Yefutidaolu

Chapter 340 A Few Words
Right after Takami drew his sword...

The bizarre fragments, accompanied by piercing screams and a viscous stench of blood, exploded violently in his closed sea of ​​consciousness!

The vague, distorted ambitions of his childhood; the countless days and nights of inhuman torture in the training room, his skin torn open, his bones groaning; the spiritual materials he had personally dismembered and extracted resentment from, their desperate cries and curses before death, were no longer just vague background noise, but countless painful, distorted faces rushing towards him, their venomous gazes almost burning through his soul; and much more… much more fragments of memories he had deliberately forgotten, buried deep beneath the filth—betrayal, killing, greed, twisted pleasure—erupted like a volcano, spewing forth with scalding lava and toxic ash!

The filth and depravity of the mortal world stirred up a devastating storm within his supposedly indestructible sea of ​​consciousness.

Reality was instantly overwhelmed and submerged by this violent torrent of illusions from within.

Wu Feng's sinister smile froze, his eyes glazed over, and the immense death energy gathered on the Netherworld Ghost Claw suddenly went out of control and dissipated like a puppet with broken strings.

He stood frozen in place, completely oblivious to the deadly threat lurking in the outside world, like a stone statue instantly swallowed by a nightmare.

Of course.

The demonic energy was already churning in his mind. It was an illusion that he couldn't resist. At least, Gao Jian hadn't encountered anyone who could resist it yet, probably because they were too low-level.

Things might be different when we reach the twelfth realm.

But now... he has won.

The dark, cold light that contained all of Gao Jian's will and power had reached Wu Feng's chest!

"Pfft!"

A soft sound.

Time seems to have frozen.

Wu Feng's two imposing ghostly claws suddenly disintegrated in mid-air, turning into a sky full of yin energy. The ecstasy and ferocity on his face were instantly replaced by extreme pain and bewilderment. He slowly lowered his head, looking at the inconspicuous blood hole in his chest that was rapidly expanding and obliterating, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Uh..." He made a strange hoarse sound in his throat, and his body seemed to have all its bones removed. He fell straight down from mid-air and crashed onto the sharpening platform with a "bang," kicking up a cloud of dust.

He didn't die, but the knife had pierced his chest, and one of the acupoints was broken. The injury was indeed serious, but it was far from killing him. The techniques of the Netherworld can cultivate the physical body, which is why they came up to fight in close combat.

But this time, nothing unexpected happened.

Then, Gao Jian lightly swung his knife, shaking off the blood.

quiet!
Deathly silence!

Everyone was stunned by this incredible reversal that happened in the blink of an eye!
Just a second ago, Gao Jian was in a sorry state, his breathing was disordered, and he was about to be killed by Wu Feng!

The next second, it was Wu Feng who fell down.

Xia Youdu was still in the position of running away with her head in her hands, her face pale, looking at Wu Feng's body lying on the stage and the figure that slowly fell back to the center of the Lifeng Stage, his breath even weaker, but his eyes cold.

Gao Jian didn't even glance at the fallen Wu Feng. His gaze returned to the still-shaken Xia Youdu. His voice, though heavy with breaths, remained calm: "Your luck... can't save him. But, you're quite interesting."

Gao Jian looked at the panicked Xia Youdu and felt a strange feeling.

think about it,
Her appearance was like a sudden, discordant bright spot in this desolate and filthy place. Her face was indeed of noble bone structure. Even with his knowledge, Gao Jian could see that this person's bones and flesh were in perfect balance, and that he would live a life free from disaster.

Observe its form, examine its bones, and you will find no detail is missing. If one surpasses eleven, it is as if a deity has descended to earth, with smooth flesh and fine bones, long hands and square feet. One will appear majestic as one comes, and depart with a serene air. One's eyes will shine like the morning star, with dragon eyes and phoenix eyes. One's bone structure and spirit will be in perfect harmony, with one's flesh and bones in perfect balance and one's spirit in perfect balance. One's spirit will be clear and beautiful, like a branch of laurel in Guilin, a piece of jade in Kunshan, a pearl hidden in a deep pool, or jade hidden in a stone. One will be noble and famous.

You should know that Gao Jian had already seen this before: the human body is actually a small world.

Humans are endowed with the energies of Yin and Yang, resemble the form of Heaven and Earth, and receive the resources of the Five Elements, making them the most intelligent of all beings.

Therefore, the head resembles the sky, the feet resemble the earth, the eyes resemble the sun and moon, the voice resembles thunder, the blood vessels resemble rivers, the joints resemble metal and stone, the nose and forehead resemble mountains, and the hair resembles grass and trees. The sky should be high and far, the earth should be square and thick, the sun and moon should be bright, the thunder should be resounding, the rivers should be moist, the metal and stone should be hard, the mountains should be rugged, and the grass and trees should be beautiful. These are all general principles.

Judging from her bone structure, skin, and overall demeanor, her delicate hands and feet indicate a life of leisure. Her smooth complexion suggests a peaceful and happy life. Her sparse eyebrows also indicate a life of tranquility. Her refined bone structure signifies a peaceful and serene life. Her clear and serene spirit suggests a life of wisdom. She is truly a woman of immeasurable nobility, a model of being born with the favor of fate.

But what attracted Gao Jian's attention even more was not her beauty, but the aura about her that was so out of place in the realm of the living and the dead.

Naive.

A kind of innocence that is carefully protected and has never experienced real hardship. Her curiosity, her embarrassment, her attempts to maintain dignity but unable to hide her naivety... all seem so fragile, so... out of place.

Like a delicate flower carefully cultivated on the soil of the underworld, its roots are deeply embedded in rotting flesh and vengeful spirits without it realizing it.

She had unwavering faith in her bone structure and enjoyed the privileges and indulgences that came with her "destined for wealth and honor."

She was still troubled by some of her youthful anxieties, as if they were the biggest problems in her life. Gao Jian remained unmoved, offering only a cold, scrutinizing gaze.

In a place like the Netherworld, to possess such a pure, unpolluted noble appearance, and to be so "cherished" and nurtured... this in itself is the biggest mystery.

She was no ordinary disciple. Her bone structure, her very being, seemed more like... an object?
A carefully selected, nurtured, and potentially used in some kind of ritual? Considering the black-robed man's ultimate pursuit of the "essence" and his unparalleled cultivation of the "sea of ​​marrow"... could Xia Youdu's "noble appearance" be a manifestation of some purer, more fundamental life "essence"?

Gao Jian's fingers unconsciously traced the hilt of the rusty knife at his waist. The cold touch sent a shiver down his spine, and the blade seemed to respond to his thoughts in an extremely faint way.

Just then, the rusty knife at my waist suddenly trembled very slightly!
hum...

The tremor was so faint as to be almost imperceptible, like the last flap of a cicada's wings in late autumn, yet it carried a complex mix of indescribable longing and repulsion, instantly reaching Gao Jian's heart!
Gao Jian's fingers, which were resting on the hilt of the knife, tightened suddenly! His mind, as clear as a mirror, clearly reflected the sudden and extremely targeted movement of the rusty knife!

Yes, at this moment, Gao Jian used the sharpness of the rusty knife, even though it was only three inches long.

He wanted to see what was going on with Xia Youdu's absurd luck. Could her pure and noble bone structure really achieve this? Or was it some kind of "essence" that might be hidden within her body, being nurtured in the shadows?
But why this rejection? Is it because her very existence is part of the meticulously planned scheme of the Underworld?

A sharp, extremely serious glint flashed in the depths of Gao Jian's cold eyes.

The Dark Land... the Man in Black Robes... Xia Youdu...

An invisible, larger, and more dangerous net seemed to be slowly unfolding before him.

And that seemingly innocent girl, Xia Youdu, who seems to be protected by her wealthy appearance, is probably a crucial, and extremely dangerous, bait in this net!

He calmed his mind and, with the tranquility of his heart, observed Xia Youdu, hoping to glean some clue.

Surprisingly, however, he only saw... a truly innocent girl, and one who was afraid... The scene reflected in his heart caused even the most unwavering resolve to flutter slightly.

No.

Nothing at all.

There were no lurking malevolent spirits as expected, no twisted auras marked as "bait," no sacrificial marks pre-embedded as "prepared offerings"... not a trace of the usual methods of the Netherworld.

Those sinister, calculating, sacrificial, and betrayal "spirits" seemed to have been completely purified from her, vanishing without a trace.

What he saw was only... a girl truly gripped by fear, trembling at his murderous intent and the strange movement of the rusty knife... That fear was so pure, so direct, so unadorned, reflected in his heart as clearly as fingerprints on a mirror.

Pure. Fragile. Even...innocent.

The result is absurd to the point of being suffocating.

Gao Jian's mind remained as cold and clear as ice, his reason working at high speed, trying to analyze this enormous contradiction.

Is the reflection from the rusty knife malfunctioning?

Impossible. The mind is like a mirror, reflecting the essence of all things, especially at this moment when it is actively directed and fully driven by insightful vision. Any disguise or deep imprint will be exposed, or at least insightful vision is unwilling to believe that it will fail.

The Xuanhua Tongmen Daoda Song could withstand it all, yet it couldn't see through the charm of a young girl? Impossible.

Unless... Youming really didn't do anything to her?
The idea itself even struck Gao Jian as absurd.

Could it be that I underestimated the moral standards of the Netherworld?

This vicious immortal sect leader, who refines resentment, manipulates souls, and treats life as worthless, would actually have such a "bottom line" for his core disciples? Would he be so... "sincere"?
The cold lake of the heart reflected Xia Youdu's pure fear, without a trace of impurity. This scene itself was a mockery of all known logic in the realm of the living and the dead.

In the realm of the living and the dead... is there truly such a thing as "sincerity"?

Gao Jian's actions stopped without warning.

He slowly withdrew his stance. The rusty knife that had just posed a death threat had somehow lost its deadly gleam, returning to its former state as an inconspicuous piece of scrap metal, seemingly ready to shatter at any moment, casually hanging at his side. The rusty tip was still stained with beads of blood from Wu Feng's earlier attack, which had not yet congealed.

Gao Jian's gaze finally pierced through the horrific scene and landed precisely on the girl huddled at the back of the crowd, shrouded in an air of wealth and privilege—Xia Youdu. Her face was as pale as paper, her body trembled slightly with fear, and her clear eyes were filled with lingering panic, like a young deer being stared at by a tiger, fragile and vulnerable.

Then he spoke.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it clearly pierced through the deathly silence:

"Today's challenge is over for now." The words were concise, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact. "I have now lost ten people in a row."

His gaze swept over the fallen figures and terrified faces again, as if he were counting insignificant items.

"The rest of you," he paused, his calm tone carrying an undeniable command, "will wait again tomorrow."

Then, Gao Jian's gaze returned to Xia Youdu.

He took a step forward. Just one step, yet it made the surrounding air suddenly tense, as if an invisible string had been stretched to its limit. The disciples who had been standing in front of Xia Youdu, almost instinctively and with barely concealed fear, staggered back to both sides, instantly clearing a path in front of her.

Gao Jian's gaze fell on Xia Youdu's pale face, a sharp glint flashing in the depths of his eyes before being covered by calm.

“Then,” his voice seemed to lower slightly, yet it was still as clear as a whisper, echoing in the deathly silence, “Xia Youdu… right?”

He called out her name accurately.

“Young lady,” the words escaped his blood-stained lips, spoken after a brutal fight, carrying an almost eerie, deliberate gentleness that contrasted chillingly with his menacing aura. “May I ask you…”

He paused slightly, as if trying to calm Xia Youdu's terrified eyes.

"Want to have a brief chat with me?"

"Just a few words." These four casually uttered words, however, sounded somewhat... terrifying to Xia Youdu.

Her body trembled violently, and she instinctively took half a step back. Her lips moved, but she didn't speak.

Honestly, she was terrified.

She had always lived in this land of life and death, the boundary between the underworld and the mortal realm, but she had never truly faced death.

Just now, Gao Jian made him feel death.

She didn't know how to answer, and seemed to be trying to ask those around her for help—

Meanwhile, Wu Feng got up.

His acupoints were ruptured, and all his vital energy was dissipated. He needs time to repair his acupoints and restore his physical body before he can regain his fighting strength. Currently, his physical body is weak and his vital energy is insufficient, which has caused the ghost king he is raising within his body to show signs of backlash.

"Stop—" He had just woken up and wanted to stop Gao Jian.

But at that moment, Gao Jian turned around, kicked Wu Feng away, drew his sword, aimed at the sea of ​​blood in the other's body, and slashed down.

Who remembers that the rusty knife actually possesses the power to subdue ghosts? The headless ghost of yesteryear would be instantly annihilated simply by touching its sharp edge. (See Chapter Fourteen for details)
Gao Jian even used this move against Huang Chengshi, and it caused the ghost king inside Huang's body to backfire in one strike.

The same is true now.

Wu Feng's Ghost King, which was attached to his palms and formed his 'Ghost Claws', was not as strong as Huang Chengshi's. It was pierced through in one go, and the Ghost King vanished into thin air.

Wu Feng let out a scream of "Ah!" and then fainted again.

Gao Jian looked at Xia Youdu.

Xia Youdu swallowed hard.

(End of this chapter)