Fang Jie couldn't stop Fang Henshui from devouring the hearts of three Flying Fish Robe warriors in succession. It wasn't that he wasn't fast enough, but rather that after pushing the red lotus out and imprinting it on Fang Henshui's lower abdomen, he was almost completely drained of strength in an instant! He tumbled backward, landing unsteadily.
Only then did Fang Jie awaken from the blissful feeling of being an absolute powerhouse. He had no spiritual energy within his body. He hadn't felt the strain while controlling the red lotus, but only when sending it away did he realize how difficult it was to manipulate it. He had almost concentrated all his muscle strength into his right hand to send the red lotus away from his fingertips.
And it was at this moment that he sensed a slight change in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
He had previously discussed with Qiu Yu whether it was feasible to control the spiritual energy externally without drawing it into the body. While Qiu Yu's answer wasn't a denial, he frankly admitted it was extremely difficult. Because spiritual energy is unowned, it can only be controlled freely by transforming it into internal energy. Just as Honglian slipped from his grasp, Fang Jie clearly felt that at the crucial moment, he had vaguely controlled some of the天地元气 (heaven and earth energy), guiding Honglian away from his fingers.
After landing, as he subconsciously recalled that feeling, Fang Henshui suddenly became ruthless, killing three Flying Fish Robe warriors and devouring their hearts. With each heart consumed, Fang Henshui's body underwent changes. After consuming the first heart, the scar on his chest gradually disappeared. After consuming the second heart, Fang Jie saw his nearly depleted internal energy begin to recover. When he consumed the third heart, Fang Henshui's eyes, which had returned to their normal color, turned black again.
Fang Jie knew he couldn't let him continue eating people. He took a deep breath to calm the turmoil within him, and with a leap, charged towards Fang Henshui, picking up the fallen Morning Dew Blade halfway. Blood Butcher in his left hand, Morning Dew in his right, Fang Jie rushed towards Fang Henshui like the wind.
Meanwhile, Fang Henshui had already captured the fourth Flying Fish Robe. He first smashed a bloody hole in the robe's head with a single punch, then bent down and bit the robe's artery, beginning to gulp down its blood. The robe's body visibly withered away. In a short moment, a vibrant life had ceased to exist. Fang Henshui ripped out the robe's heart and swallowed it in a few bites.
When he heard footsteps, he abruptly turned, released his grip, and the withered corpse of the Flying Fish Robe slowly fell to the ground.
At this moment, the blackness in Fang Henshui's eyes seemed to overflow. His face was covered with dark blue lines, making him look exceptionally ferocious and terrifying. His hair was disheveled, his upper body clothes torn apart by the explosion, and the dark blue lines on his bare torso rapidly connected, like a spider web growing from his body.
This terrifying transformation happened so quickly that he looked like a true demon.
Fang Jie clearly felt the red in his eyes gradually fading. He knew he had to defeat Fang Henshui before returning to normal. His Blood Eyes made him powerful, but the inability to freely control them was incredibly frustrating. He pushed his speed to the limit, transforming into a blur as he slashed directly at Fang Henshui!
Fang Henshui, blood trickling from his mouth, laughed maniacally, as if he had gone mad.
He didn't dodge at all, but instead reached for Fang Jie's Morning Dew Blade. Fang Jie's blade spun slightly in mid-air, and with a whoosh, four of Fang Henshui's fingers were severed. At this moment, the crazed Fang Henshui seemed to have lost all sense of reason, even forgetting that Fang Jie wielded the priceless Morning Dew Blade.
His physical body had indeed become stronger and more resilient after receiving the inheritance, but it still couldn't withstand the blade of Morning Dew.
With four fingers severed, the madman Fang Henshui screamed, still not dodging, and used his bare hand to strike directly at Fang Jie's chest.
Fang Jie jerked his body backward, barely dodging Fang Henshui's palm. As he bent back, he unleashed a flurry of six or seven kicks on Fang Henshui's chest. Fang Henshui staggered back several steps, but it seemed to have no effect on him. With four fingers severed and several kicks in hand, Fang Henshui became even more frenzied, roaring like a wild beast as he charged back.
Fang Jie spun around behind Fang Henshui and slashed downwards with his Chaolu Blade, tearing a gash in Fang Henshui's back.
Blood gushed out instantly, almost splattering Fang Jie himself.
The blood, landing on the ground, actually emitted a puff of white smoke.
Enraged by the pain in his back, Fang Henshui turned wildly and unleashed a flurry of punches, each punch creating a black lotus flower. Fortunately, he was completely out of his mind at this point, his wild swings lacking any real purpose. Deep craters were blasted into the surrounding earth, and thick dust and smoke billowed up.
Amidst the dust and smoke, Fang Jie constantly dodged the terrifying black lotuses, seizing every opportunity to close in and attack. But Fang Henshui seemed completely impervious to harm, only protecting his vitals, ignoring any other wounds inflicted by the blades. He unleashed punch after punch, quickly riddling the road with craters.
As Fang Jie dodged a black lotus, his foot slipped, and he lost his balance and fell. At that moment, Fang Henshui suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his collar!
His other hand, missing four fingers, rose and stabbed viciously towards Fang Jie's heart!
...
...
Fang Jie stepped into a deep pit and lost his balance. Just as he was about to regain his footing, Fang Henshui grabbed the front of his clothes. At this distance, Fang Jie clearly saw Fang Henshui's pure black eyes, so black that it seemed as if a black mist was about to overflow from their sockets.
Fang Henshui grabbed Fang Jie's clothes, his other hand stabbing down as if to rip out Fang Jie's heart. Fang Jie bent over, his legs leaving the ground as he kicked off Fang Henshui's abdomen. With a tearing sound, he flew backward, his clothes ripped open by Fang Henshui.
Fang Jie looked down; several bloody gashes marred his chest.
He frowned slightly, dodging a black lotus with a light step, then suddenly hurled the Morning Dew Blade in his right hand. The blade flashed through the air, swift as lightning. Fang Henshui seemed to sense something approaching and instinctively reached out to grab it.
But his hand was missing four fingers; how could he possibly grasp it?
Besides, the Morning Dew Blade was too sharp; even with all five fingers, he couldn't hold on. The long blade pierced his hand and sliced through his arm, the tip protruding from behind his shoulder. This attack likely inflicted unbearable pain on Fang Henshui, who roared several times, his face contorting into a grimace.
Just as he reached for the knife in his right arm, Fang Jie charged at him again. Crouching low, Fang Jie moved like a nimble cheetah. He ducked to avoid Fang Henshui's wildly swinging arms, and his left-hand Blood Butcher's Blade swiftly left a gash in Fang Henshui's chest.
After the initial strike, Fang Jie didn't retreat. His left-hand blade moved mechanically, slicing through Fang Henshui's body with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he had inflicted at least twenty wounds on Fang Henshui's body. The excruciating pain drove Fang Henshui even more mad; he flailed his arms, unleashing black lotuses of energy.
Fang Jie crouched down, severing Fang Henshui's Achilles tendons with two strikes. As Fang Henshui fell backward, Fang Jie swung his right fist and slammed it down.
The punch was powerful and heavy; with a loud thud, Fang Henshui was completely embedded in the ground.
After successfully knocking Fang Henshui down, Fang Jie didn't stop. Instead, he leaped forward, stomping on Fang Henshui's body, pressing his scalp even deeper into the crater.
Fang Jie crouched down, raining punches upon punches upon punches, dust billowing as Fang Henshui's body sank deeper and deeper! Each punch seemed to make the earth tremble. Each punch stirred up a cloud of smoke from the deep pit.
When Fang Henshui had lost all strength to resist, Fang Jie raised the Blood Butcher's Blade high.
Aiming at Fang Henshui's forehead, where the skin had been crushed.
But—
The blade didn't strike.
Because Fang Jie saw that the black in Fang Henshui's eyes had faded.
And at this moment, the red in Fang Jie's eyes had also disappeared.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally got off Fang Henshui and sat down to the side. The Blood Butcher's Blade was in his hand, but he didn't strike.
"I actually..."
A mouthful of blood spilled from Fang Henshui's mouth. He smiled bitterly and said, "I actually... lost to you."
...
...
After the blood-red eyes disappeared, Fang Jie was left with utter exhaustion. His previous attacks had nearly exhausted him. Defeating a master capable of killing Mo Wanwu was far too difficult for Fang Jie. He gasped for breath, sweat pouring down his forehead.
He sat on the edge of the pit, shaking his head as he looked at Fang Henshui, who was now limp as a rag doll. "From the moment you returned to Chang'an, you lost… You're no longer the person you used to be; you're a madman. How can a madman possibly succeed?"
Fang Henshui turned his head with difficulty to look at Fang Jie, panting as he said, "I should have killed you sooner… If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be like this today. I should still be living a peaceful life in a fishing village in Jiangnan, happily watching the fishing boats at sea during my patrols… It was you, you made me like this!"
"Me?"
Fang Jie frowned slightly. "Why me?" Fang Henshui gasped. "There was a murder outside the fishing village, all the victims were members of the Buddhist sect! I was ordered by the Ministry of Justice to come to Chang'an to report the case, but I was captured by Zhihui on the way… And those Buddhist sect members were after you! If you hadn't killed them, I wouldn't be in Chang'an!" Fang Jie paused, silent for a while, then said, "Although I didn't kill those Buddhist sect members, you're not wrong to pin it on me…" "If it weren't for you, how could I have encountered Zhihui!" Fang Henshui roared hoarsely, but his voice wasn't loud. He tried to sit up and continue fighting, but he could no longer control his body. His injuries were too severe; if it weren't for the inheritance that changed his physique, an ordinary martial artist would have been smashed into a pile of mud by Fang Jie. Fang Jie sighed and slowly stood up. "I won't kill you, but you should understand how the Imperial Guards will deal with you."
With that, Fang Jie turned to leave. A flicker of fear flashed in Fang Henshui's eyes: "I can't die... I don't want to die... I know many secrets of Buddhism. As long as you don't kill me, I'll tell you everything! Aren't you curious about why I became a cultivator? Aren't you curious about Zhihui's fate?"
Fang Jie paused, turned back, and smiled: "I already know without you telling me... When you killed Mo Wanwu, you didn't notice the words he left on the stone. Fang, Zhisi, Kou... Fang, naturally, refers to you killing him. And Zhisi means Zhihui is dead. We already know this. Why did Mo Wanwu leave those two words? I didn't understand at first, and couldn't figure it out for a long time, but just now when I saw you devour a human heart, I suddenly understood... Zhisi isn't the point. Mo Wanwu just wanted to tell us how Zhihui died... The 'Kou' at the end is only half; it should be the character for 'eat.'"
"Mo Wanwu must have run out of strength at the time and couldn't finish writing that character. You ate Zhihui alive to obtain his inheritance and become a cultivator."
Fang Jie paused, his brows furrowing slightly: "Buddhism, Zhihui, you... are all disgusting!"