Chapter 193: Chapter 190: Defeating the Spirit Official, Sword Pierces Rashamon
I must admit, Jiang Li possessed an uncanny talent in disturbing one’s mental state.
His casual smile and words caused Jiang Daoshan’s rage to peak, and despite being minute, the fluctuation in his Qi mechanism was enough for Jiang Li to exploit.
Jiang Li’s figure flickered, seeming both solid and ethereal, as if breaking free from invisible shackles—a feeling akin to a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. Jiang Daoshan’s attempt to lock onto Jiang Li’s Qi mechanism failed, clashing instead with that of the Rashamon Ghost King, influencing him as well.
The predicament of being trapped on both sides was broken in that instant.
"Damnable," the Rashamon Ghost King cursed coldly, suddenly becoming a shadow as he approached like a haunting specter.
The Rashamon moniker, also pronounced ’luosha,’ implies something to be feared and swift as a ghost, with mastery in speed. At this moment, the Rashamon Ghost King used the Rashamon Fruit’s ability "Swift and Fearsome" combined with another ability "Divine Power," allowing the Rashamon to fly swiftly through the sky or streak across the ground.
This combination resulted in the Rashamon Ghost King’s current display of extreme speed. Even despite Jiang Li’s best efforts, he couldn’t match this speed. Had he not mastered the art of tactical evasion, "Seeking Truth," he would have been left defenseless.
The Rashamon Ghost King closed in swiftly, his dark figure and auburn hair terrifying, with vicious features and green, lantern-like eyes flickering with malevolence—truly fearsome.
Dao Fruit Ability—"Violent Evil Ghost Face."
The Rashamon men and women were at two extremes in terms of appearance, with females at the upper limit and males at the lower limit. This trait had astonishingly been transformed into a Dao Fruit Ability. Now, the Rashamon Ghost King unleashed it, turning his fierce features into a visage of terror, as if to stamp it into Jiang Li’s heart and mind.
Simultaneously, the Ghost King drew his claw, unleashing six eerie green Thunder Balls ablaze with Ghost Fire, spinning around him.
With the terrifying "Violent Evil Ghost Face" to capture the mind followed by a killing strike, the Rashamon Ghost King’s movements were dangerously rapid. However, for all its strength, an attack was useless if it missed.
Protected by "Seeking Truth" and fortified by "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top," Jiang Li feared no intimidation. His figure drifted unpredictably, brushing past the Green Flame Yin Thunder. Raising his hand, the talisman patterns appeared on his palm, ready to release thunderous power.
But at that moment, a surge of heat approached as Jiang Daoshan, clothed in red, rushed forward with a steel whip in hand. A single lash of his whip created a brutal friction with the air, igniting a dazzling flame upon it.
"Thud!"
The steel whip crashed into the earth like a meteor, scattering dust and debris. A fissure formed on the ground as a result of the impact.
In the split second of flashing lightning, Jiang Li retreated, calling back the impending thunder light, becoming one of the escapees, causing the attack to miss.
Seizing the opportunity, the Rashamon Ghost King maneuvered, hauntingly tailing Jiang Li. The Green Flame Yin Thunder condensed in his palm, splitting into six Qi Blades that cut through the air with a resentful howl, chilling to the marrow. The Green Flame Yin Thunder Saber relentlessly pursued, closing in with each step.
Jiang Daoshan, too, advanced steadily, whipping his steel lash with bulging muscles and heavy blows, scattering fiery Qi energy around him, which began to coalesce into a sea of flames.
"Bang!"
The fierce Flame Qi and sinister Ghost Fire rushed from either side toward the flickering figure. The confronting forces didn’t nullify each other but instead merged and charged at Jiang Li.
It was inconceivable that the two practitioners, whose Cultivation Techniques naturally opposed each other and who lacked any history of collaboration, could suddenly and harmoniously combine their attacks.
’It’s the Spirit Official!’
Jiang Li glanced at Jiang Daoshan, precisely capturing the armored divine shadow behind him.
The Spirit Officials were highly venerated protector deities in Daoism, with the most famous being Wang Lingguan, who boldly confronted the Great Sage Equalling Heaven for three hundred rounds and stopped him outside the Lingxiao Palace.
Wang Lingguan held many positions such as the All Heaven Great Spirit Officer, Duke of Thunder of the Thunder Department, a prominent general before the Jade Emperor, and an aide to the Saint Guardian. He patrolled both heaven and earth as a formidable force, known for his prowess in battle. His five hundred Spirit Officials, though not as fierce, were a well-known militant group within the Heavenly Court.
The Spiritual Official Dao Fruit, ranked Sixth Rank, was evidence of their might.
As a prospective pillar of the Dinghu Sect, Jiang Li was notably acquainted with the Spiritual Official Dao Fruit. He knew it possessed four abilities: Demon Suppression, Divine Body, protector, and Punishment. The protector ability especially could amplify the strength of a Spirit Official when guarding a place or a person, minimizing harm to what they were guarding.
It seemed ridiculous, but in this scenario, Jiang Daoshan, the Spirit Official, was actually protecting the Rashamon Ghost King.
Due to the Dao Fruit Ability, their Qi energies clashed but didn’t conflict; both were Martial Cultivators with robust physiques skilled in close combat. Joining forces, one excelling in speed and the other in strength, their combined attack perfectly complemented each other.
As the Green Flame and Flame Qi descended upon him, Jiang Li concentrated on the deep symbols of the Eight Trigrams and Star Battle within his eyes. Suddenly, his palms parted to enact "Three Points Return to Primordial Qi."
Pure and concentrated Innate Qi swept over him, dissolving the energies—the two opposing Qi forces dissipated upon touch.
But in the next instant, Jiang Daoshan’s steel whip swept toward him, ablaze with light and Divine Power—a Heavenly Gifted Divine Weapon granted by the Divine General Dao Fruit.
On the other side, the Rashamon Ghost King had condensed nearly ten globs of eerie Green Flame into a single Qi Blade, flashing with electric green light, cleaving through the air toward him.
"Boom!"
In the blink of an eye, the parts of the Mo Wu Battle Box assembled in Jiang Li’s hands, transforming into a colossal Dragon Claw, merging with the Innate Qi to brace against the steel whip. As they clashed, Jiang Daoshan’s veins bulged, straining against the whip with great force.
Jiang Li, buoyed by the plentiful True Qi converted by "Five Qi Chaoyuan," kept a firm hold on the steel whip, his Power only growing more intense, like fuel added to fire.
But then came the Green Flame Yin Thunder Saber.
Its green blade sliced through the Innate Qi, filled with Yin Qi and haunting malevolence, tainting the pure energy with ominous hues.
And then—
Jiang Li’s Innate Qi was transforming at a speed visible to the naked eye, merging with the Rashamon Ghost King’s Qi Blade, casting an eerie azure radiance that instantly spread throughout his body before converging entirely upon his right arm.
Gather its Qi, transform its power, wield its technique.
Gather, transform, wield—
A chilling and violent Qi Mechanism swept through his body like hellish frost, threatening to freeze Jiang Li’s blood, but in an instant, the cold shifted to his right arm and burst forth through the Dragon Claw.
"Bang!"
Green Flame Yin Thunder combined with Innate Qi shattered the glowing aura of the steel whip and spread like vines, infiltrating Jiang Daoshan’s arm.
Qi exploded violently, and in a flash, emerald light and crimson flame flickered, covering Jiang Daoshan’s arm in the ashen grey of death.
His Dao Fruit Ability recognized the Rashamon Ghost King’s Qi Mechanism. His own True Qi couldn’t counteract the Rashamon Ghost King’s effectively, but at this moment, Jiang Li had fused with the Rashamon Ghost King’s True Qi, and his own Qi had become indistinguishable from that of the Rashamon Ghost King.
The Innate Qi was pure and refined like clear water, easily taking on other colors due to its high malleability.
Jiang Daoshan had not anticipated this, and caught off guard, allowed the Green Flame Yin Thunder to invade his arm; the malevolent and tyrannical Yin Thunder destroyed his flesh and eroded his bones in an instant—
"Bang!"
Green Flame rose up, engulfing the ashen arm and burning furiously.
"Argh—" Jiang Daoshan cried out in pain.
Jiang Li released the steel whip and moved swiftly, once more disappearing from sight, evading the Rashamon Ghost King’s Qi Mechanism lock, even his body becoming hazy.
He was like a part of the wind, formless and traceless, vanishing from the sight of the Rashamon Ghost King, Jiang Daoshan, and all the bystanders around them.
Then, the wind began to rise.
Whirlwinds surged from all directions, the destructive force making the Rashamon Ghost King akin to a light boat amidst raging waves, tossed about by the current. He quickly channeled his Qi for protection, fending off the violent whirlwind, and their joint assault immediately crumbled.
The fierce wind howled, and clouds suddenly appeared, swirling around Jiang Daoshan like a vortex, like a Cloud Dragon in flight.
Jiang Daoshan felt as if he were under water, swept up by the wind, about to be lifted off the ground.
He didn’t care about his burning arm; he activated all his True Qi and struggled fiercely, flailing like a madman in the wind, unaware that the wind’s power was growing stronger and stronger, enveloping his body.
Suddenly, a blurry figure emerged above Jiang Daoshan, pressing a palm against his back.
"Jiang Li!"
Jiang Daoshan roared, releasing an intense burst of energy; his blood Qi burned like fire, activating the Jiang Family’s desperate technique "Emperor Yan’s Blood."
But...
Eight strands of strange Primordial Qi intermingled and transformed within his body, gradually overpowering and absorbing Jiang Daoshan’s own True Qi to grow stronger.
Suddenly, Jiang Daoshan rose into the air, breaking free from Jiang Li’s palm, and began to ascend gently. Burst after burst of Primordial Qi erupted within him, as if eight Powerful Warriors were pulling his body in different directions.
He convulsed wildly, powerless to stop the strength emerging from within.
When those eight forces reached their peak—
"Shhh!"
Accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh, Jiang Daoshan’s limbs and head separated, torn apart mid-air.
As for the wind, it was now sweeping towards the Rashamon Ghost King.
"Not good!"
The Rashamon Ghost King let out a hoarse yell, exerting his Divine Power to the fullest, shooting towards the edge of the whirlwind like a sharp arrow.
But the wind was strong and swift, hindering the Rashamon Ghost King’s speed; even the gusts caused by his movements were exploited by Jiang Li.
"Utilizing the righteousness of heaven and earth, commanding the discourse of the Six Qi, thus wandering infinitely."
A distant voice came from the side, with Jiang Li using Wind Control, soaring parallel to the fast-moving Rashamon Ghost King.
When the Rashamon Ghost King saw him, Jiang Li flicked his sleeve, and a streak of Sword Light flew out, its piercing chill reflected in his eerie green ghostly eyes.
Angle, strength, weather, intent—everything aligned perfectly; Innate Golden Qi and the Mo Wu Battle Box, both combined, were unmatched in their lethality.
This strike had no Mystical element, no Sword Intent—just the most fitting physical conditions. When the Sword Light appeared before the Rashamon Ghost King’s eyes, a slit silently opened on his forehead, and then—
A sword penetrated through his head.
The Rashamon Ghost King, dead!
With the might of a single man, he defeated two Sixth Rank adversaries, once again turning the tide of the situation into something unpredictable.