Chapter 131: Winds Rise and Clouds Gather in Qingyang

Chapter 131: Clouds Gather Over Qingyang

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A rapid series of whistling sounds erupted from the hands of Tang Wan, who hovered in the air. Cyan arrows descended like a rainstorm, transforming into streaks of piercing energy that plunged into the ranks of the Tianshan disciples.

"Ah! Argh..."

A chorus of agonizing screams echoed across the grounds. The Tianshan disciples charging toward Zisu and her companion fell like harvested stalks of rice, collapsing one after another.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

After the incessant screams subsided, the Cyanwood Arrows finally caught up with Lu Zhenbei, who had turned to flee. Forced into a corner, Lu Zhenbei spun around and brandished his greatsword, desperately parrying the rain of arrows. The relentless collisions between the Cyanwood Arrows and his cold-light blade eventually sent him reeling backward through the air.

"Foundation Establishment is, after all, Foundation Establishment," Lu Zhenbei thought, his blood surging and his heart filled with terror as he flew through the sky.

"Strike!" A shout filled with fury suddenly rang out. Ding Ning had seized the moment, his Zining Sword morphing into a streak of purple light that lunged directly at the airborne Lu Zhenbei.

"Clang!" Caught off guard, Lu Zhenbei scrambled to maneuver his cold-light sword in front of him to block the strike. When the two blades collided, his sword was knocked far away, and Lu Zhenbei himself was sent plummeting like a shooting star, crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Tang Wan’s Cyanwood Arrows rained down again, whistling through the air as they bore down on the spot where Lu Zhenbei lay.

"Hummm..."

Just as the arrows were about to finish him off, a burst of yellow light suddenly erupted from Lu Zhenbei's body. It formed a thin, transparent film that held the Cyanwood Arrows firmly at bay, inches from his skin.

"Spirit Armor!" Seeing that yellow glow, Tang Wan’s brows knit tightly together. She had not expected Lu Zhenbei to possess Spirit Armor. Such defensive gear was notoriously expensive; for an elder of a second-rate sect to own one was quite a surprise.

Lu Zhenbei felt a surge of secret relief. This armor was indeed powerful, capable of withstanding a wave of attacks from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He shuddered to think that if he hadn't unexpectedly acquired and donned this gear, those cyan arrows would have surely riddled his body with seven or eight gaping holes.

"Clang, clang..." More arrows struck the surface of the glowing barrier, emitting crisp sounds, but they remained blocked outside the shimmering shroud.

Tang Wan frowned. This light screen was proving quite troublesome; she had already fired fifteen arrows, yet could not breach the defense. She recalled that in the Monster Hunting Battlefield, Lu Tiannan—at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining—could not withstand even fifteen of her senior brother's arrows, and her senior brother had only been at the ninth level of Qi Refining at the time. She had already reached Foundation Establishment, so this armor was truly no simple trinket.

"Hehe..." Lu Zhenbei spat out blood and offered a grim, triumphant smile. If a Foundation Establishment expert couldn't deal with him, what did he have to fear while protected by this armor?

"You little wench, so what if you're in the Foundation Establishment stage? Look at that—my Spirit Armor is powerful, isn't it? You're out of options now, hahahaha!" Lu Zhenbei laughed arrogantly.

Tang Wan’s frown deepened; the sight of his ugly, gloating face irritated her. With a slight flick of her finger, she whispered, "Detonate."

"Boom!" A massive explosion erupted from Lu Zhenbei's body as the fifteen Cyanwood Arrows detonated simultaneously.

The yellow transparent shroud dimmed instantly, its surface caving inward. Lu Zhenbei’s body bent sharply like a boiled shrimp, and he was blasted into the cobblestone street of Qingyang Town.

"Pfft..." A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. Despite the protection of the armor, the shockwave from the explosion left him severely wounded, and the luster of the Spirit Armor began to fade, its glow flickering out.

"Boom!" Under Tang Wan’s control, several more Cyanwood Arrows exploded against his body.

"Hummm..." The light on the armor flickered a few times before it could no longer withstand the continuous barrage of explosions. The dim, transparent barrier finally shattered into nothingness.

"Clang!"

"Awoo!"

Ding Ning’s Zining Sword finally arrived. It slashed down in a streak of purple light, pinning Lu Zhenbei firmly to the cobblestone floor with a piercing screech of metal against stone. Lu Zhenbei let out one final, dry howl, his body stiffened, and he died under the blade.

Tang Wan looked at the corpses strewn about and spoke to Zisu, "Zisu, go find the local magistrate, Master Ning. Order him to register the deaths of these Tianshan disciples and post warnings throughout the town that cultivators are forbidden from causing trouble. Specifically note that an outsider at the ninth level of Qi Refining has offended Mount Hua and has been executed."

Ding Ning pulled his Zining Sword from the ground and asked with confusion, "Senior Aunt Tang, wouldn't it be easier to just dig a pit and bury them? Why go through the trouble of registering them?"

Tang Wan gazed into the distance, replying after a moment, "Lu Tiannan has challenged Senior Brother to a duel at the summit of Mount Hua in three days. I fear Qingyang Town will know no peace."

As the forest grows, all sorts of birds appear; as the number of cultivators grows, so too do the troublemakers.

Only half a cup of tea’s time after Tang Wan returned to Mount Hua, the first group of cultivators from the Linqing Prefecture arrived, hoping to witness the life-and-death duel between the Tianshan Sect and Mount Hua. They happened upon the townspeople burying the Tianshan disciples. Seeing the staggering number of bodies, the once-arrogant and boisterous cultivators immediately fell silent.

In the minds of the Linqing cultivators, the Mount Hua sect—having evolved from a vassal sect to a second-rate one—should have been quite weak. Yet, seeing the warning notices plastered everywhere in Qingyang Town, the true strength of Mount Hua appeared shrouded in mystery, like flowers viewed through a veil.

The warnings clearly stated that violence and disorder in Qingyang Town, the territory of Mount Hua, were strictly prohibited and would be met with immediate execution. They used the pile of dead Tianshan disciples as a grim reminder, with the name of the ninth-level Qi Refining expert, Lu Zhenbei, topping the list.

The first-rate or unranked sects that had come to watch the fight had leaders whose highest cultivation was merely at the ninth level of Qi Refining. The long, dense list of names on the warnings sent a chill through them. Many recognized those names—people who were usually tyrants in the Linqing Prefecture. To see so many of them dead in such a short time left the onlookers trembling.

The list alone might not have scared everyone away. But when a disciple of the Wanglu Sect caused a scene in the Sun Family Restaurant and was struck down in one blow by a mild-mannered Mount Hua youth, and the Wanglu Sect Master’s subsequent demand for justice was silenced by a single Cyanwood Arrow technique, the sound of cultivators kicking tables and throwing chairs vanished entirely from Qingyang Town.

However, as time passed and the day of the duel—when the moon would hang at its zenith—drew closer, the number of cultivators gathering in Qingyang Town grew ever larger, and larger still...

On this day, as the moon set behind the western mountains, a line of white-clad Tianshan disciples finally appeared in Qingyang Town.