Chapter 675: Fierce And Bitter Combat
Doubtful and anxious were the expressions on Daoist Qiankun's face when he looked at the blind old woman. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed loudly and a burst of momentum erupted from him, as he ridiculed her with a clear voice, "I never expected that you would learn to mystify things, Old Blind. Where is the mandate of Heaven, fate, or destiny now in this era? I was almost fooled by you."
Old Blind shook her head, sigh and looked at Daoist Qiankun with pity in her eyes. She slowly took out a pair of golden gloves underneath her clothes and wore it lightning fast. Daoist Qiankun's face greatly changed, and there was also dread on it.
Picking Stars Catching the Moon!
It was the strongest card Old Blind had. He was once suppressed by her with this technique and trapped inside the Abstruse Yin Ground for so many years that he nearly had his soul vanish.
Daoist Qiankun took a deep breath. He grasped the snare drum and said coldly, "Old Blind, it seems that you really want to be that brat's lapdog, huh?"
Gently spreading her hands, Old Blind turned the walking stick in her hand into powder that scattered along with the wind, and then said tranquilly, "If he can provide a shelter for this Old Blind to spend her old age, and also gives me an opportunity to have a breakthrough, what's wrong with becoming his lapdog? Hundreds of years passed, what else that can't be seen through and what more can't be passed through?"
"You court death!"
The snare drum in Daoist Qiankun's hands immediately flew, as the shadow of the drum hovered over his head. As the drum sounded, a tidal-like soundwave surged toward Old Blind.
"Heavenly Secrets… Picking Stars Catching the Moon!"
Old Blind's disheveled white hair suddenly erected, and dazzling lights suddenly burst out from the golden gloves as she waved her hands. Six miniature versions of planet images appeared in the sky as if they were summoned. The miniature images of planets then came down with a loud bang.
"DAMN! You've actually succeeded in practicing the Six Starlight Array!"
Daoist Qiankun cursed. His body rose straight from the ground, inciting the layers of shadow drums to collide with the six miniature versions of the planet images. At the same time, he pulled out a sharp dagger from his sleeve and pierced his own forehead to force out his blood, and then quickly threw it into the drum shadow.
The layered drum shadows suddenly rose in an instant, with a layer of blood light emerging on each of them. The Heaven Earth spiritual qi in all directions seemed to be strongly attracted and constantly seeped into the drum shadows.
"EXPLODE!"
With a flushed complexion, Daoist Qiankun maniacally bellowed and brandished the dagger in his hands even more violently.
BOOM…
A deafening sound erupted from the collision of the drum shadow and the planet miniatures, creating tidal-like airwaves sweeping away to all directions. A towering tree that was struck by the airwave behind Daoist Qiankun was uprooted and flew hundreds of meters away.
On the opposite mountain peak.
The two experts of the Everlasting Feast Hall got up in instant and released their flying swords at once. With grim expressions, they coldly glanced at the direction of the fierce fight between Daoist Qiankun and Old Blind, since they felt that the violent airwave coming at them was from that direction. The two exchanged looks and could see horror and dread in the other's eyes.
They may have broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage at present, but the impact created by the intense combat between such powerhouses still made them palpitate. They had gone through dangers and risked their lives for innumerable times, and therefore were very sensitive to the absolute gap between their strengths with those powerhouses who were now in intense combat.
"I don't know them." One of the Everlasting Feast Hall's experts took the binoculars and observed the appearance of those two people and shook his head.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures rushed out of the cave lightning fast. When they learned of what happened, one of them immediately said, "Let us hide first no matter who they are. We won't be able to survive if they want to deal with us given their strength. Also, we must find a way to call Boss right away and tell him what's happening here."
"Got it!" The other three nodded.
They did receive an order to guard the cave and protect the Immortal Trove, but it was unlikely they would sacrifice themselves for nothing since they fully aware that this was a circumstance where they were not a match for the enemy at all.
"Hehehe… now that I have found you all, don't even think about leaving!" Grasping a long spear in his hand, Jin Sijie appeared in front of the quartet like a ghost. His cultivation had reached the Peak Foundation Establishment Stage and was half a step away from breaking through to the Golden Core Stage. He could confront these four from the Everlasting Feast Hall easily and thus looked down on them.
"It's you, Jin Sijie."
Jin Shi, the name of an expert of the Everlasting Feast Hall. His eyes were staring intently at Jin Sijie as he shouted in a deep voice, "Our Boss spared your life before. I never expected that you would still dare to have eyes on the Immortal Trove. Are you not afraid that our Boss will come back with a huge force and completely destroy you?"
"Had it been a couple days ago I may have to worry about that. But now… Hahaha. Your death is imminent, and I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with you. GO TURN INTO STUPID GHOSTS IN HELL!"
The long spear in his hand was shot out in an instant to impale Jin Shi's head. He did not use all his strength, and even used less than 80% of it, yet he was confident in his judgment that these four men could not avoid it.
"FORMATION!"
Just as Jin Shi was braving such a dangerous situation, the other three had already moved and the Four Phenomena Formation was formed in an instant. Four flying swords flew up in a circle and smashed the ordinary long spear. In a rapid turn under the control of Jin Shi's group of four, it had Jin Sijie surrounded in the middle.
"WHAT? IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
With a drastic change in expression, disbelief flashed from Jin Sijie's eyes. He was an expert at the Peak Foundation Establishment Stage. Even though the weapon he used was not a magic treasure, it was highly unlikely for it to be smashed in an instant like that.
This sword formation… Bloody Hell, these four fellows unexpectedly have broken through the Foundation Establishment Stage as well!
Jin Sijie cursed. As formidable as his body may be, he would only be at disadvantage without a formidable weapon. He could only explode out his True Essence to form an explosive punching light to smash the sword shadow that plunged toward him in rapid twisting moves.
BOOM…
The sword formation was broken as Jin Sijie and the quartet flew backward and spurted out blood at the same time. Despite the sword formation they arranged and its might that was equal to the four men's power added together, it still could not withstand the eruption of Jin Sijie's power. However, the one that ended up the most miserable was not them, but Jin Sijie. At the moment, his fist was smashed by the sword formation and it also had shattered his hand, leaving only half of his entire right arm.
The sword images also left tattered wounds on Jin Sijie's body and instantly turned him into a blood-painted man.
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
A grieving and heartbreaking scream came out of Jin Sijie's mouth. His body suddenly plunged back for hundreds of meters as he flew in the air and looked in disbelief at his own broken arm. He could not figure out why the sword formation could break his defense and even inflicted such a heavy blow on him. Even if those for longswords were all magic weapons, it would not be able to do so, right?
Jin Shi's group of four gathered again in an instant. Their faces looked pale and had their blood stirred up inside. And yet, they stared coldly at Jin Sijie along with intense killing intent.
Far away in the distance.
Daoist Qiankun, who had been fighting with Old Blind, did not pay attention at all to the fight between Jin Sijie and Jin Shi's group of four, since those four were nothing but kids who were only guarding the place without many abilities, so it would be very simple and easy for Jin Sijie to kill them.
However, when he heard the miserable scream from Jin Sijie and looked in their direction for a moment, his complexion changed greatly along with disbelief in his eyes. He knew perfectly well the state of cultivation of his disciple at present, and yet, never did he ever dream that his disciple, with a Peak Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, would be so severely injured by four ant-like existences. It was a tragedy!
BOOM…
When Daoist Qiankun was distracted, Old Blind released a silk golden thread instantly and nearly bounded him.
"Damn wretch! Since you old bastard are looking for death, then I'll fulfill your wish!" The most ferocious side of Daoist Qiankun was stimulated. He was already at disadvantage using the technique to fight against Old Blind's Picking Stars Catching the Moon technique and couldn't care less about it anymore. He released the Golden Core inside his body as three savage-looking shadows were instantly separated from him.
The last time he got trapped by Old Blind was because he was negligent and was too late to release his ultimate trump card, resulting in him getting suppressed. But this time, he would never give her another chance. Since she seemed to be trying to pester him, then he might as well blast everything he had and go for the kill!
Three shadows flew in three directions and instantly flashed to the front of Old Blind. As the silk golden thread was cut by the dagger floating around him, his ping-pong-sized Golden Core erupted a bright light and bombarded Old Blind's chest. Following that, the three shadows also sent out barrages punches to bombard her.
"Heavenly Secrets, Everchanging Big Dipper Stars!"
Old Blind opened her ten fingers and released splashing golden fingers as they instantly pierced the three shadows sent out by Daoist Qiankun. Half a second after, she disappeared in an instant and appeared hundreds of meters away.
"Hahaha, Old Blind. I'll make you taste the killing move I've been learning for decades. That was exactly a killing move that I've comprehended." Daoist Qiankun himself was pierced through by the golden fingers, but the injuries were not serious, and instead, he maniacally laughed and plunged towards Old Blind with a distorted face.
Old Blind furrowed her brows and released the Everchanging Big Dipper Stars technique yet again. She immediately flew towards the opposite mountain peak and took only a few seconds to appear behind Jin Sijie. She flicked a Buddhist bead and it instantly shot towards Jin Sijie's back.
One strike! And yet it made Jin Sijie's injury even worse, misfortunes that piled up on one another.
However, Old Blind did not continue attacking him again but instantly appeared in front of Jin Shi's group of four. She waved her hands as a stream of qi instantly wrapped their bodies and shouted, "Don't struggle if you don't want to die! This Old Blind has a relationship with Tang Xiu, so I can't let you die in this place!"
Jin Shi's group of four had their complexions changed. They just released their flying swords a moment ago, but after hearing Old Blind's revelation, they immediately determined that she was a friend and not an enemy. As the flying swords returned back to their hands, they also retracted back their surging True Essence.
"LET'S GO!"
Old Bind stepped into the air and brought Jin Shi's group of four flying for a kilometer before she spurted out blood. Despite her extremely fast speed, releasing the Everchanging Big Dipper Stars continuously made her injuries worsen.
Chapter 676: Are They Human?
Two kilometers away from them, Jie Walie, who brought his two trusted men and hid behind a mountain boulder, observed the scene midair in the distance through binoculars. He could clearly watch the scene of the intense and bitter fight between Daoist Qiankun and Old Blind. Experienced and knowledgeable he may be, yet the scene was so daunting that he was frightened.
Are they still human? Or some supernatural beings?
Jie Walie used to disdain the idea of Gods, ghosts and the likes away from his mind. But that intense combat scene midair was akin to a combat between celestial beings. It made him have no choice but to believe that there really was something in the world he did not understand.
At this moment, he finally understood why Tang Xiu asked him to hurriedly rush over to this place to notify his men, and even told him it was likely that he would have a hairbreadth escape situation. That was because what he must face was not ordinary people! Those people, each and every one of them could claim his life with a flick of their fingers.
"What's the situation, Brother Jie?" His two men did not bring binoculars, so they were naturally unable to see the intense combat a while ago. One of them stared at Jie Walie's palpitating expression and asked with a curious face.
Jie Walie turned his head with difficulty to look at his curious face and then replied bitterly, "I'm afraid we're of no use at all. Even if we go there, there won't be anything we can do and will only meet our death."
"So, what are we gonna do?" Asked the man quickly.
Jie Walie fell silent for a moment and then whispered, "We'll wait here. Since Tang Xiu asked us to come to notice them in advance, it means that he will come over as well. Everything is to be put on hold, and then we'll discuss this again after he arrives."
Outside the cave.
Daoist Qiankun was holding Jin Sijie's arm as he quickly checked his injury after putting him on the ground. He did not go after Old Blind because the ultimate trump card he blustered out was just a bluff. He had been injured, and it was a very serious injury at that. Although he was confident that it was not as serious as Old Blind's, yet he would only stimulate that old woman to stake everything with her life on the line if he kept pursuing, and he might also perish with her.
He did not want to die yet! Especially after finding out that there was an Immortal Trove in this place. He wanted to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, continuing his lifespan for a few hundred years more.
"We need to recuperate."
There was blood gushing out in his throat, but Daoist Qiankun forced it back inside. After he took Jin Sijie and carried him on his back, he shouted in a hoarse voice.
Jin Sijie's internal organs were in a mess after Old Blind sneak-attacked him with the Buddhist bead. He was now in a crisis, and his life would probably be in danger if he did not have a timely treatment. Luckily, Tang Xiu gave him a Holy Healing medicine, and its efficacy had yet to be fully absorbed.
After sitting cross-legged on the ground, he did not hurry to cultivate but rather spoke in a hushed breath, "Master, those four bastards… their swords are definitely not magic weapons. I suspect that they are spirit weapons. Else, with their Early Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, it would be impossible to severely injure me even if they did employ a sword formation."
Spirit weapons?
A greedy light flashed in Daoist Qiankun's eyes. But then he suddenly realized something and his expression turned nasty. If Tang Xiu's men possessed spirit weapons, then what rank could his weapon be, considering that his status was even higher?
Immediately, he grabbed Jin Sijie's arm again and shouted in a deep voice, "Don't cultivate here, let's leave this place immediately! We don't know when that surnamed Tang punk will be back here. Let's find a safe place first and then heal ourselves."
In the next morning.
Tang Xiu led Mo Awu and five other experts out of the Kanas Airport exit. Ridden with worries inside, Tang Xiu did not catch a taxi but quickly asked around where the unlicensed taxis usually hung around.
"Hey, Buddy. Do you need a ride?"
More than a dozen unlicensed taxis were parked on the roadside. Some of the drivers wore bearded faces, and among a group of fierce-looking middle-aged men, one of them came to greet them.
"I need two cars. But I'm going to buy them. Name your price," said Tang Xiu in a deep voice.
The more than ten bearded middle-aged men exchanged looks in wonderment. It was a situation they had never encountered in their many years of unlicensed taxi business. The full bearded middle-aged man who just greeted them hesitated before he stretched out a finger and said, "100 thousand. I'll sell this van to you."
Tang Xiu had planned to buy cars for temporary use after he got off the plane, and even had stuffed hundreds of thousand of yuan in cash into his travel bag from the stash inside his interspatial ring. The bag was now carried by Mo Awu, and after he heard the price quoted by the middle-aged man, Tang Xiu then nodded to Mo Awu.
Mo Awu opened the travel bag's zipper and took out ten stacks of 100 yuan bills from it, a total of 100 thousand yuan, and then handed it over to the middle-aged bearded man.
"Key!"
The pupils of the middle-aged bearded man contracted, and the other unlicensed taxi drivers looked shocked. The way they looked at Tang Xiu's group was now different than before at this moment. If it was not for the fact that Tang Xiu's group consisted of six men and did not look like they were ordinary people, they would have tried to rob them.
"It's yours!"
The middle-aged bearded man grabbed the money with pleasant surprise. After checking the money and determining that they were genuine bills, he gave the key to Mo Awu happily. His van was worth at most 40 to 50 thousand yuan, and though the meters it had run was less than 10,000 kilometers, selling it for 100 thousand yuan was definitely a big profit in and of itself.
A few hours later, Mo Awu drove the van and arrived at Longquan Swamp. The group left the car and quickly trekked up the mountain range and, without long, they had arrived outside the cave where Western Nefarious Sangha used to occupy previously.
"There are traces of a fight here, Boss. And it should be traces left by cultivators." Mo Awu directly reported to Tang Xiu after he and the others scoured and inspected the vicinity.
Tang Xiu's face looked a bit ugly as he quickly entered the cave. He could not find the shadows of Jin Shi's group of four at all except for bloodstains left outside the cave and the scene left behind after the fight. One must know that Jin Shi's group of four were core experts of the Everlasting Feast Hall and the talented ones whom Gu Yan'er had fostered and trained personally. It would be quite a big loss for him and the Everlasting Feast Hall if they were all killed.
"Jin Sanchi, Jin Sijie, you all fucking bastards! This father spared your lives because you two did not offend me directly. Had I known that you had such a sinister an idea, I would have completely killed you then." Tang Xiu was somewhat annoyed with himself. He found that he had turned a lot softer inside ever since he returned to Earth.
"Was it because of the law, or did I get influenced by others, or was it the feelings of affection from my family?"
"But then again… weeding out grasses without removing its roots will only leave endless troubles in the future."
"Then, in the future, as long as they are enemies, just kill them all!"
Tang Xiu's eyes turned a bit red. He had searched both caves and there was still no trace of Jin Shi's group of four.
"Boss, someone is coming!"
Just as Tang Xiu came out of the cave where the herbs were planted, Mo Awu whispered to him while holding a mini binoculars.
"Who is it?" Asked Tang Xiu in a deep voice.
"It's a bit far distance, but they should be ordinary people since their speed is not fast," answered Mo Awu. "No. I can see them now. It's Jie Walie with his two men. They are coming here."
Tang Xiu's expression changed, and then he instructed Mo Awu and the others to immediately greet them. When he saw the distressed but unhurt Jie Walie, he cupped his fists and said, "Brother Ji, I won't say thanks to you, but you can be sure that Tang Xiu will always record this huge favor in my mind. Just open your mouth if there's any request you need of me in the future."
Jie Walie's expression looked a bit complicated as he looked at Tang Xiu for a while, and then let out a bitter smile as he said, "Who exactly are you, Brother Tang?"
Tang Xiu was silent for a while and asked, "Why the question?"
"I saw the intense and bitter fight between those people last night," said Jie Walie. "Those people were like those the celestial beings and immortals in legend. They can fly in the sky and fight in midair. The means they showcased were absolutely not the kind that normal humans can do. So you should know what I'm asking about, Brother Tang!"
"You said that you witnessed the fight last night. What exactly happened last night? And who was fighting?" Asked Tang Xiu hurriedly.
Jie Walie could not wait for Tang Xiu's reply, but after he saw the urgency and anxiousness in Tang Xiu's tone and expression, he suppressed his confusion and seriously said, "I saw an old Daoist and an old woman fighting an intense combat. I also saw an old man in a man-eating fight with four young men. That's right. Those four guys are your men."
"Then what happened to them? What was the outcome of the combat?" Asked Tang Xiu in a rush.
"That old lady brought your four men and fled, whereas that old Daoist and another old geezer stayed in the cave over there for a while before leaving." Jie Walie shook his head. "We were very far away from them and only saw through binoculars. So I don't know where they went."
An old Daoist and an old woman?
Tang Xiu frowned deeply. Little did he expect that two people would appear in the incident all of a sudden. If that old man was Jin Sanchi or Jin Sijie who fought Jin Shi's group of four, then it could only mean something, that the strength of these old codgers was inferior to that old Daoist's.
After pondering for a while, Tang Xiu asked again, "Brother Jie, I'll answer that question of yours later. Please remember carefully. Other than my men, was there any special physical characteristics on the others?"
Jie Walie thought for a while and then suddenly remembered something as he quickly said, "That old Daoist looked very ordinary, and he did not have any special characteristics. But that old woman was actually a blind person. That's right. Though I don't know how she could see, there was definitely something wrong with her eyes."
Old Blind?
A person suddenly crossed Tang Xiu's mind. It was Old Blind who he once met in Shanghai's Everlasting Feast Hall before. Could it be her who acted to save Jin Shi and the other three?
Tang Xiu took out a half pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and then took two deep puffs. After which, he looked at Jie Walie and asked, "Were you late when you came here, Brother Jie?"
Jie Walie forced out a smile and said, "I indeed arrived late. We just arrived at the vicinity and found some people in an intense fight. Brother Tang, you did not see it, those scenes were like…"
"Brother Jie, you must never disclose anything about what you saw last night," interrupted Tang Xiu. "Since you want to know our identity, then I'll no longer conceal it from you. We all are cultivators who have been cultivating special cultivation techniques and thus have special abilities as well. Only, people like us are not exposed to the public and ordinary people, neither will we expose ourselves."