Chapter 248 - 244: Dragon’s Roar

"Don't panic, everyone. The Masters have this under control."

Li Zheng whispered this before looking up. He saw that the palace walls surrounding the small courtyard were now filled with members of the Demon Sect.

A faint golden-white light enveloped them. This was the barrier cast by the Array, keeping all the Demon Sect members out.

Using his Conscious Fish, Chen Qingyang could see clearly that the Array was formed by nine bronze Tripod Furnaces, adorned with Talismans and inscriptions, arranged in nine directions.

Four junior brothers were working in unison to sustain the Array.

"After such a long wait, someone's finally shown up!" Li Zheng shouted out.

The leader of the Demon Sect group was the woman, who retorted, "Since you knew we were coming, why not take down this Array? I might consider sparing your lives!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zheng burst out laughing. "Hong Ji, I've been on Nine True Mountain for years. This isn't our first fight, so why bother with such dull pleasantries?"

The woman chuckled lightly. "Back when you were in the Sixth Realm and I was in the Sixth Realm, I certainly couldn't say that. But now my Cultivation is far beyond yours, so why shouldn't I?"

Sword in hand, Li Zheng just shook his head and smiled. "So you're just here to boast. My Daoist Sect's Dharma Gates may not be as fast as your Demon Sect's, but our foundation is solid, and we never go berserk from our practice. I don't think you'll be able to break my Array today, either."

The woman was about to say more, but Zhang Jiu, who stood beside her, quietly tugged on her clothes. "Dear sister, why waste your breath on him? We're better off breaking the Array first."

"You have a point."

By now, Chen Qingyang was quite knowledgeable about the Demon Sect. The moment the woman acted, he recognized her techniques as Dharma Gates from Netherworld Peak.

Three Soul Banners rose into the air—one blood-red, one abyssal-black, and one cyan. As Hong Ji formed a series of hand seals, they hovered motionless in mid-air, forming a triangle.

With a soft cry, the three Soul Banners linked together through their Qi Mechanisms. Directly above the Array Li Zheng was maintaining, they formed a viscous, shimmering vortex of murky greenish-black light that began to Refine the barrier.

"Everyone, power up the Array!"

Li Zheng cried out, and the disciples on all four sides poured in their power. The light barrier began to clash with the three Soul Banners, and for a long while, they were locked in a stalemate, with neither side able to overcome the other.

Still, for her to attempt breaking the Array by herself was a testament to the power of an Essence Condensation Seventh Realm Cultivator.

"Heh, does she really think she's at Half-Step Foundation Establishment?"

Li Zheng stamped his foot lightly, and the longsword before him flew from its scabbard to hover in the air. He then drew a Talisman in the air, which imprinted itself onto the blade. An intensely bright golden light immediately erupted from it, nearly dispelling the surrounding blood-red aura.

Chen Qingyang had seen this golden light many times when he was trapped in the Six Paths Blood Refining Array.

"Kill!"

With a loud shout, the sword shot out from the Array, flying straight for the three Soul Banners.

Hong Ji's attention had been entirely focused on the Array. Now, distracted by his attack, she had no choice but to withdraw her power.

"You're not so impressive after all. A single move from me was enough to force you back."

Fortunately, Hong Ji wasn't a complete fool. She didn't rise to the taunt. "I was just probing its strength. The Array is nothing special. Three junior brothers, we just need to use the Hidden Radiance Mystic Armor, and we can shatter it!"

'So the Hidden Radiance Mystic Armor is a Demon Sect Array,' Chen Qingyang realized immediately. 'They must have prepared it specifically for breaking this kind of formation.'

Sure enough, at her command, Hong Ji's three Soul Banners shot skyward again before descending to three key positions. Beneath each banner, three Third Realm Disciples sat down, guided by a Fifth Realm Cultivator. A total of twelve people were now focusing all their power on this new Array.

Hong Ji was still the master of this new Array. An even more chilling aura pressed down on the courtyard below. Although Li Zheng was protected within his own formation, the force was so strong that his silver hair was whipped into a frenzy, a clear indication of the Qi Mechanism's immense power.

Chen Qingyang felt it too. 'Under such pressure, Li Zheng has almost no chance of resisting,' he thought. 'The Demon Sect really came prepared.'

At this moment, both sides were locked in conflict. Only Zhang Jiu stood alone to the side, watching the spectacle. Chen Qingyang saw his eyes darting about and knew the man's mind was racing.

Chen Qingyang was also wondering: 'If I use my Conscious Fish and my Deadly Sword technique, can I finish him off for good right here? The man is too slippery; he'll definitely be a major enemy in the future.'

But on second thought, the risk was greater than the reward, so he abandoned the idea.

"Junior brothers, it's time to give it your all! This old Daoist Sect geezer can't hold on much longer."

Hong Ji shouted again, and her Array erupted with immense power. A fierce gale tore through the area, toppling nearby buildings and palace walls. With overwhelming force, it instantly shattered the Array that Li Zheng had been maintaining.

These Demon Sect members were clearly well-rehearsed; they first wore down their opponents' defenses, then struck with a final, decisive blow.

With that, Li Zheng and his men were completely exposed, facing what seemed to be certain death. A question surfaced in Chen Qingyang's mind again: 'Where are the other people from the Daoist Sect?'

'Should I intervene and try to save them, or should I just stand by and watch?'

"Old Li, you will die here today!"

"Hahaha!" Li Zheng didn't answer, only laughed.

Hong Ji was still extremely cautious. She didn't charge down alone. Instead, she commanded everyone to attack Li Zheng using the power of their Array.

The powerful aura was on the verge of annihilating the small courtyard. Sand and stones flew through the air, obscuring everyone's vision.

Just then, a brilliant golden light erupted from below, accompanied by the roar of a tiger and the cry of a dragon. It instantly shattered the attacking Array. The three Soul Banners that had been hanging in the sky plummeted to the ground.

The twelve Demon Sect disciples were thrown into disarray. Hong Ji, who had been presiding over the Array, wore an expression as grim as death. "Who is it?"

Looking down again, they saw that the doors to the bedchamber where the Imperial Consort had been in labor were now wide open. The courtyard no longer held just the five men from before; ten new figures had appeared.

Their leader was a middle-aged Daoist priest with a Peach Wood Sword on his back. He wore a simple, unassuming Daoist Robe, and it was impossible to discern his level of Cultivation or sense his true strength.

"Pah! You cunning cowards! Hiding in the room of an Imperial Consort about to give birth! Are the ten of you supposed to be her midwives?"

Before arriving at the courtyard, Hong Ji had scouted the area thoroughly and found no trace of any other Daoist Sect disciples. For them to emerge now from the Imperial Consort's bedchamber... what could be more despicable?

The middle-aged Daoist priest remained silent. It was Li Zheng who answered, "Take another look. Do you see any Imperial Consort in this palace? That Venerable Meng could have set his sights on anything, but he just had to target the territory of my Daoist Sect. He deserves to die for it!"

Sure enough, when Hong Ji looked again, the room was empty. It seemed the Imperial Consort had been moved long ago.

The Daoist Sect's Foundation Establishment Masters had really played a clever hand, leaving one group behind as a decoy to lure the Demon Sect Disciples into a trap.

Before all this, Chen Qingyang had specifically asked about the situation, but even he hadn't been told the truth by Li Zheng.

"You... you're despicable!"

Hong Ji was so furious her eyes went wide and her face flushed red. She turned to tell Zhang Jiu to flee, but there was no sign of him. Even Chen Qingyang hadn't noticed his departure. 'When did that rascal slip away?'

"Enough pointless talk. Since you've come, you might as well stay."

The middle-aged Daoist priest spoke with immense authority. He raised his left hand high into a Sword Point, and the Peach Wood Sword on his back flew from its sheath.

"You..." Hong Ji only saw a flash of silver light before a fist-sized hole appeared in her chest.

Pain made her whimper, and she clutched the wound tightly with both hands, veins bulging on her forehead.

Below, the middle-aged Daoist priest continued to form hand seals. The sword, however, did not strike Hong Ji again. Instead, it moved so fast that Chen Qingyang could barely follow, killing all twelve Demon Sect disciples in the blink of an eye.

'So strong! What a brilliant Sword Formula!'

Seeing this, Hong Ji summoned the last of her strength and used Wind Control Flight to flee into the distance. The middle-aged Daoist priest saw her go but showed no intention of giving chase. He simply sheathed his sword. "Let her go. Only if she escapes will she attract more powerful Demon Sect disciples. We'll just wait for them here."

He was perfectly calm and composed, as if he had done nothing more strenuous than crushing an ant.

"Senior Brother Jie Yi, is this the plan the Masters laid out?"

"Haha, as the saying goes, while the demonic rises one foot, the Dao rises ten. If they won't come out, we'll lure them out. As long as we kill them all, one by one, we can consider this pure land defended."

Li Zheng's tone was both familiar and respectful. "Understood."

He had once mentioned that he was from Xu Lingfeng, at the foot of which lay the Tai Hao Sword Institute. 'Such a masterful Sword Formula must have come from there,' Chen Qingyang thought.

But there was one thing the Daoists had miscalculated. Even though they had let Hong Ji escape, she was still doomed to die at Zhang Jiu's hands.

At that very moment, Chen Qingyang was already in pursuit. He caught up to them near the city wall, in an alley filled with corpses.

"My dear sister, how did you end up in such a state!"

He stood before Hong Ji, his expression a perfect blend of pity and surprise.

"You..." Hong Ji gasped. "Heh... you ungrateful whelp! Isn't this all your fault? Why did you run away so fast?"

Zhang Jiu feigned even greater surprise. "My dear sister, you wound me. I was right behind you the whole time! Come on, I'll take you to Senior Brother Bai. We'll only be safe once we find him."

Although Hong Ji was furious, her dire situation forced her to comply. 'I'll deal with this after I see Senior Brother Bai,' she thought. "Yes, that man was far stronger than me. Only Senior Brother Bai can deal with him."

Seeing that she had seemingly forgiven him, Zhang Jiu moved to help her up. He lowered his head slightly, a dark light swirling in his eyes.

But at that exact moment, he felt a biting killing intent rise up from behind him, and a cold sweat instantly broke out over his body.

Not daring to even turn his head, he used his Earth Escape Skill and vanished. The Sword Technique, however, didn't stop, piercing straight through Hong Ji's body.

It was a well-prepared strike, instantly dispersing all the life force within her. Hong Ji's eyes widened, and she died on the spot.

Aside from her slightly finer skin, her noble corpse, now lying among a pile of common ones, looked no different from the rest.

With her death, the number of Immortal Seedlings he had stolen now exceeded seven thousand.

Zhang Jiu reappeared a short distance from Chen Qingyang, his face a mask of fury. "You... why is it always you! You're like a damn ghost that won't go away!"

Chen Qingyang stood with his sword at the ready, a fierce wind swirling around his body and a powerful aura clinging to him. He radiated a cold, ruthless killing intent. "Didn't you say you were going to torture me for all eternity? In that case, I'll let you have the first taste of what it's like to be tortured!"

The moment the words left his lips, he lunged forward with his sword. Having suffered at Chen Qingyang's hands before, Zhang Jiu was extremely wary. Just as he was debating whether to flee, he was suddenly struck by a wave of intense heat from behind.

Only then did he realize how exceptionally skilled Chen Qingyang was at launching sneak attacks.

His mind felt as if it were being pierced by ten thousand needles, shattering his concentration. Fortunately, his Earth Root Yin Fiend reacted in time, blocking and dissipating the flames.

But that momentary delay was all Chen Qingyang needed. His sword was already at Zhang Jiu's face, aimed straight for the Xuanji Acupoint on his chest. 'If I can land a serious blow,' he thought, 'he'll lose all power to resist.'

With no way to retreat, Zhang Jiu could only summon all his Gang Qi to form a shield.

CRACKLE! The two streams of True Qi grated violently against each other until, finally, the Five Elements Sword broke through and plunged into the Xuanji Acupoint.

But there was none of the resistance from Dantian Meridians that Chen Qingyang had anticipated. His Sword Qi felt as if it had struck empty air. He wanted to extinguish his opponent's life force but found nothing to attack.

Right before his eyes, the living man melted into a puddle of viscous black liquid, which then slowly seeped into the ground. When Chen Qingyang tried to sense him again, he was gone.

"You made me sacrifice my Cultivation... I... I will kill you..."

Only a hoarse roar was left, echoing through the air.

In his attempt to kill Zhang Jiu with a single blow, Chen Qingyang had exhausted nearly all of his strength. Only after swallowing a Qihuang Replenishing Truth Pill did he begin to feel some relief.

'A pity... he still got away!'