A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 303 The Beginning of the Conflict

Seeing their leader suffer a setback, the Sun and Moon Duo exchanged a glance and rushed towards Ni Qingfeng. The two attacked from the left and right, unleashing two completely different palm strikes. Ni Qingfeng snorted coldly, sheathed his sword, and with a wave of his right hand, an invisible gale swept past. The Sun and Moon Duo felt their palm strikes sink into a quagmire, no matter how they tried to move them, it was like dragons trapped in shallow water.

Shangguan Yun glanced at his subordinate, whose face was gradually turning red, and his eyes flickered. With a hum, the soft sword in his hand shot out five sword lights again. The sword lights spun and shattered the gale. Seeing this, the Sun and Moon Duo hurriedly withdrew and came behind Shangguan Yun, looking at Ni Qingfeng with a look of horror.

"Master Ni's skill is profound, and I admire it greatly. But does Master Ni really think he can fight against the entire martial arts world by himself?"

Seeing Ni Qingfeng display his power, Shangguan Yun's expression returned to calm as he coldly stared at him.

As soon as Shangguan Yun finished speaking, the leaders of more than ten sects behind him stood up one after another, all looking at Ni Qingfeng with unfriendly expressions.

Guo Rui, the leader of the Double Gun Sect, said, "Ni Qingfeng, if you know what's good for you, get out of the way quickly. Otherwise, if everyone rushes at you, you won't be able to handle it. Considering we're all from the martial arts world, as long as you step aside, we can all be peaceful. Otherwise, these double guns in my hands don't discriminate!"

Seeing that Ni Qingfeng had made Shangguan Yun suffer a loss in just a few moves, Guo Rui was also very wary. However, in the face of huge profits, he forcibly suppressed his wariness. Moreover, with Hall Master Shangguan in charge, plus all of them, they could wear Ni Qingfeng down.

Upon hearing Guo Rui's words, the others also rushed to echo him, all conveying the same message: that Ni Qingfeng should not be ungrateful and should prioritize the greater good of the martial arts world.

Ni Qingfeng glanced indifferently at the crowd in front of him and said in a deep voice, "The Tianshan Sect is not easily intimidated. If you have time, you might as well search other places. If it gets too late, you might not even get a sip of soup."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yun gripped his soft sword tightly and said coldly, "Ni Qingfeng, I have repeatedly tolerated you, yet you are so arrogant. Fine, today I will teach you a lesson on behalf of Sect Leader Xue."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shangguan Yun held his sword in his right hand and channeled his inner energy into his left palm. The sword light flashed and the palm force was immense. Seeing this, the Sun and Moon Duo also made their moves at the same time, sending two palm energies, one yin and one yang, directly towards Ni Qingfeng. They knew they were no match for Ni Qingfeng, so they were only trying to buy time for their leader.

Just as the three attacked at the same time, Guo Rui of the Double Gun Sect had a glint in his eyes and immediately led his disciples to rush into the cave. The other sects were taken aback at first, but then followed suit.

"court death!"

Ni Qingfeng snorted coldly, and a white light flashed. The Yin-Yang Palm Force of the Sun and Moon Duo was broken first, followed by Shangguan Yun's Sword and Palm Dual Absolutes. Then, the sword force continued its momentum and directly tore through the protective aura of the Sun and Moon Duo. The two groaned and coughed up blood, retreating several feet. If it weren't for the rocks blocking their way, they would have been cut off and fell off the cliff.

Shangguan Yun was also affected by the sword light. His swordsmanship was flawless, blocking the incoming white light. However, after several collisions, he heard a soft sound and felt his hand loosen. Looking closely, he saw that the soft sword had broken in two, with one half stuck diagonally in the ground.

After defeating Shangguan Yun and his two companions, Ni Qingfeng was about to attack Guo Rui and the others when he suddenly had a thought, stopped, turned around, and stared intently at Shangguan Yun.

When Guo Rui and the others learned that Ni Qingfeng had not come, they were overjoyed and were about to lead their men in when they suddenly felt a sense of danger. Guo Rui hurriedly dodged, and saw a sword light slashing from the cave. The one who landed behind Guo Rui was Bai Shi Shangren from Fei Shi Valley. Caught off guard, he was cut on the arm by the sword light.

Master Baishi, clutching his bleeding arm, quickly retreated to the side, his eyes fixed on Shen Henian as he emerged from the cave.

The others were rushing excitedly into the cave, but when they saw Guo Rui flash by and then saw Master Baishi severely injured by a sword, they all stopped in their tracks and looked over with solemn expressions.

"Shen Henian, does your Tianshan Sect intend to make enemies of the martial arts world?!"

After using the wound medicine to stop the bleeding, Master Baishi roared at Shen Henian with a look of shock and anger.

Guo Rui also stared at Shen Henian with murderous intent, his two pistols already in his hands. Seeing this, the others also drew their weapons.

"When has the Tianshan Sect ever needed to consider your opinions? You all think too highly of yourselves. If you want to enter the cave, you'll have to get past my sword."

Shen Henian is currently in high spirits, with the rise of the Tianshan Sect imminent, and he will not allow anyone to cause trouble.

"Very well, the Tianshan Sect is indeed a wolf in sheep's clothing. Let's forget about morality and attack them side by side!"

Guo Rui shouted and swung his two guns at Shen Henian. The others were stunned at first, but then, remembering the treasures in the cave, they immediately took up their weapons and stepped forward to fight alongside Guo Rui against Shen Henian. Although Shen Henian was skilled in martial arts, he was only one person and could only try his best to hold off the sect leaders. The disciples all rushed into the cave.

Relying on his Xuan Tie sword and combining it with the Tian Shan Xuan Gong, Shen Henian effortlessly cleaved several sect leaders and their soldiers in two with a single sword strike, splattering blood all over the ground. It was extremely brutal. In just a short while, only Guo Rui, Bai Shi Shangren, and Jin Di Shusheng from the Jin Di Sect remained in the arena.

"The Xuan Tie Sword!"

When Jin Di Shusheng saw the sword in Shen Henian's hand, his expression changed drastically. Guo Rui and Bai Shi Shangren were also shocked, but their faces showed greed. If they could get the Xuan Tie sword, their trip would not have been in vain.

"Indeed, it is the Xuan Tie Sword. If you all retreat, you may still have your lives. Otherwise, if you take one wrong step, it will be too late to regret it."

Shen Henian flicked his wrist, and the gleaming sword flashed with a chilling light as he looked at the three of them with calm and indifferent eyes.

"Shen Henian, this time it's not that you're letting us go, but that we're not letting you go. The Xuan Tie Sword, such a treasure, should belong to us. You two, let's finish this quickly."

Guo Rui nodded to Master Baishi and Scholar Jindi, and the three quickly reached an agreement. Guo Rui then placed the two short spears end to end, pulled them together, and held a six-foot-long spear horizontally in his hand. He performed a spear flourish, and then a cold glint pierced the air with a hiss, directly aiming at Shen Henian's abdomen. At the same time, Master Baishi placed three round pebbles in his hand in a triangular formation, attacking Shen Henian's "Lingmen," "Shanzhong," and "Juque" acupoints.

Seeing this, Shen Henian's heart skipped a beat. Looking at the cold spear thrusting towards him, he dodged to the side and slashed diagonally from below with his Xuan Tie sword, intending to use the advantage of the divine weapon to cut the spear in half. However, Guo Rui seemed to have already sensed Shen Henian's intention. The spear trembled, and the red tassel on the spearhead suddenly exploded. Although the Xuan Tie sword was extremely sharp, it was entangled by the red tassel for a moment. Although it was quickly freed, the three stones of the White Stone Master were already close at hand. At this moment, a glint flashed in the eyes of the Golden Flute Scholar. He held his flute to his lips, and a sinister and eerie voice suddenly appeared, echoing throughout the cave.

"not good."

Shen Henian was startled by the demonic sound. Although it was dispersed by the pure true energy in his body, his body paused for a moment. In addition, his longsword was locked. The three pebbles quickly approached within three feet of Shen Henian. Just as he was about to be hit by the pebbles, two sword lights suddenly shot out from the cave, one taking the pebble and the other taking the Golden Flute Scholar.

Swords flashed and clashed, and with a few sharp cracks, the three pebbles were shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of this moment, Shen Henian immediately drew his sword and slashed horizontally, directly at the spearhead.

Seeing the sword light coming towards him, the Golden Flute Scholar's expression changed. He hurriedly took down his flute, held it horizontally in his hand, and poured his inner strength into it. When it collided with the sword light, a miserable scream was heard. When Master Baishi turned around, he saw that the Golden Flute Scholar's arm was gone, and a deep sword wound stretched from his left abdomen to his right abdomen, covered in blood. It was a very tragic sight.

Master Baishi was terrified. Looking at Guo Rui, who was cornered, his expression changed several times. Then, he flicked his fingers and threw eight stones at Shen Henian. He then turned and ran away.

"Go away!"

A delicate shout accompanied by a sword light descended from the sky. Zhuo Bing, the fourth disciple of Tianshan, appeared with a frosty expression, holding a sharp sword. With skillful lightness and agility, she blocked Bai Shi Shangren's path in a few leaps. Upon seeing that it was just a Tianshan disciple blocking his way, Bai Shi Shangren sneered. If it were Fu Tianjiao or Zhao Kai, he might be a little wary, but Zhuo Bing was not well-known and did not have much ability. Thinking of this, Bai Shi Shangren leaped forward, took out a copper whip, and swung it repeatedly, striking at Zhuo Bing.

Seeing this, Zhuo Bing remained calm. He moved his long sword lightly, avoiding direct confrontation with the copper whip. He used skillful force to deflect the opponent's fierce attack. With each move, the opponent returned to his side. After only a few moves, Master Baishi realized that this opponent was very difficult to deal with. He glanced at Guo Rui and the other two, who were already at a disadvantage and would be defeated in a dozen or so moves.

"Once Guo Rui and Jin Di Shusheng are defeated and killed, we will have to face the three of them directly."

Reflecting on his predicament, Master Baishi's eyes sharpened, and his attacks became increasingly fierce. Zhuo Bing retreated while fighting, and the two quickly reached a point not far from the cave entrance. Just then, Master Baishi secretly held a pebble in his left hand. After using his copper whip to deflect Zhuo Bing's longsword, he used his internal force to strike it with a whoosh, aiming directly at Zhuo Bing's eyes.

This move was extremely insidious. If Zhuo Bing were hit by the pebble, his fighting strength would be greatly diminished. However, just when Master Baishi thought Zhuo Bing was seriously injured, Zhuo Bing pushed his longsword with his right hand, releasing the sword imbued with his inner strength. The sword then pierced directly towards Master Baishi along the copper whip. At the same time, he retreated, bringing his hands together in a vortex of qi. The pebble, as if attracted, quickly plunged into it, disappearing without a trace, just like a pebble in water. This move was the "Mysterious Qi True Flow" taught to Zhuo Bing by Ni Qingfeng. It was a superior martial art that could absorb and neutralize force. Although Zhuo Bing had only practiced some of its basics, it was enough to deal with that small pebble. If he could master it, he could even neutralize and return all of his opponent's attacks.

Zhuo Bing's sudden move caught Bai Shi Shangren completely off guard. While he was still in shock at the opponent's methods, the gleaming longsword flew over like lightning and pierced through his chest in the blink of an eye. The sword's momentum did not diminish, and with a clang, it pinned him to the stone wall.

"you……"

Master Baishi looked resentful. He still had many tricks up his sleeve, and he was about to die at the hands of a second-generation disciple of Tianshan. His anger was palpable. But Zhuo Bing had no time to waste with him. She shattered his heart meridian with a palm strike from a distance, came to the corpse, grabbed her longsword, and twisted it violently, shredding the chest into tiny pieces.

Sheathed her longsword, Zhuo Bing shook off the blood and grime, and hurriedly returned to the cave. By the time she arrived, the Golden Flute Scholar and Guo Rui were already dead. Upon seeing Zhuo Bing return, Fu Tianxiang immediately went to greet her and asked, "Senior Sister, how is the White Stone Master?"

"I've already killed him."

As soon as Zhuo Bing finished speaking, Fu Tianxiang exclaimed in surprise. That Master Baishi was a renowned martial arts master, and her fourth senior sister was able to kill him. Her martial arts skills were no less than those of a sect leader.

Shen Henian was quite surprised to hear this. In his memory, although Zhuo Bing's martial arts were decent, they were still somewhat inferior to Tian Jiao and Zhao Kai. But this time, it seemed that Zhuo Bing's martial arts were almost on par with Tian Jiao and Zhao Kai, and she was no less than the elders like them.

"Well done. Bai Shi was colluding with Zhongxin Hall. Killing him also weakens Zhongxin Hall's strength. Tianxiang, what's the situation inside?"

As Shen Henian walked toward the cave, he asked, and Fu Tianxiang immediately replied, "With Senior Sister and Second Senior Brother there, plus the people from the Liubo Sect, those rabble were no match for us. Otherwise, Senior Sister wouldn't have asked Fourth Senior Sister and me to come out and help. Judging by the time, it should have been resolved by now."

Before long, the three entered the cave, and a strong smell of blood hit them. Under the candlelight, they saw corpses lying haphazardly on the ground. Most of them were from the Double Gun Sect and Flying Stone Valley, with a few disciples from the Flowing Wave Sect. Although no one from the Tianshan Sect was injured, seven of them were seriously wounded and had already fallen unconscious.

"Uncle Master."

Fu Tianjiao's pure white clothes were also stained with blood, and she looked tired. When she saw Shen Henian and the other two coming, she immediately led the Tianshan Sect disciples to greet them.

"Tianjiao, what are the casualties?"

Shen Henian felt a pang of pain as he looked at the seven Tianshan disciples lying on the ground. These were the elite of the Tianshan Sect, and losing even one of them would cause him immense heartache. Seeing Shen Henian's grief-stricken expression, Fu Tianjiao hurriedly replied, "Uncle-Master, these junior brothers are only seriously injured and unconscious. I have given them Fourth Uncle's pills, and their lives are no longer in danger."

Upon hearing this, Shen Henian was slightly taken aback, but then he was overjoyed. He quickly walked over to them and personally checked on each of them before he was finally relieved.

"Uncle-Master, everything is packed. Should we leave now?"

Seeing that almost all of her fellow disciples were injured, Fu Tianjiao was eager to leave the cave and go down the mountain to receive treatment, so as not to miss the best time.

"Take your things and leave immediately. Leave behind all the heavy items and only take the light ones."

Shen Henian pondered for a while, then gave a few instructions, and Tianjiao and the others immediately set about doing so.

"Master Shen, this battle was also very dangerous. If it weren't for the protection of your sect's sword formation, our sect would have suffered heavy losses. Please accept my greetings."

Seeing that the Tianshan Sect was making orderly preparations, Yin Songyue came over to greet them. Just now, when the Shuangqiang Sect and other factions saw that she was with the Tianshan Sect, they attacked them directly. Caught off guard, several disciples died, and she herself was injured in the arm by a hidden weapon. If it weren't for the Tianshan Sect's rescue, she would have been killed by a flurry of blows.

"Sect Leader Yin, there's no need to be so polite. This is what we chivalrous people should do. However, in doing so, your sect might offend the Zhongxin Hall. Do you have any plans for the future?"

Once today's events are over, Zhongxin Hall will lose face, and Shangguan Yun will surely be furious. Liubo Sect, which was originally intended to monitor and hinder Tianshan Sect, has failed to play its due role and will inevitably suffer Shangguan Yun's retaliation.

"I, Yin, have always admired Master Xue. I will definitely go to Tianshan to meet Master Xue in the future. I just hope that your sect will not look down on my small and weak sect."

Yin Songyue has already decided to join the Tianshan Sect and strive for a better future. No matter how you look at it, the Tianshan Sect has a much brighter future than the Zhongxin Hall.

"I will certainly convey Sect Leader Yin's words, and the Bi Sect will certainly welcome you with open arms."

The strength of the Liubo Sect is no less than that of the Black Tiger Sect. With its addition, the Tianshan Sect will be able to gain even more strength when facing the Zhongxin Hall.

Upon hearing this, Yin Songyue clasped her hands in a salute, retreated to the Liubo Sect, and led her men to clean up the mess.

In no time, the Tianshan Sect and the Liubo Sect had finished tidying up. The group slowly walked out of the cave with their valuables. As soon as they came out of the cave, pairs of eyes stared straight at them. Among them, Shangguan Yun's eyes were the most intense, and the greed in his eyes could hardly be concealed.

Shen Henian met Shangguan Yun's gaze and felt a tingling sensation in his soul, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Just then, a powerful surge of true energy poured in, and Shen Henian came back to his senses. He saw Ni Qingfeng withdraw his right hand and look at Shangguan Yun with icy eyes.

"Master Shangguan, Bailing Mountain has been breached. Our Tianshan Sect will now descend the mountain."

Shen Henian took a deep breath and stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Shangguan Yun. Upon hearing this, the latter snorted coldly and looked behind him at the wooden boxes carried by the Tianshan disciples.

"The Tianshan Sect is too domineering. The fall of Bailing Mountain was not due to your efforts alone. If Daoist Shen and Daoist Ni do not give us an explanation, my Divine Blade Sect will never give up!"

The speaker was tall and slender, with black hair and a yellow face. He was carrying a thin knife in his hand, which was stained with blood. This man was Meng Yu, the leader of the Divine Blade Sect and a loyal supporter of the Loyal and Trusted Hall. In terms of the trust that Shangguan Yun had in him, Meng Yu was even higher than Gao Jue and Gao Liang of the Black Tiger Sect.

Upon hearing his words, Ni Qingfeng's expression remained unchanged, while Shen Henian said in a deep voice, "Sect Leader Meng, be careful with your words. As the saying goes, first come, first served. If your sect has the strength, why didn't you enter the cave earlier? Instead, you're taking advantage of our misfortune here. Do you think my Tianshan Sect is easy to bully?"

He knew he couldn't handle Shangguan Yun, but he didn't even consider the small Divine Blade Sect a threat. Shen Henian's cold tone sent a chill down Meng Yu's spine.

"Master Shen, you should put down what you've received and let's sit down and discuss how to distribute it. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to be the leader of the martial arts alliance."

Shangguan Yun stood in front of Meng Yu, and his calm words made Shen Henian's face darken.

As soon as he finished speaking, the people from Zhongxintang immediately moved forward, and the people from Tianshan Sect also drew their swords and stared directly at the enemy.

Just as tensions were running high, Ni Qingfeng's voice rang out from the crowd.

"When did it become your place to comment on the affairs of the Tianshan Sect!"

(End of this chapter)