LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 184: The Long River Soaring Across the Sky, Nine Bends Unbeatable (Part 2)
(At the start of the month, seeking monthly tickets, thank you all.)
Meng Yu had always admired his sword training sessions with Bu Shixian, whose long legs and slim waist gave her an impressive and imposing appearance. Beyond her physical beauty with her soft hands, creamy skin, and elegant brows over bright, expectant eyes, it was her superior swordsmanship that captivated him!
In terms of pure swordsmanship, Meng Yu was no match for her.
After all, she was four hundred and ten years old, having spent a length of time practicing the sword that was more than ten times that of Meng Yu's, with greater talent, and practicing a sword technique from the start that could be cultivated all the way to the Nascent Soul stage—the secret Divine Sword technique of the Green Bird school!
As the serpentine lightning struck this Golden Core practitioner, Bu Shixian's sword also arrived. The Eight-Eyed Jade Bone Sword became a faint and fleeting point of light, but then it suddenly soared and with a masterfully precise motion, it pierced through the chest of the Golden Core practitioner!
One sword strike, a true master swordsman only needs one well-timed sword strike!
The true masters of the Five Directions Tower were green with envy and launched even fiercer attacks, and the disciples left outside the formation also desperately propelled various Spirit Talismans and magical instruments in their attack.
But to the astonishment of all the onlookers, Bai Qianqian's Long River Nine Bends Array remained as stable as Mount Tai, unyielding and endless. No matter how many nodes they destroyed, it was all in vain. Moreover, after half an hour, another one of the Golden Core reinforcements from the Five Directions Tower was slain.
By that time, the Foundation Establishment disciples from the Five Directions Tower who had charged in with the Golden Core practitioners had suffered fifty percent casualties. The survivors, too, were covered in wounds, and at this moment, Bai Qianqian instructed Meng Yu to keep an eye on the workings of the formation, while she, donning the Greenwood Dragon Blood Armor and wielding a massive mace, lurked in a corner of the Great Formation.
This was a peak Second Order weapon—heavy and brutal, its inscribed talismans had a single purpose: Critical hits, over and over. It was a prized weapon of a Bear Demon.
Bai Qianqian's combat skills in close quarters were not strong, but regardless, she had the physique of a Golden Core practitioner and had a certain proficiency with the mace—this proficiency would be deemed divine mastery at the Qi Refinement stage, considered a grandmaster of the staff art at the Foundation Establishment stage, and deemed fairly threatening at the Golden Core stage.
This was a classic three-person tactic. Hua Miaochai's Five Elements Peach Blossom Umbrella suddenly swiveled, and crimson peach blossom petals manifested from thin air. The Yin Yang balance in the air reversed abruptly, and in an instant, about a dozen barriers rose, isolating one of the Golden Cores.
The next moment, thirty-three Supreme Yin Divine Thunder exploded in this confined space, while at the same time, Bai Qianqian swung her fine steel mace fiercely at the Golden Core.
There were no fancy tricks; the mace simply attacked directly. But what was terrifying was Bai Qianqian's movement technique, the high-speed Divine Skills like that of a rabbit, allowing her in this moment to perform a genuine shifting and replacing of images.
Three identical Bai Qianqians, lining up in a row, appeared in front of the Golden Core. It was a game of three shells and a pea—guess correctly which one was the real body, and safety or even victory would be yours; guess wrong, and the consequences would be unimaginable. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire
Usually, such a technique would be easy to discern, but under the light of Bai Qianqian's Treasure Mirror and with the reversing of Yin Yang by Hua Miaochai's Five Elements Peach Blossom Umbrella, it was difficult to distinguish true from false.
The opposing Golden Core was a tough character too. Despite the blood flowing from his seven orifices, he didn't evade but chose to clash head-on with Bai Qianqian, picking one of the three... regardless, he had to make a choice.
But first, a shadow jumped out from beneath Bai Qianqian—it was a sword!
Shadow Green Bird Assassination Sword!
Bu Shixian was generous and straightforward with friends but ruthless with enemies. She had hidden in Bai Qianqian's shadow, ready with this extremely cunning strike.
This sword strike aimed for sheer speed and precision, targeting only the knee joint of the Golden Core practitioner.
Struck by the sword, the Golden Core practitioner's leg flew into the air; it was not a fatal wound, but it left him no time to determine which of Bai Qianqian's images was the real one.
He just clenched his teeth and chose one.
Unfortunately, he chose wrong. He passed through one of Bai Qianqian's illusions, and a mace from Bai Qianqian landed heavily on his lower back.
"Snap!"
The effects of the critical hits stacked up, and the Golden Core practitioner's body burst into a mist of blood, this all happening within a second. Another Golden Core from the Five Directions Tower had fallen in battle!
The remaining Golden Cores let out cries of madness, but sadly, they could only howl.
Because those three female demons, each one fled faster than the last.
Hua Miaochai didn't even come close, Bai Qianqian had long legs and control of the formation, and Bu Shixian simply flew up high, for she had wings!
The loyal Long River Nine Bends Array shielded them from their enemies, and this was the greatest enemy of all, capable of blocking, splitting, and attacking while remaining untouchable!
Six Golden Cores had fallen, and although they had destroyed dozens of formation nodes and killed several demons from the Moon-Watching Sect, they hadn't even managed to harm their main opponents, sending chills down the spines of the four remaining Golden Cores.
"Fall back!"
At that moment, they truly regretted their actions.
But retreating was easier said than done, wasn't it?
Bai Qianqian, who was usually a coward, had personally joined the battle, driven in part by the rage of having her home invaded and trashed, and the loss of a vast amount of wealth, which was intolerable for her. But her participation also indicated that she believed the situation was under control and that she could afford to take risks.
Her definition of 'able to take risks' differed from others'. Put simply, it meant that things were almost guaranteed, with the remaining possibility being that the enemy might escape but could not counter-attack.
The Long River Nine Bends Array began to change, and the true masters of the Five Directions Tower watched in horror as the pathways they had opened beyond themselves began sealing off. New rivers formed, and this time, they no longer cared about their own disciples and started to desperately flee outwards.
But escape was not easy, was it?
The moment Bu Shixian had long awaited, where the trio would join forces, occurred multiple times. At last, the Five Directions Tower was defeated by Bai Qianqian and the others; two Golden Cores were killed, and one was severely injured, with only one escaping. He looked at the gates of the Moon-Watching Sect with his soul still trembling in fear.
At this instant, Meng Yu could even see deep resentment in his eyes.
"Bai Qianqian of the Moon-Watching Sect, you damn turtle, if you had such terrifying power, why didn't you deter everyone in advance?"
"You diligently and earnestly tended your garden for three hundred years, avoiding conflicts with others. Even when a mere Foundation Establishment bullied you, you would retreat three feet. Huang Tianxiang could bully you, but when we launched our full-scale attack, why were you so brutally violent?"
"Pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger is not meant to be like this!"
"You're not a rabbit, you are the Demon Emperor!"
"A Demon Emperor who meticulously plots and grows in silence!"
This battle turned out to be the most resplendent victory for the Moon-Watching Sect, through a series of coincidences and fortuitous mistakes.
...
The outskirts of the Moon-Watching Sect.
Surrounding the Moon-Watching Sect, the Five Directions Tower employed flying boats, cloud platforms, and fortresses to establish a tight defensive layer. The moment six Golden Cores broke through, countless people silently observed their formation and their high fighting spirits.
Six Golden Cores, wielding various life-bound magic artifacts, followed by eighty-nine at the Foundation Establishment Stage, charged headfirst into enemy lines. Masters proficient in formations, true immortals skilled in defense, and many preparations—such a lineup was sure to be victorious against the formidable female swordsman Bu Shixian, along with two worthless Golden Cores, Bai Qianqian and Hua Miaochai—no matter what, Hua Miaochai was still a Golden Core who had ventured out a few times, only to be bullied each time.
Then...
Our forces charged in, paving the way with firepower, but the situation turned grim. We lost our commander—disaster struck. How come only two people made it out?
Two Golden Cores from the Moon-Watching Sect rushed out, one even missing an arm.
At that moment, Bai Qianqian, Bu Shixian, and Hua Miaochai charged out.
There was a small interlude in all this.
We won, and Bai Qianqian was elated. She almost split her face with laughter and was about to stop, but then she heard Meng Yu's urgent message.
"Why won't you charge out and kill them?"
Historically, after a crushing defeat, pursuing the fleeing enemy was essential to secure the greatest victory and thoroughly break their spirits!
As for it being a potential trap?
Meng Yu declared that he had never heard of baiting a trap with the lives of four Golden Cores!
At that time, Bai Qianqian was momentarily stunned, but then Bu Shixian stamped on her foot, and the three sisters finally charged out!
What followed was a moment of unrivalled invincibility!
Bu Shixian's long sword pierced the sky, Bai Qianqian's Three Treasures Mirror hung suspended in the air, and Hua Miaochai employed the Five Elements Peach Blossom Umbrella and a multicolored silk handkerchief in alternation—one leading the offensive, one mage, and one illusionist.
The three women coordinated seamlessly, ruthlessly defeating the Five Directions Tower and inflicting heavy losses.
Meng Yu even dispatched half of the sect's forces at the gates to clean up the battlefield while he managed the Great Formation alongside a few of the sect's disciples, just in case.
The pursuit went extremely smooth; the people of the Five Directions Tower completely lost their will to fight and only knew to flee. A large number of magical treasures, camps, and flying boats were abandoned, and quite a few individuals even surrendered voluntarily.
A day later, there was no one from the Five Directions Tower within a thousand li.
The battle between the Moon-Watching Sect and the Five Directions Tower was the most brutal in the Western Wastes for a century.
Typically, many cultivation families were led by a solitary Foundation Establishment individual. If this leader fell, the family would be doomed. A Golden Core, even in the Central Plains region, could start a sect.
It was like in the Immortal Sect where a Golden Core controlled an entire planet; here, a Golden Core had countless people clinging and following, not to be trifled with lightly.
Even when conflicts arose between Golden Cores, they were often just that—conflicts. Rarely did a Golden Core fall, as cultivators were not focused on fighting for supremacy but for immortality. Moreover, Golden Cores had strong vitality, and in cases where they were being bested, their usual course of action was to flee rather than be killed.
The Five Directions Tower's ambition to expand, aside from perceiving Bai Qianqian as weak, was motivated by witnessing how she had suddenly amassed such great prestige. It was like how the Imperial Court viewed local powerhouses, unable to resist the urge to take a slice. But who could have foreseen that this coward had nurtured such a formidable army?
What followed were various strokes of misfortune that led to the all-out assault by the Five Directions Tower. Coupled with Meng Yu's return with an array of high-grade weapons, and Bai Qianqian's reserved strength, it culminated in the defeat of the Five Directions Tower with four Golden Cores dead, one severely wounded, and no desire to continue the battle, prompting an immediate escape.
They had won, and now they could divide the spoils of the Moon-Watching Sect.
But they lost, and with such heavy losses, they had to consider the possibility of being kicked while down by others.