The sudden turn of events drew involuntary cries of astonishment from many of the onlookers!
Chen Hao had maintained the upper hand throughout the duel, and just when Zhou Wuji seemed in dire straits, no one could have anticipated the dramatic reversal: Chen Hao was decapitated by Zhou Wuji in a single sword strike.
Wu'ai, an accomplished swordsman himself, was left dumbfounded. He had sparred with Zhou Wuji before, forced back step after step by Zhou Wuji's swift blade without finding an opening to counter. He had harbored a lingering resentment over that loss ever since.
Only now, beholding Zhou Wuji's swordfall like night rain, with sword qi saturating Chen Hao before the blade even arrived, did he realize how fathomless and profound that swordplay truly was.
Wu'ai suddenly understood. The gulf between him and Zhou Wuji in the art of the sword was simply too vast. Seeking Zhou Wuji out to spar had been nothing less than bringing humiliation upon himself!
At this moment, no one paid any mind to the insignificant Wu'ai. All eyes were fixed squarely on Zhou Wuji.
The members of the Five Dragons Gang were first stunned, then consumed by fury.
Many drew sabers and swords, preparing to rush forward and swarm Zhou Wuji.
The Daoists from the Branch Abbey reacted in turn, rising one after another as they formed hand seals and chanted incantations, bracing for a clash.
Fierce as the gang members' reaction was, without orders from their gang leader, they dared not act rashly after all, reduced to baring their teeth and shouting vitriolic curses.
Zhang Shiheng paid no heed to the stirring between the two factions. His eyes held only admiration—that sword strike had truly been exquisite.
Chen Dalu, however, seeing his top expert slain, flew into a rage.
He had come here precisely to cross swords with Zhiyuan, which was why he had proposed the sword duel right off the bat.
He had never imagined Zhou Wuji's swordplay would be so brilliant, turning what was supposed to be a clever scheme into an offering of Chen Hao's head.
Chen Dalu could endure it no longer. He knew ordering his men forward would accomplish nothing; it was far better for him to strike with ruthless finality himself and wipe out Zhou Wuji in a single move.
Once he had vented this burning fury, it would not be too late to settle things with Zhiyuan.
True qi surged from Chen Dalu's sea of qi as he prepared to strike, but Zhiyuan, seated on the opposite side, raised a finger toward him. Golden light rolled forth from his fingertip like a rising tide, engulfing Chen Dalu completely.
Zhang Shiheng, seated between them, was shoved back by the expanding golden radiance and had no choice but to retreat.
His expression shifting slightly, Zhang Shiheng looked toward Zhiyuan and asked in a low voice, "Abbot, what is the meaning of this?"
"Commander, please do not intervene in this matter. I will explain everything shortly."
Zhiyuan had not consulted Zhang Shiheng beforehand; he did not trust him.
At this juncture, he had even less desire to explain, nor was there any need.
Trading blows with Chen Dalu suited Zhang Shiheng's interests perfectly. Moreover, Zhang Shiheng did not care in the slightest whether Chen Dalu lived or died.
If Zhang Shiheng could seize upon some fault of his through this clash, he could report it to the imperial court and easily suppress Zhiyuan's position as abbot using imperial authority.
Zhiyuan had calculated Zhang Shiheng's selfish motives to the letter, and he seized the opening of Chen Dalu's provocation to drop all pretenses.
With ironclad proof of Chen Dalu's atrocities in hand, the abbey had nothing to fear from Zhang Shiheng filing charges.
Trapped under the golden light, Chen Dalu continuously surged his sea of qi to unleash Five Elements true qi, yet he could not break free of the golden light's suppression no matter how hard he tried.
The golden radiance was dense as water, viscous as glue, and heavy as a mountain.
Worse still, the golden light possessed the power to cleanse all evil spirits and filth, relentlessly seeping into his body and violently provoking the Five Dragons mother Gu at his chest.
"The Golden Light Incantation!"
Chen Dalu recognized the incantation; he had seen countless Daoists cast it.
He knew it was a low-rank incantation, something virtually every Daoist knew.
Never had he imagined a low-rank Golden Light Incantation could possess such formidable might—forcefully suppressing the rank six true qi he had cultivated, until even his Five Dragons mother Gu could not endure its power.
Chen Dalu had long heard of Zhiyuan's renown and knew he was the only rank five cultivator in Yunyang Prefecture.
Yet he had always believed that as a rank six martial artist who possessed a Five Dragons Gu as a natal Gu, he could also count as a rank six cultivator. Facing Zhiyuan, he was confident he would never be at a disadvantage.
He never expected to be suppressed by Zhiyuan's Golden Light Incantation the very instant they engaged.
Though startled, Chen Dalu was not afraid. Even if the Golden Light Incantation could hold him down temporarily, it could not truly harm him.
Although the Golden Light Incantation Zhiyuan cast enveloped only Chen Dalu, its magnificent presence blazed like a midday sun, illuminating the third floor of Yunjiang Tower with dazzling brilliance.
Dazzled by the glare, the onlookers grew dizzy and panicked.
The Daoists from the Branch Abbey were both surprised and overjoyed. Their abbot, Zhiyuan, had intervened, and with a single move, he had subdued the entire floor!
However, most of them had never seen Zhiyuan fight before, so watching their abbot employ the Golden Light Incantation caught them completely off guard.
What surprised them even more was that the formidable leader of the Five Dragons Gang was actually suppressed by a mere Golden Light Incantation.
Naturally, the experts of Yunyang Prefecture had an informal ranking circulating among them.
As a battalion commander of the Pacification Office and a rank five martial artist, Zhang Shiheng was widely acknowledged as Yunyang Prefecture's number one expert.
Of course, this consensus was partly due to the immense influence of the Zhang family, which reached into every corner and made Zhang Shiheng's name the most renowned.
Abbot Zhiyuan of Yunlong Branch Abbey and Abbot Xinjue of Golden Leaf Temple were both rank five cultivators, and they were generally recognized as tied for second place.
Beneath them was Chen Dalu, leader of the Five Dragons Gang—a rank six martial artist and Gu master commanding tens of thousands of gang members.
A figure of such standing was thought to be scarcely inferior to Zhiyuan and Xinjue.
Such rankings had no concrete basis in reality, of course.
After all, experts of this echelon rarely made a move, and it was even less likely for them to fight each other to determine who was superior.
Chen Dalu and his gang members had never acknowledged this hierarchy.
They believed Zhiyuan was decrepit with age and a mere cultivator with negligible attainments in martial arts; in a direct, head-on brawl, he would surely crumble at the first blow.
Only now did everyone witness the formidable power of Zhiyuan as a rank five Master of Refinement.
In Zhiyuan's hands, the low-rank Golden Light Incantation was like a sun hanging high in the sky—magnificent, upright, and glorious beyond measure.
Cowed by the golden light, the Five Dragons Gang members were thrown into disarray, completely at a loss for what to do.
Zhou Wuji was the most astonished of all. Having cultivated the Golden Light Incantation to Great Accomplishment, he had assumed his mastery of it surpassed everyone else in the Branch Abbey.
After all, the Golden Light Incantation was of a very low rank, accessible to anyone at rank eight Qi Ingestion.
Accomplished cultivators would not invest much effort into such an elementary incantation.
As for low-rank cultivators whose cultivation was insufficient, even a lifetime of bitter practice would yield little achievement.
Zhou Wuji truly struggled to fathom how Abbot Zhiyuan, a dignified rank five Master of Refinement with access to countless high-rank arts, could hone a low-rank Golden Light Incantation to such extraordinary perfection.
Enveloped in layers of golden radiance, Chen Dalu was like a fly trapped in amber resin; no matter how he struggled and resisted, he could not break free of the golden bonds.
Even the iron staff in Chen Dalu's hand slipped from his grip, clattering to the floor.
To completely suppress a rank six martial artist in a frontal contest—compared to Zhiyuan's, Zhou Wuji's Golden Light Incantation truly was as a firefly to the bright moon, an insurmountable disparity.
Even if he cultivated the incantation to Grand Perfection, it could never display such overwhelming divine might.
Zhou Wuji was deeply curious: why was Zhiyuan's Golden Light Incantation so formidable?
He reflected Zhiyuan through his Heart Mirror, observing a potent surge of magic power inside the abbot's sleeves, and deeper within his body, the faint circulation and convergence of five wondrous currents of magic power.
*It's the Five Viscera Temple!* Zhou Wuji suddenly realized. Opening the Heart Aperture allowed one to advance to rank five; reaching the culmination of rank five meant unblocking the acupoints of the five viscera and visualizing the Five Elements deities within them.
With the five deities condensed within the five viscera, it served as a portable, rudimentary altar for a cultivator.
Among the common folk, there was a colloquial term for this: the Five Viscera Temple.
The phrase had spread so widely that over time it simply became a popular euphemism for one's internal organs, losing its original esoteric meaning.
Zhou Wuji had only read about the Five Viscera Temple in ancient scriptures; he had never expected Abbot Zhiyuan's cultivation to be so profound as to have actually forged the Five Viscera and Five Deities.
Thus, Abbot Zhiyuan had no need for a ritual altar; his spells operated as though aided by gods. Coupled with the powerful magic implement in his hand, he had subdued Chen Dalu the moment he struck.
Rank five cultivation developed to this degree already exhibited miraculous faculties, capable of effortlessly suppressing a martial artist one rank lower even in direct combat.
Just as Zhou Wuji was marvelling at this, the chest of the headless Chen Hao suddenly split open, and a foot-long, slender crimson snake shot out.
The intense golden light filling the third floor struck the crimson snake like fire, roasting it until green smoke hissed from its body. Screeching shrilly, it slithered in frantic circles, unsure where to flee.
A flash of sword light flared, and the mother Gu shattered under the blade, disintegrating into specks of ash.
Zhou Wuji glanced at the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment to confirm that both Chen Hao and the Red Dragon Gu were thoroughly dead, then turned his gaze toward the Five Dragons Gang.
They gripped their blades with ferocious scowls, but the glare of the Golden Light Incantation forced them to squint, leaving them looking somewhat disheveled.
Still, even the weakest among them was at rank eight, and they were all surging their qi and blood to muster their strength.
Zhiyuan's Golden Light Incantation was aimed primarily at Chen Dalu and did not directly suppress the rank and file.
Having witnessed the horrific blood sacrifice in the mystic realm, Zhou Wuji no longer regarded the Five Dragons Gang as fellow human beings.
The contest between Zhiyuan and Chen Dalu was of too high a level for him to meddle in.
However, he was confident he could sweep aside these rank seven and rank eight fighters in one fell swoop.
Channeling the Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation, Zhou Wuji swept his hand, cloaking himself in azure vestments of light shimmering with seven stars.
His movement was so swift that outsiders could not tell whether he was casting an incantation or activating a talisman.
Facing so many gang experts, Zhou Wuji dared not be careless; who knew what venomous concealed weapons or Gu insects they had up their sleeves?
With the Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation protecting him, his safety was firmly assured.
Clad in the azure light, Zhou Wuji gripped his sword and charged straight into the midst of the gang fighters.
A rank seven expert leading the group reacted instantly; seeing Zhou Wuji's azure figure flash into view, he raised his blade and slashed without hesitation.
As a rank seven martial artist whose internal and external strength were refined into one, the four-foot sword in his grip carried over a thousand jin of force, the blade shrieking shrilly as it cleaved the air.
The other gang experts were seasoned combatants; though shaken by the golden light, the moment they saw Zhou Wuji approaching with drawn blade, they responded rapidly.
Flanking him, one fighter thrust forward with a short spear while another swept a long saber across.
Accustomed to fighting side by side, they coordinated instinctively despite having no time to confer.
Though the three strikes arrived in staggered succession, each posed a serious threat.
Zhou Wuji flicked the Seven Stars Sword in his hand, branching it into dozens of sword lights—employing the Night Rain Sword, renowned for its exquisitely subtle variations.
A gentle night rain fell, dreamlike and illusory, each drop permeating mountains and rivers, enfolding heaven and earth.
Though the rank seven expert's furious cleave carried tremendous momentum, the Seven Stars Sword tapped lightly against the spine of his blade. Guided by its dense sword qi, his sword drifted uncontrollably to the side.
By the time the rank seven expert sensed danger, his weapon was completely out of control.
Aware that experts like Zhang Shiheng were watching, Zhou Wuji concealed both his true qi rank and his body's formidable physical strength.
Even so, the shifting nuances of the Night Rain Sword's qi were so subtle, and with his Heart Mirror clearly illuminating everything inside and out, the flow of sword intent within the qi decided the match in a single stroke.
Seizing the opening, Zhou Wuji glided forward with a light tap of the Seven Stars Sword; the tip pierced clean through the rank seven expert's throat and severed his spine.
The rank seven expert's eyes bulged wide, but with his spine, blood vessels, and windpipe severed, though death had not claimed him instantly, he lacked even the strength to cry out.
Having dispatched the rank seven expert with one strike, Zhou Wuji delivered another tap of the Seven Stars Sword. The saber-wielder on his left fared even worse, unable to offer any reaction before the Night Rain Sword pierced through his throat.
In the blink of an eye, the two most dangerous fighters had fallen dead.
The remaining gang experts were horrified. Those who had been rushing forward to support skidded to a halt, and some even scrambled backward in panic.
Zhou Wuji gave them no chance. The Seven Stars Sword shifted again, puncturing the throat of the spearfighter on the other side, before he charged sword-first into the crowd.
Unfurling the dense, ethereal, and elusive Night Rain Sword, threads and wisps of sword light flickered into existence and vanished; whether the gang members retreated or advanced, each met instantaneous death beneath the flashing blade...
Watching Zhou Wuji cut down one gang expert after another, Zhang Shiheng, Yunyang Prefecture's number one expert, felt his brow furrow with a touch of gravity.
To commit blatant slaughter right in front of him, Zhou Wuji was bold indeed. And to slay so many experts single-handedly, his swordplay was formidable beyond doubt.
In his assessment, the boy's swordcraft already possessed an ethereal harmony where qi followed the blade and the blade obeyed the mind. In terms of pure sword technique, it was scarcely inferior to his own...
The other experts of the Pacification Office were even more shocked. Zhiyuan fighting Chen Dalu was one thing, but Zhou Wuji had actually seized the moment to massacre the Five Dragons Gang fighters!
They all looked to Zhang Shiheng, but the commander said nothing, and without orders, they dared not move.
Still, the fact that not a single gang expert could withstand a single blow from Zhou Wuji chilled the Pacification Office men to the bone—this handsome young Daoist was truly ruthless and vicious!
Centurion Zhang Yunfeng could hardly conceal the shock plastered across his face.
Zhou Wuji's blade showed no mercy, yet his footwork was so light and his sword light so ethereal that he seemed almost to ride the wind like an immortal...
The more he watched, the more unnerved he became; against such exquisite swordsmanship, he feared he could not last even three exchanges.
For the Branch Abbey to possess such a prodigy was immense trouble for the Zhang family and for himself.
Then Zhang Yunfeng's shock gave way to delight. Killing an opponent during a duel was one thing, but committing such an open slaughter in public view—this kid was dead!
While outsiders could look on as spectators, Chen Dalu's eyes bulged with rage as he watched his experts being slaughtered wholesale.
Those accompanying him to the banquet were the cream of the gang, the most vital and capable backbone of the Five Dragons Gang.
With Zhou Wuji butchering them down to the last man, half the Five Dragons Gang was virtually destroyed in an instant!
Chen Dalu had allowed himself to be suppressed by Zhiyuan's Golden Light Incantation because he felt that, powerful though it was, it posed no mortal threat to him.
He had been willing to bide his time, exhausting Zhiyuan's magic power before finding a chance to counterattack.
He had never imagined Zhou Wuji would be so ruthless, nor the Branch Abbey so vicious!
This wasn't a banquet or peace talks—it was an ambush aimed straight at his neck!
Realizing this, Chen Dalu held back no longer.
In his sea of consciousness arose the divine form of the Five Dragons Gods: a great serpent cloaked in five colors—black, white, red, azure, and yellow.
The Five Dragons Divine Method was both a Gu technique and martial arts. The two paths could be cultivated in tandem, even complementing and enhancing one another, which was the primary reason the Five Dragons Gang had risen so rapidly.
Chen Dalu nurtured the Five Dragons mother Gu at his heart, making it easier for him to visualize the divine form of the Five Dragons and cultivate Five Elements true qi.
Visualizing the divine form focused his consciousness to an intense degree, establishing an esoteric resonance with his internal true qi and awakening the power of the Five Dragons mother Gu.
Coiled around his heart, the Five Dragons mother Gu drove it to beat frantically, instantly doubling his qi and blood under its empowerment.
The Five Elements true qi in his sea of qi surged like a roaring ocean, fueled by the aroused qi and blood.
In a breath, Chen Dalu's dark skin flushed purplish-red, and his frame swelled two sizes larger. A pronounced bulge even thrust up between his eyebrows, as if something were trying to bore its way out.
Erupting with power, Chen Dalu spread his arms, ripping a seam through the viscous, heavy golden light, and stomped the floor with explosive force.
This move, "Splitting Mountains and Cleaving the Earth," was the most ferocious technique in the Five Dragons Divine Method, erupting every muscle, bone, and strand of true qi throughout his entire body in unison.
With that single stomp, the thick floorboards of the third floor shattered with a deafening boom. Amid showering splinters, the golden light—previously solid as iron—violently rippled with shockwaves, and the entirety of Yunjiang Tower trembled and shook...
Such awe-inspiring might made the Daoists of the Branch Abbey turn pale.
Even Zhou Wuji felt his heart clench. *The old beast is ferocious. In a head-on clash, I definitely wouldn't stand a chance!*
Chapter 101