Chapter Ninety: The God-Slaying Sect

The black-robed elder rapidly formed hand seals, and countless afterimages overlapped as the shield he had conjured was driven apart. Yet the afterimages continued to spill out, steadily neutralizing the force of the assault.

His body drifted down lightly, and the black-robed elder landed beside Elder Ma.

“Senior Brother Ma, are you all right?” The elder in black shuddered, shaking off every droplet clinging to him.

“You came a little slower, Junior Brother Wen, and this old boneset of mine would have been done for,” Elder Ma said with a grim expression.

“I did make a move. I dealt with that beast first; otherwise, the disciples would have suffered far more.” When the black-robed elder acted, the black serpent’s attack had already reached such terrifying power that even though the great ship had veered away, it was still caught in the aftermath. Several ordinary people aboard had already been stunned unconscious by the shockwaves of the battle.

“This beast has reached the peak of the fourth rank, and its strength is even greater than ours. With the added advantage of the region over the Drifting Fish River, its power is nearly on par with the fifth rank. We must end this battle as quickly as possible!”

Elder Ma nodded. The two of them surged out, striking from two angles in a pincer assault.

Standing on the ship, Zhang Yongxu and the others could no longer keep their composure. Even the elders they had always regarded as incomparably powerful had been wounded by the beast. How could they dare remain? They hurriedly took command of the great ship and fled into the distance.

But they had not escaped very far when a mass of black mist suddenly appeared above the vessel. The moment it emerged, it spread at once, shrouding the entire upper half of the ship.

Zhang Yongxu’s expression changed. Before he could react, a tremendous pressure came crashing down from within the mist, suppressing the vessel and everyone aboard it so that none could move.

“Heh heh, I never expected there to be two fourth-rank masters of the Harmonized Realm hidden here. And what of it? Have they not still failed to escape my grasp?”

A sinister laugh drifted out from the black mist. From within the surging darkness, a man in a black robe stepped forth and landed atop the ship’s mast. His attire was identical to that of the heretic who had appeared near the Qin family stronghold.

“A heretic!” one of the outer disciples on deck cried out in alarm.

“A heretic? You dare call me a heretic? I am a believer of the great Divine Sect. You ignorant fools dare to call us heretics?

Very well, then I shall begin with you!”

The black-robed man’s voice was almost mad with frenzy. He struck without warning, reaching toward the outer disciple who had shouted. Under the pressure, Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling could not move; they could only watch helplessly as the disciple was restrained and seized by the black-robed man.

“Elder, save me! Elder, save me!”

The outer disciple screamed desperately, but Elder Ma and Elder Wen were fully occupied with the black serpent and had no spare hand.

“Cry, cry all you like. No matter how much you scream, Ma Sifang and Wen Li cannot save you. They can scarcely save themselves right now!

Hahaha, Ma Sifang, how does the Crimson Water Black Serpent taste? I knew that old fox Ji would be cautious, and would never send only you alone, so I brought out the Crimson Water Black Serpent. This time, let me see who can stop me from obtaining the inheritance fragment!”

The black-robed man laughed uproariously. Naturally, Elder Ma and the others heard him, but both of them were fully occupied in dealing with the Crimson Water Black Serpent and had no room to spare.

The outer disciple was drawn ever closer to the black-robed man. Just as he was about to reach him, four dark silhouettes shot out from the cabin: four men in black, who stood at the four corners of the deck.

As soon as they appeared, the four men formed seals together. From each of them radiated exactly the same wave of power, which instantly fused into one. Above the deck, a patterned formation appeared, and the black-robed man stood right at its center.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The moment the formation took shape, a wave of force burst forth from within it, suppressing the black-robed man’s overwhelming aura.

But it was not over. In front of each of the four black-clad men appeared a small banner. Within the patterned formation, strands of light began to move, converging all at once toward its center and then erupting outward, binding the black-robed man in place.

The four black-clad men struck at the same time. Their small banners rose into the air, lifting the entire patterned formation with them and shattering the black mist that had enveloped the ship. The pressure that had been pinning the vessel down also vanished.

Everyone on deck was stunned. They had already believed themselves doomed; who could have imagined that reinforcements would suddenly appear?

Yang Ze stood there, his back already soaked with cold sweat. Fortunately, these four black-clad men had appeared out of nowhere, or else everyone aboard would likely have perished.

Turning to Zhang Yongxu, he saw that Zhang Yongxu’s face was also full of astonishment.

“These are inner disciples. They are all inner disciples!”

At his words, everyone on deck grew hot-eyed, Yang Ze included.

Inner disciples. Within Wuyang Martial Academy, the strongest disciples were these inner disciples. Only by becoming one of them would one have the chance in the future to receive the true inheritance of Wuyang Martial Academy.

Yang Ze drew a deep breath. It seemed that this time Wuyang Martial Academy had come to Yuyang City with great ambitions. They had dispatched two elders of the fourth rank and hidden away four inner disciples. Though he could not discern the cultivation of these four inner disciples, it was certain that none were below the second rank, and they were far stronger than Zhang Yongxu.

“Black Kui, your Divine Annihilation Sect schemes for the inheritance and colludes with the Crimson Water Black Serpent to seize the beast crystal. Although I did not guess every detail of your plan, I have still seen through most of it. You lurk in the shadows and refuse to show yourself, thinking I would not keep a trump card in reserve? These four inner disciples, all in the middle stage of the third-rank Meridian Opening Realm, were left here especially to deal with you!”

Elder Ma shattered one of the Crimson Water Black Serpent’s attacks with a single palm and laughed as he spoke.

“Ma Sifang! If you oppose our Divine Annihilation Sect, your Wuyang Martial Academy will come to no good end!” The black-robed man struggled within the confinement and roared in fury.

“Divine Annihilation Sect? If your sect truly had the power to contend with the entire imperial court, would you still be hiding in the dark, too afraid to show your faces? The inheritance fragment will not be leaving with you today.”

Elder Wen held off the Crimson Water Black Serpent’s attacks and sneered at Black Kui.

Under the black robe, Black Kui’s expression turned extremely ugly. He extended his left hand, while a dagger appeared in his right. He cut open the palm of his left hand, and fresh blood floated out from the wound, tracing a symbol in the center of his palm.

The instant that symbol took shape, Black Kui’s aura rose once more. The sealing of the patterned formation fractured at that very moment, on the verge of collapse.

“You have opened the closed gate of blood and qi. Black Kui, you are truly a madman. Aren’t you afraid your cultivation will fall if you do this?” Elder Ma cried out in shock from afar.

“Don’t think that a few of you can stop me. This time, if I cannot take the inheritance fragment, then wait and see—this fragment, your Wuyang Martial Academy will never be able to keep!”

The words had barely fallen when a sweep of blood-colored light burst from Black Kui’s body. Under that blood light, the patterned formation vanished at once. The small banners in front of the four inner disciples snapped in two, and all four vomited mouthfuls of blood, collapsing unconscious on the spot.

Still not finished, the violent power within the blood light then erupted outward. Beneath such force, the great ship was as fragile as paper and was blown apart in an instant.

The moment the vessel shattered, everyone aboard was swept away by the tremendous force and flung into the air, falling toward the Drifting Fish River.

After that single strike, Black Kui’s aura rapidly fell. With a wave of his hand, black mist enveloped his body, and he fled into the distance. In only a short while, all that could be seen was a tiny black dot disappearing far away.

Yang Ze had been standing on the deck, but everything happened too suddenly. So suddenly that he had no time to defend himself. His body was hurled into the air and he was about to plunge into the river.

Just as he was about to crash into the water, he saw a broken plank falling nearby. With all his strength, he twisted his body in midair and stepped onto the plank with his right foot.

Borrowing that force, Yang Ze barely halted his downward momentum. His body sprang onward, using another plank for leverage, again and again, until at last, when he reached the river’s surface, most of the force had been dissipated. He landed on a plank floating atop the water.

Not daring to stand too high, Yang Ze crouched low upon the plank. Farther out on the Drifting Fish River, the battle still raged. Elder Ma and Elder Wen were fighting the Crimson Water Black Serpent together, sending waves that rose like mountains. He could struggle to keep from sinking, but that was his limit; there was no possibility of escape. He could only pray that he would not be swept away by the surging waves.

Yang Ze drew a deep breath. Listening to the thunderous roars coming from the center of the river, he pulled over another plank beside him and used it as an oar to row toward the shore.

That terrible explosion had blown everyone aboard in different directions. Over this river spanning dozens of li, with so many of them scattered upon the water, Yang Ze had no idea where the others had landed. No one could save him now. He could only rely on himself to flee.

He had no idea how far he had rowed when, some ten-odd zhang ahead, he suddenly saw with a soft splash a person emerge from beneath the water, grab hold of a floating plank, and climb up onto it.

That man was soaked through. Having finally seized a plank, he panted heavily and looked up at the sky, murmuring rapidly, “I’m not dead. I’m still alive.”

But before he had muttered more than a few words, he suddenly felt as though someone beside him was watching. Turning his head, his face went instantly as white as paper.

“Where there is a road to heaven you refuse to take, and with no gate to hell, you force your way in. Yang Hai, I never expected you to deliver yourself to my door.”

The person who had emerged from the river was none other than Yang Hai, and those words had come from Yang Ze.