There was a collective gasp upon hearing this. Who would have thought that Jiang Xie would be so cruel? To have the single-mindedness to sacrifice even his own brother; that was shocking.
Jiang Ding laughed loudly. "Jiang Xie, I have but one thing to say. You son of a b*tch, I hope you die!" To hear such bitter words exchanged between brothers during such a time was a sobering experience.
Jiang Xie, in order to break the 10,000 Swords Formation, would even give up his brother's life. Jiang Ding was useless now.
"Wu Yu, release me, and I'll fight this Liu Haijun for you. What say you?" Jiang Ding suddenly offered.
This was a gamble.
Wu Yu stared coldly at him.
This would be Feng Xueya's decision.
But Wu Yu was afraid that even Feng Xueya would be taken in.
Although this Jiang Ding hated Jiang Xie with a passion at this point, he was no kind soul either! Wu Yu definitely did not trust him. Once he had his freedom, and within the Bipo Mountain Range to boot, then he would be even more terrifying to deal with than Liu Haijun.
"Impossible!"
Wu Yu morphed his finger into a sword and resolutely severed his neck.
"You!" Jiang Ding had not thought that his overture of goodwill would be met with Wu Yu's murderous reply.
Weng!
His corpse followed after Qinghua of the East's.
"Who would have thought that the leader of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect was someone of such rotten character? He would even give up his own brother's life, let alone the others. As disciples of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect, you should feel ashamed."
Wu Yu used Jiang Ding's death to further undermine the Zhongyuan Dao Sect's morale.
It was definitely effective, especially for the younger disciples - they found that they could no longer muster respect for the Jiang Xie before them now, after his transformation.
Their feelings were mostly those of fear now.
But even so, the threat of Liu Haijun had yet to be neutralized. Wu Yu had little time to care about anything else. He immediately leapt down, his hands curled around the Onyx & Pearl Dao Swords. He barred Liu Haijun's way, ready to take him on if he broke through the Nine Palaces Sword Formation!
Everyone was getting extremely tense. Had the final struggle come so soon!?
"Wu Yu!"
Suddenly, Night Wishes for Snow yelled.
The multitude of vengeful spirits had rushed into his body, and were severely affecting him. And Liu Haijun seized the opportunity to exploit a gap in the Nine Palaces Sword Formation. The ghostly harpoon skewered Night Wishes for Snow and he leapt out to the waiting Wu Yu!
"Here's a present for you!"
Liu Haijun was cackling madly. Evidently, he had already prepared himself to deal with the lurking Wu Yu.
The ghostly harpoon retracted, and the Net of Spooky Bells soared out. As the bronze bells clanged, the Net of Spooky Bells dropped on Wu Yu, tying him down. Liu Haijun leapt past him, on towards Feng Xueya.
"Enjoy."
Liu Haijun was even harder to deal with than Wu Yu had imagined, especially with this Net of Spooky Bells. The bells' ringing had a titillating and disorienting effect. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had been completely entangled and could not move easily. If not for the Invincible Vajra Body, he would already have been squeezed to a pulp!
The real terror had yet to come. Just as Wu Yu was about to shred the net, the tens of bronze bells spurted tens of black, scorpion-like ghost insects that tore at Wu Yu's flesh. They frantically tried to burrow into his body!
The horror and pain was not something that ordinary people could bear!
The methods of ghostly cultivators were just this ghastly. Wu Yu finally had his eyes opened. Compared to the Spectral Concubine, this Liu Haijun was the real deal!
If not for Wu Yu's Invincible Vajra Body, those ghost insects would not be half-sticking out of his body, but would have rushed in to eat his viscera clean!
In that instant, Wu Yu smelled the stench of death.
His body was seized with a blinding pain that was even more intense than that of the Inner Vajra Buddha.
He could see that Night Wishes for Snow and the others were rushing up anxiously....
He could see Liu Haijun laughing as he passed him, ready to strike the final blow....
He could even see the young disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect looking on, anxious and uneasy, from the sidelines....
Why take responsibility? Why love? Why seek justice?
In that instant, Wu Yu realized how much he hated losing!
"No! I WON'T LOSE! I WON'T DIE! I WON'T! I WON'T BE CONTENT!"
The hatred in his heart bubbled over!
Even if he was going to die, he would bring one down with him!
In that instant, time seemed oh so slow.
His head dipped, and he saw the ghost insects tearing into his flesh....
Those mandibles and feelers, razor sharp...
The venomous mouths....
He saw the easy contempt in Liu Haijun's eye, he saw his arrogance....
He saw the uneasiness, frustration, and pain of the elders....
His mind and heart were drowned in the volcano of his anger. His entire body heated up!
Suddenly, he saw the Unparalleled Monkey King rise from golden flames. His proud, dominating figure. He rebelled, he caused chaos, but he had his own sense of justice!
What was a mere ghostly cultivator?
"Great Sage!"
Suddenly, he smiled lightly. With a puff of air, everything froze.
"Fixed Body Art!"
In that instant, he managed to crane his head. Just as Liu Haijun passed by him, he blew on him.
Wu Yu was at the sixth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm, and this Liu Haijun was at the ninth tier. Three tiers apart - the Fixed Body Art's effect was extremely weak!
But even an instant counted for much in such an electrifying situation. The Nine Palaces Sword Formation caught up, piling on him. Exactly because Liu Haijun could not predict it, he was completely caught off-guard by the moment of paralysis. He felt like even his heart was going to stop.
Crash!
A plethora of sword dao techniques tore through his chest. Night Wishes for Snow's golden frost sword qi directly sliced off his right arm.
He was unable to control the Net of Spooky Bells now. Wu Yu flung it aside, the Onyx & Pearl Dao Sword quickly taking care of the ghost insects that were still exposed.
Because of the sudden change, Liu Haijun was again surrounded by the Nine Palaces Sword Formation, and was being pummeled. After Wu Yu had dealt with the ghost insects on his body, he could see that Liu Haijun was being battered. Not only had he lost an arm, but a leg to go with it as well. He looked pathetically and desperately at Wu Yu. "What kind of dao technique is that!? How could it hold me!? Impossible!"
Why would Wu Yu ever tell him that it was part of the 72 Transformations?
"Kill him!"
The nine sword cultivators seized the opportunity. Even as he struggled desperately, a severely injured Liu Haijun could not stand against nine attackers at the ninth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm!
As long as Liu Haijun lived, the danger was still present. Without a word, Wu Yu entered the fray!
Nascent Yin Yang Single Sword Strike!
Two separate bursts of sword qi, one in front and the other trailing. They expended the last of Wu Yu's spiritual power!
This was the strongest killing move that anyone at the ninth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm could employ. In the barrage of sword cuts, Liu Haijun could only block the first strike, but was skewered through the head by the second. He died on the spot, falling to his knees!
The last thing he saw was the look in Wu Yu's eyes. The unbeaten look that looked for more. His eyes widened one last time. On his knees, he slumped to the floor!
"Liu Haijun, dead!"
One of the elders lifted Liu Haijun's corpse high into the air. The fiery battle had finally concluded.
Liu Haijun's death meant that the Heavenly Sword Sect was safe again. It could hold out, perhaps for a day, perhaps for a few....
Perhaps only those nearby could see that Liu Haijun's blunder and recapture by the Nine Palaces Sword Formation were all thanks to Wu Yu. After their monumental victory, everyone sat down on the floor wearily.
All 10 exchanged looks, sharing a sense of having been to a different world.
They had killed a ninth tier Qi Condensation cultivator. Besides, their opponent had not been fighting, but rushing out of their enclosure. That had made him even harder to deal with.
"Old Liu!"
The Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts had naturally seen their own brother die in battle!
The Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts were struck heavily by the loss!
They had been about to succeed, but now all their work was for naught.
Even Jiang Xie and the Ninth Spirit were momentarily at a loss.
They had seen with their own eyes that Liu Haijun had slipped for a moment and was then turned on. The entire process had only taken an instant.
"Heavenly Sword Sect!"
The Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts' eyes were filled with blood now. Their hatred and anger towards the Heavenly Sword Sect tripled!
Feng Xueya and the others had not given them a chance to grieve. With the internal problem resolved, they redoubled the 10,000 Swords Formation to press the defense, beating Jiang Xie and the others!
They had scored a huge victory for now!
Actually, Su Yanli, Mo Shishu, and the others had been watching the battle from nearby. When they saw Liu Haijun looking invincible, their hearts were seized with worry. And now that he was dead, their cheers rang out as they wept over their victory! The horrifying life and death battle had been overcome, and they were safe again...
Although they still could not see the light on the horizon, at least they were still alive!
Through their teary vision, they could still see Wu Yu. Perhaps many did not know how instrumental a role he had played this time to save them all. But to Wu Yu, that was unimportant. His exchange with Liu Haijun had made him realize how glaring the gap still was between himself and the elite fighters.
A few ghost insects had already burrowed into his body, eating at him.
A few pieces of his flesh fell off. It was quite chilling to watch.
"Junior Brother, hold on!" Night Wishes for Snow was about to use his immortal treasure longsword to stab him, and also the ghost insects within him.
These ghost insects sent a shiver down their spines.
"No need."
Wu Yu had thought of something else. He sat cross-legged on the ground and began to incant the Vajra Sutra. His body was soon covered in golden light, many golden sigils appearing on his skin. They began to hone and torture his body. The ghost insects were quickly engulfed by the golden sigils and torn to shreds with nowhere to run.
However, Wu Yu had indeed been severely wounded this time.
Luckily, Night Wishes for Snow had once given Wu Yu a Restoration Origin Pill. Wu Yu swallowed it down now. Coupled with the natural tenacity of the Invincible Vajra Body, he recovered completely in a day, his energy completely replenished.
Opening his eyes, he saw the 10,000 Swords Formation still shimmering above. Feng Xueya and the others were still holding out. They did not wish for blood to run like a river through their land.
The logic was similar to a siege. As long as the enemy was held back at the moat, then the populace was safe.
Perhaps Feng Xueya and the others were waiting for something, but it was a faint hope. It was more realistic to only trust one's own strength.
"Wu Yu, perhaps you should rest?" Today, Su Yanli was waiting on him. Seeing him come to, she gave him a warm smile, fresh as a spring flower.
"It's alright."
Wu Yu stood up, and together they left on his sword for the spiritual qi spring. They faced the morning sun, and he continued to cultivate the Inner Vajra Buddha without a word. How much he could continue to grow was all up to fate now.
After the battle with Liu Haijun, Wu Yu's attitude had changed slightly.
He was even more single-minded now, even more suited to the spirit of the Inner Vajra Buddha. Suddenly, he realized that the growth rate of the Inner Vajra Buddha had become faster....