Chapter 437: Startling Change (Part 2)
Chapter 437: Chapter 389: Startling Change (Part 2)
The man appeared to be in his fifties, with an amiable, round face perpetually creased in a smile, giving him the look of someone naturally good-natured.
He wore an ordinary brown brocade robe, his hands folded within his sleeves. He exuded no intimidating presence; instead, he resembled a wealthy gentleman.
The amiable elder’s gaze swept over the smoldering campfire and the scattered fish bones. Smiling as if greeting old friends, he said, “You two Hall Masters seem to be in good spirits. It’s just a pity for us old bones. After chasing you for so many days, we’re quite famished. Why not roast a few more and let us fill our bellies too?”
Feng Suiyun rose to his feet. “Even if we did, would you dare eat it?”
“Heh heh…”
The amiable elder chuckled softly. “Hall Master Feng, surely you don’t underestimate me? I fancy I can handle a little poison from the Seven Kills Hall.”
“Enough of this nonsense.”
Hua Wuxin wiped the grease from his hands on the hem of his robes.
The mottled, dark-red sheathed Longsword that hung at his waist had somehow been drawn, and now rested in his gaunt right hand.
“Attack! Don’t let them escape again!”
Almost at the same instant Hua Wuxin’s voice faded, the man in moon-white robes nearby gave a sudden, low shout.
He had long grown impatient with the phony pleasantries, his killing intent so thick it was almost tangible.
SHIIING!
The clear ring of a sword resounded through the foothills at dusk.
The man in moon-white robes didn’t even fully draw his Longsword. With a mere flick of his wrist, the blade slid three inches from its sheath, and an incomparably frigid, azure blade of light over a hundred feet long erupted with a roar.
A massive crescent arc screamed through the air, moving like lightning as it swept horizontally toward Feng Suiyun and Hua Wuxin, aimed at their waists.
In its wake, the Sword Qi sliced through stone, carving a deep furrow into the earth and turning all grass and trees to powder.
“Move!”
In the very same instant Jian You struck, Feng Suiyun and Hua Wuxin sprang into action.
Feng Suiyun’s sheath shattered as a brilliant flash of his saber arced upward, fearlessly meeting the azure crescent of light.
His strike was ferocious and unrelenting, drawing both Celestial Sword Sect Elders into battle at once.
Meanwhile, Hua Wuxin became a streak of dark red light, lunging straight for the amiable elder, who remained standing in place, still smiling.
The tip of his sword was a single point of cold light, its power condensed to the extreme. All traces of killing intent and Inner Qi were withdrawn.
The sword of assassination: silent, yet deadly.
The amiable elder’s wide, brocaded sleeve swept out like a flowing cloud. Unflinching, he formed a sword-finger with his index and middle fingers and met the tip of the dark red blade head-on.
In a flash, the five were locked in combat.
Five Spirit Realm Grandmasters clashing with their full power. Inner Qi surged, weapons rang out like cracking thunder, and crisscrossing Sword Gang and Sword Qi ravaged the desolate southern slope of Kao Mountain, turning it upside down.
The tremendous sounds echoed and amplified between the cliffs, carrying far into the distance.
In just a dozen breaths’ time, the sounds of more figures cutting through the air, accompanied by shouts, arrived from the distance.
“Over there!”
“Surround them!”
“Don’t let the dregs of the Seven Kills Association escape!”
Dozens of figures shot in from every direction, rapidly forming a loose encirclement.
Some were Celestial Sword Sect disciples in moon-white long robes, while the others were Honored Guests and disciples of the Su Family.
Among them, six masters at the Spirit Realm Third Level leaped into the fray without a moment’s hesitation.
The addition of six Inner Mansion Pass masters instantly shattered the fragile stalemate.
Feng Suiyun and Hua Wuxin, who were already at a slight disadvantage, were immediately pushed onto the defensive, facing one perilous situation after another.
“Go!”
Feng Suiyun let out a sudden, ferocious roar as he madly poured all his remaining Inner Qi into his long saber without holding anything back!
“Breaking Army!”
The gleaming blade instantly unleashed a terrifying, four-hundred-foot-long, snow-bright Sword Gang that swept out, expanding and slashing wildly in all directions.
The single strike drained most of his Inner Qi and his very Essence, Qi, and Spirit, but its power was appalling.
“Watch out!”
“Fall back!”
The man and woman in moon-white, who were at the forefront of the attack, along with three Celestial Sword Sect disciples at the Inner Mansion Pass, turned pale with fright. They all scrambled to execute their Body Techniques and retreat.
Still, the Sword Gang slammed into the weapons of three of them. They grunted in pain, spat blood, and were sent flying backward. Though not killed, they had clearly sustained severe internal injuries.
In the same instant that Feng Suiyun unleashed his attack, Hua Wuxin made his move.
With his mind split between two tasks, he continued to engage the amiable elder with his crimson Longsword. At the same time, a dark glint shot out from his left sleeve without warning, like a viper striking.
The smile vanished from the amiable elder’s face. In a split second, he twisted his body to evade.
RIIIIP!
The jet-black Short Sword was just a hair faster. Although it missed the vital point beneath his ribs, it still ripped through his brocade robe, leaving a three-inch gash on his outer left arm. Blood instantly dyed his sleeve red.
Seizing the fleeting opening, Hua Wuxin retreated without even glancing back to see the outcome, his body drifting away like a wisp of green smoke.
“Go!”
Having unleashed his final slash, Feng Suiyun’s face was deathly pale and his aura was weak. He forced out a final breath of Inner Qi, and he and Hua Wuxin—now back at his side—transformed into two streaks of light, shooting toward a deep cave entrance on the Kao Mountain Wall.
“After them!”
The amiable elder shouted the command, clutching the wound on his arm.
His figure blurred as he gave chase, the other masters following close behind, relentlessly pursuing.
The dozens of figures gave chase, arriving before the stone cliff in the blink of an eye.
“Careful!”
The amiable elder paused at the mouth of the cave. After a moment’s hesitation, he waved his hand, signaling to the others.
Weapons drawn, the group entered the cave one by one with utmost caution.
They advanced for several hundred feet, but none of the expected traps—arrow volleys, falling rocks, poisonous smoke—materialized. The passage was unnervingly clean.
After advancing for another dozen breaths or so, a faint light appeared ahead.
The view suddenly opened up, and the darkness receded like a tide.