The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1637 - 831: Divine Descent

"Screee—gaaa—!"

The giant squid "Whirlpool" let out an unprecedented, shrill scream, the roots of its tentacles that were embedded in the stone wall swelling and twisting violently.

Even more hair-raising, the skin of those pillar-thick tentacles suddenly burst open with a series of wet pops, revealing four bloody holes of torn flesh.

From each cavity, a vertical, ghostly green pupil rapidly sprouted.

The four eyeballs whirled madly, flickering with chaos and insanity, sweeping over every living thing within the Turtle Shell Space.

The air filled with a decayed, clammy chill reeking of salty iron and rusted blood—Demonic Qi, and it was this Demonic Qi that had corrupted Whirlpool, forcing it into mutation.

This sort of thing was far from rare.

Every time Li Yan contended with Demonic Qi, the possessed would show similar aberrations.

The nearest merfolk took the first hit!

This creature should be a remnant species from the Ancient Times; in the Qin Han era it was still common—many royal tombs used Mermaid Oil Lamps—only later did it gradually grow scarce.

Who knew how this one had ended up under Chao Shengwan’s command.

His jade-like pupils were instantly flooded by the eerie glow from those vertical eyes, a foolish, rapturous grin spreading across his face as all will to resist vanished.

Rip!

A tentacle easily pierced his tough scaled skin and drilled in through his temple!

"Ugh... khh... khh..."

The merfolk gargled meaningless sounds from his throat, his body convulsing violently.

More horrifying still, the tentacle did not punch clean through, but instead acted like a greedy straw and began to suck frantically!

Everyone could practically "hear" the viscous sound of brain matter being slurped away.

In just a few breaths, the merfolk’s strong body deflated like a punctured bladder, his eye sockets sinking in, skin clinging tight to bone,

until he became a shriveled human-shaped husk that fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Baka! Steady your minds!"

Witchess Yakimaru reacted at once. Her face went deathly pale as she forced back the urge to vomit, her hands flying through seals while she rapidly chanted an ancient, hurried incantation.

This was the "Exorcism Words."

Among Ancient Han folklore, on the Third Day of the Third Month each spring, people held a riverside rite to wash away filth and ill luck, called exorcism.

In Japan’s Shintoism, it takes its name from when Izunoo, returning from meeting Izuna, performed purification at Jujube Field in Hinata.

It is a form of Magic used to wash the body when it is defiled.

Put bluntly, it is a method for lifting curses and dispelling inauspiciousness.

As the Witch chanted the incantation, the dainty Shenle Bell at her waist stirred without wind, chiming in a crisp rhythm that swept away the murky air around them.

"Jingle—!"

The instant the bell tones entered his ears, the haze in Chao Shengwan’s eyes was driven out.

He gave a low growl, bit through the tip of his own tongue, and the sharp pain jolted him fully awake.

Andre also shook his head, his face already twisted with horror.

"Ah!"

The Red-haired Divine Gunman roared like a madman, the strange flintlock long spear in his hands snapping up in an instant as he pulled the trigger again and again without the slightest hesitation.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The gunshots reverberated through the sealed Turtle Shell Space.

Each lead bullet struck true, nailing the ghostly green vertical pupils on the tentacles with uncanny precision.

The eyeballs burst open on impact, splashing foul, inky green slurry.

Andre’s movements flowed like water—reload, aim, fire—seamless and unbroken, fully displaying the bearing of a top-tier Sharpshooter.

Yet to his despair, not only did this fail to drive back the tentacles, it actually provoked the ferocity of the Demonic Qi; several tentacles coiled toward him at once.

As for Chao Shengwan and Yakimaru, they used the chance to cast Escape Techniques and pull away.

Of course, they couldn’t actually leave this place.

Without the giant squid "Whirlpool," the moment they went out they’d die in the ocean trench.

Thump!

By now, Andre had spent his last bullet.

Seeing the tentacles closing in, a hint of peace and grim resolve instead surfaced on his face.

"Let’s... go to Hell together!"

The Red-haired Barbarian suddenly tore open his shirt front, revealing several thick bamboo tubes strapped to his body—each one a specially-made explosive Firearm of terrifying power.

Without a flicker of hesitation he lit the fuses, the hot sparks racing along the cords.

"KABOOM——!!!"

A deafening blast blossomed violently within the Turtle Shell Space.

Wild flames and a brutal shockwave instantly engulfed Whirlpool’s massive head and the entire surrounding area.

Countless eyeball-tentacles turned to ash in the blaze, and Whirlpool let out an earth-shaking death scream, its colossal body blown into a storm of flesh and blood, charred black.

The shockwave of the blast spread in an instant, ripping up the fossilized ground layers.

It was actually a bomb made with new-style gunpowder!

His Gun Skill had been forged on the edge of life and death until it became near-instinctive, far superior to Sha Lifei’s, yet he lacked Sha Lifei’s luck.

He had probably gone through no end of trouble to get that little bit of new gunpowder and couldn’t bear to waste it on ordinary shots, saving it instead as a last-ditch, take-them-with-me trump card.

Had he possessed a truly fine gun, he might actually have had a chance to escape.

At the very instant Andre detonated himself, Li Yan’s pupils also shrank.

Whoosh!

Waterlight flashed around him as his body blurred into the phantom of a darting fish, borrowing the force of the blast to retreat sharply backward.

Though he just barely stayed clear of the core of the explosion, the shock still churned his blood and qi.

Smoke billowed, and chunks of flesh and blood rained down like a storm.

The cold, chaotic Demonic Qi in the air was not dispersed by the blast; instead, stimulated by Whirlpool’s death and all that spilled flesh and blood, it grew even thicker and more viscous.

The Hook Paper in Li Yan’s arms grew hotter and hotter.

Peering through the swirling dust and chaotic Demonic Qi, Li Yan locked his gaze on the mural entrance, face taut with vigilance.

Suddenly, a spark of spiritual light flashed in his mind as he recalled the origin of this Demonic Qi.

Though there was no Yin Bureau mission judgment, the Eternal Immortal Vault did have a record.

Deng Huangtian!

This thing was an Ancient Demon that existed even before Yin Shang.

Its true form resembled a gigantic turtle-ao, with a ferocious single horn on its head and four eyes, roaming the Four Seas and delighting in feeding on human brain marrow.