The man in black armor was even more bedraggled than Yuan Ya. His body had actually been blown backward, and the Eighteen-Foot Snake Lance in his hand flew from his grasp, slanting up into the sky. The black smoke that had originally protected the armored man had now vanished, revealing beneath the armor a head as large as a bushel! On that face were a pair of broomlike brows and two leopard eyes, now filled with shock and terror!
On the mountain road, Xiao Hua's lean figure stood firm. The As-You-Wish Staff in his hand lightly traced one flourish after another, as though that strike just now had been mere child's play. With a faintly smiling expression, he looked at the disheveled man in black armor. Then Xiao Hua said easily, "If Fellow Immortal wished to test this Xiao's skills, you should have said so sooner! Had this Xiao not known that you carried no Buddhist faith power, your life would have remained here today!"
"Hmph..." The man in black armor snorted coldly. Black smoke surged all around him, seeping out from within his armor and supporting his unbalanced body. Then he waved his hand, and the black smoke shot out like tentacles, wrapping around the Eighteen-Foot Snake Lance that was about to fall to the ground. At the same time, the black horse beneath him steadied itself and appeared under him once more.
"This old man merely wanted to see how strong you were! If we were speaking of a life-and-death battle... hehe, how could this old man possibly contend with you directly?" The man in black armor straightened his waist. With a thunderous boom, several feet of black flames burst from within his armor. Amid those black flames, a strange skeletal horse and skeleton flashed past! Most especially,