Chapter 77: The Rising Sun Sword Style

  Dongfang Batian and the six elders couldn't help but take a cold breath, their mouths agape in shock as they stared at Zhang Feng who walked out of the flying dust.

  Zhang Feng's naked body was covered with a layer of dark green scaly armor, like a suit of close-fitting armor that protected him. On his back were five snow-white, slightly curved bone spurs, and on each elbow joint of his arms, there was also a bone spur, only shorter and thinner than the ones on his back.

  Zhang Feng is now about two meters three in height, and his body has also become much more majestic, looking like a terrifying warrior with a personal armed escort. The only thing that can still make people recognize him is the face full of strange patterns, which is why Dongfang Ba Tian didn't take him for some new monster.

  Zhang Feng stood quietly, wordlessly examining his new body. Dongfang Batian and the others watched him tensely, their every move scrutinized, as a tense atmosphere filled the air.

  After a while, Zhang Feng finally lifted his head and smiled at Dongfang Bati and the others. His eyes had returned to normal, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that his pupils had become elliptical, very similar to those of felines.

  "This is the ability of those who have entered demonic possession, to see everything around them clearly in the dark night just like a cat." I explained to Wuchengzi, who had no idea what it meant to be possessed by a demon, without any tension.

  Perhaps it's because I've been practicing for a long time, and I look at life and death very lightly. Zhang Feng's demonic possession doesn't seem important to me. If it weren't for Tingting's face, plus the relentless nagging of the unfeeling person who was bought by Tingting's culinary skills, I wouldn't have come to interfere with Zhang Feng's trivial matters. For someone like me who has long seen through life and death, death is just a link in the natural cycle, and there's nothing to be sad about.

  As for Zhang Feng's demonic possession, I have always been observing the development of events from a bystander's perspective, and I am not interested in helping him recover his humanity. To be honest, there is no practical motivation for me to do so. As for Dongfang Bati and others who clashed with Zhang Feng, I couldn't care less about their lives or deaths.

  The ground transmitted a slight vibration, Zhang Feng looked around and walked straight towards Dongfang Bati. Every time the large foot covered in scales stepped on the ground, Dongfang Bati's heart couldn't help but violently jump once.

  "What are you going to do?" An elder blocked Eastern Overlord's path and asked cautiously.

  Zhang Feng tilted his head and sized him up for half a day, then cracked a smile, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight, paired with his devilish appearance, giving people an eerie and ominous feeling.

  The old man was startled by him and involuntarily took a step back, but he quickly discovered his own loss of composure and stepped forward again, slightly angrily saying: "What do you want to do? If you come any closer, I'll take action!"

  The elder did not realize that his threat was no longer something a victorious superior should say.

  Zhang Feng's bizarre appearance and the notorious reputation of the demonic cultivator had already made this elder, who had been cultivating for over a hundred years and was only in the Ling Jing period, somewhat apprehensive.

  Zhang Feng also ignored him and continued walking straight towards Dongfang Batian. It seemed like he was about to collide with the elder.

  The elder could no longer bear it, let out a loud shout, and from his waist suddenly flew out a small sword, on which a red light flickered, barely visible were countless tiny flames that danced upon it.

  The small sword spun briefly in the air, its entire body radiating a brilliant red glow. The tiny flames that had been flickering on its surface suddenly expanded, and in an instant it transformed into a massive fireball that hurtled towards Zhang Feng with overwhelming momentum.

  Zhang Feng's mouth curled up, revealing a disdainful smile. His right hand, covered in scales, shone with a flashing black light as he reached out to grab the flying sword amidst the flames. The sword twisted and turned in his palm, spewing forth scorching flames, but Zhang Feng remained calm, as if he were holding nothing more than a child's wooden toy sword.

  Seeing his flying sword being caught in someone's hand so easily, the elder's face changed greatly. He recited incantations several times, trying to manipulate the flying sword to break free from the opponent's control, but no matter how hard he tried, the flying sword couldn't fly out of Zhang Feng's hand, as if it had taken root in his hand.

  Seeing their companions at a disadvantage, the two elders on the side could not help but hold back. Although Dongfang Bátian had not yet given the order to attack, the two of them shouted loudly and their magic weapons flew out, attacking Zhang Feng from both sides.

  The two elders' weapons were the same as Zhang Feng's flame flying sword, and another was a fist-sized crimson bead, which also had scorching flames that kept swallowing and spitting out.

  This is because the Dongfang family's heart method, Jiu Yang Shen Gong, is a fire-controlling heart method, so the magical treasures of the Dongfang family members are all related to fire.

  Zhang Feng's footsteps came to an abrupt halt, two magical artifacts radiating intense heat whizzing past him, the cyan flames trailing behind them leaving a long tongue of fire that didn't even scorch Zhang Feng's clothes.

  The magic tool did not hit the target, and two elders simultaneously manipulated the magic tool to turn around and rush towards Zhang Feng again.

  Zhang Feng's expression remained calm as he took a step forward, his right hand grasping the still twisting flying sword to meet the crimson bead charging from the right side, while his left hand brought with it a faint black aura to meet the flying sword on the left.

  A loud muffled sound, power colliding with power, made the dust that had just settled fly up again, as if a sudden gust of wind had blown up from the ground. The dust swirled around Zhang Feng, and the blue-red flames spread out in all directions, fueled by the wind, sizzling on the surrounding ground before finally dying out after a long time.

  The two flying artifacts had already flown to who-knows-where in the impact, and the two elders who were manipulating the artifacts to attack turned pale and couldn't speak for a long time.

  The unluckiest one was the elder who had been caught by Zhang Feng with his flying sword, because the artifact and its master were connected in spirit. When Zhang Feng used his flying sword to meet that crimson bead, it was equivalent to letting him and the crimson bead collide once, and under the agitation of his spirit, the injuries on his body became even more severe.

  "Lao Liu, twelve!" The rest of the elders called out anxiously and were about to go forward to support the two elders when they suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backwards stiffly. Instantly, there was a huge commotion among the group of elders.

  After Zhang Feng fully transformed, he was able to exert 70-80% of the power of the possessed demon. The two elders were no match for him in terms of strength. As soon as they made contact, the two elders were severely injured. Especially the elder who controlled the red bead, he was afraid of hurting Zhang Feng's flying sword and temporarily withdrew some of his power, which made himself even more seriously injured, now he is on the verge of death.

  Several slightly injured elders were busy, as members of a family, they had been partners since childhood, so the relationship between them was extremely close. At this time, they hastily took various measures to treat the two seriously injured elders, and Zhang Feng, the murderer, was left aside with no one paying attention to him.

  Zhang Feng ignored them, and instead carefully examined the flying sword in his hand. The palm-sized flying sword was frantically twisting in his hand, its metal body changing shape like mercury, clearly its owner had not given up yet and was still trying to retrieve this treasure.

  Zhang Feng tilted his head and examined the flying sword for half a day, suddenly opening his mouth wide and stuffing the flying sword inside. From the movement of his mouth, anyone could tell that he was planning to swallow the flying sword like a piece of fragrant intestine.

  Seeing his own magic weapon end up in such a miserable state, the elder who was still trying to control the flying sword was shocked and opened his mouth wide, with an expression on his face as if he had just discovered that a morning glory flower had grown on top of his head.

  Zhang Feng's mouth moved in a chewing motion, and wisps of black smoke emerged from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. A moment later, his Adam's apple rolled, and he opened his mouth to spit out a cloud of black smoke. With a satisfied belch, he patted his belly, but his mouth was already empty, clearly having swallowed the flying sword whole.

  The old man's face changed, and as Zhang Feng opened his mouth to spit out black smoke, he had already felt that his connection with the flying sword's divine sense was completely cut off. The spiritual shock caused by the divine sense backlash was something he could not resist, and he only felt a darkness in front of him, a loud crash in his mind, before slowly collapsing to the ground, with a large amount of bloody foam gushing out from the corner of his mouth, and he fainted.

  "Third Uncle! What's wrong?" Dongfang Bát Tiān, who was busy rescuing the two elders, discovered his anomaly and rushed over in shock. In the Mù Róng family, these elders were considered his seniors, so he addressed them as "uncle".

  The other three elders who were busy rescuing their companions nearby also discovered the situation here, and hastily assigned one person to rush over to give him emergency treatment. After a flurry of activity, they finally stabilized his injuries.

  Seeing that he was no longer in danger, the elder finally let out a sigh of relief. He turned around to see Zhang Feng standing expressionlessly beside him, and couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. With a loud shout, he didn't even use his magic tool, and instead charged straight at him.

  "Eleventh Uncle, don't!" Dongfang Bát Tiān discovered his actions and hastily shouted to stop him in shock, but it was already too late.

  Looking at the old man rushing towards him, Zhang Feng casually stretched out his left hand and pinched his neck with lightning speed, lifting him off the ground.

  The old man's face suddenly turned bright red, like a fish out of water with his mouth wide open, and he tightly grasped Zhang Feng's left arm with both hands.

  Zhang Feng's face revealed a cruel smile, and then he slowly stretched out his right hand. The palm of his right hand suddenly became a flowing wave-like fluctuation, and after a moment, a small sword extended from the center of his palm, which was exactly the flying sword that he had swallowed earlier.

  The flying sword that emerged from Zhang Feng's palm had not changed much in appearance, but the flames that danced on its surface were no longer a fiery red, instead they were wisps of black air, looking like black flames from afar.

  "Halt!" Dongfang Bátian shouted loudly, at the same time shooting a ball of flame towards Zhang Feng, which hit his right arm and then exploded.

  Zhang Feng was nonchalant about his attack, a cruel and cold smile spreading from the corner of his mouth. The flying sword in his palm slowly rotated, gently and slowly piercing through the chest of that elder. From his expression, it seemed he intentionally wanted to end his opponent's life at such a slow speed.

  The old man, with his throat constricted by Zhang Feng, was unable to let out a blood-curdling scream, and could only roll his eyes back in their sockets. His throat made gurgling noises, and his legs kicked wildly in mid-air. Warm, fresh blood spurted from the wound on his chest, quickly dyeing Zhang Feng's right hand a deep crimson.

  Dongfang Bátian saw such a miserable state, and his eyes were about to crack, wanting to rush forward and fight with him, but his body was completely disobedient. The few times he had just urged the release of his potential had already left him heavily injured, and even the phoenix on his shoulder was in a limp and spiritless state.

  "How dare you be so reckless and evil!" A loud shout suddenly came from the air, followed by a flash of light, a cyan blue glow swooped in, hitting Zhang Feng's back.

  Zhang Feng was caught off guard and was hit by this blow, stumbling forward. The elder he had grasped in his hand also flew out of his grasp and happened to fall beside Dongfang Baotian, who hastily rushed over to stop the bleeding for him, causing another commotion.

  Zhang Feng slowly got up from the ground and turned his head back to look behind him.

  Not far behind him in the air, an old man with a furious face was suspended about several meters above the ground, and under his feet was a small sword emitting a faint white light.

  "What a wicked monster, to commit murder in broad daylight!" The old man who saw Zhang Feng take his blow without flinching was secretly shocked, but he didn't show any weakness on his face and scolded loudly, which was quite righteous.

  Zhang Feng brushed off the dust on his body with a look of disdain, but at this moment, his back was charred black, which was caused by the old man's blow just now.

  Seeing him like this, the old man's face turned pale with anger, his hands clasped together in a Buddhist seal in front of his chest, and he was about to give this madman another good look.

  Before he could react, Zhang Feng suddenly flashed and rushed towards him, his speed as fast as lightning. The people around only caught a glimpse of a shadow in the air, and Zhang Feng had already appeared in front of the old man, with a heavy punch heading straight for his face.

  The old man was shocked, Zhang Feng's speed made him almost unable to react, and in his haste, he couldn't even attack him. He changed the seal in his hand again, and finally set up a defensive array just before Zhang Feng's fist hit his face.

  With a loud crash, a black light burst forth between the two of them, and the air rippled. The old man was punched in the face by Zhang Feng and flew far away. It was hard for him to stand on that flying sword without falling off.

  Zhang Feng floated in mid-air, raised his right fist to his mouth and blew on it, then looked at the old man who had fallen far away with a scornful glance and said: "With such little skill, you dare to come out and make a fool of yourself."

  The old man finally stopped his inverted flight and manipulated the flying sword to fly back, shouting and scolding from a distance.

  When he arrived in front of everyone and let them see his appearance clearly, although he knew that he shouldn't laugh at this time, Dongfang Ba Tian and several other elders couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  The old man was originally a flying sword cultivator, wearing a Tang suit, with white hair fluttering in the wind, exuding an air of elegance and refinement that commanded respect. But at this moment, his face was covered in bruises, with two streaks of blood on his nose, clearly showing that his defensive array had been insufficient to withstand Zhang Feng's attack, and he had been punched in the face. The stark contrast between his previous and current state was so great that it made one want to spit out their food.

  "Li Zongzhu, he is a possessed person, don't underestimate him." Dongfang Bati struggled to suppress his laughter and didn't dare look at the old man's face, hastily warning loudly.

  The old man was named Li Yan, the current leader of a reclusive sword sect called the Xuri Sword Sect, which had a history of over a thousand years.

  As things are different now from ancient times, the Xuri Sword Sect also dare not show off, in the eyes of outsiders, they are just ordinary Taoist priests with a large Taoist temple.

  Although the Kokuryūkai has a Taoist temple that was built over 1,000 years ago and the right to use a large area of land around the temple, in this commercial society where everything costs money, the Kokuryūkai can only earn a small amount of money from renting out the land, which is far from enough to cover its expenses.

  And let's not mention the annual maintenance costs of the Taoist temple - this is a ancestral temple, it can't be ruined in one generation, right? The expenses of hundreds of formal disciples and nearly a thousand registered disciples are not a small amount, so the members of the Xuday Jianpai had to find other ways to make money, and the Dongfang family, which has many family businesses, is naturally a good target.

  The Dongfang family has a deep connection with the Xuri Sword Sect. It is said that 300 years ago, the head of the Dongfang family at that time was sworn brothers with the sect master of the Xuri Sword Sect, so their relationship is not shallow.

  Although it has been several hundred years since then, the relationship between the two sides is no longer as close as it used to be, but after all, they are still considered relatives. Therefore, the Eastern family has not neglected the Asahi Sword School, and it can be said that half of the economic source of the Asahi Sword School now relies on the enterprises under the Eastern family.

  So when Li Yan's sword flew over, seeing his parents in distress, he naturally came over to support them.

  He never thought that the one who made Dongfang Ba Tian so miserable would be the legendary demonic cultivator, and judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a complete body. Thinking of the terrifying records of the complete body of the demonic cultivator in the sect's classics, Li Yan also felt his scalp numb, but now that the situation had already been exposed, he could only grit his teeth and continue.

  "You demon! Don't you dare, quickly surrender, do you want to wait for me to make a move?" Li Yan shouted righteously, but the crowd saw the bruise on his face and couldn't help but burst into another fit of stifled laughter, having to turn their heads away.

  "Come on, are you not up to it?" Zhang Feng lazily looked at him, a mocking smile appearing on his face full of strange scars, then beckoned to him with his finger, "Don't just talk without action, okay!"

  Li Yan was so angry that he shouted loudly. As the leader of the Rising Sun Sword Sect, he had hundreds of formal disciples and nearly a thousand registered ones. Who didn't show him respect?

  Although he was used to being flattered every day for the expenses of the Akatsuki Sword School, he never thought that today he would be looked down upon like this, it really made him furious, and even Zhang Feng, who was said to be a demonic person, couldn't care less, and immediately formed a seal to strike.

  "You dare to be so arrogant? Let me teach you a lesson!"

  Li Yan's eyes widened in anger, and he cursed loudly. His hands moved swiftly in front of his chest, and a layer of cyan protective shield suddenly enveloped his entire body. Outside the shield, countless tiny lightning bolts flashed intermittently, emitting a faint humming noise.

  Since the demon clan successfully infiltrated human society, Li Yan and other cultivators who originally made a living by exorcising demons and capturing monsters became unemployed. The demon clan now has legal status in human society, and they are more powerful than ever. Alas, Li Yan and his fellow cultivators are actually ordinary humans, mostly with families to support, but they can't be as carefree as the great heroes who kill people and then walk away. As a result, Li Yan hasn't fought against strong opponents for nearly a hundred years, and in his daily life, he only helps people catch demons or assists the government with some tasks, just to satisfy his addiction to action.

  Although cultivators have the responsibility of cultivating their minds, they are inevitably involved in conflicts with others due to their immense power. Over time, even the most skilled cultivators become experts at fighting. Moreover, the life of a cultivator is quite dull, and battling strong enemies has become an unconventional form of entertainment for them.

  Li Yan was the same, having not had a worthy opponent to stir his spirit in nearly a hundred years. His days had been quite dull as a result. Now, with a legendary demonic cultivator standing before him, amidst the tension and caution, the hot blood within him began to churn once more.

  However, Li Yan was not a reckless person, and the fact that he had been the master of this place for over a hundred years was not in vain. He naturally understood how terrifying it was to be completely possessed by a demon. So before making a move, he did a thorough job of defensive work on himself, adding layer upon layer of protective shields around his body, with sparks and electricity flashing around him, looking like a colorful acrobatic performance from a circus troupe.

  Zhang Feng's face gradually became serious, and Tang Yan could also defend himself so cautiously. In fact, as early as the last attack, he already knew that the old man in front of him was not easy to mess with, at least not on the same level as Dongfang Bao Tian.

  Now, seeing the colorful multi-layered shields around Li Yan, Zhang Feng couldn't help but gasp in surprise. He could easily add a dozen or even dozens of layers of shields to himself, but to do it like this old man, adding multiple different attribute shields to his body while making them not conflict with each other, was something he couldn't achieve.

  According to Taoist theory, the world belongs to the five elements, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes gold, gold overcomes wood, wood overcomes earth, and earth also overcomes water. This is the cycle of mutual restraint among the five elements. If Zhang Feng also wants to add a layer of water-based shield for himself, and then add another layer of fire-control shield on the outside, I'm afraid that before Li Yan even starts fighting, the water shield and fire shield will first ignite a big fire and blow him up, leaving him covered in dust.

  It seems that Zhang Feng may have the upper hand in terms of absolute power, but Li Yan's over a hundred years of experience and the accumulated insights passed down through generations of the Xu Ri Sword Sect are not something that Zhang Feng, who suddenly gained his powers, can compare to.

  So Zhang Feng dared not to be arrogant, after taking a deep breath, his arms suddenly swelled up, the dark green scales seemed to have life and wriggled. However, in the blink of an eye, his two arms had thickened by more than twice, and the scales covering them had turned from dark green to almost black.

  Li Yan finished his preparations, and the flying sword flashed with golden light as it stood in front of him. Without the support of the flying sword, Li Yan's body slowly descended, standing about ten meters away from Zhang Feng.

  Generally speaking, battles between cultivators rarely take place in the air because flying consumes a large amount of cultivation energy. Of course, exceptions include those at my level and Wu Chenzi's, who have accumulated so much yuanqi that it's virtually inexhaustible and wouldn't care about the trivial consumption from flight.

  The flying sword in front of Li Yan's body shone brighter and brighter, looking like a dazzling small sun that made people unable to look directly at it.

  Zhang Feng's face was expressionless and motionless, but his arms were surrounded by a faint black aura that grew thicker, and his eyes occasionally flashed with a cold light, clearly showing that his inner heart was not as calm as the surface.

  Zhang Feng and Li Yan both realized that their opponent was not easy to deal with, and for a while they didn't dare to act rashly. They could only focus their minds on finding the other's weakness, hoping to seize the opportunity to strike at the smallest cost. Otherwise, even if they could successfully kill their opponent, the opponent's desperate final blow might still be able to drag them down together.

  A tense atmosphere was brewing between the two, and the onlooking Eastern Overlord and several other elders sensed a dangerous aura emanating from them, causing them to shift uncomfortably. One of the elders noticed Tingting lying unconscious nearby and thought that as an ordinary person, she would be in grave danger if left there, so he casually picked her up as well.

  At this moment, Zhang Feng's breath suddenly trembled, and his defense, which had been as solid as a wall, finally revealed a crack.

  Li Yan was also a seasoned veteran, and seeing the situation, he was overjoyed. Although he didn't know why Zhang Feng had made such a low-level mistake, now wasn't the time to ponder that. With his right hand forming a sword gesture, he pointed at Zhang Feng and shouted: "Quickly!"

  The battle between the two has finally begun.