The Programmer Cultivator

Yin Yang Chess Dao: Dark Pawn!

At that moment, a Yin Yang Fish-shaped chess piece in his Dantian began to slowly rotate, instantly releasing the vitality it had stored for a year.

Without a technique like the Blood-Sucking Vine to replenish it from an external source, he had only managed to save a little each day over the course of the year without damaging his foundation, so the total amount wasn’t very large.

However, after that burst of healing, he was at least no longer critically injured. Tong Hou didn’t hesitate, activating an Escape Skill and vanishing with a flicker.

Nangong Cheng, who had been waiting for this moment, saw his chance and unhesitatingly activated his technique. A storm of petals, like a rain of swords, shot toward the two men who had been blasted apart, completely submerging Uncle Fu and Lu Yongsheng.

’Ever since I teamed up with Zhang Deming and his group, my luck seems to have turned around,’ Nangong Cheng thought. ’In every battle, I’ve had the time to lock onto my targets and unleash my full power.’

’In the last two fights, I’ve been one of the biggest contributors, but I’ve received the least amount of attention.’

’It’s a little strange, but a team like this isn’t bad at all! For me, at least, this is an excellent situation.’

And so, as he channeled his full power into his locked-on target, the rain of petals continued for a long while before finally subsiding.

When the dust settled, a shattered golden bell was revealed. Beside it, Lu Yongsheng was panting heavily.

Meanwhile, Uncle Fu, who had also been blasted away, was already critically injured and had lost his mind. He hadn’t had time to defend himself when he was hit, and was now nothing but a pile of gore and mangled flesh.

For someone at the Duality level, it would have been a miracle to survive something like that in his condition.

Staring at the gory mess, both Nangong Cheng and Tong Hou breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they were only facing a single Martial Artist, their chances of victory had increased significantly.

The moment Lu Yongsheng saw the pile of flesh, his eyes turned bloodshot. He whipped his head around to face Nangong Cheng and snarled, ”You’re dead!”

”We have no quarrel with you,” Nangong Cheng said, looking at Lu Yongsheng. ”If you hadn’t charged us with the intent to fight to the death, it never would have come to this.”

Lu Yongsheng ignored Nangong Cheng. Consumed by rage, his True Essence flared as he prepared to charge forward and fight to the death. But just then, he froze. Feng Mingyou, who had vanished earlier, suddenly reappeared, drawing the attention of all three men.

Before Tong Hou or Nangong Cheng could ask what was happening, two figures emerged from the distant woods, rapidly approaching them.

”Senior Brother Summoning Spirit and his companion are here!” Feng Mingyou quickly announced.

The tension on Nangong Cheng and Tong Hou’s faces eased. Although they seemed to have the upper hand, the previous battle had drained more than half of their energy.

And that was just from the fight with what amounted to the target-practice Human Ape Elder. ’If we really have to fight to the bitter end against an intelligent opponent like Lu Yongsheng,’ they thought, ’the outcome is far from certain.’

Even if they did win, it was clear it wouldn’t be a clean victory. With no great prize at stake, neither of them wanted to risk their lives in a desperate struggle.

The rapid approach of Zhang Deming and his companion seemed to sober Lu Yongsheng slightly. He shot a hateful glare at Nangong Cheng and Tong Hou, and with a final surge of True Essence, turned and vanished into the dense forest.

”Should we go after him?” Tong Hou asked, frowning.

Nangong Cheng shook his head. ”Forget it. Your technique was just broken and you’re suffering from the backlash. We wouldn’t be able to stop him anyway.

”Besides, this whole situation is too bizarre. I’ve never even heard of a mortal with this kind of strength, let alone seen one.

”We’ve just arrived and know nothing about this area, whereas he has clearly been living here for some time. Chasing after him under these circumstances would be a foolish choice.”

Tong Hou said nothing more. The three of them turned to watch the rapidly approaching figures.

As the two figures grew clearer, the three men stared in astonishment. A pair of large, magnificent wings beat gently behind Zhang Deming, carrying him toward them.

Beside him was Li Shifan, hands clasped behind his back, standing calmly atop a Flying Sword.

Zhang Deming’s appearance wasn’t too surprising. After all, he was a Duality Cultivator. For someone like him to know a Law-Level Flying Technique was a sign of genius, but it wasn’t unheard of.

Li Shifan’s display, however, was a shock. He certainly didn’t look like someone who was struggling to fly with a Tier Three Sword Control Technique.

’To fly so effortlessly... no, so ostentatiously... that had to be a Tier Four Magic-Level Sword Control Skill,’ they wondered. ’Does that mean this Painted Sword is also at the Duality level?’

’No, that can’t be right. Before, although Summoning Spirit and Speaking Lotus seemed to be hiding their strength, they weren’t trying very hard. They only lowered their cultivation auras because of the Alliance mission, to make it easier to interact with us.’

’During the fights, everyone used their full strength; no one held back. But this Painted Sword hadn’t shown any signs of Duality-level cultivation in the previous battle.’

’How did he become a Duality-level Sword Cultivator in the blink of an eye?’

’Could they have stumbled upon some heaven-defying opportunity back at that other location?’

The three men only snapped out of it when Zhang Deming and Li Shifan landed gently before them. Nangong Cheng reined in his racing thoughts.

”What happened here?” Zhang Deming asked as he landed. He glanced around, the signs of a recent battle were impossible to miss.

The three men exchanged a look, and Tong Hou began to explain, ”We had just arrived when we noticed a disturbance. We came to investigate, but we never expected...”