Republic of China

Chapter 401 Gale and Blaze
Everyone present was an expert, someone who had seen it all before.

Firstly, Zhao Sanyuan was not dead, and secondly, the puppeteer was not a corpse driver; I had never heard of this craft using living people as materials.

This made Tsuchimikado Touki slightly more cautious. Although he didn't understand why Cherry was talking about tomorrow, he knew that the newcomer was not friendly. A cornered beast will fight to the death, and its final counterattack is always the most fierce.

Are they using living people as mere puppets?
If that's the case, it would be much more interesting. But what's puzzling is that I didn't see anything like silk threads connecting the two, since the wooden figure just now had them.

Sensing the change in Tsuchimikado Touki's gaze, Cherry sneered, thinking to herself, "I've bet my life on this dead fish-eyed guy, is it just a passing fancy?"
The instant your fingertips lightly flick!
Zhao Sanyuan shot out like an arrow released from a bow. His speed and momentum were beyond human capability. Even the stone bricks under his feet cracked. Even when Zhao Sanyuan was in the state of being bound by the Immortal's Bound Aperture, his movement and sword strikes would not be so fast and fierce.

The cost was that the outburst was too violent, resulting in multiple fractures in the left ankle when the first step was taken.

A chilling glint of blades!
The frost chills my face!

He barely managed to react until the blade tip pierced Tsuchimikado Toshu's clothes.

This unparalleled strike only cleaved through the swirling snow. Tsuchimikado Toshu appeared half a zhang away, the black gem in his Thousand Treasure Hammer humming softly, circling out a certain outline.

Gumbling--

The snow beneath Zhao Sanyuan's feet felt like boiling porridge, and in the blink of an eye, his legs sank into it, unable to extricate themselves, and would be completely swallowed up in no time.

Unconscious Zhao Sanyuan naturally wouldn't resist; at this moment, everything he did was controlled by Cherry.

But it was by no means easy for Cherry. He seemed to have perfectly controlled Zhao Sanyuan using the secret technique of puppetry, and in fact, he did control him as if he were an extension of his own arm. However, Cherry had to feel all the damage that Zhao Sanyuan suffered a great deal.

In other words, Zhao Sanyuan was unaware of the pain at that moment, while the practitioner had to endure the excruciating pain of bone cracking and the piercing chill from his lower body.

Of course, there's also the excruciating feeling of being torn apart by three corpses, and many fragmented memories; every minute and every second is pure torture.

But it was all worth it!

Cherry reacted quickly, shouting as he flipped his left fist down and his right palm up – a starting move that turned out to be one of Zhao Sanyuan’s signature moves.

Looking at Zhao Sanyuan again, his movements were incredibly fluid. The cigarette shattered and the tobacco fell in disarray, while one after another, yellow talismans shot out, and his sword finger thrust downwards fiercely.

slam-la-

Countless roots, leaves, and withered trees emerged from the 'mud' and forcefully lifted Zhao Sanyuan, who was deeply mired in it, out of the mire.

During this time, Zhao Sanyuan did not chant any incantations, and he rarely performed hand gestures.

In the current state, Zhao Sanyuan can use all his signature skills more quickly without any preparation, because the 'pre-animation' is all handled by Cherry.

As for why someone can suddenly master another's techniques, only the person involved knows the answer.

In short, it's terrifying.

That is to say, Zhao Sanyuan was infected with corpse worms and fell into a coma, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to give Cherry the opportunity to control him at will.

However, what was originally a burden turned out to be Cherry's most powerful human weapon.

Tsuchimikado Touki certainly didn't know the details, but he understood the principle of capturing the leader to capture the thief. He made a series of hand gestures, connecting the Southern Star above and the Northern Dipper below, and his figure immediately became elusive, as if he was about to turn into a wisp of green smoke.

"Blade? Break? Damn it, I should have studied the Five Elements theory more."

It's true that you only realize how little you know when you need it. Cherry wanted to slap himself twice. He did see a clue: Tsuchimikado Touaki was using a grid pattern, but he knew too little about it and was just a novice. He couldn't tell which grid Tsuchimikado Touaki had initially used.

"It's a post station! Oh no!!!"

The post station signifies constant movement and wandering.

In today's context, the main focus is speed.

Just as Cherry was trying to figure out the key, a few chrysanthemum petals fell behind him, and Tsuchimikado Touki seemed to appear out of thin air, his right palm lightly touching the top of the person in front of him.

There was no chance to turn around or dodge; it can only be said that they suffered from not working hard when they were young.

The sound of breaking wind is getting closer and closer!
Zhao Sanyuan charged back like a cannonball, even faster than before, and without any fancy moves, he simply headbutted Zhao Sanyuan.

Tsuchimikado Touki sighed inwardly, having no choice but to abandon his killing move against Cherry and dodge the headbutt with a slight turn of his body.

Because he was going too fast and couldn't stop, Zhao Sanyuan crashed straight into the rubble.

At this critical moment, a red light shot out from Zhao Sanyuan's waist. If you didn't look closely, you might think that the flowery underpants had come to life, but in fact it was the Immortal Binding Rope tied around his waist.

With the vibration of the copper bell, the Binding Rope tightly locked onto Tsuchimikado Touki's wrist, carrying him away with him as they crashed into the rubble with a deafening roar.

"Oh yeah!!!"

Cherry howled loudly, both in pain and excitement, finally managing to hurt its opponent after fighting for so long.

"So you're awesome? Keep being awesome! I'm the 100th generation descendant of the Che clan. When my ancestor was making puppets for King Mu, your ancestors probably couldn't even sew open-crotch pants. You think I'm afraid of you just because you're dressed in all white in the middle of the night? Damn it!"

Debris flew everywhere.

Amidst the ruins, Yumen Daoqiu was no longer as leisurely as before. His face now showed more anger. He grabbed Zhao Sanyuan by the neck and lifted him up. The various gems in his right hand's Thousand Treasure Hammer spun rapidly, dragging a kind of dark light, and slammed down on Zhao Sanyuan's head.

Cherry, however, was well-prepared. She executed the hand seals and incantations flawlessly, nearly completing the Three Platforms Spiritual Light Incantation. "The Star of Taiwan will display its divine power everywhere!"

BOOM—!!!
The sound of metal striking stone is particularly jarring.

The momentum of the Thousand Treasures Hammer, which had been urged to strike, was abruptly halted.

But then came the sound of breaking.

First, the blue light on the lower platform was broken, followed by the white light on the middle platform. With each layer broken, the Thousand Treasure Hammer would fall a little. Although it did not completely break Zhao Sanyuan's protective spell, the influence of the Thousand Treasure Hammer was still intense. In a short time, the blue veins on his face turned black, and blood seeped from his seven orifices.

Looking at the cherry, the bleeding was even more severe; the cherry's vision was completely red, as if a thousand ants were gnawing at its heart, causing it unbearable suffering.

And the more this was the case, the less he dared to delay.

Three protective shields can't stop it, right?
It doesn't matter!
Anyway, there are plenty of dead fish eyes.

"Heaven and Earth Xuanzong, the root of ten thousand qi, extensively cultivates ten thousand kalpas, and proves my supernatural power!"

Just as the yellow light was about to collapse, it was suddenly injected with a powerful medicine, solidifying the yellow light and making it difficult for the Thousand Treasures Hammer to advance even a little.

"May Ren Gao protect me, may Ding Chou safeguard me, may Ren He guide me, and may Ding You preserve me!"

The Golden Light Mantra is followed by the Six Ding Protective Mantra.

It's likely that Tsuchimikado Touki didn't expect so many protective spells, and coupled with his initial burst of energy, which was now exhausted, the Thousand Treasure Hammer was suddenly bounced back by the layers of protective spells.

In the blink of an eye, Cherry pinched the second joint of her middle finger with her left thumb, curled the other three fingers inward, and quickly performed the Ye Huo Mudra.

"Disciple humbly requests the presence of the Divine Guardian!"

"All things revere the fire that illuminates the heavenly gate!"

"The Heavenly Might Shines Brightly in the Mysterious Jade Cup!"

"Demons and monsters have turned to dust!"

"Divine soldiers, obey the law!"

The flames were too fierce. In an instant, the finger techniques of Tsuchimikado Toki told him that he could not use the same trick again. This fire was difficult to subdue.

Can only hide.

But this dodge played right into Zhao Sanyuan's hands. Zhao Sanyuan pierced through the flames and unleashed a powerful and heavy Bajiquan hammer strike that cut through the wind.

After struggling to dodge and defend, what awaited them was a barrage of punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, interspersed with various talismans, the wind and fire never ceasing.

It's fair to say that Zhao Sanyuan beat Cherry up in the same way he beat Tsuchimikado Touki back then, delivering a continuous barrage of attacks.

"hiss--"

Cherry gasped repeatedly, biting her tongue to stay conscious and avoid fainting from the pain.

But there's no time for sentimentality now; we must suppress this Japanese devil as soon as possible. What methods can we use to kill him in one blow?
"Damn, he knows quite a lot."

While controlling Zhao Sanyuan, Cherry cursed inwardly, because through his ancestral secret technique, he realized that when he fought with Zhao Sanyuan, this bastard with dead fish eyes hadn't used his full strength at all!
The lineage of the Three Sovereigns?

This thing has been passed down!?
It makes sense now, it finally makes sense. No wonder the Onmyoji set such a big trap.

Don't even mention the Japanese, I'm envious!

You must have accumulated a lot of good karma over several lifetimes to deserve this!
I've always wondered why Seventh Master doesn't let me seek revenge or get into fights. If I had been bullied as a child, Seventh Master would have been the first to retaliate. So this dead fish-eyed guy has been holding back this huge fart.

In my astonishment, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity and helplessness.

Those who understand the principle that "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime" will never find peace unless they die.

Just as Cherry was brainstorming, she suddenly felt a sharp burning sensation in her chest.

Realizing the danger, there was no time to look down and observe. He rolled away on the spot and then used his hands and feet to move towards the ruins as quickly as possible.

His prediction proved to be extremely accurate.

The female Onmyoji whose face he had kicked earlier was holding an ancient mirror. Strangely, it could not emit moonlight; it was like a bottomless black hole from which an unknown gray mist flowed. The expensive suit jacket that Cherry was wearing was instantly burned to ashes the moment it was touched, and the skin underneath was charred, mixed with a pungent smell of water and rust.

In other words, cherries react quickly; if they were a few seconds slower, they would most likely have been burned through the chest.

Mirror, fog, scorching.

He had no idea what kind of connection or secrets lay between them, after all, it was his first time facing an Onmyoji.

That bitch, I should have kicked her to death first!

(End of this chapter)