Chapter 717: Chapter 73: Mechanical Corruption
Su Changxing held the revolver, firing repeatedly at the mechanical body, blasting it into four or five pieces of varying sizes, gears scattering all over the ground.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, feeling the old monk’s life force rapidly draining away.
Before this, he truly didn’t dare to relax; any mistake could have led to a completely different outcome.
In fact, if the old monk had been a bit more cautious, Su Changxing wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.
But who could have thought that disease could corrode even a mechanical body?
Su Changxing spat out a mouthful of fresh blood again, the endless sound of Buddhist scriptures in his ears made him uneasy. He covered his mouth as if he was about to vomit something out.
A bloody, rusty gear appeared in his hand.
He panted heavily, staring at the object in his hand, "What is this?"
Why did this thing come out of his mouth? It looked very much like the gears inside the old monk’s body, just rusted.
He held the revolver, walking towards the direction of the old monk’s head. After a few steps, he found his limbs becoming slow, as if rusted, with squeaky noises accompanying every move.
Suddenly.
He saw a strange smile appear on the old monk’s face. His heart sank as he pushed through the uncomfortable sensation of grinding joints, continuing forward, revolver in hand, aiming at the old monk’s head, "You’re still arrogant!"
Boom～
As the life force ebbed away, the old monk’s defenses noticeably weakened, and this bullet completely pierced through his skull, leaving a big hole.
Inside the hole were still gears, along with some blood seeping out, and a small mass of writhing flesh that resembled a brain.
What was astonishing.
The brain, with its constant writhing, emitted a strange sound, the frequency and rhythm identical to the old monk’s chanting of Buddhist scriptures earlier.
Su Changxing realized this was probably the old monk’s true form, immediately raising his gun and firing again. With the burst of sparks, that mass of flesh was utterly shattered.
The old monk still wasn’t dead, but his life force became even weaker. The incessant chanting of the Buddhist scriptures continued to revolve around his ears, even though his entire head had already been obliterated by Su Changxing.
"Lingering ghost, just die already!"
Su Changxing, increasingly agitated by the chanting, fired several shots at the mechanical body on the ground.
Yet the sound of the chanting did not disappear, echoing in his ears, not too loud, nor too quiet, just audible, like a dreamlike murmur.
Su Changxing gritted his teeth, realizing for some reason he was a bit panicked, pressed the gun muzzle against his thigh, and pulled the trigger. As the blood spattered, the intense pain finally calmed him down somewhat.
He looked further away, seeing firelight flickering in the darkness, and a large number of monks running down from Magpie Mountain, surrounding him, following the direction of the gunshots.
He couldn’t stay any longer; he had to leave.
Regardless of whether the old monk was dead or not, he had to go, or else the situation could become even more complicated when those monks closed in.
He wasn’t far from Magpie Mountain Temple now, and there might be a Tier Four Extraordinary hiding within the temple.
He had to be cautious.
Su Changxing bent down to pick up the Buddhist beads on the old monk and that tattered cloth bag, then limped and hobbled his way back.
The more he ran.
The more audible became the sound of mechanical parts clashing against each other on him, and his speed also slowed significantly.
He was certain that there were gears turning within his flesh, but he didn’t know in what form.
These Tier Five Extraordinary’s should not be underestimated; even if he won, they would still take a hefty bite out of him.
Su Changxing noticed that some of his abilities were also unusable: White Feather Flashing, Phantom, Lightning and such, all the abilities to evade and escape were unusable; instead, the bell he brought back from the Land of Slaughter was still usable.
The strength of those monks was also not weak. They quickly discovered the already deceased Abbot and the limping Su Changxing escaping and began pursuing them.
Su Changxing pulled a white cane out of the Pocket Galaxy, his movement speed suddenly increased quite a bit, another mysterious item obtained from the Land of Slaughter.
He initially thought it wouldn’t be of much use but didn’t expect it to come in handy now.
[Ivory Walking Staff: B crown, Upper Rank, a walking staff made from the bone of a Heinous Elephant, enhances the wielder’s speed using the power of the wind, +30% straight-line movement speed, +10% agility.]
As Su Changxing ran forward, the clanking of gears and the chanting of Buddhist scriptures continued to echo in his ears. Gradually, half of his body went stiff, as if it were a rusted machine that could no longer move.
Even so, his speed kept slowing down, and quickly, a monk wielding a staff was catching up, yelling, "He’s here!"
Su Changxing held the gun, firing backwards, taking the monk down swiftly and silently.
The bullet pierced through, silently tearing through the monk’s head.
Only, that monk’s shout had revealed his position.
Immediately.
More monks surrounded the area, and an arrow flew by his ear, embedding itself in the ground.
A beam of Buddhist light pierced through his body from afar.
Instantly, he felt his body grow heavier, his speed slowed until he came to a complete stop.
A golden wooden staff shot out from the darkness, penetrating his chest where his heart was, spurting out a large amount of blood.
Su Changxing clutched the wooden staff that pierced his chest with both hands, standing motionless, looking at those monks, spitting out another mouthful of blood, with a cold smile, "If you’re not afraid to die, come on!"
Of course.
No monk feared him here, rushing forward one by one wielding various weapons, clubs, swords, firearms.
Quickly, Su Changxing’s body was dismembered, blood everywhere, body parts scattered all around.
"This is not him!"
"He’s still escaping!"
Someone noticed something amiss, the body parts on the ground were clearly pieces from different people’s bodies, seemingly a highly sophisticated false identity.
Right then, the body parts on the ground exploded, the fragments of flesh blasted into powder, scattering everywhere, on the ground, on the grass, on the trees, on their faces, hands, feet.
"Damn it!"
They immediately pursued forward again, with their own Abbot dead at the foot of the mountain, letting the murderer go was not an option.
This was no longer just a matter of pride but of being humiliated.
Every face was filled with rage, feeling humiliated, as if the person was mocking them, using such despicable tricks.
At this moment.
Su Changxing, wielding the walking staff, hobbled along the road, moving slower and slower, and a gear-like object appeared at the wound on his foot.
His body was being corrupted by an unknown force, even after all this time, the sound of chanting scriptures lingered in his ears.
The sound made him want to tear his body apart, to find the source of the sound.
[Mechanical Corruption: Your body has been corrupted by an unknown power...]
"Old bald donkey, only skilled in such underhanded tricks, no wonder your Buddha nature isn’t pure,"
Su Changxing cursed harshly.
Meanwhile.
He still calmly headed towards the exit, the only path he could take.
He sat in a meditative pose with one hand.
As the pure Buddha light shone, a massive Ancient Buddha appeared behind him, eight heads, thirty-six arms, turning to gaze at the monks who were closing in.
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