Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 275 - 264: You Are Me, I Am You!

Chapter 275: Chapter 264: You Are Me, I Am You!

When the heavily injured Zhang San opened his eyes again, he found himself having entered into a dream world.

After all, it was the familiar adolescence, the familiar childhood courtyard, and even that door he had pushed open countless times.

Pushing the door open, Zhang San looked up at his surroundings, waiting for the old grandfather who should appear today.

However, Zhang San looked around for a good while and did not see the old grandfather.

So he decided to sit on the doorstep and wait for a while, but just as he lowered his head, he found an old grandfather lying next to the door who looked as though he had starved to death but seemed to still be barely breathing.

The old grandfather squinted his eyes at Zhang San. For some reason, Zhang San could tell by looking at the old man’s nostrils that he had stopped breathing but, strangely enough, seemed to be alive, even able to talk to himself.

...

When Zhang San opened his eyes once again, he found himself wrapped in a thick layer of ice, but with his current strength, breaking through the ice was not a problem.

The key was to break out at just the right moment.

At this moment, Xu was struggling to hold up against two opponents.

Seeing the Black Hairy Ghost King circling behind Xu, and with his backside right towards him, wasn’t this a godsend opportunity... right?

With a loud bang, Zhang San shattered the ice around him, completely disregarding the frostbite on his body, and struck the back of the Hairy Ghost King with his blade.

Spurt—

Zhang San’s blade swung down. This time, the blade did not flare with roaring thunder, but the Blade Intent coalesced from Death Qi.

Death Qi Exhaling Technique! [Note 82]

This was something Zhang San had just dreamt about in his dream.

In fact, this was a type of offensive and defensive method commonly used by Hairy Ghosts, transforming all the harm one had suffered into Death Qi and then using it to cause great damage.

This was also why Hairy Ghosts turned black during combat.

That was the color of the Death Qi they condensed.

And the blade Zhang San swung just now already contained sufficient Blade Intent; coupled with the fact that it was the same kind of Death Qi used by the Hairy Ghost King for protection, the Death Qi would not resist other Death Qi, which allowed Zhang San’s strike to cut through easily.

Not far away, Xu thought this was the end for him. But to his surprise, not only did Zhang San turn the tide, he even heavily wounded the Hairy Ghost King, who he himself had not been able to suppress.

Even the Hairy Ghost King himself was somewhat stunned at that moment.

What just happened with that last strike?

"Human boy, I will have your life!"

Zhang San let out a cold laugh and replied, "If you tell me to die and I just die, wouldn’t that be a total loss of face for me?"

The Blue Ghost King on the side was also immensely shocked.

He never expected that although he had encased this young human in a cold freeze, the latter should have sunk into a dream and gradually died of freezing. Yet how was it that he seemed to wake up refreshed as if nothing happened, and even more spirited?

No one had ever heard of humans getting stronger by sleeping!

At this moment, the two Ghost Kings began to attack Zhang San together.

But with his mastery of the Death Qi Exhaling Technique, Zhang San could transform his injuries into a form of "dead" energy, combining it with his own Qi to create Death Qi.

Using this Death Qi to counter the two Ghost Kings, along with the fact that he and Xu were now at the same Realm, both in the Late Period of the Spiritual Platform Realm, they actually managed to hold off the two Ghost Kings.

At this moment, Xu, who had recuperated from his injuries, watched Zhang San fighting two against one and was utterly astounded.

However, Xu soon discovered that the technique Zhang San was using was actually a technique from the Path of Life and Death.

After all, the Death Qi Exhaling Technique was one of the unique skills of the Path of Life and Death.

"Zhang San, how come you..."

Xu, who was behind and healing his wounds, called out to Zhang San with some concern.

But his words were cut off mid-sentence by Zhang San’s laughter.

"Haha! Xu, just relax! The methods we use don’t really matter, nor does my current state! What we desire is to become stronger, to grow even stronger, and then to survive. As long as we can become stronger, as long as we can protect ourselves and the people around us, why worry too much? After all, isn’t our goal always to protect the civilians around us and lead them to safety?"

Upon hearing Zhang San’s words, Xu looked around.

Even though he had been battling two Ghost Kings, there were still many Evil Ghosts rushing towards them.

The Martial Artists and soldiers of the Town Martial Office were fighting desperately to protect the civilians nearby.

Even Wei, who had fled earlier, had since returned, and was now rescuing the wounded everywhere, throwing them to the back to be treated by others.

Although Xu knew that it was natural for Wei to flee at the first sign of a strong enemy, when he saw Wei return, a warm current still surged through his heart.

"Exactly. What methods we use, in fact, don’t really matter. What our current state is, also, doesn’t really matter. What’s important is, what do we want? Tell me, aren’t all our desires to be able to live on in this world?"

Xu stood up, seemingly talking to himself, yet also as if he were speaking to someone else.

"Since our thoughts are the same, why not walk the path ahead together. Sometimes, I can’t even tell if I’m me, or if I’m you."

At that moment, the third eye on Xu’s forehead suddenly opened.

At the same time, another somewhat hoarse voice came from within Xu’s body.

"You are me, I am you!"

After speaking, Xu laughed.

In the next instant, with Death Qi continuously flowing through the third eye on his forehead, Xu’s aura climbed new heights.

The next moment, Xu broke through the last stage of the Spiritual Platform Realm. In the Seas of Wheels, infinite thunder tribulations descended from the sky, only to be dispersed by the intertwined forces of life and death.

In an instant, as the sky full of thunder dissipated, what took its place was a vision of dead mountains and living seas around the Spiritual Platform.

At this moment, Fang Xiang had just finished adjusting the Formation Compass in his hand, then he exhaled deeply.

"I’ve linked the entrance and exit around the formation with the whole formation. This way, anyone who wants to leave will have to bear the pressure brought by the entire formation. Unless a Purple Mansion Realm suddenly appears within the formation, with the mountain and sea energy of the Purple Mansion Realm to disrupt the Rune arrangement I’ve set up."

This time Fang Xiang was in charge of directing the overall situation, where his most important task was to ensure that the Fengdu Ghost Gate Formation could operate normally under any circumstances, without anyone breaking out from the inside.

Just as Fang Xiang thought his grand accomplishment was complete, he suddenly sensed a surge of Purple Mansion Realm energy shooting into the sky from within Fengdu County City.

As the phantom of dead mountains and living seas in mid-air fluctuated, the Runes that had just been arranged on Fang Xiang’s compass fell into chaos.

Fang Xiang wasn’t certain if it was that old human who had run out and then run back who was making trouble, but considering his prior two performances, it was entirely plausible to pin this debacle on him.

Dead old man, next time we meet... no, from now on, each time I see you, I’ll strike you once!

========

[Note 82]Reference Explanation

The Death Qi Exhaling Technique is derived from a phrase in Volume 57 of "Yunjizhuchuo": "Death Qi refers to the stagnant Qi of ceased life from among the Four Seasons and Five Elements, stored and then exhaled."

Death Qi originally is a term from the practice of Qi nourishing and breathing techniques, referring to the Qi cultivated from after midday to evening, which is not beneficial to cultivation.

Here this term has been extended and integrated into the power system of this book with changes and expansions.