Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 696 - 626: Airflow

Black droplets seeped from the crevices of the rocks, merging into the lake water. They meandered towards Li Ang, blending with the Mo Si.

In the icy lake waters, ten thousand Mo Si spread unabated, enveloping Li Ang’s head and body like black lotus flowers.

Yuan Sou’s gaze turned icy, and the energy of the Candle Cloud Sword Sect surged forth. Countless fissures instantly cracked open on the tunnel walls, and water gushed out as if from a high-pressure hose.

In the next instant, Yuan Sou advanced toward Li Ang like a shadowy specter, his wrist bones twisting and bending. His longsword, at a bizarre angle, made a stealthy sweep.

There were few members of the Candle Cloud Sword Sect in the world. Cui Yixian’s swordplay was elegant and unrestrained, Shen Tuyu’s was majestic and grand, and Lian Xuanxiao’s was vast and boundless. Yuan Sou’s sword, however... was sinister and swift.

The resilient blade vibrated slightly, piercing with maximum speed and minimal loss through the dense, crisscrossing Mo Si, striking at the fragile parts of the pitch-black lotus.

RIIIIP! The longsword sliced open Li Ang’s flank, his skin, muscles, and blood vessels caught in the Sword Qi and disintegrating into ash.

The entire left side of his waist seemed to have been devoured by an invisible beast, leaving his internal organs visibly drooping, held precariously in place only by threads of fascia.

Yuan Sou’s pupils dilated instinctively. The surface of Li Ang’s internal organs was covered in pitch-black spots and fine, moss-like growths, looking as if they were rotting and molding.

CLANG! The sword struck bone, unable to penetrate further after hitting the spine. Li Ang’s hand, like an iron clamp, firmly grasped the blade.

The Sword Qi surged. Li Ang’s palm was lacerated as countless Mo Si threads erupted from it, appearing and disappearing in a continuous cycle.

He’s been infested by Mutated Objects to such an extent that his bodily structure has long deviated from a normal person’s. Destroying his brain is likely the only way to kill him in one strike.

Yuan Sou’s thoughts whirred. While his right hand held the sword to maintain pressure, his left arm rotated and thrust forward. His left index and middle fingers snapped together into a Sword Technique, aiming directly at Li Ang’s forehead.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! A series of sharp cracks emanated from Li Ang’s cervical vertebrae. His entire spine compressed inwards, pulling his head rapidly backward, avoiding the sword at an angle that would have broken a normal person’s neck.

His brow split like torn silk, and the surging Sword Qi still managed to cut open his skull, revealing glimpses of the pinkish-white brain within.

In the blink of an eye, Li Ang’s right arm shot up from below, gripping Yuan Sou’s wrist. His nimble fingers dug into the gaps between Yuan Sou’s, forcefully disrupting the Sword Technique.

The disordered Sword Qi erupted wildly, cutting deep fissures into the underground cavern while rubble fell like rain.

Yuan Sou’s wrist was also crushed by brute force, ghastly white bone shards protruding through the skin.

"Innate Martial Artist, Perfected Realm? Hmm, more than that. Your current physical strength is probably on par with that of a Martial Arts Grandmaster."

Yuan Sou narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Unfortunately, you’re missing the most critical thing: Vital Energy."

Before his words faded, vast Sword Qi wrapped around Yuan Sou’s entire left arm, including the pale bones at his wrist.

One of Li Ang’s shoulders and the connected arm were engulfed by the Sword Qi, instantly disintegrating into ash.

The drifting Mo Si fragments spontaneously evolved into glider-like structures, attempting to approach each other for repair.

However, the residual Sword Intent never dissipated, preventing these Mo Si fragments, even upon reaching the water’s surface and overlapping, from melding together again.

Li Ang remained impassive, unconcerned by the grievous injury. Beneath his left foot, a Telekinetic barrier rose, supporting his weight. His right leg shot out like lightning, striking Yuan Sou’s abdomen squarely.

Yuan Sou was sent flying, his lean figure crashing into the cavern wall. His clothes tore open, revealing a pitch-black shoe print on his chest and abdomen. Within the shoe print, dense, pinhole-like wounds were vaguely discernible.

With that last kick, Li Ang had deliberately manifested sharp spikes on the sole of his shoe. Had Yuan Sou not reacted in time and strengthened his Protective Sword Qi, his body would have been split in two.

Yuan Sou’s gaze flickered over his abdomen, then turned back to Li Ang.

Li Ang had already gathered most of the Mo Si fragments hidden in the rock layers, donned pitch-black armor, and used Mo Si threads to temporarily fill the parts of his body obliterated by the Sword Qi.

"To be assimilated to such an extent, you seem more like a demon than we do," Yuan Sou said with a grim smile. "I heard that after you returned to Yu Country, you underwent an inspection by the Garrison, and they found nothing unusual about you.

That can only mean Lian Xuanxiao knew about your condition and even actively helped you cover it up.

Heh heh, an Academic Palace Patrol who’s actually an Evil Spirit, and the Academic Palace Master knew but failed to report it, tacitly allowing it.

When this news spreads, who knows how many jaws will drop, or what kind of uproar it will cause—just perfect for giving Taihao Mountain the opportunity to formally enter the fray and attack Yu Country."

"I know." Li Ang slightly swung back his hand, using Telekinesis to pull the Dragon Fall Spear, as thick as a beam, from the rock layer. He stated indifferently, "That’s why you will die here today."

HUMMM— The spear flew into his hand, resizing to its normal dimensions.

The armor plates on the back of the pitch-black armor popped open, revealing two fighter jet-like vector nozzles.

The vector nozzles were exquisitely crafted, featuring gimbal rings for simultaneous forward-backward and swivel movements; three vectoring actuators; dual-purpose actuating cylinders for varying the outlet area; a ring of actuating cylinders for the throat’s critical area; a precisely engineered throat critical cross-section; and hinged connecting rods to transmit thrust.

Over a thousand metal plates and moving parts formed a complex linkage mechanism.

Parameters such as the travel, force, and temperature of each component were transmitted to Li Ang’s brain through the Mo Si circuitry. These were then processed by his Heart Thought, using integral equations to regulate the components.

Inside the vector nozzles were turbofans, and behind them lay a Radiant Crossbow.

At this moment, the crossbow’s bolt channel was filled not only with Wind Talismans but also... Exhausting Talismans. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

BOOM! More than a dozen Wind Talismans activated first. The storm they produced was compressed and streamlined in an internal chamber, transforming into a regular airflow that drove the turbofans into violent rotation.

Then the Radiant Crossbow fired again. The Exhausting Talismans behind the turbofans activated, unleashing a screeching jet of fire that blasted out from the vector nozzles.

The terrifying thrust propelled Li Ang from his position, making him vanish so fast that Yuan Sou couldn’t even lock onto his aura in time.

Yuan Sou’s pupils suddenly constricted. His emaciated arms raised his sword to block, the sword guard catching the Dragon Fall Spear and erupting in a shower of sparks.

In an instant, weapons clashed and parried for dozens of rounds. The already crumbling cavern, further lacerated by Sword Qi, teetered on the brink of collapse.

River water sprayed down, forming waterfalls.

Yuan Sou’s expression twisted, his wet, pale hair sticking to his face, exposing the half of a human face on the back of his head—a face he had previously scalded to death.

Li Ang was gradually catching up to his sword momentum; his Sword Techniques were slowly being deciphered.

How could this be? Li Ang might be a genius in the Dao Paths of Talismanic Study and Mind Study, but his Martial Arts Skill was surely not enough to unravel Yuan Sou’s lifelong refined Sword Dao in such a short time.

"There’s nothing impossible about it." Li Ang swept his Dragon Fall Spear, smashing Yuan Sou into the rock wall. His pitch-black armor hovered, bathed in the cold rain of the waterfall. "In the end, your Sword Dao is still merely a sword of the mortal realm."