Chapter 178
“Stop acting so tough! If you want to leave, just go! Do you think I’m afraid?”
Before her words faded, boom—!
The ground in front of the ruins suddenly erupted, a massive white porcelain hand striking out first, followed by the towering figure of the Porcelain Mother, breaking through the earth.
Sharp shards of blood-stained porcelain and debris rained down like a violent storm, and the third eye in the center of the porcelain Buddha's forehead glimmered with a sinister light. Suspended just three inches above this glazed monstrosity, Wang Shouyi hung upside down, a thin line of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth—his left shoulder was a mangled mess, the ghostly aura swirling ominously around it, clearly a result of the Porcelain Mother's attack.
Wang Shouyi fell from the air, crashing right in front of Chen Huai'an and the others, spitting out blood.
“Cough, cough…” He noticed the bewildered expressions on Chen Huai'an and the others, and his face changed dramatically. Ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, he urgently exclaimed, “Who are you? What are you doing here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous? Get out of here! I’ll hold her off!”
He shakily got to his feet, turning to face the Porcelain Mother, now transformed into a porcelain-bodied Bodhisattva, her expression grim.
This ghostly creature was roughly equivalent to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and there was a faint hint that her power was still on the rise…
She was already this formidable without fully recovering.
If she continued her rampage, wouldn’t she condense a ghostly core?
But Master clearly said this ghost had just been born, her strength not even at Foundation Establishment, merely at the peak of Qi Refinement…
He had just reached Foundation Establishment; dealing with someone at the peak of Qi Refinement should be easy.
But facing a ghost cultivator already at mid-Foundation Establishment was far too daunting.
As he pondered, the porcelain Bodhisattva’s form solidified completely. Her pale porcelain face flickered between light and dark, with a smile that bloomed like a flower in the light, while in the shadows, her expression twisted into that of a malevolent spirit, blood veins seeping spiderweb-like beneath the glaze. Half of her nine-layered necklace was porcelain, the other half bone, and in her flower-holding hand, she clutched half a Ruyi (a traditional Chinese talisman symbolizing good fortune), giving her an unsettling, unfinished appearance.
“It’s all because you disturbed me that I had to use secret methods to quickly regain some strength… Now that I’ve been injured at my roots, I’ll have to reforge this Buddha body!”
The porcelain Bodhisattva’s asymmetrical mouth opened, producing a haunting echo of both male and female voices, her fierce gaze landing on Chen Huai'an and Wang Shouyi, lingering especially long on Chen Huai'an, clearly recognizing him.
“Good, good, good! You little pests, you’ve come at just the right time!
Since you want to ruin my Buddha womb, I’ll use you to restore my strength today!”
With each chilling shriek, white bones rose beneath the porcelain Bodhisattva.
A swarm of porcelain women crawled out from the pile of bones.
Their figures flickered like lost souls, and in an instant, they surrounded everyone present.
Huang Gubei turned pale, trembling in fear.
Lin Chen glanced around at the identical, eerily smiling porcelain women, her expression grim.
Zhao Ying pulled out a crackling Tang Dao, shielding Xiao Yuan behind her.
Chen Huai'an’s face hardened as he took out his phone, playing the entrance music for the Four Talents of Jiangnan, hands on his hips, declaring solemnly:
“Dun dun dun dun—! The BOSS battle begins!!!”
…
…
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Chapter 192: The Old Yin Bi
The comical music abruptly halted the tense atmosphere.
Wang Shouyi, standing in front of everyone, stumbled and nearly fell.
He turned to Chen Huai'an and the others, fuming, “Why haven’t you left yet? Are you trying to get yourselves killed?”
“We’re from the Demon-Slaying Division,” Zhao Ying said, shifting her gaze from the Porcelain Mother to Wang Shouyi, her tone scrutinizing. “Slaying demons and ensuring safety is our duty.”
“The Demon-Slaying Division? I’ve heard of you.”
Wang Shouyi watched as the porcelain women drew closer, pulling out two crumpled talismans from his sleeve, his voice low. “Do you know what level this Porcelain Mother is? Mid-Foundation Establishment. Your rank corresponds to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement to the peak of Qi Refinement. This Porcelain Mother is equivalent to a commander or even a king; you can’t possibly be her match. Even so, are you still going to stay and fight?”
He didn’t hear a response from the others behind him.
But he imagined they stood there, resolute.
Wang Shouyi couldn’t help but feel tears welling up.
This is humanity, even if like ants shaking a tree, even if so small, they still have the courage to wield swords against ghosts and gods.
How magnificent, my human race.
Today, even if he were to die, he would stand against the Porcelain Mother to buy a sliver of hope for his fellow humans!
“You’re right.” Suddenly, a voice from behind him grew fainter, accompanied by retreating footsteps.
“Then we’ll leave this Porcelain Mother to you. We’ll cheer you on from the back.”
Wang Shouyi turned around, his eyes nearly bulging out.
He saw those few people had already taken down the surrounding porcelain women and were walking away.
“Ha…” Wang Shouyi let out a bitter laugh.
Well, he had wanted them to leave anyway.
Turning back to face the gathering storm of the porcelain Bodhisattva, the sorrow in Wang Shouyi’s eyes transformed into fury and killing intent.
Clang—!
The sword, Duanxing, was drawn, and he leaped into action.
Accompanied by the shout of a brave youth, “Damn beast, meet your death!”
…
“Is it really okay for us to just stand by and watch?”
Near the ruins, behind a small sand dune, everyone silently watched the mysterious youth being tossed around by the porcelain Bodhisattva, who was delivering a brutal beating. The kind-hearted Xiao Yuan could no longer hold back and chimed in, “How about I go up and throw a healing spell? If that doesn’t work… at least I could help collect his body…”
“Didn’t that young man say? This monster starts at the commander level; if we go up, it’s just throwing our lives away!”
“Captain Zhao is right!” Huang Gubei gave a thumbs up, appreciating Zhao Ying’s sense of timing.
“This young man has a mysterious background; he doesn’t look like a local.” Lin Chen murmured, watching Wang Shouyi being blasted away by the shockwave. “And judging by his tough skin and resilience, he can take a beating for so long; he must at least be at the commander level… But I’ve never heard of such a strong young person; he’s too young.”
She turned to Chen Huai'an, “Governor Chen, what do you think?”
Chen Huai'an remained silent, his brow furrowed as he stared at his phone.
He had miscalculated.
When he first faced the Porcelain Mother, she had seemed to him like someone at the peak of Qi Refinement. With his first volume of the Tianmo Gong and his second layer of Qi Refinement, a genius like him should have been able to easily defeat someone at that level, right?
But now, just half a day later, the Porcelain Mother had grown significantly stronger.
And she had clearly taken on the form of the porcelain Bodhisattva, resembling a second phase BOSS!
So, this is what they call abnormal growth…
This is a bit tricky.
It’s not that he couldn’t fight; it’s just that he felt uncertain.
So, when in doubt, consult the electronic girlfriend.
But this time, he wasn’t looking to test Li Qingran on any techniques.
In the face of an absolute power gap, learning a few obscure methods wouldn’t be of much use.
He was here to ask for items.
“Qingran, didn’t I grant some opportunities to the disciples of the Sword Pavilion a while back?”
He deliberately pulled up his collar, distancing himself from the others, and began mumbling into his phone.
“Master, you’re here!” Li Qingran, who had been preparing to continue her meditation, immediately sensed her master’s presence and asked, “Master, did you drive off that great demon? Are you hurt?”
Chen Huai'an glanced at the rampaging porcelain Bodhisattva, and with a guilty conscience, replied, “Hmm, when I step in, it’s naturally a piece of cake. Just a mere great demon, easily subdued! But I’m wondering how those disciples are doing with the talismans and pills I asked for?”
Exactly, Chen Huai'an planned to start from here.
The items from the electronic girlfriend shop could only be used by Li Qingran.
The pills Li Qingran needed, he could use too, so the talismans those disciples made would definitely be useful for him.
Though their quality wouldn’t compare to those from the electronic girlfriend shop or the Koi prize pool.
But as long as there were enough, they should suffice against the porcelain Bodhisattva, right?
“Master, please wait a moment; I’ll ask right away.”
Li Qingran took out a communication jade slip to talk to Yue Qianchi, and a flurry of clashing swords and knives echoed from the other end.
[Master, I want to have an epiphany! I don’t want you to beat me up!]
[You little brat, don’t run! A good beating will lead to an epiphany!]
[Ahhh! The head of the Sword Pavilion is killing people, help!!!]
Li Qingran: “…”
Yue Qianchi was still too unreliable. She took out another jade slip to contact her senior brother Xu An.
Xu An listened carefully to Li Qingran’s words and immediately set off, visiting each disciple’s cave on the Falling Sunset Peak, bringing back the already refined pills and talismans for Chen Huai'an. Although not every disciple could refine pills or talismans, together they had dozens, including a sword talisman made by Zhen He, the direct disciple of the Sword Pavilion’s leader.
“This sword talisman is…”
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