Chapter 689 - 689: The Downfall of the Shen Family
Cui Yulong's blade strike hadn't harmed Shen Jiu, and without much pause, he advanced a step and swung his blade at Shen Jiu again.
There was still some distance between Shen Jiu and Cui Yulong, but Shen Jiu dared not slacken his defense and continually raised his Liuguang Sword to block. However, Cui Yulong's Saber Qi was extremely fierce; although Shen Jiu managed to block it each time, it left him jittery and inwardly shocked by Cui Yulong's strength.
Finally, Cui Yulong reached Shen Jiu, changing the one-sided beating Shen Jiu had endured. But soon, Shen Jiu sensed something was wrong. Although he could strike back now, he actually had little strength to do so. With the distance now closed, Cui Yulong's Saber Qi was even more terrifying, forcing Shen Jiu to defend without any chance to counterattack. Each time their weapons clashed, Shen Jiu involuntarily had to step back, unloading Cui Yulong's force!
Shen Jiu had observed the fight between Cui Yulong and Shen Anyun earlier and knew Cui Yulong's strength was not much greater than his own. But during this fight, he suddenly realized that Cui Yulong's strength was terrifyingly strong, completely unlike his earlier estimation.
Shen Jiu knew his own estimation was absolutely correct. The reason Cui Yulong had suddenly become so strong was undeniably the effect of the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade, which could enhance Cui Yulong's Inner Strength. Cui Yulong was formidable without drawing his blade, but once he did, his strength increased at least twofold!
However, the Liuguang Sword Shen Jiu wielded didn't have such an effect. In fact, the Liuguang Sword didn't recognize him. In his hands, it was merely a relatively sharp weapon, able to withstand attacks from the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade without being chopped up like ordinary steel, yet it could not enhance his strength.
Of course, without the Liuguang Sword, his situation would have been far more perilous. Because he could only use the Liuguang Sword to block attacks from the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade—if he didn't have this weapon, he might have already been chopped into pieces!
But Cui Yulong fought increasingly fiercely, swinging his Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade left and right, relentlessly slashing at Shen Jiu. With each slash, Shen Jiu had to step back, and he gradually found himself retreating towards a wall, soon with no way out.
Shen Jiu felt extreme urgency; as one of the Shen Family's Ten Outstanding Members, he had never faced such an opponent. But now, he truly had no way to change the tide of the battle. Seeing the wall approaching, his heart grew colder—was he really going to die here?
Meanwhile, Sha Men members, having watched the fight for a while, also sprang into action against the people of the Shen Family. Previously, Cui Yulong was engaged by Shen Anyun, and the Right Protector was held off by Shen Jiu, leaving both sides with some fighting capacity. But now, with Shen Anyun injured and fallen, needing two people to protect her, and Shen Jiu unable to take care of anyone else, the Right Protector from Sha Men was free to wreak havoc—with predictable results. Before long, half of the dozen Shen Family members had fallen, marking a true defeat for the Shen Family!
Pressed relentlessly by Cui Yulong, Shen Jiu finally retreated to the wall, completely out of space to back up. At that moment, Cui Yulong attacked even more savagely, clearly intent on slashing him down.
Shen Jiu resisted desperately; his right arm numbed by the shocks, but he dared not pause for even a moment. If he didn't resist, Cui Yulong's Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade would cleave him in two.
At this critically dangerous moment, a long, piercing cry suddenly came from outside the gate, "Ninth Brother, don't panic, I'm here to help you!"
Hearing this, Shen Jiu's spirits lifted, and he yelled out, pushing Cui Yulong back a bit with his Liuguang Sword, and shouted, "Eighth Brother, be careful of the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade!"
As he spoke, the doors of the teahouse, as if struck by a truck, flew inward. A man holding a long blade rushed in through the doorway, heading straight towards Shen Jiu. Before he even reached him, he drew his blade and with a move, Force Split Mount Hua, he slashed at Cui Yulong.
The newcomer was Shen Ba. Their car was stopped halfway there, and sensing something was wrong, he immediately led others to run over. However, his speed was the fastest, so he was the first to arrive. Hearing the trouble inside from afar, he shouted loudly and came in to lend support.
The arrival of Shen Ba finally reduced some of the pressure on Shen Jiu. Cui Yulong stopped attacking him and coldly watched as Shen Ba's blade came slashing down, he too countered with a slice.
Although Cui Yulong was later to strike, his blade reached first. Before Shen Ba's blade could touch him, a fierce blast of Saber Qi forced Shen Ba to change color and hastily dodge a step aside, avoiding the Saber Qi of the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade. However, he was still a step too slow, and his left shoulder was slashed open, blood pouring out!
Shen Ba's expression drastically changed. He had heard Shen Jiu warning him about the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade while he was outside, but he hadn't taken much heed. He hadn't expected the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade to be so terrifying. It was also fortunate he dodged a step; otherwise, that blade would have split him in two.
Shen Ba dodged a step, and his own blade missed Cui Yulong. However, he dared not take any more chances, tensely watching Cui Yulong, and said in a deep voice, "Ninth Brother, are you all right?"
"I'm fine!" Shen Jiu stood up, his right arm, holding the sword, was numb, leaving him with little fighting capability.
"Eighth Brother, Cui Yulong is really too strong, we miscalculated this time!" Shen Jiu said somberly, "Let's hold him off, and let the others escape!"
Had this been any other time, Shen Ba certainly would not have agreed. But after clashing with Cui Yulong once, he already understood that they could not withstand the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade. Therefore, without saying another word, he directly swung his long blade at Cui Yulong, intending to entangle him first.
Shen Jiu also seized the opportunity, shook his right arm, and shouted loudly, "Retreat, everyone retreat!"
Half of the people of the Shen Family had already fallen to the ground, and retreating was simply not possible. Those remaining were so terrified that upon hearing this command, they didn't hesitate to turn around in an attempt to flee.
"Trying to run?" the Right Protector sneered, "It's already too late!"
The people of Sha Men also sneered and chased after them, encircling all of the Shen Family people in the middle, leaving no chance for them to escape. There, Shen Ba was continually forced to retreat under the assaults of Cui Yulong. After obtaining the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade, Cui Yulong was unbeatable for Shen Ba!
Seeing such circumstances, Shen Jiu didn't dare to delay, he grabbed the Liuguang Sword and charged towards the people of Sha Men. Although he was no match for Cui Yulong, he still held a strong advantage against the other people of Sha Men.
Shen Jiu swung the Liuguang Sword, forcing a few people of Sha Men back, and rescued several people from the Shen Family. These few also didn't dare to linger even for a moment, and turned around to run for their lives.
"Don't let them escape!" the Right Protector roared angrily, and with a palm strike, he sent a person of the Shen Family flying away, then quickly chased after the others.
"Come back here!" Shen Jiu bellowed, sweeping the Liuguang Sword horizontally and chopping down towards the Right Protector's shoulder.
The power of the Right Protector was almost on par with Shen Jiu, but he had no weapon that could match the Liuguang Sword. Seeing the Liuguang Sword slashing towards him, he couldn't defend and had to dodge by retreating, which increased his distance from the escaping people of the Shen Family.
Shen Jiu was indeed buying time for the people of the Shen Family, especially Shen Qianyue; he carried Shen Anyun on his back, and Shen Jiu protected him tightly. Shen Qianyue's life wasn't as critical, but Shen Anyun was different, after all, she was Shen Jiu's sister!
Here, while Shen Jiu engaged the Right Protector, the people of Sha Men didn't block but pursued directly, attempting to catch the people of the Shen Family at the gate. Outside, a chase began, and the situation looked extremely perilous.
Shen Jiu's brows furrowed tightly as he watched the people of the Shen Family running for their lives; his heart sank to the bottom. They had misjudged the strength of Sha Men, leading to such a disastrous defeat. This time, it would be considered good if a third of the people of the Shen Family who came here made it back alive!
"Hehehe..." the Right Protector laughed wildly, shouting loudly, "Shen Ba, Shen Jiu, since you're both here, don't even think about leaving. Today, every single person from the Shen Family must stay behind, consider it a bit of interest we're collecting from your Shen Family!"
The mood of the Right Protector was extremely excited, as Cui Yulong's strength had completely exceeded his expectations. He originally thought he would have to use the Seven Kills Formation today, but to his surprise, the fight was won so easily. The people from the Shen Family could only think of escaping now!
Shen Jiu clenched his teeth, desperately blocking the Right Protector with the Liuguang Sword. However, on the other side, Shen Ba was gradually losing to Cui Yulong; the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade was just too dominant.
Shen Ba managed to block a strike from Cui Yulong and shouted, "Brother Jiu!"
Shen Jiu turned his head and seeing Shen Ba in a dangerous situation, was greatly alarmed. He feinted with the sword, forced the Right Protector back, spun around, and stabbed towards Cui Yulong's back.
Cui Yulong didn't dodge; instead, he swung his blade back at Shen Jiu in return. Shen Jiu, not daring to clash directly with Cui Yulong, quickly sidestepped the strike and swiftly moved by, shouting loudly, "Brother Ba, run!"
Shen Jiu had already been ready to flee, so he hadn't put his full strength into that thrust, allowing him to quickly withdraw his sword and escape. Shen Ba also seized the opportunity and turned to run without any hesitation.
"Not so fast!" Cui Yulong bellowed, his step as fast as an arrow, gripping the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade with both hands, he chopped down from above.
As the foremost target, Shen Jiu felt the fierce Saber Qi and couldn't afford to delay, hastily turning around to block. Still, he was just a step too slow; Cui Yulong's blade landed right on his arm, chopping off the forearm holding the sword, causing the Liuguang Sword to fall to the ground.
"Ah!" Shen Jiu screamed, his arm gushing blood, pain contorting his face.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Shen Ba quickly slashed back at Cui Yulong, forcing him back a bit, and then, disregarding the Liuguang Sword on the ground, he grabbed Shen Jiu and hurriedly turned to flee.