Man and God Test Their Foundations

Yuanzai!!

Yuanzai!!!

Yuanzai felt as if the echoes in the woods were a hundred drumsticks pounding against his heart, his ears were closed, and his eardrums felt like they were about to bulge out and burst.

"Ah--"

He just bit his tongue, extracted his semen, and sprayed it out.

Now, a warm, sweet, and metallic taste welled up from his lungs, and unable to hold it in, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Chu Tianshu had also studied some techniques of Sonic Art at the Southern Shaolin.

Although I haven't specifically practiced the mental techniques corresponding to those Sonic Art, using the "Sky-Spanning Divine Art" to propel it naturally has its own unique wonders.

At this moment, Chu Tianshu shouted out his power, remembering the aura he had when he fought Yuanzai last time, and it had a sense of being specifically targeted at him.

If the person presiding over the ritual platform becomes distracted and their Mind Power becomes sluggish, at least half of the various protective measures on the platform will become ineffective.

Chu Tianshu's figure flashed out from the gap in the high wall that had just been blown up.

A three-tiered altar appeared, with three rings of golden-red protective shields flashing.

With the divine sword before him, a single strike pierced through it completely.

Chu Tianshu moved with the sword, his feet landing on the third level of the altar.

At this moment, he didn't care about conserving energy; as soon as his feet touched the ground, a wave of energy erupted from his entire body.

The three-tiered altar was instantly covered in cracks.

The burst of energy emanating from his hand shot out along the Sanqi Divine Sword.

The aura, silvery white as a ribbon, shot through the air, leaving a brilliant silver trail in mid-air.

Yuanzai held up a mask of Ghost God to block the attack.

Clang!!

The Sword Qi struck the mask, sending sparks flying.

The impact propelled Yuanzai out of the altar's reach and onto the forest floor.

Just as Chu Tianshu was about to give chase, he suddenly sensed something unusual about the aura surrounding him.

His Sky-Spanning Divine Art has already gone through the Submerged Current and the Sea Skimming, and has truly reached the Sky-Spanning Hanging Realm. His control and perception of the Gang Qi flow have reached a new level.

The range of perception is much larger than the range of control.

The Martial Stove God possesses a keen sense of crisis, sharp Sword Intent, and excellent control over the aura.

Very few people are able to ambush him.

Even when Pear God controlled Cao Ying to launch a close-range sneak attack, he still managed to react.

However, at this moment, a strange feeling suddenly arose.

In terms of stealth and abruptness alone, it seems to be no less impressive than Cao Ying's surprise attack.

Choke!!

The sword flashed and, in an instant, almost formed a large, shimmering silver sphere.

No one could be seen on the cracked three-tiered altar.

All I could see was a shiny silver sphere that spun once.

Something seemed to be stuck to the edge of the sphere in the surrounding air.

A moment later, the sphere vanished, and the afterimage of the longsword merged into one.

Chu Tianshu held his sword horizontally in front of his chest, the sword covered with hundreds of needles finer than cow hair.

The needle tips were all absorbed by his internal force onto the sword, while the needle tails were still swaying and shaking.

These needles are neither entirely black Bubai.

It's a grayish-black color with a transparent texture.

During the Former Qing Dynasty, there were vagrants in Northern Anhui and Yu Province who would make paper offerings, burn oil, and burn the paper to perform rituals. They would gather in crowds during festivals to perform these rituals, exorcising diseases and disasters for people in order to make a profit.

In the early days, the practice of collecting donations from villagers for incense oil to buy oil-paper wicks was used. Later, it also involved extortion and intimidation, bordering on theft.

The more famine and poor the harvest, the more people joined the Nian Rebellion. As the saying goes, "Those who stayed were called civilians, and those who left were called Nian rebels." The government referred to them as Nian bandits.

During the height of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion, countless starving people rose up in rebellion, and the Nian Rebellion also grew rapidly, forming the Nian Army, which fought in the north and south.

Since the Nian Army allied, in terms of bravery in battle and strict discipline, most of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's armies were inferior to the Nian Army.

However, the Nian Army was severely damaged by Sengge Rinchen, Zuo Zongtang and others. Those with ambition died, and those who sought to live did not survive.

On the contrary, a group of people who specialized in assassination accepted the government's offer of amnesty and were granted official positions, which have been passed down to this day.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, this group of people were sent to Liaodong by the Empress Dowager Xigong. They were only recruited by Cao Bokun more than half a year ago.

The Nian Army's assassination techniques were unique. Those who practiced these secret methods would wash their hair with medicinal oils and water, experiencing three lives and three deaths.

When the monk's hair grew for the fourth time, it was used to make needles.

After the needles were made, they were wrapped in the leaves of poisonous plants and roasted with oil flames. Once the leaves of the poisonous plants had burned to ashes, the fine needles, as thin as cow hair, absorbed all the poisonous fire.

It thus became a secret treasure capable of instantly penetrating magical defenses and shattering a boxer's vital energy.

A martial arts master who has cultivated the art of "Eating Makes an Immortal" can expel most of the world's plant poisons, snake venoms, and mineral poisons from the body immediately upon exposure by manipulating the body's qi and blood.

However, if one's skin is even slightly punctured by such a poisonous needle, one will immediately feel weak, and there will be no cure.

Moreover, when this needle is released, the warning signs that the enemy can sense are extremely subtle, and they may even misjudge the direction.

But since it's a needle, it has one major drawback.

If you shoot a little further, your aim is more likely to go astray.

The great sorcerer of the Nian Army honed these needles to the point that, upon touching the human body, even through armor, they would automatically seek out the soul and enter the body, piercing the heart and killing the victim.

When he stood on the hillside, he could throw needles at the enemy's position from two or three hundred meters away, causing casualties.

But it's unclear who exactly was killed.

Often, they would try to attack the Qing generals, but a group of Qing soldiers, dozens of steps away, would fall down first.

To maintain accuracy, the needle must be fired within thirty paces.

At a distance of thirty paces, the risk of being killed by a skilled martial artist is too great.

After Cao Bokun took these people under his wing, he learned of this major flaw in their tradition and sent skilled craftsmen to help them make improvements.

The poisoned needles used by the Nian Army were not afraid of fire.

Even if propelled by gunpowder, it will not damage its inherent magical properties.

They created a special steel tube, about a foot long and as thick as a child's arm, specifically designed to launch these poison needles.

It can maintain accuracy and penetrate iron plate targets from 100 meters away.

A needle finer than a cow's hair, it pierces the air silently and without a trace, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, its warning signs subtle and indistinct—truly a supreme weapon of destruction.

To avoid situations where the user's skill level is too low, giving the other party early warning and affecting the results.

Cao Bokun selected only three Nianzi monks to accompany him back to the capital.

When Chu Tianshu first chased them out, he didn't actually notice these three people.

Startled by the needles, they immediately pinpointed the three people's location.

Bass!!

Chu Tianshu spun around, and the Sanqi Divine Sword swept across most of a circle.

The fine needles on the sword immediately spread out along this arc angle.

This sword strike should have drawn a complete circle.

But when he was halfway through the swing, another broadsword thrust at him.

The two swords clashed, and a flash of sparks appeared at the point of impact.

The shrill sound of the metallic blade was extremely piercing, agonizingly unsettling.

A small portion of the poisoned needle remained on Chu Tianshu's silver-white longsword.

Upon contact, they burst apart uncontrollably.

Under the effect of the Heaven-Leaning True Explanation, it was as if every poisoned needle had become a small bomb.

The shattered needle was naturally closer to Chu Tianshu.

The blue light in Chu Tianshu's eyes surged, his heart pounded, his anger flared, and he suddenly opened his mouth and blew.

A thick, glowing blue stream of energy blew out from his mouth.

It wasn't the breath produced by the heart and lungs, but rather a refined internal force.

A large number of broken needles, enveloped in this internal force, rushed towards Cao Bokun on the opposite side.

When these needles were intact, they were indeed extremely dangerous. Chu Tianshu also felt that his True Qi and the skin of the Martial God could not withstand them.

However, once shattered, these needles lose their original magical artifact properties.

Cao Bokun was completely taken aback.

Some people can use air to blow the explosive fragments back.

The Fengtian Sword was stuck to the Three-Seven Sword and couldn't be lifted for a while.

Cao Bokun made a sudden decision and closed his eyes.

As soon as he closed his eyes, a large number of wrinkles appeared on his face, his nostrils twitched, and his ears automatically covered their openings.

My entire head felt like a Shitou being compressed under immense pressure.

The wrinkles were so numerous that they looked grotesque and bizarre, almost like a mask, or Ghost God's mask.

The Five Chang Gods' Divine Power manifested on his face.

The blue internal energy mixed with broken needles struck his face, producing a clattering sound.

The Three-Seven Sword suddenly moved, and the Fengtian Sword changed instantly like a shadow.

The stance of the two swords crossing over suddenly changed.

A silver-white longsword thrusts straight forward, while a broad-bladed longsword parries diagonally.

The mirror-like sword tip pierced the heavy blade covered with forged steel.

Buzz!!

The buzzing sound spread outwards in layers.

Chu Tianshu maintained this posture, seemingly having no intention of changing his move.

He slowly and deliberately pushed the Three-Seven Sword forward.

The two found themselves in a situation akin to a contest of internal strength.

Cao Bokun felt as if the force in front of him was like a tidal wave, relentlessly pushing towards him.

Every inch of his body was oppressed by this force.

The face that had just been deliberately furrowed was now unable to relax, and the eyelids couldn't even be opened.

But this situation secretly pleased him.

If it comes to a contest of foundations, he possesses the Five Chang Gods' Divine Power within him, and he is rapidly adapting to this power.

The two are actually mutually restraining.

Although Liu Yanqi might catch up during this process, Yuanzai is much closer.

(End of this chapter)