Qin Yu held the golden dragon spear in his hands as he radiated with a cool, golden light. With sharp, cold eyes, he looked down at Gu Dongliu.
The three senior disciples of the Cottage rattled the Eastern Barren Territory. Today, they would meet their end. With his father keeping everyone in check at the College, no one dared rush to their rescue. When the battle here was finished, they would head over to destroyed the College and the Cottage. It would be a cleansing of the Eastern Barren Territory.
Qin Yu moved and took the form of flashes of golden lightning, breaking into the skies. Before he could even reach Gu Dongliu, the dragon spear released lightning that filled the sky and charged at him like sharp blades.
Gu Dongliu lifted his head, gaze sharpened and his murderous intent filled eyes turned somewhat demonic. In the next moment, Qin Yu entered his line of vision and his opponent’s every move now seemed to be in his control.
All Qin Yu knew was that he could feel shadows appear in his spiritual will. They were like war gods that charged at him. This pissed him off and his heart cooled even more. Spiritual Sorcerers were so annoying. The only way to defend against this type of spiritual attack was with spiritual energy. There was no other way and it was no use trying to dodge out of the way.
HISS! Flashes of lightning emitted from the dragon spear ripped through skies. What followed was the image of the spear shooting forward. A light grew at Gu Dongliu’s feet and as if he had been teleported, he disappeared from where he stood. The spear pierced into a bed of snow, releasing a loud explosion. The ground had been broken and what was left was a terrifying dark hole.
Qin Yu waved the long spear and his body turned with the motion. The lightning seemed to have shifted with the wind and were carried over to a new location, the location where Gu Dongliu was standing.
BOOM! The lightning continued to crackle in the sky. However, each flash only managed to get his shadows as Gu Dongliu moved way too quickly to be caught. His white clothing danced in the wind and the light around his feet was still shining brightly. His hands were held in a mudra. The heavens and earth harmonized and ancient characters began to revolve around his body. It was the character ‘Xing’ of the Kuji-in Nine Seals of Spiritual Power. Each character of the Nine Seals correlated with one mudra, one spell.
Qin Yu’s face fell. He turned slowly and looked at the figure across from him in the sky. He spoke coldly, “Is dodging all you know to do?”
Gu Dongliu stared back at him and all Qin Yu could feel was his body go numb. His spiritual will seemed to be restricted while illusory figures of war gods charged into his mind.
Images of dragons appeared within Qin Yu with a roar. Nine dragons with bright eyes circled and along with these nine dragons, there was also a large, majestic golden dragon. This golden dragon was the Dharma of his Life Spirit.
With loud roars, the dragons, as well as the long spear in his grasp, were on the move. Qin Yu took a step forward and waved his spear once, splitting the skies. However, his attack was still unable to touch Gu Dongliu because he was just too quick.
WHOOSH! The Nine Seals continued to revolve around Gu Dongliu. A bright image of a figure appeared behind him basked in the light from the Nine Seals. Gu Dongliu looked like a deity at this moment.
The Xing character floated in the air and was imprinted on his body. When his environment harmonized, more lines of ancient characters appeared. Following that, Gu Dongliu’s body could be seen zipping through the air, only his shadow could be seen in the vast space. It was beginning to get hard to tell which image of him was real and which were fake. These images all came in front of Qin Yu and were destroyed by the spear in his hands. Then, the images continued to come at him. It was a wild scene to witness as there seemed to be no end to these images of Gu Dongliu.
Behind Qin Yu, the dragons rushed out only to realize that a powerful force of energy gathered which led to the release of war gods. The images of nine war gods graced the skies. They were majestic and formidable with ancient characters revolving around them. They were ready to take on the dragons.
So powerful, thought the crowd as they observed from afar with racing hearts.
They were too powerful. The three eldest disciples of the Cottage were ready to take on the top-dogs of various great forces. The second disciple, Zhuge Hui, a goddess-like beauty, was up against the clan leader of the Donghua Clan. The first disciple, the Sword Saint, fought two men while the third disciple, Gu Dongliu, fought Qin Yu who had a ritual implement.
However, the Qin Dynasty had people who had yet to make their move. Lady Yuxiao watched the battle between Clan Leader Hua and Zhuge Hui. She was ready to tag him out at any time. It was obvious the couple didn’t want to bully a junior cultivator by fighting together. After all, Zhuge Hui could only be considered a junior to them.
Lu Nantian did not make a move either. He observed the battle between Qin Yu and Gu Dongliu. He had fought Gu Dongliu all those years ago in Dongqin College, but Gu Dongliu was much more powerful now. He had already made his way into the grade one Noble Plane. At the same time, he was enlightenment with a sliver of Sage abilities. Although it was just the basics, he was on his way up.
As for the other cultivators, they were all gathered in the air around the battle of the Sword Saint. Better safe than sorry. If both Clan Leader Han Ruoshui of the Fuyun Sword Clan and the first lord of the Royal Xuan Temple couldn’t handle him, they would be ready to attack him as a group. They had their hearts set on coming out victorious in these battles. They could never allow these three eldest disciples of the Cottage to return to the College alive.
The cultivators from the Barren State watched the battles in shock. They were surprised at just how capable the College’s disciples were. They all had Sage abilities. If they were willing to go to the Barren State, it would only be a matter of time that they entered the Sage Plane. Never in a million years did they expect this.
Du Ao eyes were trained on the battlefields. He took notice of Clan Leader Hua and Lady Yuxiao’s abilities. They were extremely powerful indeed. He wondered what they would do if they knew about what he had done to their daughter.
He wasn’t worried though. He had brought quite a lot of powerful cultivators from the Holy Fire Clan. Besides, did they even have the guts to take him on even if they knew?
At the Qianqiu Temple’s campsite, the Arhat had already returned. He took a look at the battlefields and let out an emotionless smile. This was exactly the situation he talked about.
He had another thought: if this situation got even messier, would it be able to start a bigger storm that would drag in the top powers of the Barren State as well?
In the end, the Qin Dynasty and the College would both suffer great losses and may even have their names wiped from the Eastern Barren Territory. This way, the Qianqiu Temple, the Witch Clan, and the Ji Family would be the only top powers left in the Eastern Barren Territory.
“What are you thinking about?” asked a monk when he saw the little twinkle in the Arhat’s eyes.
“I was wondering when our temple would be able to spread throughout the Eastern Barren Territory and receive the respect of the people,” answered the Arhat.
“Buddhism reaches those who were fated for it. There is no need to be greedy for the respect of the people. Fate comes from Buddha. If it’s not fated to be, there is no need to force it,” explained the monk who now held his hands together. “Do you know why our temple is built in the Western Region of the Eastern Barren Territory, facing Sky Mountain and why we refuse to move elsewhere?”
“To use the evilness from Sky Mountain to strengthen our hearts for Buddhism. To be unaffected by the invasion of evils is the fruit of our labors,” said the Arhat.
“There is one more reason. With a clear heart, you will be able to see your true self. Knowing your true self will help rid yourself of all inner evils. Those cultivating in Buddhism have no need in the business of the material world,” said the monk. He held his Buddhist beads tightly and closed his eyes.
“Thank you for your advice, abbot.” The Arhat put his hands together and bowed his head lightly at the head monk. Naturally, he understood the meaning behind the abbot’s words.
…
On Sky Mountain, Ye Futian’s group made their way off the mountain at an unusual speed despite the ground being covered in snow. In no time, they were halfway there. This was when they noticed a figure seated quietly among the snow and boulders of the mountain. The person was covered in a thick layer of white snow. All that could be seen through the thick blanket of precipitation were a pair of beautiful eyes.
It was Hua Qingqing. She was waiting.
The Demon Bird was able to find him, so Ye Futian was able to see everything on Sky Mountain. He walked toward her and removed his long, white robe before draping it over the girl.
“It’s cold.” He smiled at her.
Her innocence-filled eyes met his. He has great eyes.
“Thank you.” Hua Qingqing spoke softly. Ye Futian smiled and turned away. He knew the true meaning behind her words of gratitude.
“What a gentleman,” teased Nan Yu. He looked over at Hua Qingqing and lowered his voice. “Such a pity.” In his opinion, she had already fallen to the wrath of Du Ao. It was truly a pity that this innocent, beautiful girl was taken advantage of by a guy like him. Nan Yu’s heart wavered for her, as beauties did to many.
Chu Shang also looked sympathetically at Hua Qingqing. The group then proceeded on their journey off the mountain.
After they left, Hua Qingqing shook the snow on her body before her thin arm, white as snow, reached out. Ye Futian obviously knew that her clothes were half ruined. She put on Ye Futian’s white robe, not caring how it might look to other people. She then followed the footsteps left behind by Ye Futian’s group and headed off the mountain.
At this point, the group reached the side of the mountain and with a giant leap, they were in the air, descending from Sky Mountain by flight. At the foot of the mountain, the camps set by the people seemed so orderly. Three different battles had broken out in the sky. There were the cultivators from the Barren State and the others who observed off to the side. When Ye Futian and the others leaped off the mountain, they landed in the middle of a battle.
“Big brother, second sister, third brother.” Ye Futian froze. He then saw Qin Yu and the others which cause his expression to turn cold. The people of the Qin Dynasty had actually picked a fight with his senior brothers and sister at Sky Mountain.
Du Ao turned his attention in one direction in confusion. That was when he saw Hua Qingqing and smiled in her direction. Hua Qingqing had also seen him but her expression was cold.
She’s actually okay? The Arhat was surprised. He looked at Hua Qingqing and saw the clothes she was wearing. He couldn’t help but let out an interested expression. Could there be a story on Sky Mountain?
Hua Qingqing was wearing Ye Futian’s clothes and she had also purposely lied about Ye Futian’s time on Sky Mountain. The Arhat was sharp at picking up these things and it felt strange. Could something truly interesting have happened at the top of Sky Mountain back then?
Qingqing. From afar, Lu Nantian saw her. Then, he saw the clothes she was wearing and the look on his face changed.
“Capture Ye Futian,” ordered Qin Yu who was in the middle of his battle with Gu Dongliu. Some cultivators who had been observing in the sidelines charged in Ye Futian’s direction.
They really have a death wish.
In the midst of her battle, Zhuge Hui struck down with her long whip, forcing Clan Leader Hua back. She then rushed over to Ye Futian, leaving behind only illusory images of herself.
Clan Leader Hua reached out and his large hand grabbed a figure only to have it disappear in front of his very eyes. Only then did he realize that the figure wasn’t really Zhuge Hui.
He seemed confused for a second, then screamed loudly at the cultivators headed for Ye Futian, “Watch out!” Just as his voice rang out, Zhuge Hui appeared and snapped her long whip in their direction!