CHAPTER 597: CHAPTER 582: A PETTY TRICK DARES TO SHOW OFF IN FRONT OF AN EXPERT! [PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!]

How could it be an accident? It’s simply incredible!

The injuries Zhouyang sustained that day were witnessed by hundreds of cultivators outside the mountain. Suffering from such significant wounds, even if there were spirit elixirs to heal him, it wouldn’t be possible to recover without ten days to two weeks of rest.

Moreover, his hands were both severed by a sword that day. Normally, without a spirit elixir that allows limbs to regenerate, it’s impossible to recover.

So, seeing Zhouyang with his limbs intact on Chongxuan Mountain, the mountain-attacking cultivators had no choice but to accept this frustrating reality.

At this moment, pondering what kind of spirit elixir Zhouyang had consumed to recover so quickly is clearly meaningless.

For the mountain-attacking cultivators, the pressing matter is what to decide next.

"Can any of you tell me, where did those two Tier Five spirit birds come from? Why wasn’t there any information about them in our reports?"

The leader of the three sword cultivators from Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect looked at Zhouyang’s sides at the two Tier Five spirit birds, and angrily questioned the two Golden Core Stage cultivators from An Country.

The task of monitoring Chongxuan Mountain has always been entrusted to the sect clans within An Country.

A few days ago, Zhouyang’s identity as a high-tier body cultivator was exposed, causing them the loss of two Golden Core Stage cultivators.

And now, there are two Tier Five spirit birds not in the reports, something An Country’s sect clans cannot shirk off.

One Golden Core Stage cultivator from An Country opened his mouth, forced to explain: "Fellow Daoist Luo, calm down. The responsibility for scouting Chongxuan Mountain always lies with Cyan Cloud Valley, and Li Boyang was responsible for it. Asking us for answers is simply not the person to ask!"

What he said was indeed the truth, but saying such words at this time inevitably makes people think he is trying to pin the blame on the deceased Li Boyang.

After all, Li Boyang, who has already died, certainly cannot come out to defend himself.

Sure enough, the sword cultivator leading Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect raised his brows upon hearing these words and coldly looked at him, saying: "Fellow Daoist Qiu, are you suggesting that Luo should go down and ask Li Boyang?"

The Golden Core Stage cultivator from An Country surnamed Qiu’s face changed instantly upon hearing this and quickly bowed in submission: "Fellow Daoist Luo, you misunderstood, Qiu absolutely did not mean it that way!"

"Hmph, with a major enemy before us, Luo does not want to disrupt our own harmony. Later on, you An Country cultivators will deal with those two Tier Five spirit birds and Qingyun Wanderer’s Dao companion."

Fellow Daoist Luo, the sword cultivator, snorted coldly, not pursuing further at this moment, instantly stating his decision.

After speaking, he coldly warned everyone: "Let me say this plainly, if you don’t achieve anything this time, should the higher-ups pursue it, don’t blame me for reporting truthfully and causing trouble for you!"

The Golden Core Stage cultivator surnamed Qiu from An Country instantly shivered at the thought and exchanged glances with another Golden Core Stage cultivator from An Country, then bowed in unison, saying: "Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist Luo, today we will fight to the death, either leveling Chongxuan Mountain or not returning to the sect!"

Seeing this, Fellow Daoist Luo, the sword cultivator, nodded slightly and then summoned his flying sword, shouting in a deep voice: "Attack!"

"Kill!"

On Chongxuan Mountain, Zhouyang’s eyes flashed with a cold light as he opened his mouth and let out an angry roar.

As soon as he roared, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, having already grown impatient, instantly flapped its wings, turning into a golden lightning bolt and disappearing from its original place.

Almost simultaneously, the Seven-Colored Peacock let out a clear cry, transforming into a rainbow and leaving the mountaintop.

The speed of these two spirit birds was so fast that before the cultivators outside the mountain could react, someone had already lost their life.

The Golden-winged Thunder Eagle seemed to be venting the frustration from being beaten up by Zhouyang on the mountain earlier. Without using its thunder skill to kill, it turned its wings into wing sabers, using a speed beyond the naked eye’s capture to madly weave through the Foundation Establishment cultivators and Purple Mansion cultivators in mid-air around Chongxuan Mountain, creating a bloody massacre.

Facing its sharp and hard wings, at a speed rivaling lightning, tier five and below magical artifacts or magic are as fragile as paper and break with ease, making the human body even less enduring.

Compared to the brutal killing methods of the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, the methods of the Seven-Colored Peacock appeared more "elegant" and gentle.

Elegantly flying through the air, its splendid tail lightly swaying, scattering countless seven-colored light needles at nearby cultivators.

These seven-colored light needles were specialized for breaking body-protecting techniques of cultivators, no matter the attribute of the magical techniques, they seemed utterly defenseless against the seven-colored light needles and broke easily on contact.

Every Foundation Establishment cultivator struck by the seven-colored light needles quickly became chaotic in magical power and their dantian shattered.

Purple Mansion Stage cultivators fared slightly better, at least they did not shatter their dantian on the spot.

But the chaotic magical power led to scattered breath, making it difficult for them to escape further seven-colored light needle strikes.

In just a few breaths time, more than thirty mountain-attacking cultivators perished under the hands of the two Tier Five spirit birds.

Witnessing this scene, several Golden Core Stage cultivators were utterly shocked and furious.

"You vile creatures dare!"

"Don’t be arrogant!"

The two Golden Core Cultivators of An Country shouted angrily, quickly summoning their magical artifacts to strike the two Tier Five Spirit Birds.

The cultivators attacking Chongxuan Mountain this time, apart from the three Golden Core Sword Cultivators from the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect, were all people from various sects and clans of An Country.

If the two Tier Five Spirit Birds killed all those Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Purple Mansion Cultivators, even if they killed the other side afterwards and flattened Chongxuan Mountain, they wouldn’t be able to account to the sects and clans of those cultivators.

Not to mention that the disciples from their respective sects were also amongst them.

With two Golden Core Cultivators intervening to intercept, the massacre efficiency of the Seven-Colored Peacock and Golden-winged Thunder Eagle was greatly reduced.

And to prevent these people from being slaughtered by the two Spirit Birds again, the Golden Core Cultivator surnamed Qiu was both fully attacking the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle and loudly instructing these people: "Leave these two vile creatures to us, quickly form an array to attack the mountain, and make sure to kill all the enemies on the mountain!"

Upon hearing his words, the scattered Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Purple Mansion Cultivators quickly gathered in one place, and some Array Masters among them swiftly took out Array Banners, handing them to everyone to activate with magical power, they quickly formed several mobile arrays and pushed towards the top of Chongxuan Mountain.

These mobile arrays gathered the strength of all cultivators within the array, although incomparable to Golden Core Cultivators, slightly withstanding a few attacks from Golden Core Cultivators posed no problem at all.

Seeing this scene, the Sword Cultivator surnamed Qiu immediately said to the two junior brothers, "The Dao Companion of Qingyun Wanderer is also a Golden Core Cultivator, I will go capture her first, junior brothers, you restrain Qingyun Wanderer."

Without the kind of Spirit Elixirs that Zhouyang possessed to rapidly heal injuries, the primordial qi consumed by performing the sect’s secret Sword Skill a few days ago was not something that could be recovered in just a few days, and now he couldn’t even exert seventy percent of his full strength.

In this state, he felt incapable of confronting Zhouyang, who looked fully recovered, and aimed to avoid the strong and strike the weak, planning to first target Xiao Ying, who had just recently formed her core.

"Senior brother, rest assured and go, Qingyun Wanderer is ours to handle!"

The two Golden Core Sword Cultivators from the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect exchanged a glance, nodding subtly, and quickly agreed to the proposal of the cultivator surnamed Qiu.

They naturally knew Zhouyang was more difficult to deal with, but since the cultivator surnamed Qiu already made a great sacrifice that day, there was no reason to let him lead the charge against Zhouyang again today, or they might not remain fellow brothers in the future.

With the plan set, the two Golden Core Sword Cultivators first unleashed their swords towards Zhouyang, drawing him into the battle.

Meanwhile, the Sword Cultivator surnamed Qiu moved his flying sword to attack the Seven-Colored Peacock, seemingly intending to first help deal with the two Tier Five Spirit Birds.

Zhouyang couldn’t read the minds of the three Sword Cultivators, of course, he didn’t know what they were planning.

When he saw that only two Sword Cultivators attacked him with their swords, his face immediately darkened, and he coldly chuckled, "Such a trivial skill dares to show off!"

Before the words fell, he swung his fists, immediately sending two azure-gold dragon shadows flying from his hands, clashing violently with and repelling the two attacking flying swords.

Then, with a wave of his hand, a saber, a spear, a tower, and a shield - four magical artifacts flew out simultaneously.

Among them, the saber and spear quickly attacked a sword cultivator each, while the tower floated above his head, casting golden light which protected him, and the shield rotated around him, ready to intercept any attack aimed his way.

He, under the protection of the tower and the shield, charged directly towards the cultivators forming an array to attack the mountain.

As a Golden Core Cultivator, Zhouyang normally disdained to massacre Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Cultivators.

But now in wartime, the other side was attacking his doorstep, and any mercy towards enemies would ultimately harm himself and his loved ones.

Evidently, his unconventional fighting style surprised the two opposing Sword Cultivators.

Yet these two were not the type to speak much and did not accuse Zhouyang of lacking the demeanor of a Golden Core Cultivator, instead, they immediately launched a more fierce offensive, forcing him to fully respond to them.

Both launched an identical spell, spitting a mouthful of their Lifebound Essence onto their Lifebound Flying Sword, in a flash, each flying sword split into two, two into four, four into eight... in the blink of an eye, the blue and red sword lights filled the sky, transforming into hundreds of sharp sword lights flying towards Zhouyang.

"Is this the renowned ’Taiyi Splitting Light Sword Technique’? Indeed, it deserves its grand reputation!"

In the distance, Zhouyang’s figure halted, looking seriously at the incoming sword lights, clasping his fists, a layer of azure-gold dragon scale armor appeared on his body, the revolving Flaming Dragon Shield flared brightly, quickly forming a double layer of protection with the golden light from the "Qianyang Golden Tower" which shielded him.

Almost as soon as he made these responses, the densely packed sword lights shot over, surrounding him tightly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every sword light striking his external protective divine techniques caused loud explosive sounds.

The red spiritual light and golden spiritual light protecting him swayed incessantly amidst explosions, like raindrops on banana leaves.

When all the sword lights dispersed and reverted to two flying swords circling and dancing around him, the double-layer protection outside him was completely broken, only the Flaming Dragon Shield body remained intact, rotating continuously around him, engaging with the two flying swords, emitting brilliant sparks.

"A remarkable move, everyone can split sword lights, but to split into so many sword lights while maintaining such powerful strength for each, is indeed exceptional. I’ve long heard of the renown of Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect’s ’Taiyi Splitting Light Sword Technique’, today I finally witnessed it firsthand, it truly lives up to its grand reputation!"

In the sky, Zhouyang flicked the azure-gold dragon scales wrapped around his wrist, producing a crisp metallic sound, then gazed intently at the two opposing Sword Cultivators, unexpectedly commenting on their earlier move nonchalantly.

In his mind, he even compared it to the ’Great Derivation Sword Technique’ he practiced, finally concluding that each had its advantages and disadvantages, hard to decide which was superior.

The high-tier sword arrays of the "Great Derivation Sword Technique" may indeed be far more powerful than the move those two sword cultivators just used, but leaving aside the difficulty of learning high-tier sword arrays, acquiring so many Tier Five flying swords is not something an ordinary cultivator can afford, not to mention the immense divine sense and magical power required to simultaneously control so many flying swords.

The fact that the "Taiyi Splitting Light Sword Technique" became the sect’s sword technique of the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect, allowing countless disciples to learn it, firstly indicates that its qualifications requirement for learning cultivators is far lower than that of the "Great Derivation Sword Technique".

Moreover, the move used by the two sword cultivators just now, although not as powerful as those high-tier sword arrays in the "Great Derivation Sword Technique", has the advantage of being simple to execute, without the need for as many flying swords as a sword array demands.

However, when the two Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect sword cultivators saw their signature skill fail to harm him in the slightest and received such a round of remarks, they immediately lost face. One of them couldn’t help but sneer heavily, saying: "Hmph, are you done speaking? If so, let us brothers experience the ’Yuqing Divine Thunder Technique’ of Yuqing Daoist Sect, as I, Cheng, would also like to see the renowned Yuqing Divine Thunder to see if it’s as impressive as rumored!"

Zhouyang was naturally aware of the famed "Yuqing Divine Thunder Technique" from Yuqing Daoist Sect.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t truly the "Qingyun Wanderer," so naturally, he wouldn’t know this signature divine technique of the Yuqing Daoist Sect.

At this moment, upon hearing the opponent’s words, he immediately laughed heartily, saying: "Hahaha, dealing with you two doesn’t require all that."

As the words fell, with a wave of his hand, the "Qianyang Golden Tower" above his head moved horizontally in the air, pressing down on the two sword cultivators from above. The "Taiyin Soul-cutting Saber" and "Fiery Sun Heart-Burning Spear" previously released also shone brightly, reinforcing the offensive.

Moreover, he himself temporarily ignored those array-attacking mountain cultivators, directly charging at the two sword cultivators with clenched fists.

Seeing this, a flash of joy appeared in the eyes of the two sword cultivators, and they immediately roared angrily, flinging out several spare flying swords from their sleeves, and then started performing sword techniques, collaborating to form a sword array aimed at Zhouyang, not hoping to kill but merely to keep him trapped for a while.

At the same time, Qiu-named sword cultivator, who was originally pursuing the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, suddenly abandoned the eagle and quickly flew his sword towards Xiao Ying and others on Chongxuan Mountain.

"How dare you!"

In mid-air, witnessing this scene, Zhouyang’s face turned gravely serious, letting out a thunderous roar.

As his roar echoed, the enemy yet unaffected, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle which had previously been crossing swords with the Qiu-named cultivator shuddered all over, immediately shouting and using its signature "Thunder Escape Technique," teleporting several times to reach the skies above Chongxuan Mountain ahead of others.

"Mistress need not worry; with Golden Roc here, I won’t let this thief harm you a single hair!"

It shouted, professing its loyalty while flapping its wings, releasing a thick golden divine thunder to strike away the flying sword of the Qiu-named sword cultivator.

"Golden Roc, be careful, I can protect myself."

On Chongxuan Mountain, Xiao Ying, clutching an array banner with a nervous face, quickly channeled her magical power into the banner, activating the array.

Zhouyang knew she was not adept at magical combat, so he specifically set up a Tier Five Lower Grade array at the mountaintop. She only needed to supply magical power along with those disciples hiding within the array to maintain its operation, thus protecting herself and those disciples.

Of course, such an array powered by cultivator’s magical energy is sure to be inferior both in defense and endurance when compared to a "Five Elements Returning to Origin Array," which relies on the power of Spirit Mountain Spiritual Vein as its foundation for operation.

So, before the battle, Zhouyang specially instructed the two spirit birds to prioritize injuring the enemy’s Foundation Establishment cultivators and Purple Mansion cultivators and to be ready to support this side at any time, preventing the enemy from destroying the array and draining Xiao Ying and others’ magical power, leading to their annihilation.

The Qiu-named sword cultivator initially didn’t take the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle seriously. Previous exchanges had shown him that although this Tier Five spirit bird was a rare thunder-attributed demon beast, its strength was at most equivalent to a Golden Core third-layer cultivator, merely being extraordinarily fast, making it hard to inflict real harm.

However, the exchanges that followed made his face turn gloomy.

Because the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, which had previously avoided his fierce strikes and dared not confront his lifebound flying sword head-on, was now incredibly bold and actively engaging him with its sharp claws.

And whenever his flying sword left a mark or several on the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, a green spiritual light would descend from the sky onto the eagle, instantly healing its wounds.

"So that’s it, that’s it!"

The Qiu-named sword cultivator, with a grim expression, turned to look at the veiled woman in green within the mountain array, seemingly understanding something, a look of sudden realization in his eyes.

He finally understood why Zhouyang’s injuries healed so quickly; it turned out his Dao companion was a Golden Core cultivator specializing in auxiliary healing divine techniques.

"In that case, you must not be left alive!"

His gaze towards the veiled woman in green grew fierce, suddenly shouting as he spat out a stream of life essence onto his flying sword, employing the same technique the other two sword cultivators used against Zhouyang earlier.

Instantly, hundreds of densely packed golden sword lights quickly formed in mid-air, and with a wave of the Qiu-named sword cultivator’s hand, the sword lights shot rapidly like rain towards the veiled woman in the array.

"Mistress, beware!"

In the air, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle shouted anxiously, quickly flapping its wings to intercept the myriad sword lights, intending to use its body to block the attack.

However, the hundreds of sword lights, being controlled by the Qiu-named sword cultivator, displayed a kind of spiritual intelligence, quickly separating a portion to block the eagle while the remaining lights turned sharply to continue their assault on Xiao Ying.

Boom boom boom!

After a series of tremendous explosions, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle was struck by the sword lights, sending feathers flying in distress as it fell towards the ground.

Meanwhile, the array maintained by Xiao Ying and dozens of disciples trembled under the remaining sword light assaults, on the brink of collapse.

Puchi! Puchi!

Inside the array, more than a dozen Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators could not withstand the recoil force of the array and spat blood, fainting on the spot.

Even Foundation Establishment Cultivators like Ye Yunshan were all pale, showing signs of great exhaustion of their primordial qi.

The attacks from the Golden Core Stage cultivators were too powerful for them. Even though more than ninety percent of the power was dissipated by the array, the less than ten percent recoil force shared among them was still overwhelming.

If such attacks continued a few more times, even if the array didn’t break, they would likely be crushed to death by the recoil force.

Worse yet, because the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle was busy blocking Sword Cultivator Qiu’s assault, a portion of the Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Cultivators forming the array outside the mountain advanced without threats and started attacking the array they were supporting with magical artifacts and spells.

"Everyone hold on, your master will definitely find a way to save us, believe in your master!"

Just as everyone was filled with panic, a voice as gentle as spring wind reached their ears, followed by a green spiritual light that fell on them. It quickly healed their internal injuries caused by the array’s recoil, making them feel warm and comfortable all over.

"Master, you don’t need to worry about us, please save your magical power to support the array. We won’t die for now!"

Ye Yunshan, feeling the warm power inside her, was moved. At the same time, she couldn’t help but look worriedly at the source of that power and softly advised.

As soon as she said this, her Dao companion Wang Yanzhang echoed in support, "Yes, Mistress, you are much more important than us. If you get hurt because of us, we would truly be unforgivable!"

The Zhou family cultivators, including Zhou Ronghua, were chilled by these words and quickly chimed in, "Senior Sister Ye and Senior Brother Wang are right. Mistress, your esteemed body must not be hurt because of us, otherwise, when the ancestor returns from battle, he would surely skin us alive!"

Xiao Ying was also touched and pleased by her disciples’ words.

Even though she knew that apart from Ye Yunshan, who genuinely worried about her, most of the others were more afraid of Zhouyang’s punishment afterwards.

But the words of concern from them now couldn’t be false, proving that her past care for them wasn’t in vain.

"Alright, stop talking, focus on helping me control the array to counter the enemy’s attacks. It’s not up to you to tell me what to do!"

Her voice sank as she waved her hand to stop them, then cast a "Qinghua Tribulation Crossing Immortal Light" towards the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, helping it heal the injuries from blocking the sword light.

"Human thief, dare to harm your Grandpa Golden Roc, Grandpa will tear you to pieces!"

In mid-air, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle flapped its wings again, glaring angrily at Sword Cultivator Qiu, and shouted, a ferocious glint flashing in its eyes.

Then, with a flash of blood in its eyes, its momentum suddenly surged, and its golden feathers were stained with what seemed like blood, emitting a faint red glow.

Whoosh!

A sound of breaking through the air rang out, and the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, whose momentum had increased greatly, vanished from its original place. When it reappeared, it was above Sword Cultivator Qiu’s head, its blood-glowing talons clawing fiercely at his head.

"Become the sword, escape!"

A low shout came from Sword Cultivator Qiu’s mouth as he pinched a spell with his hands, his body flashed with golden light, and in an instant, transformed into a golden sword light, narrowly avoiding the eagle’s talons, appearing over a dozen miles away.

This scene took the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle by surprise; after freezing for two breaths, its eyes were filled with rage as it flapped its wings, preparing to continue chasing Sword Cultivator Qiu.

But at this time, the An Country Golden Core Cultivator had already reached the mountain and directly attacked the mountain’s array with a magical artifact.

Seeing this, it had to abandon its original plan and instead swooped towards the An Country Golden Core Cultivator.

At this moment, having used the "Frenzy" divine technique from its Barbaric Bird bloodline, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle’s strength had increased considerably compared to before. More importantly, its physical defense had also greatly enhanced, allowing it to dismiss ordinary attacks from the opponent.

Even if it got injured, Xiao Ying’s healing immortal light would quickly fall upon it, helping it recover quickly, leaving it without worries.

With its desperate style of fighting, neither Sword Cultivator Qiu nor the An Country Golden Core Cultivator could allocate much force to attack Xiao Ying while dealing with its assaults.

But even without their interference, the attacks from those Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Cultivators were enough to shake the foundations of the mountain’s array, causing the cultivators providing magical power for the array inside it to get injured.

At this time, because Xiao Ying was trying to maintain the array and focus on healing the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, she couldn’t frequently spare attention to take care of them. Even when she saw someone fainting because they couldn’t support it anymore, she could only grit her teeth and pretend not to see.

Perhaps Zhouyang foresaw this scene before the war, which is why he instructed her in such a way, and she agreed at that time.

So, despite feeling very uncomfortable in her heart, she no longer mercifully distracted herself to take care of these people.

After several hundred years of cultivation, she had also grown a lot, no longer the innocent girl who couldn’t bear to see her people get hurt when she first met Zhouyang.

"Husband, please come quickly, I can hardly hold on any longer!"

Occasionally, she cast her gaze outside the mountain at the figure fiercely battling with the enemy, feeling extremely anxious in her heart, yet her mouth remained tightly closed, not uttering a single word for help.