Blade - Unbound

Chapter 11: To The Death

“This... damn thing can even summon underlings!”

The sudden turn of events caught Li Yan completely off guard. Truly, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. He had no idea how this Cold Altar Soldier managed it, but the situation had clearly shifted from a one-on-one fight into a group assault.

Looks like I pushed things too far just now...

There was no time for regret, so Li Yan sprang to his feet and drew his blade.

He held the blade in his right hand, its tip angled upward. Dropping into a half-empty stance, he crouched slightly, while his left hand gripped the sheath in reverse. He held the sheath horizontally before his waist as he slowly retreated.

This was called the pressing blade stance. It allowed both offense and defense; the upward-angled tip of the blade could strike a charging beast as soon as it entered his range, while the sheath could be used as a blunt weapon for striking or blocking.

He backed up to the incense burner before the Earth God Temple and stopped. Quickly crouching, he grabbed the tassel offered there and tucked it into his chest.

The wolves were terrifying, but the greater threat was that Cold Altar Soldier. The Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin tassel was the key to victory. Of course, it couldn’t be used rashly, not yet.

Without hesitation, the wolf pack launched their assault.

Roar!

Three wolves lunged forward. Baring their savage fangs, the first two charged at him, aiming straight for Li Yan’s abdomen as if to rip him open. The third launched itself at his throat, jaws snapping.

It was an exceptionally vicious coordinated attack. For ordinary prey, even if they avoided the fatal bite to the neck, they would be knocked down, and the other two wolves would tear open their belly in an instant.

But Li Yan was prepared. He stepped forward in his pressing blade stance. Before his right foot even touched the ground, a flash of blade light streaked through the air. It created the illusion that the blade was faster than the man.

This was the essence of the Guanzhong fast blade.

Ordinary fighters planted their feet firmly, drawing strength from the ground and channeling it through their waist and arms, making their strikes as heavy as a mountain. But the Guanzhong fast blade was delivered before the foot even landed. The power generated from one’s arms and wrists, combined with a sharp blade, compensated for the lack of force generated from the ground.

In the end, no matter how powerful your strike, what use is it if your throat was cut first? It was this very skill that had earned the Guanzhong blade masters their great reputation. In the hands of a true practitioner, their strike was so fast that opponents couldn’t even react.

The lunging wolf was no exception.

It was still in midair as the blade pierced its throat and slid into its skull. But its momentum continued carrying it forward, and with the sharpness of the Guanshan blade, half its head was cleanly sliced off, sending blood spraying everywhere.

But the two charging wolves had already arrived. Li Yan retreated smoothly. He flicked the sheath in his left hand upward, jabbing at the throat of the wolf on the left and making it howl in agony. His right hand followed with a downward slash.

Splurt!

The wolf attacking from the right lost a foreleg and its balance with one swing. Li Yan stepped forward, planting his foot firmly, and swept out with a barrier-leg kick, sending the crippled wolf flying seven or eight meters.

It rolled across the ground, kicking up dust. With a broken leg and its flank struck, it whimpered and coughed blood, struggling briefly before falling still.

Only then did Li Yan spin his blade in a flourish and thrust downward. The blade pierced through the neck of the other wolf, which had been still frantically biting at the sheath lodged in its throat.

Wolf blood sprayed across Li Yan’s expressionless face. His cold gaze was fixed at the rest of the pack. Wolf packs attacked strategically; they did not swarm blindly, but searched for weaknesses and attacked in waves. Even if they failed to kill, they would aim for a debilitating injury.

No matter how large the beast, their body and mind would fall under the relentless assault of a wolf pack. This approach would minimize losses for the wolves. After all, in the wild, injury often meant death.

The wolves’ tactics hadn’t changed, but they clearly hadn’t expected Li Yan’s blade technique to be so lethal. He had taken a mere few breaths to kill three wolves. Their momentum had been broken. Sensing the killing intent surging from Li Yan, the remaining wolves whimpered and circled, unwilling to retreat, but also not daring to advance rashly.

But Li Yan’s attention was fixed entirely on the alpha wolf. He could smell a familiar stench from it. But it was noticeably weaker compared to last night.

Widow Wang had been right. After suffering repeated injuries, even after devouring wandering spirits within ten li, the Cold Altar Soldier had fallen to its weakest state. The wolf it possessed was pacing outside the incense range of the Earth God Temple, showing no intention of entering. Clearly, it intended to have the pack drag him out.

Li Yan’s face was resolute as he stood his ground, blade in hand. He wanted to eliminate this menace that coveted his soul and body. Now, it was a matter of who would lose patience first.

Perhaps fearing the coming of dawn, when yang energy would rise, the possessed wolf suddenly let out a furious roar. A wave of foul stench erupted from its body, frightening several wolves into wetting themselves. Clearly coerced, all of them charged toward the temple.

“Kill!” Li Yan roared, his back against the temple.

The Guanshan blade slashed left and right, and he even delivered an upward kick, sending a lunging wolf flying. Cold gleams flashed as two wolves were killed instantly.

But his lack of experience soon showed. He couldn’t keep up with all the wolves that attacked. After the initial skirmish, his movements slowed, openings appeared, and he was immediately pushed into a disadvantage.

One wolf clamped down hard on his right hand, the one holding the blade. The others bared their fangs and tore at him. Even when he kicked them away, they would circle back and attack again.

Howl!

Another wolf’s cry rang out in the distance. It was the possessed wolf; it feared the pack would damage Li Yan’s body, so it issued a command. Sure enough, the wolves stopped going for the kill, instead snapping at his limbs and dragging him outward.

Pain surged through Li Yan’s body, and rage flared in his heart. He knew this was the critical moment. Even if he broke free, he would be exhausted by the pack’s endless guerrilla tactics. Even if his substitute statue restored him and he killed the remaining wolves, he would still not survive against the Soldier.

His only chance was to kill that fiend. With that thought, Li Yan endured the pain, gripping his Guanshan blade tightly as the wolves dragged him toward the possessed alpha. Dust billowed as he left a horrifying trail of blood behind him. He was quickly dragged to the roadside, outside the temple’s incense protection.

The possessed wolf could no longer hold back. It pounced, placing its forelegs on Li Yan’s chest, baring its fangs, and letting out a low growl. Li Yan could clearly feel the cold sensation in his back surge violently. The chill was so intense it seemed to invade his organs. His skin grew numb, and even his consciousness began to blur.

At the same time, the substitute statue began to take effect. Li Yan had judged correctly; the curse affected the mind, but possession would inevitably alter the body. If he was fully taken over, he would likely end up as Widow Wang described, with black fluid seeping from his organs.

The statue’s restoration brought him back to clarity. At that moment, he hesitated no longer. Pulling out the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin tassel from his chest, he pressed it against the Guanshan blade and thrust upward with all his strength!

The fiend was in the middle of its possession technique and had no time to dodge. With a splurt, wolf blood mixed with black fluid dripped down.

Roar!

A strange, eerie howl came from within the wolf. It sounded both like a beast and a human, as if two voices overlapped and echoed around them. The remaining wolves seemed to break free from the alpha’s control. They trembled violently, losing control of their bowels as they fled into the grass and vanished.

But Li Yan paid them no mind. The moment the demon-suppressing coins merged with the blade, a bone-piercing cold spread along the edge, impaling the wolf above him.

It did not just pierce flesh. Li Yan could clearly smell the scent of the coins and blade combining, releasing a cold, bloody scent that drove straight into the fiend’s foul stench. freeweɓnovel.cøm

The six yang roots corresponded to the six senses, creating six kinds of divine abilities. His awakened ability was smell. It wasn’t as direct as yin-yang sight, but through scent, he could keenly perceive the shifts in power.

The “Might of a Hundred Battles” plaque and the temple’s incense seemed to share the same type of power. They were both warm, belonging to yang. When they clashed with the fiend’s power, they canceled each other out. But the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coins were yin in nature, colder even than the fiend’s power, like ice sinking into water.

Not only did they not weaken, it seemed they were absorbing the fiend’s strength.

Roar!

The eerie howl grew weaker and weaker.

Finally, as the fiend’s foul stench completely dissipated, the wolf above him went still, leaving only the scent of a corpse.

Thud!

Li Yan rolled the body off him. He gasped for breath, continuing to use the substitute statue. His wounds vanished in moments. If not for his tattered clothes and bloodstains, one would never guess he had just gone through such a brutal battle.

The statue could replace all negative bodily conditions, even muscle soreness from exertion. In that sense, it could restore stamina. But while his body recovered, the exhaustion from extreme mental strain could not be erased. Li Yan lay there for a while before slowly getting up.

At that moment, his expression froze. Inside his dantian, the substitute statue had reached its limit. Countless cracks spread across it, as if it would shatter at any moment.

On its left shoulder, a ghostly flame suddenly went out. Then, the statue instantly restored itself, leaving no trace of damage.

So... that had cost him a life?

Li Yan cursed under his breath, spitting in frustration. But he also knew that he would never have survived without the statue.

Widow Wang worshipped a legendary spirit medium entity. Even if something was off about it, the fact that it dared not even show itself proved how terrifying this Soldier was.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed. The Guanshan blade in his hand was growing colder and colder, as if he were gripping a shard of ice. The chill pierced into his bones, and even his skin began to numb.

Li Yan quickly tossed the tassel aside.

The once-exquisite tassel and its knots, along with the Three Talents coins, were now soaked in wolf blood, giving off a bloody stench. Having absorbed some of the fiend’s power, the artifact had actually grown stronger.

This was not a good thing. It meant that using it in the future would become increasingly difficult. He would have to find a way to deal with it. Or perhaps... find a master and step into that mysterious world.

Li Yan cleaned up the traces on the ground, carefully placed the demon-suppressing tassel into a red cloth pouch, and disappeared into the night.

Soon, he arrived outside Widow Wang’s house. Before he even got close, his expression changed. The mixed scent of incense and foul odor had vanished.

Sure enough, when he pushed open the courtyard gate, it was completely empty.

The offering table, spirit tablets, red cords, incense burner... All traces of Widow Wang and the spirit medium had been wiped clean, leaving nothing but an ordinary house.

A thought stirred in Li Yan’s mind as he looked around. Indeed, the jars that had formed a strange formation had been scattered, and filthy water lay splashed across the ground.

At that moment, Li Yan was certain.

Widow Wang and the Immortal... were hiding from something.