Chapter – 60 One Balde’s Might

Dawn descended; a strip of rosy-red color was slowly stretching in the clear blue sky.  Twilight’s cyan color passed through the steep mountain passes, the lush of trees, even slipping through underneath the fallen leaves, covering every corner, dressing the earth to welcome the splendor of the approaching sunrays.

Outside the Xu castle, the tyrannical atmosphere of the war prevaded everywhere.

On the wall, all the people seemed to have understood that this would be the final battle; they only waited in silence.

However, as the sunlight illuminated the earth, what they had awaited did not turn out to be the reeked gales and downpour of blood, but a howl streaking across the horizon like a clap of thunder.

Amidst this howl, it seemed as if the entire world had changed colors; every individual’s ears buzzed.

Everybody’s expressions transformed. They turned their head in the direction of the sound with a feeling of facing an imminent catastrophe.

Suddenly, the howl that seemed to have prevaded through every single corner of the heavens and earth stopped. As suddenly as it had sounded, it went down even more abruptly.

The intense buzzing in everybody’s ears instantly disappeared, causing them to feel extremely unwell. Everybody with Internal Energy under seventh layer felt their legs going soft.

Sea Huqiao was the first one to sober up. Although her Internal Energy was not the most powerful amongst the horse bandits, she was undoubtedly the most unperturbed and quickest to respond.This moment, her face didn’t have a trace of color and eyes carried an intense dread.

However, this expression only remained for an instant before she immediately assumed a nonchalant expression and said, “This person is powerful, not someone that can be fought one on one. Brother Xu Hanbai, please lead a suicide squad of two hundred Fierce Tigers members as the first front. Brother Zhong Wei, please arrange a preparatory squadron Wolf Fangs; if this person can make his way through Fierce Tigers’ two hundred men squadron, please continue to engage him. Make sure not to let him disrupt our final assault’s arrangements. Leader Guan Qing and second leader Guo Shaofeng, please proceed with our original plan and begin the seize. As for us husband and wife, we’ll support from the middle, and provide assistance whenever needed.”

Everybody hesitated a bit, feeling inauspicious inwardly, as if something was off. However, after being stuck in front of Xu castle, they had always let Sea Huqiao be the battle advisor; everything had been done according to her arrangements. The fact that currently, after five days, Xu castle had been put in dire straits by the group of these chaotic horse bandits could be largely credited to her.

Therefore, although they felt somewhat queer, after a momentary hesitation, they still chose to believe her.

Four thousand horse bandits, moreover every one of them being a powerful cultivator; it was impossible that they would leave due to one roar.

Everyone whose name had been called was a powerful tenth layer expert. Their response was extremely quick. In a few moments, they had assumed their assigned positions.

Seeing them leave, Sea Huqiao immediately pulled her husband’s hand and mixed inside the crowd. She said in a low voice, “Don’t mind anything. We’ll quickly change clothes, and leave…..”

The latter faintly started and said, “Why leave?”

“There won’t be a chance later,” Sea Huqiao’s face was terror-stricken as he said, “The person who is coming is a Xiantian cultivator.”

Azure Hanyang’s face didn’t change much. Upon hearing that heaven-shaking howl, he’d already indistinctly felt as such.

After all, he himself was a peak, tenth layer cultivator, only separated from the legendary realm by a single thread.

Since he himself felt aghast upon hearing that roar, the upcoming person ought be a Xiantian cultivator.

He slightly lowered his head and said, “But we have four thousand people here. Don’t tell me we can’t defeat a single Xiantian cultivator?”

The name of Xiantian cultivators had countless legends among millennium clans and peak Internal Energy cultivators. However, those who had truly witnessed a Xiantian cultivator were exceptionally sparse.

Although the strength of Xiantian cultivators was depicted to be untranscendable in legends and they seemed to be super experts who couldn’t be suppressed with numbers, before witnessing the true strength of a Xiantian expert first hand, whoever it might be would hold a glimmer of delusion.

Not merely Azure Hanyang, even others also might have such a notion. Otherwise, the few of them might also have escaped long ago.

Sea Huqiao’s face turned extremely pale as she forcefully said, “Listen to me, husband. Change clothes and leave!” She paused for a moment, “Unless ten thousand elite riders do a surprise raid on the even grounds of Atai county, ordinary people can’t contend against Xiantian cultivators.”

She thought one more line inwardly which she didn’t speak out.

‘Even under these circumstances, only the lowest level of Xiantian cultivators could be contended against. If one had taken the next step in Xiantian realm, they could truly no longer be contended against relying on numbers.’

Fortunately, from the roar, it seemed that the Xiantian cultivator who had come was merely the lowest level one. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to escape even after changing clothes.

Azure Hanyang’s face twitched a few times before he hesitatingly said, “But they…..”

“It has already come to this, don’t tell me you still care about righteousness,” Sea Huqiao pressed her hand on his and said, “We’re here to help, not to get killed. Treasured horses, jewels, money…..is fine, but you first have to be alive to enjoy them.”

Azure Hanyang eventually stopped opposing, and followed his wife deep into the crowd. In the cover of a few trusted subordinates, they changed into regular clothes.

Guan Qing and Guo Shaofeng arrived at the front line and waved the big blades in their hands, “Boys, Xu castle is before you. Inside, there is unaccountable gold and countless beautiful women. As long as Xu castle is conquered, everything inside will belong to you all.”

Guan Qing’s voice was tyrannical, and his words were simple and straightforward. However, only due to this reason was he instead able to arouse the vicious nature of these horse bandits to the extreme.

Along with a fierce roar, the horse bandits, seemingly having forgotten the roar that had made them palpitate a few moments ago, charged towards the few breaches in the wall.

In a few moments, they arrived at the breaches. Before their eyes, the servants, guards, and spongers of the three families stood constituting the final line of defense. Guan Qing and Guo Shaofeng separated to find two Lord Masters each for themselves.

They all knew this was the moment of life and death; every person tightly held the blade in their hand. As the distance between the two sides drew near, apprehension and excitement shone in their eyes. At this juncture, nobody had room to retreat any longer.

The eyes of those at the front could already reflect the figures of their opponents and could hear the heavy breaths of themselves, their nearby companions, and even the enemy before them; the war could break out at any moment.

Suddenly, they again heard a loud sound. It seemed like a gigantic roar that couldn’t be produced by a human.

Even under such tense atmosphere, even the horse bandits at the very front, felt a shiver running through their entire body. The tense atmosphere that could make one’s hair on their neck stand erect also seemed to have been diluted by this roar.

Everybody turned around or raised their heads. Their vision went past several thousand horse bandits and finally fell in one direction.

In that direction, a person had eventually appeared rushing in and making contact with the two hundred member suicide squad of Atai county’s reputed Fierce Tigers.

Then, light, a boundless light flooded everybody’s vision.

“Assemble,  draw your blades….”

Along with a loud roar, Fierce Tigers’ Xu Hanbai majestically stood on the road with Nine Ring blade in his hand.

Behind him was the suicide squad of two hundred members that he’d personally directed and taught and which could strike fear in any power of the Atai county.

These people were the most powerful elites of Fierce Tigers. Adding his meticulous care on top, they had eventually become an army-like small unit.

In this small unit, even the weakest member had the cultivation of the seventh layer. Moreover, these people revered and worshiped him as a god and would never go against his commands.

It was this squadron that had enabled Fierce Tigers to gain such a reputation. Even against the two leaders of Red Cloth Bandits or the Azure Sea’s couple, he would dare to use this suicide squad in a direct confrontation.

At this moment, following his roar, the two hundred people behind him simultaneously drew their blades out.

Their movements were neat and ordered, as if a single entity. An intensely powerful aura suddenly congealed. Upon feeling this aura, even a tenth layer expert might not dare to charge straight through the troops.

Before the troops, that man rushed in with a lightning fast speed. Looking at this male who was bringing such a mighty aura, their faces were sinister and every single one of them was gnashing their teeth; allowing their vicious auras to completely erupt.

They were completely confident that their squadron of two hundred men under their leader was impenetrable and omnipotent.

Regardless of whoever came, they could forget about breaking through their defensive front. Before them, they could only have their head ruptured and blood flowing, and lose their life in the process.

This was not blind faith, but their battle experience of several decades. This confidence that they had accumulated bit by bit was akin to the loftiest of mountains; simply indestructible.

Suddenly, that person drew near. He made a throwing gesture, and something apparently flew up in the sky. He then leapt high up in the air. They raised their heads to look, but they saw…..

Light!

He Yiming’s feet moved at a lightning fast speed; his figure was like a cloud, like a torrential rain. Rain Cloud technique had been employed by him to the extreme.

The distance from hear to Xu castle absolutely couldn’t be regarded as low, but it was not too far either. However, by the time he’d set off, it was already quite late in the night.

Fortunately, when he could faintly sense the pitch-black dark wall ahead, the first light ray of sun shined and revealed a glimpse.

With a long roar, he vividly let out his suppressed emotions, and his speed was pushed to the extreme.

Before him appeared a square formation of two hundred men. Although the formation didn’t go too deep, when the two hundred men pulled out their blades together, their powerful and baleful aura together with confidence enriched with long battle experience soared to the sky.

In He Yiming’s perception, this aura seemed to have turned into a high mountain, an enormous and firm high mountain that couldn’t be destroyed.

At the end of his vision, he could already see the horse bandits at the front slowly advancing. They were extremely close to wall, and the wall had several breaches, as if portraying how intense the fight of these few days had been.

He Yiming’s heart suddenly throbbed, and an extraordinary power suddenly exploded forth from his heart and instantly circulated to every cell of his body.

His both eyes opened wide as he once again issued a howl that could shake one’s mind and spirit like a clap of thunder exploding in a clear sky.

Confronting this suicide squad of two hundred men that stood tall like a high mountain, a strange scene suddenly appeared in He Yiming’s mind.

This moment he was apparently not on this merciless battlefield, but had once again returned onto the peak where he’d comprehended dao.

Lofty mountains, endless mountain rain.

The slender mountain rain wasn’t intense, rather seemed soft, without any strength. Even upon falling on a person, it did nothing except for leaving behind a slight moisture.

However, it enveloped the whole mountain peak; be it those gigantic, thousand-year-old trees or tender buds that had recently sprouted out, the rain had covered everything and everywhere.

At this moment, He Yiming had this feeling.

He seemed to have comprehended the dao of mountain rain; the mountain rain that didn’t seem intense, but was present everywhere……

His back muscles twitched, and the nearly two hundred jin heavy Reclining Moon Blade suddenly shot up in the air from his back.

He Yiming exerted his feet, and in mid air, pulled the blade out of its sheath in one stroke. The three sections of Reclining Moon Blade combined into one within an instant. Greeting the gradually spreading sunlight, the edge of the blade glowed with a dazzling radiance.

An instant; it was only an instant.

This radiance suddenly changed…..

One light ray turned into two, two into three, and boundless….

Rays of light; countless reflected rays of light softly sprinkled down in a mountain rain’s manner.

The entire group of two hundred men was completely enveloped by the light.

There wasn’t that intense and domineering aura. After He Yiming issued that heaven-shattering howl, his aura abruptly changed; from strong and mighty, to dim and soft.

Countless rays of light, like countless raindrops, penetrated through every inch of the square formation, turning this official road into that early-morning mountain peak that had been completely drenched in mountain rain.

Under the mountain rain, it was fresh and clean, and under the blade light, it was blood and massacre.

Suddenly, all the light rays disappeared.

He Yiming’s body weightlessly drifted along the road, still advancing forward at a lightning fast speed.

Fierce Tiger’s two hundred men suicide squad that was personally trained by Xu Hanbai couldn’t resist He Yiming for an instant and was slashed through by He Yiming’s blade just in this manner; disappeared instantly.

Xu castle’s terrain wasn’t particularly even. It was constructed along high to low terrain; the farther one moved away, the higher it looked.

Outside the wall, all the eyes were fixed in that direction. When the light disappeared, the battlefield momentarily stumped.

At that place, the two hundred men that had been present there, had disappeared.

They vanished, thoroughly vanished.

There lay a mixture of blood and flesh. In their vision, except for fresh blood, there was only blood.

Two hundred men; not one amongst them could be termed as human anymore. Including the tenth layer expert Xu Hanbai, all of them had turned into sections of blood and flesh; all mixed together and no longer separable.

Nobody could tell that amidst the blade light, how many blade strikes this person had actually issued. However, every one of them saw clearly.

Henceforth, Atai county’s illustrious two hundred members of Fierce Tigers’ suicide squad had been wiped from the face of the earth.

A deep chill flooded the insides of everybody.

Not only all the horse bandits instantly paled and lost all courage, even the servants, guards, and spongers of the three families on the wall had similar reactions.

A blade’s might; an irresistible might…..

The image of the person fluttering in the sky boundlessly expanded in everybody’s eyes.

At this moment, as if transformed into a devil incarnate from the ninth hell, his image would never be erased, and would always reside in the depths of all the spectators’ hearts.

A dark figure suddenly pounced out from the backside of the crowd.

This man’s face was cold. When everybody was dumbfounded, he escaped out like a leopard. His speed was exceptionally quick; almost instantly escaping ten meters out.

On the deathly still battlefield, amidst the crowd that seemed like mud statues, this person’s movements were exceptionally eye-catching.

Almost in a breath worth of time, everybody clearly saw that this person was actually Wolf Fangs’ leader Zhong Wei.

Zhong Wei was a cautious and crafty man. When Sea Huqiao instructed him to make the second front, he was filled with indecision inwardly. Although he himself hadn’t witnessed a Xiantian expert, he’d heard some of the rumours.

Regardless of whether he believed in them or not, he would never be arrogant and haughty like Xu Hanbai.

Therefore although he’d assembled horse bandits, he’d always been keeping a watchful eye ahead. He wished to see whether Xiantian experts were as exaggerated as rumours.

However, the subsequent events far exceeded his expectations. That blade’s might completely broke his courage, rendering him incapable of even thinking of resisting.

Seeing He Yiming’s body in mid-air, already rushing in his direction, he instantly tensed. He could only think of escaping away from him; the farther the better. As long as he could leave He Yiming behind, he was willing to pay any price.

Therefore, he turned his body around without thinking and escaped without a moment of hesitation.

However, being in mid-air, He Yiming had already taken the entire situation of the battlefield in his eyes. When everybody didn’t dare to budge or had yet to recover from the awe of the blade strike, this suddenly pouncing man appeared as quite an eyesore.

After going through that ferocious strike, the intensity of He Yiming’s aura had climbed to the extreme.  Even when he’d struck Lu Xinwen last time, his aura had not soared so high.

With a flick of his wrist, Reclining Moon Blade trembled and powerful Xiantian True Qi inside his body gushed into the blade’s edge.

Gigantic power concentrated instantaneously, and the edge of the blade faintly flickered indefinitely with blue radiance.   

The difference compared to the last time was that instead of golden color, the blade light was deep blue like that of an ocean this time.

As the blade light flickered for the third time, He Yiming’s arm jerked, and the blade’s edge aimed at the fleeing Zhong Wei.

As if it suddenly gained life, the blade light that had been attached with the blade’s edge suddenly flew out.

A dark blue beam of light streaked across the sky, as if tearing the sky and passing through the vacuum.

Almost the moment the beam left the blade, leaving behind a clear, blue colored beam, it arrived behind Zhong Wei.

Although a tenth layer expert was far incomparable to a Xiantian expert, before the death’s door, he still managed to react.

Almost instinctively, Zhong Wei moved his hand through his waist and took out a light sword. Within an instant, Internal Energy poured in it, making it bolt upright and issue ‘zhi zhi’ sounds like that of a viper’s tongue.

He’d been a horse bandit for many years. His mastery of the light sword had already reached the extreme.

With the support of Internal Energy, the light sword instantly took shape of an airtight net behind his body. Even if countless hidden weapons were to be unleashed, not one would penetrate this net.

Two individuals; one in mid air, and one standing on the ground. Merely in a breath worth of time after the former had discharged the blade light and the latter had formed the sword net, the blade light intertwined within the net.

“Bang….”

With a huge explosion sounded, as if a huge rock had destroyed a glass wall, the seemingly densely packed sword net was instantly destroyed in entirety.

The blade light cut through the net without any resistance as if a sharp knife cutting through paper, and proceeded onto Zhong Wei’s body.

Zhong Wei hurried on as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, amidst the watchful gazes of everybody, his upper body fell backwards; filling the sky with sprinkling blood, and his lower half continued to proceed onward at a lightning fast speed; continuing to discharge torrents of blood. Even those standing faraway on the wall could smell the frightening reek of blood.

After going a hundred meters away, the lower half suddenly collapsed on the ground, twitching as it spurted blood for the last time.

A person’s body would discharge such a frightening amount of blood, this was simply unimaginable. Whoever witnessed this scene felt a bone-chilling cold emerging from the depths of their heart.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek resounded. From the upper half of Zhong Wei’s mouth, came out the world’s most miserable shriek, letting out his painful suffering like a torrential flood.

This scream acted like a signal, instantly ending the deadlock as soon as it sounded.

“Escape….”

It was unknown who said it, it only took a moment of startlement before four thousand horse bandits immediately turned and escaped along the other side of the road like stray dogs.

Before the wall, the horse bandits who were yet to engage with the three families immediately disregarded the enemies right before them and turned around, escaping several times quicker than they had advanced.

A few eighth and ninth layer experts, seeing that the road ahead was blocked, suddenly raised their blades and ruthlessly chopped down as they escaped.

In an instant, miserable shrieks resounded unceasingly as four thousand horse bandits tried to trample on each other. They were cultivators who had some basic skills, but precisely due to this reason, the havoc they created was even bigger.

In a few moments, more than a hundred men had died at the hands of their own people.

When He Yiming landed on the ground, this scene entered his eyes.

Looking at these desperately escaping men on four limbs that littered his vision, he suddenly thought of a question.

‘How could have the Blood Slaughterer Lu Xinwen killed every single person of a millennium clan?

Don’t tell me those people were fools? Didn’t they know to escape even after seeing a Xiantian cultivator’s extraordinary might?’

Right at this moment, he heard a shout resounding like a clap of thunder, “Yiming….Guan Qing, Guo Shaofeng are here, don’t let them escape.”

He Yiming turned his body and instantly caught a glimpse of four people tangling together.

His footsteps halted for a moment before he swiftly rushed towards that direction. Once his speed attained the extreme, his body immediately transformed into a light and smooth wisp of smoke, and merely within a few breaths, arrived at the wall.

Guan Qing and Guo Shaofeng had been long since paying attention to He Wude and Xu Yinjie. However, at the same time, the two old men were also focused on them.

When the blade light shined, He Wude and Xu Yinjie had already recognized this frightening weapon. Although they didn’t understand how He Yiming could have become so incredibly powerful, they both instantly made the correct judgment and prevented Guan Qing and Guo Shaofeng from escaping.

If these two disasters were allowed to escape today, Tai Cang county would certainly never be peaceful in the future.

He Yiming arrived beneath the wall with an unimaginable speed and raised Reclining Moon Blade high in the sky- the blazing sun shining on his face……