Chapter 136: Night Parade of a Hundred Demons

Yet in the next instant, the two streams of inner force, as incompatible as water and fire, erupted into an even more violent collision.

Boom!

The terrifying impact made Yang Xing’s mind tremble.

His entire dantian had become a battlefield.

The two streams of inner force twisted and collided without end, even tearing into one another as though they meant to rip his body apart.

He clutched his chest in agony. His face had gone pale, and cold sweat poured down his brow.

Everyone knew that the more cultivation arts one practiced, the greater the inner force one could amass. Yet masters who practiced several cultivation arts were exceedingly rare.

Aside from the time such training required, there was another reason: inner force possessed an extremely powerful repulsive nature and was difficult to reconcile.

Once two currents of inner force collided within the body, the consequences could range from serious injury to cultivation deviation and madness.

Within the Four Absolutes Sect, no small number of masters had died beneath the collision of two different currents of inner force.

That was why, when Huang Zhen discovered that Yang Xing was practicing the Azure Dragon Classic, he had tried to dissuade him.

Now, within the Four Absolutes Sect, only the sect master, Xi Yanzheng, practiced two cultivation arts.

The two currents possessed different attributes. At that moment, they interwove and coiled together inside Yang Xing’s body, sending a searing agony through every inch of him.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Yang Xing tried to regulate his breathing, but his body had already slipped beyond his control. Even his heartbeat had become rapid and erratic.

All he could do was watch helplessly as his body grew weaker and weaker beneath the assault of the two currents.

Suddenly, a strange power emerged.

It welled up from the deepest part of his body, then enveloped the two streams of inner force.

Under the influence of that mysterious power, the two currents gradually calmed, no longer colliding with each other.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Yang Xing’s breathing slowly steadied, and his body ceased to tremble.

He felt his body grow lighter. Within his dantian, the two streams of inner force that had only moments ago been locked in a life-or-death struggle had miraculously become utterly harmonious.

“Did I succeed?”

A glimmer appeared in Yang Xing’s eyes.

At that moment, the Black Tortoise inner force and Azure Dragon inner force within his body were, in terms of depth alone, already no weaker than the core-force of a master who had broken through four of the primary meridians.

As he opened more and more primary meridians in the future, his inner force would grow increasingly profound.

“If I were to practice the Vermilion Bird Classic and the White Tiger Classic as well…”

The thought stirred something within Yang Xing.

If he practiced all four cultivation arts at once, then among those of the same realm, almost no one could possess inner force deeper than his. Add in his body-hardening techniques, and his strength would advance by leaps and bounds.

“But I cannot rush this matter.”

After resting for a while, Yang Xing took some dry provisions from his bundle and began to eat.

Night was as thick as ink in a stone mortar, its darkness too deep to dissolve.

At the mountain pass known as First Glimpse of Sky, the wind wailed mournfully.

Boom!

A thunderclap reverberated across Jade River Mountain.

“It’s going to rain.”

Yang Xing looked toward the night sky, his brows drawing tightly together.

Before long, a single raindrop drifted down.

Then the rain began to lash Jade River Mountain. Raindrops filled the heavens, hurtling downward like thousands upon thousands of sharp arrows, unstoppable and carrying immense force.

The flowers, grasses, and trees upon the ground struggled in the storm, clinging to the earth in one final effort to survive.

Across Jade River Mountain, lightning crisscrossed the sky like golden serpents dancing. The rain became sharper, harsher, and more merciless.

Beneath that curtain of rain, the entire world seemed to blur and fade.

“Run!”

At that moment, a strange disturbance suddenly came from the distance. Yang Xing leaped through the air and landed in the forest not far from First Glimpse of Sky.

Even beneath the torrential rain, several bodies could still be seen lying on the ground.

Their deaths had been惨烈— their faces still frozen in expressions of terror.

Blood mingled with the rain and gathered into thin streams that wound down the mountain.

Yang Xing glanced at the clothing on the corpses and frowned.

“These are masters from the Everlasting Escort Agency and the Emerald Water Sect…”

The Everlasting Escort Agency was one of the three great escort agencies in River Prefecture and possessed many skilled fighters. The Emerald Water Sect was likewise a fairly well-known sect. Yet at that moment, the bodies of all those experts lay scattered upon the ground.

Not far away, two groups of martial artists were locked in combat.

One side consisted of disciples of the Heavenly River Sect. At their head stood a white-haired old woman, with four or five disciples gathered around her.

Opposing them were four tall, powerfully built men.

They wielded spears, sabers, and cudgels, while their arms bore tattoos of tigers, leopards, wolves, and bears. Their faces were filled with murderous resolve.

None of the four was weak. Two of them had even reached the middle Core Force stage.

The man with the tiger tattoo sneered viciously.

“Submit obediently, and I’ll guarantee you all a complete corpse!”

Though the disciples of the Heavenly River Sect had fallen into a disadvantageous position, indignation still burned across their faces.

Within the space of a few breaths, two of them had already fallen.

One disciple hurriedly called out to the old woman, “Elder Mei, we can’t hold on much longer! What should we do?”

“Break through! I’ll cover your retreat!”

The old woman drew a deep breath and roared, “Save as many as you can! We must never forget today’s grudge. One day, you must restore the Heavenly River Sect’s former glory!”

With that, inner force surged wildly from her body, and she single-handedly held back three of the four opponents.

“Charge!”

The disciples of the Heavenly River Sect were stirred to the blood. Their attacks grew fiercer, while the old woman fought back with all she had. For a time, they actually carved open a path.

“Go!”

The disciples seemed to glimpse the hope of survival and desperately rushed through the opening.

“Go on! I’ll cover the rear!”

The old woman hurled the bundle in her hand toward the disciples of the Heavenly River Sect, her face calm and resolute in the face of death.

“Elder Mei!”

The disciples were all visibly moved.

Only in the space between life and death could true devotion be revealed.

The old woman held back the onslaught and shouted angrily, “Enough talk! Get moving!”

“Go!”

With death pressing close, the disciples of the Heavenly River Sect could spare no thought for anything else. Clutching the bundle, they fled into the distance.

“Hm?”

Yang Xing’s attention was drawn to the bundle.

The people of the Heavenly River Sect valued it so highly.

Could it contain some priceless treasure?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as Yang Xing was about to pursue them, three groups of experts suddenly burst from the forest in the distance and swiftly charged toward the disciples of the Heavenly River Sect.

A sharp light flashed through the old woman’s eyes. Inner force surged through her body, and with a single palm strike she forced back the opponent before her. Then her movement suddenly accelerated as she flew toward the fleeing disciples.

The four men exchanged glances.

“After them!”

The man with the tiger tattoo did not hesitate. With a low shout, he sprinted after the disciples of the Heavenly River Sect.

Watching the scene unfold, Yang Xing narrowed his eyes to slits.

“So that’s how it is…”

What he was witnessing was merely a reflection of the whole of Jade River Mountain.

This place was like a dark forest. No one cared any longer about the alliance between the Heavenly River Sect and the Return-to-Origin Cult. Every person here was a hunter, lurking in the shadows. The moment someone carrying wealth was discovered, there was only one thing to do:

Kill the others and seize their possessions.

Feeling the murderous atmosphere surrounding him, Yang Xing unconsciously touched the ghost-headed saber in his hand. The blood in his veins began to boil.

Amid the torrential rain, a hundred ghosts seemed to roam the night—and someone mingling among them was happier than any ghost of all.

...