Chapter 118: Phantasm of the Dharma Image

Jiang Nansheng’s speed was astonishingly fast, and the white bone “Yin” fire on his body was relentless and unpredictable. Before weakening his strength to a certain degree, Hu San was not prepared to engage him in close combat.

But at that moment, Jiang Nansheng suddenly moved—not toward Hu San’s position, but in the direction of the three Black Giant Spirits.

In the blink of an eye, the terrifying, grim skeleton shifted from Hu San’s side to the other side.

The three Black Giant Spirits hadn’t even managed to activate their Three Talents formation before Jiang Nansheng directly burst in. Chu Qian, the gatekeeper of Chushan, was instantly crushed by his bone-clawed hand engulfed in white bone “Yin” fire.

The Bald Old Man was tightly wrapped in black chains; with just a slight shake from Jiang Nansheng, this veteran giant of the martial world was reduced to ashes.

Among the three, only one Black Giant Spirit sensed the danger and escaped, but he was still covered in a large mass of white bone “Yin” fire. The excruciating pain overwhelmed him, making him forget his surroundings as he rushed to the edge of the arena and fell into the abyss below.

In an instant, like a rabbit’s leap or a hawk’s dive, the three super experts met untimely deaths. Even though Hu San had anticipated some of this, witnessing it firsthand chilled his heart.

The power of this white bone war slave far exceeded his imagination.

Hu San began to draw the Nine Bull Bow to its fullest, shooting arrow after arrow filled with Qingmu’s fierce energy at Jiang Nansheng, but the effect was minimal.

After the upgrade, the white bone “Yin” fire on Jiang Nansheng’s body had immense power. Originally unable to counter Qingmu’s energy, it now completely nullified it.

Without the support of Qingmu’s energy, Hu San’s iron arrows carried only the brute force of the Nine Bull Bow. Perhaps effective against other beings, but against a skeleton body enhanced multiple times, their effect was negligible.

Jiang Nansheng’s movement was incredibly swift—truly ghost-like. The black iron chains he wielded seemed not random but followed a certain trajectory, resembling martial arts techniques.

Facing Jiang Nansheng’s attacks, Hu San could only maximize the heightened spiritual perception brought by his Shuiyun Technique. Relying on intuition to dodge, he knew that waiting to fully see the attack before reacting would be too late.

With a swift foot shuffle, Hu San executed the Fish Step, while Jiang Nansheng’s black iron chains howled past him. The suddenly rising white bone “Yin” fire lightly scorched Hu San’s Water Light Shield and Spirit Water Talismans, producing crisp crackling sounds as if the talismans might shatter at any moment.

With bow and arrow horizontally poised mid-air, Hu San fired three consecutive meteor arrows without looking back. His ordinary iron arrows were already exhausted, and those had little effect on Jiang Nansheng, so using meteor arrows became essential.

The two were so close they nearly brushed shoulders, so despite using meteor arrows, Hu San’s aim was precise. One arrow struck the back of Jiang Nansheng’s head, another targeted his spine, and the last aimed at his heel.

Hu San noticed that although Jiang Nansheng’s bone armor covered him extensively, some areas remained exposed—the heel being the most vulnerable.

Though the white bone “Yin” fire on Jiang Nansheng’s body neutralized Qingmu energy and affected the meteor arrows, meteor arrows were made of a special material that the fire couldn’t corrode quickly. Thus, all three arrows fully penetrated Jiang Nansheng’s body, causing him to stagger violently. Even the parts covered by bone armor were struck with such force that the armor flew off, revealing the jade-colored bone beneath.

By the time Jiang Nansheng regained control of his posture, Hu San had already created distance and resumed a barrage of arrows.

Although this assault didn’t pose a great threat, the sheer quantity was overwhelming. Hu San now possessed not only a hundred meteor arrows but also a hundred armor-piercing arrows and a hundred tracking arrows. Though three hundred arrows may seem few, each was a high-quality arrow far superior to standard iron arrows, with power rivaling the value of gold by weight.

Gradually, Jiang Nansheng’s wounds deepened, and his white bone “Yin” fire waned from its former exuberance. Even his black chains had snapped completely.

Of course, this wasn’t the arrows’ doing but the mysterious black sword in Hu San’s hand!

At this point, Hu San could no longer hesitate and had to wield the black sword or else he stood no chance of victory.

However, Hu San knew little about the black sword’s true power. He could only swing it like a regular blade, unable to unleash its mystical abilities. Thus, he treated it as an exceptionally sturdy weapon—good for blocking chains but a poor choice for killing enemies.

Honestly, in actual combat, the black sword’s fighting power was nowhere near that of the Ice Shuttle Sword.

After a fierce battle, Jiang Nansheng’s heels were gradually shattered under Hu San’s arrow barrage, reducing his movement speed by more than half and giving Hu San a brief respite.

Hu San’s supply of long arrows was nearly depleted, with only three left lying at the edge of the arena, seemingly incapable of much more.

At this moment, the real battle began.

Holding the black sword, Hu San put away the Nine Bull Bow and faced Jiang Nansheng head-on without dodging as before. He lightly leapt, casting the Shuiyun Technique on himself before unleashing the first stance of the Ten Deadly Strikes—“No Enemy, No Self”—using the black sword as a blade.

Previously, indirect combat hadn’t revealed much, but now, in direct confrontation with the skeleton, Hu San immediately felt its formidable strength.

With the power of the black sword, his terrifying strength equivalent to sixteen men, and his Qingmu Jing at the eighth realm, he could cut through cast iron with a single strike. Yet, when he struck Jiang Nansheng’s bone armor, it only left a white mark and was forcefully repelled.

If not for the skeleton’s low intelligence, unable to see through the illusions created by the Ten Deadly Strikes, Hu San would have been severely injured by the chains.

Still, those chains proved stronger than any martial arts technique, sweeping away the dense illusions Hu San conjured with the “No Enemy, No Self” move. Were it not for Hu San’s swift Fish Step, he himself might have been struck.

Though Jiang Nansheng’s skeletal form appeared small, his immense strength rivaled Hu San’s. After prolonged combat, Hu San realized that in a direct clash, he stood no chance.

Fortunately, the skeleton was nearly exhausted, and its heels were broken. Otherwise, Hu San doubted he could survive even twenty moves. Yet, even now, if the fight dragged on, Hu San was doomed to lose.

Though he did not know the source of Jiang Nansheng’s power, it seemed barely affected by the prolonged battle. Meanwhile, Hu San had lost over thirty percent of his vital energy.

Worse still, Hu San had no idea when Shen Fang and the Old Man in White would finish their own matters. If he couldn’t defeat Jiang Nansheng or find a way out before then, death in this place was inevitable.

“Enough!” With a fierce clash, Hu San finally managed to knock the iron chain from Jiang Nansheng’s hand, despite being clawed in the process, and began a frantic retreat.

The skeleton’s lack of a wielder became apparent—it did not attempt to retrieve its chains but instead relentlessly pursued Hu San.

Within moments, the two dashed from one side of the arena to the other.

Seeing Jiang Nansheng’s figure lunging forward, Hu San ignored his nearly useless left arm and swiftly struck several stones around him, instantly activating the Shuiyun Technique.

As Jiang Nansheng’s claw came within a fingertip’s distance of Hu San’s face, a black wind suddenly rose, penetrating that tiny gap. The wind twisted upward, making the fingertip’s distance seem as vast as the horizon.

“Heh heh, you lose!” Hu San smiled faintly, releasing a breath of relief. With a muttered incantation, Jiang Nansheng vanished before him, while the surrounding scene changed drastically.

In a void, Jiang Nansheng spun wildly like an ant on a hot pan, roaring and struggling but utterly trapped with no way out.

This was the Black Wind Formation—Hu San’s first time wielding a true immortal cultivation array. The stones he threw earlier were the only ten water-element low-grade spirit stones he possessed.

Hu San now stood at the arena’s edge. Not far ahead in midair, a black vortex of raging wind slowly rotated, with Jiang Nansheng reduced to a tiny speck trapped at its center.

“So this is what it looks like to be caught in the Black Wind Formation. To attack the opponent, one must manifest inside the formation,” Hu San mused, stroking his chin. After tending briefly to his left arm’s injury, he stepped into the formation, activating its first mystical power: the Apparition Form!

In the void, Hu San felt his body entirely composed of black wind, huge and powerful. Clenching his fist, a slight smile crept across his face.

This Apparition Form boosted his strength by over thirty percent. Here, Hu San felt his power nearing the terrifying equivalent of twenty men. His vital energy seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap, far stronger than before, though this increase was minimal compared to the strength surge.

With a thought, Hu San’s Apparition Form charged at Jiang Nansheng and, relying solely on brute force, delivered a punch that sent the once impenetrable Jiang Nansheng flying through the air.