Someone Wants You Dead

"Did our Sect Master really plan this far ahead?" Meng Jingzhou was thoroughly amazed. Could it be that Daoist Buyu went around provoking everyone in ordinary times just for today's battle? Lu Yang said faintly, "No, I think Master making enemies everywhere is simply just his personality." "That little thief Buyu made it to the Tribulation Transcendence stage?" The Emotionless Cult Body Integration cultivator above Lu Yang noticed the commotion over at the City Lord's Estate; clearly, he also held a grudge against Daoist Buyu. "You still have the spare attention to look at someone else?" Clan Head Jin's eyes were bloodshot. Fanning monstrous demonic flames, he opened his gaping maw and swallowed all the ghost shadows his opponent had summoned in a single gulp, refining them in his belly into subservient spirits for his own use. The Qiongqi Clan was a battle-born race. Once they entered combat, they focused solely on their opponent, paying no mind to the outside world. As the Immortal Fairy put it, they were just one-track minded. "Who's going to win?" Daoist Xiantian watched the sky above the City Lord's Estate with bated breath. Even during his time as a Body Integration cultivator, he had rarely witnessed a battle between Tribulation Transcendence cultivators. He never imagined that after staying in prison for only a few days, a battle of this caliber would erupt. *** Beneath Daoist Buyu's feet, the broad avenue of his Sword Dao unfurled once more. Countless sword phantoms sprang up from below, carrying earth-shattering killing intent. Beam after beam of sword light soared into the sky, endlessly shifting like soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes! The spirit swords breathed dazzling sword qi, razor-sharp, blinding, and soul-stirring. Su Moran's hair stood on end. Even before the sword qi reached him, his body felt a stinging pain, as though pierced by tens of thousands of needles. He raised his two giant battleaxes with all his might. Behind him, countless phantoms of shattered mountains manifested—every one of them cleaved apart by those very axes. "Five Mountains Splitter!" A continuous chain of mountain phantoms crashed down alongside the two battleaxes, as if heaven and earth were collapsing! The people of Ye City trembled in terror. If this strike landed on Ye City, the entire city would be reduced to ruins, leaving no survivors! Daoist Buyu sat with one leg crossed. Using his sword as a zither, he strummed the blade and sang out, his voice bold, uninhibited, and soul-stirring. Ten thousand swords chimed in unison, and sword qi surged into the heavens, churning the sky and earth and slicing the mountain phantoms to shreds! Lu Yang suddenly recalled his Third Senior Sister mentioning that she was skilled in music—and that she had learned it from their master. "Here, I establish a rule: [You are not permitted to call out your technique names]." This was the first time Daoist Buyu established a temporary rule in his capacity as a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator. Su Moran swung his dual axes and was about to shout his technique's name, only to be choked half to death by Buyu's rule. The matter constrained by Daoist Buyu's rule was very minor, which made its binding power extraordinarily potent. Moreover, Su Moran had earlier laid down two [rules] in quick succession to seal off Ye City, leaving him with no strength left to defy Daoist Buyu on the level of rules. "Don't go yelling technique names for no reason while fighting; it's bad for your throat—One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords!" Over ten thousand spirit sword phantoms flew from the broad avenue of his Sword Dao. Resonating with one another, their sword light fused, condensing into a single three-foot divine sword. "That's Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin!" Daoist Buyu had provoked him time and time again; even reciting the Mind Cleansing Incantation a hundred times in his heart did Su Moran no good, and his fury finally erupted. It was one thing to forbid him from shouting technique names, but Buyu shouted his own and deliberately called them wrong! "Getting senile and losing your wits? Why do you believe whatever I say?" Daoist Buyu looked at Su Moran in disgust. With this level, he could actually be a Vice Cult Master? Suddenly, just as the three-foot divine sword formed from ten thousand swords was about to pierce Su Moran, it abruptly detonated, turning back into ten thousand swords. Caught completely unprepared by this trick, Su Moran was riddled with sword holes from head to toe. "I already told you it was One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords. Why didn't you stay on guard?" Daoist Buyu laughed, his eyes brimming with mockery. Watching the battle from afar, Lu Yang thought silently to himself: *Master, these tricks of yours couldn't possibly be combat experience gained from sparring with Grandmaster and Master Jiesha, could they?* Over the past thousand-odd years, Su Moran had kept close tabs on Daoist Buyu's movements and fighting style. But Daoist Buyu's battle tactics were endlessly varied; it was impossible to discern a pattern or formulate a countermeasure purely through observation! The battle escalated rapidly. Sword light and axe shadows intertwined, sparks of fierce combat saturating the air. Daoist Buyu moved as lithely as a phantom. His longsword pulled ribbons of sword phantoms behind it, shifting from complexity to simplicity and back again, his techniques changing without end. The dual axes were heavy and powerful, swung like gusts of wind, combining offense and defense so tightly that not even water could seep through. Watching from the side, Wu Lei didn't dare interfere in a clash of this magnitude. With his cultivation base, suffering even a single stray blow would mean severe injury or death! Suddenly, Daoist Buyu caught a flaw. With a deft flick of his sword tip, an ingenious force pried the crossed battleaxes apart, laying bare Su Moran's chest. "Oh no!" Su Moran cursed inwardly, scrambling to reset his defensive posture. But this flaw had been methodically forced out step by step through Daoist Buyu's offensive. Having anticipated this moment all along, Buyu had long charged up his next strike—how could he possibly give Su Moran a chance to react? "Sword Opens Heaven's Gate!" The sharp sword slashed down like a swath of silk. The sky shook as boundless killing intent surged toward Su Moran! Back when he was at the late Body Integration stage, unleashing this technique had forced even the middle Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, Venerable Poxiao, to dodge. Now that he had ascended to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, the strike's power far surpassed anything before! The heavenly gate burst open, and a myriad-zhang ribbon of sword qi engulfed Su Moran. Suddenly, Su Moran reappeared at another spot. The death substitution talisman on his chest abruptly burst into flames, which meant he had just died once. "Sword Opens Heaven's Gate!" Daoist Buyu strode forward without a second thought, sending another sword strike at Su Moran, who had barely escaped with his life. The firmament quaked as a razor-sharp brilliance, resplendent as a rainbow, cleaved toward Su Moran! This time, Su Moran had no death substitution talisman left. The sword strike landed cleanly, cleaving his body in two! Circulating his profound arts and burning his essence blood, Su Moran reattached and healed his body. Though his flesh knit back together, his vitality had taken a devastating blow, and an obvious seam remained down the center of his torso. Desperate to survive, he fled toward the perimeter of Ye City with all his might— *Bang!* He slammed headfirst into the invisible wall surrounding Ye City. He had established a rule here earlier: [No one may leave Ye City]. "No one" included himself. Just as he prepared to revoke this rule, Daoist Buyu's voice rang out from behind him: "[You are not permitted to leave Ye City]." Because Su Moran had established two rules, Daoist Buyu possessed the authority to establish two rules of his own. He had held onto his second rule all this time, waiting precisely for this moment! "Wait—" Whatever else Su Moran wanted to say, Daoist Buyu didn't listen in the slightest. With a single thrust, he pierced through Su Moran's spiritual platform, stepped on his body, and plummeted from the sky, slamming him heavily into the ground. "Wait! Spare my life! We can go to the Monster City and have Supreme Zhutian use the rudimentary form of his Dao Fruit to turn me into your slave!" Su Moran shouted hastily. Daoist Buyu bared two rows of stark white teeth, which looked horrifyingly eerie in the dark. He shook his head gently. "Regrettably, I took a commission. Someone wants you dead." "Who? Who is it?! I can give you double—no, triple the benefits!" Daoist Buyu smiled, a smile devoid of warmth. "Over a thousand years ago, I led people from the Dao Seeking Sect and the imperial court to wipe out your Emotionless Cult's strongholds. We rescued quite a few people: men, women, young, and old. Scores of them had been tortured beyond human recognition by your cult. "The moment they saw me, they wept and wept, begging me that I must kill every last person from the Emotionless Cult. "Now then, Grand Cult Master Su, what kind of benefits are you planning to give me to make those people forget their hatred for your Emotionless Cult?"