A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 171 The Broken Strings of the Heavenly Lyre
Liu Xuanwei's face was full of anger, and the elders beside her dared not say a word.

However, a Taoist priest standing opposite her, dressed in a robe with fiery cloud patterns, laughed and said, "Master Liu, what do you think? The Imperial Sword Manor had planned this all along. They had already devised a way to deal with your sect when the Tianqin Mountain sect was founded. Now it has come true, hasn't it? I think the remaining two lines of defense will be hard to stop their advance."

Hearing these meaningless words, Liu Xuanwei sneered: "If I hadn't listened to you and believed that the Blood Ruyi could enhance my skills, and hadn't tried to take the Blood Ruyi from the Imperial Sword Manor, how could I have suffered this disaster today? Even the Heavenly Evil Zither has fallen into the hands of the Imperial Sword Manor. You sit here and talk without any sense of the pain, so why don't you come up with a solution?"

Liu Xuanwei now deeply regrets listening to Master Huoya's words. Otherwise, with the connections between Tianqin Mountain and Yujian Villa, she would have been living a prosperous life in the martial arts world. She wouldn't be like this now, a rat that everyone wants to kill.

She had already anticipated that only the Imperial Sword Manor had come today, but once they broke through Tianqin Mountain, they would have no place to stand in the martial arts world.

Upon hearing this, Venerable Fire Crow's expression turned serious, and he said, "Lord Liu, there is no other way but to take a risky gamble. As long as Lord Liu agrees to let me enter the forbidden area, I will make sure that the people from Imperial Sword Manor never return!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Liu Xuanwei rejected the Fire Crow Master's suggestion without hesitation. Although she did not know his background, she knew from his practice of consuming flesh and blood to cultivate his skills that he was not a righteous person. She had already made a mistake before and could not make it again.

Upon hearing this, Venerable Fire Crow was not annoyed, but simply sighed, "If Mountain Master Liu wants to preserve the century-old foundation of Tianqin Mountain, this is the only way out besides fighting head-on."

"If I were to enter the forbidden area, I could use the Earth Vein Guiding Technique to set up a trapping array. At that time, Yin Jun and the others would be trapped like turtles in a jar. I would exchange their lives for the Blood Ruyi. I believe Yin Hao would be more than willing to do so. With the help of the Blood Ruyi, Master Liu's power would greatly increase. At that time, would we still have to fear the Imperial Sword Manor?"

Liu Xuanwei remained unmoved, but several elders around her were somewhat tempted. However, after seeing the mountain lord's expression, they had no choice but to suppress their thoughts.

Upon seeing this, Venerable Fire Crow's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he stopped trying to persuade Liu Xuanwei.

"This woman is quite something, but now that things have come to this point, how can I allow you to back down? Once Yin Jun breaks through the remaining two lines of defense, it will be up to you to decide between your own interests and the survival of Tianqin."

On the other side, Yin Jun and the others easily avoided some unnecessary traps by following the map. In no time, they arrived in front of a bamboo forest. Moreover, this bamboo forest was very special. Yin Tianqi discovered that many bamboo stalks had small holes cut into them.

"Second Uncle, is this the Bamboo Sound Sea you mentioned before? Most of these bamboos have been hollowed out. Could it be that they are using the wind to disturb our minds?"

A gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo grove, carrying with it eerie sounds. Anyone with a weak will might be momentarily distracted upon hearing these sounds, and for the two sides in battle, that moment could be fatal.

“That’s right. According to the clan’s records, this Bamboo Sound Sea uses the wind to play eerie sounds, and there are also flying arrows hidden in the bamboo sea. If you are not careful, you will be pierced by a thousand arrows. Moreover, this Bamboo Sound Sea is set up with a maze array according to the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams. If you don’t understand the array, you can easily get trapped in it.”

Yin Jun took a few steps closer. Although this Bamboo Sound Sea is called a sea, it only covers a few acres. With his skill, he could naturally see the scene on the other side at a glance. More than a dozen disciples of Tianqin Mountain were waiting there in full battle. As long as he took one step forward, what awaited them was a trap.

"Tianhe, bring out that 'Bewitching Cauldron'."

Upon hearing the sound, Yin Tianhe immediately took out a palm-sized bronze cauldron from his package. It had an ancient and simple design and a lustrous sheen. Yin Tianhe removed the lid, and Yin Jun put something inside before closing the lid.

Then Yin Tianqi saw Yin Jun point his finger at the cauldron, and the cauldron flashed. Soon after, a thin wisp of smoke floated out from it. At first, the smoke was condensed and did not disperse. With Yin Jun's control, it slowly spread forward and soon spread into the Bamboo Sound Sea.

As the Bamboo Sound Sea gradually filled with a thin layer of smoke, Yin Jun immediately ordered Yin Tianhe to lead the way, and they could find the exit by following the direction indicated by the "Bewitching Smoke Cauldron".

Seeing Yin Tianqi's puzzled look, Yin Jun explained as he walked, "This cauldron is specially designed to break those trap formations. The fine smoke is all-pervasive, and the more agile the formation, the easier it is to get entangled by these fine threads. Moreover, this smoke is not afraid of the wind and can also block the seven holes of those bamboo forests, preventing them from playing music. The only thing we need to guard against is the flying arrows."

"However, there's no need to worry too much. The enemy is shrouded in this smoke. If they had fired arrows from the start, they might have caught us off guard. But they are greedy and want us to step into their formation before they make their move. They've missed their chance, and now they've gone from being on the offensive to being on the defensive."

Once the smoke was released, Zhuyinhai was immediately at a disadvantage. The disciples of Tianqin Mountain, who were waiting for orders, were caught off guard and fell victim to the smoke. The few remaining disciples, seeing the situation was bad, haphazardly shot out arrows and rushed back to report.

The arrows were fired randomly without any target, so they were ineffective. In addition, Yin Jun and the others followed the correct path, and the illusionary formation was broken before it could even be activated.

However, in just a short while, Yin Tianqi felt a sudden light in his eyes and quickened his pace. Looking at the cobblestone path ahead, he knew that he and his companions had successfully made their way out.

Inside the Five Sounds Pavilion, Liu Xuanwei listened to her disciple's report, and her beautiful face changed drastically. In such a short time, Yin Jun had already broken through two lines of defense without losing a single person. This was simply a resounding slap in the face to her.

"Mountain Lord, there is only one line of defense left. Please think of a way."

Elder Gong, a middle-aged beautiful woman, could no longer sit still upon hearing the series of bad news. Although they were skilled, they had no chance of winning against a master like Yin Jun.

Previously, the only reason they had the confidence to confront the Imperial Sword Manor was because of their three lines of defense and the Heavenly Evil Harp. Now that the Heavenly Evil Harp is lost and two of their lines of defense have been breached, if the Soul Absorbing Cave fails to achieve its goal, they will have no choice but to face the enemy head-on.

After Elder Gong finished speaking, he looked up at Liu Xuanwei, whose face was frosty and whose eyes were gradually turning red, making her look quite frightening.

"Daoist Master, are you just going to sit idly by and do nothing? If Tianqin Mountain is destroyed, you will not be able to escape either!"

Liu Xuanwei only looked at Master Huoya. The latter was startled by her gaze. This woman was already prepared to throw caution to the wind. Considering that Tianqin Mountain still had many uses, Master Huoya was unwilling to tear off the mask of civility so quickly.

"Lord Liu, please calm down. I can make some moves at the Soul Absorbing Cave, but don't get your hopes up too high. Yin Jun is a tough opponent. Even if we lose a few Iron Guards, it won't do much good for the overall situation."

Liu Xuanwei remained silent. Seeing this, Elder Gong hurriedly said, "Master, please lend a hand. Even a little delay would be good, giving us more time to plan."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Fire Crow glanced at Liu Xuanwei, who remained silent, and knew that she had tacitly agreed with Elder Gong's words. His expression immediately turned serious.

"Very well, I can help, but I would appreciate it if Master Liu and the elders could come up with a proper solution as soon as possible."

After saying this, Master Fire Crow turned and left the Five Sounds Pavilion, heading towards the Soul Absorbing Cave.

After Venerable Fire Crow left, Liu Xuanwei's eyes sharpened, and she turned to Elder Gong and instructed him, "Elder Gong, you and Elder Shang take this token to the forbidden area and open the mechanism there. Remember, do not let Venerable Fire Crow know about it, otherwise, our Tianqin Mountain will truly have no way out."

Elder Gong was startled by Liu Xuanwei's ruthless expression. He dared not say anything more, took the token, bowed hastily, and left with Elder Shang.

The other elders, not knowing what the mountain lord was doing, could only stand still and listen respectfully for his instructions.

"Elder Yu, send the elite disciples out of Tianqin Mountain through the secret passage as soon as possible, leaving only the ordinary disciples to defend against the enemy. Once the Soul Absorbing Cave is breached, we will have to fight with our true bodies. This battle is a matter of life and death for Tianqin Mountain. I ask all the elders to help me get through this crisis!"

Upon hearing this, all the elders solemnly agreed.

After Elder Yu bowed, he immediately went to make the arrangements.

On the other side, Venerable Fire Crow quickly arrived at the Soul Absorbing Cave with his two disciples. Looking at the dark and quiet cave, a chilling aura blew out from inside, causing the two disciples to shiver involuntarily.

"Master, is there anything special about this grotto? It feels like an ice cellar. When we came here before, it didn't seem this bad."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Fire Crow waved his whisk and explained, "This Soul-Absorbing Cave is built with Frost Nether Stone, and its coldness is extremely strong, which is not something that ordinary people can withstand. This is only a trace of cold air outside. If you go deep inside, you will be frozen into an ice sculpture in no time."

After speaking, Venerable Fire Crow reached into his sleeve and took out an exquisite teapot magic artifact. With a burst of true energy, wisps of red smoke flew out of the spout, swirling in the air and forming fire crows that cawed loudly. The unpleasant and piercing sound made the two disciples feel nauseous.

Upon seeing this, Venerable Fire Crow swept his sleeve, and the two disciples immediately felt their minds clear, and the nausea instantly dissipated.

Under the control of the Fire Crow Master, the fire crows continuously flew into the Soul Absorbing Cave. Even the biting cold could not extinguish the fire crow smoke.

“Master, the essence in the Fire Crow Pot is hard to come by. Isn’t it a pity to waste it like this?”

One of the disciples watched as his master continuously activated the Fire Crow Pot, from which ferocious, crimson fire crows flew out. He felt a pang of heartache, for these fire crow essences were the result of the three of them, master and disciple, painstakingly collecting them.

Each one represents a great deal of effort, and losing even one is heartbreaking.

"How can we show Lord Liu our sincerity if we don't go all out? As long as we can enter that forbidden area, even if we lose all of the Fire Crow's essence, it will be worth it."

Master Fire Crow was also heartbroken, but for the sake of the greater plan, all of this could be sacrificed. After a full quarter of an hour, most of the fire crow essence in the fire crow pot had flown out. Master Fire Crow thought that was enough, so he put away the magic weapon, focused his energy in his eyes, and looked into the cave.

Just after Master Huoya finished making the arrangements, the group from Yujian Villa entered the cave. As soon as they entered, Yin Tianqi and Yin Tianhe felt a chill, which was quickly relieved.

Looking at the jade talisman radiating a crimson light, Yin Tianqi felt a warm sensation flow through his body and couldn't help but admire how magical the jade talisman truly was.

"Father, something's not right about this grotto!"

Yin Tianhe, who was standing nearby, had a keen sense of smell and quickly noticed that the temperature in the cave had changed. Although he had been protected by the red jade talisman before, he could still feel a coolness, but now he could feel a heat.

Upon hearing this, Yin Jun checked carefully and found that it was indeed as Tian He had said. He had been so focused on exploring the way ahead that he had overlooked this subtle change. He then raised his hand, and the Iron Guards behind him immediately stopped in their tracks.

“This grotto was made of Cold Nether Stone, and it shouldn’t be like this. This sudden change must be man-made. However, Liu Xuanwei doesn’t have such great ability to change it. It seems that a master is helping. Tianqi, Tianhe, be careful.”

Yin Jun flicked his wrist, and a dozen fluorescent stones shot out, neatly embedding themselves in the surrounding stone walls, illuminating the road ahead.

Yin Tianqi turned around and gave an order to the guards behind him. They immediately became alert and walked forward cautiously. Suddenly, a streak of fire shot out from ahead and rushed towards them.

"Flash!"

Yin Jun shouted and unleashed a sword light with his longsword. However, after shattering the firelight, another ball of fire flew out from within. Caught off guard, Yin Jun had no time to react and could only shout a warning to those behind him.

Upon hearing this, Yin Tianqi and Yin Tianhe immediately dodged to the side, but the guards were not so lucky. Caught off guard, one of the guards was hit squarely by the flames, his body bursting into flames. He lay on the ground, rolling around, trying to extinguish the fire and smoke.

However, the fire and smoke were really strange. Not only did their efforts not work, but the fire became even more intense. Just as Yin Tianqi was about to step forward to help, Yin Jun grabbed him.

"Don't go forward."

Yin Jun pulled Yin Tianqi aside, pressed down with his hand, and the flames that were burning suddenly slowed down, but then suddenly surged forward. After a few cries of agony, to everyone's horrified gaze, the Iron Guard was burned alive into a pile of ashes.

"What terrifying fire! Even the talisman armor couldn't stop it."

Yin Jun's face turned ashen. This was the first time he had exceeded his expectations. The person who made the move was definitely not an ordinary martial arts practitioner.

"Second Uncle, what about the fire?"

"Keep moving forward. There must still be a lot of fire. Activate all three layers of the protective shield to avoid further losses!"

Although Yin Jun couldn't figure out the origin of the fire, he could roughly tell that it must have come into contact with living things to burn. For now, he could only focus on defense and wait until he found out what it was before he could take appropriate action.

Yin Jun was on high alert this time, constantly sensing any movement from all directions.

After a moment, a glint flashed in Yin Jun's eyes. He made a hand gesture to the back of him, then suddenly leaped up and cleaved the incoming flames with his sword, revealing its true form: a crow engulfed in flames.

The fire crow was pierced by the smoke, its eyes flashed red, and it opened its mouth to caw wildly. Yin Jun's expression changed slightly upon hearing the sound, and a palm strike hit its body, instantly scattering sparks all over the ground.

Just as everyone was on guard, a sudden light appeared in front of the cave, and clusters of intense flames quickly shot in, soon filling the entire cave.

"So it was made from the essence of a fire crow. The method of its making is very similar to the lineage of Daoist Huoyang. They really have a heart that will never give up. Tianqi and Tianhe, remember not to let your bodies touch this thing. Use your sword energy to disperse it from a distance."

Yin Jun recognized the origin of the fire crows, gave an order, and seeing the large number of fire crows in front of him, immediately unleashed several sword beams.

Yin Tianqi and his companion, along with the Iron Guards, were alerted and took to the field. Sparks flew and the fighting raged inside the cave.

On the other side of the cave, Master Fire Crow was controlling fire crows to attack Yin Jun and the others with his eyes closed. Apart from killing one person at the beginning, he failed to succeed in the following moments, and the number of fire crows was also decreasing.

After sensing another fire crow break apart, the Fire Crow Master opened his eyes and looked into the cave with a complicated expression.

"The Imperial Sword Manor is truly formidable."

Knowing he couldn't stay there any longer, Master Fire Crow issued a final command to the remaining fire crows in the cave, instructing them to delay for at least half a moment. He then returned to the Five Sounds Pavilion with his two disciples.

At this moment, only Liu Xuanwei remained in the Five Sounds Pavilion, and Master Huoya immediately frowned.

"Master Liu, I have done my best to stop them, but I can only hold out for another half a moment. I wonder if Master Liu has come up with a plan?"

Liu Xuanwei glanced at Master Huoya and said calmly, "Master, I can open the forbidden area, but you need to capture Yin Jun and the other two. As for the others, you can do whatever you want with them, but I have one condition."

"Oh, what are the conditions?" When Fire Crow Master heard that Liu Xuanwei had agreed to let him enter the forbidden area, he was first delighted, but then his expression turned serious.

"The Master needs to produce the secret manual of the training he performed with flesh and blood that day as a guarantee."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Fire Crow was slightly taken aback, then smiled strangely and said, "Is Master Liu also interested in this supreme divine skill?"

"It's just a guarantee; whether or not it gives people the choice is entirely up to them."

"Since Lord Liu is so sincere, how could I be stingy? I will temporarily hand over this Bloodthirsty Divine Art to Lord Liu."

Master Fire Crow took out a blood-red book from his robes and handed it to Liu Xuanwei. She carefully took it and saw that the book was written with the four characters "Bloodthirsty Divine Art" in gold ink, along with a picture of a monster printed on it. A bloody smell wafted out, which disgusted her.

Composing herself, Liu Xuanwei said, "Master, please come with me."

As he spoke, he headed towards the interior of the pavilion. After a while, he arrived at a tall stone gate. A vermilion bird was carved on the stone gate, so lifelike that it seemed as if it was about to fly out from inside.

Master Fire Crow was thrilled to sense the intense fire energy emanating from the stone gate, but he remained outwardly calm and composed.

After opening the stone door with the token, a wave of heat rushed out. Liu Xuanwei and her companion were unharmed, but the two disciples of Master Huoya felt as if they had fallen into a bronze furnace, their bodies burning as if they were being roasted, and their robes turned yellowish-brown.

Seeing this, Venerable Fire Crow said, "Your skills are insufficient to withstand the fire inside, so just wait outside."

As he spoke, he and Liu Xuanwei entered the stone gate together. As soon as the two stepped into the stone gate, the gate closed automatically. The two disciples looked at each other and stood obediently outside the gate, acting as guards.

Just as Liu Xuanwei and Master Huoya entered the forbidden area, Yin Jun and the others had already defeated Huoya, blown up the stone cave, and engaged in combat with Elder Gong and others who came to intercept them. Although the number of disciples from Tianqin Mountain far exceeded that of Yujian Manor, their overall combat strength was far inferior.

In just half an hour, dozens of people had been killed by swords. As time went by, Tianqin Mountain's numerical advantage vanished. When Elder Gong and the others saw this, they immediately abandoned the ordinary disciples and prepared to escape, but they were stopped by Yin Jun. Although Gong and Shang had some skills, they were still no match for him.

After several moves, Elder Shang was killed by a sword to the throat, and Elder Gong was covered in blood. Seeing Yin Jun's unbridled killing intent, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Second Master Yin, this was all orchestrated by the Mountain Lord and has nothing to do with us. By the way, I also know a secret. If Second Master Yin is willing to let me go, I will offer this secret with both hands."

To save his life, Elder Gong had no choice but to offer an irresistible temptation and kneel down to beg.

Yin Jun merely glanced at her coldly, his long sword gleaming like frost, a chilling aura enveloping Elder Gong.

(End of this chapter)