Chu Liang, a seasoned veteran of the treacherous paths, surprisingly didn't deploy his true form when pursuing the trickster He Xiping. Instead, he sent a paper effigy to take his place.
The paper effigy, kicked over by Yan Shouyi, was quickly reduced to ashes by flames erupting from within. Long Feicheng exclaimed, "Weren't his paper figures fireproof?"
"Not this time," A Gong explained. "He hid oil within the paper effigy, and the fire ignited from the inside out."
"Where is his real body now?" Luo Ning asked, his brow furrowed as he scanned their surroundings warily.
A Gong replied, "Chu Liang cannot keep his paper figures too far from him, so he must be inside this tea house!"
As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy guarantees victory. A Gong's understanding of Chu Liang significantly lessened the group's pressure.
They formed a defensive circle, their backs to each other, entrusting their safety to their companions, while keenly searching for Chu Liang's presence.
Suddenly, He Xiping's expression drastically changed as a thought struck him: "Hasn't Shanshan left the tea house yet?"
Yan Shouyi's heart sank. Zhao Yiyao had taken Huang Yishan to the second floor, meaning Chu Liang would undoubtedly go there to cause trouble for them!
In a flash, Yan Shouyi leaped without hesitation, not even pausing to warn the others, and shot up to the second floor.
Concurrently, a scream from Huang Yishan echoed from the second floor!
"Shanshan!" He Xiping cried out in distress and hurried up the stairs to the second floor.
Climbing stairs was slower, however. Yan Shouyi had already vaulted over the railing and was rushing towards Huang Yishan!
On the second floor, in a corner, Chu Liang had cornered Zhao Yiyao and Huang Yishan. He held a long sword, poised to strike Huang Yishan!
Zhao Yiyao gritted her teeth, shielding Huang Yishan behind her, intending to take Chu Liang's blow with her own back!
"You seek death!" Chu Liang sneered, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, not bothered by killing an extra person.
However, just as Chu Liang's sword was about to land on Zhao Yiyao, an arm suddenly appeared, forcefully blocking the fatal strike for her!
"Get out of the way quickly!" Yan Shouyi gritted out, enduring the pain.
Zhao Yiyao turned and, in that instant, saw the long sword in Chu Liang's hand. Half of the blade was already embedded in Yan Shouyi's arm. The sight was shocking, and the pain must have been immense.
"What are you waiting for, get out of the way!" Yan Shouyi urged again.
Only then did Zhao Yiyao react, quickly grabbing Huang Yishan and fleeing.
Chu Liang let out a cold laugh and forcefully pulled out his long sword, swinging it at Yan Shouyi a second time with even greater force. If this strike had landed, it would have likely severed Yan Shouyi's arm!
However, Chu Liang's plan went awry. This time, Yan Shouyi used his left hand to block. With a clang, the second strike did not harm Yan Shouyi in the slightest!
"There's something in your sleeve?!" Chu Liang realized instantly.
Yan Shouyi deflected Chu Liang's sword, raised his left sleeve, and aimed at Chu Liang's head, activating a miniature flying tiger claw!
The flying tiger claw packed a powerful punch. Once activated, its claws could shoot out over thirty meters. At such close range, it struck Chu Liang's face with terrifying force!
The steel claws instantly tore away half of Chu Liang's face!
Yan Shouyi seized the opportunity, snatched Chu Liang's long sword, and thrust it into Chu Liang's heart!
It was only then that He Xiping arrived. Although he saw Yan Shouyi pierce Chu Liang's heart, he didn't let his guard down. He immediately drew two triangular daggers from his voluminous costume and fiercely struck Chu Liang's back several times.
"This time he should be truly dead!" He Xiping thought.
However, they soon noticed something was wrong. The Chu Liang before them, identical to the previous one, showed no blood flow and let out no cry of pain despite such severe injuries!
This was still a substitute!
"Damn it!"
Yan Shouyi pulled out his long sword, tossed it aside, and kicked the fake Chu Liang off the second floor.
He warned everyone, "The Chu Liang upstairs is also fake, everyone be careful! Zhao Yiyao, don't be careless anymore!"
Having learned from their previous mistake, Zhao Yiyao ensured Huang Sipi stayed close to Huang Yishan. The sudden appearance of Chu Liang had thrown her into disarray, nearly costing her life.
Yan Shouyi's act of blocking the sword for her was deeply etched in her mind.
Yan Shouyi shifted his gaze from Zhao Yiyao, his wariness towards her gradually easing. Although she was from the Zhao family and had previously tried to assassinate him, and only reluctantly stayed, her action of shielding Huang Yishan with her own body proved she wasn't an enemy and was worthy of his trust.
Indeed, it's in times of hardship that true bonds are forged. Yan Shouyi finally felt at ease with Zhao Yiyao. Otherwise, even if she had stayed by his side for three years, he would have only seen her as a hostage to control the Zhao family, never truly accepting her.
He Xiping also had a change of heart.
Zhao Yiyao blocking the sword for Huang Yishan, and Yan Shouyi blocking the sword for both Huang Yishan and Zhao Yiyao – this scene did not escape the trickster He Xiping's eyes.
Previously, He Xiping had only considered Yan Shouyi an ally. Witnessing Yan Shouyi's willingness to block a sword for a stranger gave He Xiping ample reason to believe Yan Shouyi was someone worth befriending.
"Is your hand alright?" He Xiping asked.
Yan Shouyi tore a strip of cloth from his clothes and wrapped it around his arm. "I am a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet. This kind of injury is nothing to me; I'll recover soon."
He Xiping felt a slight sense of relief, but he knew that while the wounds could heal, the pain was unavoidable.
He was still immensely grateful for Yan Shouyi's earlier act of shielding Huang Yishan.
Facing Chu Liang, Yan Shouyi did not dare to underestimate him. After their brief exchange, it was clear that the real battle was yet to come.
Thus, Yan Shouyi shouted down to the floor below:
"Xiao Long, give me the item!"
"Got it!"
Long Feicheng bent down, pulled a wooden box from under the table, and took out the true form of the Zanpakuto, wrapped in cloth strips.
"Catch!"
Yan Shouyi snatched the Zanpakuto.
Even with the suppression of the Buddhist Six-Syllable Mantra, a significant amount of malevolent energy leaked from the Zanpakuto, all of it seeping into Yan Shouyi's body.
Fortunately, Yan Shouyi had grown stronger, and this bit of malevolent energy was not enough to consume his sanity.
He shivered, and his gaze sharpened.
Grasping the railing on the second floor, he shouted, "Let's be upfront, Chu Liang. We are here today to kill you. No matter where you hide, you cannot escape this tea house. It's better if you reveal yourself sooner. Whether we live or die, let's have a proper fight!!"
His voice echoed through the tea house.
Soon after, soft applause echoed within the tea house.
"Clap... clap... clap..."
Chu Liang's voice emanated from all directions: "I never expected it. I came to set a trap for the trickster, but instead, I walked into the trap you laid for me! Interesting, very interesting!"
Yan Shouyi frowned. He realized that Chu Liang's voice sounded ethereal not due to echoes in the tea house, but because –
Chu Liang was indeed present in all directions!!!
Long Feicheng looked around and couldn't help but quip, "My goodness... shadow clone jutsu? Is this Chu Liang perhaps named Uzumaki?"
The tea house was designed in a '回' (huí) shape. Long Feicheng and his group were on the first floor in the center, Yan Shouyi and He Xiping on the second. On the third floor, seven Chu Liangs appeared!
A total of seven Chu Liangs, all identical in every aspect – their gaze, their complexion, their movements – showing no discernible differences.
They appeared as if reflected in mirrors, leaning against the railing on the third floor, seemingly unfazed by Yan Shouyi and the others!
"They're all paper figures..." A Gong reminded everyone. "But the real Chu Liang should be hidden among them."
"But which one is the real Chu Liang?" Luo Ning felt his mind turning into a complete muddle.
"A Gong, you also work with paper figures. You should know how to break this move of Chu Liang's," Wang Jiwang asked.
A Gong shook his head. "Chu Liang is very skilled. The paper effigies he personally crafted are almost identical to real people, showing no flaws."
"Then it's unsolvable?" Long Feicheng swallowed nervously and asked, "Is it too late for us to retreat now?"
Wang Jiwang replied, "If you want to leave, leave. I won't be a deserter. Today, I will kill Chu Liang!!"
Long Feicheng cleared his throat twice. "Brother Wang, you're new and don't know me. I just like to talk big and boast. I, Long Feicheng, am the most loyal and righteous person. Even if you try to drive me away, I won't leave! But I just feel... this Chu Liang is too bizarre. If we engage him blindly, we're the ones who will suffer!"
Seeing Long Feicheng finally start to "think," Yan Shouyi felt a surge of relief.
At this moment, A Gong said, "It's not entirely without flaws. This Chu Liang..."
Before A Gong could finish, all seven Chu Liangs on the third floor suddenly vanished.
A Gong's explanation also abruptly stopped. The next second, four Chu Liangs emerged from the shadows on the first floor!
A Gong immediately threw out several small paper figures, chanted a spell, and the paper figures sprang to life, beginning to block the attacks of the four Chu Liangs.
However, Chu Liang's paper clone technique was clearly far superior to the paper figures A Gong had hastily deployed. Thus, A Gong's paper figures only managed to slow Chu Liang's advance. After a brief pause, the four Chu Liangs reached them!
"Get back!"
Wang Jiwang held two cleavers. With a dual horizontal slash, he unleashed two streaks of blade energy!
The paper clones quickly dodged. The blade energy spread outwards, leaving deep gouges in the wooden pillars of the tea house. Two more strikes, and these pillars would undoubtedly snap!
Luo Ning also regained his composure, taking out a small bell used for corpse manipulation. After shaking it a few times, he stomped on Long Feicheng's shoulder and leaped high, almost sending Long Feicheng crashing to the ground.
Before Long Feicheng could retort, Luo Ning descended from the sky and shattered the marble floor with a single punch!
Then, several highly decomposed zombies crawled out from the broken floor!
"You buried these zombies here beforehand?!" Long Feicheng exclaimed in shock.
Luo Ning shot him a sidelong glance. "Obviously, these corpses were already beneath the tea house. I merely used the corpse manipulation technique to awaken them and have them break through the earth!"
With the assistance of the zombies, the situation stabilized considerably. Everyone displayed their unique skills, easily withstanding Chu Liang's first wave of sneak attacks.
The remaining three paper clone counterparts also engaged Yan Shouyi, He Xiping, and Zhao Yiyao, respectively.
Zhao Yiyao did not need to act herself; Huang Sipi was handling the paper clone, allowing her to focus entirely on protecting Huang Yishan, so she faced no pressure for the time being.
However, He Xiping found himself in a rather passive situation.
He Xiping was merely a trickster. Most of his skills were for misleading enemies or disguising himself. In direct combat, he was far inferior to Yan Shouyi and the others.
Therefore, He Xiping could only fight while retreating, being suppressed by Chu Liang's clone.
Facing the "Chu Liang" before him, Yan Shouyi was unsure if this was Chu Liang's true form, but the aura exuded by his opponent recreated the overwhelming power Chu Liang had displayed a month ago when he pursued them by West Lake.
At that time, if not for Zou Xia Zi's intervention, Yan Shouyi would have been completely unable to contend with Chu Liang.
But this time was different.
This time, Chu Liang was alone, having divided his strength into seven portions.
This time, Yan Shouyi had brought ample manpower and had also learned new skills from San Long and La Li Tou.
There was still a chance to fight!!
"Chu Liang, prepare to die!"
Yan Shouyi let out a low roar, removing the cloth strips from the Zanpakuto's blade.
"I am the Great Unity Lord of the cave, wearing the Seven Stars, treading the Four Spirits.
My hand holds the Dragon Blade, standing tall, patrolling Xun, traversing Li, until Kun.
Passing through Dui's gate, roaming to Qian-Hai, gazing at the Heavenly Gate to visit the Emperor.
Crossing the summit of Kanzi Hengshan, descending directly to the Gen Palace to seal the ghost gate.
Those who defy my Dao,
I will drive them under my sword to turn into dust.
Hasten, as per the decree!!!"
The Zanpakuto ignited with the Eight Trigram Fire of Li. Yan Shouyi unleashed his ultimate move from the outset, aiming to dispatch this Chu Liang as quickly as possible!
Once he killed him, he could go help the others!
This time, Chu Liang was also armed with two long swords, one held forward, the other reversed.
As Yan Shouyi attacked, Chu Liang confidently met him. In just a few breaths, their blades had clashed dozens of times!
"In my eyes, you are nothing but immature brats. In terms of strength, experience, and vision, you are no match for me," Chu Liang mocked Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi let out a cold snort:
"Perhaps you are right, but we have our advantages."
"Oh? What advantages do you have?"
"We are young, and you are old!"
Yan Shouyi roared, increasing his sword speed once more. Chu Liang felt a trace of pressure and was inwardly surprised.
The last time he saw this kid, he was utterly defenseless, being chased relentlessly.
But this time, the impression was entirely different!
How could he have grown so rapidly?!
While dealing with the Chu Liang before him, Wang Jiwang simultaneously observed the other battles.
He discovered that among the seven Chu Liangs, the one facing Yan Shouyi was the strongest, while the one facing Long Feicheng was the weakest!
These seven Chu Liangs were not entirely identical; there was a difference in their strength!
Otherwise, given Long Feicheng's abilities, he should have been defeated by Chu Liang long ago, not holding on until now!