Gazing at the stunning beauty who arrived by moonlight, a woman who could easily rank as the world’s foremost in beauty if there were ever a ranking for such, Maitreya, normally a lustful man, felt not the slightest desire but rather a profound sense of agony.
"You motherfucker, why did you come!"
When an opponent is sufficiently powerful, what you care about is no longer appearance but life and death, victory or defeat.
Maitreya had arrived early, not wishing to reveal himself prematurely and let the people of Gusu know it was the Maitreya Sect involved. He simply wanted to wait until the Tang family’s Evil Qi soared to the heavens, after which the angry people of Gusu would wash their hands of the Tang family. Then he could swoop in to clean up and claim the fruits of victory, facilitating future rule.
Therefore, he had been lying in wait for so long, only to find, to his dismay, that just as the Lu Family was on the verging of success, something inexplicably went awry—the pond stopped working!
What was even more infuriating was that the lax military discipline of his lazy army, whose generals lodged in brothels, was somehow rallied by Tang Buqi, who must have dragged the Main General from a familiar bed. They returned to form and charged into the city, catching the Maitreya Sect’s plans entirely off guard.
This hastily assembled ragtag army was hardly helpful, yet Maitreya’s presence in Gusu wasn’t substantial either! This text is hosted at novel⦿fire.net
Seeing everything about to fall apart, Maitreya made a split-second decision, promptly throwing out the treasured Evil Qi relic he had just obtained, which hadn’t even warmed up. He drew the Evil Qi from below upward and succeeded at once.
But who could have expected, after just that brief delay, that Tang Wanju would have arrived!
Maitreya, who once suppressed everything with his power, finding it easy to solve any unforeseen event, suddenly faced someone who could oppose him.
Capital being tens of thousands of miles away, Tang Wanju could have only learned of the upheaval in Yangzhou days before and, sensing Gusu’s crisis, hastened without waiting for her subordinates, as none were as swift as her.
Just like the earlier situation at Luo Family Manor, she managed to arrive at the pivotal moment each time. Had she lingered for one additional meal, she would have been too late.
Even Maitreya couldn’t help but feel a sense of weariness, with this woman stationed in a critical department of the Imperial court, everyone’s tasks became decidedly challenging. Without a doubt, Vermilion Bird, who had attempted to kill Luo Zhenwu, must have shared the sentiment. Except back then, Luo Zhenwu was dispatched by an unexpected young upstart, and today, it seemed that the same upstart was standing with Tang Wanju.
That young upstart seemed to be in Gusu too... With the current situation, could the outcome hinge on him?
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Maitreya did not cease his actions, seeing Tang Wanju approach with a sword beneath the moon. He brandished his Broadsword and launched an offensive!
Tang Wanju had been unwell all along, and after such a long journey, she could not possibly be at her peak. A quick assault, leaving no room for her to breathe, was undoubtedly the right choice!
Spring water sprinkled gently, and a faint fragrance wafted through the air.
The Buddha’s light shone brilliantly, and lotuses bloomed in the Void.
The clash between the third and fifth of the Earth List erupted above the Tang family’s whereabouts. This was no longer the comically tentative fight at Ancient Sword Lake’s shore, but a battle for life and death!
—Two titans of the Demon Sect, Vermilion Bird at fourth and Maitreya at fifth, one could somewhat surmise why Tang Wanju was so eager for a breakthrough. Without a rapid breakthrough, she didn’t know if she could subdue these two. Even so, there was still the second-ranked Xuanwu, whose true identity no one knew, and an aggravating thief ranked first.
As for those on the Heavenly List... Let’s not mention them. The top five of the Earth List, with four being fugitives—it’s no wonder the Demon Suppression Department has such a difficult task...
Tang Wanju was the third on the Earth List before her forced breakthrough, which injured her lung meridian. Whether her current strength was higher or lower than before was unclear to everyone. Thus, both Vermilion Bird and Maitreya avoided confrontation with her when possible, deeply wary of this sickly figure.
Now, however, there was no room for hesitation; the battle of life and death had erupted.
But at this moment, Tang Wanju also faced a severe headache. Regardless of whether she could defeat Maitreya, it wasn’t a fight that could be resolved in a short while. What to do about the situation at the Sword Pond in the meantime?
Maitreya could afford to watch the Evil Sword rise from the pond and slaughter everyone present. Could she, Tang Wanju, do the same?
And who else could lend a hand?
By the Sword Pond, the situation should have been somewhat better than before.
Although Evil Qi rose significantly from the pond, the people who had been incited to come were no longer targeting the Tang family as before. Most had seen with their own eyes that it was Maitreya who had cast something into the pond, stirring up the Evil Qi—whether it was the Sword Pond’s or Maitreya’s was still debatable.
But regardless of what people thought at that moment, whose side they took, or whether they were waiting to see the outcome of the Earth List’s battle, before they could act, the Evil Sword emerged from the pond.
Before their eyes, the space cracked like flawed glaze, and the entire environment seemed twisted, creating an illusion of a mirage. Yet the pond water was indeed surging and overflowing, and within moments, the picturesque Sword Pond had vanished.
In its place, a gigantic Sword Shadow thundered upwards; Lu Shaohong, who hadn’t managed to leave the pond in time, was crushed beneath it. His screams were lost amidst the "rumbling" of the colossal spatial transformation; Lu Shaohong was reduced to a pulp.
Lu Yuanting stood in shock, unable to even begin to process the grief of losing his son.
The Sword Shadow was not only terrifying in its power, but the bloody Evil Qi surrounding it was fear-inducing.
It was as if one was on a blood-soaked battlefield, with limbs and bloodthirsty beasts everywhere, the sounds of vultures in the ears, and the sky cracked open, with the eyes of God Demons glaring menacingly through. Just one glance was enough to make one’s heart and courage shatter!
"Swish, swish, swish!" Countless strands of Sword Qi fell like rain, affecting everyone within its cleansing radius.
This was the Evil Sword that the elder of the Luo Family set upon to slaughter all living things in a rage!
Screams echoed one after another, and in an instant, whether it was the people of the Tang family or the assorted troublemakers who had come, they were already dead or wounded in disarray. Blood spread across the Thousand Man Rock, mixing with the collapsing water from the Sword Pond, turning Huqiu into a veritable hell.
Even Lu Yuanting had not anticipated he would be facing such a scene.
"Quick, leave!" Tang Wanju’s voice came from mid-air, "Friend or foe, according to your position at this moment, turn around and orderly retreat! The sons of the Tang family will come out and block the Sword Qi from behind. This Sword Qi is not as strong as you’d imagine!"
For a brief moment, the air seemed to quieten, and someone took the lead to shout. Everyone began to flee in panic, throwing Tang Wanju’s order for an "orderly retreat" to the winds. The Tang family members, including Tang Wangsheng, were no exception—no one gave a damn about covering for those troublemakers, each regretting they weren’t born with an extra pair of legs as they bolted down the mountain.
But, after all, how wide could a mountain path be?
The giant Evil Sword had only moved half a blade’s length from the ground, and the second round of Sword Qi hadn’t even been released before people were already jostling and trampling over each other, with countless injuries and deaths occurring.
It was uncertain whether this trampling caused more deaths or the initial round of Sword Qi did.
Maitreya Sect laughed heartily while clashing furiously with Tang Wanju: "Leader Tang exhausts her wits for such a bunch? And those conceited Tang family disciples holding the rear... pfft, hahaha... Aside from you, the Tang family is long gone! In my view, it’s better for you to join our Void homeland. That’s Ultimate Bliss. Why bleed for these worthless lot? I feel sorry for you just looking at you."
Tang Wanju’s expression was grim, and she did not engage in conversation.
Maitreya Sect was in the midst of laughing when suddenly, a sword light flashed through the mountain, someone rushed forward by racing atop the trees, heading straight for the Evil Sword, then, alone with only a sword, stood in front of the Evil Sword: "This is Huqiu Sword Pond, the Tang family’s mountain, and WE Tang family disciples ought to hold the rear. Any of you who still know your surname is Tang, stand by me!"
The crowd still squeezing on the mountain path all paused for a moment, turning their heads to look.
Tang Buqi stood before the Evil Sword with his sword, so alone.
Just the half-exposed Evil Sword was already taller than a person...
Tang Buqi, who had once drunkenly claimed to Zhao Changhe, "Brother Zhao, am I gonna die?" now faced an Evil Qi terrifying enough to make countless people lose their courage. Everyone could see his sword-wielding hand shaking, his legs trembling, yet he stood there firm as if rooted to the spot, being his Tang family’s son.
Many exchanged glances and then rushed forward: "Young Master."
"I’m here to help you!"
Suddenly, a human wall appeared before the Evil Sword. Each person stood with a sword in hand, ready for battle.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!"
The second round of Sword Qi fell like rain.
But this time, people realized... as long as you were not intimidated by the Evil Qi and everyone could form up and confront it, this scattered Sword Qi really didn’t seem that difficult to block.
If Sword Qi were dispersed, it was something even Zhao Changhe could physically endure. How hard could it be?
The sound of clashing swords rang out like pearls falling onto a jade dish. The Tang family disciples actually intercepted all the Sword Qi, without anyone even getting injured!
Maitreya Sect’s expression changed, and Tang Wanju finally revealed her first smile of the night: "Who says the Tang family has no one?"
"Hahaha!" Leading everyone, Tang Buqi successfully intercepted the Sword Rain. Though his voice had been trembling, he now regained his bravado: "That’s it, just that! A sword from Ancient Times, come out now, I’ll take you down soon enough!"
"Boom!" The Sword Shadow finally burst completely out of the space, announcing the barrier between the Otherworldly Space had been broken, reconnecting both realms.
The giant Sword Shadow turned, pointing at Tang Buqi.
Tang Buqi: "...I was just joking before..."
Maitreya Sect laughed: "It’s not surprising that the dispersed Sword Qi can be blocked... But can these people break such a tremendously fierce giant sword? Poor Tang family’s sons with a bit of backbone are all about to be sacrificed to it..."
Before the word "this" was fully uttered, Maitreya Sect’s eyes bulged.
A blood-soaked man, carrying a girl in his arms, emerged from the ground behind the sword’s hilt.
As soon as he landed, the man placed the girl aside, took the huge Broadsword off his back, and charged towards the Sword Shadow, hacking down ferociously: "There’s been one guy shivering non-stop, just wanting to arm-wrestle with you, so it’s best you’ve taken the shape of a sword... Couldn’t defeat the Sword Emperor, but can’t defeat you?"
PS: Thank you for the gold, Wu Ye! I’m ready and bent over, come on~