As soon as Hao Zhengyi finished speaking, Yinbai suddenly let out a mournful howl.
It struggled to rise, but just as it managed to prop itself up, another piercing wail escaped, followed by a thick spurt of black blood gushing from its mouth.
The moment the blood hit the ground, Yinbai collapsed again, as if struck by a massive blow. Though its eyes remained wide open, anyone could see the crimson in its pupils beginning to dissipate and blur.
By now, I had reached Gao Liang's side.
Without waiting for an order from the Director, I raised my rifle and unloaded the last magazine at Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi.
Rat-tat-tat! A burst of gunfire rang out.
Lin Feng took every bullet head-on.
Though forced back by the impact, he didn't seem to suffer any real injury.
Behind him, Hao Zhengyi stuck to his back like a shadow—untouched, just like before.
Gao Liang glanced at the motionless Yinbai on the ground, took a deep breath, and shouted at me,
"Don't get tangled up with them—break through!"
The last syllable had barely left his lips before he veered to the left and charged past Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi.
I caught his drift immediately.
Almost in sync, I tossed aside the now-empty assault rifle and sprinted around their right flank.
Unfortunately, Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi weren't slow to respond.
Just as Gao Liang and I attempted to flank them, the two split apart as well.
Lin Feng swayed slightly and planted himself right in Gao Liang's path.
Gao fired off four or five quick shots.
They managed to push Lin Feng back momentarily, but once his magazine ran dry, Lin Feng reasserted his position, blocking Gao's way once more.
I wasn't faring any better.
Before I had even taken a few steps, Hao Zhengyi had already cut me off.
That's when I really regretted not bringing a sidearm.
Judging by how he dodged bullets earlier, one good shot might've been enough.
Hao Zhengyi now stood right before me.
He wasn't in any rush to strike.
Instead, he gave a low chuckle and said,
"Out of respect for Wenming, I was thinking I could let—"
"You dare bring up his name?" I cut him off coldly.
Without waiting for him to finish, I swung the slim wooden case from my back.
There was no time to open it or draw the blades inside.
I just gripped the case in both hands like a club and swung it directly at Hao Zhengyi's head.
It seemed Hao Zhengyi had no idea what was inside.
He casually lifted his left foot and kicked the case head-on.
Crack!
The case shattered instantly—too old to withstand a direct blow.
Two short swords tumbled out and clattered to the ground.
At the sight of the blades, a strange expression flickered across Hao Zhengyi's face—part surprise, part disbelief.
We lunged for them almost simultaneously.
The Blade of Retribution was closest to me.
I snatched its hilt with one hand, and just as I reached for the Blade of Sin, Hao Zhengyi got there first.
The moment he seized it, he sprang back—
But as soon as he stood up, his legs buckled and he collapsed again.
His entire body curled up like a shrimp, twitching violently as he stared at the blade in his hand.
Fear distorted his face.
Serves you right. That's what you get for grabbing something you don't understand.
It was a perfect opportunity.
I wasn't about to worry about his connection to Hao Wenming now.
I raised the Blade of Retribution and swung it down toward his head.
To his credit, Hao Zhengyi wasn't completely helpless.
In the midst of his panic, he bit down on his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the Blade of Sin.
The moment his blood hit the blade, it went momentarily silent.
Taking advantage of that lull, Hao Zhengyi let out a roar and flung the Blade of Sin at me.
We were too close for me to dodge.
Reflexively, I shut my eyes.
Just as I thought I was finished, I heard a sharp clang!
When I opened my eyes, both swords lay flat on the ground in front of me.
My right hand—where I had been gripping the Blade of Retribution—was empty.
Somehow, I had let go…
From the look of it, the Blade of Retribution had leapt in to block its "brother."
Cold sweat soaked my back.
A sudden dread hit me:
Don't tell me the Blade of Sin has submitted to Hao Zhengyi?
If that happened, I'd have lost big.
But judging by the look on Hao Zhengyi's face, it didn't seem so.
He stared at the blades for a second, then suddenly gritted his teeth and lunged for the Blade of Sin again.
The moment his fingers touched the hilt, he shuddered violently.
His hand stuck to it once more.
Only after coughing up a second mouthful of blood did he finally pry himself free.
Looks like the Blade of Sin hasn't chosen him yet either.
Now I could finally breathe easy.
No point showing him any courtesy.
I reached out and gave a light tug toward the Blade of Retribution—
Just like when I faced those corpses before, the blade soared back into my hand with a clean whoosh.
As I gripped it once more, Hao Zhengyi suddenly jolted up from the ground.
He leapt back seven or eight paces, staring in shock at the blade in my hand.
From between clenched teeth, he hissed:
"Chosen bearer…"
With the Blade of Retribution in my right hand, I quickly scooped up the Blade of Sin with my left.
The instant my fingers touched its hilt, a surge of electricity shot up my arm.
At the same time, the Blade of Retribution gave off a low hum.
As soon as I heard that, the current from the Blade of Sin abruptly vanished—
And then it too began to hum.
The sound from both swords grew louder and louder, building to a crescendo in just two or three seconds.
Then—
The Blade of Sin fell silent.
Shortly after, the Blade of Retribution followed.
Once the hum had completely faded,
I could feel the same presence—
The same aura within the Blade of Sin as the one that had first come from its brother.
Had the Blade of Sin chosen me too?
So the Blade of Sin acknowledged me as its master too?
Unfortunately, there was no time to confirm it with Guangren.Behind us, Lin Feng's men and the Soul Husks were already closing in.On Gao Liang's side, he had already discarded his pistol and somehow drawn a short sword, slashing and hacking fiercely at Lin Feng.It was a blade I recognized—one of those crafted by Wu Rendi, which I used to wield myself.According to Sun Fatty, after the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast incident, Gao had secretly hidden away Huang Ran's blade.This one must be it.
Lin Feng clearly still feared Gao's short sword.After dodging a few strikes in quick succession, he didn't dare engage fully and kept circling, biding his time.But with his men and the Soul Husks closing in, the longer this dragged out, the worse it would be for the Bureau Chief.
I had no other choice.Gripping the Blades of Sin and Retribution like twin knives, I charged at Hao Zhengyi.If I could take him down first, I could team up with Gao to deal with Lin Feng.Even if we couldn't kill him, we might at least break through.
But to my surprise, Hao Zhengyi didn't even try to dodge.As the blades neared his face, a strange, twisted smile crept onto his lips.As he grinned, wisps of white mist seeped from his seven orifices, and frost began forming in the air around us.
In that instant, I felt as if I'd been frozen solid.The blades hovered just inches from Hao Zhengyi's forehead, yet I couldn't force them down any farther.My mind understood what was happening, but my body refused to respond.
It was a sensation I had felt once before—That night when I had just regained consciousness, during the desperate clash between Yang Xiao and Lin Feng.The one who had rescued Lin Feng had arrived in the exact same manner.
Was it Hao Zhengyi who rescued Lin Feng that night?No—if he'd had this kind of power, he wouldn't have ended up nearly dead on that island being hunted by Zhang Zhentian.
There was no time to untangle the mystery of Hao Zhengyi's hidden power.Even with the two blades in my hands, I couldn't land a single blow.
And then—The others, along with the Soul Husks, had reached us.
Just as it seemed like Gao Liang and I were about to be overwhelmed,A chilling, raspy voice suddenly echoed out:
"You… think… this… is… the… end…?"
Each word was slow and strained, like it came from someone recovering from throat surgery.
Hearing that voice, Hao Zhengyi froze mid-motion.I seized the chance to glance toward the source.
There, lying motionless on the ground, was the man who had stolen the Heavenly Principle Diagram from Lin Feng moments ago.I had assumed he was just a vessel borrowed by Bangchui.But now, hearing his voice, there was clearly no connection.
So Gao Liang still has a hidden card?
I turned my eyes toward the Bureau Chief.He and Lin Feng had both stopped fighting, eyes locked on the speaker.But Gao wasn't staring at the man—He was looking past him, at something behind me.
Yinbai!
The realization hit me like a bolt.That was where Gao's gaze had settled—At Yinbai's prone body.
Then it struck me—this trick, speaking through the dead, was something I had seen Yinbai use back in the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast.But we had clearly just watched it cough up blood and collapse…Could Yinbai still have something left?
Even as the thought formed, the voice returned:
"Come… die… here… with… me…"
The final word had barely fallen when a dense white mist began to rise all around us.In moments, it thickened into a suffocating fog that enveloped everything within fifty meters.
It burned when inhaled—my lungs stung as if I had breathed in flames, and my eyes were nearly forced shut by the sting.
As soon as the mist touched the frost surrounding Hao Zhengyi, sparks crackled into existence.Like static electricity, they snapped and fizzled: crackle-pop… crackle-pop…
Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi both turned toward Yinbai.
Then came a bitter laugh from Gao Liang.He said to Lin Feng,"It's the Aura of the Arcanobeast. Yinbai's done for. It's about to release everything it has and turn this place into its own Tomb of a Transcendent Beast. Bad luck for you—you're dying with us."
"There's Aura! Fall back! Don't let it enter your seven apertures!"Someone behind us shouted the warning.
Footsteps retreated fast behind me—Looks like the rest were already scrambling to escape.
As the aura poured out, I began to feel my limbs loosen again.The more it thickened, the less rigid my body became.
But swinging the blades to strike Hao Zhengyi?Still impossible.
Lin Feng suddenly shouted,"Forget that Shen bastard! Grab Gao the Fox—take him with us!"
Before Hao Zhengyi could react, a piercing howl echoed from the heart of the mist.
A burst of sparks exploded, and a massive force slammed into me, knocking me aside.
Before I could make sense of what was happening, I heard a thud—Hao Zhengyi had been struck by something heavy.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward through the air.
Seeing him fall, Lin Feng turned to Gao and shouted angrily,"You said Yinbai was finished!"
Gao Liang raised an eyebrow."And you believed me?"
Just as the words left his mouth, Lin Feng pulled out a small cloth pouch.He tore it open and flung the Ashes of the Guardian Buddha inside toward where Hao Zhengyi had been struck.
But this time, the ashes had almost no effect.The mist seemed to have a clinging, absorbing quality—The ashes simply stuck to the thick fog like dust caught in a spider's web.
Seeing this, Lin Feng immediately retreated, bolting in the direction where Hao had fallen.But he was just a moment too late.
We couldn't see how Yinbai struck—But we heard it.
Rip!
A sharp tearing sound.
A fresh, clean claw mark opened across Lin Feng's back.Yinbai hadn't held back—Even Lin Feng's half-dead body was torn so deeply that his bones were exposed.