Mushroom Man

Chapter 132 The Death of the Traveler, the Change of Control of the Grand Duke (10,000-word update, please subscribe)
"laugh--"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

A series of fine, whistling sounds suddenly filled the air!
Abbot Shanren's robe billowed, and the blood seeping from his body floated in mid-air, instantly transforming into thousands upon thousands of scarlet threads.

Those blood streaks transformed into blood needles about an inch long, their tips gleaming coldly.

These blood needles seemed to move through the air like living things, leaving behind streaks of bloody afterimages wherever they went, dazzling the eyes.

This is the Bloodline Red Glow Mushroom!

Once activated, it can divide into countless forms, using essence and blood to create needles and threads. The needles move according to the mind's will, and the battle will continue until death.

Once it enters the body, it will burrow into vital organs like a bone-deep sore, piercing through even the toughest skin and bones.

A torrential downpour of red light filled the sky, like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, rushing towards the crowd.

These blood-red needles seemed to have tracking capabilities, and no matter how the group dodged, they could not avoid them.

"not good!"

Wu Xingzhe's pupils shrank sharply. Faced with the overwhelming barrage of blood-red needles, his indestructible body had undoubtedly become a sitting duck.

Without a second thought, he released the Vajra Subduing Demon and instead activated the Dragon-Step Tiger-Step Mushroom, dodging the rain of needles in a sorry state.

Although his reaction was quick, several streaks of red light still grazed his arm, instantly tearing his skin and flesh.

"The ghost lingers!"

Wu Liang had just shaken off the blood-sucking mosquitoes when he turned around and saw blood needles swarming like locusts.

His face was grim as he kept urging the Ferghana horse to go faster and faster.

However, even if the Ferghana horse ran so fast that its hooves kicked up smoke, it still couldn't outrun the deadly red light.

With three muffled thuds, three jets of blood shot out from the horse's belly.

In just a few breaths, the Ferghana Dragon Steed was struck by three blood-red needles.

The Akhal-Teke staggered a few steps with a mournful cry, blood foam gushing from its mouth and nose.

Having suffered such a severe blow, the Akhal-Teke horse became increasingly slow.

"Brother Wu, it seems we are destined to die here..."

Yan Wuxin's face turned ashen, and he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

A series of deadly whistling sounds echoed in their ears.

Upon hearing this, Wu Liang remained silent and simply continued his desperate escape.

On the other side...

Master Wen wasn't much better off.

Faced with the overwhelming barrage of blood-red needles, she could only flee in panic.

Despite the blood staining her monk's robes, Master Wen still shouted loudly.

"Everyone, that demon's true energy is already insufficient to break the golden band!"

"These blood-red needles are probably this demon's last resort."

"If we can hold out, this devil will surely be defeated!"

When Abbot Shanren heard that she had exposed his background, his expression darkened further.

He snorted coldly and twitched his fingers slightly.

In an instant, a large number of blood-red needles surged toward Master Wen.

"Ha ha……"

"You're getting desperate, you devil!"

"Killing this old woman won't be so easy."

"I have been waiting for this day for countless years."

"Now, no matter what, I will make you, this demon, pay with your life."

Master Wen sneered, having anticipated this.

Her figure suddenly moved, transforming into a pool of ink.

The blood-red needle pierced through the ink stains, creating honeycomb-like holes in the tower wall.

When the ink reassembled into a human shape, a few drops of blood seeped from Master Wen's lips, and her face turned much paler.

Clearly, this method of turning one's body into ink is extremely costly.

However, just as she was secretly rejoicing that she had successfully escaped the abbot's clutches...

Just then, Wu Liang rode past on horseback.

"Killing you isn't that easy."

"This old monk believes that your life is destined to end this time..."

Upon seeing this, Abbot Shanren couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh.

His face turned fierce, and his fingers twitched slightly.

In an instant, the blood-red needles that were originally chasing Wu Liang all changed their targets and went straight for Master Wen's vital points!

"not good!"

Master Wen's pupils contracted sharply, her mind and spirit shaken, and she lost all her composure from before.

The true energy in her dantian was only enough to activate the technique of turning her body into ink once.

Faced with the dense array of blood-red needles again, he felt somewhat helpless.

Her expression changed repeatedly as she tried to use other moving fungi to dodge the blood-red needles.

However, under Abbot Shanren's personal control, these blood-red needles became extremely agile, making them impossible to dodge.

For a moment, Master Wen could only watch helplessly as the blood-red needles surged toward her.

Her pupils dilated, and a thought flashed through her mind.

"It's a real pity that I couldn't personally kill the devil."

"It seems I must depart first and return to the embrace of the Buddha Mother..."

Even in her final moments, Abbess Wen regretted not being able to kill Abbot Shanren.

However, perhaps it was because her life was not meant to end.

At the critical moment, a towering figure crashed in.

"Junior sister!"

Wu Xingzhe roared, like an angry Vajra.

He did everything in his power to stand in front of Abbess Wen.

His muscles were bulging like iron, and he opened his arms without hesitation when faced with the overwhelming red needles.

Clearly, Wu Xingzhe intended to use his own flesh and blood to shield his junior sister from these deadly needle rains.

"Pfft!"

The muffled thuds continued in unison.

Blood blossomed on Wu Xingzhe's chest and back in an instant, yet he remained as steadfast as an old pine tree rooted to the ground.

"Senior...Senior brother?"

Master Wen stared blankly at the figure in front of her, lost in thought.

That burly body was now covered with countless red dots.

The martial arts practitioner bled from all seven orifices and was completely lifeless.

His skull was pierced, and his internal organs were completely shattered.

Even so, he still maintained the posture of having his arms wide open.

His eyes were wide open in anger, staring intently at Abbot Shanren, and he refused to close them even after he died.

Master Wen's trembling hand touched the side of Wu Xingzhe's neck, where veins were bulging, and she felt his skin gradually getting cold.

It was only then that she came to her senses.

"My senior brother is dead?"

this moment……

The usually cold-hearted nun, Master Wen, felt an indescribable heartache at this moment.

"why?"

"Senior brother, how could you be so foolish?"

"Didn't I already say that?"

"Your heart is devoted to Buddha, and you have no interest in me whatsoever."

"Both of us are monks, so there's no way we can have a future together."

"Senior brother, you knew this all along, so why did you still choose to die in my place?"

"Is it really worth it just for the sake of brotherhood and sisterhood?"

As Master Wen gazed at the 'Iron Tower,' an unimaginable grief overwhelmed her.

She had never felt this way before...

You should know that previously, when the Buddhist monks were almost all killed or injured, and Elder Fobao was slapped to death by the abbot, she didn't even blink.

In her view, it was a necessary sacrifice to defeat the demon.

However, the death of Wu Xingzhe is now difficult for Master Wen to accept.

Scenes from the past flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern...

Thirty years ago, when she first entered the temple, she was unaware of the precepts and accidentally killed a bandit.

This honest and kind man once shielded her from the disciplinary monk's cane.

Ten years ago, after slaying the demonic mushroom master, he was covered in blood and said with a smile, "Wherever my junior sister points, I'll attack."

Just a few hours ago, he was still saying in a muffled voice, "Senior brother will listen to you..."

"You are the brain, I am the fist." "With you and me, one intellectual and one martial, we can get anything done."

The tenderness she had deliberately ignored now transformed into thousands of steel needles, piercing her with unbearable pain.

Both brain and fists are indispensable.

However, nowadays, the brain is alive, and the fist is dead.

From this day forward, one a scholar and the other a warrior, they will likely never meet again.

"Ahhhh!!!"

"You fiend, I want you dead!"

Master Wen was devastated and could no longer remain calm.

She dug her fingers deep into her palms, her eyes were bloodshot, and the mushrooms were poised to burst forth.

"Hahaha……"

Abbot Shanren's laughter echoed in the empty bronze pagoda.

A twisted sense of pleasure appeared on his wrinkled old face.

Abbot Shanren laughed even more wildly as he looked at Abbess Wen's heartbroken appearance.

However, his laughter was soon interrupted by a heart-wrenching cough.

Abbot Shanren was hunched over, with a few drops of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Clearly, he had exhausted his inner energy and was on his last legs, unable to suppress the various injuries on his body.

"Ahem... Vinnie, you've hated the wrong person."

Abbot Shanren's voice was hoarse, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his cloudy eyes.

He looked at Wu Liang with a hint of sarcasm on his face.

"Martial Arts Practitioner didn't die at my hands, but at the hands of this little beast!"

"If this little beast hadn't deliberately led the Bloodline Red Light Needle towards you, how could Wu Xingzhe have lost his life?"

As Abbot Shanren spoke, the blood energy around his body began to dissipate.

He could no longer maintain the Blood Escape Mushroom, and his body fell from mid-air like a kite with a broken string.

However, he managed to steady himself before landing.

Even in this predicament, Abbot Shanren did not forget to sow discord, and in a very insidious manner, he pointed the finger at Wu Liang.

Upon hearing this, Abbess Wen abruptly turned to look at Wu Liang.

Her eyes were red, and her knuckles were white, with bulging veins, as she held the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.

Wu Liang expressionlessly pulled on the reins, and the Akhal-Teke horse, panting heavily, came to a stop.

He looked down at the crowd with a cold gaze.

The abbot was right; he had indeed done all of this on purpose.

From the previous blood-sucking mosquitoes to the current blood-line red light needles.

He once said that he would make these people pay a bloody price, every single one of them must die, leaving no one alive.

Whether it was Abbess Wen and the others, or Abbot Shanren, it didn't make much difference to him; it was just a matter of who died first and who died later.

Therefore, for him, it was natural to take advantage of whoever he could.

However, although that's what he thought, he certainly couldn't say it out loud.

"Master, please understand. I was just panicking and didn't know where to go. I did it intentionally."

"The most urgent task now is to eliminate this demon. If you still have doubts, Master, you may dispose of him as you see fit afterward."

Wu Liang, with an air of innocence and a clear conscience, spoke calmly.

However, everyone knows that his claim of panic and desperate measures is just a pretense.

Seeing this, Yan Wuxin's expression became somewhat unnatural.

Clearly, he had also seen Wu Liang's attempt to shift the blame eastward.

He forced himself to speak up in support.

"Yes, Master, how could we dare to harm you?"

"Don't fall for this devil's divisive scheme!"

"This demon is definitely trying to buy time to recover his true energy. We must not let him succeed!"

Master Wen's dantian felt a slight heat, and she knew perfectly well whether it was true or false.

She stared intently at Wu Liang, her eyes surging with murderous intent.

At this moment, Master Wen's hatred for the evil cultists reached a new level.

A little devil and an old devil, each more cunning and treacherous than the other.

However, now is definitely not the time to settle scores with this guy.

Master Wen was able to distinguish between what was important and what was not, so she naturally wouldn't turn against the little devil at this moment and add unnecessary complications.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her surging anger, and directed all her killing intent toward Abbot Shanren.

"Demon, say no more."

"You will die by my hand today, no matter what."

With a sharp shout, Master Wen instantly unleashed her killing move, "A word is as weighty as nine tripods!"

In an instant, nine invisible giant cauldrons descended from the sky.

"Crack!"

The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

Abbot Shanren had nowhere to hide and was forced to his knees, bleeding from all seven orifices, his old face twisted beyond recognition.

However, he didn't care at all and instead let out a chilling laugh.

"Cough cough..."

"This old monk underestimated you..."

He struggled to keep his body from sinking further and pulled something out of his hand.

It was a mushroom with a pure purple-gold color, its surface shimmering with a faint halo, radiating the aura of a fifth-level being.

"Originally, this old monk intended to keep this Tai Sui mushroom to deal with any high-ranking Buddhist monks who might arrive..."

"I never expected that you would push me to this point."

Abbot Shanren grinned maliciously, his face revealing madness.

Master Wen's expression changed drastically, and she immediately launched into a verbal battle.

However, Abbot Shanren had been secretly recovering his true energy, and now it was enough to activate the mushrooms.

A layer of blood-red light suddenly appeared around him, blocking all her attacks.

"Damn it!"

Master Wen gritted her teeth, realizing that she couldn't let her guard down.

She truly hadn't expected that Abbot Shanren would still have a backup plan at this point.

Unwilling to give up, Master Wen exerted all her strength to unleash her sharp tongue in an attempt to shatter the blood shield.

However, she was ultimately just a Daoist mushroom master, and her offensive methods were not much different from those of the Yan clan chief.

Without the martial arts practitioner as her puncher, she couldn't even break through Abbot Shanren's defenses.

Upon seeing this, Abbot Shanren grinned triumphantly, revealing his blood-red mouth.

"An ant is still an ant..."

Do you know why you failed?

He looked down at everyone, slowly raised the Tai Sui mushroom, and spoke in a voice like a venomous snake spitting its tongue.

"Because you talk too much!"

"If I had acted decisively when you were suspicious of each other, I might have really been caught off guard and suffered a setback..."

"Good disciple, the last lesson I will teach you is that you must never let your guard down or underestimate any fifth-level mushroom master until the very last moment."

"Give them any chance to catch their breath, and it remains to be seen who will live and who will die."

As soon as Abbot Shanren finished speaking, he was about to swallow the Tai Sui mushroom.

But at this critical moment!
A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out...

"Abbot, what are you doing with my Tai Sui mushroom?"

Before he finished speaking, a streak of dark light pierced through the air—it was Wu Liang's Rules and Regulations!

The seemingly ordinary rope instantly disappeared into Abbot Shanren's body.

The next moment, to everyone's astonishment, Abbot Shanren involuntarily and properly tossed the Tai Sui mushroom to Wu Liang.

"What...what did you do to this old monk?"

Abbot Shanren's eyes widened in shock and rage.

He couldn't believe that his lifeline had been taken away like this.

His old face turned deathly pale, and his previous arrogance and smugness vanished instantly.

Wu Liang caught the mushroom steadily, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Abbot, you're right..."

"The reason you failed is because you talked too much."

"Never let your guard down until the very last moment, and never underestimate any mushroom grower."

“Even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit.”

"I have taken note of this lesson."

(End of this chapter)