Chapter Seventy-Seven: I’m Cheating

The butcher’s knife transformed into a web of blades, enveloping Duan Gen.

“Metal! Rise!”

Duan Gen formed a spell seal with his fingers, and the strange being beside him, covered in bruises, suddenly stirred.

A golden halo surged over the eerie figure, turning into a golden ring that shielded Duan Gen within its circle.

The web of butcher’s blades struck Duan Gen, producing a dense, metallic clatter, but every blade was repelled by the golden ring.

“Metal? Earth?” The smile faded from Fang Mu’s face. “The Five Gods Sect?”

Previously, he had encountered an eerie entity and obtained the Earth Technique, which, judging by its name, was related to earth. Now, this new strangeness was a form of metal. Judging by Duan Gen’s reliance on these beings for defense, and how it matched the ghost-wielding type, Fang Mu couldn’t help but suspect a connection to the Five Gods Sect.

Duan Gen didn’t answer. His hand, still forming the spell, shifted to a sword gesture and pointed at Fang Mu. The strange being at his side changed.

Sharp claws sprouted from its ten fingers, slashing toward Fang Mu.

The golden ring still enveloped Duan Gen, protecting him completely.

Fang Mu raised his butcher’s knife, and the dense web of blades fell upon the advancing entity.

Again came the metallic clang; the being’s flesh was as hard as iron, its bruised and corpse-spotted body incredibly tough.

Metal—untouchable by blade or spear, with extraordinary defense.

Fang Mu recalled Li Gun’s explanation of the Five Gods Sect’s categories, and stepped aside.

Earth Technique!

The entity’s attacks all missed. With a simple step, Fang Mu easily dodged every strike.

A flash of astonishment flickered in Duan Gen’s eyes. The Earth Technique had caught him off guard, but he quickly masked his reaction.

While Fang Mu dodged with ease, he kept a close watch on Duan Gen, wary of further tricks—and caught his look of shock.

That expression sparked an idea in Fang Mu’s mind.

Once again, the dense web of blades covered the eerie being, but the result remained the same: the entity repelled every blow.

Fang Mu frowned. The creature before him seemed like a tortoise shell; his attacks could do it no harm.

“You can’t break through!” Duan Gen’s face twisted with malice. He grabbed the dazed Duan Wei from the lounge beside him and hurled him at the strange being.

The entity halted its attack, caught the thrown Duan Wei, and opened its mouth.

Tendrils of black mist rose from Duan Wei’s body and poured into the being’s maw.

Duan Wei, once vacant and dull, let his arms fall, lifeless.

After swallowing the black mist, the entity’s form swelled and lunged toward Fang Mu once more.

Its speed and strength remained unchanged, but the corpse spots and bruises now blanketed its body even more densely, its defenses even tougher.

Duan Gen’s voice was harsh: “I’ll wear you down.”

After sidestepping the attack, Fang Mu replied, “All that golden radiance is protecting you. If it relies only on its flesh, how does it expect to wear me down?”

Duan Gen’s tone was cold. “It’s enough. After absorbing life force, it’s stronger. You can’t break its defenses.”

“Oh?” Fang Mu smiled faintly, extending his hand…

[You touch the Golden Corpse Fiend and gain a sliver of true energy.]

[You touch the Golden Corpse Fiend and gain a wisp of sinister energy.]

So it truly is a corpse-type entity, Fang Mu thought. And... I think I finally understand how this sinister energy forms.

This being’s defenses were immense, and Fang Mu himself possessed the dual Golden Body techniques for defense—in other words, two overlapping powers, which together created sinister energy.

Any time similar abilities overlapped, that excess would transform into sinister energy, enhancing skills.

True energy surged within Fang Mu. On the symmetrical side of the exquisite dragon claw, a new offshoot formed. Though less impressive than the original, it was still a new dragon claw.

Besides the true energy, there was also a wisp of sinister energy—together with the one he’d obtained from the Shoulder-Riding Ghost, Fang Mu now had two in total.

He directed both wisps into the Butcher’s Blade.

[You infuse the Butcher’s Blade with sinister energy. Butcher’s Blade +1.]

[You infuse the Butcher’s Blade with sinister energy and obtain the skill—Butcher’s Human-Cleaving Blade.]

Fang Mu: “...”

What an absurd name—are you serious?

A rush of information flooded Fang Mu’s mind, and he instantly grasped the power of the Human-Cleaving Blade.

Previously, the Butcher’s Blade excelled in speed and precision, each slash forming a dense web of blades.

Now, the Human-Cleaving Blade retained that speed and accuracy, but added a new quality—fierceness.

Fierceness referred to the intensity of each strike. The old blade web was dense, but each cut lacked power, even when infused with true energy.

To use a simple metaphor: if a vessel can only hold a cupful of water, even if you have an entire pond, you can only pour it cup by cup.

Now, things were different. The vessel had grown much larger.

Speed, precision, ferocity—the three elements were complete.

It was like exercising: not only must you be fast and accurate, but you also need inner strength to endure.

Duan Gen sneered, “Feeling exhausted yet, on your last legs?”

In the blink of an eye, dozens of exchanges had already passed.

Fang Mu dodged once more, raising the butcher’s blade.

The dense blade light appeared again, but this time, it was different—thicker, broader.

If before the blade lights were thin as hair, now they were thick as hemp rope, magnified many times over.

Duan Gen was dumbfounded, rooted to the spot.

This isn’t right! How did he suddenly become so strong? Is he cheating?

The moment the thick web of blades touched the entity, it froze.

No more metallic clang; instead, the sound of blades slicing into flesh.

Blood-red lines erupted from the entity’s body, and in an instant its defense collapsed, its form shredded beneath the blade light.

A Bai spewed black mist, devouring every last shred.

The golden halo surrounding Duan Gen shattered at once. He spat blood, staggered back two paces until he reached the corner, and braced himself against the wall to remain upright.

Just as Duan Gen was gravely wounded, a hand reached out and seized him by the throat.

He turned to see a smiling face—and beside it, a white cat crouched.

“Who said I couldn’t break your defenses?” Fang Mu gripped Duan Gen’s neck, his smile growing ever more radiant.

Duan Gen shuddered. He felt that, despite the smile on the man’s face, there was something in Fang Mu’s expression that chilled him to the bone.

He recognized this feeling well—it was the same as his first time encountering the eerie, only stronger.

Fang Mu chuckled. “You seemed surprised just now. You knew exactly what I was talking about.”

Duan Gen froze, an indescribable emotion flickering in his eyes.

“Will I die?” Duan Gen asked bluntly.