Yefutidaolu

Chapter 395 Collection
A wise person looks down from the top.

The leader was urging those behind him in a low voice, while warily watching the bottomless darkness below. His armor was particularly badly damaged, and his face was covered in blood and dust, but Gao Jian instantly recognized him by his bloodshot eyes, the whites of which were almost entirely yellow.

Zou Shu!

To think we'd run into him here! And judging from their appearance, they'd clearly just gone through a fierce battle and were now being forced to venture deeper into this perilous place!

Gao Jian's gaze instantly sharpened.

He looked at Zou Shu's exhausted yet determined profile, then at the soldiers behind him who were barely able to stand, and then at the corpses of his fellow members of the Demon Suppression Division and the remains of noble families on the ground...

Gao Jian was a clever man, very good at finding the truth from the slightest clues. So after seeing these things, a clear picture formed in his mind: the aristocratic families forced the soldiers of the Demon Suppression Division to act as vanguards and cannon fodder to wipe out the cicada swarms on the outskirts of the underground cave, resulting in heavy losses.

Now, the battle has just ended, and before they even have time to rest, they are being driven deeper into this even more dangerous cavern!
Just then, on the stone steps below, a young soldier who was at the back of the group and could no longer support himself suddenly lost his footing and cried out in alarm. He was about to fall into the bottomless abyss where yellow clouds rolled in!

"Watch out!" Zou Shu turned around in alarm, trying to reach out and grab him, but the distance was too far.

At his usual speed, pulling like this would be very easy; his speed is definitely much faster than this.

But at this moment, he was also corrupted by the yellow clouds and didn't react for a moment.

The young man fell down.

The others looked grief-stricken, but... they were not alarmed, and even seemed somewhat used to it.

Yes, it's become commonplace; after all... this isn't the first person to fall.

I've been here for several days now, and this happens almost every day.

However, at this critical moment, a figure appeared beside the soldier as if by teleportation. A hand gently grasped the back of his collar, lifted him lightly, and placed him steadily on the stone steps.

The whole process was silent and so fast it felt like an illusion.

All the soldiers of the Demon Suppression Division were startled and stared in horror at the suddenly appearing, ghostly figure.

Zou Shu gripped his weapon even tighter.

However, when he saw the face of the person who had suddenly appeared, he was struck dumb, frozen in place! His eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, as if he had seen the most unlikely person ever!
"Brilliant...brilliant insight!?" he exclaimed, his voice trembling with shock.

"Yo."

A casual greeting, like a stone thrown into a stagnant well, stirred up many ripples. It sounded so abrupt on the stone steps of the cave, which were filled with yellow clouds and a deathly atmosphere, yet it carried a strange sense of calm.

Gao Jian casually waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the group of Demon Suppression Division soldiers in front of him, their faces sallow and their eyes cloudy from the death aura of the Yellow Springs, before finally landing on the face of Zou Shu, who was so shocked he was almost petrified.

Before everyone could recover from this unbelievable encounter, Gao Jian flipped his wrist, and an ancient, solemn black iron seal engraved with the mythical beast Bi'an appeared in his palm.

"Om-!"

He raised the deputy general's seal high, and the vast, blazing blood and energy of a seventh-realm martial artist surged into his body!

In an instant, a visible plume of blood and qi, like a crimson dragon, shot into the sky from the seal!

The smoke from the wolf was pure and powerful, domineering and unparalleled. It forcefully pushed aside the dense, cold, yellowish deathly energy in the cave, evaporating it to create a large vacuum area!

Amidst the smoke of war, it seemed as if countless military spirits roared, their fighting spirit soaring to the heavens. An unquestionable commanding aura belonging to the high-ranking generals of the Demon Suppression Division swept out like a tide, suppressing all directions!

The official seals of all officials in the Divine Dynasty were not merely for show; in reality, they were magical artifacts, tools that helped officials fulfill their duties.

The same applies to the General's Seal. In fact, it is a token of the Demon Suppression Division's command system, specifically used to establish command authority in legion battles or emergencies. Once its power is activated, all officials belonging to the Demon Suppression Division in the vicinity can sense it.

Zou Shu's captain's seal clearly responded, and not far away, other official seals were also responding.

Gao Jian casually hung his general's seal, which hummed incessantly and exuded a powerful aura and majesty, at his waist. The crimson smoke from the battle still lingered.

Under the watchful eyes of all the Demon Suppression Division soldiers—whose initial astonishment turned to shock, and then to unbelievable ecstasy—

Gao Mian's expression turned solemn, and his voice, like thunder from the heavens, boomed through the deep underground cavity, carrying supreme authority and an irresistible will:
"The Deputy General of the Demon Suppression Division has demonstrated his exceptional insight!"

"All members of the Demon Suppression Division, immediately cease all duties. Anyone who disobeys will be punished as a traitor!"

"Assemble under my command!"

The sound waves rolled on, containing a powerful impact, clearly reaching the ears of every soldier of the Demon Suppression Division, and even penetrating the rock wall to spread further and further away!
"Bold!!"

"Who dares to make a disturbance here?! Disrupting our military affairs!"

"Who is it?! How dare they impersonate the deputy general of the Demon Suppression Division?!"

Almost the instant the voice fell, several shouts filled with shock and anger came rapidly from the darkness below and the passage to the side and rear!
With a whooshing sound, five or six figures rushed over. They were all noblemen dressed in rich clothes, their bodies surrounded by the clear light of magical treasures. They were clearly alarmed by the sudden burst of blood and smoke and the command, and had come to investigate and intend to suppress it.

Logically speaking, Gao Jian's portrait should have been circulated among various prominent families long ago, given his past exploits in Cangzhou and the massacre of the Zuo family.

But these people looked surprised and their eyes were unfamiliar. Perhaps for some reason, they really didn't recognize the evil star in front of them.

Gao Jian was too lazy to waste words with them.

Just as those young masters from noble families rushed forward, their bodies shimmering with spiritual light, their spells about to be unleashed—

"BOOM!!!!!!"

A terrifying sonic boom, so muffled to the extreme, as if something had been squeezed and burst open, suddenly exploded!

Takashi's figure blurred and disappeared in an instant!
In the next instant, those young masters from prominent families who were at the forefront didn't even have time to fully show their astonishment before their bodies were smashed like watermelons by an invisible giant wielding a hammer of immense weight—

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" A series of muffled, teeth-grinding sounds followed!
Blood and flesh flew everywhere! Bones were shattered!

The protective magic treasures on their bodies didn't even have time to flash before they were instantly blasted into a shower of flesh and blood by the purest and most violent brute force, along with their owners' bodies!
He couldn't even let out a scream!
Several young masters from noble families, each with at least a fourth or fifth level of cultivation, vanished without a trace, leaving only the heavy stench of blood in the air and the slowly falling blood mist stained with fragments of their fine clothes.

Beat to death?

For Gao Jian now, the physique of a seventh-realm martial artist is remarkable.

To accurately "kill" someone without actually "exploding" them, one needs to deliberately restrain their power. Just now, he simply and directly used the speed and strength of his physical body, without even using any martial arts techniques or supernatural abilities.

At such close range, the physical bodies of these aristocratic scions, who were generally only at the fourth or fifth level and specialized in magic, were as fragile as paper and could be easily blasted into dust!
Being this close to a martial artist is that dangerous!
This is the absolute dominance of a warrior in close combat!
The remaining scions of noble families were so terrified by this horrific scene that they fled in panic!

One of them reacted faster, retreating to a relatively safe distance. His hands rapidly formed hand seals, his face a mixture of fear and apprehension, yet he forced himself to remain calm and shouted sternly, "Who exactly are you?! I am a member of the Lin family of Cangzhou! I have never heard of a deputy general like you in the Demon Suppression Division! You have killed a member of a noble family and disrupted important matters in Cangzhou. Today, I'm afraid you will have to leave some explanation!"

His words still seemed to maintain the etiquette of a scion of a noble family, but his actions were ruthless!

He activated his magic technique, and his magical power poured out like a flood, connecting with the earth's ley lines and yin energy!
"Ouch——!"

"Jiejiejie——!"

In an instant, the entire underground cave seemed to transform into a gate to hell!

Endless evil spirits and dead souls surged forth from the rock walls on all sides and from the deepest crevices of the underworld! This place was originally a manifestation of the underworld, with an extremely dense concentration of yin and death energy. The power of such evil magic, which summons and commands the dead, was multiplied many times over!

In the blink of an eye, what Gao Jian could see in front of him had turned into a sea of ​​the dead!
Countless grotesque, howling vengeful spirits tangled into a gray-black tide; rotting skeleton warriors wielding bone blades stood like a forest; even more terrifying, many monstrous creatures that existed only in ancient records were summoned and manifested:
There are yakshas with blue faces and fangs, wielding steel forks, and their bodies shrouded in malevolent energy;

There are Rakshasa with stunningly beautiful faces but venomous eyes, nails like knives, and ghostly speed;
Furthermore, numerous phantom images of ancient ferocious beasts appeared: monsters with bronze heads and iron foreheads that feed on metal and stone; demonic apes with chisel-like teeth that can devour souls; ferocious birds with the bodies of foxes and the wings of birds that fight and kill living beings; and even some ancient evil creatures with bizarre appearances that are indescribable and exude pure brutality and destructive aura!
They filled every inch of the cavern, roaring and howling, converging into a destructive torrent that swept towards Gao Jian and the Demon Suppression Division soldiers behind him! The sheer force of it threatened to engulf all living beings!
The Lin family member was pale, clearly overwhelmed by the immense strain of this technique, yet his eyes gleamed with ruthlessness and confidence. In this land of the dead, summoning such a massive army of the undead would wear down even a seventh-realm martial artist!

Summoning the spirits of the dead here is indeed twice as effective with half the effort! A smug look appeared on the face of the young nobleman:
“This… General? Forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of a deputy general as young as you in the Demon Suppression Division. However, you have killed the supervising officer here without authorization and disrupted the official duties of my Cangzhou family… Please stop here for a moment and explain the reason.”

Faced with this overwhelming tide of undead demons, enough to terrify ordinary cultivators, Gao Jian's expression remained unchanged.

He didn't even look at the Lin family member who was casting the spell, nor did he pay attention to the overwhelming malevolent aura.

He simply lowered his waist and hips slightly, assuming the most basic starting stance, as steady as a rock, stabilizing the chaotic airflow and raging yin wind around him.

then,

Draw the knife.

It was not some divine weapon, but just an ordinary-looking sword, even with some rust on it.

But just as the rusty knife was drawn three inches from its sheath—

"Zheng——!"

A clear, melodious sound, like a dragon's roar, rang out, drowning out the howls of countless undead and echoing throughout the underground cave!

It was said to be a single cut.

But see—

Above! Below! In front! Behind! To the left! To the right!
Everywhere the eye can see, wherever the senses can reach, is space!
The endless, dazzling sword light was like the Milky Way suddenly pouring down from the heavens, or like the stars shining simultaneously in the eternal cold night!

There is no sequence, no blind spots, and no gaps!

It was as if, at the same instant, countless brilliant insights struck, simultaneously, with a fatal blow aimed at every corner of this underground cave!

The surging sea of ​​the dead, the hideous and terrifying Yakshas and Rakshasas, the ancient and crudely shaped ferocious beasts and demonic shadows… all met the omnipresent blade light in the instant—

Like boiling water poured on snow.

"Boom--!!"

Where the blade flashed, even the pervasive yellow clouds were forcibly cleaved apart, purifying them into a brief moment of clarity!

A terrifying surge of sword intent raged wildly on the spot, pulverizing all the rocks and corpses within its range into the finest powder! The next moment, a powerful surge of blood energy, as red as blood and as hot as lava, suddenly erupted, spreading rapidly outwards from Gao Jian like a raging torrent!
The terrifying turbulent flow of blade energy surged and spread wildly in all directions like a tangible tsunami! Wherever it passed, the rock walls were flattened and obliterated layer by layer, like tofu! The hard rocks on the ground, which had accumulated for countless millennia, instantly collapsed by more than four feet! The entire space of the cave was forcibly expanded several times by the power of this single blade!
The pervasive yellow clouds, the endless spirits, the Lin family members casting spells, and even the several aristocratic family members further behind him who hadn't had time to escape...

They all vanished without a trace.

As if they had never existed.

Only the lingering, extremely sharp blade intent in the air, and the widened, flattened, and mirror-smooth rock wall, silently testified to the terror of that strike.

Gao Jian slowly sheathed his sword.

On that rusty sword, a chilling light gleamed at the seven-inch mark of the blade.

The blade's edge, seven inches!

Gao Jian flicked his knife, as if he had only done a trivial thing.

Behind him, all the soldiers of the Demon Suppression Division, led by Zou Shu, were already dumbfounded, frozen in place like clay sculptures, staring at Gao Jian's back with unparalleled shock and awe, as if looking up at a god!

The cave was suddenly plunged into a deathly silence.

Only the deputy general's seal at Gao Jian's waist still radiated a fierce aura of blood and wolf smoke, its crimson light illuminating his calm face.

Gao Jian's gaze swept calmly over them, finally settling on Zou Shu's face, a mixture of shock, excitement, and the cloudy yellow of his eyes. He spoke softly:
"Now, assemble?"

(End of this chapter)