Chapter 60: Spirit Shattered!

Before the sound faded, the fine rain intensified.

The moment Liu Jiang clasped his hands, bowed, and bent down, the surrounding fine rain and misty vapor were swept up by an invisible current of Qi and gathered around him.

Rain as a curtain.

Qi as mist.

Liu Jiang’s figure instantly blurred.

He pressed the mechanism in his hand, and Poisoned Needles shot out.

Swish, swish, swish!

The sound of rushing air was continuous, and Liu Jiang stared intently at Ding Xie.

Of course he knew that these 108 Secretly-made Palace Ox-hair Needles could not harm Ding Xie.

He was merely testing him.

He wanted to see what stage Ding Xie, who had undergone Spirit Refining and re-forging, had reached.

Had he… surpassed him!

However, the following scene caused Liu Jiang to freeze—

Buzz!

Demonic sounds pulsed, and the Flow Return absorbed everything.

All 108 Ox-hair Needles entered the Blood Droplet.

‘The Blood Droplet?

Where did Ding Xie get a Blood Droplet from?

Did Ding Xie team up with the Man of Benevolence and Righteousness?

And is the Man of Benevolence and Righteousness’s Heart-Bewitching Gu also related to Ding Xie?’

As equipment unique to the Zhan Gan Chu Six Guards, every Blood Droplet is registered and cannot possibly be lost.

It could only have been obtained from the corpse after killing a Zhan Gan Chu Guard.

And this itself is extremely difficult.

Zhan Gan Chu Guards are experts themselves, and with the Sharp Weapon, the Blood Droplet, ordinary Jianghu people are simply no match.

Even if the mission fails, the Blood Droplet will be destroyed by the carrying guard.

If it falls into enemy hands, the Zhan Gan Chu Six Guards will dispatch other guards to retrieve every single one.

In all these years, no incidents have ever occurred—

Except for… Fu Zengge!

When Liu Jiang thought of Fu Zengge, he thought of his teacher.

Then, the hatred in his eyes when looking at Ding Xie intensified.

This trace of hatred from Liu Jiang.

Was completely undisguised.

Because Ding Xie had thoroughly ruined his plan.

A Man of Benevolence and Righteousness who had broken free from the Heart-Bewitching Gu would no longer act according to his wishes. Because of this, he couldn’t wait for the Arena match to begin.

Or rather, the supposed Arena match no longer existed at all.

That’s why he spared Sulekeer’s life.

He planned to follow Sulekeer to find the Revered Expert and take a risk.

As a result, Sulekeer was killed by Ding Xie.

His teacher’s Heart-Bewitching Gu was also related to Ding Xie.

There was no evidence, no news.

But,

Liu Jiang instinctively believed that Ding Xie was the culprit.

With the two factors combined, his resentment and hatred were palpable.

Liu Jiang restrained his smile and moved his feet again.

It wasn’t a lunge, nor was it an attack.

It was simply evasion.

Bang, bang, bang!

Ding Xie raised his hand and gun, pulling the trigger repeatedly.

The bullets hit, one after another.

Liu Jiang shattered, one after another.

Splat!

The sound of falling water accompanied every shattered Liu Jiang.

And every time a Liu Jiang shattered, the next Liu Jiang moved one step closer to Ding Xie.

“Brother Ding, why the rush.

You and I haven’t seen each other in ten years.

Shouldn’t we take advantage of this beautiful scenery and share a drink?”

Liu Jiang shook his head and sighed.

He seemed to be criticizing Ding Xie for spoiling the mood.

Then, without waiting for Ding Xie to speak, Liu Jiang continued.

“To counter Firearms, I once searched through the entire Imperial Martial Arsenal.

I finally found a special lightness Cultivation Technique called the ‘Spiral Nine Shadows.’

Unfortunately, it was too old and incomplete.

But I truly loved it, so I supplemented part of it using the Moon Gate’s Illusion Technique, and supplemented the rest using the Character Combination Gate.

Although it has many flaws on ordinary days, in the rain or fog, it is flawless.

Sound, breathing, and heartbeat are all exactly the same.

Can Brother Ding distinguish between the real and the illusory?”

Liu Jiang asked.

His tone seemed calm, but his words subtly contained boasting.

No!

To be precise, it was comparison.

Liu Jiang was not a talkative person; his words were usually meant to mislead and set traps.

But Ding Xie was different.

Seeing Ding Xie made Liu Jiang want to surpass him.

Therefore, Liu Jiang was now unstoppable in his speech.

Six gunshots rang out.

Six shadows shattered.

Liu Jiang looked at Ding Xie, who was out of bullets, and instead of moving forward, he spoke.

“I cannot achieve the Spiral Nine Shadows.

But six shadows are still manageable.

I have named it—

Six Paths Preliminary Body!”

Ding Xie’s efforts were fruitless, and Liu Jiang was overjoyed.

This time.

He had won.

He wanted to use this as a foundation to shatter Ding Xie’s spirit once more.

You managed to re-forge once!

Could you possibly re-forge a second time?

“Although the Six Paths Preliminary Body is just a concept, I believe it can be realized!

But being tied up with mundane affairs, I always felt lacking in energy, and the Six Paths Preliminary Body has hit a Bottleneck, unable to progress!

Therefore, I’d like to ask Brother Ding for some guidance!”

As his voice fell, Liu Jiang no longer concealed himself, going all out.

Instantly, within the curtain of rain, his figure split directly into six.

Multiple voices overlapped, and rain shadows intertwined.

Vague and unclear, making it difficult to distinguish between real and fake.

Ding Xie also couldn’t distinguish between real and fake; just as Liu Jiang said, the six figures were identical, with no difference in breathing, heartbeat, or voice.

Relying on his 12 Physique, Ding Xie listened carefully.

The sound of breathing was clearly audible.

The rhythm of the breathing was also perfectly clear.

Three shallow breaths, one pause.

Nine shallow breaths, one deep breath.

Six formed a cycle.

Recalling Liu Jiang’s walking rhythm just now, Ding Xie stepped forward, his breathing changed accordingly, and his heartbeat also shifted, adopting a pattern similar to Liu Jiang’s.

Only similar.

Because Ding Xie’s heartbeat was much more vigorous!

The next moment!

Majestic Vital Qi immediately emerged from his body.

A scarlet, semi-illusory shadow appeared beside Ding Xie.

The shadow looked exactly like Ding Xie, but due to its blood color, it appeared more sinister and ferocious.

Even… terrifying!

Liu Jiang was instantly frightened.

His incessant talking abruptly stopped.

Jealousy and hatred sought display,

Heart venomous as a Malevolent Ghost.

But encountering Ding Xie,

The blood shadow accompanied the Yama.

“Impossible!

This is impossible!”

If Liu Jiang had previously only struggled to hide his emotions in his eyes, now he couldn’t hide the emotions on his face either.

Five years!

It took him five years to create the Six Paths Preliminary Body!

But what about Ding Xie?

He learned it in an instant!

What did that make him?

Was the gap in talent between him and Ding Xie truly this vast?

The shock was like thunder, shaking his mind and spirit.

His Vital Qi scattered, and his Spirit Refining became unstable.

After sensing his own condition, Liu Jiang immediately withdrew.

Retreating ten meters.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to retreat further.

But because someone else had arrived deep within the alley.

They wore colorful clothes made of paper, their heavy makeup was deathly pale, but circular red blushes were dotted on their cheeks. They walked erratically, touching the ground only with their toes.

From a distance, they looked like living Paper Figures.

Moreover, it wasn’t just one person—

It was four.

Two stood in front, two behind, carrying a pole on their shoulders.

Two poles supported a beam, and a coffin was suspended beneath the beam.

The four walked, crying and scattering Paper Money.

Liu Jiang’s expression was exceedingly grim.

He had come out to find them.

But definitely not right now.

Now?

He couldn’t avoid them fast enough!

He looked at the approaching coffin and then at Ding Xie, who was reloading his ammunition behind him.

The former was ruthless and lacked morality.

The latter had a reputation for chivalry and was a good person.

After a slight hesitation, Liu Jiang immediately turned backward, shouting loudly—

“Brother Ding, help me!”