dimmed abruptly!

The protective golden splendor enveloping the main hall, the layers of Buddha light entangling the Demon Sword, the glowing precious light around the master's person... in a split second, all grew dim. Even the few oil lamps inside the main hall extinguished entirely at the very same time.

In the darkness, there was only a single object-that Demon Sword beneath the Buddha throne, whose eerie purple light flickered endlessly!