Chapter 292 Part 1
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Chapter 292 Part 1: Ominous Signs (1)
Southwest Province is a barren land full of mountains.
Although the name of the Qiao family member has spread to Southwest Province, seeing is believing.
Beneath the famous reputation is indeed hard to live up to, or perhaps there are no false scholars beneath the famous reputation… one must meet in person to know.
And today.
The brave appearance of the Qiao family member fighting bathed in blood has left a deep impression on the heroes in Southwest Province.
First, Wu Qiankun used the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method against Qiao Jin, then he used it to fight a group of monsters.
The battle had just begun and it was already very intense. Qiao Jin was covered in blood, like a bloody person.
"Even someone as strong as Qiao Jin is surrounded. If I go in, won’t it be risking my life…" A gray-robed old man in the crowd muttered, thinking for a moment before turning to Li Changshi from Stone City.
"Brother, earlier we were deceived by that kid with great light skills, and wrongly judged the Qiao family member. It was our mistake."
"Since the misunderstanding has been cleared, can you let me take shelter in Stone City for a while?"
"If I can survive today, I will surely repay you in the future."
Hearing the gray-robed old man’s words, the others nodded in agreement.
They didn’t know how strong these spiritual beasts and cultivators were before, whether they could escape with their lives… But now, seeing even Long Shankong, who mastered the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, unable to escape, they knew they would be risking their lives if they joined the fight.
So, their only hope for survival rested on the Qiao family member.
"You’re right, we were indeed deceived by that kid."
"I apologize to the elders here."
The people in the jianghu were talking and apologizing, while Long Shankong, who was just saved by Qiao Mu, blushed and stayed quiet.
Li Changshi looked at the people in the jianghu changing their expressions one by one, furrowing his brow.
He was an old soldier who had come out of a lonely city, once fighting to the death for the weak and elderly in the city… but these jianghu people in front of him were different.
In the eyes of the old soldier, these so-called jianghu people were mostly lawless troublemakers, and Li Changshi didn’t have a good impression of them.
"Although I just came out of Stone City and don’t know much about the situation, but…"
Li Changshi was watching as Qiao Mu fought bravely among the group of beasts.
By now, Qiao Mu was covered in blood, and as the internal injuries from the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method worsened, he also began to have external wounds.
One tiger can’t defeat a group of wolves, even a superb martial artist is still a human with flesh and blood.
Some strong men can break bricks and even break cattle bones with their bare hands.
But that doesn’t mean the strong men can be hit by bricks or cattle bones without getting hurt.
Getting hit by cattle bones on the hand, head, or groin… who hits it, how much force is used, all lead to different situations.
The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method is ultimately a powerful but short-lived technique, if used for a long time, it will lead to death.
The Shape Changing Skill only helps him recover from injuries over a few days, reducing the long-term effects to a weak period of seven days. It doesn’t mean the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method is a minor skill.
Even without external injuries, prolonged use can lead to severed meridians, ruptured organs, and death.
So even someone as strong as Qiao Jin who can tear apart monsters with his bare hands, facing a long battle still poses a risk to his life.
In fact, Li Changshi is very familiar with this scene.
He turned his head to look at the group, indifferently saying:
"Let me be the villain…. The Qiao family members are risking their lives in battle, while you all just want to reap the benefits, being sheltered by the Qiao family members?"
"If you want refuge in Stone City, first draw your sword against the inhumans."
"We only help those who help themselves, not cowards!"
With that said, the group of heroes gradually calmed down.
Being overly friendly to strangers may make others think you have ulterior motives or see you as an easy target.
Now, with Li Changshi’s words, it actually aligns better with the rules of the martial world.
"Elder Qiao Jin and this senior are right. We only have a glimmer of hope through fighting to the death." Long Shankong was still the first to speak, his brows furrowed with embarrassment.
"Since we are just strangers who have met by chance, I, Long Shankong, also don’t have the face to seek shelter from others."
He was also quiet, took out a pair of Golden Silkworm Gloves from his pocket and rushed out of the crowd.
"Eight Armed Heavenly Dragon Fist!"
His punches were very fast, his arms blurred into afterimages when he punched, looking like he had several arms at first glance.
"Is this the Eight Armed Heavenly Dragon Fist?"
"He knows the Eight Armed Heavenly Dragon Fist and the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, the fastest punches, the fastest kicks. Is he a descendant of the ancient Eight-armed Heavenly Dragon?"
Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, they began to understand a little.
"It seems like we have unintentionally become involved in the conspiracy of the Immortal Gate."
"There’s no way to retreat… but aren’t we all living on borrowed time?"
"With senior Qiao Jin leading the charge ahead, we do have a chance. We only lack a bit of courage."
"Charge, charge, charge!"
Heroes successively made their moves, rushing down from the mountaintop and engaging in a fierce battle with the herd of beasts.
With this charge, blood was immediately shed, limbs and fresh blood flew everywhere, and several weaker martial artists died on the spot, their bodies torn apart by the monsters.
"They do show some courage, but they are also seeking death." Several disciples of Yunxiao Sect shook their heads.
"This unnecessary bravery may cause more casualties among the spiritual beasts; should we intervene?" a disciple turned to Taoist Child Yu Shan.
"You can do as you please." Taoist Yu Shan said lightly, he remained calm.
He had encountered ordinary martial artists before and knew their capabilities.
As the Taoist Child of Yunxiao Sect, he had cultivation up to the ninth level of the Golden Core stage.
If it weren’t for Yunxiao Sect’s weak position, lack of resources, and inability to support more Nascent Soul Elders, he could have already entered the Nascent Soul stage.
Spear Saint, who was a top fighter known as the second best in the world over thirty years ago, sparred with someone and eventually spared their life.
In just over thirty years, with only a few times of intense training, can a martial artist from the mortal world really rise to the top?
Suddenly, there were flashes of lightning and fire descending from the sky above, landing on the heads of those martial artists.
"Are these cultivators seeking immortality, claiming superiority without descending from the sky…" Qiao Jin looked up towards the sky, gazing at Yu Shan and the others on the horizon.
Since these martial artists still had fighting spirit, though weakened, there was still hope for them…
If these cultivators won’t come down after waiting for so long, then he will have to go up to them.
He reached into his storage bag and pulled out the King Qin Sword, bending his knees slightly to gather strength, then pushing off forcefully.
With this step, the hill beneath his feet cracked and sank, propelling his figure like an arrow straight into the sky.
"Ordinary martial artists cannot fly, yet they dare to take this desperate leap into the sky, simply seeking death," the cultivators of the Yunxiao Sect just sneered.
They quickly grew taller, then each began to use their magic, with flames and lightning flashing again, just like when facing Long Shankong before.
But this time, they were facing Qiao Mu.
On the day they left the palace in the Imperial Capital, Qiao Mu had already mastered the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps to the level of reaching the sky in three steps.
This meant that if he had a place to borrow force from, even a cliff of ten thousand meters would be like level ground to him.
If there was nowhere to borrow force from, he could still step on the empty air and take three steps in midair.
"Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method · Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps!"
Qiao Mu, who had already leaped into the sky, kicked his feet off the ground again, causing ripples in the air beneath his feet.
Boom!
The explosive sound shook the mountains and forests. Qiao Mu’s body was like a blood-red meteor streaking across the sky, heading straight for the clouds.
Below, Long Shankong heard a noise and looked up with wide eyes.
What noise?
Is this their family’s inherited skill? Is this skill called light skill? How can the light skill of flying walls and walking roofs make so much noise?
The same martial arts, in different hands, look completely different.
As Qiao Mu took his second step in the air, his speed increased significantly once again, dodging the attacks of those few magical techniques in an instant and rushing to the front of those few Yunxiao Sect cultivators in the blink of an eye.
"Red Moon Burning Blood Technique! Blood Sword Technique! King Qin Slaughters Six Realms!"
The blood-colored giant sword swept across the sky, the thick sword light as dark as ink burst open a large circle in the sky.
Several Yunxiao Sect cultivators were caught off guard; they had never encountered such a troublesome ordinary martial artist before. In a flash, their bodies were already separated, their headless corpses falling down and crashing into the ground.
Taoist Child Yu Shan, leading the group, summoned a large silver shield of light to block the sword light like blood. He could only save the two cultivators nearest to him in time.
"Who is this fierce martial artist in the world? Are you not human, but a half-demon in human form?" Yu Shan frowned as the bloodied Qiao Mu showed a viciousness even more terrifying than a monster.
"Go solve riddles in the underworld?"
Qiao Mu took another step with his feet, stepping out into thin air for the third time.
With a loud bang, this time he swung the King Qin Sword, charging towards the leading Yu Shan.
"You are overestimating yourself, walking the path of death." Yu Shan’s eyes turned cold as he patted his waist, and in the blink of an eye, a crimson giant tiger covered in cloud patterns leaped out.
"Blaze Cloud Tiger, devour this mixed-blood half-demon."
With a roar that shook the heavens, the crimson giant tiger pounced forward.
Despite having wings on its back, the giant tiger didn’t dodge Qiao Mu’s King Qin Sword, but instead advanced towards him without flinching.
Hiss!
In the midst of a fierce roaring wind, the fierce cloud tiger that pounced was cut into two by Qiao Mu with his King Qin Sword!
However, Qiao Mu frowned, feeling no resistance on his sword, as if he had struck through thin air, or a cloud?
Upon closer look, the halves of the fierce cloud tiger continued their pouncing motion, swirling with the wind, transforming into a red cloud approaching swiftly.
In an instant.
A tiger and a man collided in midair, the huge body of the halved fierce cloud tiger ignited into flames, passing through Qiao Mu’s body.
At the moment of passing through, Qiao Mu felt no physical touch, only as if he had hit a blazing flame.
His whole body was engulfed in red flames, falling down into the woods, stirring up a circle of smoke and dust.
When he stood up again with the King Qin Sword in hand, his entire body was burnt by red flames, especially his right foot which was partially gone, exposing the ankle bone.
"Many styles of cultivators… will be useful for the next time."
Qiao Mu took a deep breath, feeling a sharp pain in his lungs, burning and hurting.
At this moment, a strong meaty smell emitted from him, and a group of monsters around him swarmed towards him.
With only one foot left, he kept swinging the King Qin Sword in his hand, releasing all his energy, continuously cutting and tearing apart the monsters pouncing on him.