In a dire life-and-death situation, although Sect Master Chen maintained consciousness, his frame was entirely unresponsive to his will.Furthermore, he was besieged by an agonizing torment throughout his body; even the soles of his feet grew numb with a stinging ache.He felt a profound lethargy, as if his very life-breath and vital energy were vanishing from his frame entirely.Suddenly, the Sect Master of the Divine Eagle Sect beheld that shriveled, lifeless visage, with its jet-black eyes sunken deep into their sockets, drawing near.That entity was attempting to press its parched, cracked lips—revealing twisted, yellowed teeth akin to a thousand-year-old dried corpse—against his own!It was a spectacle of absolute horror and sickening revulsion.
While he was struggling for survival in a state of utter hopelessness, the vile demon suddenly recoiled.Simultaneously, a series of swish-swish sounds erupted before Master Chen, as two fire-red short spears were driven deep into the earth!
"Second Brother!" the Sect Master nearly cried out in acclaim, yet he could only manage a raspy whisper from his lips before his frame slumped, prone upon the ground.Gazing after the retreating frame of Yin Zhang—the life-siphoning demon who was once a High Lama—he saw the entity swaying and flitting, using only his two feet to engage in a chaotic struggle against the Vice-Master of the Left, Sikong Fu; the Vice-Master of the Right, Dongmen Yuan; and the Chief Steward, Liang Jingtian.
This malignant demon was far from ordinary; though both his arms had been shattered, he continued to battle the three supreme experts of the Divine Eagle Sect without suffering a disadvantage.To their utter shock, his arms—which had initially hung limp and mangled—gradually restored their condition until, at last, he could wield them once more!It was a feat of truly astounding recovery!
"The lethal Everlasting Life scripture!" Master Chen snorted to himself.Even with only his legs, the demonic Lama fought without being overcome; now that his arms were restored, his power and malignancy multiplied tenfold.Though he did not employ his massive bronze bell and steel chain, his bare palms alone were arduous to withstand.Above all else, they were aware that should any part of their frames touch this demon's body, their vital energy would be ruthlessly siphoned away, making the battle arduous for the three experts.
In particular, the Chief Steward Liang Jingtian, who usually relied on his bare palms in combat, now found it necessary to unveil the true form of his weapon, known as the "God-Shocking Staff"!However, his staff was no long pole as many had surmised; rather, it was a pair of staves, and moreover, a pair that consisted of no wood at all!The armaments known as Liang Jingtian's God-Shocking Staff were, in truth, his writing brush and his scroll of records!
Now, these two writing implements were brandished, whirled, stabbed, and flicked with such miraculous virtuosity that they functioned exactly as a pair of staves.It was believed that across the entire Jianghu, no more than ten individuals could boast a staff technique superior to his.A supreme master often says that a good weapon must be used constantly to ensure familiarity; as these "staves" were almost always upon the Chief Steward's person, he was perfectly adjusted to their weight.When unleashed, they could be adapted to his will, augmenting his awe-inspiring presence to a monumental degree.
Yet, even the miraculous staves of the Divine Eagle Sect's Chief Steward failed to injure Yin Zhang.Furthermore, he was not alone, for a pair of long and short Mother-and-Son Swords and seven fire-red short spears darted and pierced in a blur around Yin Zhang's frame.Though besieged by this phalanx of bizarre weapons from three supreme experts, the demon relied on his spectral stances and his bare hands and feet to parry and deflect the onslaught without suffering the slightest disadvantage.
After a brief moment, the three experts of the Divine Eagle Sect began to sense that something was gravely amiss.A sudden lethargy beset their frames, as if the vital energy within their bodies was gradually evaporating!In truth, throughout the duel, this Lama—who had become an entity neither ghost nor man—had been chanting arcane incantations and siphoning their vital energy (Qi) through the very act of combat.Though the energy was not drained as swiftly as through direct physical contact, it caused the three opponents to grow steadily weaker.
Meanwhile, Yin Zhang's own frame began to grow firm and robust.His shriveled, corpse-like skin began to expand, slowly resembling that of an ordinary living man.The countenance around his cheekbones and brow gradually regained a slow, vibrant vitality.Though the three were peerless experts difficult to match, they had no way to counter such an arcane mystery in so short a season, and they fell further into a disadvantage.
Suddenly, a thunderous shout erupted through the air:"Catch the frog!"
The Right Vice-Master suddenly dropped prostrate to the earth.The Left Vice-Master reached out to seize the Chief Steward's waistband and jerked him down into a prone position.In that instant, the three supreme experts collapsed to the ground, appearing for all the world as if they were truly attempting to "catch a frog"!
Yin Zhang was struck with bewilderment by the sudden change in his three adversaries.Yet his suspicion lasted only for a heartbeat—passing swifter than a spark from a flint—for he realized now why the trio had chosen to "catch the frog!". At that very moment, a Golden Blade tore through the void and struck squarely into the center of his chest!!
A distance away, Sect Master Chen Shuyuan slumped to the earth, gasping for breath.He had just concentrated every ounce of his remaining internal energy, sealing it through his roar and the strength of his arm to hurl the Golden Blade through the air, striking Yin Zhang in that destined moment while the demonic Lama was still dazed by the experts' sudden maneuver.
Yin Zhang recoiled in haste, desperately attempting to wrench the Golden Blade from his frame, but he was already too late.The three supreme experts of the Divine Eagle Sect pounced forward, exerting their full power and armaments upon him without respite.The pair of staves battered, swept, and stabbed, distracting him until he could no longer parry the fire-red short spears that pierced his Dantian below the navel, and two more that struck his shoulders.Even his knees and feet were pinned by four spears, rendering his frame immobile!At the last, Yin Zhang faced the long and short Mother-and-Son Swords as they tore through the void.The long blade skewered his heart, while the short sword was driven into the crown of his head up to its hilt!!
The Lama, whose life had spanned over two centuries, was unable to emit even a single groan from his throat.His frame suddenly shriveled and deflated like a leather ball from which the air had been released.Viscous black blood and foul pus flowed from his form.Thus, the demon Yin Zhang, who had cultivated the technique to prolong his years, met the end of his longevity in such a miserable and wretched state...
"It is finished, you malignant demon!" the Right Vice-Master, Dongmen Yuan, shouted, delivering a kick that sent Yin Zhang's frame hurtling away for four fathoms before it struck the earth.The body convulsed violently several times and then lay still.Only the viscous black blood, carrying a nauseating stench, continued to pool upon the ground...
The three trusted confidants moved forward as one to support the frame of the Sect Master. His two sworn brothers did more than merely support; they embraced him with a profound concern not felt between them for many seasons.Chen Shuyuan rejoiced at having escaped the crisis of the life-siphoning demon, yet he could not help but harbor a lingering regret.He had failed to grasp the secrets of the Everlasting Life scripture Shennu Zhijie, which clearly possessed the power to truly prolong a mortal's lifespan.As no soul knew where the demon Yin Zhang had secreted that divine manual, it was destined to remain a lost legend within the Jianghu.
"This is a terrifying dark art indeed," remarked Dongmen Yuan, the Right Vice-Master, once the company had returned to the sanctuary of the encampment. "Though it grants longevity, the practitioner is reduced to a demon, sustained only by siphoning the vital energy of men!"
"Doubtless, that is why this Arch-fiend concealed himself within the army," the Left Vice-Master interjected."There is no place where one can siphon the life force of others as conveniently as in a territory ravaged by war."
"It is most peculiar," the Chief Steward offered his deliberation. "While the arts of the Tibetan Lamas are bizarre and fraught with arcane terror, the consumption of human life force seems a gross aberration.It is highly probable he practiced an incorrect path, allowing an inner demon to seize his mind until he transformed into such a nauseating monstrosity."Furthermore, the Steward surnamed Liang analyzed that although the Pang-Kunti Finger possesses monumental power, it consists of but a single stance.This suggests it was not intended for combat, but was, in truth, a method to discharge internal energy from the frame.
"Only by emptying the vessel to create a void can one draw in new energy from the natural world," he continued."This circulation corresponds with the laws of Heaven and Earth, resembling water that must flow in and out of a pond to remain fresh and untainted.The cycle of energy between man and nature must be slow and deliberate.Yet some soul conceived a shortcut: instead of the gradual absorption of the vital energy of Heaven and Earth, they chose to siphon the life force of men.Such a perverse method is bound to invite Heavenly Punishment! Thus was he reduced to that wretched state..."
Chen Shuyuan recalled that in that hour, he reclined upon his bed, able only to offer a slow nod and raise a bowl of ginseng broth to his lips.Though he concurred with his three trusted confidants that the technique Yin Zhang employed was a terrifying dark art, it was nonetheless an art capable of miraculously augmenting a mortal's lifespan.That he had failed to master its secrets was a cause of profound regret—a disappointment akin to having a priceless treasure snatched away from before his very eyes.It was an agonizing torment for one who so desperately refused to succumb to his final, waning years...
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