Chapter 78: Ants

  Outside the temple, Pan Hao lingered in front of the gate. His eyes gleamed with a divine light as he gazed out at the distant mountains and fields. In an instant, the originally pitch-black night suddenly became bright, like daylight, and all things were clearly visible. The darkness could not affect Pan Hao's line of sight.

  In the distance, a gigantic boulder stood in the wilderness, resembling a millstone. A man wearing Confucian robes and white clothes, with an ancient long sword hanging from his waist, stood atop the boulder. The man had a slender build, with an air of elegance and refinement, exuding a subtle aura of literary and martial arts. He grasped the hilt of his sword, gazing at the mountain demon not far away.

  "Abominable beast, seeking death!" With a long sword unsheathing, the man's entire body burst out with a strong, upright, and vast aura. His body leapt up, transforming into a white rainbow shadow, shooting towards the direction of the mountain goblin.

  "Is this the aura of a saint?" Pan Hao suddenly felt an aura similar to that of Han Yang's on the man, but it was different from Han Yang's strict and solemn aura. Instead, there was a carefree and natural atmosphere, with a hint of ease and freedom.

  In the presence of Shan Gui, Hu Da's corpse lay beside him, with blood flowing profusely from his body, his vitality dissipating, and his eyes frozen in death. With a sudden flash, a man descended like a rainbow, and with a loud crash, a long sword accompanied by the man struck Shan Gui's head with lightning speed.

  A row of pure white characters appeared on the long sword, and surprisingly, it passed through the ugly head of the mountain goblin without any hindrance. A black and white object burst open in its head.

  "Bang!" The mountain goblin's head was smashed to pieces, and its entire body crashed down. At the explosion site on its head, a pungent and unbearable stench spread out, but surprisingly, no bright red blood flowed out. The man shook his long sword, and with a "clang", he sheathed it back into its scabbard.

  As the mountain ogre fell, the thick and heavy demonic aura on its body slowly dissipated, and the crimson glow that wrapped around it also dimmed down until it disappeared.

  The man heard and saw these foul odors, and his eyebrows furrowed instantly. After observing for a while, he found that it was not that the mountain goblin had no blood, but rather its blood had long since coagulated inside its body, turning into a dark black gel-like substance.

  "Little kid, you're looking for death!" A low, hoarse voice suddenly echoed in the mountains. An old man wearing a gray robe and a wooden hairpin was standing on top of an ancient tree's canopy, his eyes narrowed, with a hint of murderous intent.

  "That's Yan Sha?" Pan Hao's expression changed as he recognized the person who had gone to assassinate Han Yang's elder a while ago.

  "Who are you! Is this mountain goblin your creation?" The man's face also turned cold, could it be that this mountain goblin was manipulated by this person, a puppet created to devour human hearts.

  Flames danced lightly on the treetops, and in his heart, he was extremely annoyed. Originally, the immortal master had let him watch over a few puppets, these mountain goblin puppets would be able to evolve again after devouring the hearts of ninety-nine yang males, but unexpectedly, they had only devoured more than ten, when someone else smashed their brains to pieces, and they couldn't recover. Most importantly, this man's body also possessed that familiar saintly power.

  "You killed my puppet, come and take my life!" Yan Sha's eyes were icy cold, and with a loud rumble, the true energy within his body was unleashed. A powerful and scorching aura burst forth, and threads of true energy outside his body transformed into a faint red flame aura that enveloped Yan Sha entirely.

  Boom, Yan Sha's palm turned into a crystal clear crimson, as if it had the texture of jade, with a flowing light. Yan Sha slapped downwards in mid-air, and the crystal clear hand brought a scorching powerful true energy that slammed towards the man.

  Clang, the man's long sword was unsheathed, and the true energy inside his body flowed rapidly into the ancient, unadorned sword. With a hum, the sword shook suddenly, emitting a clear, pleasant ring; "A pre-heavenly expert? Wait, you're actually the assassin who killed Mr. Han back then."

  The man saw Yan Sha's scorching true energy and suddenly remembered the rumors of the pre-heavenly expert who assassinated the contemporary great Confucian, and this place was not far from Rong City. Pre-heavenly experts were extremely rare, so he was shocked and immediately guessed Yan Sha's identity.

  "Haha, it's me!" Yan Sha's large palm slapped down from mid-air, his aura tightly sealing the man's entire body.

  "Hum, the man's long sword had a crystal-like character rapidly jumping and swirling around the blade. The long sword transformed into a flash of lightning and a massive palm collided with it, boom! A powerful gust of air burst forth between the two, booming as it scattered in all directions, shaking the sand and gravel on the ground. Even the leaves were blown away, rustling loudly."

  Clang, a metallic ringing sound rose. Rows of crystal-like characters entwined on the long sword, resisting the invasion of scorching true energy. However, it was still struck by a powerful force, and the man's large hand shook, clang, the long sword was knocked flying by Flame Sand's massive palm.

  The man in white robes tapped his foot and suddenly rose into the air, quickly retreating backwards.

  "When the will is right, all evil will not be born!" The white-clothed man fell to the ground and shouted angrily. With a loud noise, following the man's angry shout, it seemed that some kind of breath was tuned in, a crystal clear chain made up of scriptures as thick as an infant's arm suddenly appeared in his mouth. The power of the sage was brought down from the void under the man's guidance, quickly passing through the dantian of the blazing sand.

  Boom, Yan Sha only felt that with the man's loud shout, a saintly power fell from the air, suppressing the true energy. Boom boom, the true energy retreated under the chain's pressure, being suppressed into the dantian. Boom, Yan Sha's mind moved, and the true energy transformed into a flood, rumbling inside the dantian. Clang clang, the chain slowly rotated, and surprisingly, a small amount of true energy escaped from the suppression, flowing back into the meridians.

  The young man's cultivation of sage power was far from being as profound as that of Han Yangzi, and he couldn't completely suppress the true energy of Yan Sha.

  "Kid, you're not even close to mastering it!" Flame Sand felt the true energy inside his body still circulating, and suddenly he was overjoyed. With a step forward, he activated his light skill and appeared in front of the man with a whooshing sound. His bright red palm slapped towards the man's head, about to slap it open like a flower.

  Whoosh, a cold light suddenly shot towards Yan Sha at high speed. Clang, Yan Sha's body spun around and his two palms caught the cold light. He took a closer look and found it was half of a broken knife.

  The man took advantage of the opportunity to use his lightness skill and wanted to escape.

  "Stay back!" Yan Sha bellowed, his voice almost deafening. At the same time, the true energy within him shook, and the broken sword transformed into a cold light that shot towards the man.

  Clang! Another cold light appeared, and with a clang, it struck the broken knife that Yan Sha had thrown out. Clatter, the two halves of the broken knife fell to the ground from mid-air.

  "You can't escape!" The flame sand true energy shook greatly, the true energy inside his body rumbled and boomed, shattering the chain formed by the sacred sage's power. He leaped up in an instant, transformed into a black shadow, and quickly disappeared on the spot, just about to capture the man.

  "What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to take care of the puppet?" A slightly angry male voice appeared in the void, and at the same time, large patches of black fog emerged in the sky. The black fog was rolling and thick, emitting a cold and icy aura.

  "Master Xian!" Yan Sha was shocked in his heart, and then pointed at the man who had escaped dozens of feet away. "Master Xian, the puppet was killed by that scholar!"

  "Hmm? Is this just an ant?" In the dark fog, a bright and cold gaze watched as the man rapidly fled.

  Boom! A massive palm made of dark mist took shape in the void, and with a loud roar, it slapped down on the fleeing man, bringing with it a rolling wave of air. The man's figure hesitated for a moment, and he was actually locked down by the black mist, unable to escape, evoking a sense of despair.