Chapter 134: Rescue (Part I)

Realizing this all of a sudden, Jiang Feng felt a strong impulse to cry without tears. He never imagined that his own cleverness would backfire so severely.

The moment he moved, he found his path completely blocked. Standing before him was a formidable crowd, arrayed in a sword formation with strict discipline and not a single flaw.

The rock-soil mist permeating the Moon Worship Hall provided the best possible cover for them. In no time, the figures of these Moon Worship Sword Sect disciples were completely swallowed by the dense earth fog. The continuous, overlapping sounds of sword hums echoed like shrieks from the underworld, ringing relentlessly in Jiang Feng's ears. From time to time, one or two flashes of sword light would suddenly burst forth from the mist, aiming directly at the vital pressure points across his body.

Left with no other choice, he had to deal with the immediate predicament first.

Although he unleashed all twenty-five forms of the Shadow Dance Soul-Shattering Steps, the results were minimal. The opponents' tactics were extremely refined, utilizing the mountain-heavy rock-soil mist as cover while employing sword lights as lethal strikes, catching him off guard and leaving him with no defense.

While one side was fully prepared and interlocking in coordination, the other was entirely unprepared and burning with anxiety.

Consequently, Jiang Feng's disadvantage was glaring. Although he had comprehended the Nether Power of the True Nether Realm, and his cultivation had leaped forward dramatically thanks to the Immortal World Sacred Tree within him, the current environment drastically diminished the effectiveness of his Nether Arts.

He executed the Mysterious Heaven Divine Palm several times in succession, but far from parting the earth fog, moving it even a few inches proved nearly impossible!

Seeing Jiang Feng's morale plummet sharply, the disciples of the Moon Worship Sword Sect were overjoyed. From within the yellowish-brown earth fog, a series of excited shouts erupted. They were attempting to crush Jiang Feng's morale and shatter his mental defenses in advance.

Once his psychological defenses collapsed, no matter how exquisite his Nether Arts might be, they would all become utterly useless!

The heavy earth fog drifted haphazardly through the air, leaving Jiang Feng with nowhere to hide. His hands continually lashed out, sending palm images flashing prominently through the yellowish-brown world, but due to his failing willpower, they possessed little combat effectiveness.

In his urgency, Jue timely stepped in to help solve the problem: "You handle these fellows, and I'll take care of Liu Xiayuan!"

"Understood!" Jiang Feng replied without hesitation. This was no time for modesty!

"Who is truly foolish remains to be seen. Hehehehe..." At that exact moment, an eerie voice suddenly sounded beside Liu Xiayuan. A massive claw formed of Nether Power reached out, launching a lightning-fast sneak attack that slammed fiercely into his back, tearing his silver robe to shreds instantly.

It was none other than Jue.

Having consumed a vast amount of Nine-Sun Holy Water, Jue had finally restored its Third-Tier Nether Power, reaching the True Nether Realm. Although still far from its peak condition, its strength had grown immensely, allowing it to deploy some of the slightly more powerful formations known within its Nether Arts.

This sneak attack utilized "Netherworld Killing Dao," a heterodox Nether Art from its accumulated knowledge. Relying on the wondrous nature of the treasure known as the Jiangshan Bottle and Liu Xiayuan's complete lack of anticipation, the ambush succeeded in a single stroke.

Jue was a millennial old demon; compared to Jiang Feng, its methods were worlds apart. Its sneak attack was vicious and ruthless, and armed with Nether Soul Power—a sharp weapon specifically designed to break magical treasures and True Nether Realm power—it shattered the protective magical robe of Liu Xiayuan in a single move. Without pausing, it channeled its Nether Power to instantly cast a "Rotting Immortal Grand Formation," covering Liu Xiayuan's body with talismanic scripts resembling centipedes, scorpions, and spiders.

Struck by this ambush, Liu Xiayuan shuddered violently as pungent, thick smoke billowed from his skin.

"Netherworld Killing Dao! Netherworld Killing Dao! Such assassination techniques cannot possibly be unleashed by orthodox demonic sects! What kind of monster are you?" Liu Xiayuan actually recognized Jue's assassination technique. He let out a earth-shattering roar of agony, his body vibrating at high speed as rings of silver Nether Power surged forth, attempting to engulf the Rotting Immortal Grand Formation.

Simultaneously, knowing he had reached a critical juncture of life and death, he held nothing back. Reaching to his waist with his left hand, he drew a precious saber.

The saber was entirely blood-red and as thin as a cicada's wing. The hilt featured a bizarre two-headed beast, and intricate patterns intertwined along the blade. With a single swing, it slashed toward Jue's Nether Power claw.

"Demonic Saber! Eight Desolations Pale Flame!"

Seeing this blood-red demonic saber, Jue was greatly startled and hurriedly retracted its claw. It knew this demonic saber was called the Eight Desolations Pale Flame—exceedingly formidable, leaving neither ghosts nor gods in its wake once unsheathed. Being struck by it would unleash sword Qi capable of destroying its physical form and forcing it back into its original state.

The demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame was immensely famous in both orthodox and demonic circles. It was on par with the White Emperor Glass Tripod, yet its ferocious reputation far surpassed that tripod. Moreover, the White Emperor Glass Tripod was fundamentally an alchemy vessel, somewhat lacking in direct combat lethality. The Eight Desolations Pale Flame, however, was entirely different; it possessed no protective formations and no other functions whatsoever. Its sole and singular purpose was slaughter.

When the demonic saber emerges, a rain of blood drenches the firmament.

Although not a White Nether Sacred Treasure, it was an entity that could evolve into one at any moment.

It was an absolute pinnacle among dark-tier Nether treasures, a rare treasure seen once in a millennium. Pure Yang magical treasures like the Nine-Chambered Ring Saber and the As-You-Wish Heaven-Holding Cudgel fell a notch short compared to the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame.

Whoosh!

Jue withdrew its claw and its body flickered, vanishing completely and causing the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame to slash at empty air.

"Rotting Immortal Grand Formation!" Having driven Jue away with a single slash, Liu Xiayuan felt a slight surge of relief. Paying no heed to anything else, he sought to purge the injuries within his body. Yet the moment he channeled his energy to expel them, far from disappearing, those Rotting Immortal talismans clung to him like bone-gnawing maggots, biting into him relentlessly and eroding his Nether Power.

"This is the Rotting Immortal Grand Formation of the Blood Path Demonic Sect, the premier demonic sect of the Xuanhuang Great World. It can only be refined using legendary-grade Nether Soul Power! Could the one who ambushed me just now be a disciple of the Blood Path Demonic Sect possessing Nether Soul Power?!" As the chief disciple of the Moon Worship Sword Sect, he was well-read and experienced. Thoughts racing, he swiftly retrieved a bottle of medicinal pills and swallowed them recklessly.

Bang, bang, bang!

Just as he was frantically treating his injuries, several loud crashes rang out, nearly causing his eye sockets to split.

Several disciples had been killed on the spot by Jiang Feng.

Originally, after Jiang Feng had been driven to the ground by him, eighteen Moon Worship disciples had swarmed forward, intending to capture him alive. But little did they know, Jiang Feng had been waiting precisely for this moment. Suddenly flipping back up, he flickered like a ghost and materialized directly in front of one of the Moon Worship disciples, thrusting his hand forward in a claw!

He literally gouged out the heart of the Moon Worship disciple while, simultaneously, a powerful suction force generated from within the White Emperor Glass Tripod pulled the disciple inside.

These eighteen Moon Worship disciples, consisting of both men and women, were roughly equivalent to experts at the ninth stage of the Void Nether Realm, yet their Nether Power fell far short of Liu Xiayuan's. The strongest among them was merely comparable to the Master of Womign Island, and they were hardly a match for a freak like Jiang Feng.

In an instant, five male disciples had their bodies shattered and were sucked entirely into the King's Tripod, leaving them no time to even detonate their souls.

Various grand formations inside the King's Tripod were capable of suppressing and controlling the self-detonation of Moon Worship disciples.

Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, the remaining Moon Worship disciples took flight one after another, escaping the Moon Worship Hall.

"Courting death!"

Furious to the extreme, Liu Xiayuan swung the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame and slashed toward Jiang Feng.

"Not good!" Jiang Feng felt a jolt of alarm. His body flew forward, plunging directly into the King's Tripod. Having sensed the terrifying might of the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame, he knew that taking a single blow would instantly dissolve his entire body into pus, rendering any miraculous elixir useless. Although his physical body was currently formidable enough that even peerless treasures like Duan Xingyun's Cold Chi Sword could not pierce his skin, he still could not withstand the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame.

Clang!

The demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame struck the King's Tripod, leaving a deep gash upon it.

"Good grief!" Jiang Feng jolted, violently rousing his Nether Power as he plunged into the grand array of the King's Tripod, consecutively activating over a dozen treasure-capturing formations including the "Spirit-Swallowing Grand Formation," the "Soul-Devouring Grand Formation," the "Soul-Refining Grand Formation," and the "Spirit-Seizing Grand Formation."

A powerful suction force erupted, wrapping around the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame and causing the weapon to immediately slow down. The Five Prisons King Tripod inherently possessed the capability to capture magical treasures.

"You wish to capture this demonic saber?" Liu Xiayuan smiled coldly. "With your level of cultivation, that is impossible."

"His true intention is to pin you down so I can launch a sneak attack!" Jue's eerie voice echoed once more. Suddenly appearing, its massive Nether Power claw pressed down ruthlessly onto the crown of Liu Xiayuan's head...

Boom!

This sneak attack by Jue was both untraceable and executed with full force, exhausting its entire strength to secure victory in a single strike. On the other hand, the ruthlessness of Jue's attack stunned even Liu Xiayuan, who had survived the perils of the Reincarnation Sea.

Yet Liu Xiayuan was, after all, the chief disciple of the Moon Worship Sword Sect. Not only had he revealed the sect-guarding supreme treasure, the demonic saber Eight Desolations Pale Flame, but he had also summoned the Nine-Turn Rock-Soil Sword into the air. Had he successfully purged his injuries, he might well have turned the tables and utterly defeated both Jiang Feng and Jue.

The reason Liu Xiayuan was currently unable to unleash earth-shattering Nether Arts was that the power of the Rotting Immortal Grand Formation from the initial ambush had penetrated deep into his bone marrow, circulating continuously alongside his blood.

"You dare injure me!" Liu Xiayuan had entered a state of complete madness. The other party was merely a criminal from Nine-Rocks Town; although possessed of some ability, how could he possibly make waves across the vast expanse of the Reincarnation Sea? Never did he expect that this person would completely devour all his Nine-Sun Holy Water, and even more unforgivably, push him—wielder of the Nine-Turn Rock-Soil Sword and the Eight Desolations Pale Flame—to such a desperate pass!

True to being the most outstanding disciple on Aramu Mountain, Liu Xiayuan managed to react even amidst this sudden sneak attack. Thrusting both palms upward, he met Jue's claw head-on, taking the blow directly.

Palm met claw in a direct, unadorned collision.

Yet at that very moment, Jue's claw vanished abruptly, defying all expectation. It left nothing behind in the empty air, rendering Liu Xiayuan's counterattack completely futile and wasted. His palm force surged upward through the earth fog within the hall, shattering the ceiling of the Moon Worship Hall and blasting straight into the sky.