In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 220 Esoteric Buddhist Protector Divine Skill, "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" (Third Update)
Just as Mei Jiangxue realized the poison was on the chopsticks, Zhou Zhiruo's voice reached her ears again. "Something's wrong, let's go!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Zhiruo grabbed her bamboo hat and put it back on her head. She then grabbed her sword and, along with Yang Yan and Mei Jiangxue, who had also quickly put on their hats, stood up rapidly. Without the slightest hesitation, the three of them went downstairs almost one after the other. Their movements were swift yet composed, as if they had rehearsed countless times.

On their way downstairs, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan's eyes flashed like lightning as they quickly scanned every corner of the second floor.

The diners continued with their own business, no one stood up to stop them, no one cast overly concerned glances, and even the suspicious figures from before seemed to have vanished without a trace.

This eerie "normality" did not reassure them; instead, it cast a deeper shadow over their hearts.

Leaving the inn and blending into the crowds of people in the streets, the three of them dared not let their guard down for a moment.

They only took the main road and never went near remote or sparsely populated areas.

As they moved quickly, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan positioned themselves one in front of the other, completely protecting Mei Jiangxue in the middle.

Yang Yan moved silently, her aura restrained, ready to strike at any moment. Zhou Zhiruo, on the other hand, had one hand on her sword, her sharp eyes under her bamboo hat scanning every corner and every passerby. Even the wind blowing through the alley and swirling up a few fallen leaves could instantly make the muscles in their backs tense.

Before long, the three arrived at the place where horses were stored at the city gate.

After paying for the horses, the three quickly untied the reins.

The moment she mounted her horse, Zhou Zhiruo's voice, low yet incredibly clear, carried an undeniable decisiveness: "We'll be safe once we get back to Emei at full speed! Let's go!"

After saying that, Zhou Zhiruo squeezed the horse's flanks with her legs, and the horse neighed and charged out of the city gate first.

Yang Yan and Mei Jiangxue followed closely behind. The three riders sped off like arrows, breaking through the twilight on the official road and disappearing into the distance towards Mount Emei!

The horses galloped, their hooves thundering, kicking up clouds of dust.

As they ran, the three of them looked back several times without prior arrangement.

The wide official road stretched straight ahead, and although there were many pedestrians and carriages, none of them rode at full speed like them.

Yang Yan observed intently for a moment, then transmitted her voice again using her true energy. Her voice remained clear and cold, but carried a hint of solemnity after confirmation.

"Senior sister, we haven't seen anyone suspicious following us along the way."

The news was like a stone sinking into a deep pool, not causing the slightest ripple of relief. Instead, it made Zhou Zhiruo's pretty face under her bamboo hat tighten even more, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed even more deeply.

Yang Yan's expression also turned sour.

Although the two women are young, they have been by Gu Shaoan's side since childhood. Through his teachings and example, they know more than ordinary people. In addition, when Gu Shaoan had not yet broken through to the Qi Condensation stage, the two women had also gone down the mountain to handle many missions of their sect. They know that one should not judge things by appearances alone.

The fact that they were poisoned indicates that the three of them were being watched and had pursuers behind them, which is actually a good thing, as it at least shows that the enemy is in the open.

What I fear most is being like this, with no pursuers behind me.

Because there are only two possible scenarios when this happens.

Firstly, the other party abandoned their original plan after seeing that they were not poisoned.

Secondly, the enemy is very likely already lying in ambush on their way.

Before Yang Yan could think further, Zhou Zhiruo's voice, transmitted through her true energy, had already reached her ears.

"Be careful and protect Junior Sister Jiangxue."

As she spoke, Zhou Zhiruo maneuvered the galloping horse beneath her while constantly scanning her surroundings and the area in front of her, maximizing her senses as she circulated her internal energy.

"understand!"

As Yang Yan responded, she instantly pulled on the reins, adjusting the horse's speed to position herself just behind Mei Jiangxue—a position that allowed her to provide timely assistance without obstructing Mei's view to the left or right, and also to deal with any potential attacks from the side.

And just like Zhou Zhiruo, he continuously circulated his inner energy, scanning the surrounding situation.

The horse's hooves flew, and the outline of the majestic Emei Mountains became clearer and clearer.

At this point, the three of them were less than twenty miles away from the Emei Sect.

However, as the three rode their horses through a grove of trees, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan became very nervous.

The backs of the thumbs of both men holding the swords were already pressing against the guard where the blade connects to the hilt.

"chichichi"

Just as the three of them had moved forward for nearly a mile, a series of sharp, piercing sounds tore through the air, shooting out suddenly from the depths of the dense, dark forest to their left, like the spitting of a venomous snake.

"Be careful with hidden weapons!"

With a sharp shout, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan simultaneously straightened their thumbs, causing the sword hilt to leap out of its sheath and be grasped by Zhou Zhiruo.

Two clear, melodious sword sounds rang out almost simultaneously!
With a flick of her wrist, Zhou Zhiruo's longsword transformed into a silvery light screen, almost invisible to the naked eye, both supple and swift.

Like thousands of willow branches sprouting in early spring, or like layers of ripples stirred up by a strong wind, a bluish-green sword aura burst forth, precisely meeting the hidden weapon that shot towards the left.

Yang Yan's sword light was completely different. It was cold, swift as lightning, and carried a chilling aura. It drew several precise crosses and arcs in the air, firmly blocking Mei Jiangxue and herself.

"Ding Ding Ding"

A series of rapid, thunderous impacts, like a sudden downpour hitting banana leaves, rang out instantly. Amidst the flying sparks, all the hidden weapons aimed at the three were deflected and fell onto the official road.

The three women glanced quickly and saw that the things on the ground were actually plum blossom darts.

Under the sunlight, the surface of these plum blossom darts gleamed with a ghostly blue luster, clearly indicating that they were poisoned.

Before the rain of darts had fully dissipated, three figures, like owls skimming the ground, burst forth from the shadows at the edge of the forest, following closely behind with their hidden weapons.

Instead of rushing directly at the three women, the group displayed astonishing lightness skills, landing precisely about ten feet ahead of the official road.

The movements were swift and fluid, with an extremely clear intention: to block the three people's path and cut off their return journey.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen figures rushed out of the woods and onto the main road from their left rear.

"Don't stop! Go ahead!"

With a quick change of mind, Zhou Zhiruo's shout carried an undeniable resolve.

She knew that once she was surrounded by these people, she would have no chance of escape.

As she shouted, her left hand swiftly slid the scabbard into her waistband, her right hand twirled the longsword in front of her, and her left hand quickly reached into her bosom.

He pulled out a signal flare.

After pulling the fuse at the tail of the signal flare, a sudden whooshing sound rang out, and then it quickly rose to a high altitude and exploded, leaving a purple Emei emblem in the sky.

It was a signal flare from the Emei Sect.

After the signal flare was fired, Zhou Zhiruo's voice, transmitted through her inner energy, quickly reached Yang Yan's ears.

"If things go wrong, take Junior Sister Jiangxue and leave immediately. I'll help you hold them off."

Upon hearing this, Yang Yan's expression changed. Without thinking, she also used her inner energy to transmit her voice, saying, "My lightness skill is better than yours, Senior Sister, so it's easier for me to escape. If anyone should be stopping them, it should be me staying behind."

"Nonsense!"

In response to Yang Yan's reply, Zhou Zhiruo did not turn her head, but her voice, transmitted through her inner energy, had become more stern.

"It is precisely because your lightness skill is better, Junior Sister, that you should leave. Don't forget, we still have Jiang Xue with us."

"Moreover, my 'Willow Floss Sword Technique' is almost at the level of 'momentum,' so I am stronger in defense. As long as the Emei Sect sends someone, I will be safe."

"I'm your senior, listen to me."

"Keep the Rain of Pear Blossoms Needles that your junior brother gave you handy at all times. Use them immediately if you feel anything is wrong."

Zhou Zhiruo spoke quickly, but her words were extremely clear and organized.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Yang Yan saw a resemblance between Zhou Zhiruo and Gu Shaoan at that moment.

They are able to anticipate all possible scenarios and corresponding solutions the moment they encounter them.

As Zhou Zhiruo's voice fell, the horses beneath the three of them galloped forward several feet once more.

Seeing that Zhou Zhiruo had given such a decisive signal, one of the three men in front, a short man, raised his hands again and waved them quickly, launching a denser barrage of plum blossom darts at tricky angles.

This time, not only were people shot, but some were also aimed at the legs of the horses beneath them. "Hmph!"

Sensing the other party's intention, Zhou Zhiruo's eyes sharpened. She pushed off the stirrups with her toes and, using the momentum of her galloping, she leaped off the saddle like a white crane, heading straight for the even more ferocious rain of darts.

While suspended in mid-air, the longsword in his hand had transformed into a silver ball of light that pulsed and whose trajectory was unpredictable. The sword moves he executed were the exquisite sword techniques of the "Willow Catkin Sword Technique," which were designed to be watertight, like hundreds of resilient willow branches dancing in the wind sweeping away the locust-like hidden weapons.

In the blink of an eye, all the hidden weapons were knocked away again.

As her body fell, Zhou Zhiruo lightly touched the ground with her toes, and like a white dove taking flight, she leaped up again.

Just as she leaped up, Zhou Zhiruo raised her left hand, which had been hidden in her sleeve, and Yang Yan immediately recognized what Zhou Zhiruo was holding.

It was none other than the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle that Gu Shaoan had given to her and Yang Yan a few years ago in Linhai Town.

Yang Yan did not expect Zhou Zhiruo to be so decisive at this moment.

They actually used the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles right away.

Just as Zhou Zhiruo activated the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, a very faint yet crisp sound of a mechanism snapping rang out.

"shhhhhh"

The next second, dozens of blindingly bright white rays of light suddenly shot out from the small box in Zhou Zhiruo's left hand.

The white stream of light, like a wind without substance or lightning condensed to its extreme, rushed to the people in front of them in an instant, with a distance of less than a foot between them.

Just then, among the group of people in front, the one standing at the very front, a burly man with a bald head, suddenly took half a step forward.

Faced with the barrage of needles shooting towards him, the bald man neither dodged nor used any weapon. He simply let out a deep roar, a roar that sounded like the long howl of an ancient elephant, deafeningly loud.

Immediately afterwards, his large, fan-like hands rose with lightning speed, a speed completely opposite to his robust physique, his five fingers curling out like dragon claws.

Just before he reached out with his hands in a claw-like motion to grab at the void, a layer of special golden-bronze-like energy visibly condensed within the palms of his hands.

A terrifying, chilling power surged through the meridians of his palms, causing the air around his arms to distort violently.

In the blink of an eye, the bald man's claws had already slashed out into the air. The trajectory of his claws was not straight, but rather brought with it two turbulent golden-red energy streams that were as solid as a substance, yet as agile as dragons and snakes.

Like two angry dragons roaring with their heads held high, or two giant elephants capable of shaking mountains, they crashed violently into that white light of death.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

However, just as the bald man's claws collided with the barrage of silver needles, there was no image of his flesh being pierced by the needles and bleeding.

When these silver needles, specially crafted by the Tang Clan, came into contact with the two powerful force fields intertwined with golden and red hues and the roars of dragons and elephants, they unexpectedly erupted with a series of dense and loud metallic explosions, like heavy hammers striking a copper wall and iron barrier.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of silver needles were stopped by the bald man's claws.

"Roar!"

Just then, a deeper and more resonant elephant roar suddenly emanated from the bald man's body.

A terrifying burst of energy suddenly erupted from the bald man's body, the powerful force even knocking away the remaining silver needles that were about to strike him.

"The dragon roars and the elephant sings, its powerful energy taking form."

Looking at the bald man whose body was surging with energy, Yang Yan suddenly thought of a martial art she had learned about from Gu Santong.

A body-refining martial art that is in no way inferior to Gu Santong's "Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill".

Thinking of this, Yang Yan's heart tightened, and she said urgently, "Senior sister, be careful. This person is using the Great Yuan Kingdom's Tantric Dharma Protector Divine Skill, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. He is a Tantric monk, so you must not get close to him."

Upon hearing Yang Yan's words, the bald man who had just made the move looked at Yang Yan with some surprise.

He seemed surprised that Yang Yan, such a young girl, could recognize the martial arts he was using.

After understanding the bald man's martial arts and identity, Zhou Zhiruo's expression changed as she returned to her horse.

"The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill? Esoteric Buddhism?"

Zhou Zhiruo was shocked, and a chill instantly seeped into her bones.

However, at that moment, the horse that Zhou Zhiruo was riding suddenly trembled.

Immediately afterward, the horse, which was perfectly fine just a second ago, suddenly tumbled forward.

Not only Zhou Zhiruo's horse, but also Yang Yan and Mei Jiangxue's horses encountered the same problem, all tumbling forward as they sped along.

Realizing something was wrong, the three women quickly used their lightness skills to stabilize themselves.

Looking down at the horses on the ground, foaming at the mouth, the group realized that the three horses had been tampered with long ago.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zhou Zhiruo noticed another group of people who had quickly surrounded her, and her heart sank even further.

Thinking of Yang Yan and Mei Jiangxue, and then of his own identity.

In a flash, Zhou Zhiruo made her decision.

A fierce glint flashed in her eyes, as if she were about to destroy everything, and she shouted at Yang Yan, "Take Jiang Xue and leave first!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Zhiruo slapped the saddle hard, and her body shot into the sky like an arrow! Her toes lightly touched the top of the saddle, and she gained a terrifying forward acceleration from the horse's high-speed momentum.

As she took off, Zhou Zhiruo's body spun rapidly in mid-air like a top.

After leaving afterimages as it spun, it rushed toward the three people in front of it.

It was so fast it was dazzling, like someone had created a clone.

She abandoned her own safe distance and, in a desperate move, charged straight at the four people blocking her way, her target being the bald monk at the very front who resembled the Immovable King!
"court death!"

Beside the monk, a lean, tall man with a fierce glint in his eyes roared and drew out a pair of daggers crossed in his hands, like the fangs of a venomous snake, intending to block Zhou Zhiruo's path.

The other middle-aged man, who was slightly shorter and had used a hidden weapon, also drew a curved blade, the wind whistling as he tried to shred Zhou Zhiruo.

As the two set off, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly let out a soft shout.

"JX3: Thousand Willows!"

A clear, low murmur suddenly rang out as Zhou Zhiruo spun around!

The originally plain and unadorned longsword in Zhou Zhiruo's hand suddenly emitted a clear and melodious hum after being infused with the purest and most powerful Emei True Qi.

The sword light was no longer a beam, but suddenly exploded! It transformed into a shower of light and shadow across the sky!

It wasn't a simple, brutal sword light, but rather as if countless supple willow branches, swaying in the wind, had appeared out of thin air.

The azure sword energy condensed into countless slender yet incredibly sharp threads of light, densely covering a three-zhang radius around Zhou Zhiruo! The sword shadows danced like willow catkins in the wind, leaving no trace, yet omnipresent!
This sudden, wide-ranging, and extremely unpredictable burst of sword light completely exceeded the expectations of these two people.

The moment the tall, thin man's two daggers touched a seemingly gentle wisp of willow branch, he felt an extremely resilient and continuous pulling force that deflected his deadly daggers. The force was so subtle that it made his chest feel tight.

Immediately afterwards, several fleeting, yet swift sword lights bypassed the dagger's defense, silently leaving deep, bone-revealing bloodstains on his shoulders, arms, and ribs. The intense pain caused him to groan and stagger backward.

The burly man with the curved sword was equally unlucky. His sword wheel was fierce and domineering, but when it encountered this strange sword net that was like thousands of willow branches dancing in the wind, all his strength seemed to have cut into the most supple leather.

The blade was stuck and pulled, making it impossible to find a point of leverage, and his wide and sweeping sword movements exposed many gaps.

The two were terrified and tried their best to block and dodge, but the countless "willow branches" seemed to be alive and always managed to slip through their weakest points.

In an instant, the two of them found themselves in a state of flustered chaos.

Just as the two were blocked by the sword light that resembled willow catkins, a real killing intent emerged. A sword light that was condensed to the extreme and moved at the extreme speed silently stood out from the sword light that resembled willow catkins, and was aimed directly at the vital point between the eyebrows of the monk from the Great Yuan Kingdom that Zhou Zhiruo feared the most!

Faced with Zhou Zhiruo's sword, the monk felt a sudden sense of alarm, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light! He instantly activated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill again, and his vast inner strength surged forth. The dragon claws that had once withstood the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles once again shot out like lightning.

Above the claws, the phantom images of dragons and elephants swirled, and unparalleled powerful energy gathered at the tips of the claws.

"laugh!"

He actually met that deadly sword light head-on with a fierce claw strike, attempting to use the purest power to once again confront Zhou Zhiruo's exquisite swordsmanship. The claw wind tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek!

Keng——!
The sword and the dragon's claws clashed violently!
The sword strike, which was originally as swift as a gust of wind brushing a willow branch, was blocked by an invisible force before it could even touch the monk's dragon claw, making it impossible to advance an inch.

　Sorry, it took me until 3:30 to post this!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)