CHAPTER 492: CHAPTER 345 STABLE MILITARY MOUNTAIN (HIGH ENERGY CHAPTER)

In a small courtyard in the mountains, Elder Yao was sharpening his knife.

He had received a message from Qiu Zhiheng that all thirteen Grieving Cultivators were dead.

The lives of thirteen Grieving Cultivators would cause the malignancy of the Deathgate Formation to reach its peak, bringing disaster upon Medicine King Valley.

The Deathgate Star would bring the tribulations of the Formation to Elder Yao first. He would also bring the Wronged Souls of those Grieving Cultivators to Elder Yao.

In Elder Yao’s house, under normal circumstances, the Deathgate Star wouldn’t dare to make a direct move. But with all the malignancy gathered at Elder Yao’s place, he now dared.

"Old dog, come here!" Elder Yao tested the edge of the Three-pointed Double-edged Sword.

He planned to capture the Deathgate Star alive and then force him to reveal details of the Formation he had set.

Even if it cost him his old life, he must break the Deathgate Formation!

As long as he was alive, nobody could harm Medicine King Valley.

Elder Yao drank his fill, waiting for the Deathgate Star to come knocking.

CLATTER.

Over a hundred wine jars were stacked around the base of the wall. One jar from the top slowly began to slip, about to crash to the ground.

With a sweep of his long sword, Elder Yao returned the jar to its place.

This wine was Elder Yao’s fighting strength. It had been stored at the base of the wall for untold years, piled up just so. Yet now, something was amiss.

Malignancy. The Deathgate Star had arrived.

A measure of wine’s essence could counter a measure of malignancy. Elder Yao tried to suppress the malignancy with the wine’s essence. However, the Deathgate Formation was too powerful. The difference between the wine’s essence and the malignancy was vast.

Gusts of sinister wind swept through, bringing five green flames into the courtyard, which then rampaged wildly.

These were the Lost Souls of Grieving Cultivators, leading the charge to destroy the traps and mechanisms in the courtyard.

Elder Yao used his long sword to flick a wine jar into the air. As the wine cascaded down, the Lost Souls shrieked and wailed before turning to smoke and dust in an instant.

"Bastard!" Elder Yao spat. "I’ve waited this long for you, and you send these worthless grunts to deal with me?"

Before his voice faded, over a hundred Lost Souls charged into the courtyard. They didn’t attack, merely swirling around Elder Yao.

Were these all Grieving Cultivators?How could there be so many?

Not all of these were Grieving Cultivators. Some were Lost Souls hounded to death by them. The Deathgate Star had spent decades of painstaking effort collecting these souls. In his hands, these Lost Souls were all Weapons brimming with malignancy.

Elder Yao swung his long sword again. Hundreds of wine jars flew up from the base of the wall, their contents spilling out. Wine poured down like a deluge.

Ordinarily, this rain of wine should have been enough to annihilate this horde of Lost Souls.

But, as ill luck would have it, a fierce gust of wind suddenly blew. It knocked the mouths of the jars askew, causing the wine to spill too quickly and erratically. In the blink of an eye, it was all gone.

Such was the power of the Deathgate Formation.

The wine rain was scattered by the fierce wind, but the Lost Souls still hovered nearby. Elder Yao touched the hilt of his sword. The Three-pointed Double-edged Sword shot out, its hilt extending for many tens of feet. As if skewering candied fruit, it impaled dozens of Lost Souls at once. A twist of the blade, and they all turned to ash.

The long sword returned smoothly to his hand. The remaining Lost Souls cowered in the distance, daring not approach. Elder Yao yawned and said, "Old dog, you’re going to put me to sleep!"

Had the Deathgate Star gained nothing after losing so many Lost Souls?

These Lost Souls had turned to ash, but the ash did not disperse, instead lingering above Elder Yao’s head. The ash silently coalesced into a dark cloud, yet Elder Yao seemed completely unaware.

This was a dense concentration of malignancy. If it struck him, Elder Yao would be unable to avoid the subsequent attack, as misfortune would befall him no matter which way he dodged.

The ash descended rapidly, yet Elder Yao remained seemingly undefended.

Just as the ash was about to land on his head, Elder Yao suddenly drew a Carved Bow from behind his back.

Simultaneously, Four-Sided Banners shot up, fluttering and swirling, dispersing the ash above him.

A Feather Arrow was nocked. Elder Yao drew the Carved Bow, spun around, and shot an arrow behind him.

You cur, I figured you’d make your move.

Elder Yao knew there was malignancy approaching overhead. If he dodged, he would fall for the Deathgate Star’s sneak attack. If he didn’t dodge and was struck by this cloud of malignancy, he would suffer severe injuries. Precisely because he had anticipated the enemy’s tactic, Elder Yao had also deduced his location.

The arrow flew through the air, but unfortunately, it missed.

Missing was to be expected. Even the finest archery was subject to chance, and under such dense malignancy, a one-shot hit was impossible.

Elder Yao loosed another arrow, and again, it missed.

Drawing on experience, Elder Yao adjusted his aim and loosed five arrows in rapid succession. Finally, one arrow froze in mid-air. A hit!

Elder Yao breathed a gout of flame towards the arrow. Amidst agonized howls, a figure materialized.

The Deathgate Star had appeared!

The Four-Sided Banners crisscrossed, pinning the figure to the ground.

"You cur, die!" Elder Yao charged, Three-pointed Double-edged Sword in hand, and thrust downwards, severing the Deathgate Star’s head.

To prevent the Deathgate Star’s Resurrection, Elder Yao took out a wine Gourd and poured half its contents over the severed neck.

Acrid smoke curled upwards. Confirming the enemy was truly dead, Elder Yao heaved a sigh of relief.

The Deathgate Star was dead, which was a relief, yet also a problem. How was the Deathgate Formation to be broken now?

Elder Yao reached for his wine to calm his nerves, but the corpse on the ground suddenly dissolved into a cloud of dust that billowed into his face.

Malignancy struck him full in the face!

Was this from the explosion of the Deathgate Star’s corpse?

No, that wasn’t the Deathgate Star. What had been pinned to the ground earlier was merely the Lost Soul of a Grieving Cultivator.

How could I have been mistaken?How could I fail to differentiate between the Deathgate Star and a Lost Soul?

A dream!

Elder Yao had been dragged into a dream. All his perceptions and judgments had been distorted by the dream.

When did he enter the dream?

Elder Yao knew the Deathgate Star possessed the abilities of a Dream Cultivator and had taken precautions. His concentration was high. He shouldn’t have been able to slip into a dream.

Could it be that his mind had wandered earlier?

When enveloped by such malignancy, anything was possible.

Further contemplation was useless. Elder Yao spat a gout of flame into his own palm. The searing pain shocked him awake.