CHAPTER 92: CHAOS!

Just then, Old Man Lin swung his cleaver. His son and daughter-in-law, Gui Zi and his wife, Lady Zhou, as well as every villager of Longmen Village had gathered here. Their eyes were glowing a deep, blood-red hue.

Originally, when Li Yanchu had broken down the door, the villagers of Longmen Village hadn’t been roused. But now that the Lin family’s ancestral hall lay in ruins, the entire village had converged on the scene.

“Just in time!” Li Yanchu called, hefting his Jiaoslayer as he charged straight into the crowd.

Shing! The blade flashed, neatly shearing off the calves of three villagers. Since killing them would plunge them into a loop, he’d cripple them instead!

Crack! Crack! His whip-like kicks, solid as cast steel, snapped through the air and shattered the villagers’ legs.

Behind him, Bai Hongtu was stoking the flames without pause. He meant to burn the Lin family ancestral hall down to bare earth!

Whoosh! From the throng, a black shadow suddenly shot forth, speeding straight toward Bai Hongtu as he set everything alight.

Bai Hongtu felt a sudden mental alarm and heard the rush of slicing air behind him. Instantly, he formed a spell seal. A golden light burst to life, enveloping his body.

Clang! The black shadow slammed against Bai Hongtu’s golden aura with a thunderous ring of metal on metal. The black shadow wrapped itself around Bai Hongtu, only to reveal itself as a tongue.

Sizzle!

Li Yanchu brought his Jiaoslayer down in a single, devastating slash.

Six Yang Saber Art!

Scorching blood and qi as well as Six Yang energy surged along the blade. The black tongue was bisected cleanly and started to jet out a stream of dark blood.

“Ah!” a wail of agony erupted from its owner. Hearing this, Li Yanchu spun toward the sound and froze.

The long-tongued assailant was none other than that little girl with dense spirit qi, Hutou!

Her face twisted into a feral snarl as she lashed her tongue out again. The spot Li Yanchu had severed had already fully regenerated.

Bang!

Suddenly, Hutou’s black tongue lashed back and pulverized the wall behind Li Yanchu.

Burning with rage over the sneak attack, Bai Hongtu cried, “Flying Sword, exorcize evil!”

Whoosh!

A blade of shimmering sword-light shot forth and pinned Hutou’s tongue firmly to the ground, so much so that it couldn’t budge at all.

Pain contorted the little girl’s features as she writhed, but the Flying Sword’s strange, searing power held fast. Her tongue hissed white smoke where it met the blade.

“Nicely done, Hongtu!” Li Yanchu called out, then thrust a palm straight at Hutou.

Huff! A powerful blast of energy slammed into the little girl, sending her hurtling backwards.

Thwack! Her black tongue was snapped clean off. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, painting a pitiful picture. But the next instant, another black tongue sprouted from her lips, lashing out like a steel whip.

Boom! This time, the air itself was torn, unleashing a deafening sonic crack.

Crash! The dark shadow whipped across the ground, gouging a deep furrow into the earth.

As the ancestral hall collapsed into roaring flames, Longmen Village seemed to be bathed in a blood-red glow. The full moon overhead had turned a deep, crimson red.

Wisps of misty qi drifted up from the villagers, who no longer looked human. Their flesh began to rot away, revealing grim white bones jutting out here and there, and a thick, foul stench hung over the whole village.

One by one, the villagers halted their frenzied attacks and gathered together. Then, they began devouring each other. This grisly sight made every spine tingle with dread.

Mr. Fang, who had just regaining consciousness, stared in horror at the carnage.

Li Yanchu froze for a moment, stunned at how this village became so demonic. They were fighting one moment, then... they suddenly stopped?

Suddenly, the blood moon hanging in the sky flared with a brilliant, eerie light. One by one, the villagers of Longmen Village surged together as if drawn like moths to a flame. With expressions of frenzied devotion and zeal, they charged toward one another!

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

A series of tooth-grinding, bone-splintering sounds rang out as the villagers collided, their bodies snapping and breaking upon impact. But they did not fall apart. Instead, some strange, mysterious force began fusing their bodies together.

As more and more villagers hurled themselves into this grotesque mound of flesh, the monstrous heap grew larger and more bloated until it finally formed a towering giant, as tall as a small mountain. Its face, body, and limbs were densely packed with human faces which looked agonized, twisted, fanatical, devout, and deranged.

The abominable creature, pieced together entirely from the corpses of Longmen Village’s residents, suddenly let out a thunderous roar.

Rooaaar!

A terrifying shockwave burst outward, rippling in layers. At the center of this blast, the ground began to crack bit by bit like a spreading spiderweb.

Li Yanchu’s expression turned grim, and he immediately released the qi shield surrounding him. Within this massive, overwhelming wave of force surged not only a murderous qi that pierced the heavens, but also a dizziness-inducing, soul-churning power.

Immediately, Bai Hongtu formed a hand seal, thereafter golden light enveloped his body. Even so, the two of them were still forced back step by step under the onslaught of this monstrous force.

Strangely, the seemingly weakest of the trio, the elderly man surnamed Fang, was only slightly affected.

“These villagers of Longmen Village... weren’t they supposed to be something like spirits or souls? Why would their flesh and blood bodies come together to form such a creature?!”

Li Yanchu was a little shocked. Was the thing haunting this village a corpse or a ghost?

At that moment, the voice of the old man surnamed Fang suddenly came from behind.

“If I’m not mistaken, this is a secret technique that seals the souls of the dead into corpses and gathers murderous qi to nourish the body. This was once a method used by the Bare Body Sect!”

Old Mr. Fang was an experienced geomancer who had traveled far and wide for decades. In matters of the supernatural, his insight was indeed exceptional.

Bare Body Sect!

They sealed living souls into corpses!

In an instant, everything became clear to Li Yanchu. No wonder those villagers kept screaming that they were hungry no matter how much flesh and blood they consumed. They were already dead! It was the corpses that were eating, so how could a corpse possibly feel full!?

Since regaining consciousness, the old man surnamed Fang had not been affected by the blood moon hanging in the sky. But after revealing the truth about Longmen Village, it was as if some unseen force had forcibly banished him.

“Mr. Fang!” Li Yanchu called out.

But what kind of power is at work in this village? Why has Zhang Hai’s soul been scattered? And now Mr. Fang’s as well, right after he awakened?

Boom, boom, boom!

At that moment, the flesh mountain had already charged toward them with an overwhelming, earth-shaking momentum.

Li Yanchu’s gaze sharpened like a blade. Without a trace of fear, he charged straight at it and started to engage in close-quarters combat.

Meanwhile, Bai Hongtu took charge of long-range support, using his Flying Sword to chip away at the monstrous flesh mountain from a distance.

Clang!

At this time, Li Yanchu slashed out with his blade. Six Yang Force! The arc of the blade tore through the night and collided head-on with the flesh mountain, producing a deafening crash like metal striking metal.

The monster's massive stride was halted for a moment by the blow, but Li Yanchu was sent flying backward by ten zhang. His feet plowed deep grooves into the ground as he slid back, making two long furrows that marked his path. Veins bulged on his arms, and even the sleeves of his clothing were torn in places.

Just then, Bai Hongtu’s Flying Sword struck! A flash of sword light followed the exact path cut by Li Yanchu's blade, driving in deep and sinking more than half a chi into the flesh of the monster.

But for a monster of such gargantuan size, that bit of damage was practically nothing. Seeing this, both men’s expressions grew grim at once. This creature’s strength was far beyond anything they had anticipated!