Chapter 150, part 1. Neither in the sky…

Proofread by SH & Snake

Why would Jiufang Changming not try winning if even Luomei was not sure of his victory?

But defeating Luomei was not his only objective today. He also had to lay bare Luomei’s collusion with the forces of the Dark Abyss of the Sacred Mountain Wan in front of everyone—otherwise, in everyone’s eyes, he and his companions would be regarded as nothing but evil spirits to be eliminated at first sight.

“Get out of the way!” Jiufang Changming shouted at Yao Wangnian.

His battle against Luomei needed no extra participants.

The Guyue Sword was thrust into the middle of the Eight Trigram square, and the ground shook violently. The platform under their feet had cracked into equal parts, and the tremor spread outwards from the center. At the same time, their spiritual powers burst out, and the huge waves of their qis formed a vortex that had completely blocked out the already indistinguishable scene.

The sand around them had blotted out the sky, whirling around so densely that it was difficult to take a single step. Even though it was not as dark as in the night, nothing could be seen clearly in the chaos.

Those whose cultivation was not that strong could hardly stand and were at risk of being blown away by the hurricane as soon as they stopped paying attention. Some of them had not grasped the seriousness of the situation and summoned their spiritual tools, but in the end were still thrown up into the sky together with their weapons.

Yao Wangnian reached out to the iron chains around Jiang Li to break them.

“Don’t…”

Jiang Li struggled desperately to say one word, and his voice was as quiet as the buzzing of a mosquito.

He had been tortured half to death by demonic qi, and he had maintained his consciousness only because of his sheer willpower.

However, it was too late. Yao Wangnian had already touched the iron and realized that the chains were like man-eating maggots that bit into his hands firmly, scorching his skin like boiling water. No matter what he did, Yao Wangnian could not leave them, and soon, the skin on his hands was eaten away. Fortunately, his ghost qi was protecting him, and the two forces clashed.

“[Countless ghosts devour the heart, break!]”

Yao Wangnian muttered. A skull as long as several fingers appeared, and a dim blue fire rushed at the iron chains that clanged loudly before breaking into pieces. Yao Wangnian seized the chance to free Jiang Li.

“It’s useless, he has already planted demonic qi inside of me,” Jiang Li caught a breath and struggled to look at Yao Wangnian. “You… leave. He didn’t kill me to lure you out, but you and Jiufang still have time…”

“I refuse to leave empty-handed on principle.” Yao Wangnian said coldly and carried Jiang Li on his back despite the latter’s weak resistance. “You’ve stolen the position of the clan master from me and enjoyed your life for so many years. Don’t you want to take it back?”

But Yao Wangnian only took two steps before stopping.

He had been surrounded by disciples of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa from all sides.

“The clan master ordered to kill those who have colluded with demons and show no mercy!”

These eyes, some of them familiar and some of them not, reflected the two men surrounded by the crowd.

The Zhengrong Mountain Villa was related to the Wanjian Immortal Clan, and the disciples of both clans mostly used swords. Now, they stood together, united by their common enemies—Yao Wangnian and Jiang Li. Only their deaths would resolve the situation.

Jiang Li’s relationships with the disciples of the Wanjian Immortal Clan had never been bad. He never acted arrogantly and treated his juniors with as much respect as he showed his elders. Due to this, even after Luomei had selected him as the future clan master, few opposed Jiang Li.

And now, after Luomei had issued his orders, these positive feelings had turned into an obstacle for the disciples.

“The clan master said to give no quarter to those who are not humans! He has been possessed by a demon, so this is no longer clan master Jiang!”

After the head disciple, Ding Lang, finished speaking, he looked around and saw that no one wanted to start attacking them. So, he rushed at Yao Wangnian and Jiang Li first.

He was from the same generation as Jiang Li, and his cultivation level was not too inferior to Jiang Li’s. The only reason he could not compete for the clan master position was that his master was not a clan master. Now, looking at Luomei who had lost Jiang Li, he could not help but strive to take over. He was secretly happy, on one hand, but on the other hand, he still felt bad for his fellow disciple.

But Ding Lang’s sword never faltered as he threw himself at Yao Wangnian.

Even though Jiang Li’s status could be considered questionable, there was no doubt that Yao Wangnian was not a human.

“[By the law of the Five Thunders, obey!]”

There was a clap of thunder, and the sword shone brightly, breaking through the many layers of the ghost qi around Yao Wangnian with a devastating force!

The ghost qi roared amidst the yellow sand, turning into the head of a black dragon. The dragon’s whiskers trembled, its scales flickered, and it opened its mouth as widely as if it were about to swallow the entire world to engulf the sword.

The dragon soared to the skies and suddenly exploded. The ghost qi shone around the sword before blending together, and together, they then fell to the ground like the sparks of fireworks only to dissipate soon after.

Ding Lang was surprised by Yao Wangnian’s true strength, but a wave of spiritual power quickly pushed him back. The disciples of the Zhengrong Mountain Villa stood around him with their swords forming an Eight Trigram Formation. Their light steps depicted Heaven with the stars scattered across it. With a loud crash, eight columns rushed up to the skies around them!

“The formation is open!”

Jiufang Changming’s suspicion was right. The entire Zhengrong Mountain Villa was a large formation.

After it was set to motion, the Pre-heaven Trigram Formation was open, one that was massive enough to shake the sky and overturn the earth. After that, only human sacrifice and the full replenishment of the spiritual powers of the formation would stop it.

Yao Wangnian and Jiang Li were standing back to back in the middle, surrounded from all sides. Wherever the eye fell, the swords shone, wrapped around them as tightly as a web.

Jiang Li felt that every breath he took required him to use all his strength.

He could almost see his life dimming.

“I don’t think I have much time left,” his voice was faint and vague, almost impossible to discern, yet his words were more coherent now. “Shixiong, I’ve achieved nothing throughout my life, and was being moved around as a pawn at that. From birth till death, I’ve been kept in the dark, but I never regretted leaving the mountains this time. At least I know that you’re alive, and I also met Bijiang, daoyou Jiufang and daoyou Yun… Forget about me and leave the formation alone. My only hope is that you’ll be able to laugh again in the future. Shizun… he is seized with crazy ideas, and he’s not worth losing your life over him.”

“Why don’t you keep your mouth shut!”

Yao Wangnian interrupted him roughly. He grabbed Jiang Li’s wrist and was about to pour some spiritual power into him when he realized that because he was a ghost cultivator, their cultivation methods were completely different and their spiritual powers were incompatible. This had made him even more furious, so he vented all his anger on the enemies, going on the counter-attack against them with his sword.

Bang!

The tiles and the stones flew up and blood splattered everywhere. Spiritual tools were broken and clothes ripped.

Some people were pushed back while others rushed forward instead, like the unceasing flow of a river. The formation supplied them with endless spiritual power. Standing alone against a hundred enemies, even Yao Wangnian started feeling exhausted.

Yao Wangnian’s ghost qi became denser.

But he knew that this was not from the light at the end of the tunnel.

From being the first disciple of his sect that everyone had placed their hopes on, he had fallen to the ghost cultivator that everyone shunned and feared. No one really knew what he had gone through all these years. Yao Wangnian had ended up becoming a walking corpse, but his goals remained out of his reach. Now, he was surrounded by enemies stronger than him, doomed to be defeated soon.

“Wandering through the human world without seeing the light of the day is a torture to me. I’m fine with letting everything go,” he said indifferently, both to Jiang Li and to himself.

Jiufang Changming’s battle was gradually becoming more intense.

Luomei had decided to resolve the problem in the shortest time possible, but quickly realized that this was an impossible endeavor. It was obvious that his opponent had broken through to the next realm in the few days they had not seen each other, and now was incomparably stronger than before.

Jiufang Changming’s sword seemed to have a spiritual consciousness, and his will was enough to order it. It could split into thousands of copies all of a sudden, but would soon gather back just as swiftly. In terms of strength, the Guyue Sword was hardly its opponent.

Back in Hongluo, Luomei had looked down on this cultivator, but now, he had to admit that they were equal in terms of strength.

As he thought about this, Luomei sneered.

He waved his sleeve, letting the Guyue Sword disappear, and made a seal with his other hand, getting ready to cast a fatal blow.

It did not even matter where this man had suddenly appeared from. His fate had been sealed.

“Do you know why the Qianlin Assembly was held here this time?”

Luomei did not say the words out loud, deciding to transmit them directly into Jiufang Changming’s consciousness.

Before Jiufang Changming could answer, the next words had already invaded the sea of his consciousness.

“The answer is because this venerable one had set an inescapable trap all over the place. It was originally created for Yao Wangnian, but, since you have come here, I might as well use it on you.”

Right after he had finished saying those words, a loud noise erupted from all directions.

Jiufang Changming felt some kind of force pressuring him from all sides so strongly as if it wanted to pulverize him.

He inched to the side and disappeared, leaving only a puppet in his place, which shattered under the pressure.

Luomei raised his head abruptly and saw Jiufang Changming slowly descend from the air, his feet touching nothing.

But Jiufang Changming had realized that he had nowhere to stand, because as far as an eye could see, everything had been set on fire. Even Luomei was standing amidst the fiery flames of red lotuses.

The ground was blazingly hot, and the flames, like tongues, shot up to the sky, their tips licking Jiufang Changming’s feet and setting his clothes on fire.

Changming flicked his sleeve to put out the fire on his clothes, but this only caused the fire beneath him to surge up, engulfing half of his body.

“The Pre-heaven Trigram Formation is ever-changing. Think what you think and act as you wish, but even though you’re the only worthy opponent I’ve encountered in years, it’s too early for you to compete against me.”

Outsiders could not see the flames that were rocketing towards the sky. Instead, they only saw a baleful sandstorm surrounding Jiufang Changming and Luomei. Those two were encircled within it, so it was impossible to not only see what the situation inside was, but also to know who would win and who would lose, who would live and who would die.

“Today, some rebels rose in revolt, and demons ran amok. This venerable one was not strict enough with his disciples, making everyone laugh. Please, everyone, keep calm and wait for me to eradicate the demons before we can go back to chatting.”

At this moment, Luomei’s voice traveled through the sandstorm easily, carrying no worry in its intonation.

When he spoke, Yao Wangnian’s heart fell.

How could anyone have time to speak in the middle of battle? Almost certainly, if they were speaking, they were winning.

Could it be that Jiufang Changming’s defeat was set in stone?

His last hope was fading away, and the pieces of Yao Wangnian’s broken heart were dispersing like ashes.

“What nonsense is he talking about? Why can’t I understand?”

Ren Yousu was a quick-tempered man, so he couldn’t help but to rub his hands in anticipation,  yet he didn’t know what had made him that impatient.

The disciples of the Kunlun Sword Clan were protected behind him. They were standing far away from the site of the battle, and the impact would not reach them any time soon. Ren Yousu should not have been so worried.

Ouyang sighed: “He’s trying to say that we shouldn’t meddle into his business and should just stand by and watch.”

Ren Yousu raised his eyebrow: “Why would he say that?”

Ouyang: “That means that he doesn’t have this game under his control.”

“Really? As I see it, the fate of those people is already doomed. Aren’t they completely cornered?”

“How can one be sure if it hasn’t ended yet?” Ouyang quickly reached his hand out to stop Ren Yousu, glaring at him, “What are you trying to do?”

Ren Yousu: “He said that two of his disciples are demons. However, until now I haven’t seen any signs of demonic possession. Maybe there is something deeper inside that matters. Let’s save Jiang Li and Yao Wangnian first, just to spite this old bastard! ”

Ouyang: “Luomei is the sort of person to bear a grudge. By doing this, you’ll get the Kunlun Sword Clan on the Wanjian Immortal Clan’s bad side. Are you sure you need this?”

Ren Yousu stopped and snapped hatefully: “That would have stopped the old me. But I don’t care now, let’s think after acting!”

Ouyang was frustrated: “Why is it that other people are better at hiding their emotions the longer they cultivate, yet you’re only showing your feelings more openly?”

“My teacher, Luomei—”

Suddenly, Jiang Li’s voice reached their ears, interrupting the quarrel.