Chapter 195
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Chapter 39: Hell Ghost (5)
Old Husk!
It means an aged body.
It didn't seem like a fitting title for the world's greatest martial artist, Great Master Jigong.
Yet in certain moments, Great Master Jigong appeared so perfectly withered and ancient that no other word could suit him better.
That was especially true after unleashing his technique, Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens.
The Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens, executed with his one hundred eight prayer beads, consumed an enormous amount of internal energy. Once unleashed, his qi reserves were utterly depleted.
His entire body went limp.
His skin lost its elasticity, the spark vanished from his eyes, harsh breaths escaped his mouth, and his legs trembled so badly he could barely stand. That was how much qi it demanded.
That was why he suddenly looked a century older.
Great Master Jigong had used the Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens only once in his entire life.
No one knew when that moment had been.
There must have been witnesses, since the nickname "Old Husk" had spread and the technique itself had become known. They just didn't know when, where, or against whom it had been used.
And now, he was about to unleash it again.
Whoom! Whoooosh! Whooooosh!
Great Master Jigong began spinning his one hundred eight prayer beads overhead. Like a shepherd whirling a lasso to catch sheep, he raised them high and swung them in a wide circle.
Four Thousand Four shuddered violently, as if freezing in the bitter cold.
His hands clutched his head tightly, his eyes squeezed shut in agony.
Whoooosh! Whooooosh! Whooooooosh!
With each rotation, the beads' roar grew louder. The wind they cut through the air whistled sharply.
Thick sweat began pouring from Great Master Jigong's forehead.
"Amitabha!"
Great Master Jigong bellowed the chant hoarsely. And at that instant!
Skreeeeeeeeee!
The beads whipping overhead unleashed a winter gale's razor howl. But the beads themselves vanished from sight. In the moment it felt like the sound would shred their eardrums, they were gone.
Kraka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka!
A sound like ironclad walls being torn apart by brute force echoed. It concentrated right where Four Thousand Four stood.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang! Clang-clang!
Strange noises erupted from Four Thousand Four's body as well.
Like steel clashing against steel, or stone walls slamming together—cold, muffled bursts exploded outward.
"Kuhk!"
Four Thousand Four spat blood and staggered back.
Fountains of blood gushed from his body. Like puncturing a water skin, crimson spurted out in arrow-like jets from over a dozen spots at once.
It was a grievous wound.
"Grk! Ngh!"
Four Thousand Four groaned continuously. He retreated further but couldn't steady himself and wobbled.
"Haa..."
Great Master Jigong exhaled deeply.
His hands hung limp at his sides, as if his strength were utterly spent, and he only heaved heavy breaths.
He looked perfectly like the "Old Husk" now, exhausted beyond measure.
The Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens was a technique that hurled the beads like beams of light. Each of the one hundred eight beads carried light-speed swiftness. And their target was precisely locked on the foe.
The moment they were launched, they detonated on impact over there.
It was a Flying Bead Art so fast that the flight phase seemed omitted... or appeared that way.
Great Master Jigong's entire body's qi had erupted in a single instant.
Four Thousand Four had put up a decent fight, it seemed. Several of the beads Great Master Jigong had launched were pierced by steel needles. In that fleeting moment, he'd blocked the exploding beads with his needles.
But there were simply too many beads.
He hadn't realized each one packed the condensed power of a bursting cannonball.
Thud!
Four Thousand Four dropped to one knee.
"Amitabha!"
Great Master Jigong pressed his palms together in prayer.
The great master launched no further attacks. A single strike had already inflicted a fatal wound. No one seeing Four Thousand Four's condition would think he could survive.
Four Thousand Four raised his head and glared at Great Master Jigong.
"How... faster than Shadowless Flight..."
"Don't curse the one who goes first. Thanks to you, I've shaved off a decade of my life too. I'll be following soon enough."
Thud!
Four Thousand Four collapsed while staring at Great Master Jigong. He toppled forward like a felled log.
Shh! Shh! Shh!
As Four Thousand Four fell, the Shaolin monks revealed themselves.
"Master, are you all right?"
The one collapsed was Four Thousand Four. Great Master Jigong hadn't taken a single hit. Yet he looked just as haggard as if he'd suffered greatly.
"I'm fine. Let's return."
Great Master Jigong pressed his palms together once more toward Four Thousand Four, then turned away.
Four Thousand Four had fallen.
In the end, he never exploited the terrain's advantage. He could have collapsed the ravine but didn't. He could have at least pinned down Great Master Jigong, but he'd collapsed alone.
"What in the world is this?"
North Ming Blood Splash muttered to himself.
He tilted his head in bewilderment.
He could still capture Great Master Jigong now. He could block his escape. It wasn't just Four Thousand Four who could use the terrain. He knew the mechanisms too.
But... it would cost his life.
He'd trusted Four Thousand Four would handle it without hesitation... Could the fool have truly believed he could take on Old Husk head-on? Such an absurd notion.
"This changes things a lot. Tch! Looks like we let Old Husk slip away today, at least."
North Ming thought of Heavenly Commander.
He wasn't the only one watching this place. Heavenly Commander was surely observing from somewhere else as well.
If Four Thousand Four died and Great Master Jigong lived... Heavenly Commander's plans would need major revisions. The scheme using the death pact was already being scrapped entirely.
"At least we got to witness the Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens. Not a total loss."
North Ming rose from his spot.
He hadn't anticipated Four Thousand Four's inexplicable overconfidence at the end. No... he'd misread Mercy Death Palm and Crimson Moon. He'd read Mercy Death Palm correctly, but failed to grasp Crimson Moon fully.
She should have joined forces with Four Thousand Four.
She shouldn't have given him time to think. If she'd pressed relentlessly, Four Thousand Four would have triggered the mechanisms. He never would have trusted himself against Old Husk in a direct clash.
What a fool!
No matter how he pondered, Four Thousand Four's actions irked him more than Crimson Moon's refusal to join the assault.
That said, he had no intention of throwing away his own life to catch Old Husk.
"When it's time to go, leave without regrets."
North Ming departed.
"The Beggars' Sect is withdrawing their formation."
Zhuge Ming said upon returning to the ravine.
Clang-clang! Clang-clang! Ching! Ziiing!
Chaotic noises echoed from below the mountain.
Like bowls shattering, or gongs clanging... It wouldn't reach the ravine from just one or two people, but the clarity suggested a great many were making the racket.
It was the Beggars' Sect's signal drums.
"The Beggars' Sect is pulling back their formation? What about the fight? And Great Master Jigong?"
Zhuge Soso asked urgently.
At this moment, her mind was filled with one thought alone.
The mechanisms hadn't triggered!
The Cataclysmic Imperial Annihilation Formation needed to erupt for the battle to end, yet the mountain showed no sign of shifting. And now the Beggars' Sect was withdrawing their signal drums? Dismantling the encirclement?
Zhuge Ming explained.
"Four Thousand Four is dead. Unexpectedly, the bastard had a few hidden ultimate techniques up his sleeve. He blocked Great Master Jigong's attacks a couple of times, but it changed nothing."
"Dead? Without using the Cataclysmic Imperial Annihilation Formation?"
"He had no chance to touch the mechanisms. Great Master Jigong unleashed the Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens. The fight ended in an instant."
"That can't be..."
Zhuge Soso tilted her head.
She couldn't comprehend it. The Four Thousand Four she knew would activate the Cataclysmic Imperial Annihilation Formation in any situation. The more dire the peril to his life, the more he'd use it.
To him, it didn't matter if Great Master Jigong was a sage or a villain. Anyone who became his enemy had to fall. And he had the perfect tool for it.
Even if it meant mutual destruction in a death formation, perishing alongside Old Husk would bring satisfaction. When else could one claim such a foe?
Anyone else, maybe, but it was hard to believe Four Thousand Four hadn't used the Cataclysmic Imperial Annihilation Formation.
North Ming must have thought the same. That's why he'd herded Four Thousand Four here. If he could focus solely on the fight, he'd kill Old Husk...
Solely on the fight?
Then what? It meant Four Thousand Four hadn't been able to focus on the fight.
"I have to see for myself!"
Shiiik!
Zhuge Soso launched her body skyward in haste.
"Hey! At least say where you're...!"
Zhuge Ming couldn't pursue Zhuge Soso.
The ravine was littered with explosives. Powerful enough to collapse the entire area.
He couldn't leave them behind.
He hurriedly began digging up the explosives Zhuge Soso had planted.
Shh!
She landed where Four Thousand Four had been, where the battle with Old Husk had raged...
Blood!
The first thing she saw was the crimson bloodstains.
A massive amount splattered across the ground. Long trails marked exactly where Four Thousand Four had bled and how he'd moved, as if captured on film.
Moreover, deep footprints scarred the earth.
This is a fatal wound!
She spotted something else.
A prayer bead impaled on a steel needle. The Shaolin monks had collected most of the one hundred eight beads, but by luck—or rather, deliberately—one remained. No, the monks had discarded it.
The steel needle had pierced the bead, splitting it into thirds.
Having lost its integrity as a prayer bead, they'd left it behind.
Incredible... Was that man... this strong?
Zhuge Soso's eyes widened in shock.
The bead stunned her speechless. She'd never imagined such power.
Old Husk's full-body prowess dwelled in that bead.
Each one must have been harder than an iron cannonball.
And Four Thousand Four had shattered it with a steel needle.
Great Master Jigong was mighty, but Four Thousand Four was mighty enough to challenge those beads.
Had Four Thousand Four always been this strong?
No. He was a formidable assassin, but in orthodox martial arts, even Mercy Death Palm could overwhelm him. How could such a man grow this powerful overnight?
Four Thousand Four!
Suddenly, her attention turned to him.
Come to think of it, Four Thousand Four was nowhere in sight.
Vanguard, Hanbi, or Fox couldn't have taken him; they were heading to Shaolin Temple with the monks.
Then who had removed Four Thousand Four's body?
North Ming? No. He wouldn't have bothered checking here. North Ming would be furious the Cataclysmic Imperial Annihilation Formation hadn't triggered. His sole goal was felling Old Husk.
Heavenly Annihilation Division? No. They wouldn't care about a dead Four Thousand Four. They'd focus entirely on pursuing the living target: Old Husk.
Great Master Jigong wasn't in fighting shape now.
After unleashing the Hundred Eight Beads Great Discharge Shattering the Heavens, he'd weakened to somewhere around thirtieth or fortieth in the martial rankings—no exaggeration.
Heavenly Annihilation Division wouldn't miss that chance.
Then who took Four Thousand Four away?
Her eyes gleamed as she scanned the surroundings.
She couldn't fixate on the blood splattered everywhere. Obvious evidence could deceive the eyes. So she became sightless, surveying with fresh perception.
Four Thousand Four, where did you go?
She calmed her mind and began lightly scanning the area, like a picnicker enjoying the view.