Chapter 757: All of You, Stop!

What was happening? What had just happened?

Everything had occurred too suddenly. Neither side had managed to react.

The people behind Niu Youdao had no idea what was happening. Neither did the Zhao cultivators blocking the road.

One moment there had been a confrontation. The next, someone had suddenly attacked, suddenly begun killing, and blood and flesh were flying everywhere.

Both sides were stunned, even alarmed.

The Yan cultivators arriving from elsewhere were just as dumbfounded. What was going on?

Once they learned that Zhao cultivators had blocked Niu Youdao and his group, Yan's cultivators naturally refused to show weakness. They immediately called people together and hurried over.

They had intended to come bolster Niu Youdao's side and preserve Yan's momentum. Who could have imagined that the moment they appeared, they would see this?

The Yan cultivators were led by three Elders: Shan Hai of Xiaoyao Palace, Yan Li of Zijin Cave, and Chu Fengping of Lingjian Mountain.

The entire group stopped dead, collectively stunned.

Someone had actually dared attack here?

Had he taken the wrong medicine, or simply gone mad?

Because the Zhao cultivators were blocking the road, the people approaching from Yan's side still could not see clearly who had made the first move.

At the entrances of the caves throughout the valley, no small number of people had leaned out to watch the Zhao cultivators block the road.

They had been enjoying the spectacle.

Then this happened.

Every last one of them stared in shock.

Even the Misty Pavilion cultivators stationed around Tiangu were stunned.

What was going on?

Wang Bukong, Elder of Zhao's Guiyuan Sect, was equally horrified.

His first reaction was to draw his sword and instinctively prepare to counterattack.

But the instant the blade left its sheath, his expression changed violently again.

Panic flashed across his face.

Before he could even swing his sword, he turned and fled.

Niu Youdao had killed two men with a single sweep of his sword.

The sword had left its sheath and returned in an instant. His movements were clean and decisive.

He drove the sheathed sword partway into the earth.

At the same moment the blade returned to its sheath, his other hand flicked out a talisman.

Vast power erupted from it and enveloped him.

Wang Bukong, who had been about to strike, nearly cried out in shock.

A Heavenly Sword Talisman!

Niu Youdao had not brought the Heavenly Sword Talisman out merely to frighten people.

He activated it immediately.

There was not the slightest hesitation.

Once he moved, he gave no one any chance to react.

Wang Bukong's scalp went numb.

He had never dreamed such a thing could happen here.

He turned and fled.

Niu Youdao swept out his hand.

The surging power gathered into a colossal sword aura that screamed forward with the force of splitting Heaven and earth, slashing straight toward Wang Bukong.

At the same time, Niu Youdao stepped onto the hilt of the sword planted in the ground and directed another lightning-fast giant sword aura after him.

After killing Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing, he had immediately fixed his attention on Wang Bukong.

Since the man had offended him, Niu Youdao had no intention of letting him go.

Now that he had already attacked, and now that he had the opportunity, he would not spare a single one of the three men leading Zhao's major sects here.

Wang Bukong twisted in midair and swung his sword, pouring every scrap of cultivation he possessed into resisting.

The terror in his eyes and the grief and fury on his face were difficult to describe.

He was almost despairing.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three colossal sword auras thundered out in succession, one after another like chained cannon fire.

A figure in midair exploded into blood and flesh.

A sword spun away through the air.

At the cave entrances around the valley, people sucked in cold breaths.

They had just watched Wang Bukong be ambushed and killed on the spot by a Heavenly Sword Talisman.

The Heavenly Sword Talisman held the power of twelve stored sword-aura strikes.

Niu Youdao had no intention of wasting what remained.

After killing Wang Bukong, he swept his hand again.

The remaining colossal sword auras shot out in rapid succession like thunderbolts, slashing and twisting chaotically through the surrounding Zhao cultivators.

The Zhao cultivators screamed as they scattered into the air.

Wherever the thunderous sword shadows flashed among them, bursts of blood and flesh exploded.

The Yan cultivators who had been rushing over had first assumed Zhao was the side attacking.

After their initial shock, they hurried forward, preparing to lend assistance.

Then they saw what happened next and nearly thought their eyes had deceived them.

Niu Youdao was wielding a Heavenly Sword Talisman and slaughtering people wholesale.

Assist him with what?

Better to get out of the way first!

The Yan cultivators streaking toward the scene twisted in midair and fled in the opposite direction.

They had no choice.

That bastard Niu Youdao was swinging giant sword-aura shadows around in indiscriminate attacks, cutting people down like melons and vegetables.

He had gone mad.

The rapid, thunderous barrage was simply too frightening.

Who would willingly charge into it and court death?

Of course they ran first.

When all twelve sword-aura strikes stored in the Heavenly Sword Talisman had thundered out, the scene looked as though Heaven and earth had been overturned.

Earth and stone exploded.

Blood and flesh flew.

Screams mingled with the deafening booms.

After the twelve thunderous strikes passed, smoke and dust rolled through the valley.

Niu Youdao, who had been standing with one foot on the sword hilt, spun down to the ground.

His hand came to rest naturally on the sword before him.

Cold eyes swept his surroundings.

Killing intent covered his face.

It was rare for the vicious ruthlessness inside him to show so openly.

"Master!"

"Senior Brother!"

Only after scattering did Zhao's cultivators finally cry out in grief.

Seeing that the Heavenly Sword Talisman's power had been exhausted, how could they simply watch without responding?

A group of them quickly turned back, ready to counterattack and take revenge.

Niu Youdao looked coldly over everyone around him.

One hand remained on his sword.

With a casual flick of the other, another talisman appeared between his fingers.

Anyone who dared come forward was welcome to try.

Another Heavenly Sword Talisman!

The Zhao cultivators who had just rushed back immediately braked and dropped to the ground.

Every one of them stared warily at the talisman in Niu Youdao's hand.

Surrounded by powerful enemies, Niu Youdao stood exactly where he was.

One hand rested on his sword.

The Heavenly Sword Talisman held between two fingers waited motionless.

The first Heavenly Sword Talisman had been real.

This second one was the bluff.

But after the ruthless attack they had just witnessed, who dared believe he was only bluffing?

The Zhao cultivators were filled with grief and fury, yet not one dared move rashly.

Using a Heavenly Sword Talisman to frighten people was somewhat ostentatious.

Niu Youdao did not care.

He was not afraid of others seeing that he still possessed Heavenly Sword Talismans.

What he feared was people not knowing that he still had them.

He wanted everyone to know.

Anyone who wished to find out exactly how many Heavenly Sword Talismans he still carried was free to come and try.

If they were not afraid of death, then come!

The group that had arrived with Niu Youdao had also been forced far back.

Although Niu Youdao had not attacked them, the indiscriminate might of the barrage had frightened them into retreating a great distance, lest they be caught in the disaster.

They all stared at Niu Youdao in a daze.

Yun Ji and her son.

Ghost Mother, who had retreated beneath a cliff wall.

Situ Yao and the disciples of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion.

The people from Liuxian Sect and the other allied sects.

Every single one of them was stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

Most of these people knew Niu Youdao very well.

Yet most had never actually seen him fight.

Ordinarily, Niu Youdao seemed quite amiable in their eyes.

The sword in his hand was usually nothing more than a walking stick. He leaned on it and wandered around, and whenever a matter could be solved with words, he never used his hands.

He had always convinced people through reason.

Who had ever seen this version of Niu Youdao?

One disagreement, and he opened a slaughter.

Forget reasoning with anyone.

He had not even left the other side room to reason with him.

Was this really the same Niu Youdao?

The sword he used as a walking stick had suddenly left its sheath without the slightest warning.

The instant it left the sheath, there was blood and death.

And drawing the treasured sword had apparently not been satisfying enough.

Without another word, he had immediately smashed a Heavenly Sword Talisman into the fight as well.

Usually he did not act at all.

Once he acted, however, he was vicious, steady, and precise.

He had struck suddenly while the opposing group stood clustered together and completely unprepared.

The burst of violence had caught everyone off guard.

Blood and flesh had flown everywhere.

Situ Yao swallowed dryly, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He was still somewhat dazed.

Wan Tongfu, Wang Bukong, and Ming Jing.

The three Elders sent by Zhao's three major sects to take charge of their people entering the Tiandu Secret Realm...

Gone?

The men who had been blocking the road and threatening them only moments ago were simply gone?

Situ Yao looked at the severed limbs and broken bodies on the ground, at the fresh blood splashed everywhere.

For a moment, he could not even tell how many people Niu Youdao had killed.

A whole group had been standing together without the slightest preparation when Niu Youdao launched that sudden assault.

The casualties could not be small.

Probably dozens had died.

The ones standing near the front had most likely been elite core disciples Zhao had specifically sent for the Tiandu Secret Realm.

To lose so many elite disciples in one blow, along with all three Elders responsible for leading them...

Situ Yao had no idea how Zhao's people were supposed to proceed once they entered the Tiandu Secret Realm.

He did not know everything, but there was one thing he could estimate.

At most, one day remained before the Tiandu Secret Realm opened.

By the time news was sent back to Zhao and the three major sects reorganized replacements and sent them here, there probably would not be enough time.

The others had not thought as far as Situ Yao.

Yun Ji and the rest only stared at Niu Youdao standing alone there and wanted to ask one question.

Had he grown tired of living?

Had he gone mad?

The Yan cultivators led by Shan Hai of Xiaoyao Palace, Yan Li of Zijin Cave, and Chu Fengping of Lingjian Mountain were equally frozen, staring blankly at Niu Youdao.

"Did this fellow take the wrong medicine?" Chu Fengping of Lingjian Mountain asked numbly.

Then he slowly turned and glanced at a female disciple behind him who stood as though carved from wood.

No one answered.

Yan Li of Zijin Cave felt his expression twitch.

He knew perfectly well how much Zijin Cave's interests were tied to Niu Youdao.

Before they left, Gong Lince had repeatedly spoken to him at length and told him to protect Niu Youdao's safety as much as possible.

Protect him?

Protect him with what?

The Tiandu Secret Realm had not even opened yet.

No one had even entered.

This man had already gone mad and rushed to court death on his own.

How were they supposed to protect someone like that?

Of course, protection had never been unconditional.

Before coming here, Gong Lince, Long Xiu, and Meng Xuan had already met and discussed the matter.

They would protect Niu Youdao only if circumstances allowed.

Once the situation inside the Tiandu Secret Realm became untenable, once the combined assault from the various states became impossible to resist, the three major sects would not knowingly do the impossible.

At that point, they could only abandon Niu Youdao.

Gong Lince had not told Niu Youdao that.

Nor would he.

Gong Lince had wanted to bind Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain into protecting Niu Youdao to the end, but there was no way to drag the other two sects along by unreasonable means without arousing their suspicions.

If both sects gave up, Zijin Cave alone could not hold the line.

Then Zijin Cave would have no choice but to abandon Niu Youdao as well.

Looking at matters now, however, it seemed Yan's three major sects had worried too much.

The man had not even entered the Secret Realm yet, and events had already gone beyond anything they were capable of handling.

"Who's that lunatic?" an overseas cultivator who did not recognize Niu Youdao asked.

"Niu Youdao. Heard of him?" someone answered.

"Oh, so that's Niu Youdao from Nanzhou in Yan. Heh, that brat has quite the temper!"

At one cave entrance, Wu Zhaoxing, ranked sixth on the Golden Core Ranking, watched the scene in the valley.

His brows slowly furrowed.

At another cave entrance, Yan Baoru, the bright and beautiful woman ranked second on the Golden Core Ranking, watched the scene with a faint, ambiguous smile.

At yet another cave entrance, Ximen Qingkong, ranked first on the Golden Core Ranking, watched without expression.

Only his gaze flickered slightly.

The enormous disturbance had alarmed everyone.

Bai Yulou, who was overseeing affairs outside the valley, was alarmed as well and flashed over to investigate.

Then he saw the scene before him.

When he realized the one who had acted was Niu Youdao, even Bai Yulou stared in disbelief for a moment.

He cursed inwardly.

Has this brat gone mad?

He actually dares cause trouble here!

At last, a belated furious roar thundered from him.

"All of you, stop!"

[End of Chapter 757]