Chapter 166: Chapter 126: "Dragon Head Painting
"Move, and you die."
The moment the words were spoken, Gu Qiutang seemed to transform into a stone statue. Even his breathing ceased as he remained perfectly still, frozen in the pose of drawing his saber.
"Bring it on."
The fact that they saw Feng Bei as a monster stirred a strange anger within Zheng Xiu.
At the same time, Zheng Xiu also felt a faint pang of self-reproach.
Feng Bei’s experiences in Baili Village were still vivid in his mind.
If Zheng Xiu hadn’t saved Feng Bei, then none of the events of the past twenty-one years would have transpired.
But Feng Bei was kind by nature. Why should she have to endure such censure?
Why should she be seen as a "monster"?
The atmosphere tensed. Yue Yan was still pondering the deeper meaning of Zheng Xiu’s Backwater Whistle. She had also heard how formidable the Immovable Saber was, so when Gu Qiutang assumed his stance, she didn’t dare make a move. The instant Zheng Xiu finished speaking, he stomped his foot. BOOM! The roof collapsed, and a blast of air carrying shattered tiles shot nearly a hundred feet into the night sky.
Just as expected, the moment Zheng Xiu moved, Gu Qiutang’s figure rippled like a reflection on a disturbed lake before vanishing. He reappeared in an instant, having bizarrely teleported behind Zheng Xiu. A brilliant saber flash erupted, a streak of white light tearing through the darkness like a startling rainbow as it slashed down.
However, Zheng Xiu’s stomp had the force of a raging beast, shattering the roof and destroying the ground beneath it. By the time Gu Qiutang appeared, Zheng Xiu was already falling, leaving Gu Qiutang suspended in mid-air as well. What should have been a killing blow felt rushed amidst the chaos.
The white saber light swept across the Mighty Man’s neck, but the head he expected to see fly did not. Since glimpsing the Path and mastering the Immovable Saber, Gu Qiutang had rarely missed a strike. Yet now, his long saber passed through his opponent’s neck as if through empty air. A chill shot through his heart; he knew the blow had failed to land.
Fortunately, Zheng Xiu had been chatting with Feng Bei before he left, and they had happened to discuss Gu Qiutang’s Miracle Technique. Prepared for this, Zheng Xiu had transformed into his Soul Body in mid-air just before the attack, allowing him to evade the Sword Technique.
"Hah!"
As the saying goes, the prepared have the advantage. Zheng Xiu was a beat faster. The moment the saber passed through his neck, his body solidified with a thought, and he smashed his fist toward Gu Qiutang’s face with all his brutish strength.
At the same time, holding nothing back, he began charging up a Big Move.
[Surprise Cage]!
Zheng Xiu’s stomp had landed like a piece of Siege Equipment smashing into a residential building.
The sheer, unreasoning force of it made both Gu Qiutang and Jun Buxiao freeze for a moment.
Jun Buxiao cried out in shock, "A goddamn Painter? Little Tangtang, did you get him?"
Gu Qiutang was silent. He had already returned to his original position, not off by a single inch, and had resumed his stance.
His Immovable Saber had a secret Restriction.
Only if the first strike drew blood and killed its target could it trigger a Continuous Slash, allowing him to immediately launch a second attack.
But if the first strike failed to draw blood, he would be trapped in an "immovable" state for roughly twenty breaths of time.
The Immovable Saber’s strike was extraordinarily fast, elusive and unpredictable. It was a Miracle Technique that could only be achieved by accepting an incredibly harsh Restriction.
Gu Qiutang stood motionless and unable to speak, the bitterness of his predicament known only to him.
’Damn it!’
When Gu Qiutang didn’t answer, Jun Buxiao’s eyes darted behind his mask. He vaguely sensed his partner’s predicament.
ZING!
CLATTER!
The rubble and shattered wood, blasted high into the air by the vortex from Zheng Xiu’s stomp, now rained down, scattering across the ground. Amidst the chaos, a small gleam of light shot toward Gu Qiutang in a curving arc, like a viper striking.
The light of the blade, sharp as a downy hair, shot straight for him. Still trapped in his immovable state, Gu Qiutang broke out in beads of cold sweat.
As if performing Magic, Jun Buxiao flipped his wrist, revealing several small, round balls held in his palm.
He tossed the balls in front of him. They exploded, bursting into dazzling, multi-colored fireworks.
"Fireworks Show..."
Jun Buxiao’s movements were impossibly fast. Under the shifting light of the exploding fireworks, his shadow split into twelve. He swept his scissor-like weapon behind him, and the twelve shadows rose like phantoms. Their forms deepened in color from faint to dark, and the long, narrow figures stood behind him like a dozen guards.
"DUM DUM DUM! Shadow Puppetry, the Twelve Kitchen Gods!"
Each Shadow Kitchen God stood a hundred feet tall. Jun Buxiao had simply used the light from his Fireworks Show to stretch his shadow before "cutting" them out. At first glance, they were like twelve majestic, awe-inspiring giants.
One of the Shadow Kitchen Gods reached down and lifted Gu Qiutang.
The other eleven Shadow Kitchen Gods passed through Jun Buxiao’s body, forming a wall in front of him.
The small Flying Saber was suddenly enveloped in a swirl of inky light. As it streaked through the air, the light coalesced into a mighty, black ink dragon that soared through the sky as if it were alive.
Jun Buxiao’s expression changed abruptly. "This guy can draw Filthy Qi from the Path! He’s a Mystic, too? Shit! He’s not a Painter!"
But before his shock could subside, something even more astonishing occurred. As the bizarre black ink dragon formed from the Flying Saber twisted and dodged, his twelve Shadow Kitchen Gods seemed to lose control. They were drawn in by the black ink dragon, irresistibly pulled toward it!
It wasn’t just his Miracle Technique; he himself was losing control, raising his scissors and advancing on the Flying Saber of his own accord!
A calm voice cut through the smoke and dust. "Naming it: Dragon Head Painting."
Zheng Xiu emerged from the ruins, his body shrouded in a faint gray mist. He held his right hand in a loose grip, as if clutching a paintbrush.
Gu Qiutang was also being pulled by the black ink dragon. The moment he saw it swimming through the air, he felt as if he were looking at his father’s murderer. An uncontrollable Anger swelled within him, and he instinctively wanted to raise his saber and charge. However, he was still trapped in his "immovable" state when the rage hit, which was the only reason he escaped the dragon’s pull.
