Chapter Ninety-Six: The White-Clad Woman

Ma Zhenlei gave a brooding smile. As his hand seals shifted, scarlet bolts of thunder began to spread through his palm in every direction. Behind him, the bamboo grove was battered by his aura, bending and lurching as it crackled and snapped.

Then, all at once, he changed footwork and lunged at Daoist Master Li.

Daoist Master Li remained where he was. This time, however, he did not use the finger seals of Taoist arts. Instead, he performed a very strange method of circulating his inner force.

His left and right hands moved in a continuous cycle, like yin and yang in the Taiji diagram. Though the motion was soft and unhurried, it carried a hidden firmness and a deep internal strength.

A martial arts technique?

Ma Zhenlei was taken aback. He had apparently not expected Daoist Master Li to resort to martial arts. In this age, martial arts had fallen into decline precisely because they could not contend with Taoist arts; indeed, Taoist power was far greater. In such circumstances, Daoist Master Li was effectively using a method that was both outdated and far less formidable against Ma Zhenlei.

"What is this? A martial palm technique? Daoist Master Li, have you been scared witless? Even primordial spirit arts cannot stand against the power of a thousand-year-old primordial spirit, and you want to use martial arts? Very well, then I shall make you pay for it!"

As he spoke, Ma Zhenlei had already reached Daoist Master Li with swift and shifting footwork.

To be honest, I could not understand why Daoist Master Li would do such a thing. Did he truly intend to defeat a thousand-year-old primordial spirit with martial arts? How could that possibly be?

To put it bluntly, it was like striking a rock with an egg.

In the blink of an eye, Ma Zhenlei's Five Thunder Palm Seal came crashing down upon Daoist Master Li with overwhelming force. Reinforced by the power of that thousand-year-old primordial spirit, the might of the palm seal was beyond imagination.

Yet something strange happened.

Though the Five Thunder Palm Seal was clearly aimed at Daoist Master Li, and though Daoist Master Li seemed not to dodge at all, the thunder did not strike him. Instead, it smashed into the tree behind him.

The tree was severed at once, charred black, and crashed to the ground with a thunderous sound.

While Ma Zhenlei was still in shock, Daoist Master Li struck out with a palm of his own. That palm was not fast, and Ma Zhenlei easily evaded it. But the sweeping palm wind lashed past and severed a bamboo stalk opposite them, cutting off a section some three or four feet long, which fell to the ground.

Daoist Master Li walked over, picked up the bamboo, and flicked off the branches with his fingers. After measuring it with a glance, he smiled faintly and said, "Not bad."

Was he planning to use bamboo as a sword?

I glanced at the massive tree, thick enough to encircle with both arms, that had been severed by Ma Zhenlei's Five Thunder Palm Seal. Could bamboo really be stronger than that tree if used as a sword?

Daoist Master Li's thinking was truly impossible to fathom.

I feared that even a casual bolt of thunder from Ma Zhenlei would reduce the bamboo in his hand to charcoal. Watching him do this made my heart tighten with worry, for I understood better than anyone the force of that thousand-year dragon essence.

And yet, once Daoist Master Li took hold of that bamboo-made sword, his entire bearing changed at once. He held the sword in one hand, his sword techniques shifting without end. Even I could feel the terrifying pressure of Ma Zhenlei's thousand-year dragon essence bearing down on him, yet within that free and untrammeled sword intent, Daoist Master Li seemed wholly unaffected.

In his hands, the bamboo truly seemed to become a sword. As his sword forms changed, I even saw afterimages split into several shadows, while sand and stones were whipped into the air around him. Ma Zhenlei unleashed one bolt after another of scarlet thunder at Daoist Master Li, but they seemed to strike empty void, accomplishing nothing at all.

Daoist Master Li's sword style was as graceful and elusive as a startled swan in flight.

I truly had not expected his swordsmanship to have reached such a realm. At this level, his sword art was no less powerful than Taoist arts.

Seeing that the Five Thunder Palm Seal could not wound Daoist Master Li, and that even the dragon might of a thousand-year-old primordial spirit could not suppress him, Ma Zhenlei directly unleashed his primordial spirit power and surged toward him.

But in the midst of that clash, a glint of sharp brilliance suddenly flashed in Daoist Master Li's eyes.

At once, a fierce sword intent spread outward, as though in that instant the entire sky was filled with swords.

When the wind stirred, the trees did not cease their motion; when a man moved, the sword followed his will.

With a whoosh, that section of bamboo flew out from Daoist Master Li's hand. Its speed was extreme, swift to the very limit. Ma Zhenlei saw this and slashed out with a palm wrapped in the Five Thunder Seal, striking the end of the bamboo.

The bamboo split through the thunder, then suddenly burst apart, breaking into countless sharp slivers.

Within the scarlet bolts of thunder, each sliver carried a blinding golden radiance. Like arrows loosed from a bow, they pierced clean through Ma Zhenlei's chest.

In an instant, tiny dense points covered his chest, all of them beginning to seep blood.

The bamboo slivers pierced through and fell to the ground, turning crimson.

Ma Zhenlei staggered back several steps, not even daring to touch his own chest. Blood streamed from his mouth and nose at the same time.

He swayed a few more paces, then could no longer hold himself up and dropped to one knee. He still tried desperately to force himself upright, but his whole body trembled, cold sweat poured from his brow, and he no longer had the strength to stand.

The sight was utterly shocking.

I stared in a daze.

At the peak of swordsmanship, Daoist Master Li had fused sword art and Taoist art into one, and it had produced such an effect.

And yet just as I thought Daoist Master Li had already won, an unexpected change occurred. He too coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, motionless.

It happened so suddenly that it was completely beyond my expectations. What on earth had happened?

"Senior Li!"

At that moment, I could not even move.

I had watched the entire battle just now, and he had not seemed injured at all. How could he suddenly fall? Could it be that Daoist Master Li had already been wounded when he went into the netherworld to seek the soul of the Green-Robed Temple Master?

"Senior Li!" I called out, clenching my teeth as I forced myself up and moved to his side.

With great difficulty, I raised a hand and felt his soul pulse. It was extremely weak.

As I thought, his soul had been injured. Something must have happened to him in the netherworld. Once the soul is wounded, primordial spirit power cannot be used. That was why he had been forced to meet Ma Zhenlei with swordsmanship alone.

Over there, Ma Zhenlei tried to raise himself, but still could not do it. Daoist Master Li's swordsmanship had not only wounded him, but likely sealed his meridians as well.

Now, even with the power of a thousand-year-old primordial spirit, he could no longer use it.

"Quick, take the chief master away!"

I heard someone shout this, and when I opened my eyes, I saw several Daoists supporting Ma Zhenlei as he was helped up. Among them, I even saw Ma Zhenxing, the one who had returned from death.

"Those two... are already done for. Big brother, go kill them quickly and avenge our Ma family!" Ma Zhenlei said weakly, unable to move.

Ma Zhenxing's movements were stiff. He turned slowly and looked this way, then said, "Fifth brother, rest assured. I will kill them at once."

He drew a Daoist sword and walked toward Daoist Master Li and me.

When Ma Zhenxing had died, his resentment had been so intense that he fell into the White River, absorbing a great deal of baleful and vengeful energy, and had originally become a zombie. The fact that he could speak like this showed that his soul had not yet left his body. He was unlike the other zombies beneath the White River, and therefore was not under the control of the Corpse King Ying Gou.

Otherwise, he would not have been able to appear here.

Ma Zhenxing advanced with sword in hand.

I wanted to stand and fight him, but my primordial spirit was sealed, and with serious injuries on top of that, I could not rise at all. Ma Zhenxing gave a stiff smile, then swung his sword toward Daoist Master Li.

Clenching my teeth, I lunged forward and threw myself over Daoist Master Li.

At that critical moment, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept in. Ma Zhenxing lurched sideways under its force, and his sword did not strike me. Instead, it was knocked flying from his hand and landed on the ground with a clang.

Ma Zhenxing staggered back again and again.

Before me stood a woman in white.

She wore a gauzy white robe, as though she were veiled in pale mist. When the wind rose, her long black hair floated with it, lending her a delicate and gentle air.

As she turned her head, her features were exquisite, her skin as smooth as congealed cream, nearly frosted with cold. Yet between her brows there was only utter chill and indifference, making it impossible to guess her mood.

"Big brother, run! You are no match for her!" Ma Zhenlei cried upon seeing the woman, as though he knew exactly who she was. He immediately ordered Ma Zhenxing to retreat. Ma Zhenxing froze for a moment, then quickly picked up the Daoist sword and, together with the other Daoists, hastily carried Ma Zhenlei away.

I knew that Ma Zhenlei had caused my mother's death, but at this moment I did not even have the strength to stand. Watching my enemy flee so quickly, I could not help feeling frantic and helpless.

Then the woman parted her cherry lips.

"You needn't waste your strength."

I gritted my teeth, but still could not get up.

"Your primordial spirit is sealed, your meridians are in chaos, and there are signs of demonic deviation. If you move again, you'll become a cripple for life and never be able to take revenge!" Her voice remained cold as ice.

I simply could not bear for Ma Zhenlei to escape like this, but at that moment there was nothing I could do.

"Sit down. I will treat your injuries and ease the pain for now," the woman said. Then she came over and helped me up, placing me against a rock.

Daoist Master Li was unconscious, and his condition was unclear. I immediately said, "Miss, please leave me aside for now. Save him first."

"His condition is not serious. His soul is only injured, which is why he cannot awaken for the moment."

Hearing that, I felt somewhat relieved. Soul injuries affect primordial spirit power. Since he was unconscious now, that was in fact the best state for recovery.

Then the woman told me to close my eyes.

She raised her hand and placed the tip of her finger between my brows.

Her fingertip was ice-cold, even a little colder than Weiyang's. Yet the moment it touched the center of my forehead, I felt a wave of cool energy spread outward from that point.