Chapter 423: Chapter 235: Mutation, Heart Sutra_2 When Kang Tai’s blood splattered onto the blade, it immediately emitted a sizzling sound, accompanied by billowing black smoke. As the blood fully covered the blade’s surface, the aura of the short sword transformed, growing far more formidable, rivaling Gu Sheng’s Water Cold Sword and Lin Tianhao’s spear without falling short in the slightest! The short sword swung out, unleashing a dense and sinister energy. A black streak of sword light erupted forth, meeting Gu Sheng’s Gale Nine Swords and Lin Tianhao’s Yellow Dragon Breaking Formation Spear head-on. The black sword light appeared inconspicuous, but contained immense power. Upon contact, it cut through Lin Tianhao’s spear as effortlessly as slicing through paper, splitting it into two pieces. The wind vortex conjured by Gu Sheng’s Gale Nine Swords held on for a few breaths before breaking apart at its center. Fortunately, Gu Sheng’s sword aura was unique. After Gale Nine Swords was broken, he swiftly scattered his sword aura into hundreds of projectiles aimed at Kang Tai. Caught off guard, Kang Tai was struck by the sword aura. The sword aura was exceedingly sharp and potent, causing Kang Tai to reveal a trace of pain on his face. He screamed miserably, and his clothes exploded into tatters. His skin turned pitch black, glinting with an unusual luster under the sunlight. As Kang Tai’s skin turned black, the eerie power radiating from him grew even stronger. Ripples resembling water waves appeared on the surface of his skin. The force of the sword aura was rapidly dissolved and vanished completely. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖 Lin Tianhao was deeply shaken by what he saw. Gu Sheng’s strength was no less than his own, yet the two of them, despite attacking with all their might, were unable to overwhelm Kang Tai. "What kind of power is this?! So bizarre and overwhelmingly strong!" Lin Tianhao stood beside Gu Sheng, his expression grave. Gu Sheng, though having encountered such power before, was unaware of its origin. He could only shake his head. "I don’t know. Judging by this, it seems we’ll have to fight to the death today." Lin Tianhao nodded as well and retrieved a pill he had used before to temporarily enhance his strength during the battle with the Wind and Fire Giant Bird. "Then let us fight!" Gu Sheng also took a deep breath and, without hesitation, activated Blood Burst once again! "Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" Upon activation of Blood Burst, Gu Sheng felt his whole body’s blood begin to boil. A buzzing filled his mind, followed by a surge in his power, speed, and physical resilience. In that moment, Gu Sheng was enveloped in a faint red light, his aura insanely violent, like an enraged beast. Gu Sheng’s eyes turned blood-red, filled with a ravenous desire for combat. This time, he abandoned martial techniques entirely, choosing instead to engage Kang Tai in close combat with his sword. Kang Tai, seeing the two of them resorting to pills and secret techniques to amplify their powers, sneered and mocked, "Useless cowards! Two against one, and you still need these crooked methods? How disgraceful! But even with these tricks, you cannot change your demise today!" Kang Tai raised his short sword to meet Gu Sheng in a clash of brute force, both sides unleashing everything they had in ferocious strikes. Sparks flew as their weapons collided, producing waves of explosive energy. As their exchanges grew more frequent, both Kang Tai and Gu Sheng were silently astonished. Gu Sheng marveled at Kang Tai’s strength, which was so overwhelming that even with Blood Burst activated, he struggled to fight on equal footing. As their exchanges escalated, Gu Sheng began to feel the onset of fatigue. Kang Tai, for his part, was surprised that Gu Sheng could sustain close combat for so long. The Demon Seed had significantly fortified his body. Though he had yet to refine the Holy Demon Body, his blood and flesh had been enhanced by the Demon Seed to an extraordinary degree, evident from how his blood had empowered the short sword. Kang Tai’s skin shone with a black gleam, and even under the combined onslaught of Gu Sheng and Lin Tianhao, he remained unflappable. When he couldn’t fully block their moves, his skin still diminished the force of their strikes by a considerable margin. Both Lin Tianhao and Gu Sheng’s current combat capabilities were heavily dependent on secret techniques and pills, making their strength unsustainable. After several minutes of frenzied assault, their power and aura began to decline. Noticing this, Kang Tai immediately launched a counterattack! Lin Tianhao and Gu Sheng began to falter under Kang Tai’s offensive. Within a mere hundred exchanges, Kang Tai spotted a flaw in Lin Tianhao’s defense. With a swift slash, he forced Lin Tianhao to block with his spear, only to follow up with a punch to Lin Tianhao’s chest. The blow unleashed tremendous force, sending Lin Tianhao flying through the air while coughing up blood. His face turned as pale as paper, and his aura weakened rapidly. "Brother Lin!" Seeing this, Gu Sheng panicked, falling into a momentary lapse that Kang Tai seized upon, thrusting forward with vigor. His short sword slashed fiercely, intermittently accompanied by punches, and soon Gu Sheng too was struck. In an instant, Gu Sheng felt as though his chest had been crushed, struggling even to draw breath. When Kang Tai’s punch landed on Gu Sheng’s chest, he immediately extended his hand to grab Gu Sheng’s arm, dragging him back. Kang Tai grinned fiendishly. "Heh! What use is talent? In the end, it’s still death at my hands!" Kang Tai’s claw-like hand seized Gu Sheng’s head, releasing his blackened blood onto it. As the ominous blood fell onto his head, Gu Sheng felt a tremendous power surge into his mind. Under the influence of this force, his head seemed ready to explode, and he screamed in agony. "Heh! As Master Zhao has said, the flesh and soul of prodigies like you are exquisite delicacies! Today, I’ll see if it’s true! Gu Sheng, hailed as the greatest Martial Arts prodigy of Red Cloud Prefecture in the past century, let’s find out how divine your soul and flesh truly are!" Just as Kang Tai’s blood was about to fully engulf Gu Sheng’s head, a brilliant streak of golden light suddenly gleamed from his brow. The marking of the Vajra Demon Suppression Bell shone radiantly, emitting intense heat. Under the golden light, Kang Tai’s blood rapidly evaporated! "Ah!" Kang Tai recoiled, scalded by the golden glow, and frantically kicked Gu Sheng away. At that moment, Gu Sheng’s mind rang with sacred chants. The previously blurred contents of the Heart Sutra and Golden Light Palm became crystal clear. Gazing at the script etched into his consciousness, Gu Sheng couldn’t help but recite the Heart Sutra aloud, word for word. As Gu Sheng’s voice echoed, the golden light surrounding him took on an almost divine quality, filling listeners with an innate sense of reverence. To Lin Tianhao, Gu Sheng’s chanting appeared holy. His voice carried an inexplicable energy, calming Lin Tianhao’s restless heart and even accelerating his recovery from injuries. Yet for Kang Tai, the effect was entirely different. Gu Sheng’s voice struck Kang Tai like thunderbolts, his face contorting as though struck by an invisible hammer. Within moments, his ears bled profusely. "Stop chanting! Stop! Ah..." Kang Tai howled in anguish, clutching his head and rolling on the ground in agony. "Brother Kang! What’s wrong with you?" Lan Liu, seeing the tides inexplicably shift, rushed forward to check on him. Through searing pain, Kang Tai shouted bitterly, "Kill him! Kill him now!" Gu Sheng’s special state made him vulnerable; his eyes were shut, and his aura weakened significantly due to Blood Burst. Lan Liu hesitated due to the radiating golden light surrounding Gu Sheng, but when she remembered the rewards awaiting them for killing Gu Sheng and Lin Tianhao, she drew her weapon and charged at Gu Sheng. Lin Tianhao, noticing Gu Sheng’s lack of reaction, was alarmed. Fighting through his injuries, he hurled his spear. Though Lin Tianhao’s strength waned and his body was battered, he remained formidable compared to Lan Liu. The spear forced Lan Liu to defend hastily, diverting its trajectory enough for it to strike her shoulder, leaving it mangled and visibly broken. Lan Liu winced in pain, her weapon clattering to the ground. The delay proved fatal. As Gu Sheng’s chanting continued, waves of golden light descended upon Kang Tai. When the golden light touched Kang Tai’s black skin, sizzling sounds erupted as black smoke billowed around him. His blood-curdling screams echoed across the skies.