As soon as Nurarihyon finished speaking, the wooden sheath fell from the katana he was holding with a resounding thud. With a bullet-like speed, it shot right toward the center of Yang Chen’s brows!
Although it was incredibly quick, Yang Chen was not threatened by it. He stepped slightly aside and managed to dodge the blade.
The seemingly delicate wooden sheath, whose strike had missed, hit the steel wall behind, leaving a gaping hole no bigger or smaller than the katana itself!
“Nenekirimaru, a blade that never slays people, but only spirits and demons. However, you I don’t believe you qualify as human.” As Nurarihyon introduced his blade, his body had appeared a meter away from Yang Chen’s.
Raising his arm, the blade slashed from above.
It was an outwardly simple technique, yet it was most effective as it was the hardest the dodge!
In Yang Chen’s eyes, Nurarihyon’s sword technique was much more precise and brutal than that of Noriko Okawa. Moreover, the blade which seemed to be floating its way down, exuded an oppression like no other. It was capable of delivering forces beyond that of surging waves, leaving no room for escape!
“Not bad.”
Yang Chen’s interest was aroused. That was because he knew that he was faced with a true master.
Gazing upon the oncoming blade’s point, Yang Chen was soon covered by an invisible shield form by the True Qi of Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture within his body. When the blade neared the edge of his body, it got blocked by a few milliseconds’ time.
Yang Chen calmly utilized that little time to move his head a few centimeters to the side and leaned his body away.
At the same time, an energy sufficient to crush Nurarihyon’s body into powder had condensed on Yang Chen’s palm before it was delivered to him!
Soon, a strange feeling surfaced in Yang Chen’s mind. He had indeed made contact with Nurarihyon’s body, but his profound combat instinct allowed him to realize it was fake!
As expected, the ‘Nurarihyon’ who was struck instantly vanished in thin air.
Yang Chen raised his head, only to notice that Nurarihyon had appeared three meters away, while the long and slim body of his katana was glaring with a wicked light.
“I can’t for the life of me tell if this is witchcraft or your ultimate skill. But whichever one it is, it’s such a troublesome one,” Yang Chen said and withdrew his arm regretfully.
Nurarihyon didn’t answer him. Instead, he asked, “Did you unseal just now?”
Yang Chen was surprised. He then laughed. “Unseal? How is it possible? Since you’re not a god, if I were to unseal, I would violate the Treaty of Gods. Stop joking around.”
“Then how did you block my strike earlier?” It was the first time Yang Chen had seen Nurarihyon frown. “I have trained my sword techniques for two decades in Okinawa. Admittedly, there should be no one in this world who could walk away unharmed after facing my blade. If you really did not unseal, how was it possible for you to block my blade?”
Two decades? Yang Chen quickly understood why the guy had only united Takamagahara recently—he had been practising his sword techniques before that.
Thus, it totally made sense that he just found out about Snow Girl’s death.
It was understandable for an already impressive fellow to exude such terrifying powers, having trained continuously for twenty years.
“Humph. Don’t be too arrogant, you idiot from Takamagahara. His Majesty Pluto isn’t someone you could mess with even with his godlike powers bound,” one of the assassins from Zero said.
Yang Chen gestured them to not intervene. He looked around and noticed that not many people were passing by, which he felt fortunate for; otherwise he wouldn’t be willing to take action there.
Yang Chen waved at Nurarihyon and said, “Let’s continue. I don’t mind telling you how I managed to dodge your attack. It’s because I’ve cultivated the Chinese internal energy, but now I’m much more interested in your witchcraft. Come, give it your best shot.”
“Are you insulting me?” Nurarihyon’s gaze turned ice-cold. Based on Yang Chen’s attitude, Nurarihyon obviously wasn’t treated as a threat.
Without saying a word, Nurarihyon suddenly grasped the katana on its shank with both his hands. He then lowered the blade before letting go of it. Unlike what the onlookers had expected, the sword didn’t cause a thud upon its impact with the ground. Instead, it sank right through the floor!
“Mirror of Purity,” Nurarihyon murmured while closing his eyes.
At the instant when Nurarihyon shut his eyes, to Yang Chen’s surprise, he had suddenly vanished!
How is it possible?!
Even if he had turned invisible, Yang Chen should be able to sense his presence, but instead failed to locate even the slightest bit of his presence!
Not only was Yang Chen shocked, Sauron and the rest had displayed an odd expression on their faces as well.
It was as if Nurarihyon had evaporated in the air. No one could sense his presence. Of course, no one was so stupid to think that he had left the place.
When everyone present, including Yang Chen, looked around, a corona-like sword brilliance appeared above Yang Chen’s back!
Yang Chen reacted almost at the exact instant, thanks to his extreme combat instinct, he leaned his body slightly forward. However, the clothing at his left shoulder was cut open!
Yang Chen turned around violently with his eyes wide opened. Still with disbelief written on his face, he stared at Nurarihyon who had appeared behind.
If it wasn’t for the protection granted by his Xiantian True Qi, he was sure that his arm would have sustained injuries beyond measure, if it wasn’t already slashed off.
Although he held an incredible speed of recovery, the fact that the guy managed to do him harm was terrifying enough!
Nurarihyon glared at Yang Chen in contempt while revealing a cold smile. He mocked, “It hasn’t ended yet.”
Upon he finished his speech, Nurarihyon’s silhouette had faded once again!
This time, Yang Chen wasn’t waiting anymore. He cultivated Xiantian True Qi to surround his entire body before exploding a shapeless shock wave!
Boom!
Nurarihyon appeared again midair. He was hit by the explosion of Xiantian True Qi, causing him to be thrown backward before crashing to the top of the lounge!
As expected, if Yang Chen failed to react on time, he would have to withstand yet another slash by the blade!
Nurarihyon’s Mirror of Purity was finally broken by Yang Chen, allowing the onlookers to let out a sigh of relief.
His Majesty Pluto will not fall. They all regained their confidence.
Although Nurarihyon was flung away and hit the ceiling, he didn’t look like he sustained any injuries. After landing on the ground he hurled his sleeves to get rid of the dust.
“Did you use the Chinese internal energy again?” Nurarihyon snorted. “It’s not bad, but isn’t very impressive. Had I exerted more strength, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to toss me away.”
Yang Chen wasn’t annoyed when he was looked down upon. He wasn’t bothered to tell Nurarihyon that he had used less than one fifth of his Xiantian True Qi earlier. Smiling, he asked, “Do you still wanna give it a go? I’m very sure that isn’t the only trick you have up your sleeve. Since you haven’t used up your strength, show me what you’ve got.”
Nurarihyon, however, shook his head. “I didn’t come to duel you. I’m just here to assess your capabilities and worthiness of being my opponent. Since you’ve already proven yourself, it wouldn’t be too late for me to battle you on the island when competing for the Sword of Thanatos.”
Yang Chen was rather disappointed. He didn’t intend to fight at the specified time, while he wasn’t interested in the sword as well. Furthermore, having to duel someone in front of an audience would make him look and feel no better than a clown .
However, Yang Chen was too lazy to explain any of that. Since Nurarihyon didn’t want to fight, he’d just go with the flow. At the same time, he wanted to make time to figure out how the fellow had managed to go invisible.
Following a wave of his hand, Nurarihyon’s wooden sheath flew back to him from the steel wall before covering the blade, as if it was magic.
Just as everyone felt amazed, they were instantly dumbstruck by the next scene. A human head was seen leisurely floating over from one of the pillars behind.
The head looked like it belonged to a young and handsome man!
Soon, the head spoke, “General, Motakuto had a drink with a few special agents from Soviet Medal, and got really close with a bearded man. He carried her back to his room just now.”
Frustrated, Nurarihyon rubbed his temple, saying, “Rokurokubi, how many times have I told you to pay attention to your body? Don’t forget that you have a body when you are floating your head around!”
“Hmm? Did I forget my body again?!” Rokurokubi lowered his head, only to realize nothing at all beneath.
Instantly, a headless youngster ran over from nearby before ‘connecting’ with the head, finally forming a complete individual.
“I’m sorry, General. I was just anxious just now. You too know what will happen when Motakuto sleeps with a man.” Rokurokubi pouted his lips.
“Are you unwilling to let the woman you like sleep with other men, or do you just want to avoid provoking the Soviet Medal?” mocked Nurarihyon.
“Of course I’m not afraid of them!” Rokurokubi said before blushing, knowing that he had accidentally spoken the truth.
“Haha,” Nurarihyon laughed and patted Rokurokubi shoulder. “Let’s go, summon Motakuto now, before the pathetic bearded man turns into a dead furball.”
Nurarihyon turned his head around to smile at Yang Chen before leaving with Rokurokubi.
After quite a while, Sauron and the rest finally swallowed their saliva audibly. Having realized what had just happened, Sauron walked forward and said to Yang Chen, “Your Majesty Pluto, are these people really demons?!”
Yang Chen smiled mysteriously. “Are you referring to the headless fellow? I know a thing or two about that demon. His name is Rokurokubi. He isn’t actually an evil being like most legends depict him to be. It’s just that his head and body would separate when he sleeps. The head would wander around and eat insects, with his ears being the wings. When dawn approached, it’d fly back to the body. However, what he had seen or listened during that time would all be forgotten. But all of these are just rumors. It’s my first time meeting him as well.”
While Yang Chen described the demon cheerfully, Sauron and the others felt that their necks were chilly, despite them having seen things beyond comprehension.