Outside the paper sedan chair in which Xu Qing was riding, there were little ghosts holding skulls, using them as begging bowls, blocking his sedan chair to demand passage money.
At that moment, Xu Qing couldn't even distinguish if these were poor ghosts or highway ghosts. If not for their terrifying and hideous appearances, he might have thought he had returned to the mundane world.
A thought flickered in Xu Qing's mind, and the Straw Spirit Paperman took out a basket made of paper, scattering paper money to the sides of the street to clear the way.
"Which master has arrived? So generous with their spending?"
"Who knows, but for someone to be so ostentatious, it must not be an ordinary person."
Inside the sedan chair, Xu Qing held the sword given to him by Zuo Zixiong, sensing the opponent's position.
As for the chatter of the little ghosts outside the sedan chair, he paid no mind.
The Ancient Yin River Dao was indeed perilous for him, but such danger was based on Xu Qing's potential foes being multi-calamitous Ghost Kings, Yin Corrosion Law Kings, or even bound by the Ghost Law.
These were already the top forces on the periphery of the Yin River, while those hiding in the withered bone post were merely some insignificant lackeys.
Following the guidance of the Treasure Sword, Xu Qing searched all the way until he stopped in front of a broken boundary monument.
Not far from the monument, there was a temple constructed of white bones.
Above the temple, there hung a slightly crooked signboard.
Xu Qing stepped down from the paper sedan chair and looked up, seeing mysterious characters spelling out 'Demon Exorcism True Monarch' in four bold strokes.
"These characters have quite an artistic mood, even a master of calligraphy wouldn't do any better..."
Xu Qing entered the small temple, where inside there was enshrined a deity statue with an extremely fierce appearance.
The statue had a leopard head with ring eyes, an iron face with bristling beard, a countenance as if made of dark iron, and a mouth full of sharp teeth seemingly capable of devouring evil spirits.
Xu Qing's gaze shifted downward; despite such a fierce appearance, the statue was dressed in a red robe, wearing a black gauze cap, and clad in black boots, looking quite like an official.
"Demon Exorcism True Monarch, hideous face, clad in official attire, holding a Ghost-slaying Treasure Sword..."
Xu Qing had already understood which divine presence this temple was enshrining.
"Strange, when Five Shadows Daoist was in the Yin Corpse Sect, the deity they obtained was True Monarch of the Dragon and Tiger Altar, but here is a temple for Demon Exorcism True Monarch."
Xu Qing shook his head, dispelling his distracting thoughts, then turned to look at the corpses strewn crookedly in the Incense Hall.
These were the Divine Strategy Camp soldiers who had followed Zuo Zixiong to the Yin River.
Leaving the Straw Spirit Paperman to collect the corpses in the hall, Xu Qing then passed through the bone temple, arriving at the cliff behind the temple.
As soon as he arrived, Xu Qing saw Zuo Zixiong fighting bitterly with the Celestial Heart Sect demon bare-handed.
Qiu Yunlong, the Absolute Soldier, was adept at using a pair of golden split claws, which specifically disabled weapons; the twin swords and blades Zuo Zixiong carried on his back, as well as the original ones in his hands, had all been drawn into the abyss below by Qiu Yunlong.
Bereft of weaponry advantage, Zuo Zixiong's combat power was greatly reduced, but this also thoroughly unleashed his ferocity.
As a general with a hundred battles, it was a fight to the death.
On the cliff, Zuo Zixiong used his body as a weapon, fearlessly confronting the enemy, each move reckless and desperate.
Qiu Yunlong, fearing his ferocity, did not dare confront him, so he let Sun Faping, who had perfected his martial arts, step forward to face the enemy.
Sun Faping was born with a corpulent body like a pig, and in his early years was taught an Exotic Technique by a Western Regions monk, called "Great Non-Form Skill."
Faced with the fierce energy strikes from Zuo Zixiong, not only was Sun Faping unharmed, but he could also reflect all that energy back, rendering Zuo's countless tactics ineffective at causing him the slightest harm.
Conversely, Zuo Zixiong, as his palms and fists approached Sun Faping's body, felt as if they were sinking into the ocean, causing the rebound of several times the force, which disrupted Zixiong's qi and blood and disordered his meridians; the momentum he had built for this desperate battle also stagnated.
If nothing unexpected happened, today, outside the withered bone post, would be Zuo Zixiong's grave.
However, just at this critical moment, Zuo Zixiong suddenly heard a shout from behind him.
"General Zuo, catch the sword!"
Zuo Zixiong withdrew, as the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind, and in the midst of dodging and weaving, he caught the rapidly shooting Treasure Sword into his hands.
Not having the chance to look back at who lent him the sword, as Zuo Zixiong caught the sword mid-air, he had already unsheathed the sharp blade.
From the side, Qiu Yunlong, who had been marshaling the formation, snorted with a sneer, "With me, Qiu Yunlong, here, what use is borrowing more weapons?"
In the distance, Xu Qing glanced at the big-bellied Sun Faping, then at Qiu Yunlong, the Absolute Soldier, who wore a pair of red cloud claws on his hands, seemingly getting the upper hand against Zuo Zixiong's weapons due to this exotic treasure.
Xu Qing smiled, saying, "General Zuo, leave that big-bellied man to you, as for this iron-clawed wolf, let me take care of him."
Qiu Yunlong laughed heartily, "My red cloud claws are refined from red cloud gold essence lent by a real person, made specifically to counter weapons, never missing its mark, what will you fight me with?"
Xu Qing raised a hand to dust his sleeves, smiling equally, "Counter weapons? What if I don't use weapons?"
"..."
Qiu Yunlong's gaze fell on Xu Qing's empty hands, hesitating for a moment, he scoffed, "Even a master without a weapon wouldn't dare to face my red cloud claws bare-handed! Where do you get the confidence to brave this?"
Xu Qing glanced sideways at Zuo Zixiong, and when the latter was tangled with Sun Faping in battle, he suddenly stood up and, in the blink of an eye, was in front of Qiu Yunlong.
At that moment, the distance between them was only a span.
Qiu Yunlong was shocked and hastily raised both claws, trying to create some distance.
However, the next moment.
He then saw a pair of sharp claws also extending from Xu Qing's hand.
And they appeared even more sinister than his own Chiyun Claws.
Just as Qiu Yunlong was about to raise his hand to employ his proud weapon control technique to restrain Xu Qing, he unexpectedly found that his ever-successful Chiyun Claws were unable to block the opponent's control over weapons.
"This isn't a weapon!"
Qiu Yunlong was horrified!
Xu Qing grinned and with a swift motion of his corpse claws, he severed Qiu Yunlong's arms, along with the Chiyun Claws.
"Weaponless? Is this exotic treasure of yours not a weapon?"
In a flash, Xu Qing had already removed the proud weapon of the undefeated Weaponless Envoy.
Finally, Xu Qing reached out and picked up the fallen Chiyun Claws from Qiu Yunlong and thrust them backward into his chest.
Kill the man, strike the heart!
Qiu Yunlong's eyes widened, dying with his eyes open.
On the other side, Zuo Zixiong, having gained the sword, his momentum surged, and no matter how powerful Sun Faping's Great Wu Xiang Skill was, he couldn't withstand the repeated slicing of sharp weapons.
Zuo Zixiong seized the opportunity, gathering all his energy into one spot, and this sword at this moment showed the demeanor of a master.
When the sword strike longer than a zhang swept past, Sun Faping's bulging "Big Stomach Technique" instantly had a bloody hole.
As his belly deflated, his head rolled with the sword light.
Even in death, Sun Faping's eyes widened, as if disbelieving that his ever-victorious demonic skills were defeated by someone less than a master.
With the dust settled, Zuo Zixiong, exhausted, braced himself on the sword, kneeling on one knee, panting heavily like a bellows.
Looking back, he saw Xu Qing squatting beside the corpse, not a hint of flush or breathlessness as he played with Qiu Yunlong's Fire Cloud Claws, just like teasing dead ants!
Zuo Zixiong gasped for air as he came beside Xu Qing, sat down on the spot, and asked, "How did you break his Chiyun Claws?"
Xu Qing reached out, throwing Qiu Yunlong's arms to Zuo Zixiong, saying, "Return the favor in kind."
"His weapon is his weapon when it's in his hands, but as long as I hold his hand, then his weapon becomes my weapon."
Zuo Zixiong was dumbfounded and raised his head.
He looked at Xu Qing, who was spouting nonsense, and then at Qiu Yunlong, whose chest was pierced by Chiyun Claws.
It took a while before he spoke, "I see."
"Alright, if General Zuo has no other matters, you should leave Ancient Yin River quickly!"
"I am here at the behest of the Eight Banner Marshals to persuade you to leave."
Zuo Zixiong was silent for a moment, clasped his fists, and said, "Thank you, brother, for the rescue, but I cannot leave yet!"
"Why?"
Looking back, he saw Xu Qing squatting beside the corpse, not a hint of flush or breathlessness as he played with Qiu Yunlong's Fire Cloud Claws, just like teasing dead ants!
Zuo Zixiong gasped for air as he came beside Xu Qing, sat down on the spot, and asked, "How did you break his Chiyun Claws?"
Xu Qing reached out, throwing Qiu Yunlong's arms to Zuo Zixiong, saying, "Return the favor in kind."
"His weapon is his weapon when it's in his hands, but as long as I hold his hand, then his weapon becomes my weapon."
Zuo Zixiong was dumbfounded and raised his head.
He looked at Xu Qing, who was spouting nonsense, and then at Qiu Yunlong, whose chest was pierced by Chiyun Claws.
It took a while before he spoke, "I see."
"Alright, if General Zuo has no other matters, you should leave Ancient Yin River quickly!"
"I am here at the behest of the Eight Banner Marshals to persuade you to leave."
Zuo Zixiong was silent for a moment, clasped his fists, and said, "Thank you, brother, for the rescue, but I cannot leave yet!"
"Why?"