Chapter 363: Flying

However, a sorcerer hidden in the crowd began chanting, and the ground beneath "Xuguang" suddenly softened and collapsed. Its massive weight caused it to sink deeply with just a couple of steps, making it unable to pull itself out.

He Lingchuan signaled Wu Jinsong with a look and subtly gestured towards the creature. Wu Jinsong and the other two immediately began climbing down the tree trunk.

The sorcerer was protected by the soldiers, appearing impervious to arrows.

Seeing his companions were ready, Xu Dongdong flicked his wrist and threw something towards the sorcerer.

A soldier, seeing an object flying towards them, assumed it was a stray arrow and instinctively blocked it. To their surprise, the object exploded upon contact with his weapon, and an incredibly foul and pungent stench immediately spread through the air.

The nearby soldiers, completely unprepared, bent over and vomited uncontrollably.

The sorcerer's spell could no longer be maintained; he leaned on a door, vomiting profusely.

What a perfect opportunity!

Wu Jinsong and the others had already taken aim and seized the moment to fire.

His luck was truly good. Just as the sorcerer turned his head, an arrow struck him in the mouth, making him unable to open it for a while.

However, Wu Jinsong and the other person also discovered that their arrows seemed unable to kill these ghost-like entities, only able to damage the paper figures they possessed.

No one could endure this soul-assaulting stench. The soldiers scattered, trying to evade it, and the giant bull, trapped in the soft ground, took the opportunity to kick its hooves and climb back onto solid ground.

This time, enraged, it didn't bother with a running start down the long street. It simply turned around and charged.

Over a dozen defenders were killed in the collision, the defensive formation shattered with a pop, and the wooden gates of the training ground burst open at the same moment!

Now was the time.

With the formation broken, He Lingchuan leaped down from the tree, landing beside the Scarlet Bird.

Outside the mirror, Grandmaster Gan, who had been watching the battle, changed his expression. "Not good," he muttered.

He formed a hand seal, about to unleash a divine ability, when he suddenly said, "It will cost three years of my life? No, absolutely not!"

"When he comes out, you'll have nowhere to go but to die!"

Grandmaster Gan sneered, "What does that have to do with me? You're the one afraid of him settling scores!"

He murmured to himself, as if playing two roles at once. If an outsider had been present, they would likely have thought he was suffering from a split personality.

In that brief moment of delay, He Lingchuan had already leaped onto the training ground.

He first threw an object at Qingxu's feet, then turned and drew out Fusheng, swinging it with full force at another sorcerer!

This strike concentrated all his essence, energy, and spirit, yet it had not a shred of killing intent, as quiet as gentle rain nourishing the earth.

And due to the effects of the Soul Dispersion Powder, he remained invisible until he wounded his enemy.

The sorcerer was holding his mirror and exerting his power when an invisible force suddenly approached. Before he could even register a warning, the red light around him flared and immediately shattered—his protective artifact exploded.

Immediately after, his head flew into the air.

Without its wielder, the mirror in his arms instantly lost its light and clattered to the ground.

On the other side, the object He Lingchuan threw grew larger upon touching the ground. It was the Golden Armored Bronze Man!

Once enlarged, this figure stood over fifteen feet tall, incredibly stout. The first thing it did upon appearing was punch Qingxu, sending him flying!

With its strength, if that punch had landed on an ordinary person, it would have directly knocked their head clean off.

Qingxu also had a protective artifact, and although it wasn't shattered, it didn't prevent him from being sent flying ten meters away.

The position of the mirror holder was crucial. With him sent flying like that, the mirror also lost its power and light.

Two of the six magical mirrors were now out of commission. The Scarlet Bird seized the opportunity to break free, turned its head, and spewed several blasts of true fire at the remaining sorcerers in revenge, its body simultaneously returning to its original size.

Though it couldn't burn them to death, it left them in a thoroughly disheveled state.

During this time, He Lingchuan had already leaped onto the Golden Armored Bronze Man's shoulder and shouted to Wu Jinsong and the others, "Get down!"

The three also jumped down, clinging to the Golden Armored Bronze Man's shoulders and back.

While the Scarlet Bird lowered its head to pull out an arrow, the Golden Armored Bronze Man, controlled by He Lingchuan, jumped onto its back.

Outside the mirror, Grandmaster Gan finally reached a consensus with himself. He muttered an incantation, then pointed into the mirror!

A red light descended from the sky, enveloping He Lingchuan.

Being marked so prominently, he naturally became the focus of everyone's attention.

At this moment, General You also arrived from the far end of the long street. Seeing the red light descend, he unhesitatingly drew his bow and fired.

It was unclear what form He Lingchuan took in his eyes.

"Damn it!" He Lingchuan didn't see him draw his bow, but a sudden warning sprang into his heart. He ducked and squeezed himself under the Golden Armored Bronze Man.

The Golden Armored Bronze Man was holding the Scarlet Bird's neck, its body arched like a bow. With He Lingchuan crouching there, he was essentially safe.

Then General You's arrow arrived, piercing the Golden Armored Bronze Man's arm with a thud, and whistling past He Lingchuan's ear.

Its power was undeniable. The Golden Armored Bronze Man was made with tungsten-gold, making it resistant to sword and blade wounds, yet this single arrow pierced its forearm.

With him leading the way, the defenders naturally stormed into the training ground, raising their spears and thrusting them at the Scarlet Bird.

The Scarlet Bird now carried a heavy burden. It originally intended to shake off the Golden Armored Bronze Man, but it couldn't stand being jabbed by the swarm of small figures. It had no choice but to flap its wings and take flight, seeking distance from the ground first.

A wave of arrows rained down from below, and it was particularly wary of General You's arrows, so it had to ascend as quickly as possible.

Wu Jinsong and Xu Dongdong also ducked under the Golden Armored Bronze Man's chest to avoid the arrow rain. The third person was a bit slower and was riddled with arrows, falling straight to the ground.

Fortunately, the two who survived felt no sorrow at this moment, but simply asked He Lingchuan loudly, "What do we do now?"

He pointed at the bright moon in the sky. "Fly towards the exit!"

With that, the Golden Armored Bronze Man powerfully gripped the Scarlet Bird's long neck and pulled upwards, thereby controlling its direction. The spiritual beast naturally ascended higher.

"You ants are truly audacious!" the Scarlet Bird suddenly spoke in human language. "Get off me!"

It was using all its strength to dodge the arrows from below. Both arrows General You fired had been evaded. Once it flew higher, it would definitely deal with these 'fleas' on its back.

Wu Jinsong and the other person looked bewildered, unable to understand.

He Lingchuan's long-practiced celestial language finally came in handy. "If you carry us up, I won't harm you, how about it?"

"Harm me?" The Scarlet Bird laughed loudly. "With just you?"

The bird's laugh was horribly grating, completely lacking any divine or immortal aura. He Lingchuan drew his Fusheng Blade and lightly drew it across its back.

The skin tore, revealing flesh.

The Scarlet Bird suddenly felt a sharp pain in its back, and exclaimed in shock, "How can you harm me?"

It possessed an indestructible body of steel. Even those few idiots flying on artifacts could only restrain it, not kill it. How could this small human break its defense with a single strike?

He Lingchuan thought to himself: 'You're just a paper figure. Before Fusheng Blade's 'Void-Breaking' ability, your pretense is useless, like putting spring onions in a pig's nose to make it look like an elephant. These things can go anywhere, fight, set fires, and look very powerful, and I don't know what rules this illusion follows. But their essence hasn't changed; they're still paper figures driven by vengeful spirits, and thus they are naturally countered by Fusheng.'

This was also a rule.

He didn't know how powerful a real Red Luan was; he only knew this paper bird could definitely be pierced by Fusheng.

He Lingchuan made two more cuts, and the Scarlet Bird had no choice but to admit defeat. "Where do you want to fly?"

"Towards the full moon."

Are these people out of their minds? But with the precious blade at its neck, it had no choice but to obey.

He Lingchuan seized the opportunity to gather information. "Are you a Red Luan?" The characteristics of this large bird were not hard to recognize.

"Of course!"

"What's General You's full name?"

"You Shanming."

"Why doesn't he kill you?" General You could shoot down a Red Luan, so he most likely had the ability to kill it. Yet he only had his fellow disciples trap it. Why?

"He wants to take me as a protective spirit beast for the nation," the Red Luan said contemptuously. "Wishful thinking!"

He Lingchuan then asked, "Which country does White Elephant City, where we are, belong to?" Just now, he had seen the city's name on a stone tablet at the base of the tower.

"Of course, it's Piao Country!" The Red Luan thought to itself, 'Is this person suffering from some great illness?'

"Which sect do General You and Qingxu belong to?"

"Heavenly Derivation Sect," the Red Luan replied, surprised. "How is it that you know nothing?"

He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "We're just innocent passersby."

Xu Dongdong suddenly said, "Someone's chasing us from behind."

He Lingchuan looked down, and indeed, it was 'people':

Qingxu and the others were chasing directly on their artifacts, but their flight speed couldn't match that of a naturally spiritual creature like the Red Luan. They could only hang back, but their hands were not idle, launching divine abilities one after another.

The Red Luan was truly remarkable. Even with damaged wings, it could still—dodge them.

The moon grew larger and brighter before the three of them.

Through the 'full moon,' they could see Grandmaster Gan's ashen face; even the bulging veins on his forehead were clearly visible. The Red Luan, of course, ignored this, telling the three, "I can't fly any higher."

There was an invisible barrier above, which it couldn't break through no matter how much it flapped its wings.

This was the boundary of the mirror world; it couldn't fly out.

Just then, Qingxu guided a sword light that shot towards them. The Red Luan didn't dodge well, and with a whoosh, two of its flight feathers were sliced off.

A spiritual creature like this Red Luan naturally possessed the ability to control wind, but with damaged wings, it was no longer as agile in dodging divine abilities.

In a flash, it was hit by two more attacks.

Outside the mirror, Grandmaster Gan formed a hand seal, and suddenly two bolts of lightning descended from the sky, striking the Red Luan simultaneously.

Then Grandmaster Gan's nose began to bleed, clearly indicating that forcibly summoning 'heavenly lightning' into this battlefield was not easy for him.

Of the two lightning bolts, one struck the Red Luan, completely knocking it down, sending it plummeting downwards in a headfirst dive.

The other lightning bolt struck the Golden Armored Bronze Man. Though it made the figure flicker with electrical currents all over, most of the damage was absorbed, and not much was transferred to the three humans.

The Golden Armored Bronze Man was originally forged with the property of protecting its master.

The full moon was within reach, yet their efforts were about to fail. He Lingchuan decisively shouted to Wu Jinsong and the other person, "Let go!"

"Huh?" The Red Luan was spinning and falling. If they let go now, wouldn't they be lost?

"Trust me, let go!"

The partial loss of their souls now showed its advantage. The two felt no worry, no fear, no doubt, and indeed, they immediately let go.

The Golden Armored Bronze Man grabbed the three of them and hurled them powerfully towards the full moon!

The next moment, the Golden Armored Bronze Man and the Red Luan both plummeted, but He Lingchuan and the other two soared as if riding clouds, watching the full moon rapidly grow larger before them.

They passed through it.

With several thuds, the three landed inside the bamboo building. Xu Dongdong unluckily hit the wall face-first and again served as He Lingchuan's human cushion. He Lingchuan inwardly thought, 'No offense,' and used Xu Dongdong's back to push off, then turned and charged towards Grandmaster Gan.

Ignoring his own tottering form, the fellow grabbed the mirror from the table and ran. Inside the room, two fierce tigers also sprang out, their fangs and claws gleaming menacingly, and lunged to bite him.