Chapter 156: Earth Splitting Star, Constraining Rope Star
“You’re talking about that Shi Chongyun, aren’t you?” Zhao Xuanding said, “He’s skilled, but too young.”
Hou Bomin said, “He’s young. Give him time to grow. He’s already achieved much for his age.”
Zhao Xuanding said coldly, “Unfortunately, the world is a cruel place. Talented young men die every day. Talent isn’t always a blessing. It breeds ambition, a desire for greatness, which often leads to an early grave.”
Hou Bomin chuckled, “Then it depends on his luck. Skill and luck are both essential for survival in the jianghu.”
As they spoke, Hou Bomin and Daoist Chuan discreetly channeled their energy.
They were both seventh-rank, while Zhao Xuanding was sixth-rank. They were clearly outmatched.
And Zhao Xuanding also had several skilled martial artists with him, outnumbering them.
Although they had avoided the ambush, escaping wouldn’t be easy.
“So you’re still resisting,” Zhao Xuanding sneered and suddenly attacked, a wave of force pressing down on Hou Bomin.
Although both were seventh-rank, Daoist Chuan, as the abbot of Wudang Monastery, had some reputation, while Hou Bomin was just a petty thief, his name only known among the lower rungs of the jianghu.
Zhao Xuanding had chosen to target him first.
“Come on then!” Hou Bomin, instead of dodging, charged forward, a short blade in his hand, thrusting towards Zhao Xuanding’s chest.
Being weaker than Zhao Xuanding, a direct confrontation would be suicidal.
But as he attacked, Zhao Xuanding’s energy, and his movements, seemed to slow down, as if trapped in a mire.
In that moment of slow motion, Hou Bomin’s blade reached his chest.
Daoist Chuan and the others, seeing this, felt a surge of hope.
Just as the blade was about to pierce his heart, a flash of light, and Hou Bomin missed.
Zhao Xuanding had retreated seven steps.
“So you’re a supernatural ability user as well,” Hou Bomin sheathed his blade and sighed, “The Earth Splitting Star, I presume?”
Zhao Xuanding, looking down at the tear in his robe, said, “I obtained the Earth Splitting Star divine crystal years ago, when I was still weak and struggling to survive. Although I knew becoming a supernatural ability user meant I couldn’t use other magical weapons or change my power, I had no choice.
“Fortunately, even an Earthly Fiend level ability is still a valuable asset, often a lifesaver.”
He looked at Hou Bomin, “And you have the Constraining Rope Star?”
Hou Bomin flicked his wrist, and a chain, as if pulled from thin air, swirled around him, “It’s not a very powerful ability, just useful for… acquiring things that aren’t easily obtained. For someone like me, in the unorthodox path, immortal ingredients are expensive. I have to make a living somehow.”
Zhao Xuanding said, “Indeed.” He flickered and appeared beside Hou Bomin, unleashing a barrage of poisonous palm strikes.
Hou Bomin, like a trapped monkey, dodged and weaved, but he was quickly overwhelmed.
Although a supernatural ability user, the Constraining Rope Star’s power was significantly reduced once exposed.
He had almost killed Zhao Xuanding with his initial surprise attack.
But now, with his ability revealed, Zhao Xuanding simply treated it as an extension of his reach.
And the difference in their strength, a sixth-rank versus a seventh-rank, became evident.
Although the chain, controlled by his will, spun around him, forming a protective barrier, it was no match for Zhao Xuanding’s power.
Sixth-rank was the minimum requirement for projecting true energy externally.
Facing Zhao Xuanding’s relentless assault, Hou Bomin was in grave danger.
Daoist Chuan and the others were also facing a desperate situation.
Among Zhao Xuanding’s men were two seventh-rank and several eighth-rank martial artists, the rest ninth-rank.
They fired a volley of crossbow bolts, suppressing the Wudang Monastery disciples, then charged forward.
Three Daoists fell instantly.
Daoist Chuan faced a seventh-rank and two eighth-rank opponents simultaneously.
The other disciples tried to help him, but they were entangled with their own opponents.
Daoist Chuan, his footwork precise, his sword flashing, managed to deflect their attacks for a while, but he was quickly being overwhelmed.
The other disciples were also struggling.
One of the enemy’s seventh-rank experts, wielding a large, ghost-headed saber, his attacks brutal and efficient, was cutting through their ranks.
Daoist Chuan, realizing the situation was dire, was about to order a retreat when suddenly, six of the enemy, including one of the eighth-rank martial artists attacking him, collapsed, screaming, writhing on the ground.
They had been winning just moments ago.
And then, a sword light, like a flash of moonlight, emerged from the shadows, its trajectory a graceful arc.
Three martial artists, their backs turned, were cut down instantly.
The Illusory Moon Movement Technique, the Silver Fiend Sword Technique.
Only those who witnessed it could truly appreciate the ethereal beauty and deadly precision of that strike.
It was Du Yuejiao, wielding the power of the Illusory Moon Demonic Flame Technique.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
The ambushers had become the ambushed.
“You’re finally here!” Hou Bomin laughed, as if he had been expecting this.
Zhao Xuanding, startled, his focus momentarily broken, pulled back slightly.
Daoist Chuan’s spirits lifted. The six men writhing on the ground before him were screaming in agony.
The others, startled, instinctively retreated, giving him some space.
He seized the opportunity, his sword flashing, striking the wrist of one of the eighth-rank martial artists.
The man’s weapon clattered to the ground.
Daoist Chuan’s sword then clashed with the seventh-rank expert’s ghost-headed saber.
A small figure leaped from the shadows, and an iron hook snagged the man’s arm.
And then, something bizarre happened. Although the hook had only caught his elbow, his entire arm, from the shoulder down, was ripped away.
The man screamed, clutching his shoulder, blood gushing from the wound.
Daoist Chuan, seizing the opportunity, thrust his sword into the man’s chest.
Zhao Xuanding, abandoning Hou Bomin, flickered and appeared beside Daoist Chuan, his palm striking downwards.
He hoped to at least injure Daoist Chuan, preventing Wudang Monastery from reinforcing the Gong family.
A flurry of hair and a flash of metal, and an iron hook, its trajectory a strange, twisting arc, snagged his wrist.
Zhao Xuanding, knowing it was a demonic artifact, didn’t dare underestimate it. He unleashed a powerful palm strike, intending to force the small, disheveled woman back.
But her hook, although weaker than his palm strike, wasn’t easily deflected.
She’s also sixth-rank? Zhao Xuanding thought, surprised. When had such a strange woman appeared in the Ba Mountains?
Du Yuejiao’s surprise attack, having killed several of their opponents, boosted the morale of the Wudang disciples, who surged forward. Hou Bomin and Daoist Chuan attacked Zhao Xuanding.
Zhao Xuanding shouted, “Retreat!” and, using the Earth Splitting Star’s power, escaped their encirclement.
His men, demoralized, fled with him, the Wudang disciples in pursuit, claiming a few more lives.
Seeing them disappear into the forest, Daoist Chuan called off the pursuit.
He looked at Du Yuejiao and Xiang Gu, “Thank you for your timely arrival. How did you know we were in danger?”
Du Yuejiao smiled, “We weren’t just passing by. We were following you, about half a li behind. Brother Shi said ambushes are common, and we should be prepared. He told us to follow you to Mount Nangong, in case you encountered trouble. We could either help you escape or attack the enemy, depending on the situation.”
Daoist Chuan said gratefully, “It’s a good thing Shi Hao was cautious. Otherwise, we would have been annihilated.”
Hou Bomin chuckled, “If you had arrived a moment later, this old man would be dead.”
Although they had also suffered losses, Zhao Xuanding’s side had lost a seventh-rank expert and almost twenty others. Du Yuejiao and Xiang Gu’s surprise attack had been devastatingly effective.
They didn’t have time to waste. They continued towards Mount Nangong…
Shi Hao reached Shennong Village.
Although he had made arrangements for Wudang Monastery, he wasn’t sure if they would be effective.
He had read stories where strategists, after devising their brilliant plans, could simply relax and watch them unfold.
But now, in a similar position, he realized that such “peace of mind” was an illusion.
He had no way of knowing what was happening miles away.
There were no long-distance communication methods in this world.
He arrived at the gates of Shennong Village, the sounds of shouting and the flickering of flames indicating chaos within.
Clearly… something had happened.
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