Chapter 72: Golden Needle Acupuncture, The Corpse Transformation Technique

At the southern gate, where Han Chong was stationed, it so happened that the masked woman was swiftly approaching from that very direction. The moment she appeared and saw the battle raging, she drew her silver-bladed scimitar and charged at the assembled demon-slaying captains.

Her onslaught was like thunder roaring across the sky; wherever the flash of silver swept, a captain would be slain instantly.

The commander of the southern city gate was a burly, black-faced man wielding a massive iron spear more than ten feet long. He swung the spear down at the masked woman with all his might.

Yet, though he had reached the realm of the Transcendent, and the ground itself split open with a thunderous crack as his spear fell, his movements were far too slow—he could not even brush the hem of her robe.

The masked woman moved like a silver phantom, her speed unmatched; none among the captains could withstand even a single stroke of her blade. In the blink of an eye, several more fell beneath her hand. She closed in on the black-faced commander, who was forced back repeatedly, able only to defend, not to counter.

"Everyone, clear the way!" Han Chong shouted, descending from above with his sword, unyielding and resolute.

"It's you again, you wretched brat! Still not dead?" The masked woman spun around, slashing upward in a deadly arc, abandoning the black-faced commander entirely, intent on killing Han Chong.

Though still several yards apart, the energy of sword and blade met in midair—Han Chong was clearly at a disadvantage.

The black-faced commander attempted to flank her from behind, but both men found themselves gradually losing ground.

Worse still, Han Chong was troubled by the certainty that the other two Grievance Generals had already headed for the city's other gates. If they were defeated one by one, when the four commanders and the Guerrilla General—whose strength was but half restored—fell, that would spell the fall of Yun Prefecture.

Such is the might of the powerful; at times, a single formidable foe can turn the tide of an entire battle.

"Hey, look at this!" Han Chong withdrew, producing the Shadowmoon Treasure Mirror from his robes. Within the seam of the bronze mirror, a faint silver light gleamed.

"What! What is that?" The masked woman, catching sight of it, froze in her tracks, her eyes alight with feverish desire.

Han Chong turned and fled, and she abandoned the Bronze Guards and Black Scarf Army to chase after him alone.

A chill ran through Han Chong's heart—this Shadowmoon Treasure Mirror was clearly the very object the masked woman coveted most, perhaps even above the city of Yun Prefecture itself.

Yet his speed on foot could not match hers. Last time, his escape was pure luck. Now that she had seen the treasure, she would pursue him relentlessly—could he escape with his life?

Still, with her wreaking havoc no longer at the city gates, the remaining two Grievance Kings would not pose a threat.

As the masked woman gave chase, she hurled wave after wave of silver blade-energy at Han Chong.

He dodged left and right, but could not evade them all. On a sudden impulse, he used the Shadowmoon Treasure Mirror to block the incoming silver energy.

"Fool! Put down the treasure and I’ll spare your life!" the masked woman cried, alarmed, fearing the mirror might be damaged.

Yet the silver blade-energy crashed against the mirror with a sonorous clang, only to rebound harmlessly, leaving not the faintest mark.

"If you want this treasure, you’ll have to take it yourself," Han Chong retorted.

Upon witnessing the mirror's defensive power, the masked woman ceased her ranged attacks, merely quickening her pace in pursuit.

Han Chong’s mind raced. Without hesitation, he charged directly at the wall of a nearby house, activating his Earth-Evasion Art and passing through unimpeded.

His pursuer flew into a rage, hacking at the walls with her scimitar, smashing through houses as she went.

But Han Chong, weaving and doubling back through the chaos and clouds of dust, was impossible to track. The masked woman’s furious shouts echoed behind him, but it was the ordinary citizens who suffered most in the confusion.

Filled with both anger and alarm, Han Chong fled toward a more secluded part of the city.

This could not go on; he needed powerful help.

...He had it.

Han Chong made straight for the Silver Fortune Gambling House. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he reached the rear courtyard.

The masked woman arrived just then, only to come face to face with the veiled woman.

"You!" Both women stared in shock.

The veiled woman, seeing the treasure mirror in Han Chong’s hand, froze in astonishment.

"How did you come by the Shadowmoon Treasure Mirror?"

"She must not be allowed to have it!"

"Sister, do you still refuse to bow to me? If you hand over the mirror today, you may live. Otherwise, you will all die," the masked woman shrieked.

"Master Ling, what does this mirror do? Can it suppress your sister?" Han Chong asked urgently.

"This treasure is the imperial artifact of the Silvermoon royal clan, used to anchor the dynasty’s fortune. It has no offensive power, but if she acquires it, she will be able to see through and nullify the protective destiny of all nobility in the Grand Feng Empire, rendering their fortunes helpless. The world would be plunged into chaos!"

"You dare reveal the royal secrets to an outsider? That is treason against the Shadowmoon Dynasty!" the masked woman roared.

Han Chong was inwardly startled—so the mirror’s power lay in its direct influence over dynastic fate.

"Ha! A lowly commoner like you dares covet my clan's treasure? Even if you obtain it, it will be as worthless as scrap iron," the masked woman sneered.

Han Chong looked questioningly at the veiled woman.

"She speaks the truth. Only those of imperial blood, after soaking it in their own essence for forty-nine days, can claim the mirror. Even if you became Grand Chancellor, you could not use it otherwise," she confirmed with a nod.

"I see," Han Chong thought. No wonder his attempt to claim the treasure with a drop of blood had failed—the process required far more.

Suddenly, the veiled woman took out a red wooden box. Inside were more than a dozen golden needles. Without hesitation, she plunged the needles into various acupoints across her body.

"Gold-needle acupoint piercing! Are you mad?" the masked woman cried, her hands clenched tight.

"Foolish, deranged sister! You have made yourself a corpse, cultivating the Shadowmoon Body Transformation Art—you are no longer truly alive. I, your elder sister, joined the Hundred Wisdom Pavilion to study martial arts, but my strength is only a fraction of yours. Only this method can raise my power enough to match you. Today, let us perish together and go to Fengdu to see our father and three brothers," the veiled woman declared, her voice growing stronger with every word, though clearly wracked by pain. She drew a gleaming greatsword from the wall and struck first at the masked woman.

Seeing all this, Han Chong was moved by the depth of their bitter feud. He maneuvered behind the masked woman to block any escape.

The veiled woman’s strength was indeed drastically increased; the greatsword in her hands fell with a force like a mountain, fiercer even than her sister’s attacks.

Yet she struggled to control her surging power and could only fight the masked woman to a standstill. To slay her was all but impossible.

Han Chong used the Shadowmoon Treasure Mirror as a shield in his left hand, the Sword of Clarity in his right, striking when he could—yet his brute force, without skill, was of little effect. Thus, the three of them remained deadlocked in a desperate melee.

The masked woman, infuriated, sheathed her scimitar, then summoned the jade coffin she had used for cultivation at the bottom of Moon Lake. Lifting it, she swung it at her foes, cold silver radiance flooding the air. Han Chong and the veiled woman felt as if plunged into an icy abyss, their movements slowed.

Han Chong spat out a high-level spirit flame to resist the cold, but the veiled woman was even more ferocious—she abandoned her sword and seized the jade coffin with her bare hands.

Her white robes glazed with frost, she cared nothing for her injuries, embracing her sister tightly around the coffin. The masked woman struck her repeatedly in the chest and abdomen, blood soaking the veiled woman’s front, but still her grip only tightened.

Han Chong tried to use gravity to bring the coffin crashing down, but with the two sisters locked together, he could not get a clear shot.

With all her strength, the veiled woman dragged her sister toward a house in the courtyard, coffin in tow.

Han Chong followed to the doorway, gasping in shock. In recent days, while leading the captains, he had acquired a good deal of black powder, but had yet to collect what the veiled woman had stored here. Inside the room were over a dozen sacks of gunpowder!

"Captain Han, quickly—set the fire! I cannot hold out much longer," the veiled woman gasped, blood on her lips.

Han Chong’s heart clenched. She was truly resolute—worthy of respect.

"Hurry! With the gold-needle technique, I will die within an hour, my meridians utterly destroyed!"

Han Chong had no choice. He retreated to the doorway, spat out a fireball to ignite the sacks of powder, and slipped away through the earth.