Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 108: Sword Roars Through the Mountains and Forests, Slaying a Late-Stage Slayer (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 210)

The mountains and forests were silent, and the twilight was golden.

Zhao Wuji's figure blended into the shadows, even his breath became part of the mountain breeze.

The guiding technique operated smoothly, and just as he had predicted, the gray line in the earth's veins meandered closer to its designated location.

Thirty feet, twenty feet, ten feet!
This is the moment!

Zhao Wuji suddenly made his move, and a blinding cold light burst forth from his sword token, as if a ferocious beast that had been lying in wait for a long time had finally bared its fangs.

With a clang, the sword token suddenly emitted a clear and melodious tremor like a dragon's roar, like the divine sound of metal from beyond the heavens, echoing through the mountains and forests.

A flash of dazzling sword light, like the aurora breaking through the dawn, tore through the twilight with blinding coldness. The mountain path ahead seemed empty, but the moment the sword energy struck the ground, a strange mound suddenly rose up.

"boom!"

The moment the sword energy pierced the earth's veins, the entire mountain forest trembled. Kang Youyuan, who was lurking underground, suddenly felt a bone-chilling coldness above his head, and his protective spiritual light was easily torn apart like thin paper. Alarms screamed in his heart.

"How can it be?!"

Deep within the earth's veins, Kang Youyuan felt a chill run down his spine.

In Earth Escape state, magical artifacts are difficult to summon; only the robe hastily glows with protective spiritual light.

Unfortunately, at this moment, the spiritual energy in his meridians was like stagnant mud. Although he broke through it in an instant, he had already missed the life-or-death moment!
"Pfft!"

The gleaming sword energy was like a silver dragon entering the sea, and the magical light on the robe shattered instantly.

A cloud of blood mist burst open from the ground, and a crimson arrow of blood shot out from the soil.

A piercing scream echoed through the mountains and forests.

Deep underground, Kang Youyuan's left ear was severed at the root, the sword energy pierced through his shoulder and lungs, and finally burst out of his body from his groin, plowing a three-zhang-long blood trench in the ground.

The ground trembled violently, and astonishing sword energy erupted along the mountain path.

In the distance, the two elders of Linlang Cave Heaven, who were searching for Kang Youyuan's whereabouts separately, were both startled by the sudden movement of the sword energy and turned around, their expressions changing.

"Sword command and sword energy!?"

"Boom!"

The mountain path exploded, and Kang Youyuan burst out of the ground like a blood gourd. His single eye was as red as a ghost, and he locked onto Zhao Wuji, who had just appeared. He was stunned for a moment, but then recognized Zhao Wuji at a glance based on the aura he had locked onto earlier. He couldn't help but laugh in anger.

"You little beast! It's you!"

This fierce roar, carrying boundless resentment, shook the entire mountainside, causing fallen leaves to flutter down.

"Give back my son's life!"

Kang Youyuan laughed wildly in extreme anger, his blood-stained white hair dancing wildly like mad snakes. He suddenly clasped his hands together in a hand seal, and dozens of dark blue water-splitting spikes suddenly appeared around his body.

The instant he made the hand seal, it transformed into a sky full of cold light, pouring down on Zhao Wuji like a torrential rain!

"boom--"

Before the assassin even arrived, the terrifying spiritual pressure was already pressing down like a mountain.

Zhao Wuji's face turned pale, and he retreated into the forest as quickly as a willow catkin.

Under the control of the sword technique, the Frost Soul Flying Sword was like a torrential downpour of ice rain, transforming into streaks of white rainbows to meet the attack. At the moment when the sword blade collided wildly with the Water-Splitting Thorn, it emitted a series of mournful cries.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

Each collision caused the Cold Soul Flying Sword to wail, and the spiritual power infused into the sword was gradually eroded away.

The difference in spiritual power between the two was truly too great.

Suddenly, the countless thorny shadows merged into one, transforming into a dark blue dragon that pierced through the heavens and earth, shattering ancient trees wherever it passed!
"It's now!"

In the critical moment, Zhao Wuji's mind suddenly sank into a state of utmost clarity.

Two talismans silently slipped from his sleeve, just as the Water-Splitting Thorn was about to strike.

Suddenly, the figure split into two. One plunged directly into the mud, while the other was pierced through by a shocking thrust and exploded into a large spray of water.

"Trying to escape using earth magic!?"

As Kang Youyuan charged forward, bloodied and battered, he suddenly flung out numerous talismans from his sleeve, which landed and transformed into a sky full of fireballs.

With a deafening roar, the ground was blasted into waves of dust, but not a single person could be seen.

However, there was no one in the burst mound, as if Zhao Wuji had vanished into thin air.

This scene left Kang Youyuan stunned, his face pale with shock as he stared at the raging inferno. Then, his bloodshot eyes flashed with rage and murderous intent.

"Zhao Wuji!!"

Just as he was about to activate the magical artifact again, blood gushed out from his pierced body once more. The massive blood loss caused his vision to go black, his brain to spin, and his body to collapse.

"Old ghost Kang! Stop harming my sect's disciples!"

At this tense and volatile moment, a thunderous shout rang out, and a dazzling blade of energy slashed across the sky.

Kang Youyuan barely managed to shout angrily as he activated the water-splitting magic weapon to defend himself.

There was a loud "clang" sound!
The water-splitting piercing artifacts flew wildly and violently.

Kang Youyuan's body was blasted away as if struck by lightning. When he landed, the three magic shields lit up hastily, but they were already teetering on the verge of collapse.

However, in that brief moment, another figure attacked, his magical weapon unleashing three dazzling beams of light, auspicious colors, and radiant brilliance, instantly shattering Kang Youyuan's precarious magical shield.

The two elders worked together seamlessly, blocking all of Kang Laogui's escape routes from the left and right.

Even though Kang Youyuan desperately tried to take to the air, he was eventually cleaved down by a blade of energy.

Three zhang underground, Zhao Wuji concealed himself using earth-遁术 (earth-遁术) combined with invisibility techniques, his bloody hole in his shoulder sealed tightly by spiritual power. In his spiritual perception, Kang Youyuan's aura flickered like a candle in the wind.

"what--!"

Suddenly, a piercing scream pierced the earth. The violent spiritual pressure receded rapidly like a receding tide, eventually fading into deathly silence.

"it's over?"

Zhao Wuji's heart skipped a beat. He quickly withdrew the invisibility spell and then used the Earth Escape Technique to break out of the ground, meeting the astonished gazes of the two elders.

An elder's moon-white robe fluttered in the wind.

"Junior disciple Zhao Wuji of Cold Moon Peak?" Elder Silver Beard narrowed his eyes. "You were hiding underground the whole time?"

Zhao Wuji pressed his hand against the deep, bone-revealing wound on his shoulder and bowed respectfully: "It is indeed your disciple. Your disciple greets the elder."

As he spoke, golden needles flashed from his sleeve, instantly sealing seven major acupoints on his shoulder, stopping the bleeding immediately.

Upon seeing this symbolic golden needle, the two elders' expressions of shock eased slightly. However, when they saw the sword wound on Kang Youyuan's corpse on the ground, which ran from his scalp to half of his body, the two looked at each other and gasped in shock.

"Is this what you just did?" Elder Silverbeard asked in surprise.

Zhao Wuji clutched his shoulder and said with a wry smile, "I was forced into a corner and had no choice but to gamble my life by unleashing the sword energy of the sword token. Fortunately, the sword energy was strong enough to severely injure this fiend, but it was already at its limit. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the two elders..."

Before they could finish speaking, the two elders' faces were already burning.

What? They arrived just in time? They almost let that old devil succeed right under their noses.

If it weren't for Junior Nephew Zhao's composure in the face of danger, severely injuring the powerful enemy with his sword, today would have been a huge joke—the two elders watching their disciple's genius be killed by their enemy, unable to even stop the murderer.

After all, if the other party hadn't severely injured Kang Youyuan with that sword strike, the two of them would have had a real difficulty in capturing him.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" Elder Jiao Min of the Magic Weapon Hall suddenly clapped his hands and laughed. "Fearless in the face of danger, a counterattack from a desperate situation! Nephew Zhao truly deserves to be the Qilin Zixin of my Linlang Cave Heaven! Such courage and luck are rare even in my hundred years of cultivation!"

Beside him, Elder Wen Cunyi of the Hundred Wastes Hall waved his sleeve and pointed to the mangled corpse on the ground, saying, "This is Elder Kang Youyuan of the Xuan Sha Hall of Yun Feng Cave Heaven, with the cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Induction. My nephew should be credited with the greatest merit for killing this fiend! I will definitely report the truth and record it in the merit book of this counterattack."

A glint flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes, and he immediately bowed deeply: "This disciple thanks the two elders for their guidance!"

"This is a merit you earned by risking your life."

Jiao Min stroked his beard and smiled, then with a flick of his sleeve, he collected all of Kang Youyuan's belongings. "According to custom, you can have half of the spoils. We'll distribute them after we return to our grotto and verify them."

"It is entirely up to the elders to decide."

Zhao Wuji looked respectful. He was already very fortunate to have eliminated this mortal enemy, and he had unexpectedly won the first merit. The storage bag was now his for the taking. The risks he had taken were indeed worthwhile.

A moment later, the two elders burned the corpses to destroy the evidence, and then disappeared into the distance with their spoils. Zhao Wuji used his Ghostly Insight Technique to check and found that Kang Laogou's ghost had already dissipated.

Without delay, following the elder's instructions, they quickly left this place of trouble.

They fled hundreds of miles away.

Zhao Wuji then found a large river and plunged into the rushing water, letting the icy current wash away the bloodstains covering his body.

A moment later, a faint light emanated from his fingertips, and his guiding technique peeled away the remaining enemy spiritual energy from the wound bit by bit.

As the medical technique was activated, pale green medical spiritual energy surged into the wound, causing a tingling, itchy, and stinging sensation. The granulation tissue grew wildly like spring vines, and the crisp sound of the bones healing was clearly audible.

"call--"

Several dozen breaths later, only a hideous scar remained on his shoulder.

Zhao Wuji floated on his back in the middle of the river, letting the current carry his body and wash away his fatigue.

Although the battle was short, it was exhausting.

From shedding its skin to launching a desperate counterattack, every step was a dance on the edge of a knife.

Now that he's relaxed, he feels as if even his fingertips are incredibly heavy.

"Wow!"

He suddenly burst out of the water, his martial arts energy rising like mist, and his clothes instantly dried.

His figure flew down and sat cross-legged on a blue stone on the shore, took out two source crystals, and they glowed faintly in his palm.

Numerous spiritual energies immediately flowed into the parched meridians like trickles, providing stable spiritual support in this spiritless environment.

Zhao Wuji's closed eyes reflected the shimmering light, and the scar on his shoulder was slowly scabbing off.

As his spiritual energy surged and flowed through his meridians, he was surprised to find that the spiritual energy within his body was even more condensed than before the battle.

The concealment effect of the Invisibility Technique has become increasingly refined, the insight of the Spiritual Insight Technique has gained a sharper edge, and the Guiding Technique, which he mastered three months ago, has also made further progress.
"Between life and death lies both great terror and great opportunity. The struggle for immortality, and the life-or-death battles, are the best whetstones for sharpening one's skills."

With a slight thought, his right arm suddenly twisted like a snake, bending back to an incredible angle, and he pulled out the golden needle from his shoulder.

This is one of the mysteries of mastering the art of guiding the body.

When he used Earth Escape before, he relied on this ability of soft bones to avoid fatal attacks underground like an earth dragon.

In addition, it can guide energy to attach to other things. The previous use of a hawk to lure away Kang Laogui was a miraculous feat.

"Click."

The source crystal in his palm was completely absorbed and turned into dust.

The moment Zhao Wuji opened his eyes, the scab on his shoulder fell off, leaving only a faint white mark.

As the night breeze swept through the mountains and forests, he seemed to sense something, and the sword token at his waist suddenly shone brightly with a blue light!

His name, which had topped the merit list, was erased as if by an invisible hand, and instantly replaced by the three words "Qingluo Commander Ji Mobai," which were extremely conspicuous in the night.

"Um?".
(End of this chapter)