Chapter 43: Nine-Headed Snake (Part 3)

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The sharp blade edge traced an arc, slashing down urgently beneath the tree shade. The cold moonlight couldn’t penetrate under the trees, but it could illuminate Lu Hai’s figure as he pounced fiercely.

As the blade rose, the second stone in Xu Yan’s hand flew out simultaneously.

The first stone was a test; the second stone was his full effort.

“Flying Locust!”

A violent shout accompanied the blade wind – flying like a locust, swift as lightning!

Lu Hai could indeed confirm Xu Yan’s position, but he couldn’t see Xu Yan’s posture clearly. When he struck with his blade, the little Taoist under the tree shade was making a running gesture, his right arm bent behind his body, waiting for him to strike with full force.

The distance of just two zhang made Lu Hai completely confident in this strike. He had just blocked the other’s stone – that kind of force was indeed shocking, but in the eyes of an innate martial artist, it wasn’t much. An innate first-meridian martial artist striking with full force could even crack stone monuments with one blow.

Confidence in his own strength finally made Lu Hai pay a heavy price. The moment he raised his blade and pounced, he heard a wind-breaking sound several times more piercing than the previous stone, and heard the little Taoist’s violent shout. Before his eyes, a black line shot toward him like lightning.

“Ah!”

While crying out in alarm, Lu Hai used all his strength to tilt his head, trying to avoid the sudden stone. The innate martial artist’s abilities were pushed to their limit at this moment.

Making evasive movements while pouncing was extremely difficult. Lu Hai ultimately avoided his head, but his nose couldn’t escape.

Smack!!!

In the muffled sound, a cloud of blood mist suddenly appeared, and several bone fragments flew apart.

Xu Yan’s full-force Flying Locust struck Lu Hai’s nose directly. It didn’t just collapse his nasal bridge but completely destroyed his entire nose, directly shattering the nasal bone.

The first style of the Three Flying Stone Techniques, Flying Locust, had the ability to pierce a willow leaf at a hundred paces. If Xu Yan threw a Flying Locust with full force from a hundred paces away, never mind piercing through a willow leaf – it could directly smash into a tree trunk. If the tree’s thickness didn’t exceed the size of a bowl’s mouth, the stone Xu Yan threw from a hundred paces could pass straight through the tree!

One Flying Locust stone, and the Third Chief’s nose was simply gone.

With a howling scream, Lu Hai covered his nose and rolled over, falling directly to the ground.

Smashing the nose wasn’t fatal. With an innate martial artist’s strong physique, he wouldn’t fall from this. Lu Hai deliberately tumbled because Xu Yan’s strike had greatly alarmed him. Falling to the ground was to dodge and hide.

Lu Hai in the wild grass had his entire face contorted with pain. He endured the severe pain and made no sound except for that initial howl. His two bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Xu Yan’s position through the grass blades.

Being injured was nothing; losing his nose was nothing either. At this moment, Nine-Headed Snake’s hatred had already flared. He not only wanted to kill Xu Yan but also wanted to dismember that little Taoist!

The area under the tree shade became quiet, with cold killing intent permeating the surroundings.

The reason Xu Yan decided to make his move here was because the time had come – the Yuan Mountain bandits must have begun succumbing to poison. He needed to quickly return to support Mei Sanniang. Moreover, the large tree overhead was extremely dense. Xu Yan in the darkness could make his Flying Locust unavoidable.

Gently crouching down, Xu Yan half-squatted under the tree, staring fixedly at the patch of grass where Lu Hai had fallen. The soreness and numbness from his right arm made his brow furrow tightly.

Casually thrown stones were fine – Xu Yan could throw many, like the stones that hit wild rabbits. He could throw dozens in succession. But a full-force Flying Locust would make Xu Yan’s arm sore and numb once, and a second time would injure his tendons and bones.

The amazingly powerful flying stones weren’t something a half-grown child could easily throw. After all, Xu Yan was only fifteen now, his body not yet fully grown. When the old Taoist taught him this set of Three Flying Stone Techniques, he had strictly forbidden excessive use – at least until adulthood before he could throw them continuously.

The hand gripping the stone changed to his left hand. Xu Yan quietly stared at the nearby grass patch. He had no retreat left. If he didn’t eliminate Nine-Headed Snake, he himself would become increasingly dangerous.

After more than an hour of fleeing, even with Xu Yan’s excellent constitution, he was already exhausted. The little Taoist of Riding Cloud Temple wasn’t afraid of fatigue, but physical exhaustion would affect life-and-death combat.

Rustle!

The grass blades rolled, and something flew out to one side. Xu Yan’s stone followed, directly hitting the black shadow with a crisp sound.

It turned out to be a stone larger than a fist.

Rustle!

Again a black shadow flew out from another side. Xu Yan’s stone followed closely, and this time he hit a shoe.

Rustle!

The fierce and malevolent Lu Hai, after throwing objects in succession, pounced over with his whole body. This time he held his blade with both hands, his face without a nose looking as hideous as an evil ghost, while his mouth let out a deafening roar.

After consecutively causing the other to throw stones twice, Lu Hai determined that Xu Yan’s hands were now empty. Taking advantage of the other’s time to grab stones, he finally found his opportunity. Combined with his violent shout that could cause brief shock in his opponent, Lu Hai was completely confident in this attack.

“Flying Locust!”

Lu Hai, who had just pounced from the grass, heard a low roar from the darkness while shouting violently. The other’s voice wasn’t loud, but hearing it in Lu Hai’s ears was like a fierce tiger’s roar.

He still has stones?

Impossible!

Smack!!!

A hard stone struck Lu Hai right in the face, hitting between his eyebrows. His brow bone instantly shattered.

Broken bones were manageable, but once the brow bone shattered, a person’s two eyes would suffer. Lu Hai, in mid-pounce, only felt his vision go black – he couldn’t see anything.

The renewed severe pain made Lu Hai drop his long blade and fall to the ground clutching his face. This time he truly fell – he could no longer pretend.

“Ah!!! My eyes!!!”

The figure rolling under the tree let out pig-like wails. Bone fragments had pierced into Lu Hai’s eyeballs. That kind of pain – never mind a first-meridian innate martial artist, even second or third meridian couldn’t withstand it.

Xu Yan, with both arms hanging down, silently moved his feet toward where the steel blade had fallen.

The stone and shoe Lu Hai threw were meant to attract Xu Yan’s stones. He had indeed succeeded, but had also fallen into his opponent’s trap.

Objects thrown in the dark night could confuse ordinary people, but couldn’t confuse Xu Yan, who was staring intently with his left eye. That stone and shoe – Xu Yan had seen them clearly long ago.

The two stones were casually thrown by Xu Yan with his sore right hand. Since Lu Hai wanted to confuse him, he went along with the plan and confused Lu Hai in return. The stone gripped in his left hand had never moved. Only when Lu Hai burst from the grass did Xu Yan use his left arm to throw the second Flying Locust with full force, destroying the other’s eyes with one strike.

“I’m going to kill you! Little bastard, I’m going to kill you!”

Struggling to get up wildly, Lu Hai groped around, his arms swinging with whooshing sounds. Even without a blade, he was still a first-meridian innate martial artist. If he could grab Xu Yan with his bare hands, he could still avenge his destroyed eyes.

Like a madman, Nine-Headed Snake wildly grabbed under the tree. He touched the tree trunk and punched out, leaving a fist print on the large tree.

“Come here! Xu Yan, if you have guts, come here! I’m going to kill you!”

The wildly groping footsteps stopped the next moment. Lu Hai felt something ice-cold pressed against his chest.

That should be a blade tip.

“Ha, hahahaha!” The blind Lu Hai laughed wildly and stepped forward. The blade tip directly pierced through his skin, and blood seeped out.

“Kill me, come kill me!” Lu Hai roared like an evil ghost: “Come kill me!”

While roaring angrily, Lu Hai’s feet kept adjusting his position. He needed to confirm the blade handle’s direction, so he didn’t hesitate to deliberately let the blade tip pierce his chest. His angry roar was also to frighten that half-grown child, because only this way could he grab the steel blade and kill that little Taoist with one strike.

Just as Lu Hai finally determined the blade handle’s position and prepared to seize the blade, this Third Chief of Yuan Mountain Stronghold, Nine-Headed Snake, heard the most ruthless cold words he had ever heard in his life.

“Very well.”

Thud!!!

Without any hesitation, the steel blade in Xu Yan’s hand didn’t even tremble as it pierced directly into Lu Hai’s chest and came out through his back.

Pigs aren’t afraid of being frightened.