Volume 3 Chapter 31 / Chapter 197: Senior Brother, Six-on-One
Thud, thud—
The heads of the two Jiuquan Peak disciples fell to the ground suddenly. The black-clad man raised his hand to catch Yun Shulong’s head, then turned to face the four people staring at him.
With a hint of a smile in his eyes, he cupped his hands and said:
“Second Miss, Third Miss, greetings.”
Hearing this, Yun Xi’s eyes widened in surprise.
Although the black-clad man wore a half-gold mask, she recognized him immediately by his voice and the exposed parts of his nose and mouth.
This person was none other than the master of the Wutian Shadowmoon Sword Pavilion.
His full name was Xue Xinghai, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator who had run the Wutian Shadowmoon Sword Pavilion in the marketplace for nearly a century.
Half of the disciples in the Shadowmoon Sword Sect used spirit swords forged by him.
Yun Xi gritted her teeth, holding Pei Lengxue’s wrist to signal her not to act rashly, and then asked:
“Master Xue?! What are you doing?”
“This matter is quite complicated.” Xue Xinghai smiled, hung Yun Shulong’s head on his waist, and then gripped his spirit sword tightly, sweeping his gaze over the four people before him. “Consider it my way of repaying a favor.”
“To whom?”
“You don’t need to know. After all, with death imminent, why add more trouble to yourself before you die?”
“… …”
Realizing that Xue Xinghai was about to make a move, Yun Xi instinctively held her breath.
What should she do?
Although she had sent Zhang Yihe to get help, they still needed time to arrive.
Could the four of them really hold out until Zhang Yihe brought reinforcements?
Yun Xi wanted to buy time, quickly thinking and saying:
“Master Xue, before we die…”
—”You bastard Xue Xinghai!!”
Before she could finish, Yun Jiujiu cursed loudly, gripped her giant sword, and in a flash, charged at Xue Xinghai with her sword dragging behind her.
Seeing this, the other two, except for Pei Lengxue, gasped in shock.
Both Yun Xi and Feng Yudie knew Yun Jiujiu was fond of fighting, but did she dare to charge at someone a whole major realm above her?!
Boom—
A thunderous crash echoed down the street as Yun Jiujiu’s massive sword, bigger than herself, slammed down towards Xue Xinghai, who easily blocked it with his spirit sword.
Thunk—
Yun Jiujiu felt as if she had struck an iron block, causing her ears to buzz.
However, she didn’t stop, gritting her teeth and shouting as she put all her strength into pressing her sword down.
Finally, the purple spirit sword that was holding up her massive sword began to buckle under the pressure.
Xue Xinghai raised an eyebrow and said:
“Second Miss, your strength has indeed grown. Even though my cultivation is a whole major realm above yours, I can’t hold your sword with one hand.”
“Yaaaah—”
Just as Yun Jiujiu was using all her strength to press down her sword, Xue Xinghai’s free left hand flicked slightly, sending a beam of golden light shooting down towards Yun Jiujiu’s head.
Yun Jiujiu noticed it, glanced up, but the golden light was too fast to dodge.
However, at that moment, a spirit sword intercepted it above her head.
Clang—
The golden light collided with the spirit sword, and Feng Yudie, frowning slightly, deflected the golden light with a flick of her wrist.
At the same time, Pei Lengxue took the opportunity to move behind Xue Xinghai.
With a flash of icy blue sword light, it split into ten.
Xue Xinghai reacted quickly, showing a brief look of astonishment at the ten sword lights but didn’t hesitate.
He forced Yun Jiujiu back with a knee and turned to swing his purple spirit sword.
Clang, clang, clang—
With each collision of the swords, new tears appeared in Xue Xinghai’s black brocade robe, but his skin remained unscathed.
Gritting his teeth, Xue Xinghai finally seized the opening when Pei Lengxue retracted her sword to counterattack.
However, before he could strike back, Feng Yudie had already moved to stab at the side of his neck.
Xue Xinghai quickly dodged, but Feng Yudie’s sword path changed midway from a stab to a sweep, catching him off guard.
He raised his left hand, intending to block the sword with his late-stage Core Formation body.
However—
Slash—
A flash of gold from Feng Yudie’s spirit sword cut through his left hand like it was tofu, severing it at the arm.
“What?”
Xue Xinghai’s eyes filled with shock.
He immediately released his spiritual energy, using his spiritual pressure and spells to force the two of them back.
Boom——Bang——
A deafening explosion emanated from Xue Xinghai, sending shockwaves that struck Pei Lengxue and Feng Yudie.
Despite their attempts to block with their swords, they were blown away, crashing into the walls of the dilapidated buildings lining the street and tumbling inside.
“Huff—huff—” Xue Xinghai grunted, his mind replaying the two recent attacks.
The girl with the long dark brown hair had executed a sword technique strikingly similar to the Shadowleaf Sword Art and at a level far surpassing Yun Xi’s.
As for the silver-haired youth, he had effortlessly broken through Xue Xinghai’s late-stage Core Formation spiritual armor with mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, severing his left arm.
“… …” Xue Xinghai glanced at Yun Jiujiu, who was clutching her stomach and struggling to stand, and Yun Xi, who stood motionless with her sword raised, clearly hesitant to approach.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He had intended to behead them within two moves but hadn’t anticipated encountering such formidable opponents at their side.
This won’t do!
He needs to kill one and leave immediately.
If this drags on, more disciples from the Shadowmoon Sword Sect will arrive, making it difficult to escape.
With this thought, Xue Xinghai tightened his grip on his spirit sword, his eyes widening as he dashed toward Yun Jiujiu.
…
A boy hidden on the third floor of a building beside the street observed the situation below, raised his right index finger to his lips, and ordered softly, “One!”
…
Instantly, numerous ice-blue crystal spikes shot towards Xue Xinghai from the surrounding alleys.
Ambush? Xue Xinghai’s eyes widened as he halted, expanding a spherical barrier of spiritual energy around himself.
Rumble— The ice spikes struck the barrier, vaporizing into white mist that enveloped him completely.
Simultaneously, the boy on the third floor raised another finger and transmitted a message via a talisman in his left hand, “Two!”
In the next moment, over twenty disciples from Yishui Peak emerged from the alleys, surrounding the mist-covered area.
They threw golden chains towards the mist.
Seeing the chains ensnaring Xue Xinghai, Ye Anping exhaled in relief.
He turned to Yun Yiyi, who stood beside him, and said:
“Miss Yun, let’s go down.”
“… …”
Yun Yiyi nodded in agreement, then she and Ye Anping jumped from the window, landing lightly on the street below.
They walked towards the mist, stopping about twenty feet away.
As the mist dissipated, Xue Xinghai was revealed, bound by the chains.
He made no effort to resist, standing solemnly in place.
Yun Yiyi worried that the Immortal Binding Chains might not hold him but glanced at Ye Anping, who remained calm and composed.
Taking courage from his demeanor, she stood tall and said:
“Master Xue, can you explain this?”
“Miss Yun, what explanation can I offer? I’ve killed two inner disciples and twenty-seven family disciples of the Shadowmoon Sword Sect. This is a capital crime. Whether I explain or not, I’m a dead man. I might as well face my end with some dignity.”