Free Web NovelChapter 327: Chapter 56: A Quick Battle
Jiangcun was clearly tempted by Wang Ping’s proposal, but such a decision was not his to make, so he could only hurry away.
Wang Ping, however, did not leave. He’d sensed a familiar aura the moment Yun Que and Jiangcun entered the courtyard. Not long after Jiangcun departed, Wang Ping’s gaze shifted to the space beside the Dongmei tree, where a figure appeared, descending in a soft, white stream of light.
It was the mysterious Guan Xi!
"You’ve made me search high and low for you, Fellow Daoist."
Guan Xi was dressed in a thick, padded cotton coat, cut in the short style of the Northwest Region. It gave him an air of competence that replaced some of his former gentle, scholarly demeanor.
"What’s your objective?" Wang Ping asked.
"Everything we members of the Jimin Association do is for the Saint’s will. Of course, we’re allowed to handle some private matters now and then, like this time." Guan Xi glanced at Yu Lian on a branch of the Dongmei tree, then slowly walked toward the pavilion where Wang Ping was.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. We get along quite well, Fellow Daoist. You helped me last time, so I have to repay the favor."
"Last time was mutually beneficial."
Wang Ping didn’t have a bad impression of Guan Xi, but he was wary of an organization like the Jimin Association. He couldn’t imagine what kind of group could make Daoist Dan Chen willingly walk to his death.
"Have you considered, Fellow Daoist? Since I’ve found you, others are likely on their way. Instead of wasting time arguing with me, you’d be better off leaving with me now!"
Wang Ping was indeed worried about this. He looked Guan Xi up and down, his expression full of distrust. "With you?"
"The world falling into chaos is now inevitable. The rules of the Daoist Scripture Hall are nothing but a piece of scrap paper..."
As Guan Xi spoke, he pointed toward the Upper City District.
An ear-piercing sound of something tearing through the air immediately followed!
Beneath the clouds, a vortex of golden light formed. From its center, a long saber wreathed in flames shot out like a brilliant meteor and vanished. Immediately after, a mansion in the Upper City District began to collapse and crumble, and a massive Artifact Cultivation Array flickered in and out of existence among the ruins.
As the sound of clashing metal echoed, another pillar of flame soared into the sky, joining the battle. It was an Artifact Cultivator and a Fire Cultivator ganging up on someone.
While the pillar of flame rose, several other figures streaked across the sky, but they were immediately intercepted by others.
’I’m horrified,’ Wang Ping thought. In the two hundred years since the Yongming Port incident, he hadn’t encountered anything that could shock him like this!
"Anything you can think of, your assassins can think of too. Once they tracked down the assassin’s hiding place, this was inevitable. Divine authority? With order collapsing, divine authority is nothing but a joke!"
Guan Xi said calmly, "The person being attacked is named Xia Ji. He’s a friend of Fellow Daoist Jiang. He must have known your current location, and it’s obvious he’s not going to survive. You’ve just had an arm cut off!"
Yu Lian, who had been on the Dongmei branch, had already returned to Wang Ping’s side. Hearing Guan Xi’s words, she immediately dove into Wang Ping’s sleeve. By now, the golden light under the clouds had been scattered by the several figures locked in chaotic battle.
Among the fighting figures, Wang Ping saw Jiangcun. His opponent was a Taiyan Cultivator. Farther away, a great demon, likely from the Court’s Demon Suppression Department, was battling an Earth Cultivator, while another Fire Cultivator watched on coldly!
The aftershocks of their battle didn’t damage Shangjing City because a powerful figure from the Daoist Scripture Hall had activated a Protective Barrier, yet no one came out to stop the fight.
"Phoenix Tower, West Garden!"
Four words echoed from deep within the just-destroyed mansion in the Upper City District. As the Artifact Cultivation Array expanded, the long saber that had flashed across the sky carved a fiery red arc toward Wang Ping’s location!
CLANG!
A gigantic golden palm materialized out of thin air as if a Celestial God had descended, intercepting the attacking long saber.
It was a Divine Technique!
After blocking the long saber, the golden palm streaked across the sky in a blaze of brilliant gold. Then, an invisible pressure descended from above, turning a third of the Upper City District to dust. The two cultivators who had attacked the Upper City District were buried in the dust, falling completely silent.
"I didn’t expect the Emperor to act personally!"
Because time was short, Guan Xi communicated directly with Wang Ping via his Primordial Spirit. "Now’s the perfect time. Are you going to fight or not? Don’t worry, I’ll back you up. There’s no way you’ll die."
’They’re clearly coming for me.’ Wang Ping noticed two more figures rising on the distant horizon—two Gold Cultivators. Along with the Fire Cultivator who had been watching the show, they were forming an encirclement and closing in on him.
In a flash, Wang Ping made his decision.
He had been hiding for the past few days, and it had left him incredibly frustrated. Since things had already blown up, he might as well make it an even bigger mess and see just who his future enemies were!
His answer to Guan Xi was a slaughter array formed from forty-nine "Iron Bamboo Swords." Their target was the Taiyan Cultivator fighting Jiangcun. This Taiyan Cultivator clearly followed a different cultivation path from Wang Ping; facing the incoming slaughter array, he directly used a Luck-Borrowing Talisman to conjure several hundred talismans.
But just as he was about to activate the talismans, the spell in Jiangcun’s hands shifted rapidly. The area several li in front of him seemed to become a different space, its color appearing distinctly heavier than the surroundings.
The Taiyan Cultivator was caught within this space. He had been about to activate his talismans, but the Armor Talismans around his body began to crumble at a visible rate. His expression changed drastically as he threw out a fixed array and then tossed out a Transfer Talisman, his figure instantly crossing the space Jiangcun had altered.
At that very moment, an unbearable wave of heat washed over the space Jiangcun had altered. He was actually using superheated steam that even the Inspiration Realm could not observe!
The instant the Taiyan Cultivator used the Transfer Talisman, Wang Ping pinpointed his destination. While summoning hundreds of talisman soldiers to block the three approaching cultivators, he transformed into a streak of light, landed where the Taiyan Cultivator appeared, and unleashed the Purgatory Banner with maximum speed.
"Hm?"
The Taiyan Cultivator had just reappeared when his Primordial Spirit was trapped by the prison space created by the Purgatory Banner, leaving it momentarily stunned. The spell in Wang Ping’s hands changed, and two "Iron Bamboo Swords" shot forward, piercing the Taiyan Cultivator’s Spirit Body through the head and chest. He then seized the consciousness of a Spiritual Creature he had imprisoned earlier and used its frantic memories to awaken the Spirit Veins within the Taiyan Cultivator’s body.
"Fall back, quickly!"
The illusory Primordial Spirit of Tongyu Taoist gave the reminder as he retracted the Purgatory Banner.
Wang Ping hadn’t sensed any danger, but he acted without hesitation. He grabbed the Purgatory Banner, signaled to Jiangcun in the distance, and then produced the Pocket World Mirror. Using the Transfer Talisman constructed within the mirror’s surface, he pulled himself one li away. Before he teleported, he even snatched the storage pouch from the Taiyan Cultivator’s body.
The moment Wang Ping vanished, the Taiyan Cultivator’s Spirit Body had already turned black. A foul stench emanated from it as its body twisted and deformed, turning into a gooey, unknown substance in the blink of an eye.
’I’m a little surprised,’ Wang Ping thought, slightly stunned. ’I can’t believe this guy’s mental fortitude was so poor. I just casually provoked him with a low-level True Spirit, and his humanity was completely devoured!’
At that exact moment, the three encircling cultivators had already crushed the hundreds of soldiers Wang Ping had created with talismans. However, Jiangcun was now free and could help him share the pressure.
Wang Ping’s gaze shifted from the distorted Taiyan Cultivator to one of the approaching Fire Cultivators. ’Yue Ziyu’s red crystal...’ he thought.
"Aaaargh!"
A bloodcurdling scream rang out. A stream of golden light, formed by a Divine Technique, was assimilating the distorted Taiyan Cultivator.
