Chapter 210: Peng Longteng

The bandit soldiers suffered heavy losses under Li Huowang's attack. Peng Longteng, unable to let Li Huowang attack so freely, began to divide her forces. Half of the bandit soldiers continued to encircle Bai Lingmiao, while the other half, led by Peng Longteng, began to counterattack.

"Huowang?" a hazy voice echoed in Li Huowang's ears, as he was almost unconscious from the pain. He shook his head, and the voice disappeared again.

Li Huowang looked up. When he saw the cavalry approaching him, he smiled. "I've read military treatises too. This move of mine is called a 'self-mutilation trick'."

Once Peng Longteng, still on horseback, reappeared before him from above, Li Huowang shouted at her, "Come! Let's go one-on-one!" But what met him was a whistling halberd.

"Boy! Do you really think I can't deal with you? It's just too costly to use! Roar!" Peng Longteng raised the heavy halberd in her hand and swung it back. All the scattered weapons around them simultaneously clashed upwards.

Immediately, an extremely piercing sound enveloped the entire border pass. It wasn't the sound of weapons clashing, but a terrifying shriek emanating from deep within the throats of all the bandit soldiers – a military roar, a truly unbearable scream.

Along with the shriek, the bandit soldiers began bleeding from their seven orifices, but the blood evaporated as soon as it flowed out. The rising blood-colored gas gradually enveloped all of them. This even included Peng Longteng herself, as blood slowly seeped from the two eyeholes in her faceplate. Their blood was constantly draining, transforming them into something no longer human. Wrapped in the red aura, the bandit soldiers now resembled fiends in the mist, their eyes devoid of all emotion, filled only with boundless killing intent.

Li Huowang's longsword suddenly reacted to this killing intent, trembling with a dragon's cry, as if responding to something.

"Hah!" The bandit soldiers, their weapons wreathed in blood-qi, lunged forward with their attacks. Li Huowang attempted to reposition himself. However, this time, the enemy intended to completely overpower him with brute force, not bothering to test Li Huowang's position, but stabbing through every conceivable space.

A drop of Li Huowang's blood fell to the ground, mixing with the blood mist. The next moment, all the bandit soldiers instantly looked over; they saw it. Li Huowang saw greed and yearning in their eyes. They had eaten people, and many of them. Li Huowang realized this almost instantly.

"Lads! Time to feast on human flesh! Eat your fill!" Drooling and howling like hungry ghosts, the bandit soldiers roared and charged at Li Huowang, who was instantly in grave peril.

He wanted to use the *Great Thousand Records* to counterattack, but they wouldn't allow it. Whenever Li Huowang tried to spread the *Great Thousand Records* on the ground, he would inevitably be interrupted, making it impossible to use.

Li Huowang's situation grew increasingly dire; he was moments from death. "Boom, boom, boom!" Drums began to beat. A cavalryman was instantly pulled from his horse by a woman in a red veil, his head separated from his body. Immediately after, two wandering masters flew over, passing through a bandit soldier's body. The arrival of Bai Lingmiao and her companions gave Li Huowang a moment to breathe within the encirclement.

"No! Using the *Great Thousand Records* like this is too easily targeted!" Without hesitation, Li Huowang sheathed his blood-soaked sword. Then, he grabbed the edge of his own skin and forcefully tore it open. His previous encounter with Hand San had given him an idea: if he became like Hand San, he could sacrifice to Bahui anytime, anywhere. Amidst his screams, Li Huowang forcibly stuffed the unfolded *Great Thousand Records* beneath his own skin. The entire scroll of the *Great Thousand Records* was thus lodged completely inside Li Huowang's body.

"Hmm?" Peng Longteng noticed Li Huowang's abnormality, raising the tip of her halberd and pointing it at him. "Wind without form, attach to the heavens!" As Peng Longteng's voice rang out, the seemingly irrational bandit soldiers actually formed a Wind-Rising Formation and charged directly at Li Huowang. But just as they were about to get close, raging flames, billowing with black smoke, enveloped Li Huowang and them too. Li Huowang's skin was charred black by the flames, and his appearance became increasingly similar to the Ao God worshipped by the Zoroastrians.

The flames on Li Huowang's body soared, turning the surrounding bandit soldiers into human torches. This move was extremely deadly for them, standing so densely together.

Peng Longteng, fully armored, pushed through the flames and charged towards Li Huowang. Far from being afraid, she became even more excited. "Hahaha! Boy, well done! But I've seen through your trickery, you're finished!" The strong wind created by the massive halberd blew Li Huowang's flames backward. As she approached, Li Huowang realized that she was indeed very tall, at least two heads taller than himself.

"Clang!!" Li Huowang stomped his feet three inches into the ground. He forcibly blocked the thousand-jin halberd with his sword. Flames shot up along the halberd's shaft, completely engulfing Peng Longteng's armor. Her skin beneath the armor was blistering from the heat. Yet, facing this situation, Peng Longteng showed no fear; instead, she displayed a certain joy. It was as if her entire being was born for slaughter and combat.

"Hahaha! Again! How comfortable! So very comfortable!" The halberd forcefully knocked Li Huowang's sword aside and slashed downwards towards his body. Amidst the flames, the two frenzied individuals clashed, each strike aimed at the other's death.

Seeing Peng Longteng's armor turn dark red, Li Huowang suddenly had an idea. He pushed off the ground with his right foot, his body slightly bent, and charged underneath Peng Longteng.

"Again!" This time, facing the heavy halberd, Li Huowang no longer dodged. He raised his longsword and thrust it into the gap beneath Peng Longteng's faceplate, a direct life-for-life strike. Li Huowang was struck by the halberd shaft, and more than half of his body caved in, but his sword also connected. Just as he had guessed, the faceplate's defense had weakened after being heated red. The Right Family Sword, wreathed in flames, directly pierced Peng Longteng's neck, striking the same spot as before. As Li Huowang roared, the sound of bones cracking echoed, and Peng Longteng's head, still encased in her faceplate, instantly flew into the air.

The surroundings quieted down, and the blood-qi around the bandit soldiers quickly dissipated. After casting a fearful glance in his direction, they quickly retreated on horseback, vanishing from Li Huowang's sight. The flames on Li Huowang's body vanished along with them.

Li Huowang lowered his head, using his eyes, which had turned pale from the flames, to look at himself. He had no skin left, only a charred, smoking torso, his body shrunken by the burning. "Plop~" Without skin, the *Great Thousand Records*, which should have been hidden beneath it, fell to the ground.

Li Huowang felt a slight itch behind him. He slowly turned around and saw a round-faced man. The man seemed terrified of him, yet he tearfully raised a small dagger wrapped in a red handkerchief and began stabbing at Li Huowang's body. As he watched the dagger continuously cut small openings into his cadaver-like body, Li Huowang couldn't help but feel confused. Who was this person? What was he doing?

"Swish!" With a flash of cold light, the man was instantly disemboweled by Li Huowang. Cao Hai stumbled backward, eventually leaning against Peng Longteng's body and slowly sinking down. Looking at Peng Longteng's headless body still standing upright, his eyes were filled with profound reluctance. "General..."

Li Huowang stood still before beginning to stumble back. His will, tormented by the pain, started to become somewhat disoriented. "It hurts so much, it really hurts too much. Why must *I* suffer like this?" "Is living just for suffering? I really don't want to live anymore." "No, I can't die, I have to live." "Mom, it really hurts... Can you blow on it for me?"

Just as Li Huowang, on the verge of collapse, was muttering to himself, he suddenly felt movement behind him again. As he slowly turned around, he saw the headless Peng Longteng, who had already raised her massive halberd over her shoulder, bearing down on him like Mount Tai.