Chapter Thirty-Two: Mastery of Both Magic and Martial Arts

The elegant and refined courtyard had become a brutal arena, a place where life and death were contested. Shattered bricks littered the ground, while the poisonous mists corroded the trees and flowers, causing them to drip foul-smelling slime.

Wu Changqing's bloated Taoist followers and the disciples of the Tai Bao Sect were locked in fierce combat. The bloated Taoist specialized in sinister arts, spewing poisonous smoke from his mouth and commanding venomous snakes and monstrous insects. Yet, after surviving the first ambush, the Tai Bao disciples had grown vigilant. Each attack was launched with utmost caution, and whenever the bloated Taoist attempted his foul magic, they would swiftly dodge aside, denying him any opportunity for a sneak attack.

For the moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.

...

“I have never so much as touched Master Ye. Why must you press me so relentlessly?”

Facing the two masters of the Condensing Qi realm, Wu Changqing’s face no longer displayed the confidence and arrogance he had shown before. Especially with the arrival of Qi Xiu. His ruthless and venomous Black Sand Palm, capable of corroding bone and flesh, was even more vicious than the evil arts Wu Changqing himself practiced.

“Never touched him? Is that so?” With a faint smile, Qi Xiu drew out a stack of Suppression talismans and shook them lightly.

“It’s you!?” Wu Changqing’s pupils abruptly turned vertical; he hadn’t expected Qi Xiu to be the one who had cast the suppression spell on the Jade Bodhisattva. His expression darkened. “Practicing both magic and martial arts? You are truly gifted.”

“Not really. I’m just a bit more diligent than most,” Qi Xiu replied, casually tossing some of the Suppression talismans to Jin Tai. His hands were wrapped in surging energy, faint glowing cracks appearing along his skin.

“Do you know how to use them?”

Jin Tai was equally astonished at Qi Xiu’s dual cultivation. Magic and martial arts were entirely different paths. To master both required not only exceptional talent but also a relentless dedication. Otherwise, one would end up mediocre in both, mastering neither.

Yet from Qi Xiu’s display of power, it was clear he had truly mastered both arts.

“Of course.” Holding a thick stack of talismans—at least five or six—Jin Tai flashed a ferocious grin at Wu Changqing. “Now you’re in real trouble.”

“Then... let’s go!”

Before his words had faded, Qi Xiu stamped his foot, energy whirling around his legs, and his figure instantly blurred into a shadow.

Strength-forged agility!

Jin Tai’s eyelid twitched, but he didn’t hesitate. He bent his knees and, with a thunderous kick, blasted off the ground like a cannonball.

Tap, tap, tap—

The rapid footsteps sounded like raindrops. Two shadows closed in from left and right, converging on Wu Changqing in a pincer attack.

Facing the two Condensing Qi masters, Wu Changqing’s expression grew grim as he shook the corpse-controlling bell frantically.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The bell rang out in rapid succession. The two remaining corpse children retreated quickly, trying to intercept Qi Xiu and Jin Tai. The corpse child that Qi Xiu had struck into a sheet of human skin also began to wriggle, gradually recovering.

Demonic artifact—Jade Bodhisattva. As long as its main body remained intact, the three corpse children beneath it were immortal. Even if reduced to pulp, they would slowly regenerate!

“Brother Ye, those corpse children have deadly poison smeared on their hands. Don’t let them touch you,” Jin Tai warned, concerned that Qi Xiu might suffer.

“I know. And stop calling me brother—call me Master Ye.”

With a curt reply, Qi Xiu raised his hand and struck out with a savage palm, dark energy swirling around it, fearsome and chilling.

Seeing Qi Xiu’s hand enveloped in rolling black mist, Jin Tai couldn’t help but grimace. That was definitely not the Black Sand Palm. No martial art could possess such power.

Smack!

Qi Xiu’s palm slammed into the chest of a corpse child, the force like a crashing wave, caving in its chest to the size of a basin. Its body shuddered and collapsed into a limp sheet of skin.

Watching Qi Xiu dispatch a corpse child in a single blow, Jin Tai showed no reserve. His own hands glowed with gleaming cracks.

Mighty Stele-Slapping Hands!

Compared to Qi Xiu’s venomous and sinister Black Sand Palm, Jin Tai’s technique was fierce and domineering.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

His double palms struck like a raging dragon from the sea, causing blood mist to burst from the corpse child’s body. It was smashed into fragments scattered across the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the two corpse children blocking their path were destroyed.

Qi Xiu and Jin Tai surged forward with overwhelming momentum and murderous intent, quickly closing in on Wu Changqing.

Damn it! The Jade Bodhisattva had only just been unsealed and hadn’t consumed enough blood to restore its power. The corpse children’s recovery was too slow.

Watching them struggle and squirm on the ground, Wu Changqing’s face darkened. He shook his sleeve and began chanting a deep, obscure incantation.

Rustling, crawling—

A hair-raising sound of wriggling and climbing echoed from all directions as swarms of insects poured from every corner. There were spiders bristling with antennae and spiky hairs, segmented red ants with massive pincers, and black-shelled beetles emitting piercing screeches.

A tide of insects surged toward Qi Xiu and Jin Tai, intent on engulfing them alive.

“Follow my lead,” Qi Xiu murmured, raising a Suppression talisman to attune it to the evil-arts-reared insects.

As the talisman’s golden light spilled forth, its mystical power awakened.

Qi Xiu slammed all the talismans onto the ground.

Buzz—

In an instant, golden light transformed into circular ripples, spreading indiscriminately in all directions.

Screech, screech, screech!

As the light swept over them, the insects shrieked, billowing black smoke before dying.

“Understood!” Jin Tai, hiding a talisman, imitated Qi Xiu by pressing his own onto the ground, creating a wave of light that wiped out the approaching insect horde.

Masses of insects perished within the golden light.

Just as they finished off all the insects, Jin Tai suddenly felt his hair stand on end, as if danger was rapidly approaching.

He searched around warily, but before he could react, a crimson sword aura shot out, slicing through the air and piercing his shoulder.

“Ugh…”

His shoulder was torn open, leaving a hole the size of a bowl. Sinister energy burrowed into his flesh, and Jin Tai coughed up blood, which writhed on the ground like maggots.

Feeling his shoulder flesh begin to wriggle on its own, he hurriedly pressed the hidden talisman to the wound.

Golden light trembled.

The eerie sensation of flesh crawling vanished.

“Damn Taoist, still hiding tricks!” Jin Tai snarled through bloodied teeth, glaring coldly at his opponent.

Wu Changqing stood expressionless. The white whisk he had held was gone, replaced in his right hand by a slender bamboo staff, pale red in hue, marked with seven bamboo nodes, and wreathed in a light blood aura.

“This is all your doing. The Autumn Bamboo was meant to suppress the wandering demon outside the city. But you have forced my hand. With no other option, I must sacrifice you to this artifact today.”

Looking at the Autumn Bamboo staff, Wu Changqing’s eyes revealed a trace of pain.

To suppress its ferocity, he had tricked the magistrate of Baohe County into gathering nearly a thousand young men, using their masculine blood to subdue the artifact’s violent nature.

Now, with its use, the ferocity would gradually awaken again. All his earlier efforts were wasted.

“An artifact? Heh.” Qi Xiu gazed silently at Wu Changqing’s Autumn Bamboo staff and let out a soft laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” Wu Changqing’s eyes flickered as he gripped the staff tighter.

He bit his fingertip, imprinting a Martial talisman onto his palm.

Qi Xiu’s aura surged, and suddenly a strong wind arose in all directions.

The sky dimmed, and threads of black energy converged above his head, forming a heavy dark cloud pressing down on the city.

...