Chapter 43: The Book and Ghost Duo

With this sudden, lightning-fast maneuver, the black-clad cultivators had not even reacted before two of them were lost. Yet, the scholar surnamed Feng showed little panic; instead, he calmly brushed the dust from his clothes and smiled at Liang Yan

"A fine display of 'repairing the gallery roads to cross the Chencang in secret.' On the surface, you came to investigate the matter of Yongle Town, but in reality, you had already infiltrated our midst. It seems we underestimated the two of you earlier!"

As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a scholarly salute, exuding an air of refinement. He continued, "I am Feng Kun. May I ask for your esteemed name, fellow Daoist?"

Liang Yan gave him a cold glance but did not answer.

The scholar was undeterred. He turned toward "Number One" and said, "As distinguished disciples of the Great Yixing Pavilion, it is truly beneath you to use such trickery instead of facing us in a fair fight. Especially you, young lady—you possess such peerless beauty, yet you resort to such despicable methods. It is truly a disgrace to elegance."

Since their identities were exposed, there was no longer a need for concealment. "Number One" reached up and pulled away the black mask, revealing a figure in white—it was none other than Tang Diexian.

Feng Kun's eyes lit up. Fanning himself, he sighed, "A beautiful lady, yet why must you play the thief?"

Seeing that his great adversary showed no panic in the face of danger and was instead babbling nonsense, Liang Yan felt a sense of unease and instinctively scanned his surroundings.

He suddenly remembered that the black-clad cultivator "Number Six" had not moved since a moment ago. Looking again at the eyes visible through the mask, he saw they were vacant and dull, as if they belonged to a walking corpse.

A jolt of alarm struck Liang Yan's heart. *This is bad!*

His mind raced as he secretly channeled spiritual power into his feet. Feng Kun, still wearing a smile, turned back to Liang Yan as if to speak again. But before he could utter a word, Liang Yan suddenly leaped into the air. With a loud *bang!*, a figure lunged from the spot where he had just been standing, wielding a sinister, ghostly claw that slashed upward with incredible speed.

Mid-air, Liang Yan performed a somersault, narrowly avoiding the strike. Upon landing, he lunged backward, once again creating distance.

"Earth Escape Technique!"

Liang Yan narrowed his eyes. Among the Five Elements Escape Techniques, while the Earth Escape was the easiest to cultivate, it was the most effective for ambushes in low-level cultivator battles because it allowed for movement without the need for flying tools.

The figure emerging from the ground was another "Number Six." Meanwhile, the original body that had been standing still suddenly burst into flames for no apparent reason. When the fire died down, revealing the true form beneath, it was nothing but a white skeletal corpse.

Seeing Liang Yan dodge the ambush, Feng Kun thought to himself, *A pity!*

However, he quickly regained his composure. This time, he stopped wasting words; instead, his eyes fixed on Liang Yan with a coldness that suggested he was looking at a dead man.

The "Number Six" who had launched the ambush ignored everything else. His hands moved rapidly through hand seals before he slammed them toward the ground. A muffled thud echoed from the earth around him, and black smoke erupted from the north, south, east, and west.

The black smoke rolled and swirled before being scattered by the wind, revealing four skeletons holding sharp axes. They were identical to the decoy skeleton "Number Six" had left behind.

"Ghost Summoning Technique! Be careful, he is a Ghost Path cultivator!" Tang Diexian warned Liang Yan urgently.

Liang Yan did not dare to be negligent. He raised his hand to summon the Nine Dragon Staff, keeping a sharp eye on the five skeletons. Simultaneously, his spiritual power surged through his body as he silently activated the "Qi-Observing Method." A faint blue stream of spiritual energy flowed from the "Two Fish Twin Array," traveling through his meridians and into his eyes.

A blue light flashed in Liang Yan's eyes. Looking at the five skeletons again, he saw that the spiritual energy within each one was surging, no less than that of a fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator.

Behind the skeletons, several black threads emerged from the back of their skulls, all converging into the left hand of "Number Six." These threads were invisible to the naked eye, only becoming apparent under the influence of the "Qi-Observing Method."

"Number Six" formed a seal with his right hand and pulled with his left. The black threads instantly tightened, causing the aura of the five skeletons to surge. They raised their axes and charged toward Liang Yan.

The first skeleton to reach him did not simply strike; it leaped high into the air, swinging its axe in a wide arc toward him.

Liang Yan held the Nine Dragon Staff horizontally to block. As the axe met the staff, a violent force traveled up the weapon into his hands. Fortunately, Liang Yan possessed a powerful physical body; he merely swayed slightly before easily absorbing the blow.

Before he could catch his breath, another skeleton swung an axe at him from the front, while two others attacked his waist from the left and right, sealing off his paths of retreat.

Liang Yan shifted the Nine Dragon Staff to his left hand and threw a punch at the skeleton on his right, while simultaneously thrusting the staff forward with his right hand. His speed was extraordinary; before the right-side skeleton's axe could land, he had already struck its chest, sending it reeling back three steps and causing its axe to swing harmlessly through the air. At the same time, he used the staff to knock away the axe of the skeleton in front of him.

In an instant, Liang Yan had neutralized the attacks of three skeletons. Just as the axe from the left skeleton was about to strike his waist, Liang Yan did not retreat but advanced. He stepped onto the shoulders of the skeleton whose axe he had just deflected, performed a backflip in mid-air to narrowly dodge the left-side strike, and swung the Nine Dragon Staff in a massive arc toward the fifth skeleton that had already circled behind him.

The change in movement was so sudden and swift that the skeleton had no time to react; before it could even raise its axe, the staff smashed directly into its forehead.

Liang Yan expected the blow to shatter its skull, but to his surprise, the skeleton only suffered a few broken bones. It staggered back two steps, shook its head, and—as if nothing had happened—charged at him again with its axe.

*These skeletons are incredibly durable!* Liang Yan's heart tightened. In that moment of distraction, the five skeletons regrouped and charged at him once more.

In the distance, "Number Six," who was focused on controlling the skeletons, had not expected Liang Yan to be a body cultivator capable of clashing head-on with his "Nether Skeletons." He quickly shot a glance toward Feng Kun.

Feng Kun understood. His folding fan began to dance wildly, whipping up a great wind. He muttered incantations while pointing his right hand forward. A howling gale rushed forth, condensing into two massive wind blades in front of him.

Feng Kun pointed toward Liang Yan and shouted

"Go!"

The two massive wind blades roared as they tore through the air toward Liang Yan.

While fending off the skeletons, Liang Yan kept a close eye on the scholar's movements. Seeing him unleash such devastating wind-attribute spells, Liang Yan dared not be careless. He dedicated seventy percent of his attention to dodging the wind blades, relying more on his physical instincts to handle the five skeletons.

As these two engaged Liang Yan, "Number Two" and Tang Diexian, who were fighting nearby, also clashed almost simultaneously.

"Number Two" was reputed to be the strongest of the six, possessing immense Daoist supernatural powers, particularly in the Five Elements. His spells were highly refined, ranging from fireball and ice spike to earth wall techniques.

However, no matter how powerful his spells were, every time they were about to strike Tang Diexian, a white jade Pixiu would leap from her pendant and swallow the spell whole, leaving her unharmed.

*This person is either not a direct disciple of a Sect Elder, or she is a descendant of a high-ranking clan; otherwise, she couldn't possess such a precious treasure!* He felt a surge of irritation. With the Pixiu pendant, Tang Diexian was effectively invincible; capturing her in one move was impossible.

Seeing Liang Yan fighting two opponents at once, Tang Diexian felt the situation was grim and grew anxious.

Gripping her Hundred Flower Sword, she stepped in a celestial pattern, chanting incantations.

A brilliant sea of flowers began to bloom on the ground around "Number Two," with colorful petals drifting into the air, dancing to her rhythm. Wanting to end the fight quickly so she could support Liang Yan, she directly unleashed the "Hundred Flower Realm"—the same supernatural power she had used to slay the fortune-teller that day.

With a wave of her slender hand, countless petals swarmed toward "Number Two" like a killing tide. "Number Two" had never seen such a bizarre sight; the sky was filled with petals, each imbued with infinite killing intent. His heart raced as he hurriedly formed a seal to summon a black shield. Simultaneously, he bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the shield.

The black shield erupted with dark light, projecting a pitch-black curtain that shielded "Number Two" completely. As the countless petals struck the curtain, they created ripples of energy. The light curtain fluctuated violently, flickering as if it might collapse at any moment.

"Number Two's" expression shifted repeatedly. He suddenly raised his left hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together like a blade, and sliced his own left wrist. Blood sprayed out, splashing onto the black shield. The shield let out a thunderous roar, and the light curtain instantly solidified, stabilizing amidst the onslaught of the flower sea.

Seeing his defense hold, "Number Two's" expression relaxed. He thought to himself, *I will stall this little girl. Once those two deal with that brat over there, I will surround and capture her. Hmph! No matter how heaven-defying her skills are, she won't escape my grasp!*

He knew that "Number Three" and "Number Six" were the notorious "Scholar and Ghost Twin Fiends" among the rogue cultivators of the Zhao Kingdom. They specialized in combined attacks and often worked together to kill and plunder. Individually, their strength was not much different from his, but together they were terrifying; even he might not last many moves against them.

He glanced sideways and saw that their offensive was indeed like a tide, pressing Liang Yan into a purely defensive position. He figured it wouldn't be long before they took him down. He sneered inwardly: *Once I am done, I will skin and flay those two to avenge this severed wrist!*

Tang Diexian clearly noticed the worsening situation for Liang Yan. She accelerated her incantations, pushing her spiritual energy to its limit, but "Number Two's" black shield was like a turtle shell—impenetrable.

Furthermore, he continued to launch various Five Elements spells at her, clearly intent on stalling her so she could not assist Liang Yan.

As her anxiety grew, a long whistle suddenly echoed from the direction of the battle, followed by the sound of breaking bone. Her heart jolted, and she couldn't help but turn her head. She saw that Liang Yan had smashed a skeleton's arm with his staff, but a wind blade had also sliced through his back. Despite his powerful physique, a spray of blood was torn from his body!