If they really did allow those resentful spirits to fly out, then wouldn't that unleash a third epidemic of the human face disease?
Xie Lian instantly cried, "WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO STOP IT!"
Below on the shoulder, Mu Qing's black robes and hair were getting windswept and mussed, "HOW CAN WE DO THAT?"
That giant stone statue abruptly stopped and roused clouds of dust and sand, "EVERYONE HOLD YOUR BREATHS FIRST!"
Then, that flying black smoke that had been right on their trail caught up. That giant stone statue raised a hand and smashed, the winds of that smash shook the heavens and quaked the earth, and if this was on the ground, it would've been a gale that could uproot centuries old trees. However, there were nonetheless still a part that were broken up and another part that were blown away. Xie Lian couldn't bear the sight of it and said, "If only there was a sword!"
As if seeing right through what he was thinking, Hua Cheng said, "Gege, there is a way to get a sword."
Xie Lian was delighted. "How?"
"This we'll have to see if your heavenly colleagues down there would be willing."
"If you've got a way then just say it, stop cajoling him!" Feng Xin said.
Xie Lian had pretty much guessed it however, "Are you saying, have General Pei and the others come together and transform into a sword?"
"That's right." Hua Cheng said, "Heavenly officials inside Mount TongLu have their powers restricted, but there's several martial gods here, so if four of them transform into one spirit body and strike together, their might should be considerable."
Pei Ming was the first to respond, "I think this idea is doable."
Mu Qing however, was still doubtful, "Is it really? There's how many martial gods here? Three, right?" Pei Su and Yin Yu's powers were completely gone and the Rain Master wasn't a martial god, so the only ones who could come together were Pei Ming, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing.
Pei Ming replied, "No, there's four. Qi Ying is here too."
"Huh?"
Yin Yu hesitated for a moment, then with one hand still holding Gu Zi, the other flipped out a daruma doll. Yet unexpectedly, before the seal was released that daruma doll started shaking wildly on its own, even shrieking in a noise that was sharp to the ears. That sound stabbed everyone in the ears and they all reached up to cover their ears, and Yin Yu hastily sealed it anew, flipping out a different daruma doll before he nervously explained himself, "Sorry about that, I grabbed the wrong one. That was the Green Ghost Qi Rong just now. This one is the right one." Then, he tossed that daruma doll in the air, and it exploded into red smoke, the form of a young man appearing within the mist, tumbling down.
That giant divine statue lifted a hand to catch him, and that young man slipped around and landed steadily in its palm. He scratched that curly hair stained with a head full of blood and looked up, then saw a large group of people and became confused. Yin Yu had already snuck behind someone's back to hide but was instantly picked out by Quan Yi Zhen, and he jumped up and shouted, "SHIXIONG!"
"..."
In an instant, Quan Yi Zhen came stomping up. However, Yin Yu got headaches just seeing his face; he'd rather listen to Qi Rong shriek for three days and three nights than speak one more word with Quan Yi Zhen. Fortunately, Pei Ming snatched Quan Yi Zhen away, "Come come come, time to get to work, Qi Ying. Have your reunion after work is done!"
Quan Yi Zhen was profoundly confused, plus he was biased against Pei Ming and seemed ready to punch his face, but then he looked up and saw Xie Lian was up there, his hands clapped in a prayer towards him begging sincerely, "Please and thank you, Qi Ying."
"..."
While he didn't understand the situation at all, still he scratched his head and joined the ranks. For Mu Qing to become a sword for another martial god, he wasn't without opinions, but now that they managed to put four together in a group, he couldn't just say he wouldn't do it, so he stayed silent. Thus, upon the palm of the divine statue, the four formed a line in the order of Pei Ming, Feng Xin, Quan Yi Zhen, and Mu Qing.
Hua Cheng leaned his elbows on the edges of the crown platform and took a glance, "Isn't the order of the last two reversed?"
Logically, the order Pei Ming, Feng Xin, Mu Qing, and Quan Yi Zhen would've made more sense, since in comparison, Quan Yi Zhen's spiritual powers weren't too stable, so if he was situated in the middle of the sword, it might 'snap' halfway if it was swung too aggressively. Xie Lian wiped a face of sweat, "No, it's not. Feng Xin and Mu Qing should never be placed together, because they just might start beating each other up halfway through, so there must be someone in between to separate them."
Hearing this, Hua Cheng raised his brows, his expression seeming to say please have them beat each other to death, that'd be great. When they looked down again, the spiritual light suddenly emitted from those four bodies, stronger and stronger, spreading out, forming into one body until finally, they became a sword of spiritual light!
The moment the sword took shape, that giant stone statue toss it into the air, reached out, and gripped it!
With a sharp sword in hand, Xie Lian was like a tiger with wings added, his might increasing exponentially, and he struck out!
Those resentful spirits with long black smoke tails screeched unceasingly when slashed through by this sword of spiritual light, then abruptly stopped. Chasing after them on the tailwinds of victory, Xie Lian's sword danced like wild flowers, slashing millions of ghosts into shattering pieces, like the winds blowing apart fragmented clouds. Wherever the blade swept through, it was as if fireworks exploded in the sky, extremely beautiful to see. All the monsters and demons down below were stupefied by the sight, and only when the thousand tonned boot of the giant stone statue came stomping over did they remember to flee. Just as Xie Lian was engrossed in all the slashing, suddenly, that giant stone statue seemed to have stumbled a step, like it was going to fall forward, and Xie Lian hastily used the sword to support it off the ground, steadying it somehow. The martial gods who formed the sword array also asked, "Your Highness, what's going on?"
"Keep fighting! They're gathering again!"
Xie Lian had controlled this giant stone statue for so long and was feeling slightly tired, his head covered in sweat, his mind also in high tension, "It's nothing! Just..."
It's just all the spiritual powers had been burnt through, that's all!
He whipped his head around, and Hua Cheng was standing but inches behind him, seeming like he was just about to reach out for him. So, Xie Lian stop caring for everything else and went right ahead.
He glomped over and cupped Hua Cheng's face with his hands, slightly tipping his toes, closing his eyes before he pressed his lips over.
Feng Xin: "........."
Mu Qing: ".........."
Quan Yi Zhen: "?"
Pei Ming: "Ho ho."
It wasn't enough just cupping Hua Cheng's face, and since it was going to be the same either way, Xie Lian thought he might as well suck more, so his arms circled around Hua Cheng's neck tightly and kissed deeper. All the fatigue earlier was completely swept away, his body was suddenly filled with spiritual powers again. However, the giant sword of spiritual light in the grip of the giant stone statue was instantly clamouring with riotous noise.
Feng Xin was shaken, "WHAT IS THIS??? WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING??? YOUR HIGHNESS???"
Xie Lian accidentally choked a bit and only then did he break away. He didn't dare to look down and shouted towards the sky, "B-BORROWING SPIRITUAL POWERS! I'M ONLY BORROWING SPIRITUAL POWERS! VERY PROPER!"
Mu Qing was shaken too, "YOU DIDN'T NEED TO DO THIS TO BORROW SPIRITUAL POWERS THOUGH??? JUST A SLAP OR A SMACK OR SOMETHING WOULD'VE BEEN FINE???"
Xie Lian didn't know what he was saying anymore either, and cried randomly, "HAHAHAHA! I'VE BEEN SEEN THROUGH! IT'S NOT ACTUALLY BORROWING ANY SPIRITUAL POWERS! HAHAHAHA..."
Seeing him like this, Hua Cheng also laughed out loud, cupping Xie Lian's face back with his hands, leaned down and kissed his forehead, speaking gently, "Don't be nervous, gege."
"..."
Strange as it was, after this, Xie Lian suddenly returned to normal. He pretended he hadn't heard Feng Xin and Mu Qing's voices, and he grew solemn, forming hand seals once more. That giant stone statue pulled the sword of spiritual light from the ground and started slashing and cutting wildly, like it was filled with inexhaustible strength!
Quan Yi Zhen was suddenly filled with awe and respect, "So that really was borrowing spiritual powers just now! It's suddenly become strong!"
Mu Qing couldn't hold back and exclaimed, "COMPLETE BULLSHIT, WHAT DO YOU KNOW..." But soon after he probably thought there wasn't a need to explain such a thing to a man child like Quan Yi Zhen and forcibly changed his tune, "Yes, that's right, it was borrowing spiritual powers."
Pei Ming laughed heartily, "That's right indeed, but you can't borrow like that so casually, understand, Qi Ying?"
Feng Xin gaped, "??? WHAT ARE YOU ALL SAYING??? DO YOU ALL ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT???"
However, while the might was increased, those resentful spirits enveloped the entire sky after all, and there wasn't a giant net that could capture them all, and upon seeing how powerful this giant god was, they all fled, flapping their tails as they swam far away, like giant human faced tadpoles. Xie Lian cried, "CHASE THEM!"
Yet unexpectedly, it didn't make chase for a few steps before that giant stone statue slumped over without a warning suddenly and fell to the side!
Enough spiritual powers were clearly taken just now, and Xie Lian was in excellent form, so there was no reason for this to happen. Just as they were about to fall over, Xie Lian looked down, and only then did he notice that on the leg of this divine statue, there was actually a giant hole as shattered rocks rolled down from the wound. The figure of a white clad man came fluttering down from it, and landed languidly, vanishing immediately afterwards, truly elusive like ghosts, leaving not a trace. It was White No-Face.
He actually broke the leg of this divine statue with his bare hands!
The giant stone statue came falling down in giant rumbles, and fortunately, everyone riding the statue was no one common and they reacted extremely fast, leaping off first and landing safely.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng leapt up the chest of the divine statue, and Xie Lian tried commanding it to stand but it struggled greatly. That giant divine statue sprawled on the ground and slowly writhed, looking rather miserable. Within the sword array, Mu Qing questioned, "How is it? Can it still stand?"
"Did powers run out again?" Quan Yi Zhen asked, "Do you need to borrow more?"
"No. This isn't a question of spiritual powers." Pei Ming said, "Qi Ying, there's no need to remember any of that, forget it completely."
"It's probably injured significantly..." Xie Lian said, "It wouldn't be suitable to move again."
While rocks felt no pain, if they still forced it to stand and continue to fight, the injured leg would probably fall off completely. This wouldn't just be a matter of striking powers be greatly cut down; this was after all Hua Cheng's most heartfelt masterpiece, and also Xie Lian's favourite divine statue. If it was really going to be destroyed like that he couldn't help but feel hurt over it.
Seeing the enemy collapse, the resentful spirits in the air danced wildly with mad joy and darted all over; were they just going to watch with open eyes those creatures escape to the outside?
He glanced to the side and Hua Cheng's expression was one of dark anger. It was anger towards White No-Face, and after humming for a moment he spoke up, "Gege..."
Just then, from within the dense and thick black clouds, a ray of bright white light came peeking through, as if somewhere above the clouds, something had lit up.
Soon after, a second ray, a third, then a fourth...
Countless shining white light came piercing down, penetrating through the gloomy clouds and stabbed through the resentful spirits!
This white spiritual light that was so strong it was going to blind was no stranger to all the heavenly officials present. After all, the entire Heavenly Court was always endlessly enveloped and shined down by this spiritual light.
Jun Wu had come!