Chapter 300: Senior Brother, Eldest Brother’s First Move!
A cool west wind brushed through the green bamboo in the forest.
Rustle…
The bamboo forest was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, only the rustling sound of bamboo leaves swaying could be heard. Not far ahead, two fine horses, one black and one white, quietly chewed on grass leaves.
Under the dead silence, Jiang He’s breathing visibly constricted. However, as a Pacification Commissioner of the Xing Tian Division, he was no pushover. Even though he knew the bamboo forest was riddled with killing intent, his face showed no signs of panic.
What was the cultivation of the owners of those two horses?
From what direction would they attack?
And the biggest question was, why would anyone ambush him in the bamboo forest east of Yuanquan Town?
Beyond this bamboo forest, a few hundred feet further east, lay a cave with a formation, which housed one of the Imperial Sect’s forty-seven “Pill Rooms,” a secret that the Imperial Sect could not afford to reveal under any circumstances. Perhaps due to wishful thinking, Jiang He didn’t believe that the ambushers knew about the existence of the “Pill Room.” They were likely just a group of petty thieves looking for robbery.
After a moment of silence, Jiang He took a deep breath and spoke again:
“Fellow Daoists, do you recognize the golden robe I wear? Whether black or white, in the Central Domain, you should know that offending the Xing Tian Division is no minor crime that can be absolved by a couple of days in prison.”
His voice echoed through the green bamboo, but the only response he received was the rustling of bamboo leaves swaying in the wind.
“I’ll give you three chances. Three…”
Chirp—chirp~~chirp…
Just as Jiang He counted to “three,” three calls of a jay suddenly came from the depths of the bamboo forest, sounding like a harbinger of spring. Jiang He paused slightly upon hearing them and didn’t pay much attention, continuing his countdown:
“Two!!”
Chirp—chirp~~chirp…
The bird calls sounded again, surprisingly consistent in rhythm and tone with the previous ones. At this moment, Liang Zhu, standing behind Jiang He, finally realized that these seemingly natural jay calls were not from a bird’s throat but from a specially made iron whistle.
This method of communication did not use spiritual energy or magical artifacts, so high-level cultivators could not detect it with their spiritual sense. Even if it were detected, not understanding the code would render it useless. It was just a rudimentary method of mortals, but it could sometimes be useful.
Chirp—chirp~~chirp…
As the third bird call sounded, Liang Zhu finally understood the meaning of the bird calls, but a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes after he did. His sixth brother’s intention was “first move,” meaning he should attack Jiang He? Why?
Just as Liang Zhu was wondering, Jiang He uttered the last number. He formed a sword finger with his right hand and with a slight flick, a long, ink-black spear flew out of his storage bag.
“One!!!”
Seeing this, Liang Zhu gritted his teeth. Although he was very reluctant to attack Jiang He, who had his back to him, he decided to follow his sixth brother’s instructions. He immediately took out a short dagger, entirely fiery red, from his storage bag, infused it with his spiritual energy, and stepped forward.
Swish—
A half-arc wreathed in flames struck Jiang He’s back, followed by a ground-shaking explosion.
Boom!!!
Liang Zhu’s short dagger easily ripped a large hole in the back of Jiang He’s golden Daoist robe. Upon contact with his protective spiritual energy, a burst of fire erupted between them. Jiang He had not expected Liang Zhu to attack him, but his reaction was extremely fast. He immediately placed his long spear behind his back and turned his head to look behind him.
Clang!!
The ink-black spear shaft blocked Liang Zhu’s dagger. Jiang He stared at Liang Zhu and questioned, “Who exactly are you?”
“…”
Liang Zhu looked at him with calm eyes. His left hand, behind his back, injected spiritual energy into a lightning talisman prepared in his sleeve, then he leaped backward and threw the talisman. Several lightning dragons descended from the sky, forming a cage around Jiang He, encircling him.
Gales swept through the bamboo forest, and lightning and fire etched dark marks on the green bamboo. Seeing Liang Zhu trying to put distance between them, Jiang He frowned. He only felt confused: Why would a young cultivator at the Late Foundation Establishment stage dare to attack him, a cultivator at the Early Core Formation stage?
“Do you think too little of me, a Pacification Commissioner of the Xing Tian Division? Do you think I’m one of those Core Formation rogue cultivators, like rats crossing the street? Thinking you can cross boundaries with petty cleverness, hee—”
Whoosh—
He gripped the shaft of the ink-black spear with his right hand and swung it around, drawing a dark, circular arc with the spear tip around himself. The lightning dragons that had initially trapped him instantly scattered and dissipated into spiritual energy under the sweeping motion of the spear, which he swung like an arc.
Liang Zhu truly did not expect Jiang He to break his lightning cage with just one strike. He was neither a sword cultivator nor a body cultivator, so he couldn’t engage in close-quarters combat. He had intended to trap Jiang He for three breaths, giving himself a chance to create distance, but now…
Boom—
Amidst the explosion, Jiang He, standing still with the spear in hand, suddenly swayed. Almost instantly, he surged forward and appeared before Liang Zhu. He held the tail of the spear, thrusting the spiritual spear forward as much as possible. The spear tip resembled the head of a fierce dragon, emitting a powerful aura like thousands of troops.
Liang Zhu looked at the spear tip aimed at his chest, his eyes widening slightly. His intuition told him:
— He absolutely couldn’t dodge this spear.
If he were hit, his body would be split in two on the spot, killing him instantly. However, his heart remained calm. He vaguely knew what was about to happen.
— Sixth Brother should appear now.
Almost simultaneously.
Whoosh whoosh—
A cold glint flashed through the bamboo forest behind Liang Zhu. A verdant spiritual sword flew from the depths of the bamboo forest behind Liang Zhu, brushing past his waist. The sword tip precisely struck the tip of Jiang He’s ink-black spear. Then, a white figure darted out from the forest and appeared in front of Liang Zhu, grasping the hilt of the spiritual sword that had arrived there before her.
After grasping the hilt, Feng Yu Die flipped the sword and directly struck the ink-black spearhead, pressing it towards the ground. She then held the sword horizontally against the spear shaft and advanced.
Boom—
Jiang He’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at the silver-haired girl who had suddenly appeared. She was only at the Mid Foundation Establishment stage, and he was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected a cultivator at the Mid Foundation Establishment stage to be able to block his previous spear strike with such precise swordsmanship and seize his weakness. But it was merely surprise.
Looking at the verdant spiritual sword approaching his neck, pressed against the spear shaft, his eyes showed no panic at all. He gripped the ink-black spear shaft with one hand and pressed down. The spearhead, which had already sunk into the ground, suddenly shot out of the earth like a snake, striking towards Feng Yu Die’s back with lightning speed.
Feng Yu Die tilted her head and saw the spearhead, which seemed to have bent 180 degrees due to its excessive speed. Her eyes widened, and she quickly retracted the spiritual sword in her hand, blocking it with her shoulder.
Clang—
The spearhead struck the sword body. Because of the fierce force, the spiritual sword was immediately knocked out of Feng Yu Die’s hand, spinning towards the sky. When Xiao Yunluo’s verdant spiritual sword reached about ten feet above, a black shadow flashed out from the bamboo forest to the east. The figure reached out, caught the spiritual sword in mid-air, and then thrust it downwards towards Jiang He’s head.
Seeing Ye Anping attack him this way, Feng Yu Die quickly shouted a warning:
“Young Master Ye, this spear has major issues!!”
Ye Anping replied with his eyes: I see it. But he still reversed his body, thrusting the spiritual sword in his hand downwards.
Jiang He glanced up and immediately used his spear shaft to push away Feng Yu Die in front of him. He then held the spear shaft with both hands above his head. Ye Anping’s verdant spiritual sword struck down again, colliding with the spear shaft, creating large sparks.
Ding—
“Another Foundation Establishment cultivator? Hee…”
Then, he gripped the spear shaft with his left hand and swung it. The ink-black spear once again turned into a swimming snake, winding to Ye Anping’s right side, and stabbed towards his waist.
Ye Anping glanced at the spear’s edge, his eyes calm, and said:
“Junior Sister.”
As he spoke, ten ice-blue sword Qi, carrying the water element of a harsh winter, attacked Jiang He from the west. Pei Lianxue leaped out from the forest, striking towards Jiang He’s neck with her spiritual sword.
“There’s more?!”
Jiang He’s eyes widened. He wanted to repeat his previous move, send Ye Anping flying, and then block Pei Lianxue’s sword. However, as he was about to control his spiritual spear with spiritual energy, everything suddenly seemed to freeze. All sound stopped for a moment. The spiritual spear instantly disappeared from his hands.
?
Jiang He’s eyes widened, filled with disbelief. Where did my spear go? Why is it gone? However, no one would give him time to ponder what had happened. Perhaps out of instinct, Jiang He immediately blocked one of the ten sword lights with his hand, the one that was heading towards his neck.
Swish—
The other nine sword lights, unimpeded, landed on various parts of his body, leaving nine wounds that were deep to the bone.
“His blood is quite thick.”
Ye Anping frowned slightly, then twisted his body and launched another strike at his neck with his Inquiring Sword Art. However, Jiang He still reacted, raising his right hand, which was almost severed, and used his own flesh and bone to deflect the fatal blow from Ye Anping’s spiritual sword.
Swish—
Ye Anping pushed his sword forward forcefully and said, “It’s all a dead end anyway. Isn’t it better to die quickly? Why suffer so much?”
“Ahhhh—!!” Jiang He looked at Ye Anping’s face, his face streaked with blood. “A few Foundation Establishment cultivators dare…”
Swish—
Before he could finish speaking, a silver-white sword pierced through his back and emerged from his chest. Feng Yu Die, having recovered, immediately took out her other spiritual sword which she had brought with her and rushed back. Jiang He stared in disbelief at the spiritual sword protruding from his chest. He stiffly twisted his neck 180 degrees and glared at Feng Yu Die behind him. This scared Feng Yu Die pale. It was the first time she had seen someone twist their own neck 180 degrees with their own strength. She immediately infused spiritual energy into the spiritual sword in her hand again.
Pei Lianxue in front of him and Ye Anping above him also coordinated with her.
Swish—
Three spiritual swords, carrying different spiritual light auras, drew three sword lights that converged at Jiang He’s Golden Core in his chest.
Ding—
Spiritual light scattered, the Core shattered, and the person perished. The splashing blood completely stained the Xing Tian Division totem embroidered on his golden Daoist robe.
… …
