Chapter 165: Three Sects Battle Lu Canyang

Seventy-two bone-piercing nails, sealing seventy-two acupoints, were unleashed. They moved like a swarm of startled bees bursting from their hive, their scarlet "tail feathers" tearing through the moonlight. The tips of the nails glowed with a shimmering peacock blue light, and twelve swirling currents of air tore through the atmosphere, causing crystalline ice flowers to form within a radius of ten meters.

Yet, just half an inch from Lu Canyang's body, they all froze in place, as if encased in ice. At that moment, even the moonlight seemed to shatter into silver shards.

Then, as if pulled by invisible threads, the seventy-two bone-piercing nails suddenly changed direction. A golden bell chimed loudly, and every nail tip simultaneously turned, reversing their trajectory as if drawn by a magnet, all hurtling back towards Liu Ruohong.

Liu Ruohong's long sleeves unfurled like a peacock displaying its feathers, and as he swept the bone-piercing nails into his sleeve, his soft sword had already emerged like a white snake from its lair.

The three-foot long sword became a fleeting blur at his wrist. The air shrieked where its tip pointed; this strike was so fast it left no shadow, yet it slashed out twelve crescent-like cold gleams in mid-air.

Lu Canyang's fingertips trembled slightly, as if playing an invisible zither. The moment the sword tip pierced his protective aura, he brought his fingers together like a blade, striking directly at the sword's body. The soft sword, capable of cutting through iron as easily as mud, actually twisted into a pretzel in his palm. With a clear "zheng" sound, like a dragon's cry, Lu Canyang casually waved his hand, and the soft sword spun like a spirit snake, transforming into swirling sword energy that attacked.

Liu Ruohong was greatly startled. His toes barely touched the ground as he spun, creating seven afterimages in mid-air, using his sword tip as a pivot. While deflecting the force, he was sent flying back over thirty meters, yet his body still couldn't stop, and he continued to stumble a few more steps.

Lu Canyang shook his head in disappointment. "Chief Constable Liu," he said, "your skill isn't even comparable to mine forty years ago."

With that, he casually tossed the soft sword, and it fell to the ground like a meteor, its "dragon's cry" shattering.

Liu Ruohong's pupils constricted. He tilted his head, avoiding the soft sword's blade, then grasped the hilt with a backhand. But the moment he gripped it, his entire body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, carried by the immense force from the sword. The bluestones beneath his feet crumbled into dust. He only managed to steady himself when his back hit a mottled old wall, and the sword's blade buried three inches deep into the bluestones.

Dust sifted down from the old wall. Liu Ruohong looked down at the bloody marks on his palm, a lingering fear in his heart. At that moment, a strand of white hair drifted down from his temple.

Liu Ruohong cupped his hands. "Senior Lu, your methods are formidable, and your internal energy is profoundly deep," he said. "This junior readily admits defeat. Since that is the case, I fear we will have no choice but to disregard martial ethics and gang up on you."

Lu Canyang pointed to the main hall of the Divine Weapon Pavilion. "Chu Tianqing and Ye Jinglan are recovering inside," he said calmly. "My ninth brother, the Medicine Saint Qi Miaoxuan, is treating them. With his medical skill, they will need at most another half an hour to recover enough strength to fight. Though far from their peak, their cultivation of martial true intent means they will still be much stronger than ordinary masters in a fight. Therefore, I hope you can last a little longer, until they come to assist."

Gu Mo chuckled. "Estate Master Lu, you consider yourself the greatest under heaven and already see us as your vanquished foes," he said. "Why not wait another half an hour? Let Sect Master Ye and Alliance Leader Chu recover some fighting strength. That way, we can be truly convinced of our defeat."

"What you said makes sense," Lu Canyang replied. "However, I can't wait any longer. I am now impatient to kill you all and declare myself the greatest under heaven to the world!"

Before his words had even finished,

Lu Canyang charged directly at Gu Mo.

He moved like a meteor falling to earth. As he struck out with both palms, he created a powerful surge of energy, reminiscent of a vast river embracing the setting sun. Gu Mo felt the air before him suddenly solidify, as if the entire sky were pressing down on him.

Immediately, Gu Mo unleashed a move from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to meet the attack. A dragon-shaped internal energy was instantly shattered in mid-air, dissolving into a shimmering shower of golden scales.

"Hero Gu, I'll help you!"

Amidst Xie Mingzhong's furious roar, his twin maces descended like Mount Tai pressing down. These maces of the Iron-Faced Yama could cleave mountains and shatter rocks, but at this moment, Lu Canyang, with fingers clasped like a blade, nearly knocked Xie Mingzhong's maces from his grasp. The bluestones beneath their feet cracked like a spiderweb. Xie Mingzhong was sent reeling back ten meters by the counter-shock, yet wherever Lu Canyang's palm force passed, the ground was plowed into a deep trench about a foot deep.

Alarmed, Xie Mingzhong hastily retreated, but as he was not skilled in lightness techniques, he was unable to dodge in time.

Fortunately, at this moment, Liu Ruohong flew over, grabbed Xie Mingzhong, and pulled him up with force, thereby carrying him away from the deadly palm force.

"Roar!"

At that very moment, Gu Mo unleashed the "Six Dragons Riding the Wind" technique. In an instant, a dragon's roar shattered the nine heavens as the Dragon Subduing Palms were unleashed continuously. Six golden giant dragons, linked head to tail, descended in a crushing assault, roaring like true dragons just emerging from the sea.

"Excellent palm technique!"

Lu Canyang praised, then swiftly struck out with a palm. Wherever his palm force passed, the air churned like boiling lead, and the six golden dragons were instantly scattered in mid-air.

"Break!"

Lu Canyang spread his five fingers, and a golden shockwave erupted from his palm.

Gu Mo retreated eighteen steps, each one shattering bluestones. His protective internal energy condensed into Yin-Yang forces before his chest. His hands trembled slightly, and small burn marks conspicuously appeared on the web between his thumb and forefinger – the imprints of Lu Canyang's scorching palm force.

An old locust tree ten meters away exploded with a bang, its crown cascading down like a golden waterfall, startling cold crows that flew past the bloody crescent moon.

"Not bad, not bad," Lu Canyang said. "Hero Gu truly lives up to his reputation as a grandmaster of internal energy and the name of Hero of Yunzhou. Though you are young, that move you just displayed is far superior to what those two Chief Constables of the Six Gates can do!"

However, what surprised Lu Canyang was that in their last exchange, Gu Mo had clearly been at a disadvantage, yet now his fighting spirit surged, and he declared loudly, "This is quite exhilarating. Among all the opponents I've faced, very few could stand against my palms, and you, Estate Master Lu, are the first to make me stumble!"

The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms is inherently the most formidable palm technique under heaven. Gu Mo, moreover, possesses inexhaustible internal energy from techniques like Nine Yang Divine Skill and Bright Jade Skill, meaning he never had to consider energy depletion when using the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, allowing him to unleash the technique to its fullest potential.

There were times when the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms failed to achieve its desired effect in certain special situations, but to be suppressed in a direct palm-to-palm confrontation—this was the first time.

At this moment, Gu Mo's aura suddenly surged. His long hair wildly danced in the wind, like raging waves churning in a furious sea.

He suddenly roared, his voice like a great bell, making the surrounding air hum. "Again!"

Before his roar subsided, he unleashed the "Dragon Fights in the Wild" with immense force. His right palm was wrapped in formidable internal energy, a golden dragon vaguely coiling and shimmering within it. The resulting airflow seemed capable of tearing through space, surging towards Lu Canyang with a roar.

Seeing this, Lu Canyang quietly replied, "Then I shall satisfy you!"

As soon as his words fell, he, too, channeled all his cultivation and struck out with a palm to meet Gu Mo's force. This palm strike seemed ordinary, but wherever its force reached, space rippled in layers, as if a calm lake had been struck by a massive stone, causing concentric ripples to spread.

The moment their palms met, in that instant, heaven and earth seemed to pause. A dazzling light erupted from their center, so intense it was impossible to look at directly, like a blazing sun illuminating the surroundings with a blinding white light.

Immediately after, an irresistible impact force spread outwards in a ring. Wherever it reached, sand and stones flew, deep furrows were violently plowed into the ground, and nearby trees were snapped in half, their branches and leaves scattering everywhere.

This impact force was like surging tides, wave after wave. The surrounding air was furiously compressed, making "pili-pala" crackling sounds, like dense firecrackers exploding. Distant houses had their doors and windows shattered, and objects inside were overturned by the air current.

Lu Canyang felt an overwhelming force, like mountains toppling and seas overturning, surging from Gu Mo's palm. His arms trembled uncontrollably, his feet dug two deep furrows into the ground, and his entire body was actually pushed back several meters by the force of this palm.

A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Gu Mo's face was flushed, and his breathing was slightly disordered.

In that last palm strike, though he gained the upper hand, he didn't gain much of an advantage. His upper hand was due to the "Dragon Fights in the Wild" move, which was a life-or-death fighting technique that disregarded all costs.

As for internal energy, he gained no advantage at all.

No wonder Qi Miaoxuan had said earlier that Lu Canyang was the true prodigy. In terms of internal energy, Lu Canyang was probably not much inferior to Zen Master Dingchan, who was renowned for his internal cultivation.

"Now, let's try fists!"

Before his words finished, Lu Canyang moved like lightning, instantly vanishing from his spot. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Gu Mo, his right fist wreathed in surging flames, like a burning meteor, slamming towards Gu Mo.

Gu Mo's expression was solemn. He shifted his footwork, executing the "Stars Reversal" technique to skillfully deflect the force of Lu Canyang's punch. At the same time, he brought his left fingers together like a sword, unleashing the Six Meridian Divine Swords, a sharp sword energy whistling out and piercing directly towards Lu Canyang's throat.

Lu Canyang's figure flickered, swiftly dodging. At the same time, his right hand became a palm, striking out a palm wind infused with Qilin flames. Wherever it passed, the air ignited, emitting a sizzling sound.

Seeing this, Xie Mingzhong roared and swung his heavy profound iron maces, charging towards Lu Canyang like an enraged bull. As he unleashed the Eight Extremes of Suppressing Prison, each strike contained the might of collapsing mountains. The strong wind generated by his heavy maces kicked up dust from the ground.

Lu Canyang sidestepped to avoid, then struck out with a backhand palm, which collided with Xie Mingzhong's heavy mace. A loud "bang" erupted, like the ringing of a great bell, making the eardrums of those nearby ache. Xie Mingzhong was forced back several steps by the immense force, his feet leaving several deep imprints on the ground.

Seizing the momentary lull in Lu Canyang's exchange with Xie Mingzhong, Liu Ruohong drew his cicada-wing soft sword. The blade flickered, like a spirit snake emerging from its lair, and stabbed towards Lu Canyang's back.

Lu Canyang's body spun, and his left hand shot out, directly seizing Liu Ruohong's soft sword. Liu Ruohong's expression changed. He tried to pull back his soft sword, but found it gripped tightly by Lu Canyang, unable to move. Lu Canyang sneered, then with a sudden exertion of force, snapped the soft sword in half.

Seizing this opportunity, Gu Mo unleashed the "Six Dragons Riding the Wind." Six golden giant dragons roared forth, carrying world-destroying momentum, and surged towards Lu Canyang. Lu Canyang's hands rapidly danced, executing a set of eerie fist techniques. His fist winds howled, shattering the eighteen giant dragons one by one.

In an instant, the battle truly entered a white-hot phase.

Xie Mingzhong and Liu Ruohong were old partners with excellent tacit understanding. They had been testing and maneuvering for a while, primarily to observe and understand Gu Mo's fighting style, and now they had a grasp of it. Similarly, Gu Mo, besides testing Lu Canyang's strength, was also familiarizing himself with Xie Mingzhong and Liu Ruohong.

Now that the three of them had a general understanding, they naturally entered the phase of a joint assault.

However, in just a moment,

the three had unleashed various techniques, engaging in over a hundred exchanges with Lu Canyang.

However, the more Gu Mo, Liu Ruohong, and Xie Mingzhong fought, the heavier their hearts grew. They could clearly feel that Lu Canyang was not using his full strength. Most crucially, up until now, Lu Canyang had not yet used the Gouchen Demonic Blade.

All of them found the fight increasingly troublesome and knew they couldn't continue this entanglement.

So, when Gu Mo was once again repelled by Lu Canyang,

Xie Mingzhong suddenly activated his "Iron Armor Technique." His muscles tensed, and his skin instantly became as hard as steel, gleaming with a cold, hard luster. He met Lu Canyang's palm without dodging, his hands gripping Lu Canyang's arm like iron pliers. Amidst a furious roar, veins bulged on his forehead, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his mouth.

At the same moment, Liu Ruohong waved his long sleeve, and twelve Heaven Silk threads shot out from his cuff. They drew silver lines in the air as they instantly wrapped around Lu Canyang's body. The Heaven Silk was incredibly tough and imbued with potent venom; once it stuck, it was like maggots clinging to bone, impossible to shake off.

Lu Canyang's movements halted, caught by this sudden coordinated attack.

Xie Mingzhong then shouted, "Form the battle array!"

In an instant, the Six Gates constables, who had been patiently observing the battle, moved as one, like fierce tigers unleashed from their cage. The forty individuals at the front moved with perfect synchronization, instantly drawing special iron chains.

In a flash, cold light glinted as the iron chains intertwined with each other, like agile flood dragons weaving through the air, forming a large net in the blink of an eye.

Following this, hundreds of constables quickly took their positions, each performing their duty. They shouted in unison, their internal energy surging forth and channeling into the iron chains. The large net instantly glowed brightly, unleashing a powerful might. A faint dragon's roar could be heard in the air, as if true fish-dragons were churning within it, striking fear into onlookers.