The Zhenguo Sword was the only weapon capable of killing Jiang Wuya, a fact Jiang Wuya knew, and he also knew Yan Shouyi was aware of it.
Yet, when the decisive battle arrived, Yan Shouyi had not used the Zhenguo Sword, even claiming, "The Zhenguo Sword is not here." This naturally led the naturally suspicious Jiang Wuya to overthink.
However, Yan Shouyi seemed intent on provoking Jiang Wuya's suspicion. After uttering his cryptic words, he ceased answering Jiang Wuya's questions.
Instead, he unleashed a storm of attacks on Jiang Wuya with the Zulong Sword!
Though the Zulong Sword lacked a sword spirit, it was the foremost sword under heaven, harnessing the true dragon's purple energy. Even if it could not sever Jiang Wuya's karma at this moment, the damage it inflicted was considerable.
Sword energies swept out, forcing Jiang Wuya to defend with his malevolent energy. But the true dragon's purple energy had a natural suppressive effect on malevolent energy. For a time, Jiang Wuya was forced to retreat, resorting to evasion to avoid the brunt of the attacks.
Following Yan Shouyi's intervention, the Xuanmen members gained a moment to breathe.
Uninjured members rushed forward to aid their severely wounded comrades, even searching through piles of corpses for those still clinging to life.
Despite having prepared themselves mentally, the grim reality of the scene far exceeded their imaginations.
"The Zhenguo Sword is not here. Where else could the Zhenguo Sword be?"
At this very moment, Jiang Wuya, while dodging Yan Shouyi's onslaught, pondered countless possibilities in his mind.
Only Yan Shouyi could wield the Zhenguo Sword. In other words, if the Zhenguo Sword was not in Rongcheng, no one else could take it elsewhere, as they were fundamentally incapable of lifting it.
This was a fundamental truth, yet Jiang Wuya harbored lingering doubts. He knew his weaknesses and feared that Yan Shouyi had also discovered them.
"Losing focus during our battle is not a good thing!"
As Jiang Wuya was lost in thought, Yan Shouyi's voice suddenly echoed from behind him.
Jiang Wuya broke into a cold sweat; he had no idea how Yan Shouyi had appeared behind him.
Malevolent energy surged from his body, forming spikes that enveloped him like a hedgehog, instantly piercing the Yan Shouyi behind him.
This would have been a highly effective counterattack, but Jiang Wuya soon realized something was amiss.
The Yan Shouyi whose body had been pierced turned pale, and then his skin, like paper, began to peel away layer by layer.
"Damn it, it's the golden cicada shedding its shell!"
Jiang Wuya's expression shifted dramatically.
As expected, the "Yan Shouyi" quickly transformed into a paper effigy, which ignited spontaneously and turned to dust.
It was then that Jiang Wuya noticed Agong, standing not far behind him. It was this individual who had created the paper effigy, catching him completely off guard.
The true Yan Shouyi had, in fact, been in front of Jiang Wuya all along, but he had been so preoccupied with the effigy that he had completely overlooked the real Yan Shouyi's presence!
By the time Jiang Wuya came to his senses, the true Yan Shouyi had already closed the distance.
He now held a blood-red coffin nail, twelve inches long. Aiming carefully, he fiercely thrust it towards Jiang Wuya's dantian!
This was the Fengmo Nail!
It was the treasure used by the Chihua Society to suppress the reincarnation of Ashura, the demon monk Shi Kui!
Jiang Wuya appeared greatly apprehensive of this and immediately attempted to flee.
However, for a fleeting moment, he felt an invisible force restraining him, like countless hands gripping his body tightly, making his movements agonizingly slow.
Looking down, he saw his shadow bound by innumerable threads, the other ends connected to Ye Tiancheng, the inheritor of shadow puppetry!
"Tiancheng, well done!" Wang Jiwan exclaimed with praise.
However, before half a second passed, the threads binding Jiang Wuya's shadow snapped, and Ye Tiancheng collapsed, spitting blood.
Given Ye Tiancheng's cultivation, restraining Jiang Wuya for half a second was something he could boast about for three years.
But even that brief half-second provided Yan Shouyi with an opportunity.
A Fengmo Nail pierced Jiang Wuya's dantian!
Jiang Wuya let out a scream of agony, and the malevolent energy enveloping his body visibly weakened!
"It worked!"
Everyone showed signs of wild joy. If the Fengmo Nail could weaken Jiang Wuya's strength, then there was a chance to kill him!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Wuya's expression turned grim. Unwilling to be targeted by the Fengmo Nail again, he was about to turn away when Yan Shouyi's voice boomed:
"Amitabha, Still!"
The power of the precepts took effect, causing Jiang Wuya's movements to falter. In that brief pause of less than half a second, Yan Shouyi produced two more Fengmo Nails and drove them into Jiang Wuya's thighs!
Jiang Wuya's malevolent energy was further diminished. He could no longer maintain the wings formed by his malevolent energy and was unable to fly, plummeting straight towards the ground!
On the ground, Luo Ning, who had been waiting, along with her zombie troop, painstakingly refined over this period, immediately surrounded Jiang Wuya!
Vajra Corpse! Blood Corpse! Flying Corpse! Water Corpse! ...
Luo Ning's zombies were like a catalog of the undead; every type of zombie recorded in history could be seen here.
Luo Ning shook her corpse-herding bell, and instantly, all the zombies surged forward, engulfing the falling Jiang Wuya!
The zombies, varying in type, employed different methods of attack. Some choked Jiang Wuya by the neck, others gnawed at his thighs, and some even sought to disembowel him, feasting on his intestines and organs.
However, Jiang Wuya was enveloped in malevolent energy, rendering him impervious to ordinary zombies. They merely tore his clothes into tatters, leaving him looking like a beggar.
"Scram!!"
Jiang Wuya, regaining his composure, unleashed his malevolent energy, sending the surrounding zombies flying back.
Zombies with slightly weaker physical strength were shattered on the spot by the shockwave!
"Heavenly Thunder Connects to Earthly Fire!!"
Before Jiang Wuya could even get up from the ground, a divine rope drew celestial fire. The celestial fire descended along the divine rope, raining down upon Jiang Wuya's head like fiery drops.
The trickster He Xiping had made his move!
This Heavenly Thunder Connects to Earthly Fire also seemed to have a suppressive effect on malevolent energy, burning Jiang Wuya's body ferociously!
Engulfed in flames, Jiang Wuya finally felt a trace of pain. Unable to bear it any longer, he reached out, grabbed the divine rope, and forcefully snapped it!
"Heavenly Thunder Connects to Earthly Fire? I'll let you taste the agony of burning flesh too!"
Jiang Wuya swung the divine rope like a whip at He Xiping, whose face turned ashen.
He was merely mortal; being struck by this whip would surely result in death, and a gruesome one at that!
"Old He, dodge quickly!"
In that critical moment, Wang Jiwan arrived. Wielding two pig-slaughtering knives, he instantly severed the divine rope, saving He Xiping's life.
Following this, Wang Jiwan lunged at Jiang Wuya. His two pig-slaughtering knives danced with such ferocity that they seemed to carve intricate patterns, landing over a dozen blows on Jiang Wuya, each strike aimed at killing!