Chapter 172: Chapter 117: Too Horrible to Look At

The crimson True Qi, like arcs of electricity, relentlessly invaded the meridians throughout Fang Shuwen’s body.

This was Asura Death Qi!

This aura of death carried a sense of rot and decay. It could corrupt a person’s True Qi and destroy their meridians.

If an ordinary person from the Jianghu came into contact with it, half a lifetime of their Cultivation would be destroyed in a single instant.

At her peak, Yu Yaoguang would not have feared this energy, but that night her Inner Strength was compromised. The Hundred Ghosts Hall Master exploited this opening, striking a wisp of Asura Death Qi into her body, and for several days, she showed no signs of improvement.

It was Fang Shuwen who ultimately saved her.

Now, the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master was using all his might, trying to crush Fang Shuwen to death in his arms. He unleashed every last bit of the Asura Death Qi he had painstakingly cultivated for decades, seeking only to annihilate the powerful enemy before him.

However, Fang Shuwen merely furrowed his brow slightly, and his shoulders suddenly jolted.

With a series of CRACKS, bones shattered as the arms were forced apart. Fang Shuwen shot into the air, his hand lashing out to grab the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master’s enormous head.

Using his momentum, he slammed him down. The Hundred Ghosts Hall Master lost his footing and was forced to the ground, his head smashing into the dirt with a tremendous BOOM.

"Is this all you’ve got!?"

The Hundred Ghosts Hall Master roared in fury, but with Fang Shuwen’s hand clamped on his head, he was completely unable to muster any of his strength.

Fang Shuwen sneered. His right hand formed the Demon-Suppressing Seal, which he brought down again and again. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master’s head was driven into the ground, Fang Shuwen followed up with a slash of his Broken Stream technique.

The Hundred Ghosts Hall Master’s head was severed from his body!

Blood gushed out. The body shrank back to its normal size, and even the abnormally large head reverted to its proper proportions.

Fang Shuwen paused, stunned.

"That’s it?"

He picked up the mangled head and glanced at the corpse, a smirk playing on his lips.

"After that whole display, I thought you’d be able to reattach your head with the Hundred Ghosts Scripture. But... this is it?"

"You got my hopes up for nothing."

Fang Shuwen clicked his tongue. Just as he tossed the head aside, he heard the sound of rushing air from behind.

It was Yu Yaoguang’s voice.

"Don’t panic, you little rascal! I am here to help you!"

Fang Shuwen rolled his eyes. ’If you’ve come to help, then help. Why start with the insults?’

A figure flashed before him, and Yu Yaoguang appeared at his side.

She had truly raced to get here. After killing those few Undead, she had immediately charged toward the direction Fang Shuwen and the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master had gone, only to find Fang Shuwen holding a head and looking at her with an expression of dissatisfaction.

Ignoring Fang Shuwen’s infuriating expression—as if he were taking her kind intentions as an insult—Yu Yaoguang’s gaze fell instinctively to the head in his hand.

"The Hundred Ghosts Hall Master?"

"Who else?"

Fang Shuwen tossed it aside carelessly.

"This guy’s Martial Arts were bizarre, completely defying logic."

"And his healing rate was inhumanly fast. Have you ever seen someone regrow their own arm after it’s been chopped off?"

"Well, this old bastard could."

"I thought he’d be able to grow his head back after I cut it off, but... he just up and died."

This anticlimactic ending had caught Fang Shuwen completely off guard.

Yu Yaoguang’s expression darkened as she listened.

"From the sound of it, you seem disappointed that he’s dead."

Fang Shuwen sighed, a look of profound loneliness—the kind only a peerless master could feel—crossing his face.

"I thought he’d be able to make me use my full strength. What a letdown."

Yu Yaoguang shot Fang Shuwen a glare with her almond-shaped eyes, then went to examine the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master’s corpse.

"Where are his clothes?"

"...The guy could grow so big he barely looked human anymore."

Fang Shuwen said.

"His clothes just disintegrated."

"Oh, right..."

He seemed to remember something, and his eyes scanned the area. Soon, he spotted a faint red metal fragment.

He picked it up and handed it to Yu Yaoguang.

"This is Asura Iron."

"They found the Hundred-Pound Saber?"

Yu Yaoguang wasn’t particularly surprised. She had been prepared for this ever since Fang Shuwen had asked her where the Hundred-Pound Saber was hidden.

The only thing she hadn’t expected was that the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master would make a move himself.

That was why she had felt such urgency and had rushed over in a panic.

Now that she saw Fang Shuwen was safe and sound, she could finally relax. The fact that the Asura Iron hadn’t been lost was the icing on the cake.

Fang Shuwen, however, looked at the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master’s corpse, thought for a moment, and decided to make absolutely sure.

He channeled his Great Black Heaven God Palm, landing several consecutive strikes. After confirming the man was as dead as could be, he gathered dry wood and set the corpse on fire.

The body wasn’t very flammable, and it took Fang Shuwen considerable effort before it was finally consumed by the flames.

Only after confirming there was no possibility of the man waking up to fight again did Fang Shuwen nod in satisfaction.

Yu Yaoguang watched with a baffled expression, finally offering a four-word evaluation:

"That was truly gruesome!"

"Why are you sympathizing with him?"

Fang Shuwen shot her a look and started walking with her in the direction of Yuqing Pavilion.

As they walked, he seized the opportunity to ask:

"Sect Leader Yu, your mastery of the Fingering Technique must be extraordinary, right?"

"What are you implying?"

"?"

Their voices faded into the distance. The fire died out, leaving the charred corpse behind. A cold wind blew past. Surely, no one could have imagined that the body lying here belonged to the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master.

「A couple of hours passed in a flash.」 Footsteps sounded.

Two figures arrived before the corpse. It was Fang Shuwen and Yu Yaoguang.

Yu Yaoguang looked from the corpse on the ground to Fang Shuwen.

"Why do you think there’s a chance the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master is still alive?"

Fang Shuwen rubbed his chin.

"Of the four principles—blood, flesh, bone, and life—I now understand the meaning of blood, flesh, and bone."

"But... how does one interpret ’life’?"

"I..."

Yu Yaoguang was taken aback. The Seven Eastern Sects knew little about the Hundred Ghosts Hall; the group hadn’t been active in the Jianghu for long. Never mind the sects, even the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion had little information on them.

So she truly had no answer to Fang Shuwen’s question.

After a long moment, she shook her head.

"I only know that this Hundred Ghosts Hall Master is well and truly dead. And that his death was gruesome."

"And the Asura Iron is back in our hands."

Fang Shuwen nodded.

"Alright, then. Let’s go back."

The two of them used their Lightweight Technique and leaped away.

An hour later, the two of them emerged from behind the trees again.

Fang Shuwen rubbed his chin.

"Looks like he really isn’t getting back up."

"...’Probably’?"

Fang Shuwen’s repetitive and paranoid behavior was starting to make Yu Yaoguang feel a little uncertain herself.

Finally, after some thought, Fang Shuwen decided to sever the limbs from the charred corpse, take them with him, and bury the remaining torso on the spot.

Yu Yaoguang didn’t try to stop him. Although she felt his suspicions were almost certainly unfounded, there was always that one-in-a-million chance.

And even a one-in-a-million chance was a chance you couldn’t afford to take.

So not only did she not object, she even helped.

In the end, the two of them took the charred limbs, dug a pit to bury the headless torso, and then departed gracefully.

Silence once again descended upon the uneven forest floor. Time ticked by, second by second.

Night fell, and the bright moon rose high in the sky.

Amid the swaying shadows of the trees, the faint sound of footsteps could suddenly be heard...