Chapter 238 You killed Old Qin right in front of me?!
Ancient battlefield with its armored soldiers.
The stench of battle brushed past Yu Sui's nose. She withdrew her gaze from the distance, her dark eyes meeting Chen Yongfu's, who stood behind the sword spirit.
Chen Yongfu's gaze was icy, but his grip on the sword tightened, his heart pounding.
He was still reeling from the instant Liu Yi's death, and felt immense pressure facing Yu Sui, who was dressed in a black robe. Yu Sui was completely concealed by the black robe, making it impossible to discern even his height.
Chen Yongfu naturally never imagined that the person under the black robe would be a young girl. In his mind, he had already conjured up the image of a mature and steady middle-aged man.
Before even exchanging blows, my mind was already in turmoil.
The soldiers, now reduced to skeletons, crawled out of the black mud-covered ground, their bodies half-buried and not yet fully emerging, revealing the hesitation in the hearts of the army's leader.
Chen Yongfu steadied himself and tried to communicate with Yu Sui again: "Dongfeng Hai came tonight for Mei Liangyu. If you accidentally injure him..."
Before the words were finished, ripples of energy spread outwards from beneath the other person's feet, one circle after another, with a deep blue starlight twinkling in the ripples on the ground.
As Yu Sui looked up at Cheng Yongfu, every twinkling star transformed into indistinguishable runes.
At this moment, Yu Sui, like Xue Mushi, intended to kill with one blow and did not want to make too many moves, so as not to delay and attract others, and also to avoid leaving too many traces.
Upon seeing this scene, several guesses flashed through Chen Yongfu's mind: Yin-Yang School? Taoism? School of Names?
He seemed more like a military strategist when they were exchanging swords!
"The three armed forces!"
In desperation, Chen Yongfu decided to strike first. The skeleton soldiers, half-buried underground, burst forth from the ground, wielding swords and blades, and swiftly and agilely charged towards Yu Sui.
The main force in the rear drew long arrows from behind and aimed them at Yu Sui, the tips of the arrows igniting with poisonous fire, and launched them at Chen Yongfu's command.
The girl's dark, bright eyes reflected the rain of arrows, yet a magnificent light shone from the depths of her gaze.
The imbalance of the five elements created by the reversal of the stars and the divine eye caused the armored formation in front of them to begin to collapse.
The quenched arrow vanished halfway through its flight, and Chen Yongfu, noticing the sudden imbalance of the five elements within the armor formation, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
The ability to break through his armored formation instantly must mean that his strength is at least at the tenth realm!
Seeing the starlight ripples spreading to his feet, Chen Yongfu quickly retreated, leaving the sword spirit to protect him.
Yu Sui stepped forward, but was stopped by the sword spirit as expected. Just as Chen Yongfu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a burning pain in his back. In the gradually collapsing armor formation, a scene of darkness and chaos appeared. A figure appeared from the void behind Chen Yongfu, emitting wisps of white smoke.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Famous sayings and military strategies.
The longsword that Chen Yongfu had previously broken has now been transformed into a sharp long saber by borrowing the words of a famous master. This weapon mastery allows Yu Sui to use swordsmanship faster and makes the weapon even sharper.
The sword spirit gripped the sword with both hands and parried with a vertical slash from the front. As the swords clashed, Yu Sui did not hesitate for a moment. He then slashed diagonally with his sword, and the high-speed sliding friction between the blades created sparks and produced a piercing sound.
Black Skull and Yu Sui moved in sync, with Black Skull slashing diagonally at Chen Yongfu with his sword. The longsword then shifted position, becoming a horizontal blade positioned in front of both the sword spirit and Chen Yongfu.
Yu Sui's hand holding the knife changed extremely quickly. He switched from holding the knife with his right hand to holding it with his left hand the instant the sword slash ended, with his palm facing outwards and the blade close to the sword spirit's neck, and then he raised the knife to slash upwards.
Chen Yongfu was filled with horror. His eyes reflected the withered hand holding the black longsword, and the crimson flame crystal flowers on the wrist scattered like a string of fire that could burn everything.
He knew there was danger in his heart, but his body had no time to dodge.
He drew his knife and slit his throat. Flames erupted from the blade, burning away the solidified energy within, while flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
Chen Yongfu's head fell to the ground, and the armored formation was completely dismantled.
The forest path was pitch black at night. Xue Mushi, who was waiting outside the armored formation, was worried about whether Yu Sui was doing well or badly. Before long, he saw the scene of Chen Yongfu's body being separated from his body.
Xue Mushi instinctively became alert. The heat wave hit him, and although it didn't affect him much, he felt a familiar burning sensation.
Chen Yongfu's body fell to the ground, revealing a black skeletal figure standing behind him.
Xue Mushi heard the crackling sound of the Crimson Flame Crystal Flower falling, and hot steam and white smoke emanated from the black skull. The boy's gaze was both wary and surprised as he met the black skull's empty eye sockets, and he inexplicably felt that he was being scrutinized by this strange thing.
“It’s only fair to reciprocate.” Yu Sui stepped out from behind the black skull. “I’ll tell you a secret too.”
The black skull stared at Xue Mushi, then its form vanished into flames.
"This is... a sword spirit from a military family?" Xue Mushi took a while to come to his senses.
“Yes.” Yu Sui looked toward the direction of the beast bone ship, ignoring the startled Xue Mushi. “A thing that gathers qi and condenses form, a sword spirit of the military strategist.”
Xue Mushi was still recalling the black skull he had just seen when he couldn't help but say, "The strange fire does have a great influence on your power."
Seeing Yu Sui remain silent, Xue Mushi comforted her again: "But not everyone who sees it will think of it as a strange fire. There are many strange sword spirits, and yours is not an exception. Li Jinshuang's sword spirit is also very special."
“I’m not afraid of them discovering the form of the sword spirit, I’m afraid of others finding out that I have a sword spirit.” Yu Sui grabbed his hood. “We should go.”
The people on Lindao's side were all dealt with by Yu Sui and Xue Mushi. When Qin Chongxue retreated, he sent out a signal, hoping that Liu Yi, Chen Yongfu, and others would come out to stop Mu Wu and Zhang Yuxuan.
Unfortunately, after the signal was sent out, no one responded.
Zhang Yuxuan and Mu Wu were hot on their heels, but Qin Chongxue had no will to fight and was only focused on widening the distance several times. Unfortunately, he ran into Zhu Rong, who was chasing Wenren Xu.
Zhu Rong made a quick decision and turned around to stop Qin Chongxue.
Further ahead, you'll leave the Dongfeng Sea area and see vast blue seas and islands.
Even now, countless sea fireflies continue to emerge from the cracks in the ground. In the flickering firelight, their colorful scales flash, forming a high wall. The hissing of the giant python brings a heavy sense of oppression. Although the head is not visible, one can feel that if one takes another step forward, the giant python, with its mouth open, will bite and devour one.
Qin Chongxue was forced to take action after being stopped by Zhu Rong.
He landed on the outermost giant ship using his wind manipulation technique, anticipated the attack, gripped his short blade, and unleashed a powerful strike, slashing at the giant, colorful-scaled python that was whipping its tail.
Qin Chongxue's short knife was so sharp it could split mountains and cleave rocks, and it could also easily pierce through hard snake scales. At this moment, Qin Chongxue plunged the short knife completely into the snake scales. The five elements of energy flowed along his arms holding the knife like electric current. In an instant, lightning flashed, snake scales flew, and the roar of the colorful python resounded through the sky.
Mu Wu and Zhang Yuxuan, who were following closely behind, saw Qin Chongxue trying to leap over the giant python and attacked at the same time.
Qin Chongxue reacted quickly and summoned the sword spirit again to stop them.
However, this time it was Zhang Yuxuan who made the first move to stop the sword spirit, giving Mu Wu the opportunity to block Qin Chongxue.
Mu Wu threw his flying sword at Qin Chongxue from a distance. As the sword spun, a black shadow leaped out from the cold light. Skeleton feet stepped over the icy blade, and the sword, wielding a knife, slashed at Qin Chongxue.
Mu Wu's sword spirit is named Qixia. Although it is also in the form of a skeleton, its bones are white with a reddish tinge. Its hands look like longswords at first glance, sharp and pointed.
Qixia Sword Spirit, wielding twin swords, instantly appeared in front of Qin Chongxue. The twin swords moved with extreme speed, giving the enemy no chance to make a move, and Qin Chongxue was forced into a defensive stance.
The dual swordsmanship was varied and the attacks were swift, making it difficult for Qin Chongxue to escape. He retreated step by step along the ship's side.
Zhu Rong glanced around and noticed that both of their sword spirits wielded dual swords.
Qin Chongxue had just clashed head-on with the giant python with colorful scales, which had greatly depleted his energy. More importantly, Zhang Yuxuan and Mu Wu had forcefully broken through his armor formation from the outside, causing considerable shock to his Five Elements Qi.
With three beings at the thirteenth realm attacking from both sides, defeat was only a matter of time.
Seeing the Qixia Sword Spirit's dual-sword attack, Qin Chongxue's eyes flickered slightly. It seemed that it wouldn't be easy for him to leave now.
But he wouldn't allow himself to be captured by these three Taiyi instructors.
Qin Chongxue retreated steadily, calmed himself down, and finally found an opening. He reversed his grip on the short sword and thrust it upwards, catching the moment when both swords attacked at the same time. The short sword then lengthened and thrust straight upwards into the throat of the Qixia Sword Spirit.
The blade had barely pierced the throat of the Qixia Sword Spirit when Qin Chongxue felt a gust of wind rush past behind him. The seemingly heavy longsword was nimble and swift in Mu Wu's hands.
The blade's energy slashed downwards, and the resulting fierce wind made Qin Chongxue's neck ache.
Mu Wu gripped the knife tightly and slashed diagonally at Qin Chongxue's right shoulder. The blade struck Qin's right shoulder first, the force as heavy as a thousand pounds. Qin Chongxue groaned, his blood surging within him, but he forcefully suppressed it. Reacting quickly, he decisively withdrew his hand and retreated before Mu Wu could slit his throat.
Qin Chongxue retreated several meters away after mastering the Wind Riding Technique before stopping, his gaze sweeping over Mu Wu with a sinister look.
This person was still wearing the Taiyi instructor's uniform, a black and gold belted robe with tightly buttoned sleeves, looking clean and neat. His face was cold and his moves were swift, clearly indicating that he was a ruthless character.
Mu Wu didn't use any fancy sword techniques with him; he just used close-quarters killing moves, relying on his swift and unpredictable blade strikes to overwhelm his opponent.
As fellow military strategists, we should know ourselves and our enemy.
Mu Wu then turned his hand to the sword and said in a deep voice, "Why don't you use the 'Washing Weapons Diagram' to activate the Armor Formation again? I was too busy saving people just now and didn't have time to fully experience the power of the Washing Weapons Diagram, which is a bit of a pity."
These words seem to express regret, but in reality, they are a sarcastic remark that the military treasures were not used to their full potential in Qin Chongxue's hands.
Qin Chongxue sneered, seeing through Mu Wu's thoughts. He hadn't fallen for Mu Wu's provocation, but he was still feeling uneasy.
Mu Wu was difficult to deal with, and the sword spirit was controlled by Zhang Yuxuan. Although Zhu Rong did not make any further moves, he put a lot of pressure on him, forcing him to be on guard at all times.
Qin Chongxue gripped the deformed longsword with both hands and said coldly, "How can just any Tom, Dick, or Harry look at a military treasure like the Washing Soldiers Diagram?"
Zhang Yuxuan said bluntly, "I think it's because you were backfired by the Strong Armor Formation and were just shaken by the sword energy, damaging your Five Elements Qi. You don't dare to use the Armor Formation anymore."
Zhu Rong said, "You're pretty much right."
Qin Chongxue glanced coldly at Zhu Rong, then his expression suddenly changed. His protective aura dissipated, a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his grip on the knife loosened.
The five elements of energy circulating within his body slowed down, as if frozen, and his limbs began to feel numb uncontrollably.
Qin Chongxue felt dizzy and vaguely saw colorful snake scales appear on his hands. The image of the giant python with colorful scales blocking his way flashed through his mind. He inserted his short knife into the gaps in the snake scales, and after a flash of lightning, the snake scales splashed with blood and snake blood.
He stared at the drop of snake blood on his sleeve with a grim expression.
It's just a tiny drop, barely noticeable unless you look closely.
The snake venom silently bypassed his protective aura, invaded his body, and polluted his five elements.
"How is the Devouring Python's venom?" Zhu Rong spread out his palm, revealing a patch of snake scales on his palm, and asked Qin Chongxue, "If you use the Five Elements Qi again, the Five Elements will definitely be in chaos. Are you still thinking of running away?"
Qin Chongxue had already become angry.
Mu Wu's strike was domineering. He was certain that Qin Chongxue could dodge, so he first aimed for the shoulder, not the throat. His killing intent was to intimidate, and his real purpose was to let the blade's energy enter Qin Chongxue's body and accelerate the onset of the poison.
He and Zhu Rong worked together seamlessly, and Qin Chongxue was completely unaware of it.
Now, Qin Chongxue's five elements are in disarray, and pain spreads throughout his limbs and bones, making even breathing feel excruciatingly painful.
He moved his eyes, wary of Zhu Rong and the Qixia Sword Spirit, and then lowered his voice to sneer, "Since you want to see the power of the Cleansing Weapon Diagram, I will grant your wish."
Mu Wu seemed completely unconcerned: "Given your current state of disordered Five Elements, even if you use the Cleansing Weapon Diagram, how much of your strength can you unleash?"
"Why don't you experience it for yourself and see?" Before Qin Chongxue finished speaking, he threw a small white porcelain bottle from his hand. With a flash of light, the bottle was split in two, and the white smoke hidden inside flew out and was absorbed into Qin Chongxue's body.
The rich fragrance of orchids filled Qin Chongxue's nostrils.
Left with no other choice, he had to rely on the power of the Orchid Poison Resurrection Incense at this moment.
Qin Chongxue took a deep breath, veins bulging on his forehead, the surging power within him eagerly seeking a way to unleash its full potential.
Zhu Rong: "Orchid Poison?"
Mu Wu knew something was wrong and rushed forward to stop him. The sword spirit that had broken free from Zhang Yuxuan's spell binding came to block him for a moment. Although the sword spirit was cut in half at the waist by Mu Wu, Qin Chongxue behind it successfully used the "Washing Weapons Diagram".
A black-and-white line drawing unfolds behind Qin Chongxue, and three celestial soldiers and divine elephants fly out of the painting to protect Qin Chongxue.
The goddess drew her bow, the divine general gripped his sword, and the heavenly soldier brandished his hammer, each corresponding to the three who leaped forward to stop Qin Chongxue.
The heavenly soldiers in the "Washing Soldiers" painting who had not yet entered the battle moved their eyes, which shone with golden light and were awe-inspiring. Once they were looked at, their protective aura was instantly shattered.
Summoning three celestial soldiers at once was Qin Chongxue's limit, and it was also the limit of his ability to enhance the five elements with orchid poison.
The goddess drew her bow and nocked an arrow, which flew out with a chilling aura. The impact of the arrows forced Mu Wu to retreat, leaving him no way to avoid them. In an instant, he was knocked back a hundred meters away.
Mu Wu and the Qixia Sword Spirit simultaneously drew their swords to clash with the arrow, creating countless sparks. Even the hilts of their swords could feel the scorching heat from the clash of energy. The force rebounded so hard that his tiger's mouth went numb before he could barely catch the arrow and sever it.
Zhu Rong and Zhang Yuxuan were not forced far away. When they returned to the giant ship, Qin Chongxue was nowhere to be seen.
Mu Wu did not give up and said, "Let's keep looking."
The three figures vanished into the night in an instant.
Qin Chongxue surfaced from the sea, pressed his still numb and immobile right hand, and coughed as he climbed ashore.
The sand and stones on the shore were damp, and Qin Chongxue left deep footprints on them, which were then swallowed up by the crashing waves.
Qin Chongxue glanced at his right arm, his eyes filled with gloom. Mu Wu's knife strike was truly ruthless, and Zhu Rong's Devouring Python poison could not be completely eliminated at this moment.
In front of the sandy area were lush green islands. Qin Chongxue walked into the woods, looked up sharply, and saw two figures behind the tall grass. His right hand instinctively reached for the knife, but he couldn't move it.
"How did you get injured like this?" Wenren Xu emerged from the bushes and smiled at Qin Chongxue.
Geng Hanfu also came out from the other side, frowning as he looked at Qin Chongxue with a worried expression in his eyes.
Upon seeing these two, Qin Chongxue breathed a sigh of relief, his guard lifted, and he revealed a hint of fatigue: "When we were about to leave Dongfeng Sea, we encountered three people at the thirteenth realm. One of them was a military strategist like me, and he was ruthless in his moves and coordinated well with the people from the agricultural school."
"It seems those two didn't catch up with me and Lao Wen, but they did run into you." Geng Hanfu asked again, "Were they poisoned by the farmer?"
Qin Chongxue concealed his emotions and said calmly, "It's nothing serious, I just need to rest for a while."
"It seems you used orchid poison," Wenren Xu said thoughtfully. "Was it the Resurrection Incense or the Lotus Mist?"
Qin Chongxue walked forward, clutching his right arm: "It was due to the urgency of the situation."
Geng Hanfu followed behind him, while Wenren Xu walked not far beside Qin Chongxue. Both of them were sizing up Qin Chongxue. Geng Hanfu asked, "That kid isn't stupid. He knew to call over a Taiyi thirteenth-realm instructor. We miscalculated tonight."
Qin Chongxue snorted coldly and did not answer.
Wenren Xu asked, "If we fail to kill Mei Liangyu, we'll probably have a hard time going back to report to Miss. After tonight's incident, it won't be so easy for us to run into Mei Liangyu in the outer city again."
Geng Hanfu also said, "If you use Lan Poison again tonight, and the Taiyi instructors who are chasing after you find out and keep it in mind, our actions in Taiyi will be restricted in the future."
Qin Chongxue, annoyed by what he heard, couldn't help but speak up: "I didn't come here tonight to kill Mei Liangyu. Although Miss hates Mei Liangyu for ruining things, she also knows... cough cough..."
His blood and qi surged, and the Devouring Python Poison, which had been suppressed by the Orchid Poison, began to disrupt the five elements of his body again, showing faint signs of the five elements going in reverse.
Qin Chongxue didn't want the two of them to see his disheveled appearance, so he suppressed his pain and continued, "I was ordered by Miss to test the new orchid medicine on Mei Liangyu. Tonight, I successfully infected him with the orchid medicine. Taiyi is not a place to stay for long, so we will leave at dawn."
Geng Hanfu's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, but he didn't show it on his face: "Did you inject the orchid medicine into Mei Liangyu's body?"
“That’s right,” Qin Chongxue said. “In the midst of the armored formation, with the help of the heavenly soldiers from the Cleansing Soldier Diagram, an arrow pierced his shoulder, and a small bottle of orchid medicine was applied to the tip of the arrow.”
The moment Geng Hanfu lowered his head and then looked up again, his mind was racing. His gaze was fixed on Qin Chongxue, who was walking ahead at a distance of one or two steps. He had just raised his hand from his sleeve as if to make a hand seal, and he was about to make a move.
But someone was faster than him.
Wenren Xu, who was walking beside Qin Chongxue, suddenly turned to face Qin Chongxue and blocked his way. In that instant, he swiftly and accurately stabbed Qin Chongxue in the chest with one hand, precisely grabbing the thirteenth-realm divine soul core inside his body.
"You..." Qin Chongxue stared at the person in front of him in disbelief. Wenren Xu smiled at him, but then used force again, grabbing the soul core with his five fingers and pulling it out of Qin Chongxue's body.
Qin Chongxue could no longer hold on; he coughed up blood and staggered backward.
Standing behind, Geng Hanfu subconsciously looked away and stared at Wenren Xu in disbelief.
“Wenren…” Qin Chongxue’s lips moved slightly, his breath barely audible, but his gaze was fixed on the bald man.
Wenren Xu held Qin Chongxue's soul core in one hand and a small black porcelain bottle in the other, waving it at Qin Chongxue: "This is the orchid medicine that Miss gave you, but unfortunately, I switched it with yours before we set off today. I trust you, Old Qin. I have complete confidence in your work, and you have never disappointed Miss. Now that you have successfully injected the 'orchid medicine' into our young master's body, I am very grateful."
Qin Chongxue saw Wenren Xu's polite smile reflected in his eyes, but two or three double images appeared in an instant, making it difficult for him to distinguish whether what he was seeing was an illusion or reality.
Was the medicine replaced by Wenren Xu?
Who is the young master?
If what he has is the orchid medicine, then what did I give Mei Liangyu?
Qin Chongxue felt dizzy and lightheaded. He glanced with all his might at Geng Hanfu, who seemed to be frozen in place, then looked back at Wenren Xu, who had attacked him.
All the information about these two people flashed through his mind at that moment:
How could someone who entered Xuan Kui at the same time as him, someone who had risked his life with him many times over the years, someone he considered loyal to him and the young lady, possibly...
Qin Chongxue tried hard to see clearly how many Wenren Xu were in front of him, but the moment Wenren Xu crushed his soul core, his eyes turned gray and he could no longer see any scenery in the world.
Geng Hanfu stared at the fallen Qin Chongxue for a long while before looking at Wenren Xu in disbelief: "You killed Old Qin right in front of me?!"
Wenren Xu gently wiped the blood from his palm and smiled, "Don't you also secretly meet with Mu Yong'an?"
“You…” Geng Hanfu said solemnly, “Old Wen, it seems we need to have a serious talk.”
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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