Chapter Ninety-One: Fierce Battle in the Wilderness

Ye Zihan understood at once after hearing that. So these assassins were not only here to kill their group, but also to intercept the young experts taking part in the struggle for Nameless Mound. The other young experts had not taken the shortcut, which was why they were not in much danger. But Ye Zihan and Chen Yiyan and the others thought highly of themselves and were never the sort to fear such assassins, so they had taken the shortcut.

“So that is how it is. In that case, come then. Only this time, it will not be as easy for you as it was last night.” As Ye Zihan finished speaking, he gave the black-clad men a cold laugh. They had already surrounded them completely, yet still wore those watchful, wary expressions, as if they held some measure of caution toward Ye Zihan and the others.

“Presumptuous. All of you, attack. Today we must wipe them out here!” After the leader of the black-clad men spoke, he struck at once. A massive broadsword flew straight toward Ye Zihan and the others.

“Good. Today I will teach you arrogant fools a lesson.” Although the assassin now attacking Ye Zihan was a powerhouse of that realm, Chen Yiyan showed no fear at all. On the contrary, the fighting spirit in his heart was stirred. That was Chen Yiyan: a born warrior. To him, having no opponent at all would be the most terrifying thing of all.

Boom!

Chen Yiyan brought his enormous battle axe crashing down on the black-clad man, actually blasting out a huge sphere of light in midair, followed by a thunderous roar. That was the sound of his fire-element power gathering.

Whoosh!

The black-clad man’s sword energy shot rapidly toward Chen Yiyan. For him, killing Chen Yiyan was no easy matter either.

Rumble!

The black-clad man’s immense sword energy collided violently with Chen Yiyan’s sphere of light, and the deafening sound rang out without end.

In an instant, dust flew everywhere, and the forest began to burn beneath the force of the fire-element flames. But soon Ye Zihan had drenched them. By now, Ye Zihan had fully opened all five elements. He had narrowly escaped death once last night, and this time the danger was even greater, because the enemies before them were stronger still.

Again it was two powerhouses of that realm leading the assault, but this time they had brought along twenty killers at the Five Elements realm. This was absolutely a force not to be underestimated.

“You there, attack as well. Today we will kill these little bastards in the wilderness and feed them to the dogs afterward!” The black-clad man at the rear roared and charged toward Ye Zihan. By now they had already regarded Ye Zihan and Chen Yiyan as thorns in their flesh, so the two powerhouses of that realm were launching their attacks directly at them.

“Kill!”

At once, the entire wilderness rang with murderous shouts. For these assassins, only after completing the mission could they return and report. That was why they were now fighting with everything they had; if they returned empty-handed, they would be punished.

“Kill.” Lin Dong swiftly swung his treasured sword and joined the battle. He had no other choice now, because the enemy clearly had no intention of letting them leave alive.

“It looks like I won’t be able to avoid a breakthrough today.” Yan Chen now wanted nothing more than to break through his Four Symbols realm. He was already at the peak of that level, only one step away from the early stage of the Five Elements realm, so he was still extremely confident. As long as he could successfully kill his opponent, advancing to the Five Elements realm should not be a problem.

Bang!

Very quickly, the black-clad men who had been lying in ambush for Ye Zihan and Chen Yiyan were locked in fierce combat with them. Even though Ye Zihan and the others were at a disadvantage, they still fought desperately, because they understood that the moment they retreated, it would be no different from signing their own death warrants.

“You are doomed!” The powerhouse of that realm who was surrounding Ye Zihan was exceedingly arrogant. After all, five of them were ganging up on one man; it was practically a form of abuse. So he was very confident they could kill Ye Zihan and the others.

“Don’t rejoice too soon. Today, I, Ye Zihan, will make you pay for your recklessness.” Ye Zihan swiftly activated the Illusory Deity Art, and waves of thick true qi slowly surged toward him from all directions. It was wood-element true qi. Deep within these vast mountains, he had an inexhaustible supply of wood-element energy to draw upon.

“You actually have the attributes of a wood-element summoner?” The black-clad man stared at the wood-element true qi gathering around Ye Zihan and was shocked. Ye Zihan was not only a dual-element cultivator, but seemed to be a triple-element cultivator as well. That was an astonishing thing indeed. It also strengthened his determination to kill Ye Zihan, because such a genius youth would pose a threat to their very survival!

“What I am is not important. What matters is that you are all doomed.” Ye Zihan showed no fear at all. Now that he had activated the Illusory Deity Art, even with five powerhouses besieging him, he still believed in his own strength. He could definitely drive these strong enemies back.

“Fine. You really are arrogant. But you little bastard have every right to be. Unfortunately, from this day on, your name will no longer exist in the Illusory Deity Continent.” The black-clad man of that realm finished speaking and intensified his attack. He had now resolved to kill Ye Zihan. A genius youth with so many elements, if given enough time, would certainly threaten their existence.

Ye Zihan did not answer. While fending off the enemy’s assault, he continued to accumulate source qi. For him, killing the opponent was indeed no easy matter, especially now that there were five strong enemies, and every one of them was formidable, not weaker than he was.

“Today I’ll let you taste what it feels like to be surrounded and hunted—Sea of Five Groves!” Ye Zihan shouted, then formed several hand seals before swiftly waving toward the black-clad men around him. In an instant, a vast, surging wood-element aura centered on him and began to spread slowly through the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

In the blink of an eye, the forest beneath them seemed to rise like rolling waves, surging rapidly toward Ye Zihan and the others’ position.

“You can even summon these trees? You have actually formed a spiritual bond?” The black-clad man looked down at the surging forest beneath his feet and was horrified beyond measure. Today had truly shocked him too many times. He had never imagined that Ye Zihan was not only a wood-element summoner, but seemed also to be in communion with the trees. Little did he know that Ye Zihan had not formed a spiritual bond at all. He possessed a weapon spirit now, and that was why the trees obeyed his command.

Those trees were effectively Ye Zihan’s weapons now, and so they would obey his orders and begin their assault on the black-clad men.

“Kill!” Ye Zihan suddenly shouted. The surging trees shot up into the sky, then swiftly attacked the black-clad men. The momentum was overwhelming, a truly horrifying sight.

“Fine, you win.” The black-clad man looked at the trees crashing toward him like a tidal wave and roared before quickly withdrawing from the battlefield. He had no choice but to give way, because those trees were far too powerful. They were essentially Ye Zihan’s weapons. Even with their level of cultivation, if they were struck, they would surely be injured.

“Haha, if you’ve got the skill, then don’t run. Weren’t you all so formidable just now? Why are you fleeing like cowards now?” Ye Zihan mocked the black-clad men. To him, even if he could not kill these powerhouses of that realm today, taking down a few at the Five Elements realm would still be a worthwhile exchange.

“Ah!”

Sure enough, one of the black-clad men entangled by Ye Zihan failed to dodge in time and was slain by Ye Zihan’s Red Lotus dagger in the wilderness. Then the trees dragged the corpse away to serve as fertilizer.

“You really are cunning. If you’ve got the ability, don’t rely on outside help. Come and fight us one on one!”

The black-clad man had not expected that one lapse on their side would result in the death of one of their own strong men at Ye Zihan’s hands. Though it was only a cultivator at the Five Elements realm, the blow to their side was enormous.

“Yan Chen, Chen Yiyan, I am coming to help you. Today we live and die together!” Ye Zihan roared, then swung his Red Lotus dagger toward the assassins surrounding Chen Yiyan. By now, Ye Zihan had thrown caution to the winds. In particular, he was prepared to kill several black-clad men now, or else these fellows would continue hunting him endlessly in the future.

He had to strike one to warn a hundred. At the very least, Ye Zihan needed to make them understand the price of attempting his assassination: death. He had already slain one black-clad man, yet the others were still surrounding and attacking them, so he had no choice but to unleash a slaughter.

Yan Chen looked at Ye Zihan and shouted, “I can still hold them off for now!”

By now, Yan Chen had already one foot in the Five Elements realm, so his strength was no longer ordinary. Especially in such fierce combat, he was nearly on the verge of breaking through.

Pfft.

One of the black-clad men besieging Chen Yiyan failed to dodge in time and was immediately cut in two by Ye Zihan’s Red Lotus dagger. In an instant, blood sprayed through the air, and the corpse tumbled from the mountaintop.

Thud. Thud.

The body of the black-clad man slain by Ye Zihan crashed to the ground. Dark blood had already stained the flowers and grass red, and a foul stench rose from the soil.

“Good. Truly, the younger generation surpasses the old. If today we do not kill you little bastards here, I swear I am not a man!” The black-clad man who had dodged Ye Zihan’s attack roared in fury. They had lost two powerhouses at the Five Elements realm in one go, and the pain of that loss was surely unbearable.

Back in Black Tortoise City, Chen Yiyan and Ye Zihan had already killed six of their powerhouses at the Five Elements realm. Now Ye Zihan had slain two more in an instant, and losses of that magnitude were by no means something just anyone could endure.

“You sought your own deaths. You cannot blame us for slaughtering without mercy. If you make it to Lord Yama, remember to say that you were killed by us.” Ye Zihan shouted and returned once more to his own battlefield. The black-clad powerhouse of that realm had already led three others in surrounding Ye Zihan tightly. Today, they had no intention of letting their prey escape.

“Arrogant brats, there is no place here for your insolence. Today we must destroy you all in this very spot!” That powerhouse of that realm had already fought Ye Zihan before. If he claimed he felt no fear at all, that would surely be a lie, because in Black Tortoise City he had nearly been killed by Dark Abyss in that small inn.