Just like that, a Primary Essence Physique realm cultivator had been taken out right from the get go!
Gu Qiansi gaped in shock.
Lu Zhiying grinned in excitement.
Nie Hanchang did not hesitate.
The darkness of the night was dispelled in an instant, illuminated by beautiful arrows of energy that tore through the air. They shot out from atop the roof of the makeshift hut, heading straight for the five black-robed cultivators who had just revealed themselves.
Even though their opponents were busy tussling with the replicas of the avatar of the dog spirit, they had kept their eyes on the hut all along and quickly took evasive measures the moment the arrows flew out. As a result, only one arrow from the first wave of barrage managed to find its target.
The black-robed cultivator who failed to evade in time quickly drove his dantian to the limit, urgently summoning an iron cauldron to block the oncoming arrow.
Boom-!
The iron cauldron instantly exploded into pieces, though the arrow of energy similarly dissipated from the impact.
"Watch out for those arrows! They are far more destructive than they seem!" the black-robed cultivator immediately called out in caution.
[Vine Whip]
From within the hut, Gu Qiansi took action.
Thick vines bore out of the ground and slithered rapidly along the surface like vicious vipers, seeking to bind the feet of the black-robed cultivators.
"Watch the ground! There is a wood-element user among them!"
"Be careful not to get caught!"
Having to simultaneously fight back against the replicas of the avatar of the dog spirit, evade the arrows of energy, and avoid the entangling vines, those black-robed cultivators were immediately put on the back foot.
Even though they had already shed their concealment, they were still being forcibly kept from their intention to advance towards the hut and engage the trio in close combat!
Zhao Yunxiao took a quick glance at the five of them, then turned to face another direction with a cold light in his eyes. "If you don't stop hiding soon, you are going to lose your chance to save your companions."
There was a moment of silence, followed by an eerie snicker.
"Hehehe, impressive! To think that you are still a mere Essence Gathering realm runt. I guess you must be at least an inner disciple, or perhaps even a core disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect! How unlucky for us that the Black Tortoise Sect decided to send one this time. I guess those self-righteous old farts in the mountain have finally caught onto what we have been doing here!"
Black winds gathered to form a small tornado, which quickly dispersed to reveal another black-robed figure standing not too far away from Zhao Yunxiao.
The old man had a hunched back and looked to be in his seventies, carrying a scythe as long as the Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd. That said, the huge curved blade at the end definitely looked way more menacing.
No, it was not just the looks of it. The red curved blade emitted an intense aura of death – something that was only made possible through reaping the lives of many.
Zhao Yunxiao was not surprised.
Even from his limited personal encounters with the Scarlet Leaf Sect, he could understand just why the sect had been deemed an unorthodox faction – their methods were simply too ruthless and unscrupulous!
"The Black Tortoise Sect doesn't need to send an inner disciple to deal with the likes of you," Zhao Yunxiao started walking towards the man.
"Oh? You aren't?" the old man revealed a look of confusion. "But that makes no sense..."
His confusion was to be expected as well.
After all, he was facing a mere Advanced Essence Gathering realm runt. If the runt was neither an inner disciple nor a core disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect, then what gave the runt the confidence to approach like this?
Could this idiot not tell that he was a cultivator at the Peak Essence Physique realm?
"Ah, I see! Indeed, disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect can lie too!" the old man chuckled. "I can see through your plan with a glance. As the strongest one of the lot, you want to hold me back here for as long as you can, all to your companions the time needed to either run or beat the rest of my men. Well, let me tell you a secret... what you see is not all of us! Everyone, go now!"
On his cue, six more black-robed cultivators shot out from the shadows of the forest, charging straight towards the makeshift hut.
"Hehehe, worried yet? Unfortunately, it's too late even if you want to go back and help your friends now!" the old man snickered.
"Worried? Why should I be worried?" Zhao Yunxiao smirked to hide his relief after realising that the other black-robed cultivators were all either at the Primary Essence Physique realm or below.
"You intended to hold me back for the sake of your friends, but the truth is that you are actually the one who is going to be held back by me! Now that I have revealed myself, you can forget about going back to your friends's side. You now have no choice but to keep me company while we watch your friends get shred to pieces!"
"You have no idea just who you are dealing with here."
"Mere bravado!"
Zhao Yunxiao responded with actions rather than words.
[Snapping Burst]
He shot forward in an instant, piercing his Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd straight towards his opponent.
"Hehehe! You people of the orthodox sects always overestimate yourselves just because you managed to obtain some nice-sounding status as inner disciples while protected within the safety of your sect grounds," the old man snickered while swinging his scythe. "Let me show you just how harsh the real world actually is!"
The blade of the scythe drew a red trail as it cut through the air – a red trail that suddenly exploded with blood that immediately spread out to form a wall between him and Zhao Yunxiao.
Despite losing sight of his opponent due to the wall of blood, Zhao Yunxiao did not hesitate. With all his might, he slammed the Penta-Edge Grimoire against the red wall.
Bang-!
Blood splattered in all directions as the black halberd ripped a hole straight through the wall of blood. However, blood-red bats immediately charged out of the hole from behind the wall, heading straight towards Zhao Yunxiao's chest.
Splat-!
The aura of metal erupted as the Ring of Steel and Bamboo Barricade resonated with each other, forming a metal barrier around him. Against this metal barrier, the blood-red bats were like eggs smashing against stone, squashed before splattering harmlessly to the ground.
"And you still claim that you aren't an inner disciple!" the old man laughed as if having caught him red-handed. "What kind of outer disciple would possess two Origin Core realm treasures while being at the Essence Gathering realm! But you are still far too young, and your cherished treasures can only help you so much. After tonight, they will finally belong to someone who can actually use them to their fullest potential!"
Zhao Yunxiao looked at the man who had moved a good few metres back, and started advancing towards him once again.
"What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be keeping me here so that I can't help my companions?" Zhao Yunxiao taunted. "How are you suppoosed to do that while running away?"
"Hehehe! Running away? This is why I say that you members of so-called orthodox sects have no idea how the world works!" the old man snickered before slashing the air with his scythe, leaving yet another red trail.
This time, the red trail suddenly snapped open to reveal a huge eye with blood-red pupils and a long-slit iris that resembled that of a beast. The moment it appeared, a terrifying aura exploded out in all directions, completely washing over everything in the vicinity.
Zhao Yunxiao's surroundings started to warp in a way that defied logic.
The numerous trees elongated into strands that reached out into the sky. The ground tilted in weird angles and curled like waves.
His limbs withered to nothing but skin and bones. His trusted Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd turned into a flimsy strand of wheat.
The moon above turned into the face of a grinning devil, as though mocking him for the audacity to challenge his opponent.
Pain and exhaustion washed over him, invoking a strong survival instinct that screamed at him to lie down and rest.
But Zhao Yunxiao did not slow down one bit.
He continued running forward with those withered limbs of his, raising that strand of wheat before swinging it down with all his might.
[Explode]
[Weight]
[Zodiac Scripture – Ox Aspect: Strength]
[Zodiac Scripture – Boar Aspect: Toughness]
"Wha-?!"
The old man was forced to put his scythe up in a desparate attempt to guard against Zhao Yunxiao's strike, but that was far from enough.
Bang-!
With a thunderous clap, the old man was hammered waist-deep into the ground. His frail elbows trembled and threatened to give way from the impact, but held up just enough to stop the blade of the Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd centimetres away from his face.
"This... How is this possible?!" the old man's earlier confidence was no longer anywhere to be seen.
"Is this the so-called harsh reality of the real world that you wanted to show me?" Zhao Yunxiao said coldly as he suddenly found his surroundings reverted to their original state. "Perhaps you are the one who has no idea how the world works."
Back in Ghost Fog Valley, Zhao Yunxiao had been impressed with how Lou Yuan's powerful spiritual sense allowed him to stand tall even when faced with Hua Xian's powerful illusion, while Nie Hanchang and himself had been forced to their knees.[1]
Since then, he had broken through to the Advanced Essence Gathering realm and opened the Mind Gate, as well as experienced the baptism of countless high-level battles through the memories of the Zodiac General and Untethered Sage. Now, his spiritual sense had finally become refined enough to resist a similar-level illusion technique himself!
This might not have exempted him from the illusion of pain and exhaustion caused by the old man's technique, but it was at least able to help him see through everything as mere illusion, saving him from the disorientation and despair that could have resulted otherwise.
With that, all that remained was for him to endure and outlast the illusion of pain and exhaustion – a task that meant little in front of his overwhelming mental and physical fortitude!
"Don't act all cocky just because you got lucky! Do you really think that your companions can afford to keep waiting as you waste your time here?" the old man yelled agitatedly.
"I do think so, indeed," Zhao Yunxiao said confidently without looking back.
He did not have to.
This was not just because he possessed spiritual sense to help him monitor the situation behind him, but also because of his confidence in his companions.
Specifically, in Gu Qiansi.
That girl might not seem all that reliable in other combat situations, but she was actually unreasonably good at one thing – defence.
***
Atop the roof of the makeshift hut, the Grand Annihilator stopped firing for a moment as Nie Hanchang looked around him in surprise.
At some point in time, thick roots had emerged from the ground to form layer after layer of barricades around the hut. These roots were almost two metres in diameter and had countless thorns the size of swords.
They wrapped around the hut like a constrictor, leaving just enough space between each layer to squeeze in an arm. The layers were thick and dense at the base, slowly growing thinner as it coiled up the hut, finally ending right at Nie Hanchang's feet.
Thinner vines, though also lined with thorns, emerged from the gaps between the countless layers, waving freely in the air like outstretched wooden tentacles ready to strike down anyone who dared approach.
It looked just like a divine altar fortified by a powerful plant demon, upon which stood Nie Hanchang with his long silver bow.
He could not help but let out a smirk before raising the Grand Annihilator once more.
Enough watching.
Now, it was their turn to earn some battle merits as well!
[1] [Lou Yuan]: Self-proclaimed disciple of the famous designer Wushuang, who Zhao Yunxiao rescued from the hands of bandits. He later helped design the Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd. [Hua Xian]: Fairymist Flower Demon who was subdued by Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang, eventually brought back to Purple Plum Mountain where it helped Zhao Yunxiao with his breakthrough to the Advanced Essence Gathering realm. Currently resides at the Lightwind Pavilion.