Chapter 592: Zong Yuan

The morning bell that usually sounded peaceful and gentle enough to soothe the heart now became a truly deafening roar. With strike after strike, thunderous reverberations rolled through the pavilion. The monks outside thought their Abbot had gone mad and clapped their hands over their ears in astonishment.

Huang Lie looked toward Niu Youdao at the sound.

Niu Youdao slowly lowered his raised hand, his expression utterly calm.

Those atop the pavilion who knew nothing of the arrangements quickly moved over to look.

The flower-robed man's gaze abruptly fixed on a cave in the mountains.

That cave was a restricted area used for brewing wine. For years, miscellaneous personnel had been forbidden from approaching it.

Now a group of black-clad masked men burst from within.

Masked men in black flashed out from other caves throughout the mountains as well, all racing toward Maolu Villa at the summit.

In moments, a full ring of black-clad masked men stood atop the villa walls.

Every rooftop within Maolu Villa had someone land upon it.

Another group swept directly onto the high pavilion and formed layer after layer of guards around it. Some watched the surroundings, while others stared toward the enormous flying mounts approaching high above.

Seeing these men appear, Yuan Fang immediately stopped ringing the bell. He waved toward the monks who were still covering their ears and looking around in confusion.

“Go, go, quickly!”

His broad sleeves flapping, he led the entire group of monks away first.

They were heading toward the place where Zhuang Hong and her son were staying to hide from the danger.

When it came to running for his life, Yuan Fang was unquestionably the most enthusiastic person here.

Many people atop the pavilion had known nothing about the plan and had no idea where this group of black-clad masked men had come from.

The flower-robed man glanced lightly at Niu Youdao.

He had seen these people before.

When Niu Youdao was attacked on the road, the same masked men had appeared. He simply had not known Niu Youdao had already secretly arranged for them to hide here.

One glance at their movements was enough for the people of Dachan Mountain to know that every one of these masked men was an expert.

There were several hundred of them.

And they had surrounded the place completely.

The Dachan Mountain group instantly became tense.

Earlier, they had still believed that even if the two sides fell out, Niu Youdao's manpower might not be enough to stop them from breaking free.

Now Maolu Villa had revealed one of its hidden cards.

At last, they felt the dense weight of danger and realized that Niu Youdao could detain them here whenever he wished.

It was not that Niu Youdao lacked the courage to turn against them.

He simply had not turned against them yet.

Huang Lie's face grew grave. “Little brother, who exactly are these people?”

Niu Youdao remained expressionless and did not answer.

Then Huang Lie noticed something strange in the expressions of the Elders around him. He suddenly looked back.

From behind the mountain, ten enormous flying mounts shot into the sky.

They swept roaring over Maolu Villa.

Each one carried a group of black-clad masked men hanging from it, so heavily loaded that none of the mounts could fly at full speed.

They headed directly toward the dozen-plus giant flying mounts approaching from high above.

This was plainly a move to intercept and fight.

The fact that Niu Youdao could mobilize ten such flying mounts at once was itself enough to shock people.

Huang Lie immediately lost interest in asking anything further. His eyes locked onto the sky.

Shang Shuqing finally drew her gaze down from above.

She looked around, then turned toward the back of Niu Youdao, who stood planted on his sword, steady and unmoving.

Yin'er was still holding her food box and munching away.

The sudden appearance of so many masked men only made her look twice out of curiosity. Her mouth never stopped moving.

Being carefree to the point of heartlessness was not always a bad thing.

At least no matter how tense the atmosphere became, none of it seemed capable of affecting her.

On the mountaintop beyond the villa, Yuan Gang, Fei Changliu, and the others also looked up and personally witnessed the enemy descending from high above.

Their arrows could not reach that altitude.

“Not good! We've fallen into a trap. The defenses inside the villa are empty. They're going to air-drop men directly into Maolu Villa. We need to pull people back to reinforce them immediately!” Fei Changliu cried in alarm.

He truly was worried for Niu Youdao.

If Niu Youdao fell, given the current position of the three sects, they would be finished as well.

Yuan Gang raised a hand and stopped him. “Master Dao isn't someone to be trifled with. He prepared for this long ago. We don't need to worry about his side. We only need to handle what's in front of us.”

He had barely finished speaking when ten flying mounts rose from Maolu Villa and climbed into the sky to draw the enemy away.

There appeared to be no shortage of men hanging from them either.

Their momentum was no weaker than that of the attackers.

So there truly had been preparations.

The sight immediately steadied Fei Changliu and the others.

Yuan Gang raised the Three-Roars Saber and pointed down the mountain. “Someone has broken through! The garrison can't stop cultivators in close combat. Sect Leader Fei, this battle concerns the survival of all three sects and Maolu Villa. Stop them at any cost. No one is allowed to cross the defensive line and interfere with Master Dao's battle!”

The range covered by the arrows and siege crossbows was limited after all.

Under the attackers' desperate assault, experts finally broke out beyond the killing zone and charged toward the defensive line. Their intent was plainly to destroy and disrupt the formations.

Once the firing line was thrown into chaos, the attackers behind them would inevitably surge through in force.

Some Liuxian Sect disciples had already rushed out in desperation to intercept them.

A savage decisiveness flashed across Fei Changliu's face. He seized a pair of crescent wheels in both hands and swept one arm forward.

“Kill!”

He personally flew down first.

Several Elders drew their weapons and followed him.

“Anyone who retreats without authorization will be treated as a traitor to the sect!”

Fei Changliu's voice rang across the defensive line.

At the orders of the Sect Leader and Elders, a group of Liuxian Sect disciples immediately rushed out from the front line and surrounded the Feihua Pavilion cultivators who had broken through.

The attackers were fighting desperately to shatter the terrifying defensive line and reduce the losses their fellow disciples were suffering beneath the arrow storm.

The defenders were fighting desperately to hold that line because the survival and interests of their own sect depended on it.

The instant the two sides collided in close quarters, killing intent exploded.

In a heartbeat, both sides were fighting with their lives on the line.

The arrow storm still blanketed the battlefield.

Piles of steel spears were rapidly being consumed.

With firing angles already adjusted, the siege crossbows continued their covering volleys in a steady, orderly rhythm.

High in the sky, the dozen-plus attacking flying mounts were likewise burdened with large numbers of people and unable to move quickly.

The purpose of the air-drop had never been long-distance travel.

Its purpose was to cross the outer defensive interception zone.

Seeing ten flying mounts rise from below, each carrying large numbers of men to meet them, the attackers were stunned.

They had not expected Maolu Villa to possess so many enormous flying mounts of its own.

“Down!”

Someone swung an arm and shouted, then jumped first.

The people hanging from the attacking mounts began dropping one after another, abandoning the idea of riding their flying beasts closer to the target.

Flying mounts were too vulnerable against cultivators and far too expensive to sacrifice.

Besides, the target was already directly below.

From this height, they could simply glide straight down into position.

More than a hundred figures began gliding through the air, diving toward the ten mounts coming up to meet them.

The ten mounts immediately veered away.

Freed of their heavy loads, they accelerated rapidly, preparing to go receive the next group of men that would need to cross the defensive line.

Only one mount remained where it was.

Two men stood upon it.

“Up!”

Among the masked defenders, someone swung an arm and pointed toward the incoming attackers.

With a rush of wind, the defenders launched together into the sky.

The now-lightened ten flying mounts immediately turned and sped back, withdrawing from danger.

Ninety masked men collided in midair with more than a hundred attackers.

The intercepting side was inferior in numbers, but they successfully prevented the enemy from diving directly into Maolu Villa.

The two groups fought savagely as they descended, neither side able to remain suspended in the air for long.

As they dropped, men were struck dead and fell one after another.

Bang! Bang!

Bodies smashed into the ground.

Those who had not been killed by the blows were probably finished by the fall.

Seeing that his own side was outnumbered and that the enemy consisted entirely of experts, one of the black-clad masked men watching from the villa wall suddenly swept an arm outward.

“One unit, follow me! Kill!”

He launched himself first.

Nearly a hundred masked men immediately flew after him, pouring out of the villa and racing down the mountain toward the point where the two sides were descending.

The arrival of more than a hundred additional experts instantly began tipping the battle overwhelmingly in one direction.

“Who are you people?” one attacker roared furiously.

None of them had imagined Maolu Villa concealed so many experts.

When Ga Miaoshui had spoken earlier, some among them had even felt the operation was making too much of a minor target.

No one thought that anymore.

Even from here, they could still see another group of masked men standing atop Maolu Villa's walls who had yet to make a move.

A flying mount circled down through the sky and passed over the airspace outside the villa.

An elderly man in yellow robes stood upon its back, coldly surveying the situation within Maolu Villa.

His gaze seemed to settle on Niu Youdao atop the high pavilion.

Niu Youdao noticed him as well and stared back.

Several masked men atop the wall suddenly drew their swords and sent multiple fierce blades of sword qi slashing toward the low-flying mount.

The old man in yellow swept one broad sleeve.

Bang! Bang!

Invisible force effortlessly shattered the sword qi coming toward him.

Ordinary people could see nothing.

But to cultivators who had opened their Dharma Eyes and were watching closely, the energy rolling from the old man's sleeve was perfectly clear. It carried a hazy orange radiance.

The flying mount was in too much danger at low altitude. It abruptly beat its wings and climbed high again.

The flower-robed man narrowed his eyes at the old man in yellow rising away with the mount. A fierce light flickered within his gaze.

Standing atop the pavilion, Huang Lie said heavily, “Zong Yuan. They actually managed to send him!”

“Zong Yuan?” Niu Youdao did not know the man personally. He turned and asked, “The expert ranked seventh on the Golden Core Ranking?”

Huang Lie nodded. “I've never met him, but from the way he just attacked, it looks like him.”

Niu Youdao immediately turned to the flower-robed man. “Do you know him?”

“I've heard the name but never met the man. From the look of him, it should be Zong Yuan. To deal with you, they actually managed to draw someone like this out. They've certainly paid a heavy price.”

If both Huang Lie and this man believed the visitor was Zong Yuan, there should be little doubt.

Niu Youdao was genuinely surprised.

He had heard of Zong Yuan even if he had never met him.

He had not expected the imperial court to drag out an independent expert of this caliber, a man who had long since had no reason to involve himself in worldly struggles.

The scale of the imperial court's move against him had exceeded Niu Youdao's expectations.

He realized he had still been somewhat careless.

“Then it appears this Zong Yuan is their trump card for killing me. Are you confident?”

Niu Youdao knew that the flower-robed man's rank on the Golden Core Ranking was below Zong Yuan's.

Anyone who had reached Zong Yuan's position on the ranking had fought his way there through genuine strength. There was no room for luck. A great reputation was never without substance.

This was unquestionably one of the cultivation world's true experts among experts.

Niu Youdao had originally believed that bringing the flower-robed man out, together with his own meticulous preparations, gave him a reasonable measure of confidence.

Now, it seemed he might still need to prepare to run for his life.

The flower-robed man's gaze remained locked on the sky.

There was no sign of fear on his face.

If anything, his voice carried a hard edge of eagerness for battle.

“I can give him a try.”

The moment those words were spoken, Huang Lie and the others all turned toward him.

Had they heard correctly?

Or had they misunderstood what the two men were discussing?

Did this man actually mean to exchange blows with Zong Yuan?

With Zong Yuan's strength, Dachan Mountain itself probably had only a handful of secluded veteran elders capable of matching him.

Who exactly was this flower-robed man to speak with such confidence?

[End of Chapter 592]