A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 305 The Devil’s End

Shangguan Yun, accompanied by the Sun and Moon Twin Fiends, traveled day and night towards Zhongxin Hall. Meanwhile, the White-Headed Eagle and the Green-Robed Immortal, who had escaped from Bailing Mountain, had already arrived at Zhongxin Hall ahead of time.

"who!"

The disciples left behind at Zhongxin Hall heard a loud crash as the gate was breached. Two figures leaped in and, without a word, launched a deadly attack. Although the disciples were skilled in martial arts, they were powerless against such top-tier experts and suffered heavy losses in an instant. From the gate to the main hall, corpses lay everywhere, and blood splattered across the entire square.

The white-headed eagle stared bloodshot at the charging disciples of Zhongxin Hall. Blood dripped incessantly from its gleaming iron claws. With a fierce roar, a black streak shot out, piercing the air with a whooshing sound. As the disciples looked on in horror, the iron claw pierced through their chests, killing them instantly without a sound. The iron claw, trailing a trail of blood, became embedded in the plaque of the main hall of Zhongxin Hall. The plaque was immediately shattered into several pieces by the immense force, crashing to the ground with a few loud thuds.

On the other side, the Green-Robed Immortal's methods were even more cruel. A Soul-Severing Hook spun in the air, and in a flash of green light, the sound of weapons breaking and flesh being shredded could be heard. The seven disciples who were besieging the Green-Robed Immortal were killed, their bodies torn in two.

After defeating their opponents, the two continued walking towards the main hall. However, just as they entered the hall, the main hall doors slammed shut with a bang, and the windows also closed, plunging the hall into complete darkness. At the same time, the two heard a buzzing sound, and upon closer inspection, they saw a dense barrage of hidden weapons attacking them from all directions.

The bald eagle remained unfazed by the sight. It took out thin magnetic pieces from its pocket and shot them out to both sides. The clanging sound was deafening. Most of the incoming projectiles were absorbed by the magnetic pieces, and the remaining ones posed no threat to them.

Just as the white-headed eagle made its move, the green-robed immortal was not idle either. He took out a handful of dazzling luminous pearls from his pocket and casually flicked them. The luminous pearls flew in all directions, instantly dispelling the darkness. Although the illuminated area was limited, it was enough for experts like them.

The white-headed eagle knocked away several hidden weapons with one talon, glanced at them briefly, and then, with a glint in its eyes, said to the green-robed immortal, "This way."

As he spoke, the white-headed eagle moved and arrived at the southeast corner under the light of the pearl. The green-robed immortal hurriedly followed. With a loud bang, the southeast wall was broken open by a palm, and a beam of light shone in. The white-headed eagle and the green-robed immortal left the main hall and saw more than twenty people neatly arranged on a flat ground. At the very back were a middle-aged beautiful woman and a pretty young woman.

"White-headed Eagle, Green-robed Immortal, you're courting death." He Yanrong recognized the two at a glance, her tone icy.

"So it turns out that Madam Shangguan is not on Mount Kongtong, but has come to Zhongxin Hall to recuperate. Hall Master Shangguan is truly blessed."

The white-headed eagle was slightly surprised to see He Yanrong, but then his greed was undisguised. He Yanrong was the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world. Although she was already married, the years had not left any marks on her face. In fact, with the passage of time, she had gained a unique charm.

Green-robed Immortal frowned upon hearing White-headed Eagle's words. Why waste so much breath? He should just grab the things and leave.

"Why waste words with them, Whitehead? Don't forget our purpose. We'll talk after we get what we need." As soon as the green-robed immortal finished speaking, he rushed straight towards the treasure hall behind him.

As soon as he made that move, ten disciples of the Loyal and Trusted Hall immediately rushed forward with their weapons. These ten were not like the previous ones; they were elite warriors carefully trained by Shangguan Yun. With the combined strength of the ten, even a first-rate expert would be defeated and killed. They usually hid in the shadows. This time, Shangguan Yun led the attack on Bailing Mountain without considering the weakness of the sect, which was why he left the Hall Master's Golden Token to He Yanrong in case of unforeseen circumstances. He never expected that it would actually be used now.

The ten men were expressionless, like cold weapons, and seemed to rely solely on instinct. The Green-Robed Immortal was puzzled and was forced into a disadvantageous position as soon as he took the fight. Several times he was in grave danger. If it weren't for the Soul-Severing Hook in his hand, he would have suffered several more wounds.

"What a formidable killing machine! Shangguan Yun is truly cunning. Compared to him, I am but a small fry. Madam Shangguan, if you step aside, I might spare you for the sake of your master. Otherwise, I will show no mercy."

As soon as the white-headed eagle finished speaking, a soft whip carrying wind and thunder came, and at the same time, three emerald green flying needles also attacked his "Shenfu", "Tianque" and "Lingmen" acupoints, and were already within arm's reach in the blink of an eye.

"The Three Deadly Needles!"

The bald eagle ignored the descending soft whip, but the "Three Deadly Needles" were renowned. With a turn of its body, it swept its iron claws, and with a few soft clanging sounds, the three needles, empowered by internal force, were directly nailed into the iron claws, the places where the needles were nailed turned a deep purple.

Before White-Headed Eagle could make a move, the remaining ten assassins, at He Yanrong's command, also lined up to meet the enemy. The ten men took turns attacking, unleashing a variety of unique skills, leaving White-Headed Eagle overwhelmed. He was careless and suffered a cut to his right shoulder, blood immediately flowing down. The pain enraged White-Headed Eagle, who roared and his iron claws gleamed with black light. The three eagle claws at the tips of the claws seemed to come alive and suddenly extended outwards. With one swipe, he broke the weapons in the hands of three assassins, and with another swipe, he directly reaped three lives.

Just as he killed the three men, He Yanrong struck again, this time with six deadly needles, three in front and three behind. In addition to the three acupoints of "Shenfu", the other three needles were aimed directly at his eyes and brows.

Before the bald eagle could even rejoice at killing three, he sensed an ominous premonition. He forced back the remaining seven attackers with one claw, and looking up, he saw the three immortal needles coming again. Without thinking, he spun his iron claw in mid-air, and the three immortal needles in front of him were once again embedded in the claw. With a crack, the iron claw was found to have several fine cracks. The bald eagle's expression changed. Before he could retract his claw, the three immortal needles behind him shot out, and the iron claw was instantly torn apart like paper, breaking into four pieces that clattered to the ground.

The Three Immortal Needles continued their momentum, aiming directly for his eyes and brows. At this critical moment, the white-headed eagle, with a ferocious expression, let out a deep shout, reached out and grabbed the two assassins, taking the force of a splitting palm strike. He then used them as shields in front of him, and the Three Immortal Needles pierced into the assassins' bodies with a whoosh, killing them instantly.

With a casual flick of his wrist, White-Headed Eagle blasted away the remaining five men with a single palm strike. He then lunged at He Yanrong. Just then, Shangguan Feiyan, who had not yet made a move, let out a delicate shout. Her soft whip flew like a serpent, lashing out at White-Headed Eagle. However, the latter did not dodge or evade. A flash of black light appeared in his hand, and he grabbed the whip tip, pulling hard. Shangguan Feiyan's body leaned forward.

Upon seeing this, He Yanrong's expression changed slightly. She hurriedly grabbed Shangguan Feiyan's arm, and at the same time, a dark light shot from behind towards the white-headed eagle. Upon seeing this, the eagle turned around and landed gracefully. It pulled hard on the soft whip, and Shangguan Feiyan cried out in pain as the soft whip slipped from her hand and landed in the white-headed eagle's hand.

Seeing this, He Yanrong hurriedly pulled Shangguan Feiyan behind her. A cold light flashed from her sleeve, and a soft sword appeared in her hand. Like a dragon exploring the sea, like silver stars flashing, the cold light covered the white-headed eagle.

Seeing this, the white-headed eagle's expression turned slightly cold. With a flick of his soft whip, the five assassins charging towards him were suddenly left empty-handed. The whip lifted the five longswords into the air, and with another flick of the eagle's wrist, the five sharp blades shot towards He Yanrong. Several clanging sounds of weapons clashing rang out, and the five blades scattered in all directions. At the same time, three flying needles also shot towards the white-headed eagle. The latter had already suffered a loss and was prepared. He pulled a magnetic disc from his pocket with his left hand and met the needles with it. The deadly needles were completely absorbed, and with a clang, the magnetic disc pierced through one of the assassins and embedded itself in a wooden pillar.

Seeing that one more assassin had been eliminated, He Yanrong's heart sank. The soft sword in her hand gleamed coldly, and she moved swiftly, instantly splitting into several phantoms to attack White Eagle from all four sides. At the same time, the remaining four assassins each took out a chain from their sleeves and, in coordination with He Yanrong's attack, bound White Eagle.

"Illusory Clone, Dragon-Trapping Lock!"

The white-headed eagle was also startled, but quickly realized that if Shangguan Yun had used this clone technique, he might have been more wary. However, He Yanrong was clearly not fully proficient in the technique, and forcing it would only backfire.

As for the Dragon-Binding Lock, it is a technique created by Shangguan Yun to trap enemies. It requires at least three people to perform. The key lies in the chains soaked in the Drunken God Water. Once someone is touched by it, their true energy will be depleted very quickly, and the more they resist, the more powerless they become.

How could the bald eagle dare to let the chains touch him? With a flick of his soft whip, he turned and spun around, gathering all three chains together. Just as he finished doing this, He Yanrong's sword light was already within half a foot of him. Just as he was about to succeed, the bald eagle smiled sinisterly, and suddenly his aura surged. A protective light shield appeared around him, and the longsword could not advance an inch. Instead, the blade bent, and a series of mournful cries came from the longsword to He Yanrong's ears. Seeing that the situation was bad, the latter wanted to retreat, but he did not expect the bald eagle's protective light shield to contract and expand. The longsword was cracked several times and shattered into pieces. With a wave of air, the fragments of the longsword flew towards He Yanrong and the four assassins like hidden weapons.

The force of the recoil caused He Yanrong's blood and qi to churn, forcing her to retreat repeatedly. Before she could catch her breath, she saw fragments of a longsword hurtling towards her. Just then, a jade bracelet shot towards her, shattering into pieces with a soft crack. However, the longsword fragments also paused. He Yanrong hurriedly dodged, and when she recovered, she saw that the four assassins were already lying on the ground. Although they were not dead, they were seriously injured and incapacitated. The white-headed eagle coldly glanced at He Yanrong and her daughter, then looked at the green-robed immortal not far away and said loudly, "Brother Green Robe, if you don't deal with your opponents soon, everything in the treasure vault will belong to me."

As he spoke, the white-headed eagle laughed wildly and leaped toward the treasure vault ahead. Seeing this, He Yanrong hurriedly grabbed Shangguan Feiyan, who was about to make a move, and said in a deep voice, "You are no match for him. While he is getting things, hurry to Donglai Pavilion."

As He Yanrong spoke, she handed the token in her hand to Shangguan Feiyan and pushed it out. Under Shangguan Feiyan's sorrowful gaze, she picked up a long knife and headed alone toward the treasure vault.

Suppressing her grief, Shangguan Feiyan gripped the token in her hand and hurriedly ran towards the outside. The Green-Robed Immortal, who was fighting with the assassins, saw Shangguan Feiyan leave and his eyes lit up. His movements suddenly became faster. The Soul-Severing Hook shone brightly with green light. Any weapons that tried to touch it were either cut in half or shattered. Coupled with his Absorption Technique, he appeared and disappeared unpredictably. The four people were caught off guard and killed one after another.

Despite this, he had still taken three fatal blows and looked rather miserable. Seeing that the ten-man attack had been broken and the formation had a loophole, the Green-Robed Immortal hurriedly gathered his true energy. Taking advantage of the others' hasty preparations, he raised his knife and injured the remaining six people. He then took off and flew towards the direction where Shangguan Feiyan had left.

The bald eagle shattered the lock with a single blow and burst into the treasure vault. Dozens of enormous wooden shelves lay before him, the room gleaming with gold and silver, dazzling with jewels, and filled with precious medicinal herbs emitting a strange fragrance. The bald eagle was overjoyed. Based on his experience, he went straight to the last few shelves. Just as he opened the box, a hidden weapon struck. The bald eagle's face flashed with murderous intent. He swept his sleeve, and the hidden weapon was sent flying. He closed the wooden box, coldly stared at He Yanrong who had entered, and without a word, lashed out at her with a soft whip.

The soft whip, wielded by him, possessed a touch more ferocity and less agility, yet its power was undeniable. Upon seeing this, He Yanrong darted back, leaping forward to launch a hidden weapon. Simultaneously, his longsword slashed down, a dazzling blade of light striking with immense force. A chilling aura instantly surged towards the white-headed eagle, who scoffed, casually tossing out a wooden box to deflect the weapon. With a flick of his wrist, the soft whip instantly retreated. The move was incredibly swift; He Yanrong sensed the whooshing sound behind him and his expression subtly changed.

"I'm afraid that before I can even strike the bald eagle with this strike, the soft whip will hit me." He Yanrong thought quickly, then her expression hardened, and her hand moved faster than before, continuing to slash at the bald eagle.

He Yanrong's two-way fighting style caused White-Headed Eagle to hesitate for a moment. By the time he reacted, the blade was already right in front of him.

"court death!"

The bald eagle's eyes flashed with malice. Its right hand continued to whip back, while its left hand gripped its claws forward. A sharp, metallic scraping sound rang out, followed by a snapping sound as the longsword in He Yanrong's hand was instantly broken. At the same time, the whip behind her, carrying immense force, struck her back, causing her to cough up blood and fall to the ground.

However, just as she fell to the ground, a series of flying needles whistled behind her and struck the white-headed eagle's left hand precisely, instantly turning it a dark purple color.

The bald eagle's expression changed, and it immediately made a decisive move. It threw away the soft whip, picked up the broken knife with its right hand, and slashed at its left hand. The left hand fell directly to the ground, and blood flowed freely, quickly staining the ground red.

After pressing the acupoints to stop the bleeding, the white-headed eagle immediately found some blood-replenishing herbs on the wooden shelf and swallowed them directly. After a few breaths, the white-headed eagle regained some color and coldly looked at He Yanrong, who was barely breathing not far away.

"The Three Deadly Needles, now lost forever!"

The bald eagle looked at its left hand, which had turned into a pool of blood, and couldn't help but feel lucky. If it had been any later, it probably would have turned into blood itself.

He Yanrong sat up straight as the white-headed eagle slowly approached, her expression quite calm. The white-headed eagle detested this kind of pretentious behavior when facing death. With a slash of her short sword, she cut He Yanrong's eyes closed, but she only heard a muffled groan. When she opened her eyes, she saw a man in black holding a long sword, standing with his back to her.

"It's you!"

He Yanrong recognized the person just by looking at that back view. She was first delighted, then furious.

The white-headed eagle looked at Lu Aotian, who had suddenly appeared, with a wary expression, and said in a deep voice, "Master Lu, this matter has nothing to do with you. You'd better not interfere."

Upon hearing this, Lu Aotian retorted, "White-headed Eagle, you killed members of my Kongtong Sect and dare to say it has nothing to do with me? Today, I, Lu, will act on behalf of Heaven and eliminate you, you evil demon! Prepare to die!"

Lu Aotian's longsword trembled, and he charged forward, unleashing a barrage of sword lights at the white-headed eagle. The eagle was already struggling to recover its true energy and had lost its left hand. Moreover, it was facing a top expert like Lu Aotian. After only a few moves, it was already at a disadvantage, and the wounds on its body continued to increase over time.

"Where there's life, there's hope. I'm just unlucky today, but I'll take my revenge another day."

The white-headed eagle tore through the sword light with its claw, but the recoil also caused its blood and qi to churn, and its body to pause slightly. Lu Aotian seized the opportunity, and with a flash of cold light, his longsword split into five, the sword shadows swirling and stabbing the white-headed eagle's limbs and chest and abdomen. This move was called "Five Directions Responding to Calamity," a secret technique of the Kongtong Sect that was never passed down and could only be learned by true disciples. After the Kongtong Sect was destroyed, only Lu Aotian and his wife knew how to use this move.

Upon hearing this move, the white-headed eagle sensed danger, but instead of dodging, it charged forward with its bare body. As Lu Aotian was puzzled, five sword lights struck the white-headed eagle one after another, but no bloody scene appeared. Lu Aotian felt the sword pierce a hard object, and the recoil made his wrist numb. He loosened his grip, and the white-headed eagle used the recoil to break through the window and fly away.

“It’s Ironclad Armor!” He Yanrong slowly propped herself up against the wall and said.

Seeing the white-headed eagle leave, Lu Aotian listened to He Yanrong's words and suddenly realized that the Iron Armor was the treasure of the Taijia Sect. Later, the entire Taijia Sect was wiped out, and the armor was lost. He never expected that it would fall into the hands of the white-headed eagle.

"Junior sister, you rest for now, I'll go chase the white-headed eagle."

Lu Aotian looked somewhat embarrassed. After saying this dryly, he immediately chased after her out the window. He Yanrong lowered her eyes upon seeing this, feeling a little bitter.

As the white-headed eagle fled, it wondered why Lu Aotian had come and where the green-robed old monster had gone. Thinking of this, the white-headed eagle suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. Lu Aotian and his wife always moved in tandem, and it hadn't seen Lü Fengming earlier. Could it be…?

Just as he was pondering, a white figure drifted down in front of him, followed by a man and a woman. The woman was Shangguan Feiyan, and the man looked nine-tenths like Lu Aotian, so he must be his son.

"White-headed eagle, you've done all sorts of evil deeds and still want to escape? Prepare to die!"

Despite being a woman, Lü Fengming possessed a fiery temperament. Her first move was "Sword Dance in the Long Wind," one of the Seventy-Two Swords of Kongtong. A fierce sword aura shot straight forward, and the white-headed eagle felt the intense heat. Without thinking, it grabbed at the sword aura with its claws and tore it apart. The white-headed eagle immediately used its lightness skill to try to escape, but Lü Fengming snorted coldly, flipped her longsword, and slashed upwards again, unleashing another "Sword Returns to the Sky." Three sharp sword auras attacked three vital points of the eagle.

(End of this chapter)