Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1407 Killed in Action
People from all walks of life have their own ways of doing things. Chang Fa, born into humble circumstances, became a thief. Later, he apprenticed with a master and learned the art of thievery. As he grew older, he understood the wonder of this skill: there was nothing he couldn't steal if he could see and touch it. He was quite talented in this area and even changed his name to mean "often getting rich." Before he even reached adulthood, he had already mastered the skill.

After gaining some notoriety, he was often approached by scoundrels who wanted to partner with him. They would cheat, swindle, and steal, and the teachers didn't care. After all, thieves don't expect a good reputation. Since he was always active, he was bound to have some success. Moreover, he could not only retrieve the items but also give them away. He even once hid all the items on the constables when they searched him and then took them all back when they were released. At that time, he was regarded as the leader by a group of cronies.

The young man, having achieved initial success, forgot some of the instructions he had received when learning his craft. At the urging of some accomplices, he went to excavate an ancient tomb. Everything went smoothly, and he reaped a considerable reward. However, shortly after returning home, he fell ill, his hands began to tremble, and he could no longer use his unique skill effectively. In a panic, he sought help from his master, confessing everything. His master then whipped him for an hour with willow branches dipped in salt water. Only afterward did the master prepare incense, candles, and paper offerings, and invited several people to go to the ancient tomb to offer sacrifices and return the remaining valuables. His master, after some deliberation, decreed that he must live near the tomb for five years, kneeling and worshipping daily, and not leaving the mountain except on holidays. Only after five years could he be released.

After this lesson, Changfa never dared to disobey his master's admonitions again.

“General, my lineage has five rules to avoid.” Chang Fa said nervously while rubbing his hands. “It’s not about gambling, poverty, corruption, antiquity, or dirt.”

"What do you mean?" Lu Ning asked cautiously, staring at the broken sword on the ground.

“Don’t steal from gambling dogs. Gambling dogs will lose sooner or later, and touching them will bring you bad luck. Don’t touch the poor. Stealing from poor people is time-consuming and laborious, and it won’t earn you a good reputation. Don’t touch the corrupt. Don’t touch the sick or infirm. Who knows what they might pick up? Don’t touch antiques. We’re not professionals when it comes to antiques and paintings. We don’t know how to handle them, and we can’t easily resell them, so it’s best to stay away. Finally, don’t touch the soil. We’re thieves, not tomb raiders. Digging up graves can easily lead to unclean things, so don’t touch them.” Chang Fa explained one by one, and finally pointed to the broken sword and said, “This thing smells wrong. It’s obviously been dug up from some grave. Although I wasn’t the one who dug it up, it’s still bad luck to touch it. General, please spare me and don’t make me touch it.”

"It's not just you. No one is allowed to touch it for now. Xuan Yangzi, Bai Tieyi, go find General Qin Luo immediately and report the discovery here. We will guard this place."

Xuan Yangzi and Bai Tieyi set off immediately, while Lu Ning had the area sealed off with ice.

First, she could determine that this was not a key location for the ritual, but at most a place for disposing of corpses. She didn't know if the broken sword was deliberately left here by demons, and its purpose was currently unknown.

Secondly, this broken sword isn't a magical artifact. She possesses magical artifacts crafted by the master weapon refiner Qiu Suying, and she knows that the use of such items requires the user's presence. A magical artifact's range of effect may be vast, but the artifact itself must be carried on one's person.

It looks a lot like the demonic swords sealed in the Zhenjian Villa.

Even now, Lu Ning doesn't want to touch this thing casually, even though Chang Fa has already touched it and hasn't experienced any problems so far. She wants to leave professional matters to professionals; she's not good at this and it's best not to cause trouble.

"So, among the remaining possibilities, the most reliable one is a trap."

Lu Ning crouched down slightly, then leaped backward, ice gathering beneath her feet and instantly obscuring her figure. Without her needing to say anything, the others immediately disappeared into the woods, maintaining the ice array while simultaneously setting up their own traps.

After everyone suddenly changed formation, a belated rock spike finally struck the ice layer left by Lu Ning, shattering it.

"It's true what they say, enemies are destined to meet..."

Accompanied by a slightly frenzied earth elemental aura, Hanzhang walked over, clenching his fists. He completely ignored the soldiers hidden in the forest, his gaze fixed solely on the spot where Lu Ning had disappeared.

This guy really did come back.

Through the refraction of light on the ice, Lu Ning saw the demon king. She had deactivated the power in its head back then and remembered its face. However, while she had killed it with a surprising move then, this time it wouldn't be so simple. Lu Ning knew she couldn't replicate her previous killing strategy, and the demon king, unless it was stupid, wouldn't fall for that trick again.

"Aren't you coming out?" Hanzhang tilted his head. His attack just now was just a greeting. He was very resentful of Lu Ning, who had killed him in one move.

No one answered. Han Zhang sneered, squatted down, plunged his palm into the ground, and then lifted up the soil. He didn't directly use Earth Assimilation. He used to do this because it was basically equivalent to making himself invincible, which was convenient and easy to use. However, facing Lu Ning, who could break the assimilation state, Han Zhang had to think of a method for a long time.

"Come out!"

As Han Zhang pulled, the surface soil was ripped up in a net-like pattern. The plant roots buried in the soil did not move with it and were immediately exposed to the air, beginning to slowly topple over. With such widespread destruction, people hiding in or behind trees had no choice but to flee immediately, searching for the next place to take cover.

"There are quite a lot of people, have they all arrived?" Han Zhang fixed the soil that had been pulled up in the air, and the grid-like soil net was placed horizontally at waist height. Then, at Han Zhang's guiding gesture, it was suddenly pulled together towards the center!
Click!
All the trees within the earthen net snapped in response. The soil, now compressed and hardened like steel, would be cut through on the entire horizontal plane unless it were more solid than this earth.

Han Zhang laughed loudly, then clapped his hands, causing the soil to return to its loose state and fall to the ground.

"I didn't hear the sound of flesh being cut. You're very good at hiding, but aren't you going to fight head-on?"

The demon king's provocative voice echoed through the vast forest that had been felled. He made no attempt to conceal his presence, for he had absolute confidence in his abilities and was certain that he would not be defeated twice by the same means.

"Answer me one question, and I'll fight you." Lu Ning's voice echoed through the air. "What is that broken sword?"

"A broken sword? Haha, so that's what you're curious about. It doesn't matter. It's just a remnant left by a rapidly shattering law. It can't change the existing law; instead, it's been changed and turned into that form."

"It seems there are quite a few wronged souls up there." Lu Ning suddenly appeared not far in front of the Demon King, holding a long sword in one hand. "The law can actually break down, which means it's not even as good as those incomplete laws, able to maintain a small cycle of reincarnation. How many humans or demons are bound to that law?"

"How would I know? Besides, I've already answered your question." Hanzhang said, opening his hands to gather soil, which then transformed into the shape of a giant hammer. "I've learned my lesson from last time, and this time I'll show you the true power of weapons."

Being instantly killed was nothing to complain about; Hanzhang wouldn't accuse the enemy of using any underhanded methods, but would only think he had underestimated them. However, he still had to get revenge, and he wasn't like Tonggong, who was easily angered and didn't care about being killed.

Blunt weapon. Lu Ning's heart sank slightly, knowing that this was going to be a tough battle. This demon king may be arrogant, but his combat awareness is quite strong. Compared to small, lightweight, and highly agile weapons, blunt weapons are actually the kind that Lu Ning will find difficult to deal with.

It's not that she can't use speed to overcome slowness, but rather that demons aren't much slower when using blunt weapons. Besides, the soil is his creation, like an extension of his body, and his agility is no less than Lu Ning's.

The moment they clashed, this suspicion was confirmed. Han Zhang's enormous earthen hammer was just as fast as his swordsmanship, and its movements were precise and disciplined, clearly demonstrating that he had received specialized training rather than simply throwing brute force. All the weapons he wielded were from Li Ji's school, and all were skilled in martial arts.

Each hammer blow left numerous cracks in the ground, sending mud and sand flying everywhere. The next blow would follow immediately after the hammer bounced up, its speed exceeding Lu Ning's ability to launch a preemptive attack. She had to use a large number of ice clusters to deflect and block, while simultaneously fighting and retreating, trying to find an opportunity.

However, Han Zhang did not use any attacks other than those she had used. Logically speaking, with the power to manipulate the soil, she could have summoned something from underground to hinder her or created some traps. However, Han Zhang simply did not use these methods, so Lu Ning could not find any opening to counterattack.

"What's wrong? Not attacking? Then I'll have to go even faster!" Han Zhang stretched out his other hand, and another mud hammer took shape in his hand. He slammed the hammers down with a bang. This time, Lu Ning couldn't withstand the attack. She quickly slipped and slid back about five steps along a layer of ice. After the two hammers landed, they created a crater, and the ground began to collapse. A strong force pulled Lu Ning back.

"Where do you want to go? You can't go anywhere..."

Han Zhang grinned and then saw Lu Ning raise her hand and point. A piece of ice gathered in front of her finger and instantly turned into an ice ball, surrounded by fine, sharp blades. Then Lu Ning flicked the ice ball out.

"Even a grain of rice can shine?"

The ice puck was too small for Han Zhang, so he easily shattered it in mid-air by simply swinging his hammers, and the flying ice blades were all blocked by the hammer surfaces, none of them hitting him.

"Do you have any other skills? Show them all, I will defeat you fair and square!" Hanzhang shouted.

“I’ve seen your changes, now it’s my turn to see mine.” Lu Ning had somehow already placed the “life and death power” between her fingers. Similar to Han Zhang, in the last hasty encounter, she had only used the most direct and simple method to erase the assimilation of the other party’s head. This was not the limit of the life and death power.

As Lu Ning spoke, Han Zhang felt his hands lighten, and the two hammers were turning into clods of earth and falling from his hands.

Precise destruction.

After Qiu Suying's adjustments, Lu Ning was able to perform more precise "exchange" operations using the power of life and death. She didn't need to destroy the entire earth hammer; she only needed to exchange the core node with her own ice shards to naturally destroy its structure.

The second ice puck took shape at her fingertips. Han Zhang glanced at Lu Ning with slight surprise, then immediately lifted a wall from the ground. The second ice puck shattered directly on the wall, and then, like the two hammers, the wall was also disintegrated by ice shards.

Han Zhang frowned upon seeing this. He could sense that he was no longer able to construct earth hammers and walls, and this also applied to other similar construction effects of the same type. Of course, he still had many options; as an earth-elemental demon king, he could easily come up with hundreds of different construction methods.

The problem is that Han Zhang is essentially fighting against the ice array behind Lu Ning. Lu Ning's exchange is extremely precise, consuming only enough energy to gather an ice ball, but for Han Zhang, it's like being unable to use a spell. This kind of attrition is entirely at his disadvantage. Moreover, there aren't many beings in the world who dare to fight a ritual with their individual strength, and Han Zhang knows very well that he is not one of them. Even in an equal exchange, he cannot outlast Lu Ning.

But Lu Ning wouldn't wait for him to think of a solution. The moment she destroyed the earthen wall, she had already wrapped the sword with ice, turning it into a huge ice spear, and swung it at Han Zhang with all her might.

"Here's your move for you!"

boom!
The ice shards shattered, and Han Zhang was sent flying backward. The extended frost marks spread behind him, forcing him to transform his body into elemental form once more. But seeing the ice shards gathering around him, Han Zhang knew that his opponent was about to use that strange destructive method again.

"damn it--"

Lu Ning had already drawn her sword and was in pursuit, but Han Zhang could only condense a large number of weapons and throw them out. However, the Ice Path had already been formed, and all the weapons were shattered after being penetrated by the ice mist. Nothing could hold out for even a moment and could not stop them in the slightest.

However, at that moment, Lu Ning's expression suddenly changed, her pursuit abruptly halted, and she vanished from the spot again using the ice mirror's reflection. Han Zhang rolled onto the ground and scrambled to his feet, looking somewhat disheveled.

He smelled a familiar scent from behind him.

They are reinforcements from the demon race, but this is not what he wants to see!

Why don't you like to choose a weapon you like?

Qi Mei's face suddenly peered down from above, looking at him mockingly from a strange angle, but Han Zhang couldn't utter a single word.

Because not only Qi Mei, but also Ju Que was here, along with two other "weapons" who also knew about his death.

The demon king Yu Chang held a dead person in his hand, while another demon king, Zhan Lu, cast a contemptuous glance at him.

Lu Ning also saw the dead man, and her gaze sharpened; it was Bai Tieyi.

For the first time since her ice formation was established, a soldier died in battle.