Chapter 1853: Frustration and Anger

Miao Zhantian's blade strike only shaved off some dust, leaving the wall unharmed. At that moment, Xiao Wencheng drew his sword, almost severing Miao Zhantian's remaining arm. Having sustained that injury, Miao Zhantian became much more cautious when striking at He Lingchuan again. The full pressure, however, now fell upon Xiao Wencheng. In an instant, the Blood Demon also closed in on Miao Zhantian from behind. Fighting two opponents was already exhausting; Miao Zhantian could not afford to be caught in a pincer attack.

His gaze shifted. He lunged with his right blade at He Lingchuan, a sudden surge of power sending the latter staggering back three steps. The cost of this move, however, was leaving his left flank wide open and undefended. As the fierce struggle continued, Xiao Wencheng instinctively thrust his sword forward, striking Miao Zhantian directly under the ribs! The strike felt like piercing old, worn leather, or perhaps tough elephant hide, offering immense resistance. Xiao Wencheng was not surprised; the Great Heavenly Demon's resilient body was a testament to its formidable soul power. Otherwise, how could Miao Zhantian have withstood Qianhuan's immensely powerful soul self-detonation just moments ago? He therefore cut into his opponent's ribs and twisted the blade fiercely into the abdomen, aiming to create an "L"-shaped wound to deepen and enlarge the incision. Miao Zhantian was pushed backward by the force, a clear testament to Xiao Wencheng's immense strength.

But Miao Zhantian, in turn, seized the moment, raising a leg and delivering a powerful kick to Xiao Wencheng's hip! A full-force kick from a Great Heavenly Demon was not easily endured. Xiao Wencheng was sent flying backward, landing hard against the wall with his back. He Lingchuan, standing nearby, even heard a crisp "crack!" It was the sound of Xiao Wencheng's pelvis fracturing. A sharp intake of breath. It sounded painful. Miao Zhantian had kicked with his left leg, but his right leg, missing a foot, left him unbalanced, and he nearly fell to the ground. At that critical moment, his tail propped him up from behind, forcing him upright.

Seizing the moment when his two opponents' defenses were momentarily broken, Miao Zhantian darted forward. This inevitably meant rushing past He Lingchuan, who, even as he retreated, did not forget to swing his blade, still aiming for Miao Zhantian's waist. Miao Zhantian leaned back, bent his knee, and performed a low slide, passing directly beneath the blade. The movement was fluid and seamless, but he still let out a muffled groan. The stone surface of the inner wall passage was extremely rough, causing the wound on his right foot to scrape directly against the ground, a sensation akin to grating ginger. It was painful, excruciatingly so, a fresh and searing agony. Miao Zhantian's leg buckled from the pain, and he nearly failed to get back on his feet. Fortunately, he had reached the corner. Ignoring his awkward posture, he propped his long blade on the ground and limped into the passage. The terrain here was too difficult, and He Lingchuan seemed very familiar with it, knowing how to take shortcuts to intercept him. Therefore, he had to find an isolated chamber where he could block the entrance, preventing the three enemies from entering. "As long as I can recuperate from my injuries, the situation will be reversed!" he thought. "No, even better: as long as I can hold out until the Lonely Dragon City collapses and I can return to Qianhuan's Sea of Consciousness, it will be the death of these three bastards!"

The Blood Demon also pursued, prompting Xiao Wencheng to glare at it angrily. "This creature was clearly incredibly fast in the outside world, so why was it a beat slower when chasing Miao Zhantian inside the wall? It simply didn't want to face the Great Heavenly Demon alone, did it?" The sharp pain from his hip spurred Xiao Wencheng to fiercely chant a couple of incantations. The chain around the Blood Demon's neck immediately tightened, choking it until its eyes rolled back: "Let go, let go! Miao Zhantian is getting away!" Only after teaching it a lesson did Xiao Wencheng cease the incantation and join He Lingchuan in pursuit. As he started running, his hip pain made it almost impossible to move his leg. Only then did he truly appreciate the Great Heavenly Demon's resilience, able to move swiftly even with a severed arm and foot. "If only I could use my divine abilities," Xiao Wencheng grumbled to himself. They were so close to Miao Zhantian; if he could just activate the Gou Mang Sword, he could pierce the opponent's back!

This time, the Blood Demon ran ahead of the two, then suddenly shook its head, and a small monster dropped from its body. It looked like the head of some kind of creature, just a round, pumpkin-like head, but with the large mouth and sharp teeth of a piranha. The Blood Demon snatched this "pumpkin head" and, with a standard throwing posture, hurled it at Miao Zhantian's back. Miao Zhantian, with eyes on everything, swung his blade backward without even turning his head, slicing the "pumpkin head" in two. To their surprise, as soon as the object was cleaved open, it exploded with a "bang." Billowing dust and black ink erupted, making both He Lingchuan and Xiao Wencheng turn their heads and cough. It was foul-smelling and choking. What on earth was this thing? It turned out that the grotesque pumpkin, once cut open, had exploded like a pufferfish, spraying its oily ink throughout the entire passage! This substance was even more slippery than oil. Even on the extremely rough ground, Miao Zhantian slipped and fell flat on his back. "This is outrageous!" Miao Zhantian cursed vehemently. "Didn't the Lonely Dragon City forbid the use of divine abilities and external items? Then what was *this*?" "Walk carefully," the Blood Demon warned the two behind him. "The Luding Ghost's inherent ability is oil poison; I made it self-detonate its soul!" He Lingchuan, of course, had no idea what a Luding Ghost was, but he assumed it was some kind of spectral entity or kin that the Blood Demon had consumed. The Blood Demon itself was a composite creature, so anything dropping from its body was hardly surprising. However, this small monster's soul was not strong, so the explosion's power was limited. Unlike Qianhuan's cataclysmic blast, it merely blackened the entire passage. Under the unique laws of the Lonely Dragon City, it had indeed gained an advantage. Moreover, it had certainly exploited the Great Heavenly Demon's weakness: with Miao Zhantian missing a foot and the ground so slick, he couldn't maintain balance. Forget moving on one foot, he couldn't even stand up! He could only plunge his blade into the ground and drag himself forward a short distance. Then, he'd swing the blade to plunge it in again, and advance further. If both his hands were intact, this method of alternately propping himself forward with the blade wouldn't be slow. But alas, he only had his right hand remaining! In that moment, who could truly comprehend Miao Zhantian's vexation and fury? In the real world, he could simply lift a finger and unleash infinite power, crushing the three pursuers into the ground. Yet here, he was stuck, unable to rise from his knees! "This is outrageous!" This outburst wasn't from Miao Zhantian, but the Blood Demon. It charged forward, a grin on its face, but the city wall suddenly jolted violently, causing it to slip and stumble. "Damn it," it cursed internally, "how could I have forgotten that when I consumed the Luding Ghost, I too had been splattered with oil poison? This substance was equally effective on myself."

He Lingchuan and Xiao Wencheng exchanged glances, each seeing concern in the other's eyes. Through fist-sized vents, they occasionally caught glimpses of the outside: the ground of the Lonely Dragon City's South Plaza had already cracked, and buildings including the temple, the Blessing Pond, and other structures were either collapsing or being swallowed by fissures. Smoke and ash permeated everywhere. The South City Gate Tower was the most robust structure, but it wouldn't hold out much longer, as cracks were already appearing on its walls, extending from the outside inwards. They had to defeat Miao Zhantian as quickly as possible! Both men bent low, their centers of gravity shifted forward, and charged ahead. This was merely a matter of balance, easily manageable for agile individuals. Miao Zhantian's problem wasn't a lack of agility; it was his inability to get up and move on the oily, poisonous ground with only one hand and one foot.

However, his combat experience was exceptionally rich, and he remained calm in the face of danger. Looking up, he spotted an iron ring bracket on the side wall of the opposite passage, designed for holding torches. Miao Zhantian immediately flung his long blade. With a clang, it lodged onto the iron ring bracket. A long chain extended from the blade. He pulled sharply, dragging himself forward over ten feet, thus moving out of the oily, poisoned area on the ground. "Where do you think you're going!" Xiao Wencheng roared, throwing the Gou Mang Sword with a backhand motion. "Don't..." He Lingchuan's words were cut short as the Gou Mang Sword struck Miao Zhantian squarely in the lower back, piercing straight through. Miao Zhantian let out a guttural roar of pain. Objectively, however, this sword strike inadvertently propelled him forward another ten feet before he landed, sending him directly into the passage of the second city wall. He Lingchuan and the Blood Demon, standing nearby, simultaneously rolled their eyes. Didn't he realize that this was precisely *not* the time they wanted to attack?

Once out of the poisoned oil, Miao Zhantian regained his mobility. He gripped his long blade in his mouth, then reached behind him to pull out the Gou Mang Sword, now using it as his own weapon. The wound on his waist continued to gush blood, but he was becoming somewhat numb to it; his entire body was already covered in injuries, so one more didn't make much difference. As long as his spine remained unharmed, he could still move. "What formidable soul power and will!" He Lingchuan thought, filled with admiration. In the Lonely Dragon City, injuries inflicted 100% of their pain directly upon the soul body, unlike in reality where pain relief could be sought or adrenaline might temporarily mask the agony. Though He Lingchuan himself was a veteran forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he truly wasn't sure if he could continue to stand and run with such extensive injuries. Xiao Wencheng, meanwhile, grew increasingly agitated. In the Lonely Dragon City, he couldn't recall his Gou Mang Sword! Other magical artifacts couldn't be brought in either. He glanced around, then simply pulled a torch from the wall. Miao Zhantian fought and retreated, using the sword in his right hand and the blade in his mouth to engage his enemies. The Blood Demon, in a moment of carelessness, aimed to slash Miao Zhantian's neck. Unexpectedly, the Great Heavenly Demon's neck suddenly elongated, its head tilted, and the blade severed the Blood Demon's wrist! The Blood Demon let out a pained, grinding howl, like a whetstone scraping against rock. Miao Zhantian, however, was not faring well either. As the saying goes, two fists can't contend with four hands; now he was a single combatant facing six limbs, and in an instant, several more wounds appeared on his body. The Blood Demon was also particularly sneaky, constantly attacking his lower body. While fending off He Lingchuan's blade, Miao Zhantian's right leg was impaled by the Blood Demon, and his vision momentarily blurred. Constantly changing opponents, as if in a revolving lantern, he had been fighting for too long; old wounds hadn't healed before new ones were inflicted. In this world, his physical stamina was equivalent to his soul power. If he continued to be worn down like this, his soul body would likely collapse before the Lonely Dragon City itself did. He needed to find a way to replenish his soul power. At that moment, Xiao Wencheng's torch was severed by his own Gou Mang Sword, much to his annoyance. Seizing the opportunity while Miao Zhantian was fending off the Blood Demon's attack, he suddenly landed a punch on the Great Heavenly Demon's waist, precisely in the wound he had previously inflicted. Miao Zhantian's waist buckled, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, drenching Xiao Wencheng's head and face. The sudden spray was accompanied by sizzling sounds and Xiao Wencheng's screams as his face instantly corroded, emitting a puff of white steam. The divine blood sprayed by Miao Zhantian was condensed divine power from the Great Heavenly Demon, and even for Xiao Wencheng, it was far too potent. His left eye instantly went blind. To regain his sight, he would have to wait for quite some time. He Lingchuan, thanks to his mask, was spared; it was the mask that began to smoke, not his face. The Blood Demon also got a few drops of blood splattered on its body and couldn't help but bare its fangs.