Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Bitter Struggle

The bone chains stretched endlessly.

Bai Zhengliu dodged while seeking another chance to attack. During this time, his mind remained calm, able to think and strategize: since the old ghost mentioned “Elder Changyangzi,” his being sealed beneath Tianshan must have happened before Elder Changyangzi’s death. By this reckoning, it had been at least twenty years.

And if one considers it from the perspective of “Elder Changyangzi coming to Tianshan and founding a sect here,” that period would only be longer, not shorter.

Over so many years, how many living people had the old ghost consumed, and how many bones had he amassed? Bai Zhengliu did not know the answer; he only knew that the bone chains were an extremely difficult weapon. Not only could they move like wriggling snakes under the old ghost’s control, but they could also break apart from the middle and instantly scatter into countless separate bones, attacking him all at once!

“Clang—”

The Twenty-Eight Generals blocked another wave of attacks!

The blade trembled, light radiating brilliantly from above! When it touched the flowing light scattered from the blade’s edge, the bone chains quickly began to decay and dissipate. But Bai Zhengliu did not feel relieved; instead, a new layer of worry arose.

Thanks to Yang Chunyu’s previous explanation, he already understood: the bone chains behaved this way because the spiritual energy from the Twenty-Eight Generals had countered the Yin energy on the chains. But was it really that simple?

When he focused on the hilt, everything became clear.

At the base of the blade, where Bai Zhengliu held the Twenty-Eight Generals, rust spots began to reappear, just like when he faced Meng Niangzi earlier!

Not good!

Bai Zhengliu quickly realized: “This old ghost is deliberately exhausting me and the Twenty-Eight Generals!

“He fears me and my sword, but—”

But at the rate the Twenty-Eight Generals were corroding, Bai Zhengliu might not even reach the old ghost, who was wrapped in layer after layer of bone chains, before facing the scene of his beloved blade shattering!

The swordsman gritted his teeth in secret.

While continuously smashing the bone chains, his gaze swept around.

Behind the layers of chains, he saw Mei Yinghan’s figure.

But Mei Yinghan was also in a precarious situation.

At some point, the wandering spirits that had once ensnared both of them had reappeared. They were not as formidable as the old ghost, but their numbers were overwhelming. They had already realized that Mei Yinghan could not mobilize spiritual energy, relying only on an “ordinary sword” to fight them, which made them increasingly arrogant and reckless.

And their arrogance was not without reason. Without the spiritual energy driven by the Twenty-Eight Generals, all Mei Yinghan could do was protect himself. As for escaping or slaying the wandering spirits, that was utterly impossible.

Realizing this, a faint sense of anxiety rose in Bai Zhengliu’s heart.He lowered his eyes to his sword. Before he could speak, he asked in his heart: “Is there any way to let the spiritual energy you carry help Brother Mei?”… Before he could finish the thought, a gust of violent wind blew toward him. Bai Zhengliu nimbly leapt to the side, avoiding injury from the bone chains that had attacked earlier. Yet the uncut chains remained a clear and present threat. In less than a single breath, Bai Zhengliu heard the familiar sound of wind again.

This time, Bai Zhengliu pushed off with his toes, his body extremely agile as he leapt into the air. Weighing the Twenty-Eight Generals again, he finally chose to counterattack.

Using the momentum from his descent, he decisively struck down at the piled-up bone chains. Even though the bottom was already mottled with rust, the Twenty-Eight Generals still unleashed tremendous force. A surge of light flowed, and the bone chains snapped into fragments, crumbling to dust. The entire process took no more than half a blink of an eye. When his eyelids reopened, the blades of the Twenty-Eight Generals had already touched the ground.

In the darkness, no one noticed the faint, subtle trace that appeared on the ground as a result of Bai Zhengliu’s movement.

He and Mei Yinghan were still locked in a bitter struggle.

It wasn’t until Yang Chunyu arrived that the situation shifted even slightly.

By this time, half of Bai Zhengliu’s long sword was already mottled with rust, and Mei Yinghan was severely injured, even more battered than before the flowing spiritual energy had temporarily healed him.

Yet neither of them showed any change in expression or attitude. Even fighting alone, they pressed forward relentlessly.

They had not communicated, but their intentions were identical: if they truly could not escape from here, at least they would slay a few more evil spirits before closing their eyes, buying General Yang more time. In this way, some people would still be saved. Later, fewer would fall victim.

All in all, news about this place had already been sent out; in the future, no Tianshan disciples or nearby lotus pickers would blunder in. Not exactly a death with no regrets, but at least one worry was laid to rest.

Yang Chunyu found the two in precisely this situation.

Seeing the Tianshan old ghost, her expression first changed.

Then, seeing the condition of Bai and Mei, her expression changed again.

Finally, the female general’s brows furrowed slightly, her gaze falling on a spot on the ground. In her expression was a mix of surprise and delight.

“The Yin energy here already has a crack.” Even before she spoke, the voice rose in the minds of Bai and Mei: “Hold on a little longer! Once I reach the spiritual stone, I will draw the spiritual energy here…”

As the words fell, Yang Chunyu’s figure disappeared once more. Anyone observing the scene would notice that the place where the female general vanished was precisely where Bai Zhengliu’s long sword had left its trace on the ground.

But neither Bai Zhengliu nor Mei Yinghan had the heart to notice such details at this moment.

The two continued their bitter struggle. Worse, at this moment, near Mei Yinghan, wandering spirits finally seized the opportunity to snatch the long sword from the hands of Tianshan’s senior apprentice!

Zhenxing fell to the side with a crisp sound.

Among the wandering spirits, Mei Yinghan’s hands were empty, surrounded on all sides by the dead.

He froze briefly, then lifted his eyes to look toward the direction where his sword had been.In a short moment, Mei Yinghan quickly calculated in his mind: was there a chance to retrieve Zhenxing again—when, at the same time, more wandering spirits attacked.

They fully expected that without a weapon, the living person before them would be easy prey. But they did not anticipate that Mei Yinghan, with a slight bend of his body, would swiftly pick up a segment of a leg bone from the ground!

Even Mei Yinghan himself did not expect it. At this stage, his emotions were still remarkably steady.

Perhaps it was because he had already prepared himself mentally to face death, allowing him to calmly confront everything?

He only hoped for a little more time, a little more endurance… In this mindset, what he held in his hands no longer seemed important. He was a swordsman, and he had also studied blade techniques. Not only that, Tianshan martial arts emphasized the principle of “wholeness.” When swinging the bone forward, he used the “thrust” from the Tianshan Sword Technique; when bringing it down, he applied the “chop” from the Tianshan Blade Technique. After all, all martial skills in the world are ultimately interconnected…

Mei Yinghan felt as if he had returned to the time in his youth when he first learned martial arts.

The teachings of his master and senior uncles were still in his ears. They had told the boy whom Lingbozi had found and who later followed him to learn martial arts: “As long as you have the heart to eliminate evil and uphold justice, no matter whether you use a sword, a blade, or any weapon in the world, your martial skill is Tianshan martial arts! Your actions embody the will of the Tianshan Sect!”

No matter the weapon, it was Tianshan martial arts. As long as he had the heart to save lives and slay chaos, he was a Tianshan disciple, the pride of his master and senior uncles, and the revered senior apprentice of the juniors.

With this thought, Mei Yinghan’s moves grew faster and more fierce.

The bone he picked up earlier broke? No matter! He could simply pull in a wandering spirit to block for him!

The wandering spirit broke free? No matter! When he first pulled it, Mei Yinghan had already calculated the next few steps. Using the momentum to push it away and block several more strikes, he drew a firewood-cleaving knife from the waist of a nearby lotus-collecting ghost.

What if even the firewood-cleaving knife broke?

Still no matter!

The inclusiveness and versatility of Tianshan martial arts manifested tenfold in Mei Yinghan at this moment. Even if his hands were truly empty, he still had palm techniques and fist techniques. Even a small stone on the ground, if he picked it up, could become a deadly hidden weapon.

Thus, Mei Yinghan persisted, persisted… until finally, he heard a voice: “Brother Mei.”

It was Bai Zhengliu!

Long before Mei Yinghan’s sword flew out, Bai Zhengliu had noticed the danger he was in. But Bai Zhengliu himself was also in difficulty. Constantly blocking and striking left his shoulders numb and aching. Though he did not bear visible wounds like Mei Yinghan, he had accumulated many hidden injuries. In such a state, even if he wished to help, he was powerless.

But Mei Yinghan did not give up. Even empty-handed, he battled the wandering spirits for a long time. Naturally, Bai Zhengliu would not give up either. He kept scanning the surroundings, and finally, when his gaze fell on the body of the Tianshan old ghost, his eyes lit up!

The swordsman saw the long weapon piercing through the old ghost’s body.

As he drew closer, Bai Zhengliu realized clearly: it was also a sword, pinning the old ghost’s body to the stone wall below.

In a flash of insight, Bai Zhengliu pieced together all the information he had heard before.

The head spirit had said the old ghost was “unable to move” and “had never been seen to shift positions.” Yang Chunyu had murmured about “Mr. Changyangzi,” then suddenly realized this was where the elder had founded the sect. Most importantly, when the old ghost mentioned “Old Changyangzi,” the tone carried a depth of hatred that could not be ignored.Bai Zhengliu had the answer in his mind.

He seemed to see many years ago, when the New Dynasty was first established, countless demon-people still roamed outside, disguising themselves as Taoists.

Changyangzi had chased one of them to Tianshan. After a bitter struggle, it ended with Changyangzi narrowly victorious. But in the end, he did not slay the demon; instead, with a single sword and the spiritual ores and stones across the mountain, he suppressed it here—

As for why everyone in Tianshan knew nothing of these details…

Lingyunzi had once said that on the night Elder Changyangzi departed, he had a brief moment of clarity. At that time, he had held his disciple’s hand and said he had forgotten something important.

At the time, they thought he meant the past of receiving a sword from an immortal, but now, could it have been about the old ghost?

Author’s Note:

Summon your courage and go to the office to face the (definitely) ruined little cake =口=