"You're not doing this for some damn hobby, not because you want to watch samurai fight each other."
"You crave the blood of the strong, their lives. Devouring them, absorbing them, allows you to become younger, stronger, and... more long-lived!"
Zhou Ming stared intently at Nohara Momonosuke, licking his lips.
"You wield power that doesn't belong to a Mortal. I'm very curious where that power comes from."
"Hehehe, hahahaha." Nohara Momonosuke laughed, convulsing with excitement.
"I should thank you for allowing me to complete the life-and-death circulation ritual, gaining even greater power from that armor, and completing another transformation."
"Remember what I said? Those samurai, their blood, their lives, all of them combined, aren't as delicious as you alone!"
"Eating you will definitely allow me to transform again and become even stronger!"
Bang!
Nohara Momonosuke stomped heavily on the ground, shattering the stone slabs. He shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging towards Zhou Ming with immense momentum.
At this moment, even without armor and weapons, Nohara Momonosuke's bare-handed attacks were fiercer and more brutal than before!
"Want to eat me? Try it!"
Zhou Ming sneered. Facing Nohara Momonosuke, who lunged at him in the blink of an eye, he swung his edelman alloy blade in a flat arc towards his waist.
Nohara Momonosuke quickly twisted his waist, rotating and shifting sideways with astonishing speed, cleverly dodging the blade.
At the same time, his right hand, like a blade, slashed towards Zhou Ming's head.
Zhou Ming activated the Ghost Shadow Gu to flash out of the way. Just as he was about to turn back, he found that Nohara Momonosuke had appeared in front of him, completely blocking his path forward, and punched down at him.
Zhou Ming had no time to dodge and could only raise his arm to block the punch.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Zhou Ming felt as if an elephant had stomped heavily on him. His arm ached, and his entire arm went numb. He couldn't help but stagger back three steps before steadying himself.
If it weren't for the protection of the Rattan Armor Gu, Zhou Ming even suspected his arm would have been broken by that punch.
"Hahaha, you see now, my current speed, my strength!"
"This is true power! Zhou-kun, stop resisting, merge into my body!"
"I am destined to become the only True God in this world!"
Nohara Momonosuke raised his arms and cheered, laughing maniacally, his state appearing abnormally frenzied.
Immediately after, Nohara Momonosuke's expression changed again, becoming ferocious and savage. He turned and charged at Zhou Ming once more.
"Die!"
Zhou Ming activated the Ghost Shadow Gu to retreat rapidly. He took a deep breath, then suddenly opened his mouth and roared.
A sharp, piercing shriek exploded in Nohara Momonosuke's ears. The powerful sonic impact, carrying the power of the Soul, caused Nohara Momonosuke's movements to freeze, and a pained expression appeared on his face.
Immediately following, two pale, translucent Ghost Hands gently covered Nohara Momonosuke's eyes, making his vision blurry, as if a white cloth had been placed over his eyes.
Soul Howl Gu! Bewitching Soul Gu!
Both Gu were activated simultaneously, greatly hindering Nohara Momonosuke's movements.
Zhou Ming reached out and wiped the blade of his edelman alloy blade. The Sword Qi Gu activated, and invisible Sword Qi adhered to the blade.
"You think your strength comes from your power? Speed? Physique?"
"Heh heh, what I found troublesome was actually that impenetrable armor!"
Whoosh!
Blade light flashed! Sword Qi surged!
"Ah!"
Nohara Momonosuke had not yet fully recovered from the Gu's influence and reacted a beat too late, getting half his palm sliced off by Zhou Ming's blade.
The pain immediately sobered him up. He stomped his foot, intending to retreat.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Zhou Ming roared. The Jumping Grass Gu beneath his feet provided him with immense jumping power, sending him crashing into Nohara Momonosuke like a cannonball.
"Die!"
Nohara Momonosuke clenched his other intact hand into a fist and smashed it towards Zhou Ming. The immense force created gusts of wind.
Zhou Ming sneered, using the Ghost Shadow Gu to forcibly change direction, dodging Nohara Momonosuke's punch. He landed on both feet, crouched low, and slashed his blade towards Nohara Momonosuke's waist.
Nohara Momonosuke was about to retreat further when suddenly, a green vine with barbs shot out like a venomous snake, wrapping around his ankle.
Nohara Momonosuke struggled with force, and with a "snap," the green vine was directly torn apart. Under his powerful Physique, the Two-turn Poison Ivy Gu could only offer a brief obstruction.
But this brief moment was enough. Zhou Ming activated the Bewitching Soul Gu, and his Soul Power, more than forty times that of an ordinary person, surged out without reservation, causing Nohara Momonosuke's consciousness to fall into a brief state of confusion.
Hiss!
The long blade swung, and Zhou Ming's figure flashed past.
Nohara Momonosuke's consciousness recovered, only to find his perspective tilting.
"I, I... I!"
He realized his current state and immediately his eyes widened in fury.
"I've been cut in half at the waist!"
He immediately stretched out both hands to grab his lower half, trying to forcibly piece his two halves together.
However, at this moment, a voice as cold as Nine Heavens Hell rang in his ears.
"You have no chance."
Zhou Ming's blade was raised again.
"No!"
Blade light flashed!
In an instant, Zhou Ming himself couldn't count how many times he had struck.
When he could no longer withstand the immense physical exertion and stopped swinging his blade, Nohara Momonosuke had already turned into a pile of flesh at his feet.
To prevent Nohara Momonosuke from reviving again, Zhou Ming once more took out gasoline, splashed it on the pile of shredded meat, and then sharply scraped his long blade against the floor, igniting the gasoline.
Blazing flames burned once more. Zhou Ming stared unblinkingly at the flames, while also guarding against everything around him.
It wasn't until all the shredded meat had burned to ash and dross in the flames, and the flames gradually extinguished, leaving only a few stubborn white bones, that Zhou Ming's heart slowly settled down.
Nohara Momonosuke, it seemed, was truly dead.
The wind blew, and a bone on the ground suddenly cracked with a "crunch."
A thumb-sized heavenly demon stone rolled out from that white bone.
"Hmm?" Zhou Ming immediately noticed this change. When his gaze fell upon the stone, he suddenly froze.
The stone was deep and dark throughout, reflecting no light, as if devouring all surrounding light, containing an invisible, strange demonic power.
Unconsciously, Zhou Ming reached out and picked up the stone, holding it in his hand, his expression filled with greedy infatuation, as if what he held was the most precious treasure in the world.
"heavenly demon stone..."
He didn't know why he knew the name of this stone, only that his consciousness was resonating with it, his Soul soaring to a distant, ethereal place, as if Ascending beyond the Nine Heavens, traversing the Universe, wandering within the profound and mysterious "Dao."
In an instant, all things in Heaven and Earth were beneath his feet, the Universe's star rivers encircled him. It was an indescribable great freedom, great liberation, great ease, a profound and mystical sublimation of consciousness, an endless Law of truth.
In a trance, Zhou Ming felt himself transform into another life form.
A primeval demonic god, suspended amidst endless star rivers, immeasurably vast, surrounded by endless Law and infinite power, stirring the Karma of time and space.
"Sky, Sky Devil... Primal Sky Devil!"
Suddenly, Zhou Ming regained a trace of self-awareness. His Soul Power, dozens of times stronger than an ordinary person's, prevented him from completely losing himself. He roared, shouting the name of that demonic god.
Boom!
The world of consciousness collapsed with a crash!
Happy God of Wealth Festival! Wishing all readers great wealth, big money, and abundant financial resources!