Chapter 43: The Assassin's Blade

Chapter 43: The Assassin's Blade

【Nine of Three】.

Under the black moon, Ning Xuan opened his eyes again. He sat in silence, then suddenly, without warning, threw his head back and laughed loudly. His laughter was manic; even though his flesh and blood were still wracked with intense pain, he still wanted to laugh.

Laughing loudly.

He had not succeeded in committing suicide immediately just now.

Even though he had gathered his strength, the White Bear Demon had been constantly guarding against his suicide attempts. Every time he channeled his energy, the White Bear Demon would timely shudder, dispersing his momentum. Thus... he had tried countless times, trying until both his legs had been eaten, before he finally succeeded in killing himself.

However, it was not entirely without gain.

He had gained an extreme understanding of the White Bear Demon's energy channeling details and its precursors.

At this moment, he sat withered, his hands dangling and his head drooping, appearing listless and drowsy. Yet, his eyes were cold to the extreme, flickering with an incredibly crazed, eerie light, as if he were lost in some inscrutable thought.

He sat there continuously, sitting until the night passed.

The space was only so large—a wide expanse with nowhere to flee and nowhere to maneuver. To run? It was better to just sit.

Suddenly, he felt a wisp of pale sunlight fall quietly upon him, sliding along the side of his face and landing on his thigh.

He looked at that thigh, and a hallucination of his own white bones appeared before his eyes.

He looked at his waist; his waist had also become nothing but white bone.

Then, he looked into the distance...

In the distance was a snow-white bear demon with a kind and benevolent countenance.

"Where is my weapon? Where did my weapon go?"

The snow-white bear demon murmured, then looked at the seated youth and asked, "Have you seen my weapon?"

Ning Xuan stood up, raised the Beast-Slaying Blade, and suddenly asked with a smile, "Is this your weapon?"

The snow-white bear demon shook its head.

Ning Xuan then pulled out a flying dagger and asked, "Then how about this?"

The snow-white bear demon shook its head again.

Ning Xuan smiled and said, "It's hard to see from afar; I'll bring it closer so you can see."

With that, his five fingers moved, blue eerie light flickered, and the flying dagger shot toward the snow-white bear demon.

The bear demon's small eyes narrowed slowly. Just as the dagger was about to touch its brow, it stopped.

Ning Xuan asked, "Is it?"

The snow-white bear demon shook its head, yet remained vigilant.

Ning Xuan said, "True, this is my weapon."

Having said that, he raised a hand in a beckoning motion, retrieved the flying dagger, and said brightly, "I'll help you look for it."

The snow-white bear demon grinned and said, "You... you're actually quite a good person."

The man and the demon began their search for the mysterious weapon.

After searching for a long time, Ning Xuan suddenly said, "Master Bear, could you do me a favor?"

The snow-white bear demon chuckled. "You are a good person. You have helped me for so long; I can help you in return."

Ning Xuan raised his hand, summoning the flying dagger back into his palm, and offered it: "Master Bear, I find this flying dagger too large. I see you possess immense strength and are incredibly brave; could you help me break this flying dagger into pieces?"

The snow-white bear demon froze for a moment, then chuckled. "Alright, alright, alright."

It grabbed the dagger and applied force to crush it, but the dagger remained intact.

It channeled its energy again, its claws sprouting scales as it gripped the dagger tightly. With another muffled grunt, the flying dagger instantly shattered, transforming from its original palm-sized state into over a dozen nail-sized fragments.

The snow-white bear demon scratched its head and said, "I broke it too small."

Ning Xuan took the fragments and smiled. "It doesn't matter. Let's continue looking for your weapon."

The snow-white bear demon said, "You really are a good person."

The blazing sun slowly set...

The curtain of night gradually descended.

The snow-white bear demon's Adam's apple suddenly bobbed. It opened its mouth to speak, but the youth beside it suddenly stopped.

Ning Xuan abruptly asked, "Are you hungry?"

The snow-white bear demon nodded, then asked back, "Are you hungry?"

Ning Xuan did not answer, but instead extended his left hand and said, "If you're hungry, then eat."

The snow-white bear demon was stunned.

Ning Xuan smiled candidly. "I see that Master practices Buddhist dharma, while I am merely a commoner. If I can nourish Master with my flesh and blood, it can be considered an act of merit."

The snow-white bear demon:...

Ning Xuan continued, "Of course, I also have some selfish motives."

The snow-white bear demon asked, "What selfish motives?"

Ning Xuan smiled faintly. "Master must possess profound Buddhist wisdom. If I can merge my flesh and blood into Master's body, I may be able to chant scriptures and bathe in incense alongside Master in the future. Perhaps I could even attain the Pure Land early; it would be a great boon indeed."

The snow-white bear demon was completely dumbfounded.

It was profoundly shocked.

Ning Xuan anxiously extended his hand, saying, "Master, eat quickly, while it's still warm."

The snow-white bear demon took the arm and then put it down, saying, "I am still accustomed to eating from the feet up."

Ning Xuan lay down directly, removed his boots, and said, "No matter."

The snow-white bear demon grabbed his foot, wiped it, revealed its retracted fangs, and took a large bite.

Ning Xuan seemed to have become completely numb. A smile appeared on his face, and he began to laugh.

"Hahaha..."

"Hahahahaha!"

"Faster, eat faster, hahaha!"

He was not only laughing happily but also urging the demon while laughing, which made the snow-white bear demon feel a sense of scalp-tingling dread.

The snow-white bear demon had eaten countless humans, but today was undoubtedly the most unexpected time it had ever eaten a person.

"Hahahaha!"

Ning Xuan laughed loudly.

The snow-white bear demon ignored him and began to gorge itself, eating hurriedly. It smacked its lips, saliva flying everywhere, tearing away tough sinews and human skin between the gaps of its fangs.

As for Ning Xuan, he suddenly forgot the pain in his body. While laughing maniacally, he slightly raised his arm and brought his right hand to his mouth. The dozen or so nail-sized flying dagger fragments held within were cleanly delivered into his mouth.

The flying dagger was merely a special metal used to carry power; it possessed no inherent function. Even when shattered, it could still carry power.

'Yan He' (Swallow Union).

The flying dagger fragments tossed into Ning Xuan's mouth were imbued with the power of "Yan He."

A thin, long hum, like the cry of returning swallows on black roof tiles in spring.

The fragments suddenly accelerated, exploding through Ning Xuan's completely relaxed body, severing his internal organs, passing through the flesh of his legs, and bursting out from his feet, which had already become white bone!

*Whoosh!!*

The fragments shot from Ning Xuan's body toward the snow-white bear demon's throat.

He had actually gone insane, using his own body as a launchpad for the flying daggers!

For this single strike, he had done many things.

He had demonstrated strength before the bear demon, allowing it to sense the threat of the flying dagger.

He had then had the bear demon break the dagger into pieces. Because the bear demon felt threatened, it naturally broke it very finely, but not finely enough, as it was ultimately doing him a favor.

He had laughed loudly, using his voice to mask the sound of the dagger's launch, lest a sudden strike in the silence trigger an alarm.

He had urged the bear demon to eat quickly, so that its mouth would be wider and its swallowing motions more hurried.

He had been eaten by the bear demon before, so he was exceptionally familiar with the precursors of its energy channeling; thus, he could naturally select the perfect moment to attack.

All of this was solely for this one strike.

Facing an opponent too powerful to contend with.

Assassination became the only choice.

Assassination is different from a direct confrontation.

A direct combatant considers strength, whereas an assassin considers timing.

Since ancient times, assassins have used every means possible to create an opportunity for assassination. Destroying one's family, disfiguring oneself, or offering heads were common occurrences; taking months or even years was also common. But... an assassin who used their own body to feed the opponent while hiding the most piercing and ferocious strike within themselves was truly one of a kind.

This strike...

Ning Xuan had already launched it.

He had exerted every ounce of his strength.

At the moment of the strike, the blade was no longer under his control.

After passing through his body, the strike predictably lunged into the bear demon's throat, entering its internal organs along with the swallow it had just completed.

The snow-white bear demon's massive frame shuddered. It abruptly stopped eating, clutching its abdomen, standing blankly in place before breaking into violent coughing fits.

Its flesh was strong, but its internal organs did not possess such powerful muscle, nor could it compress its muscles through energy to turn them into scales.

Therefore, its esophagus and organs could not withstand this strike.

Its esophagus and organs had taken the full brunt of the "Yan He" strike!

Ning Xuan laughed loudly, but as he laughed, he began to cough violently, coughing up pieces of his shattered organs.

The snow-white bear demon also hunched over, coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.

Along with the blood came black smoke.

That black smoke detached from the snow-white bear demon and rolled toward Ning Xuan, pouring into his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.

(End of Chapter)