Chapter 269: Wings of Light
Chen Changsheng's expression was serious and focused, but not graceful, because his posture at this moment was somewhat strange.
If he had raised his umbrella as a shield and held his sword forward, he would have looked like a brave warrior charging onto the battlefield. But now, the umbrella in his hand was not raised; instead, it was dragging on the sandy ground. The short sword was held reversed against his wrist, his knees slightly bent, his body leaning forward, as if he were ready to jump up and flee at any moment. This made him look like a thief—a desperate thief about to fight for his life.
This was because he was already at his limit. With his physical strength completely exhausted, he could not keep the yellow paper umbrella open for long. He could only let it drag on the ground, lifting it to block attacks only when they came. The same went for the extremely sharp short sword. The remaining true essence was insufficient for him to execute those immensely powerful flying sword techniques, and even simpler actions like slashing or thrusting were very difficult.
With the short sword held reversed against his wrist, the sword techniques he could use were naturally not grand or sweeping; they had to focus on subtlety. The two demon women only recognized what he was using after encountering several dangers—it was the Ice-Breaking Sword of the Holy Maiden Peak. They were utterly shocked. This sword technique had always been practiced only by the female disciples of the Holy Maiden Peak. Where had he learned it?
Whether it was the naked demon beauty or the dignified woman in the Seven-Intervals Sword Robe, both now wore grave expressions, their eyes fixed on Chen Changsheng with unusual seriousness. That this human youth could hold out for so long under such circumstances was truly difficult for them to understand, and they even felt a faint trace of admiration.
But the battle would continue, and victory would forever belong to the Divine Race!
Behind them were two wings of light, each about ten feet in span. In the next moment, the speed of the wings' vibration suddenly increased. With a whoosh across the sandy shore, they vanished from their spot and reappeared behind Chen Changsheng in the next instant. Their hands glowed with eerie, terrifying green light, stabbing toward his face!
Such terrifying speed, nearly as fast as lightning, as elusive as smoke, completely surpassed what most people could imagine. How could Chen Changsheng hold out for so long?
How did he manage to respond? The moment those two wings of light appeared behind him, he moved. True essence surged through his blocked meridians. His steps seemed natural but were actually extraordinarily precise as he stepped diagonally forward to the left. His figure suddenly blurred, and he was several dozen feet away.
The two wings of light moved again with lightning speed, bringing the two women behind Chen Changsheng, cutting off his path between himself and the lake.
Chen Changsheng raised his umbrella to block. With a tearing sound, in an extremely brief instant, neither side knew how many moves they had exchanged before they separated again.
Several more sword wounds appeared on the two women's bodies, then gradually faded away, just like the cracks on their wings of light that Chen Changsheng had cut open.
The demon beauty stared at Chen Changsheng, her face pale, and said, "It really is the Yeksa Step!"
Earlier, they had been shocked by Chen Changsheng's bizarre footwork, and after several tests, they had finally confirmed it.
They were Nanke's maidservants, also Nanke's twin wings, and their bodies were not ordinary flesh. Thus, they possessed an incredibly terrifying speed talent. In terms of short-distance darting or sprinting ability, they could truly be said to be as fast as lightning. Not even cultivators at the Penetrating Obscurity realm, let alone true experts at the Gathering Stars realm, could match their speed.
After Chen Changsheng's body had been bathed in the true blood of the black dragon, his strength and speed had reached the peak of the Penetrating Obscurity realm, but he still couldn't match their speed. However... he knew the Yeksa Step!
Yes, although his Yeksa Step was incomplete—a simplified version he had created himself—it was enough to help him avoid the opponent's lightning-fast attacks at the most critical moments.
This was the most important reason he had survived until now.
Liang Xiaoxiao gripped his sword, standing among the trees in the forest, watching this scene and listening to the demon woman's words. His expression shifted slightly.
As for the two women who had repeatedly tested their speed and reactions against Chen Changsheng, their expressions grew even more solemn.
The reason the demon race's plans in the Garden of Zhou had not yet fully succeeded was that Chen Changsheng had exceeded their expectations. Whether it was his numerous powerful magical artifacts, his footwork and sword techniques, or his will as tough as stone, what truly made them anxious was that all of this—including the sharp sword, the extremely sturdy umbrella, the incredibly rare Thousand-Mile Button, and his mastery of the Yeksa Step—the Military Advisor must have known very well. So why had the Military Advisor given no warning before they entered the Garden of Zhou?
The Military Advisor hadn't even mentioned it!
Don't say it was Chen Changsheng's secret that the Military Advisor didn't know. The Military Advisor knew everything—this was the most steadfast belief of all demonkind. So what exactly did the Advisor intend to do? Could this conspiracy in the Garden of Zhou have more layers that even they didn't know? Could it be related to their master? They couldn't figure it out, and so they felt uneasy. In truth, not even they, nor their master, nor even the great Demon Lord himself, had ever been able to fully understand the true thoughts of that mysterious figure in the black robe.
They suddenly felt that the wind blowing from the lake was a bit cold, and only then noticed that the sun was about to set.
But they had not received any new orders from the Military Advisor, so they had to extinguish all four lamps in the Sea of Life and kill all four people.
Chen Changsheng suddenly dashed swiftly toward the forest by the lakeshore.
Liang Xiaoxiao's expression was grim. He held his sword horizontally before his chest and, without hesitation, unleashed the most powerful sword technique of the Li Mountain Sword Sect.
Earlier, he had exchanged sword blows with Chen Changsheng several times. No matter how powerful his sword techniques or how imposing his sword momentum, he could never strike the opponent who used the Yeksa Step. On two occasions, when Chen Changsheng was entangled by the lightning speed of Nanke's maidservants, Liang Xiaoxiao seized the chance to strike, only to have his sword easily broken by Chen Changsheng's techniques.
Liang Xiaoxiao could do nothing against Chen Changsheng. He felt that no matter how he changed his moves, this youth seemed to predict them in advance, and he always used the most suitable sword technique to counter them.
This feeling was extremely uncomfortable, extremely unpleasant.
This time was no exception. Chen Changsheng's short sword, pressed against his arm, easily found the final landing point of Liang Xiaoxiao's sword momentum amid the storm of sword wind. With a crisp sound, he blocked it with the simplest and most effective method. Then, a flash of sword light appeared in the dim forest by the lakeshore, forcing Liang Xiaoxiao to retreat hastily to avoid it.
The complete manual of the Li Mountain Sword Techniques was now in the National Teaching Academy.
No matter how well Liang Xiaoxiao had learned the authentic Li Mountain Sword Techniques, no matter how skilled and powerful he was, how could he possibly overcome Chen Changsheng?
Chen Changsheng had many magical artifacts and many fortuitous encounters, but what he had most was knowledge. Having thoroughly read the Daoist Canon was one thing, but in just one year, most of the cultivation-related books in the National Teaching Academy's library had become nourishment for his sea of consciousness. Countless sword manuals had been absorbed into his heart. Among the younger generation of cultivators, aside from Gou Hanshi and Guan Feibai, who could claim to know more sword techniques than him?
If he were facing other demon experts in the Garden of Zhou, even if outnumbered three to one, with his various treasures and techniques, Chen Changsheng might have been able to fight his way out, perhaps even achieve victory. Like now... he broke Liang Xiaoxiao's Li Mountain Sword, feigned an attempt to retreat into the forest, but in reality, he burned all the remaining true essence in his body, pouring all his strength into the short sword. With a flick of his wrist, it transformed into a bitterly fierce cold gleam, slashing toward the seemingly empty treetops before him!
With a sharp tearing sound.
The two women flapped their wings of light and appeared exactly at that spot!
A spray of blood shot up. A deep sword wound appeared on the necks of the two women. If it had been any deeper, it might have revealed the bones inside!
...
...
The setting sun shone on the forest by the lakeshore. The wind brushed the lake's surface, and the sound of waves was faint.
Chen Changsheng held his sword in one hand and the umbrella handle in the other. His chest rose and fell slightly, and his panting gradually ceased.
A trace of regret appeared in his eyes.
This strike had severely wounded the two women, but it had not cut their throats. So, it was meaningless.
Even severed hands could regenerate on them, let alone wounds on their bodies.
Why did the dignified woman have no horns? Why was her blood red? Why did the naked demon beauty's demon horns automatically disappear when she used her charm techniques? Everything was because they were neither human nor demon.
They were witches—more precisely, they were witch spirits. Their bodies existed between reality and spirit forms.
They stood together. Though their features and expressions were completely different, they gave off the feeling of being twins, because they were indeed twins. They were a pair of wings.
Just like the pair of wings of light behind them at this moment.
Those wings of light and their nearly spirit-like bodies gave them unimaginable speed. Even if Chen Changsheng used the Yeksa Step, he could not escape.
If there was only one wing, it could never fly. Similarly, if they were separated, they were merely ordinary experts at the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity. That was why, in the lake's center and on the shore, they had been repeatedly wounded by Chen Changsheng and the others. But if they stood together, they could soar straight into the sky, their combat power more than ten times greater than when alone!
The reason the strongest pair—the demon general couple Liu Xiaowan and Teng Xiaoming—had left to pursue Zhexiu and Qijian was not only because Qijian was their primary target but also because the couple had clearly seen that, due to Chen Changsheng's true essence or cultivation technique issues, his instant-kill capability was insufficient. No matter what, he was doomed.
The twin wings formed from pure light gently swayed behind the two women, very beautiful.
In Chen Changsheng's eyes, these wings of light were terrifying. He tightened his grip on the sword handle, trying to find a way to escape, but found none.
The two women looked down at the wounds on their necks but couldn't see them, so they turned their heads to look at each other's necks, their movements perfectly synchronized.
Green demon blood and bright red blood flowed continuously from the two sword wounds.
They clearly felt the pain and the shadow of death from that moment. They were truly enraged, yet their expressions grew calmer and more serious.
The pair of wings of light suddenly began to vibrate rapidly.
A great wind arose by the lakeshore.
In the twilight, a dazzling stream of light appeared.
...
...
(I'm a bit hungry. I'll go cook a bowl of noodles first. The next chapter might be a little later. I'll try my best to get it out before 11:30, so as not to affect everyone's sleep.)