CHAPTER 598: CHAPTER 583: ONLY DEATH! [REQUEST SUBSCRIPTION]

Ang~

The dragon roar that soared to the sky shook the heavens.

Seeing that the Dao companion on Chongxuan Mountain was about to lose support, Zhouyang finally did not want to entangle with the two sword cultivators from the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect any longer and directly resorted to his ultimate deadly move.

All his other moves, which the two sword cultivators had seen before, had been prepared for today, making it almost impossible to achieve the same effect as that day with a single strike.

Only "Azure Dragon’s Fury", no matter how the enemy prepared, was difficult to defend against specifically.

Because this is a purely powerful attack, the only way to block it is to strengthen one’s own defense, or to shatter the cyan-golden azure dragon when it lunges in front of you.

As sword cultivators, they are good at attack but not defense, so the two sword cultivators could only choose the second option.

At that moment, the two flying swords, one green and one red, suddenly burst forth with sword light and vanished from their original places, striking the cyan-golden azure dragon together.

Boom!

A loud explosion arose, and the cyan-golden azure dragon was shattered in the air by the two flying swords.

However, before the two sword cultivators could show any joy, their faces turned pale, and they spat out a mouthful of blood.

Then, with a flicker of sword shadow, the two dimmed flying swords wailed mournfully and flew back toward their respective masters.

If observed closely, one could see that these two flying swords, crafted with rare materials, had developed web-like cracks on their blades.

These cracks might not completely destroy the flying swords, but they had already hurt the foundational Yuan Qi. Without decades or even a century of nurturing, they could not be repaired.

For the two sword cultivators, this blow effectively rendered most of their skills useless.

Though they quickly suppressed their heartache, retrieved the lifebound flying swords into their bodies, and launched their spare flying swords to continue the attack, they could no longer pose any threat to Zhouyang.

Zhouyang did not become overconfident in his success and soon held up against the two sword cultivators’ attacks, moving the battlefield to the skies above Chongxuan Mountain.

"All die for me!"

When he entered the battlefield, he directly summoned the "Heaven-shaking Copper Gong" and struck it fiercely. In an instant, dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators were directly shattered by the sound of the gong, dying on the spot.

This frightened the remaining cultivators, causing them to scatter and flee.

People cherish their lives, and cultivators especially so.

Especially now, when it’s a mountain assault battle rather than a defense of one’s home, the mentality of these Foundation Establishment cultivators and Purple Mansion cultivators is completely different.

If they were defending their sects and clans’ mountain gates and traditions, they might not hesitate to fight for their lives, not retreating even against Golden Core Stage cultivators despite having Foundation Establishment cultivation.

However, for a mountain assault battle, they don’t have the mindset or determination for a wholehearted sacrifice.

Because even if the war fails, at most, they just don’t achieve their goals, with no real losses incurred.

And if they die in the war, even if it results in victory, it has nothing to do with them.

The calculation is obvious for anyone who isn’t a fool.

Without these attackers, Xiao Ying and the others on the mountaintop finally breathed a sigh of relief, with most of the pressure lifting.

Seeing this, Zhouyang did not chase after these small fries but launched himself toward Sword Cultivator Qiu.

Now the battlefield was evenly matched, with each side having its victories, and neither gaining a significant advantage.

But Zhouyang knew that if he couldn’t quickly eliminate one of the enemies to establish an advantage, the moment the "Frenzy" divine technique of the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle wore off and it fell into a weak state, his side would be in a disadvantageous crisis.

Sword Cultivator Qiu was an excellent target; his special status made him the commander on the enemy’s side in this war. Killing him would surely deal a heavy blow to their morale.

Moreover, a battle a few days ago had already depleted Sword Cultivator Qiu’s Yuan Qi, making him relatively easier to handle.

However, Sword Cultivator Qiu was craftier than he anticipated.

His unique Sword Escape divine technique, particular to sword cultivators, was no less mysterious than the Thunder Escape Technique possessed by the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle.

Whenever he or the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle was about to hit the opponent, the opponent would instantly transform into a beam of golden sword light and evade.

And whenever he tried to pursue, the two junior brothers of his opponent would immediately use their swords to attack the people on the mountain like Xiao Ying, forcing him to stay within the mountaintop area.

This filled him with helplessness.

"Do I really have to use that treasure?"

His face alternated between anger and uncertainty, hesitating internally.

The so-called object naturally referred to the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" Jade Talisman exchanged from Master Cyan Yang for two lotus seeds of the Demon Blood Ancient Lotus.

This jade talisman, once used, would definitely allow him to kill that Qiu-named sword cultivator on the spot, but by doing so, he would lose his life-saving trump card that he had acquired with much difficulty.

To be honest, a mere Qiu-named sword cultivator was not as important to him as this life-saving trump card.

Moreover, he was not without support.

Now, as Chongxuan Mountain had been besieged for the fourteenth day, the two Golden Core stage cultivators dispatched by the Profound Sun Immortal Sect to reinforce them should almost be arriving.

If he could wait for the reinforcements of these two Golden Core stage cultivators to arrive, victory in this battle would be certain.

But just when Zhouyang couldn’t make up his mind and was struggling to decide, a move by the Qiu-named sword cultivator instantly helped him make up his mind, or rather, forced him to respond.

Suddenly, the Qiu-named sword cultivator raised his hand, took out a silver talisman depicting a small golden sword, injected a large amount of magical power into the talisman, and then flung it towards Zhouyang. The golden sword on the talisman instantly turned into a golden flying sword and flew toward Zhouyang to slash at him.

Nascent Soul Treasure!

This was the answer Zhouyang immediately came to upon seeing the silver talisman in the Qiu-named sword cultivator’s hand.

Thinking about it carefully, it was not surprising that this person had such a treasure.

The Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect, too, is a powerful sect with several Nascent Soul stage cultivators, certainly capable of producing treasures like the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" jade talisman for important disciples within the sect to use for self-defense.

This time, in the attack on Chongxuan Mountain, to face Qingyun Wanderer, a Golden Core stage cultivator with a significant background, it was quite reasonable for the Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect to bestow such a treasure to the Qiu-named sword cultivator as a trump card.

And in the face of such an attack from a treasure that sealed the divine techniques of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, Zhouyang dared not test his body to see if he could block this attack.

Therefore, upon recognizing the origin of the silver talisman in the Qiu-named cultivator’s hand, he immediately took out the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" jade talisman obtained from Master Cyan Yang and activated it.

Rumble!

Amid loud thunder, a thick purple divine thunder struck ahead of time, directly hitting the golden flying sword and scattering it on the spot.

"Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder!"

Upon witnessing this scene, the Qiu-named sword cultivator couldn’t help but open his mouth wide and shout in astonishment.

He looked at Zhouyang with a face full of suspicion and kept shaking his head, shouting, "No, something’s not right. Why is it the ’Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder’? Aren’t you from the Yuqing Daoist Sect?"

Treasures like the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" jade talisman would generally never be given to anyone outside the disciples of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, not even to disciples from sects as closely allied as the Yuqing Daoist Sect.

If Qingyun Wanderer were using those signature divine techniques from the Yuqing Daoist Sect, the Qiu-named sword cultivator wouldn’t find it strange at all, given that the other party has a Nascent Soul stage cultivator as a grandfather, it’s normal to have such treasures for self-defense.

But when it came to the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" jade talisman, he couldn’t help but doubt some things.

Once doubt arises, the person would immediately search for evidence to support their suspicion based on the suspect’s actions.

Then the things that were previously overlooked or not considered naturally get connected together.

Such as the rare thunder-attribute demon beast, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle!

Such as the extremely fierce golden flames!

Such as the Yuqing Daoist Sect divine techniques that were never seen being showcased!

Such as the powerful body refining divine techniques that had never been heard of!

Such as a non-Profound Sun Immortal Sect cultivator who once used the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" jade talisman to kill a Beast Taming Sect elder!

As this information was compiled, the Qiu-named sword cultivator’s expression suddenly changed, and with a face full of shock, he looked at Zhouyang and exclaimed, "You are not the real ’Qingyun Wanderer’, you’re actually that treasure body cultivator who is closely associated with the Profound Sun Immortal Sect yet is also wanted by the Beast Taming Sect!"

The matter of the Beast Taming Sect wanting Zhouyang had once caused quite a stir in some circles of high-tier cultivators in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

After all, apart from Zhouyang, it had been a thousand years since anyone dared to openly kill a Golden Core stage elder of the Beast Taming Sect outside of war conditions, especially since Zhouyang’s cultivation at the time was only at the Purple Mansion stage, and he also possessed the rare "Qianyang Treasure Body."

The place where the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect was located happened to be not far from the Beast Taming Sect, and the Qiu-named sword cultivator had heard this news at the time.

At the time, what these Golden Core stage cultivators cared about the most in this news were two points: "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" and "Qianyang Treasure Body."

The former connected with the then-flourishing Profound Sun Immortal Sect, evoking sighs about the grandeur and wealth of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, who could even let a Purple Mansion stage cultivator possess such treasures.

The latter was purely curiosity about the treasure body cultivator, after all, to Golden Core stage cultivators, treasure body cultivators who could automatically attain a top-tier true fire divine technique upon forming a Golden Core were definitely objects of envy.

Only a cultivator who has actually tried to cultivate a powerful divine technique to a small success realm can understand the tremendous effort and cost required.

Yet treasure body cultivators need to give nothing and automatically acquire such a powerful divine technique upon forming a Golden Core, how could that not invoke envy?

The memories of Golden Core stage cultivators were strong, and since it had only been two or three hundred years, the impression remained fresh. Triggered by the keyword "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder," the Qiu-named sword cultivator quickly recalled the past, solved the doubt, and revealed the truth.

However, after exposing the existence of the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, Zhouyang had already prepared mentally for this truth being exposed.

Thus, upon hearing the Qiu-named sword cultivator’s words this time, he didn’t argue, but with a cold look in his eyes, suddenly turned back into the array on Chongxuan Mountain.

Then he grabbed with both hands, capturing his Dao Companion Xiao Ying and taking her out of the array.

At this moment, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle arrived at the mountain top using the "Thunder Escape Technique," catching the two of them.

"He’s trying to escape, stop them quickly!"

Seeing this, Sword Cultivator Qiu’s expression dramatically changed, and without hesitation, he loudly shouted for someone to intercept Zhouyang.

The war had reached a point where he had no intention of letting Zhouyang leave.

Especially after learning that Zhouyang was not the real "Qingyun Wanderer", he had no more scruples.

In this battle, An Country had first lost Li Boyang and another Golden Core Stage Cultivator, and then over a hundred Purple Mansion Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators were wiped out by two Tier Five Demon Birds and Zhouyang. The losses were severe.

The remaining two Golden Core Stage cultivators from An Country naturally couldn’t bear to see Zhouyang, the culprit of their heavy losses, leave.

Upon hearing Sword Cultivator Qiu’s words, several Golden Core Stage cultivators, including two from the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect, immediately played their trump cards, launching all sorts of divine techniques at the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle.

Meanwhile, the disciples remaining on Chongxuan Mountain were completely ignored.

No one believed that Zhouyang would care about a few disciples with Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, and thus no one thought that taking those clearly abandoned disciples as hostages would compel Zhouyang, who was desperate to escape, to stay.

On the back of the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, facing the siege of several Golden Core Stage cultivators, Zhouyang and Xiao Ying deployed their defenses in full force.

Ultimately, they withstood the fierce attacks of the enemy and successfully broke out.

"Chase them, Chang Country is already blocked by our forces, they can’t escape!"

Sword Cultivator Qiu, with a stern face, took the lead in pursuing the great golden bird with his sword.

The other Golden Core Stage cultivators, unwilling to give up, followed closely behind in pursuit.

In the end, only the Golden Core Stage cultivator fighting the Seven-Colored Peacock stayed behind to intercept the peacock.

Watching the Golden Core Stage cultivators leave, the surviving cultivators on Chongxuan Mountain quickly dispersed into small groups, fleeing towards the outside of the mountain, with no one daring to stay and await the outcome.

Their choice was undoubtedly wise, as with the departure of the Golden Core Stage cultivators, those Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion cultivators of the "Six Paths Alliance" who had been frightened away by Zhouyang soon returned.

Upon returning, they found that the mountain’s disciples had already scattered and immediately divided forces to pursue them.

The fleeing disciples from the mountain were also divided into factions.

Ye Yunshan and Wang Yanzhang, as Dao Companions, naturally retreated together. Meanwhile, Zhou Shengyu, also a formal disciple of Xiao Ying, did not follow them but was instead escorted away by several Zhou Family Foundation Establishment cultivators, including Zhou Ronghua.

Clearly, compared to his senior sister Ye Yunshan, whom he had only known for a few years, Zhou Shengyu trusted his family elders more.

Ye Yunshan didn’t mind this at all.

Since becoming a direct disciple of Xiao Ying, she had lived in the mountain top area of Chongxuan Mountain and had discovered a few secrets unknown to others.

She had sensed that Zhou Ronghua and the others were from the same family as Zhou Shengyu but pretended not to know.

Facing a life-and-death situation now, her mind was solely focused on escaping with her Dao Companion Wang Yanzhang, leaving no room for other thoughts.

After coming down from Chongxuan Mountain, the two did not choose to fly with their swords but instead used the Earth Escape Technique to flee underground.

The speed of the Earth Escape Technique naturally couldn’t compare to sword flight and was even inferior to using the Light Body Technique to run swiftly on the ground.

But its advantage was also clear, it was not easy to be detected.

Having been loose cultivators for many years, Wang Yanzhang and Ye Yunshan both had rich escape experience.

Many loose cultivators’ most formidable skills are not for defeating enemies but for escaping.

Loose cultivators often face unexpected dangers during their adventures, needing to hone powerful escape skills to retreat from danger promptly when necessary.

The Earth Escape Technique is always a required escape method for low-tier loose cultivators and is one of the most practical.

Although Wang Yanzhang and Ye Yunshan were not Earth Element cultivators, they had both mastered this escape technique to an extremely proficient degree, rarely making any noise while fleeing underground.

With this skillful use of the Earth Escape Technique, they initially succeeded without being detected by anyone.

However, their luck didn’t last, as more and more "Six Paths Alliance" cultivators joined the pursuit and began conducting a carpet-style search, making it harder for them to remain hidden.

The low-tier Earth Escape Technique they used only allowed them to hide underground undetected, but the magic fluctuations didn’t dissipate.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, as long as they released their Divine Sense, they could capture the magic fluctuations from underground within their scan range, knowing someone was hiding using the Earth Escape Technique.

Before long, the two were discovered and caught by a searching cultivator.

Possibly overconfident, or perhaps believing that someone hiding underground with such low-tier magic wouldn’t be formidable, the cultivator didn’t call for backup. Instead, he directly acted, casting the Earth Element magic "Earthquake Technique" designed to disrupt the Earth Escape Technique, forcing them out from underground.

One can imagine how surprised and panicked that person was upon discovering that the enemies he forced out were actually two Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

At this moment, it was too late for him to call for help.

Wang Yanzhang, who had rich experience in magical combat, was already prepared to attack upon sensing someone casting spells on the ground.

When they were forced to the ground by the enemy’s "Earthquake Technique," he immediately summoned the Tier Three Top-grade Flying Sword granted by Zhouyang and slashed towards the opponent.

Meanwhile, Ye Yunshan raised a Teng Shield Spiritual Artifact woven with cyan-green vines to block the enemy’s artifacts and magic.

The husband and wife cooperated seamlessly, one attacking and the other defending. With the help of the high-quality spirit talisman granted by Zhouyang, they quickly defeated their opponent and swiftly fled the scene.

Elsewhere, Zhou Ronghua and others escaping by Sword Flight encountered a troublesome enemy.

A Third-Layer Purple Mansion Cultivator, following the trail of their magical power residue left in flight, caught up with them.

Facing such a strong opponent, despite their numbers, they were on the weaker side.

Had it not been for Zhouyang, a Tier Four Rune Master, who normally crafted many Tier Four Spirit Talismans and gave each of the younger disciples one or two, they might have been annihilated at the first encounter.

However, activating the Tier Four Spirit Talisman consumed a great amount of magical power, which their Foundation Establishment Cultivation couldn’t sustain for many uses before exhausting their magical power.

Additionally, the enemy wasn’t a poverty-stricken cultivator, as he also possessed a Talisman Treasure.

With the power of the Talisman Treasure, in less than twenty breaths of time, an Zhou Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator was slain by the enemy on the spot.

The death meant not only a decrease in their resisting power but also a fatal blow to their morale.

Zhou Ronghua’s gaze swept over the Zhou family cultivators’ faces, seeing fear in everyone’s eyes, even including his own.

Yet, the education he received from childhood and the experience gained over the years taught him that someone must sacrifice themselves to allow others to truly survive.

According to Zhou Family’s rules, under unresistible danger, those with good spiritual root talent should evacuate first, the young should evacuate first, and those without family should evacuate first.

At that moment, Zhou Ronghua knew without thinking who should cover the retreat and who should retreat.

He quickly clenched his teeth and shouted, "Sheng Ying, quickly take Shengyu and leave! We will do everything to buy you time!"

Among the Zhou Family cultivators present, Zhou Shengyu, undoubtedly the best in spiritual root talent, was an Upper-Grade Spiritual Root Cultivator, while Zhou Shengying, for being young, unmarried, and a female cultivator, was rightfully given priority care.

Upon hearing Zhou Ronghua’s words, all Zhou Family cultivators present turned pale.

However, the family rules were such; even if someone was unwilling, they dared not speak out at this moment.

Zhou Ronghua’s arrangement was flawless in terms of rules.

Who would dare question it for personal reasons at this time unless they were ready to never return to Zhou Family and prepared to face pursuit and being wanted by Zhou Family, otherwise they neither dared nor could oppose.

For such significant matters, the family seniors would definitely use the "Heart Inquiry Skill" on surviving cultivators to verify the truth afterward, making it impossible to hide.

"Uncle Hua, take care!"

Crying, Zhou Shengying bowed respectfully to Zhou Ronghua and then took the still Qi Cultivation Stage Zhou Shengyu onto her flying sword, crying as she hurriedly fled the battlefield.

Zhou Ronghua saw this and immediately cupped his hand towards the remaining Zhou family cultivators, declaring, "My brothers and sisters, from the moment we were born, we received great kindness from the family, great kindness from the ancestors. Today is the time to repay the family. I ask everyone to let go of everything and fight with me to the end, vowing to repay the family with our lives!"

"If Zhou Ronghua is not afraid to die, I, Zhou Rongguang, am no coward! Only death awaits!"

A Zhou Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator smiled bitterly and immediately formed a hand seal, casting the demonic secret technique "Blood Boiling Technique" from Zhou Family’s collection, burning his essence blood and divine soul in exchange for a boost in magical cultivation, then using the explosive magical power to activate all Tier Three Spirit Talismans at the enemy.

"Only death awaits!"

The Zhou Family Female Cultivator Zhou Rongxiang, who came to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm with Zhou Ronghua, also smiled bitterly and used the "Blood Boiling Technique" to increase her magical power, then activated the last Tier Four Attack Spirit Talisman at the enemy.

"Damn it, are you little ones all seeking death?"

The Purple Mansion Cultivator fighting Zhou Ronghua and others had his face change dramatically, shouting angrily with surprise, scrambling to summon artifacts and body-protecting divine techniques to defend against the numerous attacks.

His pursuit of Zhou Ronghua and others was originally just to make a fortune from war, collecting a rich bounty.

But now, facing these desperate attacks, he hadn’t gained a bit, and yet consumed one of his precious Tier Four Defense Spirit Talismans. How could he not be furious?

Regarding Zhou Shengying and Zhou Shengyu, who fled, he didn’t bother paying attention.

A Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator flying with another person to escape; even if they escape for half an hour first, he could easily catch up later after dealing with these fearless fighters.

But what the Purple Mansion Cultivator didn’t anticipate was, slightly over a quarter-hour passed, he hadn’t dealt with Zhou Ronghua and others, when a beautiful Seven-Colored Peacock soared, chirping, over the battlefield.

Then he only saw a splendid array of Seven-Colored Light Needles shooting towards him, his consciousness quickly plunged into eternal darkness.