Chapter 361: No One to Help

Moral obligations were quite effective for renowned sects, especially when under public scrutiny.

Yin Tianlu felt a mix of shame and annoyance upon hearing the accusations but couldn't refute them. Everyone present knew about the cooperation between the Extreme Fire Sect and the Valley of Forgetfulness. The Extreme Fire Sect's delay in providing assistance to the Valley of Forgetfulness when it was in peril was indefensible by any standard.

The fact was, only Wu Shanshan had a way to find Shi Chun and his companions, so he couldn't just stand by.

The magic weapon poised in his hand was not just for show.

He was exercising temporary patience, not acting rashly. It was normal to weigh options and observe before taking action, especially since it wasn't his own people who were in danger. Furthermore, the continuous deployment of various magic treasures by the Valley of Forgetfulness, which seemed to offer self-preservation, also prompted him to adopt a wait-and-see approach.

He now realized that the seemingly endless array of magic treasures were merely for show and not very effective. Even the seemingly intimidating invisibility treasure was just a decoration, easily discovered and pierced by a single sword.

It was all rather underwhelming.

Naturally, the most crucial aspect was assessing the masked person's strength. Anyone audacious enough to act in front of so many people would be carefully evaluated. If they were truly too powerful, he would not allow the Extreme Fire Sect to sacrifice themselves, regardless of reputation, especially since they no longer had any hope of winning the championship.

It was only when the masked person's knife thrust was caught by Wu Shanshan, locking them in a stalemate, that he realized the masked person's strength was merely average.

Seeing several members of the Valley of Forgetfulness dead and the masked person seemingly out of tricks, capable of killing Wu Shanshan only with a magic treasure, he concluded the masked person was nothing special and prepared to make his move.

To his surprise, he was first humiliated by a scream from that woman from the Valley of Forgetfulness.

Annoyed as he was,

he still made his move. As the Black Lotus Incarnation's sword shifted its target, the eerily green and unsettling 'Sky Net Sword Bone Umbrella' in his hand shot out like lightning, directly striking the towering figure of the Black Lotus Incarnation.

The startling commotion made Shi Chun look over with a frown. He cursed inwardly, having hoped these guys would continue to stand by, but they had unexpectedly made their move.

With a slight shift of his will, the Black Lotus Incarnation drew its sword and turned to block.

Instantly, an earth-shattering explosion ripped through the air. The colossal tornadoes, stretching from far and near to connect heaven and earth, immediately shattered one after another.

The earth collapsed; the solid ground instantly cracked, crumbled, or exploded like tofu. Even a mountain range could be instantly pulverized.

This was the terrifying power unleashed by Earth Immortal realm masters in battle, a power that even the earth could not withstand.

Shi Chun knew that with his cultivation, he would be easily crushed to dust by the residual power of such magic treasure battles. Fortunately, he had prepared beforehand.

As the Black Lotus Incarnation blocked with its sword, it simultaneously turned sideways to shield him, casting a spell to protect his immediate area.

Even so, Shi Chun also turned and fully cast protective spells on himself.

Some people around Yin Tianlu also had a premonition and quickly grabbed their magic treasures, wielding their power to defend themselves. Even Gu Lianni drew her 'Azure Soul Refined Rainbow Sword' for protection.

Waves of earth and stone surged from the shattered ground, violently crashing before them like raging tides hitting a shore. The ground trembled so much that people could barely stand steady.

A strange phenomenon then occurred. The immense residual impact, blocked on both sides by the combatants and having nowhere to dissipate, actually plowed up the ground, forcefully carving a chasm between the two sides.

Some disciples from minor sects were terrified, and many quickly retreated, fleeing to a safe distance.

Not just minor sect disciples; even those from major sects displayed expressions of worry and unease.

Shi Chun was no exception. He rarely witnessed such a scene; the last similar instance was when Bian Que fought the man in green, but this time, it was right in front of him.

As the waves of earth surged skyward, obscuring everyone's view, Wu Shanshan, trapped in the Immortal Binding Silk, revealed a sinister smile.

The muscles on her face could actually move.

A wave of demonic energy appeared on her body. It was just a feint, and she instantly broke free from the immobilization spell.

This was the moment she had long awaited.

Then, her entire body instantly misted over, transforming into a red mist. She slithered out through the gaps in the Immortal Binding Silk like a snake, dragging her clothes with her, an extremely bizarre sight.

As she got out, she also took the knife Shi Chun had stabbed into her.

The first thing she did after breaking free was to return the favor. Having reformed, she took advantage of the powerful commotion created by the battle and naturally thrust a knife into Shi Chun's back.

Unexpectedly, Shi Chun, amidst the violent commotion, twisted around and swung a fierce sword strike. He drew a sword out of thin air and, without warning, twisted to strike fiercely.

Wu Shanshan was greatly alarmed. She had thought her movements were silent, and that the great commotion would cover them, making it impossible for Shi Chun to detect her presence.

What she didn't know was that Shi Chun's cultivation technique was extremely sensitive to demonic energy. He hadn't noticed it immediately, but his Demonic Bathing Art quickly reacted as if to absorb the demonic energy itself, and Shi Chun immediately realized something was amiss.

With his crisis response awareness honed in the land of exile, he didn't even bother to turn around and check. Realizing something was wrong, his first instinct was to grab a weapon, not caring if it was a knife or a sword, just to react in an emergency.

Once the subsequent attack was launched and he clearly felt it, he showed no intention of dodging hastily. He twisted and brought his sword down, employing a life-for-life fighting style once again.

"Trying to scare me?" Wu Shanshan sneered. She had struck first, and her blade was already at Shi Chun's chest. Even if Shi Chun twisted, her blade would shift slightly to target his chest, which was far faster than Shi Chun's raised sword could descend.

In other words, before Shi Chun's sword could touch her, she could take his life and disarm his attack.

So neither of them dodged.

Wu Shanshan was inwardly astonished, realizing he was indeed a ruthless villain from the land of exile, even more merciless than those in the demonic path, completely disregarding his own life.

The moment her blade touched Shi Chun, she felt an explosive rebound force that dissipated a significant portion of her attack power. The explosive sound was indiscernible, masked by the commotion of two high-tier magic treasures battling.

Her blade's momentum slightly faltered. As she was briefly stunned, she still mustered her strength and pushed the blade towards Shi Chun's chest again.

She believed she still had the upper hand.

However, this very delay caused her immense regret.

The moment her blade pierced Shi Chun, the sneer on her face froze before it could fully form. She found that the blade was blocked and could not penetrate Shi Chun's body further.

"What the hell?" she thought. "Did this fellow actually wear protective armor or something?"

At this moment, she finally panicked. Using the knife like a hand, she tried to push Shi Chun away with a thrust while hastily dodging herself.

Her cultivation was indeed higher than Shi Chun's, and this push easily sent him flying.

But as Shi Chun's body rose, the sword in his hand still wildly chopped down.

Wu Shanshan couldn't dodge in time by turning sideways. Her knife-wielding hand urgently slapped and struck the sword blade, but was blown away by the clangorous explosive force from the sword. Then she watched helplessly as the cold light of the sword sliced into her shoulder.

A cold, weightless sensation came from her shoulder. For a moment, there was no pain, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw her arm, severed at the shoulder, flying away.

Fortunately, she ultimately dodged the fatal blow.

Her arm was left behind as she flashed away, then frantically darted away again. She feared Shi Chun's immobilization spell and felt a desperate urge to flee for her life.

Shi Chun, sent flying by the stab, stopped abruptly near the Black Lotus Incarnation's legs. Something was flapping beside him, almost hitting his face.

He turned his head to look; the silver-white invisibility blanket, hanging from the Black Lotus Incarnation's sword, was still there, flapping in the wind.

Although this item hadn't blocked the piercing force, its resilience was somewhat beyond Shi Chun's expectations.

Regretting his indecisiveness and not killing her sooner, Shi Chun was furious that the wretched woman had escaped. Angrily, he pulled down the blanket for some small comfort and casually stored it in his Universe Bracelet.

It had a large slit from the stab, and he didn't know if this invisibility treasure could still be used. Even if it was damaged, there were trades outside for repairing magic treasures; he could try it later if he had the chance.

Others might consider this easily penetrable magic treasure to be useless, but Shi Chun himself knew clearly that if not for his right eye's special ability to see through it, this treasure would definitely have caused him great trouble, making it worth acquiring.

The violent winds, unleashed by the clash of two high-tier magic treasures, swept back in an instant, clearing away many scattered stones and instantly dispersing the dust, allowing everyone's vision to quickly regain clarity.

The people on the other side of the chasm vaguely saw the end of the fight between Shi Chun and Wu Shanshan, witnessing her escape after leaving an arm behind. Although they didn't know the process, they were all very curious, wondering how Wu Shanshan had managed to break free, as the Immortal Binding Silk was still wrapped around the spot.

Gong Shixi, who was observing, blinked.

Shi Chun looked in the direction Wu Shanshan had fled, knowing that letting this woman escape was a big problem. He opened his hand, and the Immortal Binding Silk flashed with radiant light, springing open, then transformed into a handkerchief and fell into his palm. Simultaneously, he flashed and landed on the lotus platform within the Black Lotus Incarnation, controlling the magic treasure to pursue Wu Shanshan, still unwilling to let her go.

However, his fears came true. A highly penetrating flute sound drifted from afar, causing his body to jolt and flinging him directly off the lotus platform.

The Black Lotus Incarnation actually clutched its head and knelt. Shi Chun's lips beneath his mask curled; he didn't need to guess to know that Wu Shanshan was causing trouble, and the consequences of his own indecisiveness were already beginning to backfire.

At the same time, a green light seemed to illuminate the earth from above. Shi Chun looked up, seeing the eerily green umbrella that had struck the Black Lotus Incarnation had risen into the air and spread open, then it began to 'rain' like a torrential downpour.

Each glowing emerald 'raindrop' was actually a flying sword. Some descended directly, others drifted gracefully; in short, countless flying swords were coming towards him, overwhelming him as they converged on a single point.

"It's over," muttered Yuan Yao, who was watching. Pang Hou, beside him, sighed softly.

Gu Lianni, standing in front with her 'Azure Soul Refined Rainbow Sword', ultimately did not offer assistance, although a hint of regret was visible on her face.

They all knew that Shi Chun's two treasures used against the enemy were originally obtained from Wu Shanshan. Seeing the state of the Black Lotus Incarnation, it was clear it had fallen into a trap. The Immortal Binding Silk clearly could not restrain the Extreme Fire Sect's 'Sky Net Sword Bone Umbrella'. This should be the end.

However, this was also good; it would put an end to everything, eliminating any future worries.

Xu Anchang and You Mu in the crowd exchanged glances, their faces showing conflicted expressions. The former was almost biting through his lips, wondering if they should truly act when they knew it was futile. It was too difficult for them to decide.

Shi Chun, with a grave expression, also knew there was no escape. How could his cultivation possibly block that attack? It was too late to call for help, and the enemy's attack wouldn't wait for him.

The Black Lotus Incarnation was no longer reliable; not only was it useless, but it was also a burden. Having experienced interference last time, he didn't resist at all to avoid wasting energy. Instead, he directly collected the Black Lotus Incarnation.

He swept the miniaturized black lotus into his Universe Bracelet.

Immediately, he crouched into a horse stance, flipped one hand, and smacked out a large gourd, placing it on the ground. Facing the powerful enemy, he let out a rallying cry: "Open!"

Bang! The gourd exploded into smithereens. He brought his hands together in a void embrace, then furiously pushed his arms upward, as if to contend with the heavens.