To Wu Yu, Jiang Ji's death was a given.
In terms of sword dao, with the Yin Yang Sword Wheel laying down his foundations, combined with the two sword dao techniques, the Nascent Yin Yang Single Sword Strike and the Great Dao of the Golden Sword, he had immediately become a master of the sword dao, at least within the Heavenly Sword Sect.
The abundant spiritual power of the seventh tier of the Qi Condensation Realm, combined with the Inner Vajra Buddha that was four zhang tall. The combination of physical and spiritual power, in addition to the Immortal Ape Transformation, had made Jiang Ji's slaughter child's play.
Even though only a month had passed, things had changed greatly!
This was the difference between a genius and an ordinary nartial cultivator!
A pity that Jiang Ji had only truly come to know Wu Yu's capabilities in the last moments before his death. As for the thousand-odd disciples at the Palace of Eternal Peace, they had lost their spines. They were wetting themselves with fear. Of course, when Wu Yu - this person of their age - strode into the sealed Palace of Eternal Peace, they yelled and yelped as they scrambled backwards. They trod over each other, pushing and jostling. Their faces were ashen with terror, robbed of all will to resist.
Wu Yu's two visits had been a psychological blow of epic proportions!
And now all of them were staring at this person of their age who was bathed in golden spiritual power. One person took the initiative to fall noisily on his face, decrying, "Wu Yu, spare us! Don't kill us!"
"The one that invaded your Heavenly Sword Sect was Sect Leader Jiang! It was the elders! We are only young disciples, and have no say or part in it! Please be magnanimous and spare our lives!"
Instantly, all thousand-odd people knelt before Wu Yu, wailing.
But their ugly words during Wu Yu's battle with Jiang Ji had already belied their true nature. How would Wu Yu believe that they were innocent?
They were merely incompetent. Otherwise, they would be at the foot of the Bipo Mountain Range at this moment.
Seeing their terrified, wretched faces, Wu Yu could see the resemblance to their master, Jiang Xie's, own solemn countenance. Wu Yu inadvertently recalled Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian. He finally realized that there was a ton of trash in the Zhongyuan Dao Sect!
Compared to the iron rigor of the Heavenly Sword Sect, they were indeed despicable.
"I had initially intended to raise hell here, threatening Jiang Xie with these thousand disciples, and force him to have to return again. But if Jiang Xie were to return, I would have no way to deal with him. I would have only bought a little time....
"Since Master has given me the Stalk of the Clouds, he might be hinting for me to use a new method."
The Stalk of the Clouds was as strong as steel, and could even extend to 500 zhang long with its spiritual power!
While the disciples were crying for mercy, Wu Yu reached into his Sumeru Pouch and pulled out the Stalk of the Clouds. He channeled his spiritual power into it, elongating it rapidly. The Stalk of the Clouds grew like a huge black snake, even sprouting sharp thorns and branches. It was like a 500-zhang-long iron whip in Wu Yu's hands!
Seeing the Stalk of the Clouds that had belonged to Jiang Ding, the disciples were completely terrified!
"He's going to use the Stalk of the Clouds...."
They had not yet finished speaking when Wu Yu's hand flicked. The Stalk of the Clouds wound around each fleeing disciple like a huge snake. In a trice, it had caught all thousand-odd disciples like a huge net, holding them fast. The Stalk of the Clouds bound them all together on a string in orderly fashion!
"Ah!"
In an instant, all thousand-odd people screamed in abject despair!
This was because the more they struggled, the more the thorny branches harangued them, piercing their flesh and covering them thickly with wounds. The Stalk of the Clouds was soon dyed with blood.
Fear, cruelty, struggle, and despair loomed above their heads.
They had all become Wu Yu's captives!
With the Stalk of the Clouds, Wu Yu could think of this method and act thus!
"I want all of you to quiet down and submit to my judgement. Anyone who screams or bothers me will be killed."
Wu Yu spoke quietly, a chilling contrast to the screams. This frightened the Zhongyuan Dao Sect disciples even more.
"Wu Yu, go to hell! Your Heavenly Sword Sect is already dead! What use is there in taking us hostage!? You will die horribly! Our Sect Leader will make you taste a world of pain!"
There were always one or two fearless ones that would rebel and mock Wu Yu.
Wu Yu constricted the Stalk of the Clouds, killing them. The chilling scene sobered the others, who fell into line. Despite their fear, no one else dared to call out.
"Come out!"
Wu Yu led his line of sacrifices, the disciples that Jiang Xie wanted to protect, out of the Palace of Eternal Peace.
It was a stirring sight!
But no one knew what Wu Yu was intending to do. What was the use of kidnapping more than 1,000 people in this place?
Wu Yu soon revealed the answer!
His face expressionless, he stretched out his hand to turn the Onyx & Pearl Dao Sword, controlling it to float in midair through the Art of Sword Control. Wu Yu leapt lightly up, and then took off for the Heavenly Sword Sect without a word!
"Waaa!"
The thousand-odd disciples suddenly understood what Wu Yu was doing. Their souls took leave of their bodies.
As expected, when Wu Yu soared up, the thousand-odd disciples flew as well, still held fast by the Stalk of the Clouds. High in the sky, the disciples dangled behind Wu Yu as he flew in the direction of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Even burdened by so many, Wu Yu's Art of Sword Flight’s speed was not noticeably hampered!
This was the difference between the Art of Sword Flight and riding an Immortal Crane!
An Immortal Crane could at most bear a few in flight.
There were still hundreds of thousands of servant disciples and external disciples at the Zhongyuan Immortal Mountain. They watched this shocking sight as someone took to the skies with a thousand Zhongyuan Dao Sect disciples in tow, their limbs askew as they tumbled through the skies, squawking....
The thousand-odd disciples were trussed up, swinging through the air like a gigantic meat skewer.
"My god!"
That day, Wu Yu had thoroughly traumatized the disciples of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect.
They finally understood what sword cultivation was!
......
Three days’ time!
Feng Xueya's face was drained. Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and his hands trembled occasionally as he fought to control the 10,000 Swords Formation.
The other eight were in worse shape than Feng Xueya. Some knees were already clacking, unable to stand straight.
Before them, close to 20 people were fighting the 10,000 Swords Formation! Each was an expert in their own right, fending off the sword formation's deadly attacks. With Wu Yu absent, any two breaches, or a single breach by any of the 10th tier Qi Condensation cultivators, including Jiang Xie or the Ninth Spirit, would cause the 10,000 Swords Formation to fail completely and vanish. In that instant, the Heavenly Sword Sect would be locked in a three-way life-and-death battle!
The closer they were to succeeding, the more frenzied Jiang Xie and the others became. Of course, they were also growing more arrogant. The threatening sounds shook the Bipo Mountain Range, and the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect knew that their time was near. The more fervent disciples who had sworn to fight to the death were already positioned near the front lines, even pulling out their own immortal treasure longswords!
The 10,000 Swords Formation shook like a small boat buffeted in the open seas. The disciples knew that the 10,000 Swords Formation was mostly spent. It was almost time for the showdown.
"Brothers and sisters, please don't be stingy with forbidden dao techniques today!" Night Wishes for Snow had assumed leadership of the disciples. He knew that drumming up their courage would be important for this fight. Especially because they did not have the upper hand.
"Yeah!"
A chorus of shouts rose with their gleaming swords. The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples had never been more ready to fight.
Bang, bang, bang!
The 10,000 Swords Formation above their heads had already been rent with gaps. Luckily, there was no one right above them; otherwise, they would have rushed in already.
Outside the 10,000 Swords Formation, demons stretched out over the plains and mountains, a huge body that emanated demonic aura. They were hidden in the forests and rivers, where the Heavenly Sword Sect feared to go.
In contrast, they were unafraid of the Zhongyuan Dao Sect disciples, who were brimming with arrogance!
However, they had been reminded that the truly terrifying one was the evil ghost army that the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts would bring. Even though they were but seven - now six - the older few could call forth huge numbers of evil ghosts and vengeful spirits with their ghostly cultivator dao techniques, forming an army that was in no way inferior to the demons themselves. They were the most terrifying opponent!
If not for these abilities, the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts would not be able to stand on equal gains with the others.
The demon army, evil ghost army, and Zhongyuan Dao Sect disciples rubbed their hands in glee, staring covetously at the bountiful Bipo Mountain Range, rich with spiritual qi. They had longed for this day. For this day, they had endured for too long. And to the demons, this was the time when they were hungriest!
In comparison, while the Heavenly Sword Sect was raring to fight, they could not possibly deal with three sides!
In a four way battle, two on two was possible, but one on three spelled the doom of the Heavenly Sword Sect!
"Sect Leader, it's useless to hold on. Let's give it up and reserve some strength for the final battle...." Elder Mu Ge was only at the ninth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm, and the weakest here. He was on the verge of collapsing.
Mu Ge was right.
With the 10,000 Swords Formation this battered, they should instead fight them directly, saving some energy to kill a few more.
He gritted his teeth and looked up into the sky. He eventually managed, "Let's wait for two more hours."
The third day had arrived. He had been able to hold out for so long because of his promise to Wu Yu.
He did not want Wu Yu to see the Bipo Mountain Range completely ravaged upon his return.