Chapter 344: Opportunities Await
They were all quite cautious and did not act rashly.
His plan to take them down one by one had failed.
Furthermore, the array disk he had activated wasn’t particularly powerful. After all, the assassins who had tried to kill him before had casually wielded several such disks.
If this dragged on, the Golden Core cultivators from the Free and Unfettered Sect would undoubtedly be able to easily break the array.
Then he would be facing the six of them in a direct confrontation.
“Should I just activate Bloodthirst?” Su Jingzhen worried.
“Even with Bloodthirst’s boost, can I take down all six of them?”
That was his only concern. If he couldn’t defeat the six Golden Core cultivators within the duration of Bloodthirst’s enhancement, he would become a sitting duck.He knew Luo Yuebai had used all her strength to fight off the two Golden Core cultivators.
As for Zhao Tianming and the other Spiritual Medicine Sect alchemists, their combat abilities were already weak.
Moreover, they had all suffered varying degrees of injury under Hong Seng’s oppressive aura, making them even less reliable.
Forcing them to come would only be a suicide mission.
Therefore, in Su Jingzhen’s eyes, their only hope lay with Shen Yifeng.
But the old man was strolling around as if in a leisurely garden, showing no intention of rushing the fight.
Su Jingzhen would never be reckless in a life-or-death battle.
He always made his decisions after careful consideration.
However, at this moment, he couldn’t think of any other means to break the stalemate quickly.
After all, four of the six men were at the Golden Core late stage.
If all six were at the Golden Core early stage, he wouldn’t hesitate to activate Bloodthirst.
During the short duration of Bloodthirst’s enhancement, he was confident he could kill all six.
But there were no ifs.
He searched his storage ring. Besides a few low-grade array disks and a handful of Foundation Establishment stage talismans, the rest were various types of pills and herbs.
The black jade bottle held another drop of North Sea Dragon’s blood, but Su Jingzhen quickly dismissed the idea. Consuming it now wouldn’t be any better than activating Bloodthirst.
“Forget it, let’s just try it. I won’t be caught in their encirclement until they find and destroy my array.”
Muttering to himself, Su Jingzhen activated his body techniques. He suppressed his aura and movements to the fullest, moving towards the six Free and Unfettered Sect Golden Core cultivators.
However, the moment Su Jingzhen got within a zhang of them, they immediately sensed his presence.
Without hesitation, their flying swords shot towards the darkness where Su Jingzhen stood.
“Clang clang clang…”
The sound of metal clashing echoed again.
Su Jingzhen wildly swung his black brick, deflecting the incoming swords.
But Su Jingzhen’s body staggered back several steps within the dark killing array, his internal blood qi churning in disarray.
Four Golden Core late stage cultivators and two Golden Core mid-stage cultivators working together were as powerful as an average Nascent Soul cultivator.
His Flesh Body Golden Embryo was still struggling to withstand their combined might.
Moreover, the six cultivators were now acting as one, their offense and defense perfectly synchronized.
Even a genuine Nascent Soul early stage cultivator would have a hard time defeating them.
“I guess I was getting a little too cocky,”
Su Jingzhen muttered to himself, a simple self-critique of his recent behavior.
He had already made a decision in his heart. After this incident, he would have to keep a low profile. He needed to lay low for a while, at least until the Secret Repositories in his Dantian opened.
As his cultivation advanced, the enemies he faced became increasingly formidable.
While Su Jingzhen hesitated, the six Free and Unfettered Sect Golden Core cultivators were not idle. They had already locked onto the location of the dark killing array disk.
“Trivial tricks!”
The Golden Core late stage elder snorted coldly.
Six flying swords shot out simultaneously, striking the dark killing array disk maintaining the darkness.
The sword energy ripped through the disk, shattering it into dust.
At the same time, the darkness in front of them vanished instantly.
But before the six cultivators could lock onto Su Jingzhen, their vision changed again.
The space remained the same mysterious expanse, everything seemingly unchanged.
But a torrential downpour began inexplicably, obscuring their view of Su Jingzhen.
It was the very same formation that had trapped him during his encounter with the Butcher.
This formation was slightly less powerful than the dark killing array, but it would buy him some precious time.
Su Jingzhen stood amidst the downpour, still holding several similar array disks.
These were spoils of war from his encounter with the Butcher, and they are the items that hadn’t been particularly useful to him before. He had even considered trading them away, but now they proved surprisingly helpful.
With his current wealth and resources, even if all these disks were destroyed, he wouldn’t feel a pang of regret.
As long as they could buy him more time, that was their greatest value.
If Su Jingzhen’s Qi Refining cultivation was equal to his Body Refinement cultivation, he would have used the flying swords as concealed weapons to launch surprise attacks by now.
Unfortunately, his current blood qi wasn’t sufficient to support attacks beyond a zhang’s range.
So, this array disk was destined to offer him no opportunity to strike.
It would only buy him a minute at most.
The six Free and Unfettered Sect Golden Core cultivators launched their attack simultaneously once more.
The flying swords sliced through the air, shattering the array disk.
The cultivators’ vision returned to normal.
The six Free and Unfettered Sect Golden Core cultivators remained standing together.
“Master! You should hurry up.”
The moment the rain formation was broken, Su Jingzhen seized the opportunity and shouted towards Shen Yifeng in the distance.
In the next instant, he activated another array disk.
Without absolute certainty, he only wanted to use this method to hold them off.
Hearing his call, Shen Yifeng, who was facing Hong Seng, still had his hands behind his back.
Like strolling in the garden, he effortlessly parried Hong Sen’s relentless onslaught.
A hint of a smile appeared on his lips.
“What a good opportunity to hone your combat awareness and experience. Yet, you’re so intent on relying on this old man. Isn’t that shameful?”
Shen Yifeng shook his head and muttered to himself.
He made no move to heed Su Jingzhen’s cries for help.
“When will these youngsters understand the old man’s good intentions?”
As Shen Yifeng muttered these words, Hong Sen on the other side grew increasingly grave.
His heart pounded with mounting anxiety.
After fighting for so long, he had unleashed at least a dozen powerful spells.
Yet, each one was effortlessly defused by Shen Yifeng.
Every move Shen Yifeng made seemed to perfectly neutralize his attacks, as if he wasn’t willing to expend even a shred of extra energy.
Up to this point, Hong Sen hadn’t even managed to gauge Shen Yifeng’s true strength.
He, however, had already poured his entire being into the fight.
Panic welled up in Hong Sen’s chest. Could the gap between them really be this vast, considering they were both Nascent Soul cultivators of the middle stage?
Self-doubt began to creep in.
Hong Sen’s mind involuntarily drifted back to the terrifying legends surrounding Shen Yifeng from the Qingzhou region.
Regret gnawed at him.
He regretted that the Free and Unfettered Sect hadn’t sent more disciples, and he regretted challenging Shen Yifeng in a one-on-one duel.
His gaze then shifted to the other side of the battlefield.
His eight Golden Core disciples were still being held back by Su Jingzhen and Luo Yuebai, making no progress whatsoever.
His heart sank further.
Even Su Jingzhen and Luo Yuebai were formidable opponents. He had a premonition that they might be in for a disastrous defeat today.
“No, this isn’t right! The information is completely wrong!”
Hong Sen felt a bitter mix of anger and despair.
The intelligence he received about the Linjiang branch wasn’t like this at all.
The discrepancy in information was proving to be fatally damaging.
However, as he saw Shen Yifeng striding towards him, Hong Sen suppressed all other thoughts.
He couldn’t afford to let Shen Yifeng launch an attack on him.
He simply didn’t have the confidence to withstand it.
“Soaring Immortal!”
Suddenly, a strange, pulsating stringed instrument materialized in Hong Sen’s hand. He sat down cross-legged and began to play.
His fingers danced across the strings, each note transforming into a powerful attack that enveloped Shen Yifeng.
“If it’s about the flamboyance of spells, the Free and Unfettered Sect truly takes the cake,” Shen Yifeng chuckled once more.
Even he had to admit, the disciples of the Free and Unfettered Sect weren’t just beautiful, their fighting styles were also renowned for their elegance.
And Hong Sen’s current performance, ‘Soaring Immortal,’ was undeniably pleasing to the ear, regardless of its destructive potential.
Shen Yifeng simply stood still, a blood-red longsword materializing in his hand.
He thrust it into the void before him, where it spun rapidly.
The sword’s aura was sinister, constantly swirling within a one-zhang radius around him.
Each note Hong Sen played was effortlessly sliced apart by the sword’s aura.
This was Shen Yifeng’s life-bound spirit weapon, the Killing Sword!
The Blood Hand Asura Killing Sword, a name that held as much weight as the Blood-Hand Asura himself.
Shen Yifeng wielding this sword was a clear sign of Hong Sen’s impending doom.
Yet, Shen Yifeng remained on the defensive, even closing his eyes and gently nodding his head to the rhythm of Hong Sen’s ‘Soaring Immortal.’
He was… enjoying the music.
Meanwhile, Su Jingzhen watched helplessly as two more of his formation disks were shattered.
He couldn’t help but stare at his master’s current state in disbelief.
Speechless.
On the other side, Luo Yuebai, facing a Golden Core mid-stage and late-stage cultivator, was slowly falling behind.
Unlike Su Jingzhen, she didn’t try to stall for time.
Every attack was direct and powerful, but it also put her in a precarious position.
A sizable wound had already appeared on her back.
Talented cultivators like Luo Yuebai often fought beyond their ranks, but facing two opponents simultaneously was a different story altogether.
However, the two Free and Unfettered Sect disciples found it difficult to overpower Luo Yuebai in a short time.
“Let’s see how many more formation disks you have left!”
After breaking through Su Jingzhen’s illusion formation again, the old man in the late Gloden Core stage from Free and Unfettered Sect sneered at Su Jingzhen once again.
Despite the mocking expressions on their faces, the Free and Unfettered Sect disciples were inwardly frantic. They had no idea how many formation disks Su Jingzhen possessed.
If they continued this stalemate, by the time Hong Seng fell, it would be their turn to meet their demise. They desperately wanted to end this pointless drain on their resources.
“Get closer, attack proactively!”
The Golden Core late-stage elder barked orders to his companions as soon as Su Jingzhen produced another formation disk.
They couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
This proactive advance, however, lit up Su Jingzhen’s eyes.
He tightened his grip on the black brick in his hand.
Sometimes, opportunities presented themselves. All it took was patience. Keep calm, and your enemy will be the one to panic.
For Su Jingzhen, the opportunity had just arrived.