Chapter 237: Slicing Long Tu in Half

Chapter 237: Severing Longtu at the Waist

In the midst of the long street, rain fell like knives, gunshots roared like thunder.

Lord Ma stood tall, raising the sinister-looking long spear in his hand, pulling the trigger without hesitation.

*Klang!*

The massive recoil slammed into his frame, flipping the hood from his head, revealing the crimson single eye embedded in the center of his brow.

The bullet tore through the rain curtain, grazing past the shoulder of that crimson monk's robe, shattering a neon sign at the far end of the long street into smithereens.

The shot had missed!

Before the gun could bark again, the 'Dharmapala' with a woman's face had already drifted forward, sticking close before Cao Cang's eyes.

"Your Dharmapala's self-awareness has actually reached such a degree; no wonder Yuan Mingfei schemed so painstakingly to steal this 'Mind Monkey' Mech-Heart back then."

Cold words spilled from her lips: "But after drifting for so long, this Mech-Heart should return to my Great Zhaosi Temple."

"Go f*ck your mother!"

Malevolence surged on Cao Cang's face. His body violently jerked back, the iron staff broken in two halves stabbing viciously toward the other's face.

"A mere Dharmapala dares provoke the Buddha's majesty? Insolent!"

With that furious shout, Cao Cang suddenly felt the Mech-Heart trembling rapidly in his chest come to an abrupt halt.

In that instant, an indescribable void enveloped him; even the vision before his eyes dimmed for a split second.

"Mmph!"

The iron staffs in his hands crossed in a bizarre fashion, piercing through his own arm.

Agony dragged the extinguished light back into Cao Cang's pupils, but a palm forming the Abhaya Mudra had already pressed against his face.

*Bang!*

Cao Cang's body flew as if struck head-on by a speeding Wooden-Ox Heavy Truck, crashing to the ground and tumbling ceaselessly.

*Klang!* The gunshot finally found its chance to explode.

And in the next second, a shocking scene unfolded before Lord Ma's eyes.

A bullet impossible for ordinary vision to capture actually materialized before the crimson-robed Dharmapala!

The spinning projectile seemed to have sunk into an invisible quagmire, wrapped in chaotic airflow, flinging away all falling raindrops.

The only fortune was that although the bullet's speed had been weakened to the extreme, it was still advancing!

*Pu!*

The bullet slammed into the brow, shearing off a large chunk of pale flesh and blood, revealing the sunken frontal bone beneath.

"Roar!"

The Dharmapala arched its body, letting out an inhuman roar at Lord Ma. Its facial features split left and right along the brow ridge, revealing a ferocious visage identical to the Vajras enshrined in temples. Its crimson monk's robe exploded into tatters; on its exposed torso, skin cracked in pieces, and golden conduits buried deep within surfaced, lighting up in succession, weaving countless dense lines of Vajrayana scriptures across its body.

Shattered skin fragments and shredded robe pieces converged behind its head, linking together to form a perfect circular Buddha Wheel, hovering behind the skull.

Buddhist Sequence, Vajra Transformation!

"He isn't a Dharmapala, he *is* Longtu!"

At this moment, Cao Cang finally realized, too late.

He lifted his twisted, deformed monkey head, letting out a howl of horror beyond measure.

"Knowing the Buddha stands before you, why do you not kneel and pay homage!"

Longtu, having activated Vajra Transformation, moved like a ghost; in a flash, he appeared before Cao Cang, forming the Lion Seal with one hand, crashing down!

"You're worthy of being a Buddha?!"

*Bang!*

Cao Cang's pair of mech-arms twisted and deformed, the bionic flesh covering them tearing into strips, white blood spraying onto his face.

"Since you are a Dharmapala, why do you not recognize the Buddha?"

*Rip!!*

Another Lion Seal descended. Cao Cang's legs instantly emitted the groan of metal unable to bear the load, sinking violently toward the ground.

Yet, the instant before kneeling, they abruptly halted!

"My Buddha... is Yuan Mingfei alone!"

Cao Cang's heavily injured body suddenly lunged forward, in a grappling throw posture, wrapping his arms around Longtu's waist.

"Master Ma, shoot!"

*Klang!*

The sniper rifle named 'Zhaodan' spat blinding muzzle flash; a bullet struck Longtu's face with precision.

The tremendous impact slammed Longtu's body as if folded in half, bending backward.

"Heard you were tough? I'll f*ck—"

Lord Ma's words weren't finished when the crimson eye in his helmet suddenly flickered.

Longtu's folded body actually straightened up again; on the shattered Vajra face, root-like Wisdom Roots were fleeing deeper into the skull!

"How is this possible?!"

"You are unworthy to convert; only fit for salvation." Longtu's voice carried a bone-piercing chill.

*Pu-chi!*

Cao Cang's eyes suddenly widened, his trembling pupils slowly dropping, looking at the arm piercing out from his chest.

In its five fingers, a golden Mech-Heart composed of interwoven flesh and machinery still beat stubbornly.

"This is my... Mind Monkey."

"Little Cao!"

Lord Ma squeezed the trigger to the bottom; the scorching barrel vaporized rain into white mist.

*Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!*

Cao Cang's dying body, held before Longtu by a single hand, served as a shield.

Though his form was riddled and ruined by bullets, the last shred of lingering consciousness drove him to murmur ceaselessly.

"Shoot... shoot to protect Yuan."

*Bang!*

Longtu flung Cao Cang's body away, his figure streaking out, rushing straight for that red lantern swaying in the wind and rain far off.

Beneath the lantern, a woman stood alone and helpless.

*Clang!*

Lord Ma discarded 'Zhaodan'; two pitch-black long blades extended from his forearms.

"Old Li, you son of a b*tch, killing a Dharmapala takes you this long? If you don't come out now, you'll be collecting this Grandpa Ma's corpse in a minute!"

Leaving those words behind, Lord Ma launched himself into a frantic sprint.

"Bald donkey, if you're a real man, don't bully a woman—come fight Grandpa Ma!"

When it came to masculine mettle, Lord Ma never yielded to any man, but close-quarters combat was ultimately not his forte.

The moment they clashed, the twin black blades were shattered by a single palm from Longtu; Lord Ma's entire being was blasted into a roadside shop, buried beneath brick and rubble.

"Miscalculated. His current vessel is a woman."

Between life and death lies a great terror. Standing beneath the oil-paper umbrella, Yuan Mingfei seemed to sense something in that instant; a single tear slowly traced the corner of her tightly shut eyes.

Boom!

Suddenly, a massive explosion tore through the distant night sky.

Flames soared to the heavens; a wave of fire swept across the land.

The palm Longtu held poised to seal the woman's skull froze abruptly, his pupils inexplicably dilating, plunging into a momentary trance.

In that very heartbeat, Yuan Mingfei's tightly closed eyes snapped open, large, heavy tears surging from their sockets.

Longtu, too, forcibly wrenched himself free from the trance in that same instant; the Buddhist wheel behind his head spun wildly, ferocious flames dancing in his eyes.

The Vajra glares in wrath, wielding the Lion Seal to exterminate demons.

"Li Jun!!"

"I'm here. Don't be afraid."

A gentle voice rang out beside Yuan Mingfei's ear, followed swiftly by a streak of cold, biting light.

Pfft!

An unstoppable keen edge pierced Longtu's palm, severing the obstructing mechanical bones with irresistible force.

The blade twisted, the light swept horizontally, cleaving the body of this Great Zhao Temple dignitary in two at the waist!

Li Jun's left hand shot out, a single arm clamping onto Longtu's skull, hoisting it high into the air.

"Why... why could I still not save him?"

Longtu's gaze was scattered, his words laden with endless unwillingness.

Li Jun's face was ice-cold; his five fingers slowly curled shut. From the twisted, collapsed skull, the crushed paste of the wisdom root slowly oozed out.

[Gained 150 Proficiency Points]

[Consumed 54 Proficiency Points. Chu Wu Dan Ying (Seventh-Rank Movement Technique) advanced to Seventh-Rank Grand Perfection]

As the small characters before his eyes slowly settled, all infused martial arts reached the Grand Perfection realm!

Li Jun felt his blood boiling incessantly, his very genes roaring without cease.

Thump. Thump.

The sound of the genetic lock trembling echoed in his mind. Li Jun lifted his gaze to the Eighteen Stairs slum where the fire wave was finally dying down, then let his eyes fall upon Hongya Mountain, blazing with lights like a celestial palace fallen to earth.

At this moment, a towering bandit's flame burned in his chest—he wanted to burn this Chongqing Prefecture to ash.