It's pitiful. Uchiha Ci's Sharingan had just awakened not long ago.
No one taught him how to use those eyes properly.
Forget about Genjutsu.
All he could utilize was the observational function of the single Tomoe Sharingan. He couldn't even copy ninjutsu; he could only mimic the taijutsu he had seen.
At that moment, Uchiha Ci was truly gambling with his life.
If the enemy had insisted on attacking with the spear, given his condition—having lost the use of one leg and lacking knowledge of the Body Flicker Technique, Genjutsu, or even having time to pre-place a substitution log—Uchiha Ci would have had no room to dodge.
Life and death hung on a single thought.
Fortunately, he, who didn't know how to use Genjutsu, succeeded in making his opponent believe he had mastered it.
He bet correctly and won.
Uchiha Ci slowly dragged his right leg, moving toward the cult leader, his face growing darker.
Gritting his teeth, he seemed furious at the other's incompetence.
These losers got themselves killed even with a three-on-one advantage? Do they even know how to fight?
You've already activated the Curse Technique: Death Mimicry through blood, so why didn't you stab the heart?
All talk about evil and pain—why not just offer the sacrifice?
Would a few more stabs kill you?
At this moment, the cult leader looked terrified.
Watching Uchiha Ci approach with a chilling aura, cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
Unlike the future Hidan, he did not possess an 'immortal body' created by the cult through various bizarre sacrifices. When he stabbed his leg, he did it for real!
Moreover, to restrict Uchiha Ci's movement, he hadn't performed any hemostasis.
He had lost too much blood, and his dark face had begun to look sickly pale.
If you're going to call in the experts, just call them directly.
While restricting Uchiha Ci, he had also restricted himself.
Then, the final result was—
Uchiha Ci shuffled forward a few more steps, a ferocious smile on his face.
He pulled the pitch-black spear from the ground!
Then, lunging and extending his arms like a full moon rising—
Whoosh!
The pitch-black spear tore through the air, tracing a crescent arc!
With one sweep, the cult leader was first thrown out of the ritual circle, interrupting his Curse Technique: Death Mimicry.
Immediately after,
A streak of black light shot out, pierced his throat, and pinned him firmly to the ground.
The Evil God Cult leader—dead!
At that moment, the talent notification sounded:
[Ding!]
[You bravely fought back against an enemy who mocked you. The enemy is dead and cannot refute.]
[Counterattack successful. Reward crit!]
[You obtain a random skill from the opponent:Wind Release: Vacuum Wave (Proficiency, C-Rank)]
[Skill crit! Current attributes:Wind Release: Vacuum Great Wave (Mastery, B-Rank)]
[You obtain a random skill from the opponent: Rope Escape Technique (E-Rank)]
[Your Heart Steel (Mental Fortitude) layers have increased.]
The light red barrier stretching straight into the sky dissipated. Uchiha Ci gasped for breath and collapsed to the ground.
His body was covered in water stains and dust, the bloody hole on his right leg a shocking sight.
All around,
Silence.
The villagers in the square stared blankly at Uchiha Ci, who had killed the cult members one by one against three.
But,
There were no cheers, no flowers, and no praise.
The woman holding the little girl, Yuko, looked at the motionless cultists with horror on her face.
The next moment,
All expression on her face turned to fear.
Driven by this fear, the woman suddenly stood up, pointed at Uchiha Ci's nose, and shrieked:
"You beast! What have you done?!"
"You actually killed the masters of the Evil God Cult!"
"Do you know what you've brought upon us?"
The woman seemed drained of all strength. She leaned against the wall, crying and laughing, her face hideous.
"It's over, it's over, it's all over."
"We will all die here, haha, die here."
As if suddenly remembering something, the woman's expression turned vicious. She threw Yuko aside and suddenly rushed forward, as if to vent her rage, aiming to tear Uchiha Ci's face to shreds.
At that moment, the hooded girl jumped in front of Uchiha Ci, blocking the woman's path. She extended a slender palm to stop her advance.
She didn't say much, just looked coldly and formed a one-handed seal.
A rotating water jet gradually took shape in her hand.
"Get lost!"
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ci had no energy to focus on his surroundings. Due to excessive blood loss, he was now dizzy, short of breath, and pale, with cold hands and feet.
He looked at his injuries and couldn't help but smile wryly.
With such severe injuries and no medical ninja around, I'm definitely dead!
Ci shook his head and tried to stand up, but his vision darkened and he toppled over.
Just before closing his eyes, he suddenly saw Hidan dragging Shennong toward him.
The smile on Uchiha Ci's face instantly froze, replaced by a trace of panic in his eyes.
Wait, dammit, don't come over here!
Uchiha Ci remembered—
This guy Shennong seems to be a medical ninja!
And not just any—he's currently one of the top medical ninja in the shinobi world, second only to the Sannin Tsunade. He can even perform high-level medical ninjutsu like Mystical Palm Technique.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Outside Tang Yan City, in a large underground refugee gathering place.
There were endless pools of blood, forests of bones, and from the deep wind tunnels, faint howls could be heard.
The pale-faced bishop of the Evil God Cult, clad in black robes, stood by the blood pool. He suddenly turned his head and looked down.
An equally pale-faced ninja of the Evil God Cult dropped down and half-knelt on the ground.
"Sir, we have found it."
"Found what?" The cult bishop frowned coldly.
The black-robed subordinate nodded, a sickly smile on his face:
"We have found the child with the special physique you mentioned."
"Just now, I sent three elites to the village. They should be able to retrieve the child immediately."
"This way, we might truly be able to create a monster with an 'immortal body'!"
The Evil God Cult bishop narrowed his eyes, slowly raising the corners of his mouth.
"Not bad. Very good."
"Lord Evil God will surely be pleased with this sacrifice!"
However, neither of them knew that a small white-scaled snake was lying quietly in a corner of the blood pool.
Quietly observing everything in the cave,
It hissed, flicking its forked tongue.
Night.
There were no clouds in the sky; the full moon cast its clear light.
A bonfire blazed, illuminating the wild night sky.
Uchiha Ci slowly opened his eyes.
On a tree stump nearby,
The pensive girl stood facing the wind, gazing into the dark, deep distance.
Her long brown hair fluttered in the wind. Seeming to hear movement, she suddenly turned around.
Then, Uchiha Ci saw the girl with the green eyes from daytime.
Now, she had removed her hood.
Revealing a delicate and lovely face.
A strand of brown-red bangs hung down, curling around her glistening white ear, while the rest of her long hair was tied back into a bun, slightly curved like the moon.
She resembled a fairy descended under the moonlight.
"You're awake?"
"Where am I?" Uchiha Ci struggled to sit up, finding his body bandaged again.
Testing his right leg, he suddenly discovered with a blank expression—
It was healed. Though there was still some pain, it no longer hindered movement.
"You beat the Evil God Cult members to death. The people in that village weren't very welcoming. We were all kicked out," the girl said.
She squatted down slightly, looking curiously at the expression on Uchiha Ci's face, and asked,
"I mean, you..."
"Are you really not afraid of death at all?"
Under the gaze of her clear, green eyes, Uchiha Ci suddenly felt his face grow slightly warm.
He quickly coughed, changing the subject:
"Did you see Hidan?"
As soon as he finished speaking,
A voice full of resentment sounded from not far away—
"Ci, you bastard, I'm going to kill you!"