A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 428 Hostages
After killing Bai Yanluo with a single sword strike, Yan Zangfeng continued his pursuit of Ren Qianxing without stopping. Along the way, he encountered several scapegoats, which he dealt with swiftly. However, Yan Zangfeng realized that he had lost track of Ren Qianxing. Just as he was getting anxious, he suddenly remembered the compass given to him by the Taoist priest. He hurriedly took it out of his pocket, activated his true energy, and saw the pointer on the compass spin continuously until it stopped at a certain point. Yan Zangfeng's face lit up with joy, and he followed the direction of the pointer.

On the other side of the battlefield, Guan Yutian was locked in fierce combat with Master Sixin and Sword Master. The sounds of the zither, the power of the sword, and the force of the palms collided continuously, destroying everything around them. The foundation of the formation had also been broken in the previous clash, leaving an opening in the formation. It was just one step away from being destroyed, but even with this opening, Guan Yutian had already exchanged more than forty blows with the two of them and still had not succeeded. Moreover, as Master Sixin's Seven Absolutes Zither music continued to rise, his innate qi was also affected to some extent. Under the sword master's dragon-riding sword qi, he was beginning to be unable to hold on.

"This can't go on any longer. The longer it drags on, the worse it will be for me. We don't know what will happen to Qianxing."

Guan Yutian was anxious and immediately shouted, unleashing a powerful palm strike. The mighty dragon palm struck towards Master Sixin and Sword Master. The two dared not be careless and combined their zither music and sword energy, colliding with the powerful palm force. A loud bang was heard, the space trembled, and rubble flew everywhere. The fragile foundation of the main hall was on the verge of collapse. Sword Master looked at the teetering crystal and his expression changed drastically. He secretly exclaimed that something was wrong.

"Master, protect me for a moment."

Sword Master transmitted a message to Abbess Sixin, who nodded upon hearing it. Her expression hardened, and her hands moved swiftly to pluck the strings of her zither. A deathly power instantly appeared on her body. As the zither music continued to play, the deathly power transformed into countless musical notes, constantly rushing towards Guan Yutian. In the blink of an eye, it had formed a cage of musical notes, firmly trapping Guan Yutian. Upon seeing this, the latter's face darkened, and she raised her hand to strike. This palm strike, powerful enough to shatter gold and stone, only caused the wall of musical notes to tremble slightly before quickly returning to normal.

"I didn't expect you to have truly mastered the art of ruthlessness. But judging from your appearance, you're just forcing it. How long can you last?"

Guan Yutian sneered and unleashed several more powerful Dragon Palms. The booming sounds were deafening. Although the qi wall remained intact, the nun who was playing the Seven Absolutes Zither was experiencing chaotic internal energy and turbulent blood. Every time the qi wall shook, her face would turn paler. After several palm strikes, the nun's face was deathly pale, and blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth. It was clear that she had suffered serious internal injuries.

"It will be enough to keep you trapped for a short while."

After the nun replied, the strings of her zither tautened and then loosened. Suddenly, the wall of musical notes moved and contracted inward, unleashing an immense force that pressed down on Guan Yutian, seemingly intending to crush him to death.

"Overestimating yourself. In your prime, I, the leader of this alliance, would have to be wary of you. But now, hmph!"

Guan Yutian sensed a sudden increase in external pressure. He circulated his true energy, and his innate protective energy protected his body. The energy wall was unable to move after it shrank to the range protected by the innate protective energy. Only a cracking sound reached the ears of Master Sixin.

Master Sixin looked at the qi wall blocking the outer room, her expression changed slightly, but she reacted very quickly. The music changed, and the qi wall suddenly shattered, turning into countless musical note blades that kept cutting the qi shield. Each time the blades rotated, the qi shield would dim and thin a little.

Inside the protective aura, Guan Yutian watched the flying blades outside with an unchanged expression. He held Yin and Yang in his hands, moved nimbly, and turned around. The protective aura outside him flashed with light, as if a layer of oil had been spread on it. When the musical note flying blades struck it, they were either tainted by the aura and lost their agility, or they were cut open and had no effect at all. However, after a few breaths, the protective aura returned to normal, leaving the musical note flying blades with nowhere to escape.

Despite the endless playing of the zither by Master Sixin, no matter how much she played, it was all tainted by the stagnant power of the qi, ultimately wasting her true energy. Seeing the increasingly difficult music to play, Master Sixin's heart sank. She glanced at the Sword Master who was still repairing the array base, sighed, and leaped into the air. Her seven-stringed zither spun around, and her index and middle fingers pulled the strings like a fully drawn bow, shooting out swiftly. A huge blade of zither music pierced through the air, landing squarely on Guan Yutian's innate qi. This time, the blade was not deflected, but continued to slash forward relentlessly.

Guan Yutian exclaimed in admiration, his expression solemn as he looked at the energy blade. He shouted and poured his true energy into the energy shield. With a loud boom, the energy blade and the shield shattered simultaneously. The impact caused Guan Yutian to grunt and stagger back three steps to regain his footing. After calming his inner energy, he scanned the opposite side, but the energy wave obscured his vision, making it difficult to see clearly for the time being.

Compared to Guan Yutian, Master Sixin was in a much worse state. Under the impact of the powerful energy, her injuries were compounded, her true energy was exhausted, and even two strings of her Seven Absolutes Zither were broken. With a flushed face, she leaned on the zither and looked at the person opposite her.

"Yan!"

A dragon's roar resounded, though the palm was not seen. Yet, the powerful palm force pushed aside the air currents and rushed straight towards Abbess Sixin. Upon seeing this, she hurriedly pulled on the strings of her zither, and a musical note blade instantly struck the dragon-shaped palm force, shattering it. But at that moment, Abbess Sixin's expression changed slightly. Before she could react, another palm force reshaped itself from the spot and continued to charge. Abbess Sixin could not react in time and could only hold her seven-stringed zither in front of her to buy time. However, this palm force was too fierce. The seven-stringed zither had no true energy to support it, and its five strings broke one after another. Even the body of the zither cracked with several fine lines. The palm force that pierced through the seven-stringed zither struck Abbess Sixin, and she was immediately blasted away. Fortunately, most of the palm force had been deflected by the seven-stringed zither, otherwise, this palm strike would have been enough to kill her.

"puff!"

The nun, who had been coughing up blood, collapsed to the ground, but smiled as she watched Guan Yutian slowly approach.

"Heh, so what if the formation is repaired? You two are both injured. How can you possibly stop me? Sword Master, let me give you a piece of advice: the Sword Soul of the Frost Sword cannot be lost. If you cannot put the Nine Dragon Stones in as planned, your Sword Clan's sixty years of hard work will be in vain."

"So what if it's all for nothing? The Frost Sword should never have been born. Now I want to destroy it."

After repairing the array base a little, the Sword Master rushed over. Looking at the heavily injured Abbess Sixin, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He pointed the Bloodstained Sword at Guan Yutian, its surface shimmering with crimson light. A point of crimson light condensed at the tip of the sword and suddenly brightened. Then, the Sword Master's figure moved instantly, and he slashed horizontally with his sword. Seven invisible and shadowless Dragon Riding Sword Qi shot straight at Guan Yutian.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yutian laughed in fury. Seeing the incoming sword energy, he remained standing still, his body protected by protective qi. The seven dragon-riding sword energies vanished without a trace. At the same time, Guan Yutian gathered power in his palm, his figure fluttering, and he directly attacked Master Sixin.

"Don't think about it!"

Sword Master's expression changed slightly. With a whoosh, the Bloodstained Sword shot straight at Guan Yutian like an arrow released from a bow. The fierce sword wind made Guan Yutian's heart skip a beat. He turned to the side and hurriedly dodged. As soon as he slowed down, Sword Master immediately took out three Miasma Pills from his pocket and threw them forward. They exploded with a bang, and thick black smoke filled the entire space, obscuring Guan Yutian's vision.

"Humph!"

Guan Yutian withdrew, sweeping away the black mist before him with a flick of his sleeve. As the mist dissipated, the Sword Master and the Heartless Abbess had vanished. He sneered and walked toward the still-flickering array base crystal pillar. He pressed down on it, and his true energy surged into the crystal. The crystal flashed wildly, then suddenly dimmed and shattered into powder with a crack. With the crystal broken, the array was immediately broken, revealing a spacious stone chamber.

After glancing at the bronze lamps burning around him, Guan Yutian turned to leave. As he was sensing the others, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura and stopped in his tracks.

"Master!"

Ren Qianxing saw the familiar figure ahead and his face lit up with joy. He rushed over. "Qianxing."

Guan Yutian felt relieved to see that Ren Qianxing was unharmed. Although his breath was weak, it was fortunate that he was not seriously injured.

"Qianxing, are you alright?"

“Master, I’m fine,” Ren Qianxing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his master by his side. He put the unconscious Jian Xiong down from his back and looked at Guan Yutian and said, “Master, this is Jian Xiong, the young city lord of Sword Forging City.”

Guan Yutian was startled upon hearing this. He stared intently at the man, and after a moment of scrutiny, he burst into laughter. He took a few steps closer, patted Ren Qianxing on the shoulder, and said, "Qianxing, well done. With Jian Xiong in hand, Jian Zun will have to be somewhat wary."

Guan Yutian was overjoyed at the unexpected surprise. Just then, he frowned slightly and turned to look in the direction Ren Qianxing was coming from. Upon seeing this, Ren Qianxing immediately said, "Master, it's Yan Zangfeng."

"Oh, you've come at the right time. This boy has many secrets on him. Let's capture him all at once. Qianxing, take Jianxiong aside and watch me take him down."

Guan Yutian waved to Ren Qianxing, who replied "Yes" and moved aside with Jian Xiong on his back.

Not long after, Guan Yutian looked at the blue figure rushing towards him, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light. Yan Cangfeng's aura was even stronger than Qianxing's. This Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique was indeed mysterious and unpredictable. After capturing him, he would need to obtain the cultivation method of this technique, which would be perfect for verifying his own innate Qi.

"Guan Yutian!"

Yan Zangfeng's heart sank as he saw the imposing figure appear before him, but upon seeing Jian Xiong beside Ren Qianxing, he took a deep breath, held his longsword upside down, and stepped forward, saying to Guan Yutian in a deep voice, "Alliance Leader Guan, I've learned my lesson!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Cangfeng's longsword hummed and thrust straight at Guan Yutian. Its cold light flickered and its sharp sword light resembled a flock of swallows flitting about, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes up, sometimes down, making it impossible to see the trajectory of the sword moves. Guan Yutian's expression also turned solemn.

"This kid's Flying Swallow Sword Technique is much better than his father's. Yan Zhongyang has a good son."

With a sigh of admiration, Guan Yutian's hands moved swiftly. A flash of crimson light appeared in his palm, and he unleashed a "Blood Seal Palm," sending out streaks of skull-like blood seals that met the Flying Swallow Sword Light head-on.

A hissing sound rang out, and Yan Cangfeng was greatly alarmed as he watched the sword light being continuously corroded by the blood seal.

However, he also realized that the Flying Swallow Sword Technique alone was no match for Guan Yutian. The only way to deal with him now was the Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique. So he swung his longsword, and streaks of sword light shot out like arrows. At the same time, he threw the sword into the air, put his hands together, and his true energy surged. The Wind God Dharma Image slowly condensed behind him. The longsword thrown into the air was swept up by the sudden gust of wind, and the buzzing sword chant resounded through the sky. A murderous aura immediately enveloped Guan Yutian.

"Master, be careful of his Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique!" Ren Qianxing shouted to Guan Yutian as he watched Yan Cangfeng use the Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique.

"So this is the Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique? It is truly wondrous and unparalleled. Even the opening move has amazed this Alliance Leader."

With a flick of his sleeve, Guan Yutian sent the sword light back. Before it could even reach Yan Cangfeng by half a zhang, it was shattered into pieces by the fierce wind. Guan Yutian raised an eyebrow at the sight, said "Interesting," and then formed a hand seal, tilted his head back, and his innate qi immediately protected him. A stream of light flashed, which was very dazzling in this place. Meanwhile, the blue qi flowed around him. With a deep shout, Yan Cangfeng spread his hands, and the Wind God Dharma Image behind him struck Guan Yutian with all his might. The blue handprint, which was more than ten feet in size, landed on the innate qi. The blue wind and the qi shield collided continuously. Although it was powerful, the Wind God's Fury could not break through the qi shield. Instead, as time passed, the Wind God's Fury lost its strength and gradually became unable to continue.

"Even the wrath of the Wind God is nothing more than this!"

Guan Yutian was very disappointed. The Wind God's Wrathful Sword Master's Dragon Riding Slash and the Seven Absolutes Zither of the Death Heart Abbess were far inferior. At this moment, he had no intention of continuing to play. His outer aura trembled, instantly shattering the blue handprint. The rebounding force directly hit Yan Cangfeng, who immediately groaned. The Wind God Dharma Image behind him slowly dissipated. With a clang, the longsword was stuck diagonally into the ground. Yan Cangfeng leaned on the longsword and slowly got up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked coldly at Guan Yutian, who had a faint smile on his face.

"Yan Zangfeng, surrender now, and I, the leader of this alliance, may spare your life. Otherwise, you will be reduced to ashes."

Guan Yutian met Yan Zangfeng's gaze and said coldly, to which the latter replied calmly, "We have different paths, so we cannot work together. Guan Yutian, if you want to take Yan Zangfeng's life, then let's see if you have the ability."

"court death!"

Upon hearing Yan Zangfeng's words, Guan Yutian's expression changed drastically. He roared, and blood light reappeared in his palm. A huge blood skull attacked Yan Zangfeng, and a bloody aura immediately spread out. Everything around him was corroded at a visible speed. When Ren Qianxing smelled the stench, he felt a tightness in his chest and hurriedly circulated his qi to resist it, which relieved the discomfort.

Yan Zangfeng's expression remained unchanged as he watched the blood skeleton hurtling towards him. Holding his longsword, he unleashed the last of his true energy and slashed fiercely at the blood skeleton. A brilliant sword light flashed by, instantly splitting the charging blood skeleton in two. The scattered blood energy was dispersed by the sword light before it could reassemble.

"It's you!"

Guan Yutian spoke coldly, looking at the person behind Yan Cangfeng. Yan Cangfeng dodged and revealed the figure behind him, which was none other than Gu Xu.

"Alliance Leader Guan, it's been a long time."

(End of this chapter)