Forge a path to success

The poison of the Gu Deer Flower, the slime of the illusory demon, and a third of obsession, plus the sand of the Calamity-type Stone Golem. This is the first bullet that Shax has carefully crafted. The ghostly shot triggered by demonic materials is a smokescreen; the true purpose is the Stone Golem's demonic shot, which is born from the dust of nothingness.

It pierced through the armor, still retaining its ethereal quality, and hurtled towards Chu Hengkong's throat. But then, the armor protecting his throat dissipated on its own, and a hand blocked the bullet as it materialized. The assassin didn't have enough time to draw his weapon, so he grabbed at the bullet with his bare hands.

Blood gushed out like arrows, shooting into the air with a deafening roar. Those still reeling from the sonic boom looked up to see a man in armor standing silently, one hand clutching his throat. Blood continued to gush from his hand, leading onlookers to almost believe his throat had been pierced by a bullet. But the assassin removed his hand; there was only a graze on his throat.

A bright red gash ran across the back of his hand, from his palm all the way to his elbow, transforming into a brown bullet that had just fallen. The protective aura armor on his arm faithfully served its purpose; although it couldn't completely deflect the attack due to the ghostly properties, it protected his vitals. Chu Hengkong flattened the bullet, channeling his power, and the Undying and Indestructible Technique immediately activated, but this time, the invincible secret technique failed to work.

Grit glittered within the wound, each grain resembling a vicious claw. The grit, imbued with the magic of the stone demon, hindered healing, even preventing the protective armor from fully covering the wound. Shax's first shot had worked; he was about to carve a fatal breach into his enemy!

I see. Good idea.

The Serpent of Sacrifice laughed, casually tossing the bullet into the distance. The next instant, he leaped into the air, unleashing explosive power from fifteen minutes of circulating Qi, granting him incredible speed to traverse the city. 6 kilometers, 4 kilometers, 3 kilometers—the distance closed in an instant, and he could see the sniper's face.

The first shot hit, but it also revealed Shax's location. Only by catching this shot could he find his opponent!

Chapter 134 Gun and Sword Feud: A Deadly Battle in a Second (Part 2)

The location has been revealed; the snake will arrive in less than three breaths.

The battlefield he chose was the western part of the city, filled with high-rise buildings, which had already been cleared of people beforehand, turning it into a no-man's-land with complex terrain. The dense cover would normally be disadvantageous to both sides, but to the martial arts practitioners of Longxiang, buildings were no different from flat ground; Chu Hengkong would definitely move in a straight line. Like a cannonball, he would smash through buildings, stepping on walls to climb higher, bringing the most direct death.

Therefore, Shax did not move. The difference in mobility between the two was immense; by the time he turned with his gun, the enemy's knife would have already pierced his spine. He remained prone in his original position, the second bullet slipped into the ricochet, and the invisible threads of his mental energy severed at his will. The traps laid in advance on the battlefield were triggered.

A sharp whistling sound echoed between the buildings!

·

There would definitely be a trap. This was the battlefield the sniper had chosen himself, so he would have prepared in advance. Therefore, the moment he charged forward, Chu Hengkong focused his attention to the extreme.

His intensely concentrated energy was so intense it felt like his organs were about to tear apart. He could hear the sound of every speck of dust falling around him, distinguish the source of every odor, and feel the vibrations of the tiny gears turning inside the building.

Tentacles coiled and swung, Chu Hengkong burst through the window and flew into the deserted building. A grenade sealed within the wall was about to detonate when it was destroyed by a flying blade of spirit, and the trigger-activated cannon on the ceiling was smashed by flying debris. Calculating every bit of force, wasting not a microsecond, he charged up again, soaring upwards—

He heard a sudden whooshing sound, and crimson blood burst from his ears!

Hundreds of specially made bullets buried in the western part of Jinye City exploded simultaneously. It was like a thousand bats screeching at once, or ten thousand flying insects flapping their wings and chirping in unison. Extremely high-frequency sound waves propagated between buildings, resonating and amplifying, amplified to an extreme degree by specially adjusted mechanisms. A deafening roar, inaudible to ordinary people, surged in in an instant. Chu Hengkong's mind went blank; his extremely sharp senses ironically rendered him deaf!

—The secret to comprehensively improving physical fitness is the Qi of a Thousand Autumns.

Physical attributes such as physique, strength, reflexes, and all imaginable physical qualities will increase, and perception will naturally follow suit. However, strengths can also be weaknesses. Just as a dog with keen hearing is afraid of noise, a killer who is overly focused on reconnaissance may be killed by a noise trap.

This is a tactic that can only be used when fully prepared, which is why the once-immortal machine could not be used in the deathmatch. Its significance lies only in pausing the assassin's thinking, buying the sniper a moment.

According to the information provided by Wu He, the Undying and Immortal Technique can repair minor injuries in about 0.03 seconds.

A genius who is proficient in this art only needs 0.015 seconds.

The time required for the sacrificial snake to heal itself is probably less than 0.01 seconds.

That single, decisive moment was enough for Shax to make his next move. He locked onto his opponent, fired, and released a second bullet.

As the blood flowed back into his ear and the damaged organ was repaired, Chu Hengkong saw a golden "gun." At its tip was a spinning golden bullet, with metal clusters wrapped around its rear like a cloak, forming a matching "gun barrel." The gun aimed straight at Chu Hengkong's right shoulder, targeting the only opening created by the first shot.

He leaped up and charged forward, dodging attacks as he advanced. The moment the golden bullets struck the ground, golden rain fell from his eyes. The chanting of hymns shook the air, and countless spear tips shot out from the ceiling, from the windows, from the ground, like the crucifixion of sinners.

Blood Holy Lance - Piercing Crucifixion!

Besides sniping, Shax is also skilled with melee weapons such as javelins, an ability he gained after incorporating his martial arts into the Variable Blade technique. By channeling half of his hatred, he can create instantaneous piercing attacks within a 200-meter radius of the bullet's impact point, with each spear carrying the lethality equivalent to a direct bullet strike.

If Chu Hengkong had chosen to conceal his tracks and infiltrate secretly, he would have used this shot to force him to reveal himself. But now, to close the distance and break into the building, he was using the dismemberment bullet as a deadly move to enclose the space. Faced with such a high density of attacks, protecting oneself was impossible. If the assassin slowed his pace to defend himself, the third shot, heralding death, would arrive.

Guns. Guns. Guns. Sharp weapons were everywhere, golden spears raining down like a storm. Being hit by those spears would result in severe injury, the sharp weapons piercing through vital organs and bringing death. Chu Hengkong's tentacles fell straight to the ground, the blue flames on his whips blazing brightly, forming a pillar of fire that shot straight up from the ground.

The widespread devastation of the Azure Burning Blaze was triggered, the rain of bullets melting into golden streams of water in the flames of ambition. But the attack was not over yet; new spears pierced through the flames, relentlessly thrusting with a suicidal resolve. The piercing and dismembering execution was not finished, for the bullets that triggered the execution were still spinning. After piercing the floor, they reflected off the next level, twice tracing eerie sharp angles. After the Azure Burning Blaze was activated, it pierced through the floor and shot out, bouncing towards Chu Hengkong's right shoulder.

Half hatred, a quarter paranoia, and a quarter restlessness. This bullet is a modified "bounce bullet," like a golden hound that will relentlessly pursue its prey until the attack hits.

Even if it hits a real machine's spine, it doesn't matter. This bullet contains no material; it's entirely composed of Shax's own essence. He's betting that his power won't be defeated by an inanimate object. If even this trick is absorbed by the Immortal Machine, then he deserves to die!

The golden bullet shot out like a javelin, as resolute as the sniper himself. It aimed at the only opening, piercing into the crimson blood. The bullet, embedded in the blood, paused, deformed, and then was forcefully deflected away.

It struck a blood-red shield!

His train of thought froze, his reaction halted. The sudden turn of events, like a sharp knife, shattered the sniper's plan. The blonde woman's assistance? Some kind of special relic? Impossible. Retrieving protective gear from the stored relic would take time, and his bullets couldn't possibly be intercepted by the power of the faint light. What method did Chu Hengkong use? That instantly appearing crimson heavy shield was—

At this moment, the sniper understood. Even stronger than the sense of defeat was the shock that struck him to the core.

According to the information provided by Wu He, the Zhengxuan Gangqi Armor is the essence of the Dragon Township martial arts' defensive techniques. Except for a few attacks targeting the Nether Body, it can amplify and reflect most attacks. If this secret technique has any flaws, it can only be two: First, it consumes too much energy, so low-level cultivators can only use it partially. Second, the energy originates from within the body, and the armor can only cover the surface of the body.

Therefore, Chu Hengkong tore his own body apart.

As the tentacles released their fiery energy, the assassin deliberately tore off about half of his upper body. The protective armor covering the flesh became a crimson shield, deflecting the second bullet. He used the shield to protect his sides and launched a magnificent charge into the hail of bullets.

Chu Hengkong recalled his partner's fearless spirit as they charged forward, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face. He now understood his partner's feelings. There was no need to dodge those hard, sharp, and ubiquitous attacks. To win, one must use a self that surpasses them as a shield, shattering them and forging a path of blood!

This was a move that Shax hadn't anticipated at all, a tactic not typical of assassins. Like those secret techniques and ultimate skills, it was something he'd acquired after arriving in the Shallow Realm. The lingering rain of gunfire continued to fall, but it no longer posed a threat. The spears attacking from the front snapped before the shield, and the sharp weapons behind could only touch the green afterimages.

The shadow pierced through the glass, smashed through the wall, and compressed and tore through the air as if it were solid. Oval craters appeared in the buildings it passed through, and the subsequent burst of wind pressure cut the bricks and tiles into irregular fragments. In the endless dust, only the green shadow went straight ahead.

His speed became too fast, faster than Shax had anticipated. Even the most sophisticated machines couldn't capture his movements; it was a transcendent speed comparable to that of an immortal machine in a bloodbath. Using his body as a shield, Chu Hengkong was brought to the brink of death, allowing him to greatly enhance the efficiency of his Qi Thousand Autumns technique. Unpredictable, unpredictable, Shax only had time to grip the barrel of his gun before the assassin's afterimage was already close in on the air.

Chu Hengkong released his shield and gripped his sword with one hand. With a clang, the longsword was drawn, its blade gleaming like white snow.

Steel Edge Flow - No Return Strike.

He swung his iaido sword in mid-air, effortlessly as if wielding a sword in a dojo, cleaving a distant skyscraper in two. The smooth cut shifted nearly half the building, and then the force of the strike exploded, slicing the upper part into countless fragments. The building collapsed in an instant, the shattered structure disintegrating into hundreds of pieces that fell together. Shax was thrown back by one of these pieces, letting out a hoarse laugh that he himself didn't even realize.

That's how it is. It's always like this. We make thorough plans, but we never anticipate what will happen next. Once we step onto the battlefield, nothing is certain anymore; whether we live or die depends entirely on ourselves…

Only look at yourself!

He gripped the handle and pulled hard, disassembling the heavy sniper rifle. His left hand held the long, weapon-like barrel, while his right hand held a large pistol hidden within the gun. The last bullet was inside, his most powerful weapon, composed entirely of "death."

Sarks plummeted through the air, the upside-down world cascading like a waterfall, the blood pooling in his brain blurring his vision. Perhaps it was over before he could even fire, or perhaps this moment, along with all his experiences in hell, was just a delusional fantasy of death. He listened to the chanting of the gun, the weapon whispering a Hallelujah blessing to himself.

He saw a green shadow brush past the edge of his vision, the assassin leaping up from the stones. It was all like the nightmare from before, that despairing recurring haunting. He knew the assassin was about to strike, knew the flash of light. His gun and bullets would be severed, the helpless pain of falling coldly—

The assassins' eyes met in mid-air, and Shax laughed maniacally as he pulled the trigger.

No longer a helpless nightmare, in a completely different reality, whistling bullets meet the blade!

Chapter 135 Gun and Sword Feud: A Deadly Battle in a Second (Part 2)

No trigger needed; the bullet was fired with the thought. The final "death shot" flew from the barrel, transforming into a gray line in the erratic rain. The bullet's trajectory was unaffected by its environment, undistorted by will; it flew resolutely and persistently, like an endless straight line. This line had only one endpoint: the wound on Chu Hengkong's right shoulder.

The gray line, reflected in the assassin's eyes, seemed like a newly added line among countless crimson slashes.

In the past, before he reached the realm of motion, he learned how to deal with bullets.

Catch the bullet that's not far away with your hand.

The dense hail of bullets was blocked by the terrain.

Bullets encountered in the midst of battle were cut down with weapons.

Fearless. Unperturbed. He could dodge. He could block. The "gun," which terrified trained fighters and whose invention had effectively ended hand-to-hand combat, was no different to him from a cold weapon. He was not afraid of the age of firearms!

Until his long-held confidence was shattered by someone's sniping.

The gun hit him. Bullets are deadly weapons. Shooting is a fatal "death" that requires more than just skill; it demands a stroke of luck for even a sliver of hope. The common sense of Earth that he had once ignored was profoundly taught to him by the man before him. The gray line of death overlapped with the bullets of the past, and a sense of déjà vu welled up in his heart.

I couldn't withstand that shot.

He recognized his limits once more. He recognized the danger of bullets once more. And so he laughed, so he was invigorated, so he wielded his blade amidst a bone-chilling cold. The physical body alone could not overcome all difficulties; thus, weapons and techniques were born. Shax's weapon was his bullet; Chu Hengkong's technique was his blade!

The blade flashed and swirled as it slashed down, its trajectory as graceful as a bird in flight. It was no longer a one-way attack, but a righteous blade striking back with double the force. Too intense, too powerful, it was as if the very spirit forced forth from life itself was racing across steel, making the longsword clang as if roaring through blood.

At this moment, the third secret technique taught by Ji Qiufeng was activated, and Chu Hengkong unleashed his full power without reservation. The bird of light, draped in blood-red wings, flew towards the inevitable gray line of destruction, so wild and so proud, as if it wanted to transcend its ultimate death!

The Sax's Death Will Bullet is a special bullet composed entirely of self-elements. These self-elements are the manifestation of the user's own mental state, and its power originates from the user's ego.

The Radiant Blessed Blood Holy Lance, in essence, is a weapon that transforms the gunner's experiences into power. It is because they have experienced anguish and hatred that their weapon-forged ammunition possesses such power. It is because they have personally experienced the despair of death that they can unleash that experience as ammunition for certain destruction.

His unique experiences forged a power that could never be possessed by someone of low quality; relics and supernatural abilities within the same range were virtually incapable of matching him. Therefore, Chu Hengkong chose to fight fire with fire. His blood-red aura was a boundless vitality; he used his life force, burning to its limit, to resist the death of his enemy!

Life and death clashed, the future and the past clashed. A fleeting encounter, a clash that seemed to freeze time itself. With a secret, highly refined crimson aura, an unstoppable force of life cleaved through death. Crimson birds disappeared into the sky, gray streaks swept across the earth like the wind.

At the same time, both sides suffered their most severe injuries to date. Shax's upper body was grazed by the blade of intent, and he roared in hellish agony, a heat comparable to the terrifying heat of a 3-point pure fire. Chu Hengkong bled from all seven orifices in silence, the shattered bullet piercing his right side, bringing an incomparably cruel "death".

Blood festered, muscle dissolved, even bones were turning withered and yellow. Flesh and internal organs fell from the wound, half his body almost reduced to skeleton. But he was still alive, struggling with unparalleled willpower, because he had pierced the bullet; he had not lost!

At the same time, both crashed to the ground. Their bodies, strengthened many times over due to the ascension, emitted a series of groans as they approached their limits during this ordinary fall. They were already at their breaking point, long past their limit; the severe injuries caused their bodies to groan, yet the spirit of the strong roared in the face of adversity.

The men rose, in an ugly and fragile posture, utterly vulnerable. They advanced through the dripping blood, their bodies sustained only by sheer will to fight. Piercing through the dust, they spotted the enemy: Shax held a pistol in one hand and a strangely shaped gun barrel in the other, while Chu Hengkong held a shattering knife.

They charged forward, screaming, arms raised. The hastily loaded bullets were sliced ​​in two by the blade; through the dust, the crimson gleam of the blade caught their eye. Everything was like that rainy night, as cold as a nightmare that haunts every night. Shax felt as if he had returned to a dream, and this time he could finally let go of his obsession and accept his defeat—

no way.

no way! !

Where did that strength come from? Was it the angry cry of a dying soul? The sniper raised his gun barrel, an extremely long barrel with a white blade at the tip. His own blood flowed through the gun, and the blade emitted a thirsty, ringing sound.

The final transformation of the Blood Holy Lance was into a javelin, which, after disintegrating, transformed into a throwing spear. He hurled his final weapon, the blade shooting out like a beam of light, shattering the assassin's blade!

"—I have defeated Chu Hengkong!!"

Roaring and howling, the unarmed man charged at his enemy, having exhausted all his weapons. He was facing the greatest fear of his life.

"I have defeated your sword!!"

The overloaded longsword shattered upon impact with the strange blade, leaving only the bare hilt on his right hand.

We really need a good weapon. If only we had a better knife, or a relic weapon with a provenance...

That's an embarrassing idea.

How can you make excuses?

There is never a battle that is fully prepared. Life and death are always in your own hands.

With a sigh and a smile, Chu Hengkong released the hilt of his sword. Supporting his faltering will, he used his last move.

Blood shot into the sky, and the men lay frozen in pools of blood.

"Yes, you did it. Your gun didn't lose."

"My gun is the same."

He straightened up and sheathed his "weapon." It was his left arm, which hadn't moved since the start of the iaido attack, and transformed into a silver, lightning-fast spear the moment the dust settled.

Heavenly Spear.

Was it regret? Resentment? Or relief? The sniper lay in a pool of blood, so his expression was hidden. Chu Hengkong sat down against a pile of rubble, gazing up at the clear sky. The scars in his pupils faded and reappeared, as if the crimson bird had not yet flown away, leaving faint marks.

I've had a craving for a cigarette in ages, but unfortunately I've given it up.

The Thousand Autumns of Qi had been dispelled; he wouldn't have been able to hold on for even a second longer. Chu Hengkong leaned against the rubble, breathing slowly. The stone demon's sand fell from his wounds, appearing like dust due to the depletion of his magic power. His internal organs healed, new flesh grew, and his bones turned pure white before returning to a dark yellow under the erosion of death.

Now he had to focus all his power on his immortality technique, his body a tug-of-war between life and death, the two forces locked in a struggle to determine his fate. Under such intense pain, he was losing control of the immortal machine; silver steel worms crawled in his eyes, as if trying to pierce his bones with their needle-like limbs.

Fortunately, the tentacles could still move. He rolled up the medicine bottle and poured a few Fuli Pills into his mouth. He held on until the medicine took effect. The hallucination of the silver steel insect faded. He felt better. Much better.

This action nearly drained Chu Hengkong's consciousness; he felt as if he had been injected with ten sedatives, and the sky and earth became ethereal. Perhaps a minute passed. Maybe ten minutes. He heard the sniper's voice.

"Do it..."

"I have something else I want to ask you," the assassin said calmly. "Being able to live again is a rare thing, not worth it."

He harbored no hatred for Shax. In the avalanche that had destroyed his family, Shax was merely the initial snowflake. Snowflakes cannot foresee the future; they simply do ordinary things, drifting with the wind, seeking similar opponents, and settling their scores before being melted by the sun. As for the mastermind behind the avalanche, he had already killed him with his own hands.

But is that so? If the living can enter the Realm of Submersion, so can the dead…?

So it turns out the dead can be resurrected.

"Hahaha."

The assassin laughed, a vague, indescribable smile spreading across his face like cotton wool in a spring breeze, making the sky seem brighter and clearer. By then, half of his arm had grown back, and he had finally regained some strength. He took out his communication relic and waited for Ji Huaisu to answer.

He's quite impressed with himself for still being conscious after being beaten like this; he might have to ask his partner to carry him back this time.

"Captain, help me out."

no respond.

He was silent for a moment, then struggled to his feet. His legs wouldn't obey him. He switched to Vande. Qingye. Gulibo. No response. Only a hissing sound in his ears. The communication had failed, like a telephone with a scrambled signal, the connection disrupted by some force. The white gun fell into his hand, and he forced himself to stand, moving his broken limbs.

"Ah. Ah..."

From the fading dust, a hunched figure emerged. It was an old man, the kind of ordinary, harmless citizen you'd see anywhere. He held a matchlock gun in his hand, the muzzle pointed at his own head.

boom!

The bullet pierced the skull, scattering red and white sparks like fireworks. The mangled head spun around and fell to the ground, revealing half a blood-stained talisman at the severed neck.