Chapter 1343: Chapter 865: The Tenth Protector (Part 3)
Just as he had anticipated, the Bone Burning Taoist was exceedingly arrogant. After confirming Song Ziming’s presence, he had no intention of escaping, preparing instead to kill all three of them together.
One must know that Yang Xiao and his group had three Ghost-level Apostles stationed, and Sui’s level of spiritual power was not inferior to that of the Bone Burning Taoist.
Without asking any pointless names, the Bone Burning Taoist rushed over and struck down with a rod, holding a pale human thigh bone, which seemed to be his Magic Artifact.
With one strike down, the Fierce Level Apostle he hit didn’t even manage to scream, collapsing directly to the ground, his body twisting like mud, as if his bones had completely dissolved.
This thigh bone was very long, at least one and a half times the length of a normal adult, clearly irregular.
Then another swing was made, hitting the head of another person, and in the next second, that man’s head caved in, eyeballs squeezed out of the sockets, skull dissolved.
As the Bone Burning Taoist was wreaking havoc, Yang Xiao also drew his Ring-Headed Saber to slaughter all around. Any Magic Artifact clashing with it could bounce off lightly, or disappear completely; no one could withstand even one of his moves.
Yang Xiao realized that the Bone Burning Taoist shared the same mentality as himself, not rushing to kill the opposing commander, clearing out the minor opponents first to ensure no fish slipped through the net.
Having understood the opponent’s mind, Yang Xiao instead became calm. It seemed the opponent wanted to fight him to the end; Yang Xiao loved this kind of opponent.
The fight was a deadly duel; whoever wimped out was a dog.
After splitting a disciple of the Withered Bone Pavilion into two with the final slash, Yang Xiao drew his saber and charged at the Bone Burning Taoist. The opponent was unwilling to show weakness, caught the human thigh bone, and charged at Yang Xiao with peculiar steps.
Yang Xiao’s sword techniques were simple and unadorned, one stroke of reverse Kasaya, moving from bottom to top, specializing in attacking the lower three paths.
This was one of the dozen moves the Esoteric Elder had imparted on his way back home, a sinister and ruthless move specializing in lower body attacks, which Yang Xiao had learned most diligently.
Now, being closer, Yang Xiao could see the Bone Burning Taoist clearly—this old fellow’s appearance was extremely shriveled, eye sockets sunken, skin showing a rare greyish-white hue, with scant flesh clinging tightly to the face bones, looking like a corpse exhumed straight from the grave.
Admittedly, the Withered Bone Pavilion people all looked dead like this, but the Bone Burning Taoist was even more so.
His arm wasn’t even as thick as that thigh bone, looking like dried wood that could snap easily.
But these did not matter; now both sides had reached close quarters, and what puzzled Yang Xiao most was that the direction the opponent was swinging the thigh bone did not align with his attack direction.
That meant, even if he didn’t dodge, the opponent couldn’t hit him, with at least a meter of space in between.
"Tap."
Just as Yang Xiao’s reverse Kasaya was about to split open the Old Ghost from down below, a bizarre scene appeared—the left foot of Bone Burning Taoist took an oddly stationary step, then his body suddenly vanished, reappearing a meter away in the same direction, as if he teleported.
But this mere meter distance brought great trouble to Yang Xiao; with this, not only perfectly avoiding Yang Xiao’s saber strike, but also the thigh bone descending appeared right above Yang Xiao’s head.
Feeling the fierce glow in those sunken eyeballs, Yang Xiao instantly realized, it was all premeditated—this old fellow also had the ability to Instant Teleport!
For an ordinary person, this would have concluded things, but as the thigh bone fell, Yang Xiao also disappeared, leaving only a copper mirror in mid-air.
The Bone Burning Taoist’s rod struck empty, almost straining his waist, while that copper mirror went "clang" as it fell to the ground, rolling two circles before it stopped.
Yang Xiao, carrying his saber, walked out of the house again, neither dared to underestimate the other this time, both had cautious looks in their eyes.
"Who are you?" Unable to hold back, the Bone Burning Taoist growled lowly.
"You guess?"
"You’re the Marquis Zhengdong from Xiang Ma Town." The Bone Burning Taoist had heard there were Four Major Families in Xiang Ma Town, with the strongest being the Marquis Zhengdong among them.
Originally thinking, the strongest in this small place could only be slightly better than Song Ziming, but seeing now, he underestimated the heroes of the world.
This person’s spiritual power strength was not as good as his own, but his methods were superior, combat experience extremely rich, and the few Magic Artifacts in his hands were top-notch choices.
"Not me, it’s not me." Yang Xiao seemed to be hit a sore spot, immediately raising his hand to touch the mask, seemingly worried that his face would be seen, revealing his identity.
"Marquis Zhengdong, I am one of the Ten Guardians of the Withered Bone Pavilion, also have some minor fame in the world of martial arts, the martial world has bestowed upon me a nickname, the Bone Burning Taoist..."
"Never heard of it." Yang Xiao shook his head dismissively.
The Bone Burning Taoist took a deep breath, continuing, "Your honor is not in Huiling Province; it’s normal to not recognize it. For me to come to your esteemed territory, not first paying respects to you, Marquis Zhengdong, was indeed my mistake, so I apologize here first."
Though he said an apology, the Bone Burning Taoist neither bowed nor clasped fists, his arrogance apparent.
"Marquis Zhengdong, this person and my Withered Bone Pavilion have enmity, so I request you hand him over to me. My pavilion will appreciate your favor, and when meeting the patron in the future, I will mention this, as many friends and paths help in the dangerous world of martial arts. Our patron will surely be grateful." The Bone Burning Taoist unceremoniously raised his hand, pointing at Song Ziming.
Currently, Song Ziming was still locked in combat with the last half-step Ghost Level expert, the two unable to determine victory in a short time, and the remaining Fierce Grade Apostles were already dealt with by him.
