Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 299 Settling the Wind
"However, in any case, if we want to leave here, we'll probably have to wait until this battle is over."

"And it should be related to this talisman."

Sheng Nian raised the golden-red ancient talisman in his hand.

"Ah."

Song Yan nodded and took out his own: "I have met this great general of Qin."

Sheng Nian glanced at him, was initially startled, then laughed and said, "You've killed quite a few people."

Isn't it?

The ancient talismans used in Song Yan's banquet have all turned black.

"General Bai said that if one can collect a thousand merits, a reward will be given."

As for what this reward was, it would be too troublesome for Song Yan to explain to Sheng Nian, so after thinking it over, he decided to leave it at that.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Sheng Qingnian exclaimed, "I didn't know that. I've been observing the changes in the ancient talismans in the hands of the other people, but I haven't made a move yet."

"Simply killing enemy generals doesn't accumulate merit very slowly."

"There are only so many foundation-building garrison generals in Daming Guanzhong. Even if you kill them all, you can only get a few hundred."

Song Yan shook his head: "I wonder if killing cultivators from other countries who are carrying ancient runes will grant me this merit."

After a moment of contemplation, Sheng Nian suddenly looked towards the distant pass where the storm was gathering.

"Are you here to seize Daming Pass as well?"

“Not bad.” Song Yan put away the ancient talisman: “When the battle at the front really reaches its climax, this place will be the key to turning the tide of the war.”

He certainly didn't understand military strategy; he was just repeating what Deputy General Luo Zheng had said.

"What are you planning to do? Daming Pass's Wind and Thunder Formation is not easy to enter."

"That's not a big problem. Before I left, the Qin general gave me a precious pearl that can stop the surrounding gale for ten breaths."

"The key issue is that we don't know how many reinforcements are in this pass, and whether they are enough for us to enter."

The importance of Daming Pass was known to both Qin and Sui, so were the people of Yan all fools who couldn't remember it?
Sheng Nian suddenly said, "The Sui Kingdom does have intelligence on this."

"Qin's military strength is formidable, and Yan is preoccupied with the main battlefield. Apart from the original garrison commander, only a seven-man Foundation Establishment Realm reinforcement has been dispatched to this area."

"I'm afraid they are also outsiders like us."

"Oh?"

Song Yan raised an eyebrow; Gou Sheng's few words contained a lot of good news.

The best news is that Yang Wenxuan is most likely among them.

Just as the two were pondering their own thoughts, they suddenly heard several rapid whooshing sounds.

Four figures, their spiritual pressure surging, flew to this place.

Upon landing, they saw the red-robed cultivator from the Sui army camp and his three companions, while another was nowhere to be found.

The group's breathing was slightly disordered, clearly indicating that they had just withdrawn from the chaotic battle.

Looking at the young man, their eyes revealed undisguised shock, anger, and scrutiny.

The leading red-robed cultivator first scanned Song Yan, then stared intently at Sheng Nian, demanding sharply, "Sheng Nian! How dare you!"

"We trusted you so much that we fought to the death with them, yet you colluded with this man!"

"Do you know that the third brother sacrificed himself to protect you?"

The other three also stepped forward, their magical artifacts emitting spiritual light, surrounding Sheng Nian, Song Yan, and the silently standing corpse puppet A Yuan.

"You surnamed Sheng, you've been hiding your true intentions and not contributing anything all along, so it turns out you were waiting here to collude with the enemy! And yet we were hoping to take care of you!"

A female cultivator wielding a flying sword shrieked, "My five brothers and sisters, seeing how young you are, have always thought of you and treated you like one of their own."

Don't you feel even a little bit ashamed?

The four men, full of arrogance, stood on the moral high ground and questioned Sheng Nian with righteous indignation.

Faced with all this, Sheng Nian and Song Yan reacted very calmly.

Song Yan didn't even bother to lift his eyelids; he slightly turned his head to look to his side.

"No."

Sheng Nian lazily picked at his ear: "On the contrary, I'm very excited."

He turned to Song Yan and asked, "Old Song, weren't you just pondering this?"

"Whether we can seize merit or not, the opportunity is now presented to us. We'll find out by trying."

The way he looked at them was as if he were looking at a group of clowns.

Upon hearing this, the four red-robed cultivators were enraged.

But when she looked up at Song Yan, she saw a pair of cold, golden eyes.

In an instant, my scalp tingled, and a chill ran from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.

The cold gaze finally settled calmly on the red-robed cultivator.

Song Yan nodded slightly and uttered only one word.

"it is good."

The red-robed cultivator reacted quickly, his initial shock and anger instantly replaced by a resolute killing intent.

"Do it! Kill them!"

He roared, and his red robe suddenly bulged, as a crimson fire dragon phantom roared and spewed out from between his hands.

Flames engulfed the sky, rushing straight towards Song Yan.

Almost as soon as he uttered his roar, the female cultivator's slender flying sword transformed into a streak of black light, disappearing without a trace.

The other two also displayed their skills. A burly man swung a giant axe, slashing at A Yuan, who seemed to be the easiest to deal with. The force was so powerful that it could split mountains and shatter rocks. It was not to be underestimated.

A sinister-looking monk holding a banner waved his black banner, and a ghostly howl rang out. Several ferocious vengeful spirits and evil spirits, billowing thick black smoke, rushed towards Sheng Nian.

Shift stars!

Seven flying swords were unleashed simultaneously, and the Star-Shifting Sword Formation was formed instantly.

Those vengeful spirits that rushed towards the prime of life seemed to have lost their way, circling around in place before finally rushing elsewhere.

However, this disturbed the female cultivator's flying sword, causing it to deviate from its trajectory.

Sheng Nian didn't even glance at it, but instead leisurely sat back down under the tree.

He wouldn't take the initiative to act. Now that he knows the identities of several generals, if he were to harm his colleagues on the battlefield and they found out...

How wonderful it would be to watch Lao Song's sword dance here in comfort!

The burly man swung his giant axe, seemingly using some kind of movement technique, and in a burst of speed, he arrived in front of Song Yan.

He was actually a body cultivator?
The Star Shift Sword Formation mainly disturbs spiritual energy, demonic energy, or sword energy, and has limited impact on the attacks of those who cultivate their bodies.

Just as he was about to use his Soaring Cloud Intent to dodge the axe, he heard a click beside his ear.

It sounded like a slight cracking sound as if a joint was being twisted.

Everyone noticed the imposing figure that had been standing like a background in the shadows behind Sheng Nian.

Suddenly it moved.

Without warning, without any build-up of power.

Just as the giant axe seemed about to cleave through Song Yan's protective sword aura, the arm of the corpse puppet A Yuan, wrapped in old strips of cloth, struck first!

The ground beneath his feet sank an inch, his arm muscles bulged, and he lunged forward from the side of the giant axe, throwing a punch.

"clang--!!!"

A deafening explosion echoed through the forest!

A violent shockwave exploded outwards from the point where the fist and axe clashed.

The burly man's expression froze instantly, turning into extreme horror and disbelief.

The next instant, I felt a surge of immense, strange force, like a torrent, rushing down the axe.

The heavy axe, however, was as fragile as paper, shattering and twisting inch by inch from the spot where A Yuan punched it.

The burly man only had time to let out a short, muffled groan before he and his broken giant axe flew out sideways like a tattered sack.

Along the way, it broke several trees as thick as a bowl, embedding itself in a steep cliff face dozens of feet away.

His limbs were twisted and deformed, his flesh was a bloody mess, and his life or death was unknown.

"What?!" Everyone was shocked.

This terrifying punch instantly stunned the entire audience, even surprising Song Yan.

“Young Master Song, although A Yuan is dull-witted, he is still quite strong. Let me help you.”

The voice beneath the mask was calm and respectful to Song Yan.

Song Yan simply nodded, his eyes now shining even brighter with golden light.

Observe the void!

The female cultivator was very clever; the moment the sword formation appeared, she roughly guessed its purpose.

Furthermore, after being disturbed by its companions' magic, the Black Light Flying Sword simply gathered vengeful spirits and evil spirits, condensing them on its blade.

In that instant when everyone was distracted, he swiftly thrust out, aiming straight for Song Yan's head.

Unfortunately, the Observing Void Sword Eye had already seen everything clearly.

With a flick of his sword, Bu Xizhou slashed out, but not to block the dark light.

The sword energy surged, breaking through the tide and plunging into the fire dragon.

The fire dragon was extinguished, and then the sword light swept over, gathering the flames. The sword's momentum did not diminish, and it drew an arc of light, forcing the female cultivator's flying sword away.

Before the red-robed Taoist could grasp the subtlety of the technique, he gathered his spiritual power again and unleashed the fire dragon spell. The next moment, he was filled with shock and anger.

He watched helplessly as his fire dragon wobbled and burned away a patch of black smoke from the soul banner, yet it couldn't harm Song Yan in the slightest.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!"

The female cultivator was also greatly alarmed; this flying sword formation was truly bizarre.

Even though the target was clearly locked, the sword's edge seemed to strike an illusion or pierce empty space, deviating far from its mark.

The spiritual power was also neutralized by the strange starlight trajectory, leaving it with less than 60-70% of its full power.

Song Yan changed his sword technique again.

Ring of the moon.

Of the seven flying swords, five were originally on the outside and two on the inside.

But at this moment, the three swords, including the Unmoored Boat, suddenly changed their stance.

It slightly pulls inward.

Everyone felt that the effect of the strange sword formation had weakened slightly, and both the red-robed Taoist and the female cultivator felt a sense of relief.

It was said that this method consumed a great deal of energy, and this kid couldn't hold on for much longer.

Just as they were about to use another method, they saw the starlight within the formation suddenly begin to converge.

Behind Song Yan, a surge of energy appeared, and a strange cloud of mist rose from above.

Supported by the sword energy, a cold moonlight slowly gathered.

Now, Song Yan has gained a lot of experience in combining these two sword formations.

There is no longer a need to summon three sword shadows separately and perform an additional Ring Moon Sword Formation.

Point the sword at the empty space.

The moon sets.

Without a sound, the bright moon suddenly sank!
The cold, clear moonlight transformed into endless sword energy, infinitely sharp, like a celestial river cascading down from above.

"not good!"

The red-robed cultivator was terrified and summoned a small tortoise-shell shield, which instantly expanded, its surface shimmering with runes, attempting to block the terrifying sword energy.

He cursed inwardly.

What kind of monsters are these two?!
The female cultivator then cast a spell, and the black flying sword spun rapidly, forming an impenetrable silver light shield.

The person who cast the Ghost Banner, in a moment of panic, threw out a handful of protective talismans, which transformed into layers of spiritual light shields.

The moonlight has already set.

The red-robed Taoist and the female cultivator were the first to be attacked.

Om-!
A chilling, thunderous sound of sword energy rang out.

The giant tortoise-shell shield of the red-robed cultivator, which radiated an ancient and spiritual light, dimmed rapidly under the impact of the sword energy and moonlight, and spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the shield surface!
His face was ashen, and the appearance of each crack caused his body to tremble violently, with blood flowing from his mouth and nose!

The female cultivator's protective sword light only lasted for a moment before collapsing like ice and snow.

She screamed in agony as countless tiny sword energies pierced through her weak protective aura, cutting bloody marks all over her body, turning her into a bloody mess in an instant, leaving her in a terrible state.

Compared to the two, the cultivator who controlled the ghost banner fared slightly better; he was further away and only suffered some impact.

But before he could even feel relieved, the corpse puppet A Yuan moved again.

His figure soared through the air, his body enveloped in a great deal of black light.

The Ghost Banner cultivator had barely escaped with his life from the torrent of sword energy, but he felt a shadow of death loom over him.

In desperation, he tried to use a secret technique to escape, but was horrified to find that the spiritual power within his body was suppressed by a cold and deathly aura, making it difficult to circulate.

The pupils shrank suddenly.

Corpse-like death energy!

A Yuan covered several meters in one step, appearing in front of Wu Li as if by teleportation.

Those empty eyes were devoid of any emotion.

A large hand reached out and grabbed his head.

With a single punch, the protective spiritual energy he had barely managed to gather couldn't withstand the attack even for a moment.

"Don't……"

puff--!
Under the terrifying power of the corpse puppet A Yuan, the Ghost Banner cultivator didn't even have time to beg for mercy.

The person's head collapsed instantly from the bridge of the nose and cheekbones.

The Ghost Banner cultivator convulsed for a moment, then his body slumped limply and fell from A Yuan's hands.

Snap, snap.

A Yuan clapped his hands, brushed away the bits of bone and flesh in his hands, and then looked back at the arena.

As the moonlight faded, the red-robed cultivator and the female cultivator were already lifeless.

Song Yan was holding two golden-red ancient talismans in his hand, and wisps of scarlet spiritual light were emerging from them and merging into his original talisman.

“It really works.”

Then things become very simple: just kill the other cultivators carrying ancient runes, and you can quickly accumulate merit points.

Thinking of Yang Wenxuan, he originally only wanted to settle a personal grudge before giving him that ancient talisman, but he didn't expect to gain something unexpected.

Song Yan didn't care about the rewards that would normally come from having over a thousand merits.

All he wanted was the sword in the courtyard of Duyou Pavilion.

The general had promised him, so his purpose was very clear.

While he was thinking, the corpse puppet A Yuan had already collected the Qiankun bags of these people one by one, including the big man who had been blasted away by his punch earlier.

The big man wasn't actually quite dead yet. When A Yuan went to get the Qiankun bag, he kicked him again, crushing his head.

At this moment, A Yuan tied the four Qiankun bags together with a thin rope and carried them on his back.

We can give it to the young master and Young Master Song when they want it.

Just then, several whooshing sounds came from afar.

The cultivators from the outer camp of the Sui army only arrived now, belatedly.

Wu Caidie and Li Yan walked at the front.

When everyone looked closely, the horrific scene before them made them gasp in horror.

The ground was slashed open by the sword energy, leaving it charred black.

Several mutilated corpses lay scattered on the ground.

The person who started the conflict sat under the tree, leisurely sipping his wine.

In the center of the wreckage, Song Yan was toying with two ancient talismans in his hand.

Seemingly having heard the noise, he turned his eyes slightly and glanced at them.

He didn't say anything, and turned his gaze back to his hands.

(End of this chapter)