BXBX NOVEL Chapter 539: The Sharpest Sabers
Chapter 539: The Sharpest Sabers
Thunderstorms had little effect on cultivators of this cultivation; at most, walking in the rain was mildly uncomfortable.
Chu Liang pushed forward through the rain. After dealing with the Daoist monks from Wandering Deities Temple on the hilltop earlier, he and his team pressed on, sweeping through nearby hilltops as they moved farther from Misty Waters City.
If they kept to the flat plains, they\'d be easily spotted by the enemies ahead. Chu Liang slowed his pace, careful not to miss anything, while Jiang Yuebai and the others followed at a distance, keeping their formation.
At that moment, Chu Liang detected another figure through his divine sense.
It was a young man in black, sprinting across the plains. The moment Chu Liang spotted him, the young man seemed to have noticed him as well.
They reacted simultaneously.
Chu Liang sped toward him, while the black-clad youth turned back and retreated, moving away like a whirlwind.
It was unclear whether the youth retreated because the sight of people made him scared or if he recognized Chu Liang. But the moment Chu Liang saw him sprinting away so quickly, he summoned his sword and leaped into the sky. A brilliant arc of light followed, slicing just above the ground as he gave chase.
Whoosh—
Once Chu Liang took to the skies on his sword, few at his cultivation realm could match his skill. And this youth, at the pinnacle of the fourth realm, was someone with a cultivation level much lower than that of Chu Liang.
In an instant, Chu Liang closed the gap, the youth\'s back now clearly within sight.
The youth darted into a nearby valley.
Chu Liang knew immediately that it was an ambush. Still, he didn\'t stop and went on pursuing the youth into the valley.
With such a short time, Chu Liang doubted that they could set up anything too complicated. At best, the youth might have a few teammates waiting. But knowing he was more than capable of taking down an entire team by himself, Chu Liang felt no fear.
It was a circular valley. The moment the youth crossed the entrance, Chu Liang closed in from behind. Desperate, the youth spun around and formed a hand seal, causing Chu Liang\'s movements to suddenly slow.
It appeared to be some kind of controlling divine technique.
Even so, though his movements slowed, Chu Liang was already close enough to draw his sword.
Chu Liang raised both hands and pointed.
Whoosh—
The Dustless Sword transformed into a dazzling streak, piercing through the youth\'s body and turning him into a soul crystal that dropped to the ground. Since Chu Liang was a level higher in cultivation, he was able to kill the youth easily with a simple sword technique.
Thud.
The soul crystal hit the ground, but Chu Liang didn\'t bother picking it up.
All around the valley, several figures emerged—eleven in total.
Typically, a team from an immortal sect consisted of just four members, but seeing eleven gathered together was not unusual. Alliances often form both inside and outside the illusory realm.
However, the imperial court has strict standards for determining alliances in the Competition of the Hundred Sects. These standards are based on whether participants have formed alliances aimed at securing victory for their own sect.
If ten sects formed an alliance to eliminate all the participants of the other sects so that they could be in the top ten of this competition, that would be allowed.
However, if ten sects formed an alliance and members of nine of them committed suicide, transferring all their soul crystals to the last sect to secure its place in the top ten, that would not be allowed.
The entire illusory realm was under constant surveillance, and any such behavior detected would result in the sect\'s immediate elimination.
At that moment, it was clear that Chu Liang was up against an alliance of three sects.
...
They were the Divine Movement Sect, the Five Poisons Sect, and the Mountain-Shifting Sect.
All three were part of the Chancellor\'s Sixteen-Faction Alliance , so they quickly regrouped upon entering the illusory realm. It was here that they began to set their trap.
The weakest disciple of the Divine Movement Sect was sent out as bait, luring enemies into the valley where they planned to ambush them. With this tactic, they were confident they could gather enough soul crystals.
However, they made a slight miscalculation. Despite being a disciple of the Divine Movement Sect, he couldn\'t escape this young man\'s pursuit and was killed by a single sword strike the moment he entered the valley.
"Chu Liang from the Mount Shu Sect?" one of them exclaimed, recognizing his identity.
Meanwhile, Chu Liang recognized the figures standing before him. The members of the Sixteen-Faction Alliance were no ordinary individuals. He had some impression of them after watching the matches over the past few days.
One of the advantages of being a disciple from the sects in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten was the exemption from the three rounds of arena matches, allowing them to keep some of their trump cards hidden. However, most disciples from these sects had grown up in the spotlight, which meant they had fewer secret techniques.
The three on the left, dressed in black like the youth from earlier, were likely all members of the Divine Movement Sect.
The four in front were tall and muscular, clearly burly men who likely belonged to the Mountain-Shifting Sect.
The four on the right had their faces concealed, wore black gloves, and bore chilling gazes. Based on their appearance, they were likely members of the Five Poisons Sect.
Amidst the intermittent thunder and rain, several disciples from the Five Poisons Sect circled around, blocking the valley entrance and making their intentions clear: they aimed to cut off Chu Liang\'s escape route.
Given the speed he had just demonstrated, if he chose to flee suddenly, they might not be able to stop him.
"Heh," Chu Liang chuckled. "No need to worry. Even with all of you here, I have no intention of running."
"Then leave your soul crystal behind!"
One of the burly men from the Mountain-Shifting Sect shouted loudly, and all four leaped into action simultaneously.
Immediately, Chu Liang sensed a faint network of qi weaving behind them, connecting their energies and binding them together.
The art and techniques of the Mountain-Shifting Sect were quite peculiar. The techniques they practiced enabled practitioners to connect with one another, allowing for the transfer of energy and qi. This energy could converge on a single individual at any time.
Thus, the sect did not depend on high individual cultivation levels; the greater the number of members, the stronger they became. If they were truly united as one, even the weakest among them could summon enough power to shift mountains.
At that moment, Chu Liang stood against the four. The first man launched a punch at him, but Chu Liang fearlessly met the blow head-on.
Boom!
After the clash, Chu Liang staggered back two steps, while the four opponents trembled in unison.
Under the relentless assault of the four, their punches and kicks were like a torrential downpour, each strike fueled by the combined strength of all four. For a moment, Chu Liang struggled to keep up.
Then, no longer holding back, he summoned the Divine Dragon Fire to envelop his fists, diving into the fierce exchange. With a single punch, he severely injured the lead attacker.
Boom—
The man was struck, half of his body charred black, and he cried out in pain.
Seeing Chu Liang\'s fierce and bold fighting style, the members of the Divine Movement Sect could no longer stand by. In unison, they formed hand seals, pointing at him from the air.
As a sect renowned for its speed, the Divine Movement Sect didn\'t rely solely on retreating to compete in the Competition of the Hundred Sects. The deceleration technique they were using now was one of their specialties.
After all, slowing down the enemy was akin to speeding themselves up.
As the effects of the divine technique started, Chu Liang felt himself slowing down. He had initially been winning the fight against the four opponents, but now, with his reduced speed, he began to take hits in rapid succession.
Fortunately, his physique was as robust as a dragon\'s. While the members of the Mountain-Shifting Sect would be crippled by a single hit from him, Chu Liang could withstand several blows without much trouble.
Swoosh—
Seeing the situation unfold, he swiftly activated Dimension Compression, appearing in a flash behind one of them to deliver another fiery punch, severely injuring yet another opponent
Even though he became slower, he could still execute immortal arts, moves that caused the members of the Mountain-Shifting Sect to feel overwhelmed.
The other two disciples from the Mountain-Shifting Sect quickly flew backward, creating some distances away from Chu Liang. They turned out to be the first to retreat.
Just as Chu Liang prepared to repeat the maneuver, he felt a surge of qi and blood as he circulated his foundational qi, followed by a sudden ache in his chest.
Poison? He glanced up at the rain falling from the sky and swiftly activated a layer of qi around his body, creating a shield that kept him completely dry.
"Heh, you\'ve caught on. Unfortunately, it\'s too late. You\'ve already been poisoned by our Five Poisons Sect\'s Meridian-Severing Poison," one of the disciples said with a sneer. "If you try to forcefully circulate your foundational qi, your meridians will— What?" His tone shifted to shock midway through.
Chu Liang pulled out a long whip, but instead of directing it at his opponents, he lashed himself twice.
Crack! Crack!
With each lash, a mist of black qi was expelled from his body, instantly curing him of the poison.
The technique of poisoning someone through the rain was undeniably clever, but unfortunately for them, they had crossed paths with the Young Hero wielding the Divine Whip. They could only blame themselves for their bad luck.
Realizing they were on the verge of defeat, the disciples from the Divine Movement Sect joined the fight, drawing their sabers as they soared down, leaving a dazzling trail of afterimages.
Meanwhile, the disciples of the Five Poisons Sect drew weapons that gleamed with a sinister black light, as venomous creatures—snakes and scorpions—coiled around their bodies, readying themselves for an all-out attack on Chu Liang.
Initially, they had stayed back to guard against the other disciples of the Mount Shu Sect, but now they had no choice. They couldn\'t even handle Chu Liang on his own, let alone concern themselves with his fellow disciples.
Confronted by so many troublesome foes, Chu Liang smiled slightly and said, "So, everyone\'s here, huh? I suppose it\'s time to call for some help."
"Hmph, you might as well summon Jiang Yuebai, Xu Ziyang, or anyone else from the Mount Shu Sect for a fight with us," the lead disciple of the Divine Movement Sect retorted.
"Them?" Chu Liang shook his head, "To deal with you lot, I don\'t need them to step in."
Chu Liang formed a hand seal and lightly tapped the air. In a flash of light, another figure identical to him materialized beside him.
A clone made with a puppet? No, he\'s using the immortal art: External Manifestation!
The External Manifestation was an immortal art capable of creating a clone that matched the true form\'s cultivation level for a short duration. This technique was far more powerful than those clones produced using puppetry techniques.
So the helper that Chu Liang was going to call for turned out to be none other than himself.
One Chu Liang was already challenging enough to handle, but with two now present, everyone\'s expressions grew tense in an instant.
In that moment, despite being outnumbered, Chu Liang seized the initiative and launched his attack!
Chu Liang and his clone dashed in opposite directions, undeterred by the venomous creatures.
With his top-tier cultivation, strong physical bodies, and versatile divine techniques, a massacre was about to start.
The first two disciples from the Mountain-Shifting Sect were quickly beaten up, followed by the few members of the Five Poisons Sect.
The disciples of the Five Poisons Sect felt aggrieved. While their cultivation wasn\'t top-tier, they had always held their ground within the Chancellor\'s Sixteen-Faction Alliance, thanks to their elusive poison techniques.
Unexpectedly, they encountered someone immune to poison, rendering all their techniques useless.
How could their cultivation and divine techniques possibly compare to Chu Liang\'s?
After just a few exchanges, Chu Liang incinerated all of them with his Divine Dragon Fire.
Recognizing the dire situation, the disciples from the Divine Movement Sect quickly resorted to their specialty—running away.
The three of them bolted in different directions at lightning speed!
Chu Liang and his clone pursued each of the fleeing disciples, unleashing blasts of Divine Dragon Fire that took down one each. However, the last disciple from the Divine Movement Sect managed to escape the valley.
When the last disciple from the Divine Movement Sect realized he was about to escape, a look of joy spread across his face. But then, he saw Chu Liang, having just incinerated his fellow disciple, launch a green streak of light up into the sky.
Seeing that, the disciple from the Divine Movement Sect couldn\'t help but wonder, Who is he trying to hit?
He felt puzzled for just a moment, but in the next instant, a sharp pain pierced through his back.
Huh? I was the target?
Everyone knew the Razor Leaf was fast, but its deceptive nature was the most important trait. If Chu Liang had aimed directly at him with a divine technique, he could have dodged the attack. But if the saber was aimed right up at the sky, would he have expected the hit? Absolutely not!
With a thud, the disciple fell to the ground.
Before he could get up, Chu Liang\'s shadow had already loomed over him.
"Haiya!" Chu Liang\'s fists, wrapped in Divine Dragon Fire, came down in quick succession.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
Amidst the explosions, the last person was also tragically turned into a soul crystal.
...
Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, Old Sun and Old Huang observed with grim expressions.
"It seems like Chu Liang would always pull out something new every time. He might just work a few miracles," Old Sun murmured.
Chu Liang\'s ability to swiftly and decisively handle so many opponents on his own certainly exceeded the spectators\' expectations.
"Forget about whether he might work miracles or not. Why does this technique look so familiar to me?" Elder Huang said, his gaze fixed on Chu Liang as memories from sixty years ago began to resurface.
At that moment, it wasn\'t just the two elders who struggled to catch their breath; countless other older spectators felt the same way.
This moment was exactly like that moment from long ago.
It was the same move—Divine Fire combined with immense strength, wielded by the sharpest saber of the Mount Shu Sect.
"Truly terrifying," the two elders spoke in unison.