The sword qi bursting from the blades was several times stronger than when the weapons were in their own hands. The bone-chilling sword intent forced the Beiyao Sect cultivators to stand frozen in place.
The entire Yunxue Valley fell into a stunned silence at this sudden turn of events.
Moqi felt a bone-deep chill creep up his spine, sinking along his veins straight to his heart.
This person's cultivation was far beyond just the Deity Transformation Realm!
To effortlessly wrest over a hundred swords from the hands of well-trained sword cultivators from a distance—how incredibly difficult must that be?
Their mastery over the sword had surely reached an unspeakable, transcendent level!
Since when did the Nine Saints Hall hide such a figure?!
The urge to retreat instantly flooded his mind.
With such a person in the Nine Saints Hall, it was equivalent to them having an incredibly powerful trump card, one that could very well turn the tide of the entire battle.
He could not waste any more time. He had to inform the Sect Master and Pavilion Master Ye as quickly as possible so they could stay vigilant and root this person out!
But...
Moqi narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was off.
If the Nine Saints Hall truly harbored such a powerful cultivator, why hadn't they acted sooner?
Moreover, the spiritual energy enveloping these swords seemed a bit too weak.
Was someone bluffing?
Yet, if it were merely a bluff, it would have been absolutely impossible to wrest his sword from his grasp.
Composing himself slightly, he called out in a deep, probing voice, “What kind of skill is it to hide your head and show your tail? Why doesn't Your Excellency show yourself!”
The wind, carrying the hum of the swords, brushed past the stone walls of the valley. The echoes faded, leaving a dead silence. No one answered.
His gaze darkened as he swept his eyes over the Eleventh Elder and the group of Nine Saints Hall disciples.
Every single one of them wore a look of shock and suspicion; they clearly had no idea what was happening either.
Having formed a rough guess in his mind, Moqi let the spiritual energy in his palm surge and rise, allowing his pressure to wash over the area once more. He spoke in a measured, unhurried tone, “Is Your Excellency unwilling to come out, or do you not dare? If you still refuse to show yourself, then do not blame me for being impolite!”
With that, he raised his palm, slowly pressing toward the sword floating before him.
Song Yao's eyes grew cold.
Although Moqi's techniques and mental cultivation methods were average, the massive gap in their spiritual cultivation was undeniable. Once they actually clashed, her bluff would be exposed immediately.
She pursed her lips, prepared to throw caution to the wind, and reached toward the serpent-patterned seal inside her body.
If she died, so be it.
Beating Moqi up before she died wouldn't be a bad deal.
However, the very instant she touched the seal...
—Boom!
A world-shaking explosion erupted in the distance.
A monstrous wave of spiritual energy suddenly burst forth from the mountain peaks. Like a collapsing mountain or a raging tsunami, it carried an incredibly heavy, fierce pressure that shook the entire continuous mountain range of the Nine Saints Hall.
Moqi's pupils shrank. He abruptly pulled back his hand and focused, instantly gathering his spiritual energy in front of him to block the shockwave.
The Eleventh Elder only had enough time to prop up a protective shield for the few disciples beside her. Before the numerous cultivators on the ground could even dodge, they were all swept away by the overwhelming gale.
Disciples with low cultivation slammed heavily against the cold, hard stone walls, spitting up blood and losing consciousness on the spot.
The hundred longswords floating in midair lost their control, clattering and crashing to the ground in a chaotic din like useless scrap metal.
Song Yao had been standing right in front of the Eleventh Elder, who quickly pulled her behind her back. Wen Wumian also popped out of nowhere, trying to shield her as well.
Under this double protection, she only felt a slight tremor from the aftershocks, yet she still stumbled back uncontrollably and fell to the ground.
The backlash of forcibly controlling a hundred swords earlier kicked in. A dull ache throbbed in her meridians, and a sweet, metallic taste rose in her throat.
She let out a soft cough. Her blood-flecked lips turned pale. She wiped the blood away with the back of her hand and looked toward the direction where the spiritual energy had erupted.
High up in the distant mountains, at the Fuguang Platform, dark purple mist and gilded light surged and intertwined, locked in a fierce struggle for dominance.
That monstrous pressure had swept over from that very place.
Ye Chongguang and Feng Qing had finally clashed.
Moqi was the first to react, crying out in shock, “Sect Master!”
He immediately prepared to rush to the Fuguang Platform. His gaze swept over the Nine Saints Hall disciples strewn across the ground. His fingers quickly formed hand seals to reinforce the barrier that had just sealed Yunxue Valley. He barked orders to the Beiyao Sect cultivators who could still move, “Watch them closely! Do not let them take a single step out! Kill anyone who dares to resist!”
With that, he turned into a streak of light and charged outward.
But before he could even exit Yunxue Valley, two brilliant, snowy-white sword arcs slammed directly toward him.
Caught off guard, Moqi had no choice but to hastily raise his arms to block. The impact knocked him backward several steps.
The Second Elder and the Ninth Elder appeared together. Their spiritual energy rapidly wove into a net, joining forces to pin him down. With a loud crash, Moqi was slammed into the open ground, sinking into a newly formed crater.
Moqi spat out a mouthful of blood. Firmly suppressed inside the crater, he glared upward and roared, “Are you... are you all mad?! Are you trying to rebel?!”
No one paid him any attention.
The Second Elder flicked his sleeve, sending a majestic wave of energy sweeping outward.
The Beiyao Sect disciples who were trying to slip away and report the news had no time to escape. They were all knocked to the ground, with half of them knocked unconscious on the spot by the sheer pressure of his spiritual energy.
The Second Elder casually broke Moqi's barrier, then looked at the Eleventh Elder, speaking in a rapid, urgent tone, “Feng Qing struck first. They are likely locked in a bitter battle. This place has become extremely dangerous! Let us work together to break the outer barrier and get the children out first!”
Supporting herself with great effort, the Eleventh Elder stood up and nodded. “Alright.”
Noticing her weakness, the Ninth Elder immediately took up a defensive stance beside them. “I will protect you.”
“Alright.”
The three raised their hands simultaneously. A surge of majestic spiritual energy, wrapped around thousands of talismans, crashed violently against the barrier sealing Yunxue Valley.
The barrier was incredibly sturdy, causing all three of them to furrow their brows in deep concentration.
A moment later, with a dull tearing sound, the thick curtain of light was forcibly ripped open, leaving a gap about ten feet wide.
The Second Elder looked back at the thousands of disciples and commanded sternly, “Take the injured and those who cannot move easily! Once you are out, scatter and hide! Do not return unless summoned!”
The Nine Saints Hall disciples had clearly not expected to be the first to flee, and they froze in hesitation.
Seeing no one move, the Ninth Elder grabbed a few of them and tossed them out. “What are you standing there for?! Do I need to personally escort you?! Get moving!”
The disciples finally snapped out of it. They quickly supported their injured peers and surged toward the gap in the barrier one after another.
The Second Elder turned to the Eleventh Elder and instructed in a low voice, “Take a few of the heavily injured disciples with you. They need someone to look after them.”
“Alright.”
The Eleventh Elder nodded in agreement. Supporting several unconscious disciples, she quickly followed the crowd. However, her footsteps suddenly faltered, and a look of anxiety clouded her face. “Did any of you see that child Lin Mu just now? Has she already left?”
“Little Wood?”
By now, half of the crowd had already run out. A quick sweep of the area revealed no sign of Lin Mu.
The Second Elder frowned. “That child is clever. She should have already left with Ming Ran. It is too dangerous here. You go first.”
When Deity Transformation Realm cultivators fought, the resulting spiritual energy fluctuations alone could crush someone to death. Once the Nine Saints Hall disciples were gone, the elders wouldn't have to hold back in whatever they had to do next.
Just as the Eleventh Elder stepped out, the Ninth Elder, who was ushering the disciples to run faster, caught sight of something. His pupils shrank. “Wait! Lin Mu didn't leave! What is that child doing?!”
At the very back of the crowd, Song Yao was too weak to even stand. She sat just outside the crater where Moqi was trapped, planning to catch her breath and leave after everyone else had gone.
Since she had nothing better to do, she casually picked up a sword from the ground and smiled down at Moqi, whose eyes looked ready to burst with rage. “Come on, do you know how to play whack-a-mole? No? It's fine. Stick your head out, and I'll teach you.”
Rate on N.U.
