The Regressor of Mount Hua

Chapter 216. Kongtong's Demon Slayer (2)

Screech!

Dark brown wings cut through the sky in a horizontal streak. The sight of the powerful wings occasionally flapping was beautiful.

The battlefield reflected in the eagle's sharp eyes, searching for prey.

The Kongtong Sect advanced in a wedge formation, cutting down anyone in their path. The Blood Cultists fell like autumn leaves to their swords.

Thanks to their strength, the Kongtong Sect reached the center of the battlefield without facing any obstacles.

Although the Martial Alliance had momentarily split into two groups, Tou Zhong quickly rallied his troops and hurried to follow the Kongtong Sect.

“Stop! It’s a trap! It’s a trap!”

It was a trap!

Zhou Xuchuan's voice rang out desperately, his shout strong enough to rival the Shaolin Temple's Lion Roar.

Despite the chaos of the battlefield, his voice echoed through the mountains and pierced the ears of the Righteous Faction warriors.

“Halt! Halt!”

Tou Zhong, who had been calling for an advance just moments before, instinctively shouted for a stop. Startled by the power in Zhou Xuchuan's voice, the word “stop” escaped his mouth before he realized it.

Why is he stopping us all of a sudden?!

Tou Zhong frowned in displeasure, turning to demand an explanation. But the moment he looked back, his irritation quickly turned into relief.

“Agh!!”

"Below us! There's something underground!"

Rumble!

The ground shook as pebbles and rocks flew into the air. Cracks split open, and hands covered in sand emerged from below.

Human and skeletal hands grabbed the ankles of the Kongtong Sect martial artists who were charging forward.

“Ugh!”

“Agk!”

They fell, some breaking noses, others vomiting blood as their disrupted qi flows caused internal injuries.

"Jiangshi! So you've hidden them under the ground, too!"

Zhi Yunbo rolled away, breaking free from the hand gripping his ankle. He drove his sword into the ground.

Squelch!

What appeared to be solid rock split apart, oozing blackened blood that seeped into the sand.

Thud, thud, thud!

The jiangshi hiding in the ground jumped out, hundreds of them forming a secondary battle line.

To make matters worse, the blood cultists who had lost their lives at the hands of the Kongtong Sect were resurrected as jiangshi and joined them.

Just as Zhou Xuchuan had warned, the Kongtong Sect had walked into a trap.

The Mount Heng Sect, supporting them from behind, was also caught in the ambush.

“Change formation!”

Zhi Yunbo calmly gave the order without panicking.

Those still able to move formed a defensive circle around their forces, but it was clear—they were surrounded.

The only entrance, the path that they had made, was blocked by the jiangshi that had emerged from the ground.

"You think these tricks will scare me? This is nothing but wasted effort!" Zhi Yunbo snorted, slicing through the neck of a jiangshi in front of him.

Even if his personality or character were questionable, his status as one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven would never be questioned. His cultivation and commanding skills were excellent.

"As the First Demon Slaying Sword said! Disciples of Mount Heng, don't panic and respond calmly!"

Shui Jing responded similarly. Her voice had the power to reassure the disciples of the Kongtong Sect and Mount Heng Sect.

It wasn't for nothing that both of their sects had sent them as elites. While people could have doubted everything else, their skills were unquestionable.

However, their mistake was their arrogance. They underestimated their enemies, which was a fatal flaw.

"Huh?"

A Kongtong Sect disciple suddenly looked up.

Woosh!

The sandy ground collapsed beneath him, and a geyser of sand shot upward as another hand emerged.

He expected it to grab his ankle like before, but this time was different.

The hand grabbed his leg and pulled him straight into the ground like a water ghost.[/ref]Ghosts of people who drowned that haunt bodies of water and drag victims under the water and drown them. The most similar monster in western fantasy is a grindylow.[/ref]

“Ahh!”

The disciple was swallowed by the sand as if sinking into quicksand. Terror gripped him.

Bang!

However, the hole he was sucked into was extremely narrow. It was too small for a human body to fit through.

The disciple caught by the unidentified hand let out a sigh of relief. However, that only lasted for a moment, as his face quickly distorted in pain, and a terrible scream burst out of his mouth.

"AGH! S-SAVE ME...!"

Crunch!

His bones shattered, and his flesh was compressed as his body was crushed against the rocks at the hole’s entrance. Blood and fragments of bone stuck to the sides.

Normally, it should have stopped here as he blocked the entrance. However, an unidentified force still pulled his body from below.

In the end, his body collapsed like deflating dough and disappeared into the hole.

"W-what the hell...?!" Shui Jing gasped, unable to look away from the horrific sight.

"AGH!"

"Ugh!"

“S-save us!”

"IT HURTS!"

The disciple of the Kongtong Sect was only the beginning. Screams erupted across the battlefield as martial artists were dragged underground.

A hand that seemed to rise up out of nowhere shot out and grabbed bodies, dragged them into the ground and sucked each martial artist into the depths of the earth as if taking them to hell.

Soon after, dark crimson blood poured from the holes, and the faces of the nearby warriors turned pale.

"Ha?! What is this?!"

The Milky Way Sage couldn't help but gape at the horrific sight.

"W-what the hell is going on here...?!"

The Lanzhou Branch Manager, Tou Zhong, stopped walking. His mouth froze as his body trembled with a face full of shock.

Sweat formed on his forehead, and goosebumps appeared on his skin.

What would have happened if I had ignored the warning of Plum Blossom Order Sword?

Tou Zhong shuddered at the thought of being dragged underground by an unseen force.

It was enough to make even him, who, while he wasn't one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven yet, was still a martial artist nearing the Transcendent Realm, freeze on the spot.

“Just what kind of sorcery is that?!" someone shouted.

The troops divided in half didn't dare to advance. They only dealt with the Blood Cultists, who occasionally charged at them.

"Is there a type of jiangshi that lives underground?" Qiu Feng muttered incredulously.

“The ones grabbing ankles are jiangshi, but those dragging people underground are cultists.”

Everyone turned to Zhou Xuchuan.

“Hey, Plum Blossom Order Sword. Do you know what's going on over there?"

"Yes. It must be Mole Demonic Art (鼴魔功).”

Zhou Xuchuan answered the Milky Way Sage's questions.

"The Mole Divine Art?"

"It allows one to move freely underground like a mole and also morphs their hands into claw-like animal limbs. Their strength is extraordinary, and in a surprise attack, they can easily defeat anyone."

Even as Zhou Xuchuan calmly explained, the Blood Cultists continued to charge forward. He cut them down, advancing steadily.

"They’re surrounded from the front and the back, and now the Mole Cultists are attacking from below. If this continues, we won’t be able to recover. We need to help them and create a new route for retreat!"

While many members of the Righteous Faction froze at the horrific sight, Zhou Xuchuan didn't give in to his fear and stepped forward to rescue the others.

The Milky Way Sage was amazed at the sight of Zhou Xuchuan's back.

It's already surprising that the Blood Cultists, who seem to have lost their senses and have no thoughts, are using such tactics, but this boy is also amazing for seeing through them and warning us. What a strange demonic art this is.

Even the Milky Way Sage, who was considered a senior among the martial artists present, had no idea what the demonic art the cultists were using.

However, it wasn’t strange that he didn’t know because it hadn’t been that long since the Mole Demonic Art had been invented.

There were many ways to make a jiangshi, one of which involved burying a living person underground and having them slowly age into a jiangshi. It was only after watching this process that one of the cultists of the Blood Cult accidentally gained enlightenment and invented the Mole Demonic Art.

After that, the Blood Cult even created a special unit focusing on the Mole Demonic Art, and its power became notorious even in his previous life.

You annoying little mole shits!

Zhou Xuchuan’s expression tightened as old memories surfaced.

The Blood Cult’s Demonic Mole Squadron!

They were the ones who had made him realize just how precious it was to be able to walk on the ground with peace of mind. While the swarming up from underground had stopped after the end of the Era of War and Chaos and the destruction of the Demonic Mole Squadron, it had taken him a long time to feel at ease again.

“Do you even know how to deal with them?”

The Milky Way Sage asked while fending off Blood Cultists. With each flick of his thumb and middle finger, the qi on his fingers left a trail of light like a shooting star.

Bang!

It was the Zhongnan Sect's Milky Way Star Plucking Finger (銀河摘星指). Every time he flicked his fingers, a hole appeared on the heads of the Blood Cultists and the jiangshi.

"For starters, everyone should use their qi sense to scan the ground."

Zhou Xuchuan changed the way he circulated his qi. He activated his sixth sense and peered into the ground within a three-zhang radius.

While he didn't know everything about the Mole Demonic Art, he knew that the practitioners moved through earth veins and the best method would be to check the flow of qi flowing underground.

As they moved closer to help the isolated Kongtong and Mount Heng Sect disciples, another one or two of them were dragged underground as the Blood Cult blocked their way.

"You're in the way!"

Zhou Xuchuan slid forward, the sword in his hand swinging brilliantly as it released sword qi.

The bundle of sword qi scattered into the air, leaving sword marks on the surrounding cultists and spraying blood everywhere.

"If you have the qi to spare, direct it toward your Yongquan acupoint and release it gradually! That alone can affect the earth veins and hinder the movements of the Demonic Mole Squadron!"

Zhou Xuchuan raised his voice, trying to get the others to hear him. While it wasn't as loud as his shouting, it was loud enough because his voice had been imbued with qi.

"Then, they’ll react in one of two ways! Either they'll stop...!"

Swish!

While he was shouting, he felt movement underground.

Sending qi through the Yongquan acupoint on the soles of one's feet to the earth veins might hinder the movements of the mole cultists, but it wouldn't make them immobile. Unless they were directly under one's soles, they would just turn around.

Even if they were frozen under one's soles, the nearby mole cultists would go to the frozen point through another vein to remove the cause of the vein’s obstruction.

"Or they'll try to fight you!"

Zhou Xuchuan stamped his foot as he spoke.

He didn’t simply tap the ground, he used the Thousand Catty Ballast technique to increase his weight.

BOOM!

An explosion of qi erupted from his Yongquan acupoint. The Qi erupted from his Yongquan acupoint, sending shockwaves through the earth. The rocks beneath shattered.

As the ground exploded, the hand of the mole cultist, which was about to rise out from the depths, was crushed.

“Seize the moment well, and don’t miss the finishing blow!”

Zhou Xuchuan flicked his wrist, reversing reversing his grip on his sword and stabbing downward with all his strength. The sword pierced the ground and stabbed the mole cultist.

“It’s easy, right? Let’s save our allies this way!” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

While enemies attacked him from the front, he avoided them with minimal movement without even looking at them.

He pulled his sword free and swung it in a wide arc, creating a crimson fog of blood.

"..."

The people watching from behind were speechless.

How the hell do you expect me to do that?!

While activating qi sense wasn’t difficult, detecting underground enemies while fending off attacks was nearly impossible for anyone below the Transcendent Realm.

The Milky Way Sage, Qiu Feng, Tou Zhong, and the others at the Transcendent Realm or higher were somehow able to follow along, but the other warriors were barely even able to attempt it.

Fortunately, most of the mole cultists were gathered in the middle of the Kongtong Sect and Mount Heng Sect disciples, meaning that the experts could take charge.

Good! They're weaker than I thought!

In his previous life, he had struggled desperatelyto block them, but it was different in this life. There was no difficulty.

At this rate, Zhou Xuchuan thought he could easily break through and rescue his allies in danger.

However...

Swoosh!

A sharp sound cut through the air, carrying a chill that sent shivers down Zhou Xuchuan’s spine.

Zhou Xuchuan bent his waist as if he were lying down, only moving his eyes to check.

A yanyuedao?

It was a single yanyuedao aimed at his upper body. He looked over to who its owner was, but it was an unfamiliar face.

The man's face had a slight bluish tint, but his eyes looked dead, making it hard to tell if he was a human or a jiangshi.

"Crescent Lake Gate Master!" someone recognized him and shouted.

You Xiaofeng!

Zhou Xuchuan twisted his waist, his flesh and muscles folding in. The sword he was holding also drew a semicircle along with his waist. Because of the length of the yanyuedao, he couldn't attack the Crescent Lake Gate Master's body, so instead, he aimed for the wrist holding the weapon.

Clang!

My sword bounced off?

Zhou Xuchuan’s eyes widened.

You Xiaofeng wasn't a physical cultivation expert, so there was only one explanation.

Damn it! He turned a Harmony Realm Master into a jiangshi!