"Mu Liang, don't charge!"
Zhou Zhengde's shout suddenly stopped.
Wang Jixuan, who was carrying the car door and rushing forward, was hit and sent flying.
Both the Diamond Talisman and the Hemostatic Talisman activated at the same time. Wang Jixuan reacted quickly, and as he hit the ground, he pushed off hard, rolling into the ditch on the other side of the main road, close to the sniper's position, using the terrain to protect himself.
Bang!
A sniper bullet struck the ground just half an inch from Wang Jixuan's right foot.
Wang Jixuan quickly formed a sword finger with his right hand and pressed it against the wound on his left shoulder.
Even with the protection of the Diamond Talisman and the car door reducing the impact, the bullet still pierced through his shoulder, tearing away a chunk of flesh from behind.
The Hemostatic Talisman was indeed effective.
A sharp pain shot through him.
He gritted his teeth, trying to curl up in the stinky mud, glaring at the car door on the other side of the ditch, which had been shot through.
How could something that looked so heavy be so easily damaged?
Wang Jixuan looked toward Zhou Zhengde's hiding spot.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out, and a new hole appeared in the fuel tank of the car Zhou Zhengde was leaning against.
It was almost completely ruined.
In the distance, the sniper was quickly changing magazines.
"Mu Liang!"
Zhou Zhengde shouted loudly:
"Don't move! You can't outrun his reaction time! If they have such a sniper rifle, they definitely have night vision goggles and thermal imaging! Just hide there! Wait for the Silver Party to come to support!"
Wang Jixuan didn’t respond. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to cope with the intense pain in his body and the tremor in his heart.
'I miscalculated.'
Although it was because he didn't know much about the materials of these things, at this moment, he had already lost the chance to get close and deal with the enemy.
After all, this body of his had just entered the Qi Refining stage.
The Black Fire Gang didn’t give him more time to cultivate.
The sound of the sniper rifle fired again, still targeting the car's fuel tank.
Zhou Zhengde and the few Silver Party members had entered a countdown to death.
If they left the cover of the car, they would be shot; if they stayed close to the car, the fuel tank would eventually be blown up by the enemy.
An almost unsolvable deadlock.
'What else can I do? This clever weapon is extremely powerful. If I had a body in the Dan Formation stage, I might be able to withstand it, but I can't compete with it now.'
'In the end, it's a lack of cultivation time.'
'Is this second life going to end here…'
Wang Jixuan felt a strange sense of helplessness. He ignored the pain in his body, but his heart was filled with images.
Those were the demons he hadn’t dared to think about in the past twenty days, stirred up by this moment of helplessness.
His heavenly tribulation;
His failed heavenly tribulation.
...
"Mu Liang! Don't move!"
Zhou Zhengde's loud shout reached Lan Yuzai in the bathroom of the hotel suite.
Lan Yuzai froze for a moment, not knowing where he found the strength and motivation. He covered his injured face and shakily stood up, walking to the window to look outside.
The sound of the sniper rifle startled him, and he vaguely saw weak gunfire in the darkness across the street.
What was happening?
Did the boss go to save someone and get into trouble?
Lan Yuzai's throat tightened. He turned to run but stopped after just a couple of steps, raising his hand to touch the paper talisman on his face. Wang Jixuan's gaze flashed in front of him.
Damn!
He finally got a powerful big brother!
Suddenly, shouts from the Silver Party members outside rang out: "Does anyone have flares over there? Illuminate the sniper's position!"
A voice echoed from a distance:
"Who the hell prepares this stuff at home!"
Lan Yuzai thought of something, his bulging eyes almost popping out. His breathing became erratic as he searched for something in the dark room.
A flashlight!
They bought a few powerful flashlights before coming down!
These things could only be used at maximum power for a few minutes, but if used in long-range mode, they could illuminate far away, and they had a strobe function that could light up a large area in front.
Lan Yuzai trembled as he dug out two unused flashlights, turned one on while covering the light, grabbed the other two that they had used when they came down, and tied all four flashlights together with a nylon rope from his belt, clumsily adjusting their direction so that all the buttons faced outward.
Then, Lan Yuzai crouched by the window, hiding behind the wall, his breathing becoming shaky.
He thought he must be crazy!
At first, he wanted to trick Mu Liang into going to the forty-ninth floor;
Then he inexplicably abandoned that idea, thinking if he could learn the skill of snapping his fingers, he could kill everyone on the thirteenth floor without using a gun;
Now, he actually had to help this big guy deal with the Black Fire Gang!
If the Black Fire Gang found out about this… as long as he didn’t show his face, it would be fine, right? Just take a shot! What could happen if he just took a shot!
"I'm going crazy! Crazy!"
He gritted his teeth and cursed, leaning closer to the window with his left eye to observe, and saw that weak gunfire again.
The four flashlights he had turned on were lifted by Lan Yuzai's left hand, pointing directly at the area where the gunfire was!
He shouted in a hoarse voice: "There! He’s over there! I lit it up!"
Bang!
The light was suddenly interrupted!
In the street, Zhou Zhengde, who had just stood up, had no time to aim and immediately crouched back down.
In the room, Lan Yuzai lay on the ground, his left arm severed at the elbow;
Blood sprayed against the wall.
The flashlights he had tied together were still gripped in his left hand, but his left hand was two meters away.
Half of his left forearm had been blown off, and one flashlight had been damaged from the violent impact.
Lan Yuzai let out a terrible scream, the pain and fear mixing together, causing his body to twist as he cried out like a madman.
"Ah! My arm! Boss! Boss, my arm is gone! Ah—help me!"
On the street, Zhou Zhengde tightly closed his eyes, blood pouring from his abdomen.
Outside the ditch, Wang Jixuan lay in a pool of blood, staring blankly at a rock wall only a few dozen meters high.
Lan Yuzai's cries echoed in the darkness.
Wang Jixuan's eyelids twitched slightly, and he suddenly shivered, forcing himself to recite a calming chant to try to dispel the demons in his heart.
He had to do something.
He absolutely could not just wait and die!
"Supreme Star of the Great Dao, respond without pause. Wisdom clear, heart and mind at peace."
In the purple-black lightning, the proud cultivator stood covered in blood, his broken sword hanging limply...
"Supreme Star of the Great Dao, respond without pause. Wisdom clear, heart and mind at peace."
The endless darkness surged in, and the pain of his body being struck by the heavenly tribulation lingered, his fragmented soul drifting aimlessly in the dark...
"Supreme Star of the Great Dao, respond without pause! Wisdom clear, heart and mind at peace!"
'Jixuan...'
The sect leader?
The sect leader's master?
...
'Jixuan, I don't think you're ready to face the heavenly tribulation.'
'Master, I have reached the Great Perfection of the Dao, how can I not face the heavenly tribulation?'
'Because you are not you... or rather, you do not know who you are. Jixuan, you are a perfect cultivator, but not a complete being. You have been in seclusion in the mountains for so long, only stepping out of the sect twice.
You enjoy hearing your fellow disciples praise and marvel at you, you only like to do things within your control. Your cultivation has been too smooth; you have never experienced what it means to fail, what limits are, or what hardship is. Yet, the power of the heavenly tribulation is based on the limits of the cultivator.
It requires you to break through your own limits; it is the most uncontrollable thing for a practitioner. You think you are ready, but you are not truly prepared.'
'Master, I will carefully allocate every bit of spiritual energy.'
'That is just technique. What I am talking about is here.'
'The heart of the Dao? I believe my heart of the Dao is strong enough.'
'Have you thought about what you would do if you were an ordinary person?'
'I have not thought about it. I am solely focused on the Dao, with no other wishes! I am willing to face the tribulation with my body! Even if I die, I have no regrets!'
'Jixuan... you are the smartest and most talented disciple I have ever seen. However, my Dao realm is no longer as good as yours, and I cannot guide you in your cultivation. But if you trust me as your sect leader, seal your cultivation and experience the mortal world, just ten years will be enough!'
'One burst of energy leads to decline. I fear that my heart for the Dao will be damaged, and then I will begin to fear. Master, I will prepare; there is no need for the sect to do anything for me. Thank you for your good intentions, Master.'
'Jixuan! Jixuan! The world is hard to grasp; only by stabilizing oneself can one succeed! Immortals, to be an immortal, one must first be a person. You have suppressed your true nature for the sake of cultivation. You are now just a cultivator, just a cultivator! You are really not prepared, Jixuan... sigh, I hope you can break through your limits and ascend, becoming an immortal.'
...
Wang Jixuan tightly closed his eyes, the images in his heart quickly fading away.
His lips trembled slightly, revealing a bitter smile.
The sect leader was right.
For the sake of cultivation, he had even forgotten who he was. He hadn’t shown up when his parents passed away, failing as a son, and he hadn’t learned how to be a person.
The world is hard to grasp; only by stabilizing oneself can one succeed.
The world is hard to grasp; only by stabilizing oneself can one succeed!
Wang Jixuan's pupils seemed to burst into flames. He slammed his right hand into the muddy ground and flipped himself up!
The talismans on his body were almost burning, and a pale red flame appeared on his forehead!
The Demon Luo Heaven Destruction Technique!
Wang Jixuan dashed forward, suddenly accelerating, moving so fast that he almost left behind flickering afterimages.
Whoosh—
A bullet whizzed past right in front of him.
The flames in Wang Jixuan's eyes flickered rapidly, and the bones, muscles, and organs in his body were pushed to their limits in an instant.
Not fast enough!
Still not fast enough!
Wang Jixuan charged forward, dodging and weaving, his movements becoming increasingly swift. The low building he once saw as cover was now left far behind!
Bang!
Wang Jixuan actually dodged to the left in advance!
Once again, he narrowly avoided the bullet!
On the other side, Zhou Zhengde, who was thinking of a countermeasure, suddenly heard someone shout beside him:
"He charged through!"
Zhou Zhengde looked up at the third floor, where a bright light source was shaking, the same light from earlier!
That was it!
"Lan Yuzai! Light! Can you give me light!"
"Ah—"
Lan Yuzai had climbed back to the window, and the weak light covering the severed part of his left arm suddenly shattered!
The Hemostatic Talisman's energy was exhausted!
The pain was magnified dozens of times!
"I'm going to be awesome!"
He gritted his teeth and roared, lying there, raising the tied flashlights high with his right hand, shaking them wildly toward the front!
On the main road below!
Zhou Zhengde held his breath, letting the wound in his abdomen deepen and tear, standing up, aiming his gun, steadying his aim at the fleeting low roof, narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips!
On the roof 263 meters away.
The sniper, calm to the point of being emotionless, instinctively aimed at the hotel’s third-floor window and pulled the trigger accurately.
Bang!
Ding!
A blood flower exploded in the Night Eagle's eight-fold night vision scope, shattering the erratic light source.
A faint crack appeared on the bulletproof glass in front of Night Eagle. He was slightly surprised by the shooting accuracy of the person on the street.
Fortunately, as a retired elite special forces member, Night Eagle had extensive survival experience on the battlefield. Even though it was a temporary task, he still carried enough defensive gear.
For example, the bulletproof glass shield in front of him.
Night Eagle instinctively turned his gun, trying to lock onto the suddenly speeding energy user again.
That should be an energy user...
That guy's physical strength far exceeded the limits of an ordinary person.
Hmm? Where did he go?
Night Eagle was stunned, losing sight of his opponent in the night vision goggles. According to his calculations, the opponent should still be some distance away...
Whoosh!
A shadow suddenly flashed across his goggles. Night Eagle almost reflexively pulled the trigger, but the shadow had already vanished!
He looked up in a daze and saw the figure standing beside him, saw the flickering black light in the opponent's eyes, and the tiny flame burning on his forehead.
Swish, swish, swish!
With a series of afterimages, several paper talismans were instantly stuck to Night Eagle's forehead.
Wang Jixuan's fingers came together and he clenched his fist tightly!
'Explode for the Dao!'
(End of this chapter)