Chapter 41: CH-41: The battle continues!

"Pttuhh!!"

Dong Mulan was thrown sideways from the impact, spitting blood as she slid away.

"YOU F*CKER!! COME AT ME IF YOU DARE!?! LET HER GO!!!!"

Gu Changsheng’s eyes immediately turned bloodshot as he roared at the red robed man, but he himself couldn’t do anything being pinned to the ground by the pressure emmited by the said man.

The red robed man just smirked casually, looking at the little ones lying around bruised and battered, the surrounding representing a gruesome event that took place here.

Su Mingyue and Ning Rongrong were nowhere to be seen, punched out of the screentime apparently, while Ye Che had bathed with his own blood, yet somehow clinging to life.

An Jian, on the other hand, had his whole arm torned apart, supported by a boulder nearby as his mind without consciousness.

Gu Changsheng was beaten up pretty badly, one of eyes gone for good as blood spilled out of its original place, Dong Mulan was the one who took the least damage, having just kicked out of the box.

[Flashback]

While Gu Changsheng and group were told to head towards the western passage, an entire different sequence was being played out outside.

Knowing the sect protection formation couldn’t hold out for long, the elders decided to the initiative, launching an attack, catching people from the Bloodmoon sect off gaurd.

Currently, the Sword sect elders and the Bloodmoon sect elders were fighting an intense battle.

"You old bastard, you will not be granted a quick death!!!"

Jian Yulan’s voice echoed across the battlefield, carrying such intense killing intent that even some of the surrounding elders couldn’t help but glance towards her, clearly aware that Elder Jian had long since abandoned any thoughts of merely ’battling’ against the Blood Moon Sect.

Her figure flashed across the battlefield like a streak of silver light, the sword in her hand leaving behind a terrifying arc as it descended towards the elderly Blood Moon Sect cultivator standing opposite her.

*Booom*

The collision between the two attacks caused the surrounding air to distort violently, while a massive shockwave swept through the mountain range and forced several nearby cultivators to retreat.

The old man barely managed to block the incoming sword with his blood-red blade, yet his expression remained calm as his feet were pushed several meters backward.

"You’ve become even more impatient than before, Jian Yulan."

His voice carried faint amusement, though the amusement didn’t last very long, because Jian Yulan immediately twisted her wrist and sent another sword strike towards him without giving him any chance to recover.

"Don’t mention my name with that filthy mouth of yours!!"

*Clang**Clang*

The two weapons collided again, sparks bursting in every direction as the old man gritted his teeth and released a large quantity of blood-red spiritual energy, forcing Jian Yulan backward for a brief moment.

However, the instant her feet touched the ground, her body disappeared again, a sharp sword intent suddenly appearing behind the old man.

His expression changed as he immediately turned around and raised his arm, barely blocking the sword that descended from above.

**Boom**

The ground beneath him cracked under the force of the impact, while Jian Yulan’s eyes remained cold and emotionless despite the rage burning deep within them.

"You’re still alive after all these years."

The Blood Moon Sect elder smiled faintly as he spoke, though his eyes were becoming increasingly cautious.

"I was beginning to wonder whether you had already forgotten me, or forgotten her, perhaps?"

Jian Yulan’s grip tightened around the sword, her voice became colder. The old man was clearly trying to attract her aggro, and he did succeed.

"You..."

"I have not forgotten anything, remembering every single thing very sustinctively!!"

The moment those words fell, her sword intent exploded.

An enormous wave of sword energy swept outward, forcing several Blood Moon Sect cultivators nearby to retreat as dozens of thin sword-shaped beams appeared around Jian Yulan.

The old man’s expression changed for the first time, retaliating with multiple energy beams that moved simultaneously.

*Shing**Shing**Shing*

Hundreds of sword lights intertwined through the air, forming an enormous net that covered the surrounding battlefield and forced the Blood Moon Sect elder to continuously defend himself.

The battle between the two Core Formation cultivators immediately became the center of attention, and even the other elders couldn’t help but glance in their direction whenever they found a brief moment between clashes.

On another side of the battlefield, several Sword Sect elders fought against Blood Moon Sect cultivators of similar cultivation, their techniques colliding repeatedly as mountains trembled beneath their feet.

The Blood Moon Sect had clearly not brought enough strength to overwhelm the Sword Sect directly, yet there was something strange about their formation.

They were fighting, but they weren’t fighting as though they desperately wanted to win.

Whenever they were pushed back, they retreated without panic, and whenever they gained an advantage, they never pursued too deeply.

It was subtle, but some of the more experienced Sword Sect elders had already noticed it.

"They are holding back, they are just trying to buy time, but for what?"

One of the elders muttered inwardly while blocking a blood-red spear before counterattacking with a palm strike.

His opponent was forced backward, yet rather than pressing the advantage, the elder narrowed his eyes.

Soon the other Sword sect elders also noticed the strange pattern, one of them, surnamed Yun directly confronting the one he was battling against.

"You seem more interested in keeping us occupied than defeating us."

The Blood Moon Sect cultivator in front of them immediately smiled, though inwardly he cursed, he still tried to bait them.

"Perhaps you’re simply overthinking things."

Elder Yun frowned, there was something in that smile that he didn’t like.

But before he could think further about it, another attack came crashing towards him, forcing him to focus on the battle again.

The clash continued, Sword light and Blood-red spiritual energy spread across the mountains.

Explosions erupted one after another, while countless defensive formations continued operating around the Sword Sect.

From the perspective of the disciples inside, it seemed as though the entire outside world had descended into chaos.

Yet none of them knew that somewhere in the middle of this chaos, something else had already begun happening.

...

Gu Changsheng and the others were currently moving towards the western passage under the instructions of the Sword Sect disciples.

The group followed the flow of the disciples without question, because right now there wasn’t much else they could do.

Gu Changsheng remained near Dong Mulan, while Ye Che walked slightly ahead of them with his weapon already drawn.

Ning Rongrong stayed close to Su Mingyue, occasionally glancing over her shoulder whenever another explosion echoed through the sect.

"Why does it sound like the entire mountain is collapsing?"

Ning Rongrong asked nervously, Su Mingyue shook her head, trying fully to reassure her and perhaps herself too.

"Don’t worry, the protection formation is still active."

Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but agree with her internally, but hearing that the formation was active while the ground continued shaking wasn’t exactly the most reassuring thing in the world.

As they continued forward, the western passage gradually became more crowded as more disciples gathered there, following the instructions of the elders.

Gu Changsheng noticed several defensive formations appearing along the walls, while Sword Sect disciples stood at specific positions, obviously prepared to defend the passage if the Blood Moon Sect managed to penetrate the outer defenses.

Everything looked organized and well thought out.

That was why Gu Changsheng didn’t immediately notice something wrong.

The passage ahead suddenly seemed longer, making him doubiuos.

He had walked through this route several times during their stay, and he was almost certain the western passage wasn’t this long.

Yet nobody around him seemed concerned.

But slowly, the number of Sword Sect disciples around them began decreasing.

At first, Gu Changsheng assumed they had simply taken another route, but after another few minutes, there were barely any disciples left around them.

"Wait..."

Gu Changsheng suddenly stopped, Dong Mulan, who was just behind him, nearly bumped into him. She asked rubbing her squeezed nose.

"What’s wrong? Why did you stop?"

Gu Changsheng looked around as he answered, or rather questioned.

"Don’t you find anything weird? Where did everyone go?"

The others also stopped and looked around. The passage behind them was empty and the passage ahead was also empty.

Even the voices of the surrounding disciples had disappeared, instead dreadful silence descended over the group.

"This isn’t the western passage."

Ye Che’s expression became serious, saying as he raised his sword, and just as he did, so did Su Mingyue and Ning Rongrong, immediately raising their weapons.

Ye Che felt a sudden urge to attack out to test if the surroundings are real, suddenly swinging his sword towards the wall beside them.

*Slash**Boom*

The stone wall cracked open, revealing something behind it.

Not another passage, but trees, lots and lots of tree, together with the greenery and liveliness of a jungle.