Before he had finished speaking, the tumors all over his body burst at once. Black fluid filled the air, carrying corrupting essence poison miasma as it swept toward Cao Taichun from every direction. Even the floor of the entire arena sizzled with white smoke under the corrosive black fluid, small pits eating into its surface.
Cao Taichun tapped the ground with his toes and drifted backward, chanting all the while. Pale golden laws patterns flew from his fingertips, weaving an impenetrable net of runes before him. The black fluid struck the net and was instantly dissolved into nothingness by its golden light.
Seeing his poison miasma blocked, Shiwan Heavenly Demon grew even more furious. He turned into a streak of black light and lunged straight at Cao Taichun, reeking of blood. His withered claws reached for Cao Taichun's face, the black nails glinting coldly with a terrifying poison that killed on contact.
Cao Taichun neither dodged nor retreated. Only when the withered claws were about to reach his face did he abruptly turn sideways to let them pass. His sword sliced along the crook of Shiwan Heavenly Demon's arm, severing his hand Shaoyang tendon meridian in a single stroke. Then his wrist turned, and the sword tip stabbed straight toward the numbing acupoint beneath Shiwan Heavenly Demon's ribs.
Shiwan Heavenly Demon growled in pain and swept his other claw toward Cao Taichun's waist and abdomen. But Cao Taichun had already ducked and pivoted around to his side. His sword tip struck repeatedly, sealing three major acupoints in an instant. Shiwan Heavenly Demon felt half his body go numb, and his movements slowed drastically.
Cao Taichun pressed his advantage, circling Shiwan Heavenly Demon constantly with strange footwork. Every thrust of his sword struck an acupoint or tendon meridian with precision.
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