Chapter 142: Returning the Sword to the Sheath

Xun Lingyin also fainted. The moment Chao Zhilin made his move, Xun Lingyin was rendered unconscious, passing out with a heart full of sorrow. His fellow disciples truly didn't care about his fate.

Xiang Lan'er held Xun Lingyin's neck with one hand and grasped Chao Zhilin's nape with the other. With a cold, stern gaze, she looked towards the warring parties on the other side. She wanted to see what confidence those two had to challenge one of Xuanzhou's top sects. Did they truly think the sect's formidable reputation was a pushover?

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had just turned back to face them, originally intending to rescue Xiang Lan'er. Instead, they witnessed Chao Zhilin being subdued in a single move, which truly startled both of them.

Could this be the work of someone at the Initial Martial stage?

However, Mao Zhong and Zhu Ze, who were charging, had their backs turned and didn't see it. They also didn't turn around when they heard the fighting, believing that Chao Zhilin's strength was beyond worry. They only needed to quickly deal with the two opponents in front of them.

Having finished here, they would proceed to their next task: eliminating the Bilan Sect group.

Thus, without any courtesy, the two immediately attacked.

Shi Chun and his companion, witnessing the Yuanjian Palace's killing move for the first time, saw dozens, even hundreds, of faint light points suddenly appear around the charging Mao and Zhu, like numerous stars accompanying them.

Before they arrived, those star-like points, guided by Mao and Zhu who pointed at their enemies from afar, shot forward with a piercing sound.

The impact was significant.

Wu Jinliang, who had lifted his blade and stood up, seeing Mao and Zhu's figures flip into the air after a palm strike, actually leaped up to pursue them, wildly hacking with both blades.

Zhu Ze felt his internal energy and bodily functions instantly thrown into disarray. His ears buzzed, and he felt something trying to force its way out of his back. An unbearable torment swept over him, and his very consciousness seemed desperate to flee his body.

Then, with a palm strike, the blade and shield vibrated and sank. The sturdy Wu Jinliang knelt halfway, nearly dropping to one knee.

The sparse, machine-gun-like booming sounds faded. Not understanding what was happening, Shi Chun and his companion combined their efforts.

Lan'er, after confirming that the opponent was hit and had no power left to retaliate, paused with her blade, which she had tried to raise multiple times. Her gaze then locked onto the two sides still engaged in combat elsewhere.

Hearing Xiang Shangcheng's reply, and then seeing Wu Jinliang in danger again, Lan'er was alarmed. She no longer cared about the fate of her opponent. With a kick, her sliding momentum instantly ceased, and she launched a counter-attack, charging straight at the incoming Zhu Ze.

Seeing her appear, Zhu Ze, like a hawk swooping on a rabbit, swung his arms like wings, unleashing a dense "sword rain" that blasted towards Lan'er.

It was so fast that before Xie De could even get off a second strike.

All the streaks of sword light blasted towards the incoming Xiang Shangcheng.

The cloak, which clung to Xiang Xie De like a bat, was casually brushed aside by Xiang Shangcheng. The fluttering fabric twisted, cutting into dozens of sword lights head-on, only to be casually yanked by Xiang Shangcheng by its corner and shaken again.

Under the starry sky, Xiang Xie De, with strands of hair brushing his face, quickly turned his head. Only then did he have the leisure to attend to Lan'er's side.

Streaks of starlight blasted onto the blade-shield, causing it to boom loudly, yet it showed no tremor. Wu Jinliang, holding the blade with one arm behind his back, was as steady as a mountain, firmly deflecting the continuous barrage.

The long-range attack power of these transparent, sword-like objects was not in the same league as a solid palm strike from a master at the Lower Martial Completion stage.

They were indeed sword-shaped objects, like transparent glass, but without hilts. Were it not for the starlight and moonlight illuminating them, they might have been invisible. After exploding, they quickly dissipated into thin air.

No matter how much she worried, it was useless. She couldn't be in two places at once; it was too late to intervene and help.

That was a brute-force resistance, completely devoid of technique.

Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he was startled again by the scene before him. The sword light that struck Wu Jinliang's chest and abdomen instantly dispersed, seemingly causing no damage. Wu Jinliang, seizing the opportunity with his deflected blade, spun in mid-air, sweeping his great saber around in a full circle before striking again with momentum.

Of course, he also noticed the loud thud of the chopping impact.

However, the disparity in cultivation and strength between the sides was indeed significant; Mao and Zhu's reaction capabilities were clearly superior.

Why not use a master if one is available? It would be a waste otherwise. A streak of sword light shattered on impact.

This action nearly scared Mao and Zhu out of their wits. In a flustered haste, they swiped with a palm, batting away the incoming blade.

It was too late to react. While frantically casting protective spells, he watched helplessly as the palm struck his chest.

Lan'er expertly sheathed her blade and met Xiang Shangcheng's gaze under the hazy moonlight. Earlier, when Lan'er had tested her treasure armor, attacks from the Low Martial Great Completion stage were not comparable to the current attacks from the Low Martial Upper Completion stage.

Startled and dismayed, he struggled repeatedly, but couldn't shake off the cloak, as if countless threads were pulling and binding it.

Could it also conceal cultivation levels? Fortunately, Lan'er slid away quickly, barely avoiding it.

To an outsider, this scene presented a completely different picture.

Not seeing it, they wouldn't have known, but upon seeing it, they were startled: Chao Zhilin was kneeling at someone's feet like a dead dog. The "violated" man immediately had a thought flash through his mind: who was truly violating whom?

Xiang Shangcheng, having cast aside the two men he was holding, moved like a phantom. The cloak that had fallen to the ground also floated up like a bat, clinging to her body.

He struck with a side blow, but the cloak, like a snake following a stick, wrapped around him, trying to cling to him as if to be worn, and diffused a white mist that entangled him.

Chao Zhilin's fate truly frightened him. Regardless of what was happening, he immediately turned his head to stare at Lan'er, intent on grabbing a hostage first. He landed, then sprang up again, charging at full speed towards Lan'er.

Seeing the fleeting light and shadow beyond the blade-shield, Xie De and Wu Jinliang, who were sheltering behind it, finally recognized what the so-called faint starlight truly was.

Mao and Zhu, having kicked Wu Jinliang flying, immediately sensed something the moment they landed. Streaks of sword light erupted around them again. With a flip, without even looking, they unleashed a barrage of sword energy, blasting it all towards the woman.

Meanwhile, Zhu Ze, hearing Xie De's shout, subconsciously glanced back. He was somewhat puzzled: Hadn't Chao Zhilin already made his move? How could this man still have the leisure to speak?

Instead, Zhu Ze's figure swayed precariously, and he dropped to his knees with a thud, collapsing in front of Xie De.

Knowing what these unknown attacking "star-lights" were, and realizing that they could be countered, Lan'er immediately gained confidence. Seeing Wu Jinliang suppressed by a single strike, she launched herself forward with a kick.

The cloak, like a landed carp, bounded up, instantly splitting a wave of "sword rain" into seven, the sword lights scattering to the left and right.

Wu Jinliang spun the blade in his hand, rested it on his back with one arm, and sidestepped, sheltering behind the blade. Xie De, brandishing his blade, also dodged behind him.

Xiang Xie De coldly retorted, "Then you die and show me how."

Observing the offensive momentum of Mao and Zhu, she could discern their cultivation levels. She admitted that she herself could not possibly face two Low Martial Upper Completion masters of such caliber.

It was merely a dull thud.

As his hands rubbed together at high speed, Zhu Ze's pupils suddenly contracted. He felt a burst of explosive power erupt from his opponent's wrist, breaking his grip and leaving his defenses wide open.

Before the booming and explosive sounds subsided, Mao and Zhu had already arrived, unleashing a full-power palm strike onto the back of the resisting blade—a truly solid and powerful blow.

Mao and Zhu casually flicked out several points of sword light, sending them towards him, intending to force Wu Jinliang to defend himself. To their surprise, Wu Jinliang completely ignored them, as if determined to sacrifice himself to slay Mao and Zhu.

Zhu Ze, with dozens of light points reappearing around him, swung his arms, unleashing dozens of whistling sword shadows simultaneously.

She had rushed to rescue Wu Jinliang when she saw him in danger, and incidentally glanced at Xie De's side. As a result, she saw Lan'er, just like Wu Jinliang, charging head-on into dozens of sword lights in a seemingly suicidal manner. Was the way these two fought truly so terrifying?

Yet, dozens more continued to shoot towards Lan'er.

His hands trembled. He wanted to move, but found his body unresponsive. He could feel liquid dripping from his mouth and nose.

Immediately after, he saw it. The dozens of sword lights rushing towards Lan'er suddenly scattered in disarray, an explosive force blasting them away.

Furthermore, he wondered why the two senior disciples seemed so much weaker than their junior sister.

In their head-on collision, the two met too swiftly; neither could avoid the other.

Their sword move was skillfully countered with a light touch, like a dragonfly skimming water. Mao and Zhu were greatly alarmed. At this moment, they also saw the fallen Chao Zhilin, becoming even more panicked. They had no time to think, as the cloak moved straight towards their chest like a blade.

The advantage of the large blade was fully evident at this moment. Judging by the coordinated actions of the two, it was clearly not their first time engaging in such a maneuver.

Seeing this attack method, Xie De knew Wu Jinliang was in dire straits. He immediately shouted, "Junior Sister, if you act, someone will die! Please help, but take them alive!"

Lan'er, charging straight at them, furiously swung her blades, her entire being seemingly rushing suicidally towards the sword lights.

The two colliding figures seemed to simultaneously plunge into the neatly arrayed sword lights.

Zhu Ze felt no joy from his strike; instead, he was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected his opponent to be so reckless. He had wanted to capture them as a hostage.

Wu Jinliang, sheltering behind the blade, grinned. Had it not been for the layer of treasure armor on his arm that dissipated force, he feared he wouldn't be able to withstand the continuous long-range bombardments from two Low Martial Upper Completion masters.

A graceful figure flashed by. Xiang Shangcheng touched his glabella with a finger, and Xie De immediately lost the ability to resist, his eyes rolling back as he fell backward.

The two colliding figures both landed, stopped short by the impact.

Xiang Shangcheng, observing with a stern, cold gaze, was also quite surprised. Not that Wu Jinliang managed to deflect the continuous barrage, but that the blade-shield he wielded showed not even a flicker of tremor under such relentless bombardment.

The outline of the person standing before him rapidly blurred.

He could only hope for the best: perhaps he possessed the same invulnerability to blades and spears as Wu Jinliang. Alas! The incoming great saber was again batted away by his preemptive palm strike, and he kicked Wu Jinliang in the side of his waist, sending him flying backward.

Was the tall man truly only at the Low Martial Great Completion stage of cultivation?