Chapter Thirty-Three: The Strife Among the Three Sects
Page after page, as they traveled straight ahead, Li Xiuye grew visibly excited. Especially along the way, when she saw cultivators racing in from all directions, her exhilaration was all the more apparent.
Su Yizhao shook his head inwardly. He had not expected that, deep down, Li Xiuye was such a warlike soul.
Of course, witnessing these cultivators dashing toward Lisha City, even his own blood began to boil uncontrollably.
Each one of them possessed a profound aura and a hardened expression—a single glance revealed them to be warriors used to living on the edge of life and death. What was more, he could not see through the cultivation of any of those he passed; this meant that all were at least at the Six Spirits Realm and above.
The Hall of Profound Battle, leading the vanguard—the disciples of the Profound Battle Hall were truly the very foundation of the Profound Qi Sect.
Though Su Yizhao had mentally prepared himself, when he and Li Xiuye reached the outskirts of Lisha City, he was still stunned by the dense, black mass overhead.
Above the city, within a thousand miles, more than ten thousand cultivators floated in neat formation.
Dark clouds gathered, murderous intent soared skyward!
All of them were Six Spirits Realm and higher!
Su Yizhao’s heart pounded wildly in his chest.
Xuan Wujie and the others had already arrived and were watching him silently.
He hurried forward, cupping his hands and said, “Sect Master, it’s in the southwest, deep within the sea. Please, follow me!”
Xuan Wujie did not respond, but his gaze signaled Su Yizhao to lead the way.
With Li Xiuye in tow, Su Yizhao flew on ahead. Behind him surged a mighty host of more than ten thousand cultivators, their murderous aura like a tidal wave.
An hour later, all hovered in the sky above an endless expanse of deep ocean.
Suddenly, Xuan Wujie and others frowned slightly and looked back over their shoulders.
From due north, another black tide of cultivators swept toward them.
At the same time, from the west, an equally dense group approached at high speed.
“Northern Soul, Western Body, Southern Qi—the three great sects. Three hundred years, and now we meet again in such a way!” Xuan Wujie murmured softly.
Su Yizhao’s heart stirred.
This was but the southwest frontier of the continent: to the north, the Profound Soul Sect; to the west, the Profound Body Sect; to the south, the Profound Qi Sect; but what of the east?
As the two groups drew near, the sea breeze grew sluggish, and the atmosphere thickened with tension.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two parties halted.
The three sects formed a triangle, each floating ten miles apart above the sea.
Su Yizhao shifted slightly, blocking Li Xiuye behind him.
Stunned!
He had thought the disciples of the Profound Battle Hall were already formidable and disciplined, yet was surprised to find the other two groups were no less so.
In his spiritual perception, the cultivators of the Profound Soul Sect to the north were all at the Six Spirits Realm, their eyes deep and magnetic, making one reluctant to look too long.
The Profound Body Sect’s disciples to the south were all tall, their bodies like iron, their fierce presence evident in their very forms.
“If we’d mined day and night for ten days straight, we’d now be holding spirit stones in our hands and already have the upper hand!” Xuan Wujie said with resignation. “What a disastrous team!”
Su Yizhao shrank back slightly, not daring to reply.
“Baizhan Kong, Qu Tiancheng—fellow Daoists, enough with the words. Shall we start with a brawl, or first go investigate?” Xuan Wujie’s profound qi stirred, whipping waves on the sea below.
“Three hundred years since we last met—let’s see if you’re still worthy of the title!”
“Indeed!”
Xuan Wujie’s expression hardened. He barked, “Then let’s begin!”
Swish!
Three figures shot straight into the clouds.
All eyes turned upward. In an instant, the clouds churned, and the screech of clashing weapons rang out from on high.
So they would fight without a word of warning?
Su Yizhao was astonished.
“Profound Battle Hall disciples, prepare!” At that moment, a sharp pain pierced his ears as he saw over ten thousand disciples simultaneously summon their flying swords.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
“The Qian Division attacks, the Kun Division defends! Kill!”
“Kill!”
With a deafening roar, more than ten thousand disciples unleashed their swords, which turned into streams of light and shot forth.
The myriad flying swords split and multiplied—one became ten, ten became a hundred—until the entire sky was filled with swords.
The void twisted, and sword intent pressed down like a mountain.
“Soul Shield, rise!”
“Greatsword Shield, defend!”
Su Yizhao focused, seeing disciples of the Profound Soul Sect form intricate hand seals. At once, a transparent ripple appeared, blocking the rain of swords.
The Profound Body Sect’s disciples raised their giant swords overhead. In an instant, more than ten thousand swords fused into a single, colossal blade, blocking the onslaught.
Now, the storm of flying swords crashed down.
Puff, puff…
The swords struck the transparent ripples with a powerless thud.
Clang, clang, clang…
When they hit the massive sword, sparks flew and the swords rebounded.
A hundred feet below, the sea shattered!
Within thirty miles, gales howled wild!
Su Yizhao’s mind reeled—he felt Li Xiuye pulling him gently backward.
“Soul Pierce! Break!”
All at once, more than ten thousand disciples of the Profound Soul Sect shouted in unison, “Break!”
Ripples appeared in the void, and formless attacks swept forth in an instant.
“Heaven-Cleaving Greatsword! Slay!”
“Slay!”
The colossal sword rose and came crashing down from the sky.
“Flying Swords Array! Defend!”
As the void seemed on the verge of collapse, Su Yizhao grabbed Li Xiuye and drew her closer to the Profound Battle Hall’s disciples.
The flying swords shot back, assembling in the sky with profound precision.
A shield formed by tens of thousands of flying swords arched above the group.
“Rotate and cut!”
More than ten thousand disciples twisted their fingers, and the swords began to spin at lightning speed.
A harsh, grating sound tore through the air as the soul attacks arrived silently.
The colossal sword drew closer, then crashed down ferociously.
Clang!
Su Yizhao felt a sharp pain in his heart as a crushing force bore down from above, threatening to send him plummeting.
He clung tightly to Li Xiuye, unleashing all the profound qi he possessed just to steady himself. Even so, pain seared his ears and a warm trickle flowed down the side of his face.
Boom!
In the depths a hundred feet below, the ocean split in silence, revealing a deep, yawning trench.
Crash!
The sea roiled, and waves a hundred feet high surged and scattered, slowly filling the chasm.
The sky went silent once more.
After that single exchange, the three sides were evenly matched; they stopped probing and hovered in quiet confrontation.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three figures descended from the heavens. As everyone looked up, the clouds above were torn asunder, revealing a field of brilliant blue sky.
Holding his breath, Su Yizhao fixed his gaze on Xuan Wujie’s back.
He saw the man’s chest rise and fall slightly, his left hand folded behind him, a trickle of fresh blood slipping from his sleeve, running over the back of his hand and congealing on his forefinger.
He was injured?
Su Yizhao tensed all over.
The other cultivators noticed as well, their faces turning grave.
“Xuan Wujie, not such a pleasant experience, is it?”
Xuan Wujie straightened, snorted coldly, and replied, “Hmph! Baizhan Kong, you’re not much better off yourself!”
In his spiritual perception, Su Yizhao saw that at the front of the Profound Soul Sect’s group, a well-built middle-aged male cultivator’s expression shifted. He clutched his waist with his left hand, blood seeping through his fingers.
As for the Profound Body Sect, their burly leader gripped his enormous sword, blood at the corner of his mouth.
All three had suffered!
“This is no place for a full-scale battle. Should we draw the attention of the demon cultivators, none of us will benefit!” The deep voice of Qu Tiancheng from the Profound Body Sect echoed out.
Xuan Wujie turned toward him, “Daoist Qu, do you have a suggestion?”
“One champion from each sect—a three-way melee. Win a round and your sect mines for a day, but the victor must remain until defeated!”
Baizhan Kong declared, “The Profound Soul Sect agrees!”
“This spirit stone lode was discovered by disciples of all three sects at the same time. If they’d slain each other back then, this wouldn’t have happened. I propose the contest begins with those three!”
Su Yizhao clenched his right fist.
“Agreed!”
“Agreed!”