Chapter 187: Besieged
All words had been said; only life and death remained.
The Celestial Humans present had all been tempered in the martial world for many years. After entering the Tianren Realm, they fell into the Celestial Human Five Declines and served the imperial court to prolong their lives.
The imperial court’s secret method for prolonging life was to have these Celestial Humans enter a state of deep slumber during normal times, only waking them at specific times. These so-called specific times, aside from providing covert protection for certain major affairs of the imperial court, were for battling Celestial Humans who did not belong to the imperial court.
Therefore, most of the memories of these individuals after submitting to the imperial court were of battling Celestial Humans. In terms of combat experience, they far surpassed Li Miao.
Among the three paths, “Vajra” was the most time-consuming to deal with; “Sumera” was indestructible and the most dangerous to deal with; “"Jiezi"” was the most prone to unexpected events, as no one knew what kind of sinister martial art the opponent might suddenly pull out.
Imperial Bodyguard Zhou was injured like this in a single exchange; the opponent was definitely not easy to deal with. Looking at that white hair, it was clearly a sign of some kind of “Celestial Human Five Declines,” meaning he was at least a two-path Celestial Human.
Imperial Bodyguard Zhou’s jaw was shattered, making him unable to ask about the situation. Rushing forward rashly might lead to the same outcome… Therefore, they needed to first probe Li Miao’s true strength!
Without needing further words, a female offering suddenly flicked her hands.
Two bone-piercing sharp nails appeared before Li Miao as if teleporting!
Tang Sect of Shu, “Startling Feather Art”—“Flickering Light Flying Star”!
These two bone-piercing sharp nails were not as simple as they looked. They were covered in almost invisible barbs, and if one were to try to catch them with their hands, they would immediately be poisoned.
Their interiors were hollow, and their actual center of gravity was completely different from what their external appearance suggested, with their force being both real and illusory. If one rashly tried to block them, the sharp nails’ trajectory would instantly change, making them difficult to guard against within an inch, and one would likely be hit.
And the danger within them was not limited to this.
Li Miao raised his hand and struck out with two Xuantian Fingers, hitting them precisely at their center of gravity.
The two bone-piercing sharp nails flew high into the air, seemingly neutralized.
In an instant, Li Miao suddenly turned his body sideways.
Ding, ding!
Two hair-thin needles, glowing with an eerie blue light, were embedded in the bluestone slab behind Li Miao.
With “Flickering Light Flying Star,” the outer shell of the bone-piercing sharp nails was the “Flickering Light,” while the hair-thin needles inside were the “Flying Star,” hidden in the night and difficult to detect. Had it not been for Li Miao’s exceptional eyesight, he would have likely been hit instantly.
And just as Li Miao turned sideways, the female offering’s hands moved like dancing butterflies, continuously flicking out, having already launched hundreds of various hidden weapons, sealing every inch of space around Li Miao.
The other offerings had also slowly closed in.
In an instant, Li Miao raised his hands above his head, extended two fingers, and his Zhou Tian True Qi surged, stirring up the dust on the surrounding ground.
Then he suddenly clenched his fist at his waist.
“Black Zenith Floating Pagoda!”
Boom!!!
A majestic surge of True Qi, like a tsunami, gushed outwards, stirring up dust and causing leaves to fall! Hundreds of hidden weapons flew back!
Ding ding ding ding—
The sounds merged into a continuous clang, and the surrounding bluestone slabs were already covered in various hidden weapons.
The next moment, Li Miao’s figure suddenly dissipated.
“Stop him!”
Wang Zhi roared.
Li Miao had already appeared above the cave and struck down with his fist.
Bang!
However, a large-built offering appeared before Li Miao, crossing his arms above his head, blocking Li Miao’s punch.
Wang Zhi was about to praise the offering for blocking in time, but his expression suddenly changed.
The offering’s mouth and nose were bleeding, and his teeth were clenched tightly; he had already sustained internal injuries.
Yet, he had only blocked one of Li Miao’s punches!
With a muffled thud, Li Miao kicked out, and the offering flew backward like a cannonball, staggering back over a dozen steps before the force dissipated, then spitting out a mouthful of clotted blood with a “wah” sound.
He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth and said hoarsely.
“Everyone, he is not just two paths; he is three paths combined. Moreover, his ‘Sumera’ and ‘"Jiezi"’ paths are perfectly complete.”
“Just now, the instant he struck me, he changed from ‘Hengshuquan (Horizontal Vertical Fist)’ to ‘Limitless Vibration Zen,’ and potent True Qi penetrated my body, injuring my internal organs.”
“If you get close to him again, be careful of his changes in moves. With his ‘Sumera’ realm, even if he changes moves temporarily, the threat is not small.”
The offerings’ gazes narrowed.
Three paths combined was one thing, but two paths also complete? How could he still be so lively?
Putting those aside, “Sumera” plus “"Jiezi"”… even if only two paths, they were the most troublesome type to deal with.
However, now that they knew the opponent’s true strength, they could formulate a countermeasure.
“Offering Qian, Imperial Bodyguard Zhou, you two have ‘Vajra’ in your bodies, so entangle him in close combat.”
“Offering Tang, you stay to one side and attack his weaknesses.”
“Imperial Bodyguard Liu, Offering Ruan, you two stand by as backup.”
“Since he doesn’t have a complete ‘Vajra,’ he can’t directly take your moves. As long as there’s one opening, it will be his life!”
Wang Zhi gave the command.
He was a trusted subordinate of the emperor, and for many years, he had led these offerings to capture countless Celestial Humans. He knew what method to use against Li Miao now.
The offerings nodded.
In an instant, two offerings appeared before Li Miao. One was Imperial Bodyguard Zhou, whose jaw had been shattered and arm torn off by Li Miao, and the other was also a master of body-hardening martial arts.
They formed a pincer attack, moving towards Li Miao.
The Tang Sect female offering continuously flicked her hands, and dozens of almost invisible hair-thin needles emerged from the gaps under their armpits, sides of their necks, and between their legs, aiming for Li Miao’s vital acupoints.
The other two offerings had also appeared behind Li Miao. One extended his right thumb and left pinky finger, and two sharp sword qi shot out from his meridians.
These were the “Shaoshang Sword” and “Shaoze Sword” from the “Six Meridian Divine Sword,” one sword path was powerful and had the momentum of shattering stones and bringing heavy rain; the other came and went unpredictably, with subtle changes. It was a perfect combination of orthodox and unorthodox, incomparably exquisite.
And the other offering continuously pointed with his fingers, which was the “Canhe Finger,” renowned in the martial world alongside Ming Cult’s “Xuantian Finger,” and was indestructible.
Five Celestial Humans attacked simultaneously; even Ji Tianrui back in the day had never received such treatment.
If Li Miao did not have a complete “Vajra” protecting his body, if he missed even one attack, he would instantly be severely wounded!
But, did he really not have “Vajra”?
Beneath the bronze mask, Li Miao let out a light chuckle.
He actually faced the others’ moves without dodging, forming his hands into claws, and suddenly gripped Imperial Bodyguard Zhou’s shoulders!
Imperial Bodyguard Zhou was almost in tears.
“Damn it, you picked me again! Do I have a grudge against you?!”
He cursed inwardly, and with his single arm, he also locked onto Li Miao’s arm.
“Let’s see who dies first!”
He only thought Li Miao was trying to exchange his own life for his first, in a desperate struggle.
Yes, five offerings besieging him. Only by trading injuries for lives would there be a chance to win.
But, it also depends on whether you, the Celestial Human without “Vajra,” die first, or I, the “Vajra” master of body-hardening, die first!
In an instant, a sinister grin appeared on Imperial Bodyguard Zhou’s face.
Then he heard a series of “ding ding ding ding” sounds.
A sharp pain came from his shoulder.
“Hoh!—”
Imperial Bodyguard Zhou’s jaw was shattered by Li Miao, and a cry of pain squeezed out from his throat.
Crash!—
Blood splattered, Li Miao threw away Imperial Bodyguard Zhou’s last arm, then raised his hand and punched him.
“How did you know I don’t have ‘Vajra’?”