The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 350 Impossible, Absolutely Impossible (4k)

The evil spirit's horrified question echoed throughout the entire Taotu County.

At this, Du Yuan, sitting calmly opposite it, simply chuckled:
"He's just a wandering swordsman!"

After saying that, Du Yuan pointed to the chessboard and added:
"So, why aren't you making your move yet?"

At this moment, how could that evil spirit care about the chessboard?

It just stared at Du Yuan in terror, its expression constantly shifting.

This person's background was probably far beyond its expectations, leaving it momentarily at a loss for what to do.

But precisely because of this, it is unsure how to respond: whether to flee, continue, or overturn the chessboard and engage in a real battle.
After a brief moment of thought, it scoffed:
"Since we're supposed to play a game of chess, how can you claim to have won by using such tactics to prevent me from making a move?"

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan merely offered the same sarcastic remark:
"Just now you were spouting things like 'the world should be ruled by the strong, and we shouldn't get entangled in petty disputes,' but now that I've done what you said, why can't you accept it?"

One sentence shut it down.

Previously, it mocked the young master, saying that he didn't understand what was permissible and what was not, and only knew how to make a fuss about winning and losing on the chessboard, personal honor and disgrace, etc. He didn't know that in today's world, the winner should take all, and might makes right.

Now that Du Yuan has done as it said, it's suddenly disagreeing. Isn't that contradicting itself?
After a moment of silence, the other person suddenly laughed:

"That's right, I was the one who made a foolish mistake. Since you have such a brilliant move and have outmaneuvered me, I should naturally admit it. But since you agree with what I said, I wonder if you can also surpass me in other aspects?"

At this point, it suddenly looked at the many mortals behind Du Yuan. Those still here were either yamen runners, patrol officers, or scholars.

They are not ordinary people, but in front of it, they seem no different from ordinary people.

They all die the moment they are touched.

Although it was not explicitly stated, the meaning was crystal clear: In terms of cultivation level alone, you and I may be evenly matched, but I am all alone, and can you protect the people behind me?

Du Yuan instantly understood its intention and glanced back at the crowd behind her.

Only then did the young master realize what was happening, and immediately pointed at the evil spirit and angrily rebuked it:

"You shameless bastard! Just now I said that although you are a remnant of the old regime, at least you still have some bottom line. Now it seems that you are nothing but a despicable scoundrel!"

The evil spirit, however, didn't take it to heart and chuckled, asking in return, "You've already called me a remnant of evil, so how good can I be?"

The young man felt as if he had been punched in the face, his anger rising uncontrollably. He knew that morality and integrity were not only useless against such a shameless person, but would only disgust him.

But for a moment, he really didn't know how to deal with it.

This evil spirit's cultivation level must be unfathomable. Not to mention a junior like him who has not yet completed his cultivation, even his master, whom he usually regards as a support and who has profound cultivation, would probably find it difficult to withstand its power.

Trying to protect these defenseless mortals under the nose of such a ferocious and terrifying monster is harder than climbing to heaven.

Unless a peerless master with cultivation far surpassing its own appears here, the impasse can be broken. But according to his understanding, such a person is unlikely to appear in the world now.

This has created an unsolvable dead end!

Alternatively, they could go along with the evil spirit's wishes and both sides could stop fighting and leave, so as to avoid a real fight that could escalate out of control and harm innocent people.

Alternatively, they might disregard the lives and deaths of all the ordinary people present and engage in a fierce battle with the evil spirits, fighting to the death to see who ultimately prevails.

After a long pause, the young master, still seething with anger, could only grit his teeth and shout angrily:
"You despicable and shameless filthy scum! You used to hold a high position and be so glorious, but now you do such vile things. You have no shame at all and are completely unworthy of your former status!"

Upon hearing this, the evil spirit was not angered at all; instead, it laughed even more unrestrainedly, its laughter filled with mockery and resentment.

"My high position? Everything I had was smashed and destroyed by you people back then! Now I don't even have a place to live. How can I face those past glories that have long since vanished?"

One sentence left the young master speechless once again. He was so angry that his face turned red and his chest heaved violently, but he couldn't utter another word. He felt a surge of frustration stuck in his heart, making him extremely uncomfortable.

The yamen runners and military officers around them were terrified, their legs went weak, and they didn't dare to even breathe.

They were terrified that these two top experts would suddenly turn hostile and start fighting, and if the war spread, they, these insignificant little people, would probably not even have their bones left, and would only become innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Even the scholar who had always had great confidence in Du Yuan and was secretly certain that he could stabilize the situation couldn't help but start to have doubts.

He certainly believed in Du Yuan's abilities and thought he could suppress the evil spirit, but when it came to a real fight, he had absolutely no confidence that they, as small fry, could escape unscathed in a battle of this level.

It wasn't that they didn't trust Du Yuan's abilities; it was just that they knew their own limitations.

To everyone's surprise, in the midst of the deathly silence and widespread panic, Du Yuan remained calm and composed, her expression unchanged.

He slowly raised his hand and took down the old sword blade that was carefully wrapped in layers of coarse cloth from behind him.

While slowly and methodically untying the strips of cloth, he spoke softly:
"Before I left, an elder told me to travel around the world and do whatever I felt like. Since you speak so arrogantly and look down on others, I will naturally show you what real power is!"

Du Yuan's fingers moved incessantly, the strips of cloth sliding down in circles to reveal the mottled sword blade beneath:
"Tell me, if a wandering knight doesn't even use a sword, how can he be called a wandering knight?"

As the strips of cloth were untied layer by layer, the rust that had formed on the sword slid off in a soft rustling sound.

Although the sword still couldn't fully recapture its former sharpness, it was far better than before.

Seeing Du Yuan's leisurely and confident demeanor, a sinister glint flashed in the evil spirit's eyes, followed by a cold laugh:

"It seems that you are truly confident and completely disregard the lives of these mortals behind you. But that makes sense. In this world, it is a matter of self-preservation. You seem to have a clear understanding of this."

It paused, its voice lowered, yet everyone could hear it:

"Don't worry, if a fight really breaks out, I'll do my best to wipe out these burdens completely, so you won't be distracted and unable to attend to everything. But if by chance a few slip through and we can't eliminate them all at once, then I'll have to trouble you to move your legs and reach out your hands to clean them up yourself!"

These words were extremely malicious.

That is to say that it will definitely target that group of mortals with all its might in a moment, it is also trying to sow discord between that group of mortals and Du Yuan. As long as something goes wrong, it will be a disaster.

Du Yuan, this remarkable person who stepped forward, is likely to have her reputation ruined!

Du Yuan simply continued untying the strips of cloth. The instant the cloth strips completely slipped off, a faint ray of light suddenly flashed across the old sword, slightly dispelling the evil spirit's malice, and then swept towards the distant sky.

Awakened countless people!

Looking at the old sword in her hand, Du Yuan's grip on the sword was as steady as a rock. Her fingertips lightly tapped the blade as she calmly said:
"A knight's sword should slay demons and protect the good. If you want to kill, I will stop you. If you want to disturb me, I will kill you. It's that simple!"

Before the words were even finished, black energy surged around the evil spirit, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. Du Yuan remained unharmed, but the young master couldn't help but shiver. The mortals felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, instantly covered in frost, and trembling uncontrollably.

It stared intently at the old sword, its eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty, because it felt that the sword was strangely familiar.

It wasn't just familiar, but a different kind of déjà vu, as if I'd seen it somewhere before, but couldn't quite place it. But with a formidable enemy before it, it could only stubbornly insist:
"Pretending to be something you're not! You think you can stop me with a piece of junk?"

Du Yuan did not answer, but slowly raised her sword. The rusty blade was aimed at the evil spirit. The clear light had faded, but the evil spirit's hair stood on end.

The black energy suddenly surged, like surging waves of ink, and instantly condensed into several ferocious claws. The target was not Du Yuan, but Taotu County behind Du Yuan.

In the blink of an eye, the black claws grew from small to large, from the size of a human palm to a colossal creature that now covers half the county town.

Its purpose was very clear: not to fight this increasingly bizarre creature head-on, but to force it into its rhythm in order to protect the mortals.

Based on its many years of experience, it accurately judged that Du Yuan would never allow it to slaughter these mortals.

Therefore, it was confident that Du Yuan would accept the challenge.

Its judgment was indeed correct, but it misjudged other things.

Faced with the evil spirit's ruthless attack, Du Yuan simply stepped forward and offered her sword, intending to slay it!
As the sword light silently approached, the evil spirit cursed angrily:
"You actually disregard the lives of these ordinary people!!!"

Left with no other choice, it could only prepare to withstand the blow through its own resilience. It remained immensely confident in this.

Although his esteemed position was smashed, his golden body destroyed, and his name and identity were all swept away by the mud of time.

But it still lives, still lives by its body which has become more and more resilient through constant trials!

But at that moment, it suddenly felt a chill in its heart, a chill that had never been there before.

Then, the immense magical power vanished with a roar, and the countless black wisps that had surged out suddenly dispersed. Even the giant black claw that was about to fall on Taotu County collapsed instantly.

All that was left were panicked and bewildered people.

It staggered backward in disbelief. When it clutched its chest, pierced by the old sword, and looked down...

It can only say one thing:
"how come?"

It was just stabbed through the heart, but it clearly doesn't have a heart.
It is a god, a real god, not those later clay and wooden puppets.

It was born sacred and immortal. Not only were the founders of the three religions and the philosophers of the hundred schools of thought unable to completely kill it, but it also survived the great calamity that swept across the world.

Therefore, it will not die, but will only become more and more broken and incompetent, until it is no longer able to stir up any trouble.

Just like the rest of his companions.

But now, it suddenly realizes that it seems it really is going to die?

But how is that possible?
Humans cannot kill gods!
None of the three founders of the religions succeeded! At least not before they obtained that thing!
In its astonishment, it suddenly remembered the sound of the surging tide that it had heard before.

Then it suddenly thought of another possibility: humans cannot kill gods, and even gods themselves cannot easily destroy each other.

This could be for the purpose of rectifying social norms and practicing the principles of Heaven, or it could simply be an accident.

In short, a supreme being who is in charge of slaying gods has appeared!

It vaguely remembered that in that year, ash wood was used to make swords, and the road to heaven was severed.

Thinking of this, the evil spirit clutched its chest and turned to Du Yuan, asking another question:
"What's the name of your sword?!"

Du Yuan approached slowly, sword in hand, and then said:
"Ash!"

As the word fell, the evil spirit's eyes filled with terror, and it roared in horror:
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

A sudden gust of wind arose, and the black fog reappeared; it was attempting a desperate last stand.

It could overturn mountains and unleash a raging storm, sweeping towards Du Yuan with endless black mist.

However, as it blew the two small seals at his waist, they disappeared one after another, eventually turning into nothing more than a gust of wind that bothered his sleeves.

At that moment, it also saw clearly the two small seals on Du Yuan's waist.

The imperial carriage, carrying the emperor's decree, was on the left, swirling and turning incessantly.

The emperor, in charge of the overall situation, was fluctuating.

Two seals are on his side, and he holds a sword in his hand.

At this moment, seeing Du Yuan approaching, the evil spirit forgot everything. It just stood there with its mouth agape, then collapsed, staring intently at Du Yuan.

His mouth was full of:

"How could this be? How could this be? Impossible! It can't be!"

How could these three possibly be together?

How come something we never saw back then is happening now?
Du Yuan had already stood in front of the evil spirit with her sword in hand, watching Du Yuan approach.

The evil spirit suddenly came to its senses and was so frightened by the three items on Du Yuan's body that it hurriedly crawled behind it.

"How did you obtain these things? You are just a mortal, how could you possess them? Who are you? Could you be an incarnation of one of the three founders of the religion?"

"No, that's not right, it can't be them! Who are you?!"

In its incoherent state, it desperately tried to crawl away, but the chill in its heart gradually spread throughout its body, making it impossible to continue.

He could only gasp for breath and slump down not far from Du Yuan.

Then, seeing Du Yuan's mournful face, he said:
"What exactly are you?!"

Seeing the malevolent creature's behavior, Du Yuan couldn't help but shake his head, then sheathed his old sword and said:

“To use my sword to kill something like you would be a disservice to my sword.”

For a moment, the evil spirit thought it had found a way out, but then it saw Du Yuan pick up the chessboard and say:
"I'll do as you wish!"

Upon seeing this, the evil spirit froze instantly, and the words it had repeatedly uttered before echoed in its ears:

"Is it going to be a hammer meant to smash my head?"

(End of this chapter)