CHAPTER 199: WIELDING THE SWORD AGAINST THE CORRUPT MONK

At the foot of the Ziyan Temple, hundreds of Special Warfare Unit soldiers jumped down from various trucks and rushed toward the forest ahead.

The tremors in the mountain were growing increasingly intense. It could even be felt from the base of the mountain now.

The cultivators at the scene felt an inexplicable tension rising within. Facing such a powerful being, they instinctively felt fear and a sense of helplessness. However, they had no choice but to charge up the perilous mountain and stop the corrupt cultivators from destroying the seal.

By now, though, many already understood that this operation was a gamble. Judging by the constant tremors, anyone could tell that the ancient devil was about to break free.

Around the Ziyan Temple, four Golden Core Realm cultivators were locked in an intense battle. The Fire and Wood Elders spent most of their efforts evading attacks, yet they held their ground above the temple. Even if it cost their lives, they had to stall the two aggressive instructors.

The two instructors, Pang Longhua and Wei Ansheng, had already gotten several chances to break into the courtyard. From inside the temple, however, Rufeng would always coordinate with the elders pursuing from behind to pincer the instructors, forcing the two away from the well.

Fortunately, with the instructors holding off the Fire and Wood Elders, helicopters managed to approach the Ziyan Temple. The second batch of elite Special Warfare Unit reinforcements from the military base was quickly closing in.

Their greater role, however, was to eliminate the ninjas.

In the rear courtyard, the blood light had grown extremely dense.

The tremors shifted into a continuous quiver. Deep within the mountain, in the sealed chamber, the enormous fiend was gradually breaking free from the suppression of the stone sword. Monk blood had stained most of the Buddhist seals etched onto the sword's bindings.

Beside the Devil-Sealing Well, Rufeng, dressed in white monk robes, laughed softly. "Amitabha. If not now, Senior, when else will you break through?"

The thick, blood-like well water began to boil, and a thunderous roar erupted from within. A wave of pure fiendish qi surged out, laced within a tide of devilish qi.

Rufeng's eyes lit up. Within that fiendish qi seemed to be a trace of confusion. If I subdue or persuade it to serve me...

"Sect Master, enemy reinforcements are coming."

Rufeng lowered his gaze to the well, shook his head, then raised his hand to the side. A katana fell into his grasp. While chanting incantations, he cut his palm and dripped several drops of blood into the well below. The blood in the well quickly cleared, and streams of blood mist surged again into the sealed chamber.

The earth's tremors paused, then intensified. The fiend within the mountain slowly rose, opening its mouth to absorb the blood mist completely. Its tightly shut eyes opened like two lanterns with a blood-red glow, and black qi erupted out of it.

Above it, the massive stone sword began to crack. The entire mountain quaked violently, as though a giant spirit was shaking the land.

Rufeng made a hand gesture. "Order everyone to retreat and hide. Once we've drawn the enemy's attention here, leave using escape techniques."

The black-clad men behind him began retreating at once. Rufeng stepped onto his alms bowl and floated upward, channeling Buddhist arts.

"I aid your emergence with a blood-cursed offering," he transmitted to the well below. "Those who call themselves righteous will surely show you no courtesy. Unfortunately, I am too weak to do much more—"

"Rufeng!" someone shouted from behind.

Now in midair, Rufeng frowned slightly. Turning his head, he saw a young sword cultivator outside the temple gates, charging forward through a group of his subordinates. Rufeng sneered faintly, but he paid the sword cultivator no further mind. Instead, he resumed transmitting his voice toward the well.

In front of the Ziyan Temple, Wang Sheng had already stepped onto the stone steps. He was attacked from all sides, but he fought fire with fire. Each sword phantasm he unleashed forced one or two enemies to retreat.

When he saw the white-robed monk rising into the sky, the fury in Wang Sheng's chest finally exploded. His long-awaited celestial-grade flying sword shot forward, leaving half of the enemies in front of him no time to dodge. Four or five were immediately knocked down, either gravely wounded or killed.

Ignoring the ninjas, Wang Sheng used his Seven-Star Footwork and swung Spiritless to slash away all concealed weapons and kunai flying toward him. He then leaped into the air before the temple gate, chasing after his flying sword.

Tapping lightly on the temple gate with his right foot, Wang Sheng rapidly accelerated. He had barely landed on the celestial-grade flying sword when he began chasing after the white-robed monk.

Now, Rufeng had no choice but to turn around.

He sneered coldly at Wang Sheng and rapidly formed hand seals. Buddhist chants rang out around him as a towering sitting Buddha phantasm, several zhang tall, appeared behind him. The Buddha raised a palm and slammed a surge of primal qi toward Wang Sheng.

"I have taken quite a liking to you," Rufeng said calmly, "but now that you've set your mind on killing me, I can no longer spare you—"

Whoosh!

As the Buddha's palm phantasm crashed down, a streak of sword radiance flashed past its side, interrupting Rufeng. He raised his left hand, and a lotus bloomed in his palm.

Qing Yanzi's fierce and overbearing attacks had forced Rufeng to flee for his life. However, against Wang Sheng, whose cultivation was an entire realm lower, he would not allow himself to be as embarrassed.

The lotus rotated gently, veering the flying sword to the side. As if it had slipped from Wang Sheng's control, it fell to a corner of the rear courtyard.

However, a bright flash scattered the palm phantasm of the sitting Buddha. Wang Sheng only slowed slightly before lunging straight at Rufeng.

When a man was enraged, blood would spill within five steps!

Rufeng frowned. The Buddha raised another palm and flicked away his sleeve, sending chains of Buddhist light toward Wang Sheng. Rufeng then formed another series of hand seals. Using his early-stage Golden Core Realm power, he created the phantasms of the Eighteen Arhats before him.

The Arhats looked almost alive. Each wielding a weapon, they surrounded and charged at Wang Sheng.

Rufeng truly had many flashy tricks.

Starlight flared in Wang Sheng's eyes as the celestial-grade flying sword under his feet trembled lightly. He poured true essence into the blade and soared skyward.

With a wave of Rufeng's hand, the Eighteen Arhats gave chase with unrelenting ferocity. Despite his fight against Wang Sheng, Rufeng still managed to glance around and, using voice transmission, tell the Fire and Wood Elders to prepare to retreat with him.

From Rufeng's perspective, an Illusory Core Realm cultivator voluntarily facing a Golden Core Realm cultivator head-on was an act of madness. While Illusory Core Realm cultivators only circulated true essence, within Golden Core Realm cultivators flowed what could already be called enchanted power.

After going from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Illusory Core Realm, one's strength would improve significantly. However, it still fell short of the qualitative leap of forming a Golden Core.

At that moment, a roar erupted from the side. The Special Warfare Unit instructor who had been fighting the Fire Elder suddenly sent three spear phantasms toward Rufeng in a triangular formation, each one imbued with surging primal qi. The Fire Elder called out in warning, but in his panic, he shouted in the language of Sakura Island.

Since the three spear phantasms were too far to land a direct hit, Rufeng just snorted coldly and sidestepped smoothly on his alms bowl. As they crashed down, though, they struck the Devil-Sealing Well, shattering it completely.

Pang Longhua, the instructor with the long spear, blinked. He then shouted, "Fei Yu, don't clash with a Golden Core Realm cultivator! Just use your Sword-Controlling Art to hold him off!"

Going against Pang Longhua's instructions, Wang Sheng, already dozens of meters in the air, closed his eyes and spread his arms. He then jumped off the sword, making even the wind between heaven and earth seem to stop.

Wang Sheng formed a sword finger with his left hand, gripped Spiritless with his right, and relaxed his tightly furrowed brow as though he was witnessing a sky full of stars in broad daylight. By the time he opened his eyes, he was already upside down. As true essence surged from his legs, he pointed his sword finger forward and made the celestial-grade flying sword shoot toward the incoming Eighteen Arhats.

Wang Sheng used his right hand to send out wave after wave of sword phantasms. At some point, he had already maneuvered the flying sword above Rufeng and locked his aura onto him. Wang Sheng, his celestial-grade flying sword, and Spiritless all came straight for Rufeng.

Starlight seemed to bloom around him. The Heavenly Ziwei Sword Momentum poured down from above, suppressing the white-robed fiend monk.

Determined to see whether he could slay Rufeng right here, he charged forward with all his strength without the slightest hesitation or delay. The celestial-grade flying sword led the charge, breaking through all obstacles as if subduing dragons and smashing tigers. Even the Eighteen Arhats couldn't slow the sword that the formation spirit had gifted him.

Rufeng furrowed his brow and began chanting sutras. Buddhist chants echoed through the sky as the sitting Buddha behind him solidified. Three lotus flowers then rose beneath Rufeng, lifting him out of the crushing sword momentum.

The corrupt Golden Core Realm monk swiftly dodged to the side, rendering Wang Sheng's strike ineffective.

As a Golden Core Realm cultivator, I actually had to dodge the attack of an Illusory Core Realm cultivator? Hah! So what?

Rufeng smiled mockingly. Wang Sheng clenched his teeth, altering half of the technique from the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art in midair to avoid hitting the Devil-Sealing Well below.

After cutting through the Eighteen Arhats, he immediately stepped onto his flying sword and veered to the side. The corrupt monk was far more difficult to deal with than he had expected. Nevertheless, he refused to give up. He charged once more toward Rufeng.

Rufeng retreated on his alms bowl, refusing to engage him head-on again.

With both relying on the speed of their flying weapons, Wang Sheng and Rufeng ended up evenly matched. For the time being, he was unable to catch up.

Just then, the broken Devil-Sealing Well in the rear courtyard of the Ziyan Temple, along with a ten-meter square section of ground around it, collapsed with a thunderous crash.