Chapter 2788: Dead Meat

The Mongols were confused by their conversation. What’s going on between those two?

“Are they really siblings?” Yang Lianzhenjia laughed eerily.

“They sound more like a couple,” Daoist Bai Sun scoffed.

“Heh! Everyone says Guo Jing is a hero, yet his children engage in such a depraved act,” the Master of the Vajra School said with an excited glint in his eyes.

Old Man Shanzhong didn’t utter a word, but he continued lurking around Zu An and Firework, occasionally dishing out blows at their blind spots.

Firework frowned, but she didn’t respond. She wasn’t truly Zu An’s sibling anyway.

The same went for Zu An. He was more worried about the current crisis they were in. In order to protect Firework, he needed to expend himself more than usual, causing his inner energy to deplete swiftly. At this rate, he was going to empty his tank.

The Mongol experts were well aware of that. Everything they did was with the intention of sapping his inner energy dry.

Zu An tried to expose some openings to bait the Mongol experts into overcommitting, so he could kill off some of them and reduce the pressure on him. However, the Mongol experts were all wily old foxes. None of them fell for his trick.

If only there were a way for me to replenish my inner energy...

Firework suddenly asked, “Didn’t you have a skill to absorb energy?”

Zu An’s eyebrows shot up, knowing she was referring to the Taotie’s Heaven-Devouring Sutra. She’s right. This world may ban supernatural powers, but the concept behind the skill holds true. This world has skills like the North Sea Divine Art and Cosmos Absorption Art[1] that can suck out other people’s inner energy. They might not be anywhere as powerful as the Taotie’s Heaven-Devouring Sutra, but they prove that such skills are feasible in this world.

Thus, he began altering the Taotie’s Heaven-Devouring Sutra so he could use it in this world.

He had used the Heaven-Devouring Sutra for many years now and was extremely familiar with it, so it wasn’t tough for him to alter it. It didn’t take him long to come up with a skill similar to the North Sea Divine Art and Cosmos Absorption Art.

It wasn't stronger than the Nine Yin Manual he had learned from Guo Jing and Huang Rong, but it would greatly increase his endurance in a prolonged fight. He could absorb the might exerted by his enemies into his inner energy, thus replenishing it.

Yang Lianzhenjia and the others quickly noticed the anomaly. “I feel like my inner energy is being siphoned away whenever I execute a move.”

“I feel the same way, too.”

“Is that fellow using some kind of sorcery?”

...

The overwhelming power displayed by Firework and Zu An earlier had already piqued their vigilance. Upon realizing Zu An was using some kind of weird power, they hurriedly backed off to a safe distance away lest they fall for his tricks.

The Master of the Vajra School was less cunning than his peers and was a step too slow in his retreat. Zu An managed to grab him by his shoulder.

But the Master of the Vajra School wasn't worried. He channeled his Indestructible Vajra Divine Art, causing his body to glow with a brilliant golden light and his monk robe to puff outward. With his defenses raised to the maximum, he was confident that not even Old Man Shanzhong’s full-powered attack could hurt him.

But Zu An had already come up with a countermeasure after suffering a setback from that.

The Indestructible Vajra Divine Art, despite its grandiose name, wasn't particularly profound. Put in simple terms, the skill involved the compression of one’s inner energy around one’s body to an extreme degree, forming an invisible energy barrier.

At the same time, the compression also increased the density of one’s bones and muscles, achieving an effect reminiscent of ki. With all external attacks spread evenly across the energy barrier, it created an illusion of indestructibility.

It wasn't too hard to overcome this skill. Zu An had already come up with seven solutions against it. But with powerful enemies lurking around, he opted for the fastest and simplest method.

A peculiar light glowed from his eyes. It was the Nine Yin Manual’s Soul Transference Method. It was a skill used to attack a person’s mind.

“Huogong Toutuo! Despite being a Shaolin disciple, you killed the Dharma Hall’s abbot and massacred dozens of your peers. Do you plead guilty?”

Zu An’s mind was stronger than anyone else in this world, and he was talking about the Master of the Vajra School’s greatest grudge.

The Master of the Vajra School was initially dazed, but his eyes quickly narrowed in hatred as he roared, “They deserved to die! They humiliated and beat me up back then...”

“Be careful, Master of the Vajra School!” the other experts shouted as they rushed over to rescue him.

It was too late.

The Master of the Vajra School’s mind had already been compromised by the Soul Transference Method, and the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art required continuous channeling to maintain the energy barrier. This brief opening resulted in gaps appearing in his defense.

His inner energy began flowing toward Zu An’s hand as if it were water leaking out of a breached dam.

“NO!”

The Master of the Vajra School screamed in misery. He tried his best to stop the outflow of his inner energy, but it was to no avail. His eyes lost their spirit, and his body became withered. In no time, he looked no different from an ordinary old man.

There was a cold flash of light. In an attempt to save him from Zu An’s suction skill, Yang Lianzhenjia severed the Master of the Vajra School’s arm, but it was already too late.

The Master of the Vajra School had been reduced to a dried-up husk, with his inner energy all sucked away. As a result, the severing of his arm only worsened his condition. His breathing became incredibly shallow.

Zu An chuckled. “Tastes good. Who’s next?”

The experts felt goosebumps.

Fuck! Who’s the antagonist here?

Seeing that he had successfully intimidated the Mongol experts, Zu An made use of this opening to carry Firework out of the encirclement. The two of them swiftly disappeared behind the mountain.

With his inner energy suction skill, Zu An could have easily stood his ground against all these experts alone. But he needed to protect the severely wounded Firework from their enemies too. If the fight continued, Firework could very well lose her life.

So, he didn’t hesitate to flee the moment an opportunity arose. It wouldn’t be too late to settle the score with these people after rescuing Firework.

He flitted across the mountain before abruptly stopping in front of an ancient tomb.

An ancient tomb on the mountain behind the Quanzhen Sect. This should be the entrance to the Ancient Tomb Sect.

By now, Zu An had already noticed that Firework’s meridians had been severed. It would be unwise to continue traveling with her severe injuries. Thus, he shouted, “Hero Yang, Miss Long, my second sister has been injured by the Mongols. Can we seek refuge at your home?”

To his bewilderment, there was no response.

Even though Yang Guo was avoiding Guo Xiang to sever her feelings for him, upon seeing her life in danger, he should have shown up by now.

Worried about Firework’s critical condition, Zu An decided to push the entrance open and enter the ancient tomb.

The place had been armed with many defensive mechanisms that would have doomed most people, but Zu An had been through far more. These traps were child’s play in contrast.

He soon arrived at a quiet stone chamber. He placed Firework down and began treating her.

Firework spurted another mouthful of blood. She shook her head and said, “My meridians have been completely severed. My fate is sealed. You can’t save me. You’re wasting your energy.”

She was well aware of her physical condition. Such injuries would have meant nothing to her outside; she had countless ways to heal up. Unfortunately, there were no supernatural powers and miraculous pills here. She racked her brains, but it felt as if her only fate was death.

1. These are all inner energy suction skills in Jin Yong’s wuxiaverse ☜

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