Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 589 The Demon Blade (Part 2)

Chapter 589 The Demon Blade (Part 2)

Beneath the waning moon, a demonic blade suddenly appeared.

As soon as Zhang Jiuzhong's killing intent stirred, his figure shot out like lightning.

Even Feng Manlou was surprised by the speed; he couldn't help but think to himself that this imposter's lightness skill was no less than that of his junior brother.

But upon closer inspection... he discovered that Zhang Jiuzhong's movements were extremely strange, even chilling.

For example, there were a few moments when Zhang Jiuzhong's torso seemed unable to keep up with the speed of his legs... The extent to which his upper body leaned backward was enough to make people wonder if his waist had been broken.

However, when he arrived in front of Feng Manlou, he adjusted himself and used a crunch-like motion to deliver a slash at a tricky angle.

Here we should mention that although Brother Feng came with precautions tonight, he certainly didn't expect to face something like the "Demon Blade," so he didn't bring the Heavenly Might Sword with him.

At this moment, Brother Feng simply drew out a very common Ming Army standard waist knife that he always carried with him, and met Zhang Jiuzhong's attack.

If he were to make that contact... how could he possibly avoid being taken advantage of?

After just one move, a "clang" was heard, and Feng Manlou's waist knife broke in the blink of an eye.

However, Feng Manlou remained completely calm. The next second, he casually used the momentum of the broken blade to throw the half-blade out of his hand. At the same time, he bent down, spun around, and probed, gathering a powerful internal force at his fingertips. He then flicked his wrist towards Zhang Jiuzhong's ribs.

Although Zhang Jiuzhong cleaved the blade in one strike, he was immediately attacked in the face by the flying broken blade and was unable to pursue. Then, he exposed a weakness while dodging the broken blade, which led to him being injured by Feng Manlou's finger strike.

Judging from this round of clashes alone, Feng Manlou, whose weapons were instantly rendered useless, clearly gained the upper hand.

but……

"Hmm?" Feng Manlou sensed something was wrong as soon as the attack succeeded.

Zhang Jiuzhong, who was hit, did not exhibit any of the typical reactions one would expect when attacked...

He neither retreated in pain nor gritted his teeth and persevered; he didn't even tremble slightly.

His torso resembled a frozen rib that had been dismembered and hung up in a slaughterhouse. Even though it was torn open and blood spurted out after being beaten, it seemed as if his nervous system was no longer functioning.

Two seconds later, before Feng Manlou could think further, Zhang Jiuzhong made another move.

His moves were just as strange and cunning as the first one, and even faster and more powerful than before he was injured...

Seeing this, Feng Manlou quickly steadied himself, clasped his hands together, and used the move "Child Worshipping Guanyin" to clamp the opponent's strange knife with his palms, and tried to disarm the knife by twisting it.

However, even though Feng Manlou's palm force was as solid as steel, the opponent's sword strike only faltered for a moment before quickly breaking through his grip.

Of course, Feng Manlou was not like Ding Buzhu, who only knew three tricks. Even after his "Child Worshipping Guanyin" move was broken, he was still able to use the momentum to change his moves and advance towards the enemy, thus escaping danger.

However, after this move, the plan of "disarming the enemy with bare hands" seems to have become a dead end.

Feng Manlou began to have a strange feeling... He was certain that he was far superior to his opponent in terms of "martial arts", but the battle was, for some reason, extremely dangerous and like walking on thin ice.

After exchanging more than ten more blows, Feng Manlou finally discerned some clues—if ordinary swordsmen control their swords with their own bodies, then Zhang Jiuzhong in front of him was controlled by his sword.

His every move seemed to be forced by an overly fast sword intent pulling a slow human body, and every part of his body seemed to be moving in a state of "excessive force" and "disconnection," so there was an inexplicable sense of eeriness.

Of course, what Feng Manlou can see at this moment is only the "appearance".

The most terrifying aspect of this "demon knife," or rather, its true nature beneath these appearances, is almost impossible for outsiders to discover through observation alone.

To put it in a way that everyone can understand: the most powerful aspect of this demonic blade is not that it "controls" a person's body like a puppet, but that it allows the user to break through the various "limitations" that the human body has set for itself during the process of evolution.

For example, according to modern scientific research, the human body uses three energy systems during exercise: the "non-lactic acid energy (ATP-CP) system", the "lactic acid energy (glycolysis energy) system", and the "aerobic oxidation system".

When humans engage in anaerobic exercise, they use the first two systems, among which the ATP-CP system provides the most powerful energy; however, it can generally only last for about ten seconds because the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) that our bodies can convert and store is limited within a certain time. This is a biological self-protection mechanism.

Without this limitation, it would mean that humans could use the maximum physical capacity provided by the ATP-CP energy system to drive their bodies for extended periods. The consequences would be unpredictable, but most likely the body would collapse due to the inability to withstand the sustained high temperatures and other harmful substances generated by ultra-high-intensity exercise.

Even the leader of a dark matter pirate crew in the universe would have to admit that using similar techniques to unleash combat power would shorten his lifespan.

The above are just one example of the many self-limitations of the human body.

Other stress responses, such as pain or emotions, as well as the normal limits of blood flow and the heart, all disappeared the moment Zhang Jiuzhong "entrusted" himself to the Demon Blade.

So, if you ask how strong he is now... he certainly can't compare to a true demonic cultivator like Fairy Shuiyuan, but he can still use this ability to defeat martial arts masters who are much stronger than him.

This was the first time Feng Manlou had encountered this type of opponent. In the past, even the most skilled opponents relied on training and internal energy to improve their physical abilities, which still had limitations in many aspects. But Zhang Jiuzhong before him was someone whose physical body had "transcended humanity." Even if he hadn't surpassed it by much, his fighting style was truly different from ordinary people, making him a formidable opponent...

Before long, even a master like Brother Feng began to suffer repeated defeats.

On the surface, Feng Manlou appeared to be unharmed, while Zhang Jiuzhong was covered in wounds. However, the outcome of this battle was decided by a hair's breadth, and the nearly unscathed Feng Manlou could be killed by the opponent's blade at any moment.

And it was at this moment that Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai, who had been lying in ambush in the distance... no... lying in ambush, finally ran over.

Feng Manlou naturally brought these two along tonight, because after they learned through carrier pigeons that "the imperial edict was delivered by Yue Youque alone," they knew that the young master had something new to do.

Of course, Shuang Xie didn't know at first that Yue Youque was related to the illegitimate son. It was Feng Manlou who told them, "My junior brother Yue, like you, also owed the illegitimate son a 'favor' in his early years." Only then did they understand.

However, before tonight, Feng Manlou was unaware that Yue Youque had been "replaced," after all, they hadn't seen each other for more than ten years, and the fact that Zhang Jiuzhong had the "Demon Blade" was even more unheard of.

Fortunately, Brother Feng was cautious enough to leave behind the "double harmony" as a backup plan.

When they arrived at this ambush site earlier, they found it to be quite desolate with a wide field of vision, so Shuangxie chose a rather far ambush point. Just now, they saw Feng Manlou fighting with someone and then quickly ran out, which took them some time.

But in any case, even if we're a few steps late, we've still arrived.

The situation changed drastically once these two joined the battle... Even if their eye-straining, poisonous, and foul-smelling contraptions were useless against Zhang Jiuzhong in his current state, one of them using a precious weapon to clear the way and the other using a hidden weapon for cover was enough to give Feng Manlou room to maneuver.

Feng Ge himself, in his unarmed state, relied on his outstanding combat ability to hold out against "Demon Blade Zhang Jiuzhong" for so long. Now that two helpers have arrived, wouldn't his advantage be infinitely greater?

Sure enough, after about twenty moves of fighting one against three, Zhang Jiuzhong's unrestrained and frenzied movements were suppressed. At this time, the weakness of this demonic blade, which was not suitable for prolonged battles, was also exposed - even if Zhang Jiuzhong's body was no longer attacked, it began to collapse on its own, and this collapse... as we mentioned before, was "slide-like".

"That knife is dangerous, disarm it!" Huang Donglai quickly warned, seeing that the other man's body might "melt" if the fight continued.

Sun Yixie had been wondering why his face hurt a little, but when he heard this, he understood. Without hesitation, he seized an opening, swung his halberd, and chopped off Zhang Jiuzhong's arm that was holding the knife.

The demonic blade left the person and fell to the ground, and the demonic energy that had been overflowing from it immediately dissipated.

Zhang Jiuzhong, whose body had already accumulated numerous injuries both inside and outside, was separated from the Demon Blade. He immediately spat out blood and collapsed with a scream.

Because he was unaware of the previous conversation between Feng Manlou and Zhang Jiuzhong, Sun Huang did not act rashly after finishing the battle, while Feng Manlou had already strode forward and squatted down next to Zhang Jiuzhong.

Looking at the dying stranger, Feng Manlou sighed and said, "There is a saying that a dying man's words are good... I don't know your relationship with the young master, but you and my junior brother were at least friends. Now that things have come to this, could you please remember our past friendship and tell me where my junior brother is being held?"

“I…” Zhang Jiuzhong didn’t know how many more words he could manage to say, so he tried his best to focus on the key points, “…I only know that he was imprisoned somewhere in Yangzhou…the illegitimate son only let me see him a few times…each time I was blindfolded…on the way…”

"Okay, I believe you." Feng Manlou nodded slightly.

“General Feng…” Zhang Jiuzhong quickly added, “…If you find Brother Yue, please tell him for me…Zhang Jiuzhong…I’m sorry to him…If there is an afterlife…”

That was all he said.

He didn't finish speaking about what the next life would hold, or perhaps, he didn't need to.

Thus, whether by a twist of fate or by destiny, Feng Manlou helped Shuang Xie resolve one of the two "calamities" related to the demonic path, and Shuang Xie also helped Feng Manlou resolve the other. Miao Yinzi's purpose in leaving Sun and Huang here was thus achieved.

As for Miaoyinzi himself, he did three things on the mountain during this period.

First thing: Together with my fellow Daoists, we performed a ritual to help Hugo pass on to the afterlife.

The second thing: I made a remote contact with some of my fellow Bo'e (shamans) from the Northern Yuan and asked them to find a way to cure the Khan's poison. As for what the method is... well, that's up to you guys to figure out through trickery, deception, and all sorts of charades.

There was a third thing: he finally completed the succession ceremony and officially became the new leader of the Xuanqi Sect.

However, Miao Yinzi had barely "taken office" when she ran into trouble again.

Because when Shuangxie went to Xuanqi Sect to find him not long after, he happened to be caught in the siege of Wawu Mountain by the six major sects.