Chapter 3869 — Turning the Tables
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Fortunately, although Yu Jiang carried murderous intent, he was not using his true strength. As long as he continued with only the Twenty-One Forms of the Life-Reaping Chain Sword, Wei Zhao might find it extremely difficult to cope, but he was not yet at the point of being completely unable to hold on.
After two or three exchanges, Yu Jiang saw that although Wei Zhao was doing everything he could to twist and dart aside, his own Twenty-One Forms of the Life-Reaping Chain Sword had still left several wounds on the man's body. The murderous intent Yu Jiang had deliberately released weakened considerably. At least judging from these exchanges, this Wei Zhao and the Lin Er he was searching for were unquestionably two different people.
Words could deceive, and even appearances could deceive. But once a real fight began, especially in the face of mortal danger, one's fighting style could not lie. Even if someone deliberately tried to conceal a martial technique, when danger arose, his body would react instinctively. That was a primal response beyond conscious control.
And the more powerful the cultivator, the stronger that instinct for self-preservation became. That was why the stronger an expert was, the harder it was to kill him by surprise. Even if his conscious mind had been lulled into complacency, his instinct for survival was far more difficult to deceive.
Ordinarily, that would have been a good thing. For Wei Zhao at this moment, however, it was not necessarily good news, because if this continued, he would soon be unable to hold on.
In fact, that was exactly what happened. After barely enduring a few exchanges, Wei Zhao was already struggling to suppress the true qi stirring restlessly within him. If Yu Jiang kept this up much longer, Wei Zhao might lose control and be forced to fight in earnest.
Yet at that moment, Yu Jiang suddenly stopped.
"We have no grudge against each other. Why are you trying to kill me? Do you not know what crime it is to ambush a newcomer from the Welcoming Pavilion?" Wei Zhao panted heavily, looking thoroughly battered. Part of it was an act, but he had indeed found it extremely difficult to maintain his disguise, and the multiple wounds covering his body were quite real.
"Cut the crap. If you want to stay alive, try using that Pillfire Bomb of yours. I will give you the chance!" Yu Jiang's face was cold as he spoke in a low voice.
"A Pillfire Bomb?" Wei Zhao stared in astonishment. While he wondered why Yu Jiang had suddenly changed tactics, he deliberately asked in surprise, "How do you know about the Pillfire Bomb?"
"Hmph. So you really can use that move. Then I truly came to the right place!" Yu Jiang's eyes lit up. After his earlier probing, he had essentially ruled Wei Zhao out as a suspect, but he still needed one final confirmation.
What he wanted to know now was whether this so-called Pillfire Bomb was the same technique as the devastating weapon Lin Er had hurled into Nan Tianyong's face that day.
A sudden idea flashed through Wei Zhao's mind, and he asked, "Did Kang Jingming tell you about the Pillfire Bomb?"
He did not know whether the Pillfire Bomb even existed on Cloudstep Island. But here in the Welcoming Pavilion, no one was more obviously connected with the Pillfire Bomb than Kang Jingming.
Yu Jiang could not help staring in surprise. There was nothing strange about Kang Jingming telling him that this Wei Zhao was an alchemist who knew how to use the Pillfire Bomb. But for Wei Zhao to identify Kang Jingming immediately was rather suspicious.
"What do you mean?" Yu Jiang asked in a low voice.